Statement by the Press Service of the Kabardino-Balkaria Regional Social Movement "Circassian Congress" 

After the conference, held in Tbilisi on recognition of the Circassian genocide, a number of provocative actions have been undertaken against the chairman of the "Circassian Congress" of Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, R.Keshev. In his mailbox it was thrown letter allegedly "from the people of KBR", which contained obscene insults and threats. Also it humiliated the national dignity of the Armenian people. Insults and threats were concerning the conference in Georgia on the genocide of Circassians.

Conference on "Hidden Nations, Enduring Crimes: The Circassians & the Peoples of the North Caucasus Between Past and Future", adopted a resolution which calls on the Georgian Parliament and governments of all states to:

- Condemn acts by the Russian Empire in the 19th and the beginning of the 20th centuries, resulting in the loss of independence of Circassia, and to recognize these acts as a genocide of the Circassian nation and its people;
- Declare May 21st, which marks the Russian celebration of the conquering of the North West Caucasus in 1864, as a memorial day of the victims of the Circassian genocide, and to recognize Sochi as the location and symbol of Circassian genocide and ethnic cleansing.

In the newspaper of "Moskovsky Komsomolets of KBR ", which is close to the ruling circles of Kabardino-Balkaria, on 25 March 2010 an article by a certain Ruslan Unezhev entitled "Suddenly it has been appeared, from where it was not expected ..." was appeared, it is written in the best tradition of the Stalinist era. The author expresses outrage about the international level which the question of the recognition of Circassian genocide, their repatriation to their historical homeland, and the estimation of the socio-political situation in Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, have been directed and as it was contained in the report submitted to the conference.

In this regard, the press service of Kabardino-Balkaria regional social movement "Circassian Congress" states that such reaction can have the same motives that led to the attack on the office of the public movement "Khase" and beating the President of public movement "Khase" Ibrahim Yaganov and Chairman of the "Circassian Congress" Ruslan Keshev.

Press office of Kabardino-Balkaria Regional Public Movement "Circassian Congress"

05 April 2010