In Moscow, rights defenders hold press conference: "Chechnya: construction of Argun-City - dozens of families thrown out to the street"

Today, the Independent Press Centre in Prechistenka Street in Moscow has hosted a press conference entitled "Chechnya: construction of Argun-City - dozens of families thrown out onto the street", which was devoted to the results of the travel of Oleg Orlov and Svetlana Gannushkina, employees of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial", to Northern Caucasus.

Oleg Orlov told about their trip to Northern Caucasus, during which they had to deal with, as he said, "absolutely outrageous situation", associated with the plans of reconstruction of the centre of the city of Argun.

"These are really wonderful plans," said Oleg Orlov. "It is planned to transform central Argun into a modern comfortable district, where a new mosque will be built and named after Aiman Kadyrova, Ramzan Kadyrov's mother, a large stadium, the residential complex 'Argun-City' and social objects."

The problem, according to Orlov, is that pursuant to such wonderful plans fates of dozens of persons are sacrificed. "In relation to these people, the norms of Russian legislation and morality are maliciously violated," he said.

In order to clear the construction site in the centre of Argun, 61 houses in Shosseinaya Street have been already demolished. These are one-storey private houses, but locals do not oppose demolition. "First of all, they can't even think of it," explains the human rights advocate, as, in his opinion, in Chechnya nobody can protest against any decision of the authorities.

"And, secondly, people are offered a choice - either monetary compensation or one-story cottages built for them by the city administration," said Oleg Orlov, noting that many persons choose the second variant and are quite happy.

For the time, when new houses are being built for them, the former owners of the above private households are moved into the houses, where people were accommodated in 2007, who had remained homeless as a result of the two Chechen Wars, and former orphanage pupils. "Now, bureaucrats come home to them and announce: "Within 48 hours you must abandon the facilities."Attempts to protest resulted in nothing - nobody just listened to them," said Orlov.

Forced resettlers are sent to Grozny to former temporary accommodation centres (TACs), which are now called hostels. "People meekly follow this decision, because they still have at least some roof over their heads," said Oleg Orlov.

At the same time, those TACs have been for many years inhabited by the families, who often have nothing, but a room in the hostel. As a result of eviction, many of them find themselves in the streets. Officials are evicting them under the pretext that they have no registration in the city.

Some families are helped by heads of rural administrations, for example, to temporarily rent some housing in Grozny. The head of administration in Vedeno put two invalids into his house. In one settlement refugees were evacuated and housed into an unsuitable school building; however, in many cases people are not offered any solution whatsoever.

"Firstly, I want to say that only residents of one hostel addressed with a complaint; residents of other places refused to complain. Same was with the tenants, who were evicted from two apartment blocks in Argun," Svetlana Gannushkina said at the news conference.

She emphasized that families are evicted amidst winter, together with children. "Winter is very cold there. During the talk with hostel residents militiamen appeared; they said that they have an order of Ramzan (Kadyrov) on eviction; and it is not discussed," said the human rights activist.

Ms Gannushkina told the audience that on February 1 she served a letter of residents of the hostel located in Mayakovsky Street in Grozny addressed to President Dmitry Medvedev. "I hope that the letter might change the situation, as the President said: 'We'll get into it.'," said Gannushkina.

The press conference lasted for about an hour; it was attended by 17 journalists from various media outlets.