11 October 2008, 18:24
Afghanistan war veterans in Dagestan continue hunger strike
The Afghanistan war veterans who entered their sixth day of hunger strike in the Dagestan capital do not intend to drop their demands, despite the death of one of the participants and hospitalization of another one. The participants remain in the tent campus arranged in the park where the obelisk to the memory of internationalist soldiers who perished in Afghanistan is erected.
Kazanfar Nurmetov, a hunger strike participant, died yesterday. According to his fellow participants, he had had heart problems before. He was taken to hospital but the doctors were unable to save his life. The deceased had two children. He had had no dwelling since the end of the Afghan war.
Iman Sultanov, one more participant of the hunger strike, has been admitted to the cardiology department of the Makhachkala second city hospital today. He has a high blood pressure. However, the hunger strike of the Afghanistan war veterans continues.
"Whatever happens, we shall go on with the hunger strike," says Gasaini Gasainiyev, participant of the action, to the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "We have nothing to loose, we shall persist to the end."
The hunger strikers claim that, during the action, no representatives of Dagestan authorities or the parliament have ever visited them. "It seems that they are all busy with Moscow's exhibitions (Dagestan days are being held in Moscow now, - "Caucasian Knot" remark). They are telling everyone how good it is in Dagestan, and treat them with our brandies. However, the republic's authorities ignore the real problems. In Dagestan, as compared with all other regions of the country, internationalist soldiers are in a catastrophic situation", claim the "Afghans" staying in the tent campus.
The participants of the hunger strike are afraid to be ousted from the park where the action is being held. Law enforcement officers visited them several times and made a list of their names. An ambulance is placed close to the hunger strikers, doctors constantly check the state of their health.
Author: Oleg Ionov, CK correspondent
