IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 57 (excerpts)
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IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service, No. 57 (excerpts)
WELCOME TO IWPR'S CAUCASUS REPORTING SERVICE, NO. 57, November 10,
2000
ADYGEA HITS BACK Ethnic leaders in Adygea say they are being
demonised by the Russian media. Zarina Kanukova reports from Nalchik
COMMENT: RUSSIAN DEFECTOR MAY PROVE A DISAPPOINTMENT The sensational
defection of a former FSB officer is unlikely to furnish Western
intelligence services with anything more than speculation and hearsay.
Mikhail Ivanov comments from Moscow
DAGESTAN'S ETHNIC EXPERIMENT The Nogai become the first ethnic
minority in the North Caucasus to be granted autonomous status in a
bid to save their culture from extinction. Yuri Akbashev reports from
Makhachkala
BROTHERS IN ARMS While the former Soviet peoples have grown apart
immeasurably over the past decade, there are still unbreakable ties
which bind them. Erik Batuev reports from Baku
IWPR in Minsk has just completed its monitoring of media coverage of
last month's parliamentary elections in Belarus. To receive a free
e-mail copy of our forthcoming report, contact, IWPR Programmes
Director, Alan Davis <[email protected]>
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ADYGEA HITS BACK
Ethnic leaders in Adygea say they are being demonised by the Russian
media
By Zarina Kanukova in Nalchik
Home to 80 different nationalities, the tiny republic of Adygea is
fighting to shrug off a reputation as the next potential trouble spot
in the North Caucasus.
Here, ethnic leaders claim that they are the victims of a deliberate
hate campaign launched by the Russia media which is fond of dubbing
Adygea "a second Chechnya in the making". They believe that Moscow is
deliberately attempting to drive a rift between the local Russian
population and their Adygean neighbours in a bid to marginalise
minority groups.
However, most observers argue that Adygea has the best record of
racial harmony of any republic in the North Caucasus.
In ethnically diverse neighbourhoods such as Cheremushek, in the
capital Maikop, Adygean youngsters organise national dances attended
by local Russians, Armenians and Greeks. A large mosque is being built
in the city centre. People in the streets lack the trouble-worn
expressions of their ethnic cousins in Cherkessk or Nalchik.
But the Russian media insists that the republic is on the brink of war
- and "The Caucasian Crescent", an explosive television documentary by
former NTV journalist Yelena Masyuk has claimed that the region is a
breeding ground for Wahhabi extremists.
Locally, the reaction is one of resentment. Oleg Damenia, a lecturer
at the Adygea State University, in Maikop, believes the discontent is
deliberately being fostered by the Kremlin in a bid to "divide and
rule".
"The standard of living in Adygea is continually falling and people
sense this very keenly," says Damenia. "When people are faced by hard
times, they try to pinpoint the cause of their problems: why is this
happening to them? And that's when the authorities start 'prompting'
them.
"Just as in the 1920s, there are certain organised 'educational'
programmes intended to push the public consciousness in the required
direction... All the social and psychological changes in the Caucasus
are taking place under the influence of exterior forces."
Like many ethnic leaders in the North Caucasus, Damenia claims Russia
is trying to erode national identities and transform the population
into a "mechanical mass".
Yanvarbi Kalashaov, who works to repatriate Adygean emigres from
abroad, agrees that "someone is finding it very profitable to create a
high-pressure situation here and set people against one another".
He dismisses any comparisons with Chechnya as "absurd". "The Russians,
Adygeans, Tartars and Armenians who live here have never raised
nationalist questions before," says Kalashaov. "The social mood of
Adygea should stand as an example for others, people live so
peacefully here."
He, too, points towards economic collapse as the chief reason for
dissatisfaction. "Production is falling to pieces, the bureaucratic
apparatus is becoming an enormous obstacle for the average citizen,
and there are other problems. But these problems exist throughout the
country, not just in Adygea..."
Many leaders blame the Union of Slavs of Adygea for stirring up bad
feeling between diverse ethnic groups. In recent months, the Union has
staged a series of high profile debates focusing on alleged unrest in
the republic - debates which have been given extensive coverage by
Russia's state-run TV networks.
Vladimir Korotaev, chairman of the Union's executive committee, blames
the republic's local government, headed by President Dzharimov, for
creating friction between the Adygean and Russian populations.
"We never say that Adygea is a second Chechnya," said Korotaev, "but
we notice that the processes set in motion by the leaders of Adygea
have followed the same pattern as they did in Chechnya.
"When they say that there's peace and harmony in Adygea thanks to
President Dzharimov, we argue, 'Not thanks to, but in spite of'. In my
opinion, the Republic of Adygea has no future. It will eventually
fragment into criminal clan groupings, which can't be controlled by
any democratic process. Tribal and religious loyalties will become
dominant and we'll see the same state of chaos that now grips
Chechnya."
