The Circassian Question [Updated]
[Updated] and republished by: Adel Bashqawi, August 04, 2024
Published by: Eagle, 29-October-2008
There are numerous matters that necessitate to be tackled when approaching the ingenuous portrayal for shaping a complete image of any topic that would explain the situation and the circumstances from all dimensions and magnitudes, in order for the average individual to comprehend and figure out the entire situation that would present an apparent and understandable vision which would leave no questions unanswered in order to reflect undoubted appearance and presentation of the matter for exemplifying the scene in a logical method.
[Updated] In order to know the details of the historical events that happened to the Circassian nation, it is necessary in this context to refer to those experts and researchers, who conducted extensive studies that do not accept interpretation. “Circassia was a small independent nation on the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. For no reason other than ethnic hatred, over the course of hundreds of raids the Russians drove the Circassians from their homeland and deported them to the Ottoman Empire.”
The Circassian question nevertheless, got none of the above mentioned positive criterion or principles regarding the logical constructive method that would resolve all the chronicle difficulties which were created by consequences of tens of years of savage wars with the greedy Tsarist occupying forces when the whole North Caucasus and Circassia in particular were conquered by the Russian state until the time of today. Russia had practiced its aggressive and violent imperial and colonial policies of territorial expansion and broadened its crucial political and economical manipulation in the North Caucasus and beyond. As an aspect of Western expansion, the European states established vast political empires, mainly in Africa and Asia.
This “new imperialism” occurred primarily between 1880 and 1900, when European governments scrambled frantically for capture new territories. Russians and their mercenaries advanced also, to rule millions of inhabitants of the North Caucasus and the Circassian nations in order to prove competition and reaching the warm waters of the Black Sea for trade and to reach other strategic ports of the world, stretch and widen military superiority force, to compete with other European power politics, and a racist belief in Slavic superiority were among those significant incentives. The civilized world had bitterly criticized imperialism as a betrayal to civilized and human ideals of freedom and equality.
[Updated] “Russian Tsars attack a small people with millions of soldiers and they consider themselves noble.” That is what the Circassian poet Kube Şaban has said. The situation of the Circassian nation was summed up in an eloquent description that dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s and showed the truth of the matter. “Circassians have always been a small people. Living in the harsh conditions of the Caucasus Mountain range, they did not grow in numbers, yet they developed a unique and strong sense of honor, a culture of solidarity and behavioral codes to survive the unforgiving winters of their beloved mountains.”
Russian imperialism created different reactions within the North Caucasus nations and other nations in other regions that are still colonized by Russia. One of the reactions was simply to seek to oblige the occupying forces and their other accompanied agencies away, but Circassia as one entity was smashed by the conquerors. The general failure of that preliminary reaction then led some of those who remained in their homeland for a second option, to accept dealing with the Russian rule, which made them accept whatever the imperial authorities had imposed. The third response was the Diaspora response and to be prepared to return to Motherland as soon as conditions permit; but with time elapses, development of circumstances such as internal, external and international status and crisis, plus the economics, racism, and social situation in the Diaspora countries, made it essential for Diaspora Circassians to lead and to take the necessary steps to grant their nation the strength and means to restore confiscated and legitimate rights of self-determination.
It seems though; there is a competition or in other words a struggle that can be illustrated as a “tug of war” between different factions, particularly two main forces (excluding the silent majority) that signify the choice of contradicting directions and guidelines that necessarily lead for two different goals and objectives.
The first group, and to be more realistic, it would be sensible to state that the evil most capable, organized and guided faction is the one that had manipulated the Circassian social and communal activities for tens of years now, who are considered transcendent, business minded individuals, while accepting fate of the Circassian nation as is, despite what Voltaire had said: “the progress of rivers to the ocean is not so rapid as that of man to error”, which includes matters and arrangements made by third parties and in the absence of the Circassian people for the purpose of limiting fateful decisions-making with selfish, opportunist and egocentric individuals who presided themselves to obsess and take up crucial decisions which pertain vital national concerns with the lack of logic, common sense and national awareness, and in the absence of the people’s will.
The process of decision-making in regard to decisive issues and critical matters is regrettably and sadly are taken by the intelligence agencies and individuals who got their activities covered with all available media tools of the occupying state, and other resources in Diaspora, by those who bask themselves in all walks of life of the Circassian communities, and they are in most of the time described as been of Circassian origin; but as a matter of fact, they are related to the security services of the same occupational authorities and their successors which had emptied the Circassian land from 90% of its inhabitants, as a result of coordination and cooperation with other evil powers which benefited from the Circassian catastrophe, that encouraged the occupying authorities to commit the [Updated] crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and all types of war felonies, which lead to forced deportation to exile.
With all regret to the fact that those apparent irresponsible activities appear as if those stubborn policies illustrate that the Circassians’ connection seems to be like the connection between fans of sport teams or celebrities that their interests and commitments do not even upgrade to strong connection between members of labor or vocational unionists. The result for such a dangerous, reckless and extemporaneous strategy will be the unavoidable and imminent exposure to the brink of extinction (God forbid).
