Makhackala/Agency Caucasus – The residents of the Dagestani village of Botlikh are furious that their lands are designated as military camps.
The Botlikh residents have been fighting a legal battle since some of their lands were officially allocated against their wills for military purposes. After the army went up to the villagers with a request to get an additional area of land of
The administration formerly tried to obtain the public consent to get the land of villagers to the army. When it failed to do so, it sought success in resorting to trickery in the laws. The villagers tried bringing the case to the court in the hope that it would rule according to the Russian constitution which says that publicly owned lands cannot be nationalized against the landowners’ wills. When it came to nothing, the villagers finally sought justice in the European Court of Human Rights, or ECHR. Although the Strasbourg-based court said in 2007 that it accepted the complaint, no date for an initial trial has yet been scheduled.
The military base was illegally built in the village of Botlikh, said Magomedgaci Omarov, member of the Village Council. "No single person has given consent to the building of the military base. Although the Botlikh villagers have repeatedly held meetings, staged demonstrations and gone to court, to our voice nobody listens for the moment."
The army plans to build an arsenal and a pad in the additional area of land of
The claims that the villagers would benefit socioeconomically from the building of the military camp proved wrong, said Omarov: "The natural gas is only supplied to the troops. The villagers still cannot get the natural gas. Additionally, the supply of electricity and water is troublesome."
The Botlikh village remains high on the agenda for frequent instances of fighting caused by drunk mercenary soldiers. Last year, the villagers had a skirmish with the mercenary soldiers when they abused a girl sexually. KU/ÖZ/FT
