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-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oct 5 2006 12:32PM Ramzan Kadyrov says not eyeing Chechen presidency
Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov, who turns 30 on October 5, denied having any presidential ambitions in an interview with Interfax
"The Internet has a lot of material saying that I am looking forward to my birthday in order to take the presidency [of Chechnya]," Kadyrov said, alluding to the constitutional requirement that the president be at least 30 years old. "I have repeatedly said that I am not ready for that office," he said.
"Thousands of people have gone missing in Chechnya, hundreds are in prison for their crimes. People want these problems solved. The president must resolve these issues," the Chechen prime minister said.
People from respectable publications ask me if "I am ready to run for president in the next elections. They fail to look into the existing law that determines the procedure for the election of region heads," he said.
Kadyrov said that he is not building up plans for the future. "We are working day and night, and we demand that all members of the government work the same way. They spend entire days in meetings earlier. The heads of local administrations would come to Grozny on Monday and sometimes they wouldn't leave until the weekend. They know neither sleep nor rest," the premier said.
Asked about his relations with Chechen President Alu Alkhanov, the Chechen prime minister said: "Our relations are those between premier and president. They are not strained. Can they always be cloudless? No. However, we do not have any personal claims against each other."
Asked about his ideal birthday gift, Kadyrov said, "The best gift is the city of Grozny, which is being rebuilt by tens of thousands of Chechens."
Commenting on the current situation in Chechnya, Kadyrov said that, in setting troop levels in Chechnya, Russia's interests in ensuring security on its southern borders and possible Georgian entry into NATO must be considered.
"One should bear in mind that the war in Iraq is in the immediate vicinity of Russia, that tensions in the Middle East continue, that the situation around Iran is restless, and that NATO is knocking on Georgia's door, which is wide open. One should bear this in mind when we discuss troop levels in Chechnya," Kadyrov said.
Army troops "have not been involved in any special operations in Chechnya for a long time," he said.
"They are engaged in military training, building military camps. How many servicemen are there? As many as the General Staff and the commander-in-chief think necessary to ensure the security of the southern borders," he said.
Kadyrov said the establishment of the Chechen Interior Ministry has been completed, and "Chechen policemen are perfectly capable of eliminating our internal enemy represented by illegal armed groups." Local police have long been successfully fighting the separatists, he said.
In this context, Kadyrov said he viewed as unnecessary posting police forces from other Russian regions in Chechnya.
"I don't see the need for the police to casually man several dozen checkpoints. I don't see any use in this. They don't catch militants. The militants are apparently not so simple as to drive to the checkpoints and report that they are coming from the woods," Kadyrov said.
However, Kadyrov noted that the decision to post police from other regions in Chechnya is within the jurisdiction of the federal government, which "apparently thinks that the time to stop sending police to Chechnya has not yet arrived."
The Chechen premier called for stepping up efforts to hunt down and neutralize illegal armed groups in other regions of the North Caucasus.
"This should have been done not today and not yesterday but six years ago, when Chechen President Akhmat Kadyrov warned repeatedly that militants and Wahhabites had built themselves nests in North Caucasus regions. Then the Chechen president was either not listened to or his words produced only irritation," he said.
Kadyrov also insisted that Chechnya needs a wider amnesty.
"It is necessary to review the criminal cases under which Chechen residents had earlier been convicted in Chechnya proper and in other regions of Russia. There are many cases of bias in the prosecution of cases and convictions. A lot of innocent people are in jail," he said.
However, he spoke against mercy for those "who deliberately engaged in terrorist attacks, abducted people for ransom, and executed innocent people, policemen and clergymen." "They should end their life in a prison cell," he said.
In particular, Kadyrov said he was sure that Chechen militant leader Doku Umarov is not likely to surrender. "There is Umarov and several men in his entourage. Will they turn themselves in to police? I don't think so. They have chosen their fate. Nobody imposed it on them. Now law enforcement agencies should work on each of them specifically," Kadyrov said.
Kadyrov confirmed that Umarov and Rappani Khalilov were being intensively sought.
"People want to see the criminals in jail or dead, that is why they always say that the criminals are not seriously being tracked down. Yet, the results tell a different story. Khattab, Basayev, Gelayev and tens of foreign mercenaries have been killed. It shows that law enforcement agencies are succeeding in their difficult mission," he said.
http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/exclusive/29.html?mode=9&title_style=exclus&others=2&id_issue=11599503
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