Such different Circassians. Türkiye is back to its old ways

On April 9, at the office of the International Circassian Association (ICA), a meeting of leaders and representatives of Russian public associations - members of the International Circassian Association of the Republics of Adygea, Karachay-Cherkessia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Stavropol and Krasnodar Territories, and Mozdok Kabardins took place.

At the meeting, the participants unanimously stated that they support the forced measure of carrying out a special operation of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation aimed at demilitarizing and denazifying Ukraine, ensuring the protection of the residents of Donbass and Russian borders from global threats, challenges and risks.

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_{In their speeches, the participants noted that in the current situation it is important to maintain the unity and cohesion of all the peoples of our state in protecting the national interests of Russia, strengthening interethnic ties, and increasing the efficiency of interaction between the authorities and civil society.}

Together with the entire country, public organizations-members of the ICA take an active part in the humanitarian action “We do not abandon our own” for the residents of Donbass and express support for our military, who are liberating the territories and protecting the civilian population of Ukraine and the LDPR from the Nazis.

Why is this important and relevant today?

The long and grueling Caucasian War against the North Caucasian Imamate led by Shamil and the Circassians of the Black Sea coast and the Kuban region ended in 1864 with the victory of the Russian Empire.

Pro-Turkish “proxies”, most of whom were represented by Circassian peoples (Circassians, Abkhazians, Karachais, Kabardians, Balkars), fearing retribution for decades of robberies and raids from the tsarist authorities, went to the Ottoman Empire and, subsequently, settled compactly throughout almost all of it territories, including the Arab countries of the Middle East. Their descendants also moved to Europe, the USA and even Australia.

_{In different parts of the world, the fate of Circassian migrants developed differently. In Syria, Jordan, Palestine (including after the founding of the State of Israel), no one encroached on the ethnocultural code of the Circassians, so they managed not only to preserve their identity, but also to achieve certain heights in the public service (especially military) in a number of Arab countries. states}

In Turkey, under Ottoman domination, the Circassians, like other national minorities, were forcibly assimilated and Turkified, although in the traditions of Circassian men it was considered “haram” to take Turkish or Arab women as wives.

Accordingly, the improvement of life, cultural and educational flourishing of the Circassian peoples of Russia during the imperial and Soviet periods did not evoke a positive response among the Turkified Circassians, unlike the Circassians who settled in the states of the Middle East.

So, the majority of the Circassian diaspora treats the activities of the International Circassian Association with attention and respect, considering their decisions to be the “voice of the Motherland.”

At a meeting of leaders and representatives of Russian public associations of the ICA, it was noted that the majority of Circassian diasporas supported their Russian compatriots and, consequently, the efforts of the leadership and society in the denazification and demilitarization of Ukraine.

Considering that in some countries the Circassian diaspora enjoys considerable influence, such support is worth a lot.

And if the participation of volunteers from among the Syrian Circassians, who have serious experience in fighting ISIS gangs, against Bandera in the steppes and forests of Ukraine, is still a matter of debate, the political influence of the Circassian communities, directed against the replenishment of Zelensky’s “foreign legion” with Middle Eastern “cannon fodder” , can be quite noticeable.

_{Against this background, the behavior of the leaders of the Circassian organizations in Turkey with all responsibility should be called apostasy.}

In response to a statement by the Chairman of the International Circassian Association Kh. Sokhrokov about support for a military special operation in Ukraine, the leaders of the Turkish Circassians who are members of the ICA, clearly at the behest of Ankara, very hysterically stated that they do not share the position of the association and are “against the war and Russia as a whole” .

With the start of the Turkish special operation against the Kurds, marked by bombing and artillery strikes in the northern part of Iraq, the “peace-loving” Turkified Circassians, represented by the KAF-FED and Circassian-FED associations, sharply reduced the intensity of their peacefulness, being embarrassed in an ultimatum tone to demand that Erdogan and Çavuşoğlu stop immediately aggression against a sovereign country, calling on the Turkish leadership to come to their senses for the sake of peace and solidarity.

The IAC also noted that it would be a good idea for “Turkish compatriots” to formalize their outrage about Ankara’s military aggression against the leaders of the European Union, who urgently demanded the development of packages of suffocating sanctions against Turkey.