CONDEMNATION
On 28 July 2015, a group of policemen and FSB agents came to a Circassian village named Shahekey (Kichmay) in Sochi, where a part and capital city of historical Circassia , and investigated the students in childhood ages, regarding why they joined the commemoration of 21 May Circassian Genocide events. Moreover, said investigation took place in the schoolhouse on the holiday and their parents forcibly summoned during perpetration of the interrogation.
The inquisition in question is an illegal and unlawful activity ; those, defined as ‘’children’’ according to the international law and national laws, have been interrogated with respect to themselves, their parents and their friends, directed to an issue which is not deemed a crime. Thus, the children were implicitly threatened by means of their parents and vice versa.
Commemoration of the Circassian Genocide and Exile on May 21,”mourning day”, is legally recognized and also officially carried out. Additionally, it was promulgated as public holiday for Circassians . Regardless of this, the interrogation as to attending of Circassian students from Shahekey (Kichmay) village to completely legal activity is meaningless, gratuitous and futile in aspect of law.
Besides, organizers of “mourning day” were also cross-examined through being summoned by prosecution office after a few weeks from the mourning day and in the course of cross-examination, it was questionned that why they made their speech in Circassian Language during the event.
Thus, it is clear that interrogations had political aims, rather than legal ones. Open-ended and everlasting investigations, interrogations and prosecutions under the guise of ‘’law’’ in Russian Federation are being used against Circassians as a tool. As is known, International Human Rights Organizations surveil Russian Federation in this case.
The first obvious and real rationale behind this interrogation is to browbeat and forestall the remaining small Circassian population around the historical Circassian capital Sochi after the Circassian Genocide and Exile. Another rationale for the interrogation on this small Circassian population is to gauge the reaction of the whole Circassian Nation against these actions. The ultimate goal is to completely ban the commemorations of the Circassian Genocide and Exile and hold the utterance of the Circassian Genocide and Exile as a crime.
Therefore we strongly excoriate the actions of the security forces of the Russian Federation breaching the human rights against the organizers of “mourning day”, Circassian children and their parents in Shahekey Village.
We herewith invite the security forces of the Russian Federation to stop these type of actions violating the human rights. It needs to be repeated that the “Circassian Question” is also a question of human rights and Circassians aim to solve said problem lawfully and peacefully.
The Russian Federation is a contracting party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the European Convention on Human Rights. In this context, the unlawful interrogation of the school children, their parents and organizers of “mourning day” in Shahekey (Kichmay),meaning the infraction both conventions, is going to be notified to the international human rights organizations via letters.
In this regard we invite all Circassian organizations and communities throughout the world to condemn this incident.
As long as the world exists, Circassia and wherever they may be, the Circassian People shall continue to exist and struggle!
Patriots of Circassia