Circassia the Beautiful Homeland
By: Adel Bashqawi
18-May-2016
The sad memory knocks the door again. The evil events of the massacres and other crimes against Circassians and other nations of the Caucasus have been revised and inspected. They showed the world the real face of the Russian Tsarist Empire. Facts have shown that the consecutive Russian regimes were not any different from their evil predecessors. At the same time, no review of the criminal policies perpetrated by the Russian state had been conducted in order to carry out corrective actions for the crimes committed against innocent people.
The Circassian Memorial Day, which recalls the 21st of May, 1864, is a reminder of the Circassian Genocide. Remembering the past doesn’t mean living in it. On the contrary, it guides and steers the way that should be followed for the sake of reclaiming the Circassian legitimate rights. It asserts the achievements accomplished in recent years, especially in regard to recognizing the Circassian legal rights and recognition of the Circassian Genocide, which will be built upon in the future.
There is a similarity between the crimes committed against victims, regardless of the identity of the aggressors. Part of the song in the title of “1944,” which won the the Eurovision Song Festival competition, performed by Crimean Tatar singer, Jamala, says:
“When strangers are coming…
They come to your house,
They kill you all;
And say,
We’re not guilt, not guilty.”
Last year’s developments showed further violations against the Circassian activists in the North Caucasus. The Russian authorities have continued preventing the Circassians of Syria from returning to their historical homeland. They have exceeded the reasonable human limits through the harassment and detention of Circassian citizens who have returned from Turkey to their homeland in the North Caucasus because of the aftermath of the shooting down of a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet on the Turkish border. They were asked to leave the North Caucasus and return to Turkey.
The Circassians do not accept the Russian apathy and stubbornness toward restoring their rights. The international developments, especially with regard to the occupation of Russian troops to the Crimea, the continuity in what they call support for rebel forces in south-eastern Ukraine, and attempts to interfere in the republics of the Baltic region, show the extent of disregard for others and international laws by the Russians.
The usurped rights must be given back to their owners. They will never stop working on restoring them no matter how long.
