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Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Members of the Circassian diaspora at the UN building in New York recalled the expulsion of their ancestors
2024-05-23
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[KavkazUzel] Circassian activists held outside the UN General Assembly in New York to mark the end of the Caucasian War and the expulsion of their ancestors from their historical homeland.
Is there any group that either the Russian empire or the Soviets did not try to wipe out and/or expel?
As  the "Caucasian Knot" reported, the action to mark the end of the Caucasian War and the expulsion of the Circassians from their historical homeland took place on May 21 in Istanbul  under enhanced security measures. Activists were not allowed to hold an action on the main street of the European part of Istanbul, where the Russian Consulate General is located, but they were able to  lay a funeral wreath  at the walls of the diplomatic mission.

The Caucasian War, which lasted from 1763 to 1864, brought the Adyghe peoples to the brink of extinction. After the war and the mass deportation of the Circassians to the Ottoman Empire, a little more than 50,000 people remained in their homeland. The Russian authorities have not yet made a decision to recognize the genocide of the Circassians during the war, according to a certificate from the "Caucasian Knot".

Circassian activists gathered on May 21 at the headquarters of the UN General Assembly in New York on the 160th anniversary of the end of the Caucasian War and the expulsion of the Circassians from their historical homeland. Due to the time difference, the action took place around midnight Moscow time.

As one of the organizers of the commemorative action, the plenipotentiary representative of the United Circassian Council in the USA, the chairman of the socio-political movement "Circassian Congress of the Karachay-Cherkess Republic" Kase Kik, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, "about 30 people" gathered for the action, representatives of the new wave emigration. “They were mostly Circassians, but representatives from the League of Nations organization came to support us - Kalmyks, Tatars and Buryats. Unfortunately, not everyone could show their faces [for photos] due to the situation in Russia; there is a high probability of reprisals against relatives and friends,” said Kik.

He also noted that the authorities did not interfere with the rally. “The police were very friendly and helped carry out the action,” Kick said. According to him, the goal of the action is to raise awareness of the rights of Circassians.

The co-organizer of the action, the head of the newly created organization "Circassian Center of the USA" Marianna Sheru told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent that "12 representatives of the Circassian diaspora from different parts of the USA came to participate in the action: Florida, Louisiana, California, Atlanta, Chicago, Arkansas."

Also, the Council of United Circassia sent an appeal to the UN Secretary General, which, in particular, expresses concern that the Circassian language, due to its absence in the school curriculum, may suffer the same fate as the Ubykh language.

The Ubykhs are the indigenous people of the Western Caucasus, one of the subethnic groups of the Circassians (Circassians). After the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in 1858-1865, the Ubykhs almost completely moved to the Ottoman Empire and quickly assimilated, so even the approximate number of Ubykh descendants in modern Turkey cannot be established. According to the 2010 census, the Ubykh nationality does not exist in Russia. The Ubykh language is considered dead today: its last speaker was Tevfik Esench, who died in 1992, according to  the  Caucasian Knot reference material.

In the photographs sent to the Caucasian Knot, those gathered for the rally are holding posters in their hands. Kase Kik was holding a poster demanding recognition of the Circassian genocide. Representatives of the Kalmyk diaspora expressed solidarity with the Circassians and other Caucasian peoples. Marianna Sheru was holding a poster with a reminder of the consequences of the Caucasian War for the Circassians.

Commemorative events were also held on this day in the office of the Circassian Charitable Association of the USA. About fifty representatives of the Circassian community in the United States gathered at the evening dedicated to the 160th anniversary of the expulsion of the Circassians.
Related:
Circassian 05/22/2024 Circassian community was not allowed to hold a rally on the main street of Istanbul
Circassian 01/29/2024 How a Druze mom fooled Hamas into revealing its attack plans on Oct. 7, saving her town
Circassian 05/22/2023 Rallies in memory of the victims of the Caucasian war were held in Karachay-Cherkessia

Posted by:badanov

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