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  • Right to Return of `Ahiska' Muslims

    Mathaba.Net, Africa
    Aug 2 2004

    Right to Return of `Ahiska' Muslims
    Posted: 08/02
    From: Muslim Weekly

    By: Shahed Alam

    If I put this term -Meshetia- into a crossword, I am pretty sure ,
    most of you will hardly be able to guess what country we are speaking
    about, where it was and is located. The reason is, that Stalin - the
    former leader of the Soviet Union not only evicted the Meshetian
    people -the Meshetian Turks- from their own Meshetia, but liquidated
    the name itself of their country, and crossed it out from the
    geographical guidebooks, encyclopedias, and from literary sources in
    general. Where was it located? Why its people were guilty before
    Stalin?

    The country with such a name was situated of South and SouthWest
    Georgia -a former Republic of the ex-Soviet Union. It was located at
    the height of 2000 metres over the sea level, in a big, wide and long
    valley with a general territory ot 8600 km. Before the Meshetian
    Turks' eviction from their own places, their number was 158000 men
    and they lived in 212 villages. All these villages are located near
    the city of Batumi -the capital of Autonomous Republic of Adzharia-
    between two rivers - Chorokh and Kura.

    Repatriation of Meskhetians became a political issue, involving
    different parties in and outside Georgia, in Russia and Turkey.
    Confrontation and debate is already reflected in the labelling of
    deported Meskhetians made by different key players. They are referred
    to as Meskhetian Turks, Ahiska Turkleri, Muslim Meskhetians, Muslim
    Georgians from Meskheti - depending on the intent to present them as
    representatives of the one or the other nation. Obscurity of the
    ethnic background of deported people forms a fertile ground for
    different interpretations. Meskheti is a historical Georgian region,
    at the Turkish border well advanced until late middle ages in
    politics and culture, but which due its geographical situation for
    centuries was a prey to its more powerful neighbours- Ottoman empire,
    Perssia and Russia.

    Ahiska, the ancient Oguz region was called as "Ak-S¦ka" (White
    Castle) in Dede Korkut's Book and "Akesga" in the records pertaining
    to the year of 481. Ahiska is also rendered as the Turkish or Farsi
    form of Ahal-Thise that mean "Yeni Kale" (New Castle). In the course
    of the first Islamic conquests, Habib b. Mesleme, one of the
    commanders of Damascus' Governor Muaviye conquered Ahiska in the
    period under the caliphate of Hz. Osman. It was under the Mongolian
    dominion between the years of 1267-78 and then it was administered by
    "Atabeg's, the autonomous governors of the region in the subsequent
    years.

    Ahiska Atabegs were connected to the Ottoman dominion as a result of
    C¦ld¦r War (1578) in the command of Lala Mustafa Pasha. The last
    atabek, Minücihr declared its dependence to Ottomans. He reverted to
    Islam and given the name of Mustafa Pasha. Pursuant to that date,
    Ahiska had become the centre of C¦ld¦r province that was newly
    established and it was drawn up thereof. However, Ahiska became a
    province when C¦ld¦r got worn out due to the wars. The city that was
    once conquered by Safevis got under the dominion of Ottomans again in
    the year of 1635. Until it was subjected to the Russian dominion in
    the year of 1828, Ahiska remained as a forefront city of the Ottoman
    State. When it was separated from Turkey, the Serhat Turks that lived
    in this region met with their bad destiny.

    Contrary to beleive by western historians, due to their ill
    intention, Meshetia, the country of the Meshetian Turks was always
    located in the Caucasus, in Georgia but not in Turkey. It was seized
    by the Ottoman Empire in its time, during the great Turkish conquests
    in Fore Asia. In 1829, according to the Adrianopol Peace treaty, this
    part of the Ottoman empire was transferred to Russia. Russia on the
    basis of Ahalgtsikh vilayet (province), where Meshetia was located,
    formed a district of the same name. The Meshetian Turks, at the
    transference to Russia, were already Muslims of the sunnite trend,
    though before that time they were Christians, belonged to two
    churches - the Orthodox and the Catholic. Some scholars consider that
    they are Turks by origin, who settled down there since the time of
    coming the Turks to Fore Asia. By their arrival at the Caucasus, the
    Turks, as the scholars say, forced out the local population from
    their places and settled down themselves in that district. The other
    scholars think that the Meshetian Turks from anthropological point of
    view and many other elements of the Georgian ethnography are
    Georgians by descent. They adopted not only Islam from Turks, but
    their language. In this aspect, their fate is very close to the fate
    of the Adzharians and the Lazes. They both adopted Islam, but
    preserved their Georgian language. On the contrary, the Meshetian
    Turks adopted the Turkish language and Islam from the Turks. Though
    the Georgians consider the Meshetian Turks their own compatriots,
    this part of the Georgian population was considered during almost 300
    years to be Turks with the Turkish language and the Muslim culture.

    In the course of the Ottoman-Russian war in 1853-1856, some of Ahiska
    people ran away and took shelter in Erzurum due to the intense
    pressure imposed upon them on the grounds that they collaborated with
    the Ottoman army. Pursuant to this war, Kars was broken off from the
    Ottoman borders and Ahiska remained far away from the border of
    Turkey. In this period, an Armenian migration was experienced from
    the North East Anatolia towards the Ahiska region.

