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{Русская Версия}

Between Fire and Water

By Djamilya Khalilova

While residents of several mountain villages of Dagestan were trying to adapt to life
and counter-terrorist operations, flooding of their homes began

July 7, 2008
GIMRY, DAGESTAN

In the Untsukul’sky region of Dagestan, a counter-terrorist operation has been under way for almost seven months. Residents of several villages in this region believe the operation is really meant to conceal other problems and put pressure on local residents.

The Untsukul’sky region of Dagestan is located 80 km away from Makhachkala, the capital. The Avars – the largest ethnic group in Dagestan – live in this region. The population of the Gimry village numbers nearly 3500 people. It is the birthplace of imams Gazi-Mukhammed and Shamil, heroes of the Russian-Caucasian war of the 19th century. These days Gimry is famous across Dagestan for its produce – peaches, apricots and persimmon grow in nearly every garden.

The territory of the region begins at the entrance of a 4 km-long tunnel, which separates the flatlands of Dagestan from the mountains at its other end. The road leading to this region is quite picturesque: dense forests lead to steep precipices and the Avar Koisu River, but abruptly ends at the entrance to the tunnel – blocked by a military truck and OMON (riot police), deployed from other parts of Russia.

Officially, the entrance to the tunnel is closed. The authorities originally justified the closure with the ongoing counter-terrorist operation, but in May they announced that the tunnel would be closed for reconstruction.

Nonetheless, a few cars, minibuses and trucks enter the tunnel after a lengthy inspection. According to local rumors, problems at the entrance can be resolved with a phone call or ’payment’ in the amount of 200 to 500 rubles ($8-$20).

Armored vehicles line the approach to Gimry village. At the checkpoint, local residents who are returning to the village wait in a line. “We are sick and tired of the checkpoint control. How much longer will it last? Waiting in line every day for the soldier to check whether or not you are a militant is humiliating. The militants all left for the woods long ago,” an elderly man by the name of Gadzhimurad fumed.

Our correspondent was not allowed into the village; the military claimed that access was denied to journalists. However, local residents near the checkpoint promised to help; they said to come to the fork in the road outside of the village and residents willing to meet the journalists would be waiting.

How it all began 7 months ago

The pretext for starting a “counter-terrorist operation” was the murder of Gazimagomed Gazimagomedov – the 36 year-old member of the Dagestani Popular Assembly who was killed in Gimry on December 10, 2007.

Gazimagomed was one of Dagestan’s “authority” figures, famous for his role as a mediator between the special services and militants. The latter call Gazimagomed Gazimagomedov a murtad - a renegade - on their internet sites. One of the reasons for this title is the fact that his younger bother, Ibragim, was involved in poisoning of Khattab, a notorious Arab militant who fought in Chechnya. For this, the militants killed Ibragim.

Immediately after the killing of Gazimagomed, the local police established the identity of his killer, Ibragim Gadzhidadaev, a local resident. The natives of Gimry say that he killed Gazimagomed according to Shariah law.

Soon after the murder, however, the anti-terrorism committee of Dagestan quickly convened in Makhachkala and responded to the killing by starting a large-scale operation in order to seize the murderer and several dozen other militants that, according to the MVD^[1] data, were hiding at the outskirts of the village.

"It is hard to imagine that somewhere else in Russia an entire settlement with several thousand residents could be mopped-up in response to a single murder."

Ibragim Gadzhidadaev, the suspected culprit, has been on the federal wanted list since 2005 as a member of illegal armed formations. Dagestani Minister of the Interior, Adilgirey Magomedtagirov, also stated publicly that Gadzhidadaev’s gang took part in the murder of nine residents of the Gonoda village (Gunibsky region) on September 30, 2007.

"It’s quite strange to start such a large-scale counter-terrorist operation in one village to arrest Gadzhidadaev. It is hard to imagine that somewhere else in Russia an entire settlement with several thousand residents could be mopped-up in response to a single murder. One cannot expect the bandits to sit and wait in the village.” - Magomedrasul Akhmedov, a local resident, expressed his discontent.

The counter-terrorist operation

The counter-terrorist operation in Gimry began on December 16, 2007, and is still going on. According to various estimates, the operation involves anywhere from one to two thousand law enforcement officers, among them police teams from neighboring regions of the Russian Federation.

"We shall conduct the counter-terrorist operation until we achieve our goal – to neutralize Gadzhidadaev’s gang.” Mukhu Aliev, President of Dagestan said at an official report on May 23.

According to Gimry residents, most of Gadzhidadaev’s gang left the village at the very beginning of the operation, seven months ago. So far, the authorities have succeeded in apprehending members of the group only once during the whole operation. During the winter, seven Gimry residents came to the police station and gave themselves up.

A group of Gimry residents came to the aforementioned meeting place to talk with the journalists. They were seemingly plain villagers and some, judging by their clothing, came straight from working in the fields. Among them were a teacher, a local public official and several women introducing themselves as homemakers. The latter were the most emotional: women with the local accent, gesticulating wildly as they shared their problems.

The conversation mostly revolved around the changes villagers experienced in their lives as a result of the recently declared “softening” of the counter-terrorist operation regime. This softening was supposed to allow for undisturbed farming and harvesting.

Still, according to local residents, the changes did nothing to improve their lives. In Gimry, curfew is enforced from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., households are visited and searched, the access to gardens is blocked, and movement in and out of the settlement is controlled and requires a pass that must be obtained in advance and with agreement of the military.

"We don’t know who they are searching for in the village, but it looks as if the military and the government are trying to infuriate the local population and to provoke a conflict. We cannot harvest because most gardens are on the outskirts of the village and access to them remains closed. Those who manage to gather crops cannot take them out of the village, as everything must to be coordinated with the military.” according to local farmers.

