Chechen leader calls for calm on Moscow streets
Tue, 14 Dec 2010 20:42 GMT
* History of tension between Slavic Russians and minorities
* Ethnic violence over weekend prompts talk of new clashes
MOSCOW, Dec 14 (Reuters) - The leader of Russia's North Caucasus province of Chechnya called on Chechen youths to avoid clashes with extremists on Moscow's streets, and a police source said more police would be mobilised in case of fresh violence.
Rumours that a confrontation was planned for Wednesday between extremist groups and minorities from the Caucasus have gripped Moscow, which saw some of its bloodiest ethnic violence in years over the weekend.
The ethnic tension was sparked by the death of a soccer fan who was shot last week in a street fight with natives of the North Caucasus.
International companies ordered their employees to stay away from a central square in central Moscow, near the Kiev railway station.
Analysts say the violence stems from long-simmering tension between Slavic Russians and Caucasian minorities and immigrants from Central Asia who come to Moscow looking for work.
"Not one Chechen is planning to demonstrate on Dec. 15 on the square," the Russian news agency Interfax reported Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov as saying.
"If any one of our Chechen young men allow themselves to take part in mass protests in Moscow ..., he will be pressured through his family and friends according to our traditions and customs that do not tolerate disobedience," he said.
Police were ready to boost their numbers at the square to prevent violence between the two sides, a law enforcement source who asked not to be identified said.
Tensions are running high between predominantly Christian Russia and its Muslim minorities in the North Caucasus, where Moscow is struggling to put down an Islamist insurgency.
Moscow has fought two separatist wars with Chechnya, which is now ruled by Kadyrov, a Kremlin-backed leader known for his strong-arm tactics. (Reporting by Thomas Grove; editing by Tim Pearce)
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