Jamaat leaders fail to appear at debates under "Peace to the Caucasus" Project

The public debates held on February 25 within the project "Peace to the Caucasus" in the cities of Izberbash and Derbent were ignored by activists of national movements and leaders of religious communities and Jamaats.

"We've come here to discuss not youth issues but memorandum on joint resistance to violence, extremism, interethnic enmity, and on support of the peacemaking process in the Caucasus," said Maxim Shevchenko, Project Manager. "It should be signed by leaders of national movements, religious communities and Jamaats. However, I don't see them here."

He asked to clarify whether their absence was the result of administrative pressure, or whether it was a political decision of the leaders themselves. Those present in the hall assured him that "there was no administrative pressure."

On February 25 Derbent hosted the second during that day meeting of the working group of the Russian Public Chamber for promoting social dialogue and civil society institutions in the Caucasus with public activists of Dagestan. In total, about 200 persons, most of them students, took part in the debates.

Within the debates, there were many presentations on the topics of corruption, unemployment and xenophobia against immigrants from Dagestan and other North-Caucasian regions.