Chechen associations " firmly condemned " Monday evening in Strasbourg the punitive expeditions launched by members of the community against young people in a sensitive district of Dijon, while deploring the " clichés " conveyed against the Chechens. " We strongly condemn the initiative " launched almost ten days ago by members of the Chechen community against young people in a sensitive district of Dijon, said at a press conference Zelimkhan Chavkhalov, member of the Chechen Integration Association (ATI).
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" We are in France, we must respect French law, " added Mr. Chavkhalov, a lawyer for this association who was banned this weekend from demonstrating against the " discredit " thrown at their community after these clashes. " But we also say that (what happened in Dijon) is only a consequence whose cause is very simple (...): in France, there are places, neighborhoods" where the the police "only intervene once the problem arises," said Chavkhalov.
According to him, the tensions in Dijon, would have originated from the aggression of a young person resulting from the Chechen community to which one would have put a pistol "in the mouth" while saying to him: "You will say to all your compatriots that we will do the same with them ” . According to participants in the punitive expeditions launched by members of the Chechen community, the attackers are dealers of North African origin in the Dijon district of Grésilles. This expedition, "we understand it, even if it is necessary to act in a legal manner", continued the lawyer, acknowledging that certain aspects of the Chechen "code of honor" were "not compatible" with French law. "We want to send a message of peace and respect to all communities," said Chokuev Naourbek, director of the association Vivre. "We are on good terms with the Maghreb community , " added Shamil Albakov, spokesperson for the Chechen Association of Europe, which federates around thirty associations on the continent.
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Several participants deplored the “stereotypes” on the Chechens conveyed after these clashes. "We are outraged by dangerous ideas" such as "the attribution of a negative image to the whole Chechen community", which has about 60,000 people in France, including 15,000 in Alsace, said Shamil Saiev of ATI. On BFMTV, the mayor LR of Nice, Christian Estrosi, had notably declared that "in a certain number of districts of France, the Chechen community, in front of other communities, struggles to have the monopoly of the drug market" . The ATI has announced that it wants to file a complaint against the elected official for inciting hatred.
