Ingush Opponents of Border Accord, Upset by Loss of Ancestor Graves, Plan Boycott of Supporters

Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 9 - Ingush opposition to the border accord between Yunus-Bek Yevkurov and Ramzan Kadyrov shows no sign of ebbing. Indeed, the reverse may be true because Ingush are now reportedly upset that the agreement leaves the graves of their ancestors in Chechnya (metagazeta.ru/authority/u-ingushej-zabrali-neft-i-mogily-predkov/).

            Most analysts have focused on the oil field Kadyrov has acquired as a result of the 26,000 hectares transferred to Chechnya under the agreement that has now been declared valid by the Russian Constitutional Court, but in the Caucasus, the issue of the graves of ancestors may be a far more neuralgic one for the population.

            At a press conference in Nazran yesterday, opponents of the accord not only underscored their anger at Yevkurov and Kadyrov but at the Russian court and said that they planned to boycott and socially ostracize those who support the border accord in the hopes of having the accord annulled (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/328921/).

            Kavkaz-uzel reports that none of the federal news agencies sent representatives to cover it. The audience consisted exclusively of local bloggers and the administrators of news groups on social networks, a possible indication that Moscow hopes the whole issue will go away if it is deprived of coverage. 

            Speakers said that in their view, the decision of the republic Constitutional Court was sufficient and must be enforced, while the way in which its Russian counterpart acted was illegal and even unnecessary. As such, they said, its decision should be reversed as soon as possible. How that could be done is uncertain.

            In the words of one, “illegality with us is being defended by the state. If someone will try to justify this, it is necessary to call them out by name.” Otherwise, he said, the situation will continue in which “people who do not observe the Constitution have more rights … This is the beginning of the collapse of the country.”

            Many young people in Ingushetia want to boycott stores, participants said; but they indicated that they are not calling upon them to do so.  Instead, they hope to begin talks with the republic leaders. At the same time, they said the issue of Yevkurov’s removal should be raised by the republic parliament as he has lost the confidence of the population.

            Meanwhile, Chechnya’s Kadyrov posted on his VKontakte page a declaration that he and his ‘dear BROTHER, the Head of Ingushetia Yunus-Bek Yevkurov … were and remain united that the Acccord is absolutely correct and corresponds to the interests of our peoples” and that all debate about it should end (kavkaz-uzel.eu/blogs/378/posts/35656).