Dagestani activists report information vacuum around border demarcation process

Khizri Shikhsaidov, the speaker of the Dagestani parliament, promised to include activists in the commissions to clarify borders with Chechnya. However, it is still unknown when and how his promise will be fulfilled, say members of the Dagestani public commission on border demarcation.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the authorities of Chechnya and Dagestan agreed to define the borders between the republics. Magomed Daudov, the speaker of the Chechen parliament, argued that the authorities in both regions did not ask each other for concessions to the territories. However, on February 7, it became known about the claims of Chechnya to a land plot near the village of Mekhelta in the Gumbet District. Residents of the villages of Ansalty in the Botlikh District and Gakko in the Tsumada District also stated that there were disputed territories on the border with Chechnya.

A public commission was created in reaction to the population's lack of information on the borders between Dagestan and Chechnya, said Magomed Magomedov, the deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Chernovik" (Draft).

A small part of the Dagestani population is indifferent to the border demarcation or believes that "everything will be fine," while residents of the areas bordering Chechnya express their concern over the problem, Magomed Magomedov notes.

The People's Assembly of Dagestan monitors the situation in society, and the leaders of the republic's parliament understand the risks, Magomed Magomedov believes.

The office of the leader and the government of Chechnya state "there are no significant differences in the establishment of the borders."