Distrust of authorities at background of border dispute gives rise to rumours about brawl of Chechens with Ingushes

The concealment from journalists of important information about interethnic conflicts in jails has resulted in people's distrust of the authorities. Against the background of tensions around the Ingush-Chechen border, this distrust contributes to active spread of alternative versions about a brawl of inmates of Kabardino-Balkarian colony, experts believe.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 11, Chechen authorities informed about a brawl of Chechens with Ingushes in a colony in Kabardino-Balkaria. The colony bosses have assured that the conflict was just an everyday one, without any national colouring.

However, social network users have linked the brawl with disputes around the Ingush-Chechen border.

There is still no reliable information about the reasons of the conflict, Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre (HRC) has noted, adding that authorities are traditionally hiding uncomfortable facts.

He is sure that openness and authorities' cooperation with mass media can prevent such situations.

People's distrust of official reports creates a desire to look for alternative sources of information, said Margarita Lyange, a deputy chair of the Council of the Assembly of Russian Peoples.

In the atmosphere of conflict, people tend to speculate that a brawl in the colony could break out because of the Chechen-Ingush border, said Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, the director of the Centre for Conflict Analysis and Prevention.