Russian MP from Dagestan: "Protesters Against Constitution Amendments are Nationalists"
Commenting on the amendments to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Dagestan concerning the republic's territorial integrity that caused resonance on October 26, Russian State Duma MP Biysultan Khamzaev said that the Constitution of Dagestan could not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
"The President of the Russian Federation is responsible for territorial integrity. The head of any subject does not have the army and security forces under his command. This legal amendment should be made after the changes in the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 2020," he added.
On October 27, a rally has been scheduled in Makhachkala against bringing the authorities of Dagestan in line with the Russian Constitution. Khamzaev explained that there is an amendment in the new version of the Constitution of Dagestan about which provocateurs are carefully silent.
"The head of the republic, according to objective indicators, can remove from office any head of the district based on the results of the indicators of the district or city. This is very disliked by individual officials who sit in their places, pulling land and business," said Khamzaev. According to him, those who oppose the amendments, rocking the people, are primarily nationalists who have forgotten that Dagestan is one of the 89 subjects of the Russian Federation. "Such separatism should be suppressed by specialized structures," the State Duma MP added.
"Against the backdrop of the events of a special military operation, Ukrainian administrators are inciting ethnic hatred and separatist sentiments online, playing on emotions and overshadowing meanings," Khamzaev emphasized.
Zaur Askenderov, the chairman of the People's Assembly of the Republic of Dagestan, also clarified that the proposed amendment to the constitution would allegedly create conditions for changing the borders of Dagestan. "Ensuring the territorial integrity of our country, including the territories of its subjects, is the responsibility of the Russian Federation. And the proposed amendment on this issue is the need to bring our constitution in line with federal law. I also declare that the territorial integrity of a state is a principle of international law, according to which the territory of a state is inviolable from encroachments by other states. And it has nothing to do with changing the borders of the subjects of the Russian Federation, including the Republic of Dagestan. The legislation of the republic excludes any possibility of deciding on territorial changes without the consent of the inhabitants of the republic. That is, through a referendum," the Speaker of the Dagestan Parliament emphasized.
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Head of Dagestan: "Only People Can Change Borders of [Federal] Republic"