Circassian activists criticize amendments to law on compatriots

If amendments to the law on compatriots are adopted, many Circassians abroad will be excluded from their number, primarily due to the requirement of knowledge of the Russian language, notes Valery Khatazhukov. The amendments will deprive many people of the right to be considered compatriots, writer Asfar Kuek points out. Circassian public organizations call on the Russian authorities to prevent the adoption of the draft law.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that Circassians began to come to their historical homeland, including Kabardino-Balkaria, in 2012, when the active phase of the war was going on in Syria.

“If those amendments are passed, then only those who speak the state language, Russian, will be considered compatriots,” explained Valery Khatazhukov, the head of the human rights centre in Kabardino-Balkaria.

According to him, there are a huge number of migrants who consider themselves Russians, but do not speak Russian.

Nusret Bash, the president of the Federation of Circassian Associations, asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to prevent the adoption of the draft law. “Those amendments will have an extremely negative impact on the multi-million Circassian Diaspora’s cultural and economic ties with Russia,” Nusret Bash said.