September 20, 2009

Article from:  Australian Associated Press

CHECHNYAN President Ramzan Kadyrov must be prevented from having a runner in the Melbourne Cup, the Greens say.

Outraged activists have slammed the human rights record of Kadyrov who is having Mourilyan prepared for Australia's greatest horse race.

Australian Greens leader Bob Brown called on prime minister Kevin Rudd to ban Mr Kadyrov and his horses from the country.

Mr Kadyrov was a brutal dictator who had overseen the torture and suppression of his opponents, Senator Brown said.

“Can you imagine the appalling prospect of Governor-General Quentin Bryce being asked to hand a Melbourne Cup to the blood-soaked hands of Mr Kadyrov?” Senator Brown asked reporters in Canberra.

“The very thought of him coming to the Melbourne Cup runs a shiver up my spine.”

Senator Brown said Australia's leaders should stand up now and declare that neither Kadyrov nor his horses would be allowed into the country.

Mourilyan is trained by England's Gary Moore. Mr Kadyrov has another horse in preparation for the spring carnival, the stallion Bankable listed for the Mackinnon Stakes.


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Kadyrov's spokesman, Alvi Karimov, declined to comment on the reports Monday. "I simply do not know anything about these things," he told The Moscow Times by telephone from Grozny.

Brown, who is also a member of the Australian Senate, said the Chechen president should be denied an Australian visa for a number of reasons.

"Mr. Kadyrov has no criminal record as such because he runs the secret police. But his opponents have been gunned down at home and abroad — including assassinations in Vienna and Dubai in recent times," he said in a statement published on his party's web site (greens.org.au/aggregator/sources/4).

A spokeswoman for Australia's Foreign Ministry said Kadyrov had not applied for a visa, but if he did, it would be hard to imagine him being granted one, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

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The Kremlin asserts that Chechnya's 3rd President Ramzan Akhmadovich Kadyrov has brought stability to the Chechen republic and should be credited with overseeing the dramatic renovations of the republic's war-ravaged capital. Kadyrov is supported and was groomed for the position by former Russian President Vladimir Putin, who awarded him Russia's highest state honor, the Hero of Russia Medal. He became the president on Feb. 15, 2007 shortly after turning 30. Many allege he is the wealthiest and most powerful man in the republic, as well as propagating a cult of personality around himself and his late father, the assassinated former Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov. Large-scale wall posters of Kadyrov junior, his father, and Putin drape on the sides of buildings and on the streets throughout the city. Eager supporters show their solidarity for the president by marching down the streets of Grozny waving flags and wearing jackets bearing his image.

Some people, however, question whether Moscow has chosen the right man and show distress over the current president whom they view as uneducated, uncouth and unbalanced. There are also strong concerns over Kadyrov's large private militia, which began as his father's security force, the Kadyrovtsy or Kadyrovites, which has been accused of serious human rights violations, including kidnapping, torture and execution. While the restoration of Grozny continues, with "normal" life returning to the city, questions still linger about Kadyrov's long-term agenda. Will he seek greater autonomy or even independence in the future for Chechnya?

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