 On one of Udugov’s fabrications
SIA CHECHENPRESS November 5, 2007
Editorial commentary
Udugov has just disseminated through his websites information about the Chechen alims allegedly condemning the ChRI Minister of Foreign Affairs Akhmed Zakaev. The wide-spread distribution of this shameless fabrication in different Chechen forums has prompted us to speak out in order to clarify some issues.
Firstly, we need to point out that following the decision taken by the Chechen alims and other persons who represent Chechnya’s armed forces not one but three meetings were held in Istambul (not Baku) to discuss the provocation entitled the Caucasus Emirate, plotted by Udugov and his brother Isa Umarov. A man representing the Chechenpress news agency participated in all the three meetings at our request. Participants of these meetings decided not to publicise their results and the very fact of their holding until Dokka Umarov sends a reply to their Address which wholeheartedly condemned Udugov’s plan to destroy the Chechen state. Udugov himself had been informed about this decision. Yet we think that the aforementioned fabrication, published at one of Udugov’s sites with his knowledge, relieves us of our obligation to keep silence any longer and we would like to bring some fact to the attention of our readers.
The first council of the Chechen alims took place in Istambul on 22 October. Its participants included deputy General Representative of Chechnya, the ChRI Representative in Turkey and countries of the Middle East, 5 alims headed by the chairman of the Sharia Committee Farouk Khasukhanov, the Commander of the Eastern Front of the Chechen Armed Forces, a representative of the Commander of the Northern Front of the Chechen Armed Forces, a representative of the Commander of the Central (Dzjokhar) sector of the Chechen Armed Forces and other authorities.
Following the decisions and on direct recommendations of this conference, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the ChRI Akhmed Zakaev published on 23 October the famous statement entitled ‘The Emirate project is a special operation by Russia’s FSB’. At the same time participants of the conference sent a letter to Dokka Umarov, sharply criticising the declaration on the Caucasus Emirate as something which ran counter to the Islamic Law and which if implemented could result in a lot of damage inflicted on our struggle. As mentioned above it was decided to wait for a reply from Dokka Umarov before making public the fact of the meeting and its decisions.
The second conference of the Chechen alims and the ChRI representatives took place after an anonymous letter from Russia containing the recording of the ‘Address by Dokka Umarov’ prepared by Udugov and his brother was received by the editors of Radio‘Marsho’. The conference was held on the same night, 30 October, immediately after the aforementioned broadcast by Radio Marsho with the same composition of participants plus Chechnya’s Presidential advisor on religious matters (we omit his name for reasons of security). With the full knowledge and agreement of the second conference the ChRI Minister of Foreign Affairs Akhmed Zakaev made a new statement which heavily criticised once again the provocation by the anti-Chechen and anti-Caucasus forces headed by Udugov.
The third conference took place on 31 October, once again in Istambul. Its composition was almost the same as before. Both the ChRI General Representative overseas and personally Udugov had been invited to take part in the conference. Udugov, however, did not turn up citing his busyness and sending his representatives instead. As on previous occasions, Akhmed Zakaev took part in the proceedings via a direct telephone link to the conference.
Udugov’s reps asked the Head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs if he had any proof that the authors of the Caucasus Emirate project had received any money for it, to which Zakaev replied that it was up to them to prove that they had not sold themselves for ‘Judas’ thirty pieces of silver’. He also added that if the authors of the project did it for money, they were traitors, if not, they were fools. ‘It is up to them what they’d prefer to be known as, but the broadcast of Dokka Umarov’s statement on Radio Marsho is indeed an act of treachery’, he added.
Zakaev also stated that he would address a letter to the Sharia Committee of the General Representative Mission of Chechnya about holding an investigation. According to our sources, Akhmed Zakaev already submitted such a petition on 2 November, as confirmed in a telephone conversation with our office by the the chairman of the Sharia Committee of the General Representative Mission of Chechnya Farouk Khasukhanov. Zakaev’s statement includes the following:
«Despite all measures adopted by me in order to prevent this provocation, on 30 October Radio Liberty broadcast D.Umarov’s statement about the declaration of the Caucasus Emirate and on Dokka proclaiming himself the Emir of all Muslims. I am convinced that politically this is an exceptionally harmful decision not just for the fighting mujahadeen but for the entire Chechen nation, as well as all Muslims of the North Caucasus (...).
I blame the former ChRI President D.Umarov, Movladi Udugov, Musa (Dokaev Umar) and Isa Umarov for carrying out such a provocation aimed against the fighting mujahadeen, the Chechen nation and the entire Chechen state.
In that context A.Zakaev requested the Sharia Committee of the ChRI General Representative Mission to:
1. Examine this petition in the Sharia Court and to appraise it from the point of view of the Sharia law;
2. Investigate the aforementioned facts;
3. Institute proceedings against all those who participated in the attempt to abolish the Chechen state.
The SIA Chechenpress administration.
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