    The country Meshetia and the Meshetian Turks always arose Stalin's
    suspicion, as the Turks lived in an important military, strategic
    region of the former USSR, on the border with Turkey, which after
    President Ata-Turk's death was always closer to the West than to
    Russia, as constantly feared its mighty neighbour - Russia. In the
    period of the World War II Turkey was preparing to attack the USSR
    together with fascist Germany in case its successful invasion to
    Stalingrad on the Volga river and Japan's interference on the side of
    Germany. By this, Stalin justified his decision to evict the
    Meshetian Turks, who were preparing a white horse for Hitler with the
    golden harness. Certainly, it was a big lie. Nevertheless the
    decision about the exile of the Meshetian Turks out of Meshetia was
    made by the State Defence Committee under the signatures of
    Stalin-Chairman, Voroshilov, Kaganovich, Mikoyan, Malenkov and
    others. At night 14-15 of November 1944 the Internal Ministry troops
    were moved there, which began massive eviction of the Meshetian Turks
    to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. These troops chased all the Turks to
    the village streets, dipped them into the lorries of "Studebackers"
    and sent them to the nearest railway stations, in which they had
    transported before that the livestock.

    Imagine, that was November in Russia! it was the time of severe
    frosts and snowfalls, of frosty winds, but the wagons were not heated
    and the Turks had to go to the places of destination during one
    month. In each carriage there were not less than 18 families, who
    received 2-3 loaves of bread and a bucket of watery soup. All the
    Turks went in 4 trains - all in all 112 000 and 40 000 were mobilized
    for the front. After awful tribulations and sufferings in cold
    carriages, in which they were without appearing in the air, they at
    last arrived in Kazakhstan and Central Asia.

    In Central Asia they were transfered to the regions of Mirzacol,
    Sirdaria, velikoalexeevskava, and Golden Horde. And everywhere there
    was an uninhabitated steppe hungry desert, called like this because
    nothing could grow on its soil. As a result of the diseases and
    famine in the first two months, 17000 people died and mainly children
    and elderly people. At that time, when the Turks, as slaves of 20th
    century, were labouring in the Hungary Steppe, the KGB spread a
    rumour, that the Turks had hidden their gold and golden handicrafts
    in their houses. And who will find it, will receive them for
    themselves.

    KGB influenced animals arms with axes, picks, shovels and crow-bars
    crushed everything around what could obtain the hidden treasures. But
    they could not find anything, though all the houses were destroyed,
    including the mosques. Nothing was left for the Meshetian Turks, who
    would be able to return home.

    Stalin evicted the Meshetian turks from their Motherland, and the
    Uzbek nationalists killed all whom they met of children, women and
    elderly. The Muslim Uzbeks were destroying all the Muslim Turks. It
    happened on 10-12 of June of 1989. The masses of the Turks rushed to
    railway stations, occupied the places in the trains and rushed to the
    North Caucasus near to their own Meshetia. Together with them, they
    took the killed children.

    Today, Ahiska Turks live in 264 different regions of 13 Republics.
    There are approximately 629,000 of Ahiska Turks dispersed into the
    various regions of former USSR. They are without a homeland and
    without any rights.

    Despite all struggles, the will to return never dies.

    In 1956 after 19th congress of the Communist party of the USSR and
    N.Khrushev's report at it, where he exposed tne personality cult of
    Stalin, the Meshetian Turks were rehabilitated. They were allowed to
    go from Kazakhstan and Central Asia to any point of the USSR, except
    their Motherland - Meshetia. They decided to go to many republics and
    provinces of the USSR - Azerbaijan, Kabardino-Balkaria, Naghorny
    Karabagh, Chernobyl, Smolensk, Saratov, Voronesh and many others.

    In order to prevent them from coming back to Meshetia the local
    authorities built up a wide frontier zone, up to 78 km, and the
    former one was only 2-7 km in width. They put the border barrier up
    to the resort city of Borjomi. It meant, that only the local
    Georgians, but not the Meshetians, could come there as there was a
    passports' regime. In each passport a person's nationality was
    written. The border guards, looking at the passports, could recognize
    the Meshetians at once and refused them the visa entry.

    Despite all these hardship, Meshetian Turks were not broken
    psychologically and moraly. They carried out their own national
    congress in Central Asia, created the Provisional Organisational
    Committee under the name "Vatan" -i.e. Motherland. The main target of
    this organisation is to return to their native Meshetia.

    The decision to settle the Turks in all the former USSR is not the
    solution to the problem of these people. It is only a superficial
    surgery operation, capable to lighten the condition of a patient at a
    certain stage. The main and basical for the Turks is to return to
    their Motherland in Georgia. The delegates of the lst Congress of the
    Turks in 1992 appealed to the General secretary of UNO Butrus Ghali
    to take measures to acknowledge the rights of the Meshetian Turks
    from the part of Georgia, to return to their Motherland - to
    Meshetia-Java- hetia and secure them their human rights in the places
    of their current existence before their return to the historical
    Motherland.

    Today, many of the survivors and their descendants are seeking to
    return to their ancestral home. The Georgian government has
    undertaken the task of repatriation of deported Meskhetians over
    decades. There is also serious international commitment to accelerate
    this process. Still, careful planning is required because this
    process involves a number of complicated real-world economic,
    political, social, and legal issues, as well as serious psychological
    challenges. However, planning does not mean dispersing a community or
    given citizenship to another country. That is why, last week's U.S
    offer to move 7000 Ahiska Muslims raise suspicion. We are all happy
    to see the Ahiska Muslim brothers found a new life in Pennsylvania.
    But, what about other Meskhetians. Can they move back to their
    homeland or will they face deportation like Palestinians with no
    right of returns.

    Prof. Konstantin Matveev contributed to this article.
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