People in Kabardino-Balkaria condemn cremation of militants' bodies

Yesterday, it became known in Kabardino-Balkaria that the bodies of the militants who perished during the events on October 13-14, 2005, had been cremated right a year ago.

Valery Hatazhukov, Head of the National Human Rights Centre, says: "I still hoped that it would not be done before the decision of the Constitutional Court. However, even under the law on non-handing out of the bodies, the burial thereof should be made in the territory of the federal subject where the events took place.

Cremation is natural in the culture of some nations but of ours. The fact that they were not buried, at least into anonymous tombs, evidences a complete disregard of our interests and our mentality."

Murat Khokonov, Professor of the Kabardino-Balkarian State University (KBSU), "The very fact that the cremation of the militants' bodies became known a year later arises many questions. We doubt whether the authorities have any sound strategy of fighting extremism... The historical experience shows that fighting crime, and extremism, in particular, is successful only when it is based on legal norms adopted according to properly established democratic procedures. The practice not to give out the bodies of defeated enemies to their relatives looks archaic and dates back to pre-Christian times."