Khadizhat Yakubova added: "Just imagine over a thousand servicemen in a village, all armed. They go into gardens without the owners’ permission and steal apricots in sacks. We’ve already had some conflicts because of this. What will be left for us? Produce is our livelihood. We don’t have another source of income”.

"Armed men in camouflage often conduct 'mop-up' operations and detain men for check-ups . . . We are afraid to go out into the street because of the random shootings by the military."

"The search procedure works like this: Group number “two” comes in, conducts a search and leaves a coupon with the number “two”. Then, a few days later, another group comes, say, number “nine”. We show them the number “two” coupon, proving that we have already been searched, but the group “nine” still goes on with their search and also leaves a coupon, this time number “nine”. Houses are searched continuously and one cannot keep track of everyone conducting the search. As far as I know, during a search in one of the houses, the only person at home was an 80-year-old woman. After the search was conducted, she ended up missing 12 or 13 thousand rubles ($500). But what can she do?” said Zakarya Mirzaev.

A local woman calling herself Patimat Dibirova shared this observation: "Armed men in camouflage often conduct “mop-up” operations and detain men for check-ups. Some are released soon after their IDs are checked; others are taken to the police first, and then out of the village. We are afraid to go out into the street because of the random shootings by the military.”

The Gimry villagers are also irritated that newly arriving servicemen ignore local traditions; when it grows warmer they walk around with bare chests and take the liberty of harassing local girls. Back in May an incident occurred in which a policeman took a picture of a local female graduate in the street. During the day, rumors circulated throughout the village that the girl was offended. In the evening, Gimry residents rallied and demanded that all law enforcement units be withdrawn from the village, household searches be terminated and the curfew cancelled.

Fearing escalation of the protests, the authorities brought in additional forces and only hours-long negotiations with the protesters, as well as the religious leaders and other dignitaries, helped normalize the situation in the village.

Kazimbek Akhmedov, Head of the Untsukul’sky region of Dagestan confirmed that the situation in the village was tense and did not rule out future large-scale incidents between the military and Gimry residents: “People here make their living by tending fruit and vegetable gardens, and if they do not gather their crops they will not have an alternative source of food. And hungry people cannot be kind.”

The tunnel that has been closed since the beginning of the counter-terrorist operation connects 11 mountainous districts of Dagestan to the flatlands, making it difficult to transport produce.

Expanding the operation

The authorities expanded their activities to Balakhani, a neighboring village in the same region. Although it was not officially within the special operation zone, the Dagestani Ministry of the Interior recently declared that it had been included in the zone back in January.

"Balakhani residents worry us as much as those in Gimry. There are two bandit gangs there, 5-6 people each,” - said Adilgerey Magomedtagirov, Dagestani Minister of the Interior.

Rasul Yakubov, Head of the village administration, looked surprised when asked about his village being included into the counter-terrorist operation zone. “Personally, I don't know anything about it.” he shrugged his shoulders.

Meanwhile, Balakhani residents are upset with the authorities’ activities. Senseless bombardment from armored personnel carriers in the surrounding forest areas resulted in two fires and the loss of cattle. According to villagers, such incidents happen every day. They also report patrols in the village – contrary to statements by the law enforcement agencies, the FSBDepartment in the Republic of Dagestan and the Dagestani Ministry of the Interior, who all claim that their troops are no longer stationed in the village.

The flooding

The ordeal of this ‘special regime’ has recently been compounded with another - the launching of the high-mountain Irganayskaya hydroelectric station resulted in the submergence of several villages of the Untsukul’sky region. Since May 2008, water has started flowing into the storage reservoir. The water, which is creeping up to homes at a speed of 50 to 90 cm per day (1.5 to 3 feet per day), poses a very real threat. The problem is so serious that residents of five villages of the Untsukul’sky region have built tent camp in protest of the lack of response by the Dagestani authorities.

The villagers feel that the information blockade regarding this problem and the special operation in the region are a means to quell potential resistance to the problems associated with the filling of the reservoir.
"There are enough servicemen in our region and in every village to crush any public resistance, this is why they are here.” said Kamil Magomedov, a Zirani resident. Curiously, though only Gimry was officially proclaimed as a counter-terrorist operation zone, armored trucks are stationed at the entry and exit points of all villages of the region. Overall, five villages are included in the flood zone – Irganay, Zirani, Untsukul, Arakani and Balakhani.

Most of the gardens in Nizhny (Lower) Irganay are already underwater and tops of fruit trees stick out of the water.
When the water reservoir reaches its projected size, over 1800 hectares of scarce rich soil will be underwater – including gardens and 25 households. As a result, early 85% of Irganay farmland will be under water.

Rasul Murtazaliev, member of the Untsukul’sky regional assembly, and a construction engineer, said: "In the territory of the flood zone all the trees need to be uprooted, permanent buildings demolished and trash removed. Trees will rot and decompose in the water. Furthermore, there are several cemeteries in the flooding zone; for instance, in Shamilkala there is a burial ground for cattle that died from anthrax. Nevertheless, the water will be used for drinking.”

After the journalists’ visit to the Untsukul’sky region, the weekly newspaper “Svobodnaya Respublika” (“Free Republic”) held a press conference addressing the issue on June 9. On the next day, June 10, a delegation led by Rizvan Gazimagomedov, Head of the Republican Government, along with other officials charged with resolving emerging problems in the region, made their way to the flooding zone. Mr. Gazimagomedov promised to provide compensation to the flooding victims and assured the residents that the water would not rise more then another 50 cm (1.5ft). None of those promises have been fulfilled thus far. In fact, the water keeps rising and, according to the latest data, the homes of people living in the tent camp have been flooded.

Djamilya Khalilova, pen name of an independent journalist in Dagestan

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^[1] Ministry of the Interior (Federal Police)

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