Ingush Don’t Believe Government on Pandemic because of Its Betrayal in Land Deal with Chechnya, Buzurtanov Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 9 – Tragically, “the conflict over the establishment of the border with Chechnya is connected with the situation regarding the spread of the coronavirus,” Ingush activist Akhmed Buzurtanov says. “Many residents of the republic don’t trust information the authorities are giving up, and leaders whom they would trust are still in detention.”

            As a result, many Ingush are ignoring what Magas says, he continues. The situation would be even worse had it not been for the fact that the religious leadership took the lead, without waiting for the powers to act, and urged Ingush not to assemble for services but to remain at home during the pandemic (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349392/).

            In the hopes of overcoming this distrust, the Memorial Human Rights Center has called on Ingush yet Makhmud-Ali Kalimatov to “explain to residents of the republic how the official statistics concerning infections and victims” are compiled. This will give the people more reason to trust the powers than they have now (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349392/).

            “Civil society no less than the authorities is interested that under conditions of the pandemic, the trust of the population to doctors, medical organizations and organs of power be preserved.” To restore such trust, the group added, the authorities in Ingushetia must become much more transparent.

            From behind bars, Malsag Uzhakhov, the president of the Council of Teips of Ingushetia, has called on the people of the republic to maintain the self-isolation regime; and the vice president of that organization, Murad Daskiyev has echoed his words. Their comments were sparked by the fact that some who attended the recent funeral of a Muslim leader have become infected.

            Also today, the number of confirmed infections in Ingushetia rose to 1152 and the number who have died from the coronavirus there to 30 (kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/349411/), and Kalimatov issued a decree extending the restrictions on leaving home through May 31 (pravitelstvori.ru/news/detail.php?ID=35880).