Chechen activists do not understand protests of Ingush opposition

Residents of Chechnya perceive new protest actions in Ingushetia with restraint and treat them as a political provocation by a narrow opposition group. The protests will not affect relations between the two peoples, believe Chechen activists interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 26, residents of Ingushetia, demanding the resignation of Yunus-Bek Evkurov, extended the protest action in the square in Magas without sanction from the authorities and that led to clashes with law enforcers on the other day. The rally in Magas has become a new round of conflict with the authorities over the border agreement with Chechnya.

Chechen people do not perceive rallies in Ingushetia as a reproach against them, since they see in those protest actions only the internal political conflict of the neighbouring republic, believes Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus.

"Past rallies and new meetings are the desire of a politicized part of the Ingush elite to remove the leader of the republic. The transfer of land is a reason to 'shake' the Yunus-Bek Evkurov's chair. In Chechnya, people do not perceive rallies as a reproach against Chechens," Ruslan Kutaev told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

There will be no contradictions at the level of peoples, Ruslan Kutaev believes. "I am convinced that nothing can discredit the relations between the Ingush and the Chechen people," the head of the Assembly of the Peoples of the Caucasus believes.

A new round of rallies in Ingushetia did not surprise anyone in Chechnya, although the residents of Chechnya do not share the logic of the Ingush opposition, Chechen human rights defender Aset Malsagova believes.

New rallies of the Ingush opposition are perceived calmly in Chechnya. "Chechens are not afraid of growing tension and friction between our nations. People understand the core and background of those intrigues," Aset Malsagova notes.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 29, 2019 at 11:48 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.