Citizenship to 15.000 Ahiska-Turks by USA

[ekrem]

hello,

ahiska turks were deported by Stalin to Uzbekistan.
After Progroms where 69 Ahiska-Turks died in Soviet Republic, Communists deported them near Moskau. After that they settled to Krasnodar in south Russia.

There, they have no Passports, no Police registrations. and have no right to access their Bank amounts from Soviet time. Banks deny tthe Bank accounts because they have no Russian Passport.

Ahiska Turks had Soviet Passports. After Soviet broke, and russia was founded they were denied to have russian Passports and were treated as illegals and inhuman.

Where they now live in Krasnodar is one of the rascist cities in Russia. The governor granted to form private Security corpses who can treat Ahiska Turks like they want without respecting Russian Laws.


i have found only one english article back from 2004. But now the deportation to USA is beginning. The article says, they are 7.000 Ahiska-Turks comeing to USA.
But in Russian, Turkish and Georgian sources it is 15.000 Ahiska-Turks given new home by USA...

In Russia there remain 15.000 Ahiska turks after these 15.000 furthermore.
I Think, when USA sees that Ahiska-Turks integrate well, they will take the 15.000 Ahika-Turks, too.




US Offers Citizenship To 7000 Ahiska Muslims

Several Ahiska Muslims packing to leave for the US

By Damir Ahmed, IOL correspondent

KRASNODAR, Russia, July 24, (IslamOnline.net) - The United States has agreed to grant citizenship to 7,000 Ahiska Muslims who will be settled in Pennsylvania, reported a Russian newspaper on Friday, July 23.

The first 11-strong batch of the Ahiska Muslims, living in the Russian province of Krasnodar, left for Geneva on Thursday, July 22, before flying to Philadelphia, reported Novie Izvestia.

It added that the Muslims would be housed near the grand mosque in Philadelphia.

The paper recalled that Krasnodar governor Alexander Tkachev was notified of the American decision on February 15.

Izvestia said the Russian government does not treat Ahiska Muslims as citizens and has not therefore given them passports or IDs.

An official in Krasnodar administration had told Interfax on Tuesday, July 20, that of the 11,999 Ahiska Muslims living in the region, 4,943 have received Russian citizenship and 744 have embarked on Russian naturalization procedures.

He added that more than 5,000 others have expressed a desire to emigrate to the United States.

Earlier, Chingiz Neiman-zade, chairman of Vatan, a Meskheti Turks association based in Georgia, said the United States had offered to accept the Ahiska Muslims living in Krasnodar as immigrants.

"On February 16, the International Migration Organization began an information program in Krasnodar to explain the terms for the resettlement of the Ahiska Muslims in the U.S.," he told Chicago Tribune on Thursday, July 22.

"The immigrants will be provided with housing and furniture, they will be helped to learn the English language and to complete formalities needed for residence in the US, which is especially important, and have been promised life-long welfare allowances for pensioners and the disabled."

Happiness

Ahiska Muslims were happy with the American offer.

"This decision marks a great change in our life", said Tepeshon Swanidze, leader of the Ahiska Muslim community in Russia.

"We thank the US administration for its humanitarian decision", he added.

Ahiska Muslims , originally hailing from Anatolia, were exiled from their homeland after Russia seized the region of Ahiska following its 1828-1829 war with the Ottoman Empire.

Many Ahiska Muslims were forced to seek refugee in Erzurum in eastern Turkey after being persecuted by the Russian Cesar for supporting the Ottoman Empire.

Facing a similar fate under the notorious Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Ahiska Muslims fled to Uzbekistan in 1944.

One year later, they went to Azerbaijan where they currently reside.

Turkish and Azeri parliamentarians had recently appealed for an international intervention to pressure the Georgian government into allowing the return of Ahiska Muslims.

Ahiska became part of Georgia in 1918.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1178050/posts

 

[ekrem]

Thanks to USA giving them new home becomeing normal ciizens with normal rights.
Deportation is watched by UN. evryone can take 60 KG with him. other things Remain to Russians like the inaccessebale Bank Amounts.

 

[Isaac Brock]

Interesting, I have never heard of such a group. I believe Anatolia is the region across the Dardanelles correct? How did they end up in Russia?

 

[ekrem]

Interesting, I have never heard of such a group. I believe Anatolia is the region across the Dardanelles correct? How did they end up in Russia?

Yes, Anatolia is all West of Dardanelles/ Aegean Sea.

But Ahiska Turks were not anatolians. They are from Caucasus Region where today Georgia is. Even Turkey-Turks are not from Anatolia.

Josef Stalin (Communist) deported them to Central Asia. And since Stalin they had an sad journey ending up like Russian-held dogs.

