Didn't go far

— 4.08.10 18:45 —

TEXT: Svetlana Bocharova

PHOTO: ITAR-TASS

Doku Umarov disavowed his own resignation letter from the post of leader of the Chechen separatists. Now Umarov is not going to resign because of “ the current situation in the Caucasus.” The day before, he dissolved the foreign representation of the Chechen separatists, and Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov called on law enforcement agencies to speed up the capture of Umarov, fearing that he might hide abroad.

On Wednesday, the website of the Chechen separatists Kavkaz Center ( KC) disseminated a new statement by Doku Umarov, who calls himself the Emir of the Caucasus Emirate. Umarov disavowed his own resignation letter from the post of emir, distributed by the same resource three days earlier, on August 1.

In a new statement, Umarov said that he was making the statement on August 2, the day after the first. “ In connection with the current situation in the Caucasus, I consider it impossible to resign as Emir of the Caucasus Emirate,” Umarov said. —

My previous statement is canceled by this statement. The previous statement was completely fabricated."

Further, Umarov said that he felt well enough “ to serve on the path of Allah,” expressed his intention to “ serve on this path as long as the Almighty gives me life,” and “ to kill the enemies of Allah.”

The statement also states that it was made on the territory of Chechnya. KC reports that the statement was received by email, just like the previous one. In addition to the written version of what Umarov said, the CC has a video of his speech. A video of Umarov’s resignation letter could also be downloaded from the CC.

On August 1, Umarov announced that his health did not allow him to fulfill the duties of emir. “ Jihad should be led by younger and more energetic amirs,” Kavkaz Center quoted Umarov as saying .

The separatist leader himself expressed his intention to “ continue jihad and help ( the new leader) in every possible way in word and deed.”

Umarov announced the name of his successor a week before announcing his resignation: on July 24, Aslambek Vadalov, who had fought under Hottab in the past, was appointed deputy emir of the Caucasus Emirate, Umarov recommended him to his place in the event of his death.

Commenting on Umarov’s choice, former foreign emissary of Chechen separatists Akhmed Zakayev said that Vadalov is “ not a Wahhabist” and expressed his intention to establish contact with him. Zakayev's comment was published in the Kommersant newspaper the day before, on Tuesday.

On the same day, Umarov decided to dissolve the foreign representative office of the Caucasus Emirate, whose activities in Russia were prohibited by the Supreme Court. Formally, Zakayev had no relation to this representation. Last summer, a Sharia court headed by one of the separatist leaders Anzor Astemirov ( killed on March 25, 2010 in Nalchik, Kabardino-Balkaria) sentenced Zakayev to death for contacts with Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov.

Kadyrov also spoke about the difference between Vadalov and Umarov on Wednesday. Calling on law enforcement agencies to speed up the capture of Umarov, he expressed the opinion that it would be easier to catch Vadalov than the current leader of the militants. “ Umarov needs to be eliminated before he escapes. It may be in the Achkhoy-Martanovsky, Urus-Martan and Sunzhensky districts. Until he moves from there, he needs to be detained or eliminated so that he does not spread the infection.

He has health problems. He rots alive and as a result all his teeth fall out. And if it continues to decompose, there are fears that it will become a source of dangerous diseases, so it must be neutralized,” Kadyrov said in Grozny.

“ There should be no problems in the work to neutralize the so-called new amir of the devils Vadalov,” Kadyrov believes. “ We have comprehensive information about this rat. I think it will be easier to neutralize him. This is a matter of principle; it can be destroyed quickly,” quoted Kadyrov as saying. Caucasian Knot

The editor-in-chief of the online publication Caucasian Knot, Grigory Shvedov, believes that Umarov’s first statement was made some time before its publication and was made under pressure. “ I think that we are talking about an attempt to gain personal power by Vadalov, and this attempt failed. In particular, it is possible that ( Umarov’s) appeal to the amirs of the North Caucasus jamaats to support Vadalov’s candidacy was not supported,” says Gazeta.Ru ’s interlocutor . Shvedov considers it significant that in the interval between Umarov’s two statements the foreign representation of the Caucasus Emirate was disbanded. “ It is possible that ( Umarov’s opponents) wanted to disband the entire Caucasus Emirate, transferring the entire movement to a different track: from religious to the struggle for independence. This struggle within the movement has been going on since November 2007, when the decision of the parliament of Ichkeria to dismiss Umarov was announced, Shvedov believes.

Didn't go far - Gazeta.Ru