Azerbaijan's Shusha hosts panel discussion on "Modern forms of colonialism: actions bringing tragedy, slavery and suffering to peoples" (UPDATE)
Details added: first version posted on 12:58
SHUSHA, Azerbaijan, July 6. A panel discussion on the topic "Modern forms of colonialism: actions bringing tragedy, slavery and suffering to peoples" has been held in Shusha, Trend's correspondent reports from the event.
The mentioned panel has been organized within the framework of an international conference entitled "Cultural and ethnic diversity: lessons from history, contemporary challenges", which has started in Shusha. Representatives of civil society from 10 countries, including Azerbaijan, the U.S., France, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Israel, Türkiye, and Georgia, have joined the conference.
The panel moderator, co-founder and chairperson of the World Circassian Council in Lithuania, Fatimat Kardanova-Ianonene, first thanked representatives of Azerbaijan’s civil society for creating this important international platform. According to her, the conference can be considered the beginning of a major process.
“Azerbaijan can become a venue for international forums dedicated to the history and national memory of the indigenous peoples of the Caucasus. The Circassians expect Azerbaijan to support the preservation of the Circassian language and culture, which are under pressure from Russia,” she said.
Angelika Toktamish-Jeyishakar, a member of the Circassian Agency Public Movement in Türkiye, delivered a report on the topic of “The Potential of Circassian Communities”.
“It is very important that the voices of people who have endured great suffering throughout history be heard and that their future be discussed. The goal of Circassian communities is not conflict. The goal is justice, cooperation, economic prosperity, and lasting peace among nations. Without forgetting the past, we want to look confidently toward the future,” she noted.
Raisa Zubareva, the leader of the “Free Sakha Movement”, who joined the conference via video link from Poland, delivered a speech on the topic “The essence of the Sakha independence movement”. Zubareva said that this movement was not born out of hatred, but as a result of 400 years of discrimination and oppression.
“Sakha lands are one of the richest regions in the world. Diamonds, gold, oil, natural gas, coal, rare earth metals and many other natural resources bring huge incomes. However, decisions are made in Moscow. It is there that the rules governing the extraction of wealth, the distribution of income, tax policy, and strategic priorities are determined. Today, the Republic of Sakha has actually turned into a raw material colony with no control over its own economic future. As a result, a surprising paradox has emerged: one of the richest regions in the world in terms of natural resources is drowning in serious social and infrastructure problems,” she explained.
Zubareva also noted that the Sakha people are discriminated against and humiliated due to their ethnicity.
"Our language has been suppressed from many areas of public life, and although it officially has the status of the state language within the Republic of Sakha, it is gradually being replaced by Russian in education, public administration, and the information space," she added.
Zurtan Khaltarov, founder of the "Buriyad Gurun" ("Buryat Government") movement, who joined the conference via video link from Poland, spoke on the topic "The essence of Buryat national identity".
"Buryats constitute the largest indigenous population of Siberia. We live in lands stretching from the Yenisei to the Amur River. Unlike some pseudo-national Buryat organizations that focus mainly on cultural and folklore activities and are unable to form a unified political agenda related to historical memory and collective rights, the modern Circassian movement demonstrates a higher level of international mobilization. In recent decades, Circassian organizations have successfully united their diasporas and made the issue of recognizing the Circassian genocide a central element of their national identity and political programs," he pointed out.
Khaltarov said that the fundamental rights and freedoms of the Buryats are ignored in Russia: "The experience of modern Azerbaijan is of particular interest to the Buryat national movement. Azerbaijan has demonstrated that the preservation of historical memory, the strengthening of national identity, and the organization of the effective functioning of the state are interrelated processes. Azerbaijan has created a model of sustainable state development, in which culture, language, and historical memory are perceived as strategic resources of the nation. For the Buryat people, this experience shows that cultural revival and institutional self-affirmation don't contradict modernization, but on the contrary, they can become its foundation, ensuring the preservation of national identity against the backdrop of global political and economic changes," he noted.