It is good giving USA them new homes. USA shows oncemore they are doing good. Turkey would also have welcomed Turks struggling in Russia. It can also be an Image-campaign to muslim world by USA.

with other Turkish Origins in Russia there are no such problems, only especial with Ahiska Turks which are very small in numbers in Russia (about 30.000 Ahiska Turks). only with these ahiska Turks inhuman holding. But there are 6 autonomous Turkic republics in the Russian Federation, too. with them no problems.

These people have long journey behind them. Being Anti-communistic (after all experienced) and moderate muslims. Not all women of them wearing headscarfs. But some doing. But not Iran-style headscarfs

like this
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/basbug/Iran-woman.jpg

but like this
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y47/basbug/Ahiska-Turk-woman.jpg


hope they will integrate well and will be thankfull to US-citizens ending their sad history over the last 200 years.

 

[ekrem]

here are 8 pictures of Ahiska-Turks from BBC, too.
so you can get an overall imagination how this people look like.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_pictures/3569310.stm

 

[Annie]

Canavar, I'm playing catch up with you and it looks also Issac. Glad you are here.

 

[dilloduck]

Oh goody----7,000 more muslims. That's BOUND to make the US stronger.

 

[Isaac Brock]

So are they a native people of Georgia or were they settled there during the Ottoman times?

 

[ekrem]

So are they a native people of Georgia or were they settled there during the Ottoman times?

Yes, they are native people where today Georgia is.

But in Georgia there was communist government under Shevardnadse, who did not allow to return them into their homeland.

But now with Georgia haveing western-government under Sakashvilii, and Georgia going to become NATO-Member, things changed in Georgia. Also with pressure from USA and NATO-Countries.
But anyway 15.000 (as my sources say) will go to USA. I think this is a deal between Sakashvilii and Bush. Because i think, that Georgia is to weak to integrate all of them. This would be economic problem for Georgia, i think.




For Ahiska Turks who expelled from their homeland, a new hope emerged. Giorgi Haindrava, Georgian State Minister in charge of breakaway regions stated that they will provide an opportunity of the gradual return for Ahiska Turks who expelled from their homeland during Soviet Union.

During his visit to Javakheti where Armenian population constitutes a majority, Haindrava said that Ahiska Turks were subjected to a forced immigration in 1944 and works over their return process are continuing. “All legal rights of Ahiskans like all ethnical minorities in Georgia will be under protection” he said.

Before Georgia is accepted to the Council of Europe as a full member, among other things, it must give an opportunity for Ahiska Turks to return to their homeland.

Ahiska Turks, coming from Anatolia were forced to settle in the region between 1578 and the Russian invasion in 1828. The essential homelands of Ahiska Turks are regarded as the provinces of Ahiska, Ahılkelek, Aspinza, Adıgen and Bogdanovka that are within the lands of the Republic of Georgia and the neighbors of Turkey. The reason for the classification of the Turks that settled in these regions as Ahiska Turks is that the geographical name of the region that included these provinces was Ahiska.

Ahiska Turks was a Turkish group that was exiled for 3 times in the recent 70 years who incurred the wrath of Stalin, the bloody dictator in the year of 1944 and was subjected to exile again. Ahiska Turks expanded to various regions of the USSR in this bloody exile. Today, Ahiska Turks live in 264 different regions of 13 Republics. 70 thousands in 28 centers of population in Russian Federation, 145 thousands in Kazakhstan, 106 thousands in Azerbaijan, 57 thousands in Kyrgyzstan, 30 thousands in Uzbekistan, 18 thousands in Ukraine, 200 thousands in Turkey, and 3000 Ahiska Turks in various countries. There are totally 629 thousands of Ahiska Turks.

The reason why Ahiska Turks were subjected to exile was kept as confidential information for exactly 47 years. The subject was revealed upon the publication of the major documents that were related with the exiles in the year of 1991. Lavrentiy Beriya of Georgian roots, Superintendent of the Public Internal Affairs of the USSR sent a letter of proposal to Georgian İ.V. Stalin, the President of the State Defense Committee who was equipped with all authorities due to the state of war. In his letter (24th July 1944), he stated that “most of the Turkish nation that reside in the regions of Georgia SSR on the border of Turkey have an inclination of immigration upon their relations with their relatives on the side of Turkey. They are smugglers and they are engaged as spies for the Turkish intelligence bodies and they constitute manpower for the brigands”. Due to this statement, he proposed that 16700 families (with a population of 86.000-91.000) could be exiled from Ahiska region towards the Central Asia. Instead of these people, he also proposed the settlement of 7000 Georgian families from the districts that suffered lack of sufficient land in Georgia. After one week pursuant to this letter, the “exile” activities were initiated upon the Resolution of State Defense Committee that was signed by Stalin.
http://www.diplomaticobserver.com/news_read.asp?id=1266