Second Ingush Teip Enters Political Fray with Letter to Republic Parliament

Paul Goble

            Staunton, July 22 – A second primordial teip has assumed the role of a civil society actor following the suppression of NGOs by Moscow and Magas and dispatched a letter to the republic’s parliament criticizing that body for its slavish deference to the powers that be rather than showing respect for the people who at least nominally have elected its members.

            A week ago, the Bekov teip issued a damning indictment of the republic parliamentarians (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2020/07/after-crackdown-on-ngos-primordial.html). Now, the Khamkhoyev teip has followed suit with a letter that is if anything ever more critical (fortanga.org/2020/07/tejp-hamhoevyh-napomnil-deputatam-ingushskogo-parlamenta-o-dolge/).

            The Khamkhoyev clan says that Ingush deputies have a “holy” responsibility to represent the people of Ingushetia, to adopt laws that reflect their interests, rights and concerns, and not to adopt measures, however much pressure is brought on them, which contradict Ingush rights and freedoms.

            The teip was especially critical of the parliament’s approval of laws stripping the citizens of the right to vote directly on the republic head and to approve any change in Ingushetia’s borders. In voting for these things, the teip said, the deputies were acting as servants of the powers rather than servants of the people.

            The Ingush people reject what they are doing, the Khamkhoyev clan continued; but it added that the deputies have a chance to change their reputation by repudiating laws like these and adopting others that meet the needs of the Ingush people.   But if that does not happen, it will be very hard to restore social-political “concord” in the republic.

            If still other teips follow the lead of the Bekovs and Khamkhoyevs, they will fulfill many of the roles that the now-banned NGOs did. That will create a new political situation because going after the teips which include all the members of the Ingush nation and have existed from time immemorial is a far more dangerous enterprise than going after NGOs.