Participants of "Caucasian Forum" state aggravation of NGO status in the region

Residents of Northern Caucasus are deprived of basic constitutional rights; while the authorities are seeking to impose control over human rights organizations, said the board member of the "Caucasian Forum", who met in Grozny on March 31.

The sitting of the "Caucasian Forum" was attended by representatives of North Ossetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Dagestan, Ingushetia and Chechnya, Taisa Isaeva, an activist of the forum, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"We discussed the issues related to the situation in the region and plans for further work of the forum. Personally, I opposed the convocation of the next congress, because there are practically no human rights entities left in the entire Northern Caucasus. All the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which once had been self-reliant and independent, are now almost entirely under the control of the authorities," said Taisa Isaev.

"The problem is not only in the fact that people have nowhere to complain about the lawlessness, but also in the fact that they are just afraid to say it. Suffice it to say that when after the sitting we wanted to make a group photo, half of the participants refused to do it, not wanting 'to be exposed'. In these circumstances, in my opinion, it's completely senseless to speak of a real defence of civil rights," said Taisa Isaeva.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.