The local religious community is quick to counter any accusations of
religious extremism in the republic. Enver Shumakhov, mufti of Adygea
and the Krasnodar Region, comments, "At present, we have none of the
conflicts that have played a role in Chechnya. And, as for the claims
of certain journalists that Wahhabis from Adygea are fighting in
Chechnya, this is simply false information."
Shumakhov went on to say, "In the republic, there is no conflict
between one religion and another. One section of the population
follows Islam, and the other the Russian Orthodox faith. There's also
widespread indifference to religion which is the legacy of the Soviet
era. Certainly, there's been no evidence of people trying to stir up
conflicts or preach radical religious ideas..."
Zarina Kanukova is a radio, TV and print journalist based in Nalchik,
Kabardino-Balkaria
....................
DAGESTAN'S ETHNIC EXPERIMENT
The Nogai become the first ethnic minority in the North Caucasus to be
granted autonomous status in a bid to save their culture from
extinction
By Yuri Akbashev in Makhachkala
Political leaders in the North Caucasus fear that a recent decision to
grant autonomy to Dagestan's Nogai population could trigger separatist
movements amongst minority ethnic groups across the region.
The Nogai are one of the smallest tribal groupings in Dagestan,
numbering around 20,000 people. Earlier this month, they were granted
national and cultural autonomy within the Dagestani republic by the
justice ministry in Makhachkala.
Salikh Gusaev, minister for national policy and information, explained
that the decision was aimed at preserving the cultural and historical
legacy of the Nogai people, who live mainly on the lowlands to the
north of Dagestan.
But he stressed that autonomy had only been granted because of the
"exceptional" dangers posed to the Nogai way of life by the high
concentration of other ethnic groups in the region.
Last year, Dagestan rejected a law passed in the State Duma "On
Minority Peoples of the Russian Federation", which offered social,
economic and cultural advantages to ethnic groups numbering less than
50,000 people.
At the time, the authorities in Makhachkala explained that it could
lead to schisms among other nationalities in a region where there are
over 60 individual tribes living in close proximity.
These concerns have now been echoed by other republics in the North
Caucasus which claim the decision could set a dangerous precedent for
would-be breakaway groups.
The threat is particularly actual in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, where the
Cherkess, the Abazins and the Nogai minorities are chafing against
President Vladimir Semenov's Karachai-dominated government.
Here, there has been talk of creating an independent republic of
Cherkessia, which would unite all the Adygean peoples in the region
and enjoy the support of ethnic cousins in Adygea and
Kabardino-Balkaria.
Kabardino-Balkaria has its own ethnic rivalries - chiefly between the
Kabardinians and the Balkars, who attempted to secede from the
republic in 1993 under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Sufyan
Beppaev.
In 1991, the Tatsky Jews, numbering just 7,000 people, declared an
autonomous "cultural enclave" in the capital, Nalchik. At the time,
the ruling authorities entrusted local mafia gangs with the task of
driving the Tatsky Jews out of the republic.
Consequently, the "separatists" were forced to pay crippling
protection to one group whilst another "rival" cartel attacked their
homes and property. The Jews left Nalchik in droves, leaving just
1,000 people in the settlement.
In the same year, Ossetian nationalists across the republic's eastern
border began forming paramilitary groups to drive Ingush settlers out
of the Prigorodny region. The five-day war in North Ossetia left
between 30,000 and 40,000 Ingush homeless.
As yet, it remains to be seen what "national and cultural" autonomy
will mean for the 20,000 Nogai in Dagestan. The success or failure of
this experiment is likely to have significant implications for the
security of the North Caucasus region as a whole.
Yuri Akbashev is a political commentator based in Nalchik,
Kabardino-Balkaria
....................
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IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service provides the regional and
international community with unique insiders' perspective on the
Caucasus. Using our network of local journalists, the service
publishes objective news and analysis from across the region upon a
weekly basis.
The service forms part of IWPR's Caucasus Project based in Tbilisi and
London which supports local media development while encouraging better
local and international understanding of a conflicted yet emerging
region.
IWPR's Caucasus Reporting Service is supported by the UK National
Lottery Charities Board. The service is currently available on the Web
in English and will shortly be available in Russian. All IWPR's
reporting services including Balkan Crisis Reports and Tribunal Update
are available free of charge via e-mail subscription or direct from
the Web.
To subscribe to any of news services, e-mail IWPR Programmes Officer
Anna McTaggart at [email protected].
For further details on this project and other information services and
media programmes, visit IWPR's Website: <www.iwpr.net>.
>
Editor-in-chief: Anthony Borden. Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan;
Assistant Editor: Alan Davis. Commissioning Editors: Giorgi Topouria
in Tbilisi, Shahin Rzayev in Baku, Mark Grigorian in Yerevan, Michael
Randall and Saule Mukhametrakhimova in London. Editorial Assistance:
Felix Corley and Heather Milner. To comment on this service, contact
IWPR's Programme Director: Alan Davis [email protected]
The Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) is a London-based
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democratic change.
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Copyright (c) IWPR 2000
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