Chechnya: Rights Groups Boycott Conference
Below is an article published by Reuters AlertNet:
Major rights groups snubbed a Moscow-sponsored rights forum in
Major rights groups boycotted the event in ruined
Only a handful of low-key activists and a host of government officials turned out for the conference, intended by
But Kadyrov, a former rebel who had been due to chair the forum, outmanoeuvred the embarrassment and flew to
"
Putin confirmed he would nominate 30-year-old Kadyrov as president, a move certain to be rubber-stamped by
A bearded, youthful-looking Kadyrov, shown sitting opposite Putin at his residency outside
"If the federal centre continues to give us as much support as today,
More than 1,200 kms (750 miles) south of
Rumi Arzhiyeva, 52, burst into tears as she told a Reuters correspondent her two sons had disappeared without trace three years ago. "Please help, please help," she said.
Another woman shouted over her shoulder: "Please help us find our sons and return them to us. We don't know what to do."
MISSING
Thomas Hammarberg, Council of Europe rights commissioner, was one of the few figures of international status at the conference, along with a U.N. refugee official. The Kremlin sent its own human rights aide, Ella Pamfilova.
In
"It will not be easy to solve the problem (of the missing)," he told the forum in remarks translated into Russian. "But we have information about the location of mass graves, and this will help solve at least a part of the problem."
Kadyrov, promoted by Putin to acting president last month, has denied accusations that hostage-takings by security forces are widespread in