“Circassian day" in Euro-Parliament 

On October, 5th in Euro-Parliament there were hearings on Circassian problems. About that participant of the hearings, the head of the Kabardino-Balkarian legal expert center Valery Khatazhukov told.

According to Khatazhukov, the hearings in Euro-Parliament on Circassian day took place already in fourth time. The initiative of its carrying out belongs to the European federation of Circassian public organizations - has. The purpose of the hearings was discussion of Circassian question. This year in the hearings already 250 people, representing Circassian Diaspora of Europe and Turkey, participated. At the action there were also several deputies of Euro-Parliament.

Valery Khatazhukov told that in his speech at the hearings he touched the question of the ethnic consolidation, having noted that "Adygs", "Circassians" and "Kabardians" is the one people, and that fact is recognized by the academic science. Somebody even focused attention on the question of their association in a united subject of Russian Federation. According to Khatazhukov, such association should happen by results of a referendum. However, in the situation, when Circassians in Adygeya are 20 %, in KCR - 10 % the result of such referendum could be foreseen for sure.

"My opinion is that any administrative borders should not be changed. There is a potential to pull together in the economic, cultural ways, so that it would just not restrain next peoples, but also would be favourable to then. Perhaps, there is the need to unify the alphabet, literary language, to coordinate scientific researches", - Khatazhukov told. The second question mentioned by the head of the legal expert center was the question of the language’s preservation. How actual it is, that fact speaks that from among 250 representatives of Circassian Diaspora who were present at hearings, only one third knew in different degrees their native language.

"The problem of the language’s preservation can be solved only on the native land. But also it is not so simple. We are anxious with the fact that the national-regional component was excluded from the Russian educational programs. As a result, for the last ten years the time, allocated for studying the native language at schools of Kabardino-Balkaria was reduced in 25-30 %. The quantity of the books published in the native language was reduced, too", - Khatazhukov regretted. According to Khatazhukov, he also touched the question of recognition of independence of Abkhazia: "I emphasized that we support the recognition of its independence. But for us the fact of the recognition, and that it excludes renewal of military actions is more important. He noted, that small peoples, “the double standards politics depresses, too”.

Speaking about the problems of repatriation, Khatazhukov as the main problem underlined the problem of admit of the Russian citizenship by compatriots in connection with that according to the law on citizenship, any one, wishing to live in Russia should know Russian language, and foreign Adygs do not speak it.

"Circassian language in the subjects of the federation is the state one. It is necessary to recognize legislatively sufficient for admit of the Russian citizenship speaking by compatriots this language", - Khatazhukov assured.

According to Khatazhukov, at the hearings another representative of Adygeyan Diaspora in Turkey which spoke about the problems of preservation of the native language, also acted..

© Caucasian uzel

NatPress - Oct 18, 2009