Neither Side Backing Down in Ingushetia

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 5 – After five days in Ingushetia, the Russian human rights delegation has concluded that neither side is prepared to take the first step toward conversations which could end the conflict. Yunus-Bek Yevkurov continues to arrest or drive underground the opposition, and the opposition views concessions now as a sign of weakness. 

            The wave of arrests continues, with 18 now in jail, 70 already subject to administrative punishments, and large numbers of the opposition leadership either driven underground or forced to take refuge outside the borders of the republic, Timur Akiyev of Ekho Kavkaza reports (ekhokavkaza.com/a/29922302.html).

            The most recent and high-profile case of such official actions involves Akhmed Pogorov, the vice president of the World Congress of the Ingush People. He has gone into hiding and Yevkurov’s regime have succeeded in getting Moscow to put him on the federal most-wanted list (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/335118/  fortanga.org/2019/05/ahmed-pogorov-obyavlen-v-federalnyj-rozysk/  and zamanho.com/?p=7312).

            His lawyers say that by going after Pogorov and others like him, Yevkurov and Moscow hope to “behead” the opposition movement, but they are miscalculating because if one group of leaders is put in jail, another will replace it more or less quickly given the depth of anger among the Ingush population as a whole.

            One of his lawyers, Magomed Bekov, was explicit: “The powers that be do not want to leave anyone free. There is a desire to completely behead the protest movement in Ingushetia. This is a repressive method by which they want to show not only Ingush but all Russians that protests will not be allowed to solve any problem.”

            But even though he is on this wanted list, Pogorov continues to speak out. He has now issued an appeal to the Ingush people in advance of Ramadan to stand firm for the principles they have demonstrated on behalf of since last fall (zamanho.com/?p=7319). That Yevkurov and Moscow can’t silence him is yet another indication they are likely to do so.