Human rights activists to discuss the situation in North Caucasus and condition of Balkars

A roundtable "Situation in North Caucasus and Condition of Balkars" is to be held on Tuesday March 28, from 12 noon till 14. 00 at the Independent press-centre in Moscow. The "Forum.msk" reports that the discussion will be attended by Dzhappuev Rasul Soltan-Khamidovich, chair of the State Council of Balkaria, founder of the newspaper "Balkaria" and representative of Balkars in the Federative Council of National Minorities in Europe; Ponomaryov Lev Alexandrovich, executive director of the movement "For Human Rights"; Yazykova  Alla Alexeevna, doctor of historical sciences; Boziev Ruslan Sakhitovich, deputy director of the Institute of Innovation Activity in Education; Boziev Ismail Khakimovich, deputy of the local self-government body in the village of Khasaniya; Khubolov Alim Lazhdautovich, expert of the movement "For Human Rights"; Metov Magomed Ilyasovich, director general of "Apatit" Ltd., Abdulayev Ali Amashevich, director general of the "А Аliko" Ltd. Political scientists and sociologists have also been invited.

The roundtable is timed to Balkar People Renascence Day and will be attended by prominent representatives of Balkars.

The main topics of the roundtable are going to be the implementation of the reform of self-government in Kabardino-Balkaria and the inter-ethnic component of the conflict between the authorities and Balkars. In addition, it is planned to discuss the problems of implementing federal laws in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic and the prospects of further developments in North Caucasus.

The reform of self-government in the North Caucasus republics, conducted by local authorities, has caused numerous cases of inter-ethnic unrest. In Kabardino-Balkaria, representatives of Balkars, the republic's indigenous population, protest against infringement on their legitimate interests by the republic's leadership under the pretext of altering the territorial administrative restructuring.

The population of Kabardino-Balkaria expresses an opinion that the policy of the republic's leadership with regard to Balkars is based on many-years' militia arbitrariness under the pretext of clean-ups and anti-terrorist operations, its overall discrimination, infringement of its legitimate rights and prevention of measures to protect them.

Another reason for the dissatisfaction among Balkars is the adoption by the Parliament of Kabardino-Balkaria of laws in conformance with which the municipal units of Balkaria are stripped off a considerable part of their territory, as tourist, recreation, cultivated and pasture lands.

The Russian public movement "For Human Rights" has repeatedly drawn the attention of public and the federal authorities to the problems of Kabardino-Balkaria, to the high probability that the confrontation of Balkars and the republic's authorities may grow into an armed conflict.