Turks-Meskhetians are being forced to acknowledge themselves to be migrants in Kuban

On September 11 in the village of Varennikovskaya of the Krymsky district, Krasnodar Territory, local administration officials and policemen seized passports of the people of four houses, promising to give the documents back if the Turks fill in migration cards.

It should be noted that Turks-Meskhetians have been living in Krasnodar Territory for over 15 years. They arrived there as early as the time of the USSR existence when they were forced to escape from the slaughter in Fergana (Uzbekistan). Nevertheless, regional authorities persistently call them illegal migrants, refuse to register them, to issue new standard passports, put obstacles for them in renting land plots for farming and market places. The interior ministry's organs routinely fine Turks for the lack of registration. Meanwhile, in spite of high-flown statements, the regional authorities' intentions towards this national group remain unclear. There is nowhere to deport Turks-Meskhetians. Nether Uzbekistan, from which they escapes as early as the time of the Soviet regime, nor Georgia, from which there were deported to Middle Asia in the time of Stalin will agree to accept them as their citizens.