Chechnya is against TV channels that fail to explain Islam basics
Chechnya`s president has threatened to shut down local television companies that fail to allocate enough time to the explanation of basic Islamic values, the presidential Web site said on Thursday.
Addressing local administration leaders and top television managers, Ramzan Kadyrov, 31, urged them to devote more air time to spiritual and patriotic programs that would keep youngsters away from the hard-line Islamic Wahhabi and other extremist movements.
"As the head of the republic, I guarantee the necessary financial and technical support in this issue... Today, as never before, we must pay attention to the moral and ethical education of the youth," said Kadyrov, a former separatist whose private army has been accused by human rights groups of kidnapping and extortion.
Chechnya was devastated by two Kremlin-led campaigns against separatists in the republic in the 1990s and early 2000s. Although Russia declared an end to the active phase of the antiterrorism campaign in Chechnya in 2001, occasional bombings and clashes with gunmen still occur.
Kadyrov also said that television broadcasting did not always correspond to the norms and ethics of Chechen society.
"Some channels run unedited music shows or Western films nearly around the clock," Kadyrov said. "And very few companies show programs about their homeland, the history of the republic or Islamic sermons."
Kadyrov called for the restoration of the culture and traditions of Chechnya. "We must be patriotic about our homeland and the media must directly help us develop the culture of our people," he said.
Although Kadyrov was only appointed president of Chechnya last February, he has been the de-facto leader of the troubled Caucasus republic since 2004, when his father, then-president Akhmad Kadyrov, was killed in a terrorist bomb attack in the Chechen capital, Grozny, during May 9 WWII Victory Day celebrations.
In Chechnya, Kadyrov has been credited with bringing relative stability and prosperity, especially in Grozny, which sees a booming construction sector. Kadyrov has also presided over the resumption of civil air flights, the allocation of funds for equipping remote mountainous areas with satellite equipment, and the creation of jobs.
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