Circassians Between the International Circassian Association and Stockholm Syndrome
By: Adel Bashqawi
21, August, 2015
The Circassians have suffered and plagued, and still by either self-appointed or delegated guardians by certain parties, who got a common objective aiming to steer the Circassian Question toward the unknown. After the International Circassian Association (ICA) has shown its phases of activities and developments that reached at the present time a “point of no return” in regard to stubbornness and exaggeration of the support and endorsement for the official positions of the Russian authorities, which are mainly against the Circassian national interests and even the indifference in the face of colonial arrogance is well known to all.
Unfortunately, Circassians whether they reside at homeland or in the large world Diaspora are dealt with in a way as if they have to accept what they are offered of anything but nothing earnest or tangible. The ICA has proven weakness in presenting any legitimate Circassian project to those who have imposed their influence on the fate of an entire nation, and went extra further uncalculated steps to disregard legitimate rights, dignity and human suffering regardless of any consequences in order to show egoism and to please others.
After the recent set backs suffered by the International Circassian Association’s leadership and the restlessness and dissatisfaction of individuals and associations’ members of the ICA in Krasnodar، the two Republics of Adygea and Karachay-Cherkessia, in addition to Turkey and elsewhere, apparently a PR tactic has been introduced by the higher management trying to eliminate the effects that resulted from the recent protests and in response to the opponents’ escalatory steps. The President of the ICA, Khauti Sokhrokov and two of his associates have travelled this month toTurkey and Jordan, a step taken for the purpose of campaigning for the ideas and tactics they represent and pursue, and in arrangement for the next elections coming up in September, 2015, which usually got their results known in advance, in order to continue serving their mission of steering the ICA their way, and to implement their ineffective agenda.
It was not that simple task, where the members of the delegation had to meet with people and members of the Circassian institutions to convince them with their views. It was easy for them sometimes but difficult at other times. The members of the delegation had to face in the places they visited unenviable attitude when they had to listen to what the attendance told them, to reach to an inevitable result to be told that the deviation from the basic principles that have been overlooked and even bypassed and changed over the past years would not be useful because Circassians whether in their homeland or in Diaspora will never be satisfied that their legitimate rights be underestimated. The Jordanian Association of Caucasus Circassians’ Friends (JACCF) has prepared a brief statement signed by the President of the Association and was translated into Russian language and addressed in front of the International Circassian Association delegation that visited Jordan, and all the audience by the President of the JACCF, Dr Rouhi Sh’haltough at the reception held by the Circassian Charity Association for the delegation in its courtyard in Amman, where the President of the International Circassian Association Khauti Sokhrokov and the members of the delegation were given written copies of the proposals in Russian language, which some of its items stated: “The interest to gain the recognition of the Genocide that befell on the Circassian nation”, “issuing a statement by the International Circassian Association to denounce the visit of what the {Russian Federation has described, the visit of tribal leaders of the Circassian Diaspora and their statements for holding the Olympic Games on the occupied Circassian territories}”, and “the commitment to the Statute of the International Circassian Association, which calls for the observance and implementation of international laws and treaties (http://justicefornorthcaucasus.info/?p=1251676204)”.
Having their unequal relationship with the Russian side into account due to the fact that they are considered followers and can not be leaders, makes it look like a relationship between “tyranny” and “weakness”, becoming between “sadism”, which is “when someone enjoys inflicting pain on others”, and “masochism”, which is the “willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences” and “ the tendency to derive pleasure, from being humiliated or mistreated”, which practically makes the two sides of the equation.
From the mentioned above, we will swing by Stockholm syndrome, which is ”a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them”, or victims having the positive feelings toward their aggressors (http://counsellingresource.com/lib/therapy/self-help/stockholm/). The “feelings are generally considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured by the victims, who mistakenly fail to recognize the abuse from their captors and consider it an act of kindness”, and can be seen as a form of traumatic bonding, which describes “strong emotional ties that develop between two sides where one side harasses, beats, threatens, abuses, or intimidates the other side”. The hypothesis is based on Freudian theory, as it suggests that the bonding is the individual or group’s response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be perceived as a threat.
In an identical example, the distinguished analyst Paul Goble has recently published a “Window” on “Window on Eurasia” Blog in the title of “Russians Continue to Suffer from Stockholm Syndrome, Kirillova Says”, dated August 10, 2015, which highlighted a situation that shows the same arrogant party controlling different victims in a comparatively similar scenario, that in this example “associate themselves as close as possible with the authorities”, but with different players and/or implementers of the measures and policies aimed to control the whole country (http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2015/08/russians-continue-to-suffer-from.html). The “Window” concludes: “as long as economic problems do not become truly catastrophic, the majority of Russians will to the last hold on to the appearance of state defense and propaganda surrogates and this means that they will continue to show their loyalty to those in power”.
In conclusion, deciding on the Circassian nation’s destiny should be taken by those who are eligible to do so without any psychological, foreign pressure or polarization of power centers, depending on rules set by the Circassians themselves according to the conditions and circumstances of all the Circassian communities and granting their rights that no statute of limitations.
