The Bitter Anniversary Returns Again
May 21, 2017
By: Adel Bashqawi
World-Circassians mourn the month of May. For May 21st commemorates the end of the Russo-Circassian war, the century long war. A war with disastrous consequences on a nation that tried to defend its freedom, dignity and independence.
This was in the face of a treacherous invasion that exhausted the constituents of the nation, annihilated half of its population, occupied its entire homeland, and deported the remaining inhabitants to remote lands.
It is the moral and national responsibility of Circassians to carry out their duties and assert self-preservations. It is also our responsibility not to neglect or deny these rights due to personal pressure or acts that sum up as selfish, narcissistic and bear no accountability whatsoever.
When discussing the Circassian Question and affairs, it’s necessary to review the results of the Russian occupation of the Caucasus, in general, and Circassia, in particular. It is imperative as well to discuss the fate of the millions who, to this day, have been subjected to genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced exile. Some events should not be forgotten or underestimated, as these have been mentioned by highly credible and trusted sources. We can, and should, rely on the events to narrate what happened, and to also find the appropriate means to resolve and settle the Circassian Question, in accordance with international laws and norms.
Those who are aware of imperialism and colonialism know that facts are opposed by the publication of biased or fabricated information about history, heritage and sequence of events. Unfortunately, this includes biased references and sources, staff and authors who represent racism and/or apartheid and defend everything that the Russian Empire’s imperialism has caused in Circassia; including destructive propaganda against the Circassian nation.
The Circassian history is far brighter and more superior to the image that some malicious people intend to portray. They do so by attempting to convince others of false incidents while utilizing dubious and unreliable references and links.
As for the right of the Circassians to return to their original homeland, an article in Window on Eurasia (WOE), by the well-known analyst Paul Goble described the nation as “a nation tsarist forces expelled, the Soviets divided into more than five parts, and the current Russian government refuses to recognize as compatriots those Circassians seeking to return to their homeland because of conflicts in Syria where many have been living.” The WOE article continued in stating Moscow “has set up quotas for each of the North Caucasus Republics and neighboring Russian kray where most Circassians now live and thrown up obstacles, including the payment of high fees for visas and resident permits, that have prevented Syria’s Circassians from filling even these quotas.”
The WOE also included the statement of the head of the Kabardino-Balkar Regional Human Rights Center, which describes the ethnic discrimination that is still practiced by the Russian State against the indigenous citizens. He mentioned “in one infamous case, the Russian authorities expelled Syrian refugees from sanatoriums in Kabardino-Balkaria in order to provide housing for refugees from Ukraine following the Russian invasion of that country and the Crimean Anschluss.” (http://windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2017/04/moscow-unwittingly-promoting-broader.html)
Head of the Kabardino-Balkar Regional Human Rights Center, states that the Circassians of Syria and elsewhere should be granted that status because they speak one of the state languages – their language is official in the Adygey Republic – but that Moscow hasn’t been willing to do so (kavkazr.com/a/cherkesy-dobivayutsa-priznania/28435551.html).
While those who deny the rights of their own people and homeland, do not write or publish only according to their interests and desires, but also aim to favor the forces and parties that seek to control and take over the destinies and homelands of others.
This is reminiscent of individuals who want to draw attention from a fundamental and substantial issue to minor issues, which have nothing to do with the original issue at hand. It is obvious in many examples before us. Entities who want to argue for the sake of arguing by forgetting their own history and the work that must be done to preserve a population that some prefer to systematically persecute and murder.
I continue to believe of what Abraham Lincoln said: “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves; and under the rule of a just God, cannot long retain it (http://americanart.si.edu/collections/search/artwork/?id=5268).”
