Chechnya celebrates April 16 as Day of Peace and CTO cancellation

On Saturday, April 16, the Chechen Republic will mark the second anniversary of cancellation of the counterterrorist operation (CTO) regime, which had lasted in the republic for almost 10 years. This day is celebrated in Chechnya as the end of war; therefore, it is declared the Day of Peace. However, the official authorities and NGOs disagree in evaluation of this event.

The republic will celebrate the holiday with folk festivals, parades, concerts and sporting events. On the eve of the event, on April 14, the studio "Grozny-Inform" hosted a roundtable dedicated to the Day of Peace. The participants of the discussion - Dukvakha Abdurakhmanov, Speaker of the Chechen Parliament, Ruslan Alkhanov, Interior Minister, and Nurdi Nukhazhiev, local Ombudsman, - stated that the cancellation of CTO regime was a turning point in the recent history of the Chechen Republic; this decision has had a most beneficial effect on the overall situation in the republic. The brightest examples, in their opinion, are the awarding of the Grozny Airport with the international status; launch of the Republic's Customs; and the opened prospects to attract foreign investments.

Activists of local NGOs, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that the cancellation of the CTO regime in Chechnya failed to fully stabilize the situation in the republic. Permanent warfare episodes, killings, abductions and illegal arrests continue here.

"The notorious CTO regime had acted in Chechnya in fact in violation not only of the international law, but also of the Russian legislation. Introduction of this regime within particular territory should have a certain timeframe; however, here the regime existed for ten years and, basically, failed to give the results the federal centre had wanted to get. In fact, the main goal of the second military campaign in Chechnya - complete destruction of the armed underground - was not reached," said the head of a local NGO.

He reminded that exactly one month after cancellation of the CTO regime in Grozny, for the first time in several years, a terror act was committed by a suicide bomber. And then, the republic has practically swept by a series of similar acts. "Local armed clashes continue even today, not only in Chechnya, but also in neighbouring regions," the source told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

In the opinion of another source of the "Caucasian Knot", the CTO regime was beneficial to the Russian leadership in order to justify disproportionate use of force in Chechnya.

"This went on for ten years; and to keep this regime further was just senseless. The policy of 'whip' was replaced by the policy of 'carrot'. In this way the Kremlin sought to raise the profile of local authorities and to strengthen the existing regime," said the source.

"In the first years of CTO, Chechnya was something like a reservation, where extrajudicial executions were committed, as well as killings, abductions and torture against citizens. Then it all began to wane and by 2009 there were much fewer cases of kidnapping and murder by power agents was much smaller than in the early years of the second military campaign. Of course, the current situation in the republic is radically different from what took place in 2000-2003 years; however, still the situation with human rights in the republic leaves much to be desired," said an NGO activist.