GROZNY, March 30 (RIA Novosti) - Chechnya's parliamentary speaker came out against an initiative by European parliamentarians to visit the republic to study the human rights situation in the region devastated by two military campaigns in the 1990s.
The active phase of the Kremlin-led antiterrorism campaign against Chechen separatists officially ended in 2001, but periodic bombings and clashes between gunmen and federal troops still disrupt Chechnya and nearby regions.
"It is time for European politicians to close 'the Chechen issue', especially now that the situation in our republic allows them to do so without any qualms," Dukuvakha Abdurakhmanov said.
Luc Van den Brande, a rapporteur with the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), is currently in Moscow preparing a report on Russia. He has expressed willingness to resume the examination of the situation in Chechnya as well.
"We've had enough of PACE's commissions trying to find non-existent faults in Chechnya," the Chechen parliamentary speaker said, adding that members of the European Parliament were welcome for a roundtable discussion or as guests of the republic.
After both wars of 1994-1996 and 1999-2001 ended in Chechnya, the Kremlin began a campaign to restore and rebuild the republic. In March 2003, Chechnya adopted a Constitution by popular vote.
Earlier this month, a former separatist leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, who enjoys broad public support as the son of assassinated Chechen President Akhmad Kadyrov, received the Kremlin backing and was appointed Chechnya's new president.
"The Chechen people have taken the situation under control. They now have a leader who many people trust. Towns and villages are rapidly being restored, and law enforcement officers are working hard to provide security in the republic," the parliamentary speaker said, adding that ordinary Chechens were now able to defend their rights in a court of law.
