YABLOKO expresses solidarity with the statement by the Congress of Intelligencia
18.01.2016

The YABLOKO party expresses solidarity with the statement by the Congress of Intelligencia. Valery Borschyov, one of the initiators of the statement ad member of YABLOKO’s Federal Council, signed the statement on behalf of YABLOKO’s leadership.

On 12 January, 2016, head of administration of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov publicly called to treat “representatives of the so-called non-systemic opposition as enemies of the people, as traitors … These people should be judged [by court] very strictly for their undermining activities.”

Ramzan Kadyrov performs his official duties in the public administration system. He is must contribute to the implementation in the territory of the Chechen Republic of the policies of the Russian Federation in protection of the rights and freedoms of citizens guaranteed by the Russian Constitution and international commitments of our country.

The right of citizens to freedom of peaceful public and political activities, including the opposition, is one of the basic human rights. The right to conduct oppositional political activity can be exercised regardless of whether the association is registered or not, acts on the informal, “non-systemic” basis or not.

The fact of threats from the head of the executive authority of the federation subject [Chechnya] to the part of the Russian civil society is unacceptable, not only morally but also legally. It is normal for the opposition in a democratic society to pay attention to the shortcomings of the economic policy of the government and criticise the government.

Accusations of treason and undermining activities just for peaceful socio-political activity represent a direct threat.

Legislative and normative acts of the USSR and Russia, as the legal successor of the USSR, rehabilitated millions of people, falsely accused of being “enemies of the people”. This also applies to hundreds of thousands of Vainakh people [Chechens and Ingushes belong to] and other repressed peoples. Therefore, in Russia’s legal and historical traditions the expression “the enemy of the people” is a deliberately threatening incrimination. Moreover, if such a charge is in a general semantic unity with accusations of treason and undermining activities.

Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly demonstrated his complete disregard for the laws of the Russian Federation. In the Chechen Republic headed by Kadyrov any, even very moderate criticism, is punishable; whereas the critics are punished not only by moral pressure, but by direct physical violence. The federal [law enforcement] structures are actually deprived of the opportunity to investigate the crimes in the territory of the Chechen Republic, where dozens of residents of the Chechen Republic were abducted by the security forces controlled by Kadyrov and disappeared without a trace, during the rule of Kadyrov. The relatives [of the victims] are intimidated and are afraid to complain. The murder of [human rights activist and member the Memorial society in Chechnya] Natalia Estemirova has not been investigated. A real hirer of a contract killer who murdered Boris Nemtsov has not been found. In both cases, the evidence led to the securocrats from Ramzan Kadyrov’s environment.

The statements made by the head of the Chechen administration about the non-systemic opposition evidently threaten to the oppositional organisations on the territory of the republic in the first place. Since Ramzan Kadyrov has been claiming playing a role in the federal policy, patrons the Antimaydan movement and has under his command dozens of thousands of armed security forces, his shameless threats are extended to all of the civil society in Russia and pose a serious threat to the implementation by the citizens of our country of their rights and freedoms.

Ramzan Kadyrov must be immediately removed from office.

To sign the petition: https://nowarcongress.com/petitions/396/