Kabardino-Balkaria: threat of terror not excluded

A year has passed after one of the most tragic events in the new history of Kabardino-Balkaria: an armed revolt of about two hundred young Moslems. Since then, many experts have been concerned with the question - is anything of that sort ever possible in the future?

Valery Khatazhukov, journalist, head of the Kabardino-Balkarian Human Rights Centre: "The Republic will never face an uprising of that scale again. My opinion is based on the fact that the events of last October 13 were religion-motivated. In our Republic, Islam has no such historical and cultural roots as, say, in Ingushetia and Dagestan, where jihad has a permanent character. But still I believe that we have done less than required to exclude a threat of terror once and forever. Firstly, the bodies of the militants who perished a year ago have not been given out for burial. Secondly, some of the mosques remain closed."

Anzor Shakhmuzov, chairman of the regional branch of the Political Party Union of Right-Wing Forces ("PP SPS"): "A threat of terror exists always and everywhere. Here, it is caused by the neighbourhood with the Chechen Republic and increased interest of Islamic fundamentalists to North Caucasus."

Arsen Mukozhev, consultant of the Department for Religious Matters of the Ministry of Culture of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic: "The threat cannot be excluded. A series of factors - political, social and economic - are contributing to it."