In Grozny, "one-million-strong" rally turned out to be action in support of Kadyrov

Residents of Chechnya came to the rally in Grozny with posters reading: "Ramzan Kadyrov is a threat to 'the fifth column'!" and "People stand for Kadyrov!" The mass rally was held in support of Ramzan Kadyrov and not in honour of the Chechen Constitution Day, report participants of the rally.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that today, the Chechen capital has hosted a rally dedicated to the 13th anniversary of the Constitution of the Chechen Republic. According to the notification on the rally filed by the Council of Trade Unions, the rally was expected to gather more than one million participants. Public employees and students claim being obliged to persuade their relatives and friends to take part in the rally.

According to the Grozny administration, the rally was held in a calm atmosphere.

"People were forced to come to the square in the centre of Grozny. And they had been held there for several hours, without possibility to go beyond the cordon," said Supyan, a resident of Chechnya.

According to him, "no bio-toilets" were installed at the square, and participants of the rally were not supplied with drinking water.

"After that, I've made a decision that I'll never attend such events, even under the threat of dismissal," said Supyan.

On March 23, 2003, Chechnya held a referendum on the Constitution and the laws on the election of the leader of Chechnya and members of the Parliament. Then, according to the Chechen Central Election Commission (CEC), turnout reached more than 88% of voters, and of them, 96% voted in support of the Constitution.

The voting took place "under tension, regular 'clearings' carried out by law enforcers, and mass disappearances of people," noted Oleg Orlov, a member of the Board of the Human Rights Centre (HRC) "Memorial".

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.