The second group had gotten in mind that, “if faith without works is dead, willingness without action is fantasy”, which is the one that grips, raises, and demands the Circassian national identity agenda and plan, while got to clutch to the principles of ethics and moral values in regard to tackling all the issues and challenges that face the Circassian nation. This group of devoted individuals and organized establishments believe in, “the winds and waves are always on the side of the ablest navigators”, that are stretched between Motherland and other parts of the Circassian Diaspora, which could be described as the real defenders of the Circassian dream, who are always eager to extract the information from the reliable sources for the purpose of presenting the evidence of the atrocities that had been inflicted on the Circassian nation by the tyrant occupiers.
They keep informing their people of the details that they are still in the process of gathering and arranging, which are professionally presented through different ways and means which are ranging between the obtainable media, Internet, documentation, meetings and conferences. This faction can be depicted as the live-conscience of the nation and the living heart beat, besides the members are the ones that hopes were held upon to enable their nation to reach status of safety and security, and to accomplish the legitimate rights of freedom, freedom to choose and the right of self-determination.
There are writers and reporters that do not take care to be objective and humane when writing in certain subjects that touch individuals, peoples and nations, that need to be fair in reflecting the accurate depiction such as the writer, Andy McSmith of the article Boris the Circassian, that was published in the “Online Independent”, Open House Section, dated 10, March of this year 2008. It appeared (with all respect) as of ignorance and/or carelessness to report with bias, regardless whether they antagonize, intimidate or humiliate others while addressing and distributing their toxic statements and information with a margin of possible ignorance about the subject that is dealt with in whole or in part.
I am sure Boris would feel proud to attain a Circassian blood, when he is ascertained that this proud and devoted nation of more than 6000 years of history, that the said article had related him to, and when he knows the real situation, circumstances and the real conditions that his supposed ancestors had been subjected to, which exposed them to uncivilized, despised and insulting conduct by the egotistical individuals, groups and states, which uncovered the corruption of parties involved in dealing with the Circassian tragedy that evolved due to the Russian-Caucasian War results of unqualified and incompetent Russian victory against Circassians and other North Caucasus nations who defended homeland heroically, that did not prevent the total inhabitants from being subject to elimination, and forced deportation which appeared as a tremendous conspiracy between the aggressive Tsarist Russian state and the other conspirator associates at the time.
The CIRCASSIANS IN JORDAN THESIS by Bruce Douglas MacKey, dated June, 1979 mentioned “The history of the struggle of the Circassians against the Russians is one which even today stirs powerful emotions on the part of native Circassians. The conquest of the Circassian lands by the Russians and the subsequent immigration of at least half of the Circassian Peoples from those lands remain alive in the memory of most, if not all present-day Circassians. In interviews conducted concerning almost any aspect of Circassian history of politics it is referred to with mixed pride and regret.”
[Updated] In light of contemporary Russian colonial ambitions of this context that have emerged to the world, there are developments that have emerged regarding the peoples and nations colonized by the Russian state, since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, especially after Georgia’s Parliament recognition of the Circassian genocide on May 20, 2011, and the erection on May 21, 2012 in Anaklia on the Black Sea, a meaningful memorial to commemorate the victims of Genocide and Deportation. “Genocide is considered the main issue out of many others of the Circassian Question.” (Circassia: Born to be Free, by Adel Bashqawi p. 441) During the past few years since the Russian forces occupied the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and the war of Russia’s attempted takeover of Ukraine since February 2022, a possibility has emerged for comparing and bridging between what is currently happening in Ukraine and what has happened to the Circassian nation and other peoples and nations since the nineteenth century. Nevertheless, achieving these colonial goals remains in the form of implementing the Russian state’s plans against neighbors and beyond.
[Updated] “For Circassians, both the half million left in their North Caucasus homeland and the more than seven million in the diaspora, the Russian Empire’s expulsion of their ancestors at the end of the 101-year-long war there in 1864 remains a central part of their identity, one that they have long sought international recognition … the Circassians in the first instance and other non-Russians within the Russian Federation in their wake will be energized to fight for their rights, confident just like the Estonians, Latvians, and Lithuanians at the end of Soviet times that they have support from abroad and that they have good prospects to succeed.”
As all sensible and intellectual people realize that perfection is out of the question, and in that course, a writer had said, “perfection never exists in reality, but only in our dreams”, the circumstances require and impose the necessity to adapt to realities and facts of life they live, but not to be considered “fait accompli”, because that would be regarded as a surrender and an admittance of defeat when encountering and confronting difficulties and complications.
([Updated] What on Earth Happened to the Circassians?). The Circassians’ fate had always been the duty of defending their homeland against greedy invaders, and had their last honorable defending struggle against the savage Tsarist Russian aggression which ended in the year 1864, and lead to disastrous consequences of losing lives, properties, and consequently Homeland, which requires the Circassians to address the civilized world and to help one another, and to unite in unprecedented solidarity through their “jointly and serve-rally” endeavor, to go ahead to raise their claims, present the issues, and to restore confiscated privileges in order to reinstate the legitimate human rights, civil rights, constitutional rights, and civil liberties in accordance with the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”.
[Updated] In conclusion, it is mentioned that one of the researchers, experts and experts in political and military affairs said that “empires do not die, but rather commit suicide and disappear.” No matter what were the size and impact of the limitless crimes of genocide and deportation committed by the Russian state against Circassia and dozens of other peoples and nations, these victims are in the process of awakening to restore their non-negotiable national rights, which had been confiscated from them. That will open Pandora’s Box wide to the aggressors.
“Great thoughts reduced to practice become great acts”.
https://justicefornorthcaucasus.info/?p=1251675704