19 May 2004 13:47
Long-time Chechen insider declares wish to run for presidency
A former mayor of Groznyy and one-time supporter of Dzhokhar Dudayev has declared his intention to run for the
Chechen presidency. Interviewed in the Russian newspaper, Kommersant, Beslan Gantamirov denied rumours that President
Putin had offered him a military role in the republic and stressed that even with the "anarchy" that currently
complicates election plans in Chechnya, his aim is now the republic's top job. He believes control over Chechnya
should rest with a federal official during the election campaign to avoid the republican authorities favouring a given
candidate. Interestingly, he names as one such official, the Russian president's deputy envoy to the Southern
Federal District, Oleg Zhidkov, who has elsewhere been cited as a possible presidential candidate himself. The following
is the text of the interview, which was conducted by Musa Muradov and published on 18 May. The date and place of the
interview were not specified. Subheadings have been inserted editorially:
In the days ahead, the Chechnya Electoral Commission has to set the date for an early presidential election following
Akhmat Kadyrov's death in the 9 May terrorist act. Yesterday the first official contender for this post appeared.
Beslan Gantamirov, former mayor of Groznyy and former deputy prime minister of Chechnya, declared his desire to head the
republic in an interview given to Musa Muradov.
In between jobs
Beslan Gantamirov was born in Checheno-Ingeshetia in 1963. In 1991 he helped General Dzhokhar Dudayev seize power in
Chechnya and was appointed mayor of Groznyy. In summer 1993 he fell out with Mr Dudayev and switched to the
opposition's side. In the first and second Chechen campaigns he fought on the side of the federal troops. In 2000
he became mayor again and subsequently became deputy prime minister and minister for the press in Chechnya. He was
dismissed from this post in 2003 for refusing to support Akhmat Kadyrov, the head of the republic, in the Chechen
presidential election.
[Muradov] Nothing has been heard about you since October last year. What has kept you occupied in that time?
[Gantamirov] My family.
[Muradov] Have there been no job offers?
[Gantamirov] There have. I was invited to join some commercial structures and invited to Chechnya to take government
posts. But I did not accept.
Meeting with Putin?
[Muradov] Even before Akhmat Kadyrov's death there were rumours circulating that Vladimir Putin had received you
and wanted to appoint you military commander of Chechnya.
[Gantamirov] I am not going to become a military commander. I intend to take part in the Chechen presidential
election.
[Muradov] But did you meet Vladimir Putin?
[Gantamirov] You're putting me in an awkward position. I don't want to talk about that.
[Muradov] What could make you refuse to run for the presidency?
[Gantamirov] Nothing. I have made a firm decision to present my candidacy.
[Muradov] But, in your opinion, is the current situation in the republic conducive to holding elections?
[Gantamirov] It can hardly be called conducive. There's anarchy in Chechnya at the present time. The mechanism
that the federal centre built up over several years is starting to collapse. There is a threat that hostilities will
resume and that terrorist activity will increase. This was the aim of the 9 May terrorist act.
Kadyrov killing work of professionals
[Muradov] But in your opinion, who killed Akhmat Kadyrov?
[Gantamirov] In my opinion, no one knows at the moment. But ordinary gunmen would not have been capable of carrying
out such a terrorist act. I do not rule out treachery on the part of those who were supposed to guard the president. And
the people who ordered the killing are possibly outside Chechnya. What has happened was a most powerful blow to Vladimir
Putin. The one who ordered the assassination of Akhmat Kadyrov should be sought among his detractors. I'm not
ruling out that foreign special services might have been complicit in this terrorist act.
[Muradov] Why would they need this?
[Gantamirov] So as to destabilize the situation in the Caucasus: It's always possible to play the Chechen card
to good effect in a dispute with Russia. I am prompted to such thoughts by the fact that the terrorist act was committed
by a professional - quite simply it was a sniper's killing. The gunmen or people involved in a blood feud are not
capable of such precision.
Kadyrov's private army
[Muradov] There are fears that after Akhmat Kadyrov's death, his security service, which consists of amnestied
gunmen, will get out of control. How realistic is this?
[Gantamirov] I believe that there are sober-minded people in the security service and that they will assess the
situation realistically. And there is no reason to expect any unhealthy phenomena, even less any attacks on the existing
authorities, from them. Of course everything must be done right now to avoid stirring these people up and to keep them
in civilian life. They don't necessarily have to keep their weapons. Work can be found for them in agriculture and
in production. And I'm convinced most of them would really like to work in peaceful posts.
[Muradov] During your stay in Chechnya you also had quite a few armed people with you who were known as the
"Gantamirovites". Where are they now?
[Gantamirov] When I switched to a state post at the end of the large-scale hostilities, I had just 12 protection
people left. The rest, more than 2,500 people, joined the police or got jobs in the economy. Many of my fighters are
driving Kamaz trucks or buses today. This is what needs to be done with the so-called Kadyrovites. Heaven forbid that
they should go around with their automatic rifles forever!
Chances of presidential hopefuls
[Muradov] What chance does Ramzan Kadyrov have of becoming President?
[Gantamirov] None, if the law is observed.
[Muradov] In that case, why has the republic's State Council asked Vladimir Putin to support his candidacy?
[Gantamirov] This is emotion.
[Muradov] Are you hoping for the Kremlin's support?
[Gantamirov] Who wouldn't? Of course, the support of the centre is an important matter but the main thing is to
create normal conditions for an election to be held. None of the candidates should be able to put pressure on a rival.
It is the candidates' programmes that should compete, not their armed supporters.
[Muradov] The candidate who is supported by the current authorities in the republic is sure to be in a more
advantageous position.
[Gantamirov] Indeed. This is why, for the period of the election campaign, I propose that power in Chechnya be
concentrated in the hands of a representative of the federal centre, for example, the president's plenipotentiary
representative.
[Muradov] Who could do this?
[Gantamirov] People like this are not hard to find and I can name several: Oleg Zhidkov, the Russian Federation
president's deputy plenipotentiary representative in the Southern Federal District and former mayor of Groznyy; or
Stanislav Ilyasov, former prime minister of Chechnya. Or State Duma Deputy Dmitriy Rogozin. He has an answer to any
question connected with the Chechen settlement. Let him try to put it into practice.
[Kommersant] |
RUSSIA IN FACTS
