20 April 2009, 23:20
Congress of the "Union of Repressed Nations" opened in Kalmykia
The city of Elista, the capital of Kalmykia, is hosting the constituent assembly of a new public organization - the "Union of Repressed Nations of Russia". Representatives of six nations are taking part in the event.
Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported that on February 23, a mini-park near Andrei Sakharov Centre in Moscow was the venue of a picket in memory of the victims of Stalin's deportation of Vainakhs and other nations. The action was organized by three dozens of activists of the Committee of Anti-War Actions, Anti-War Club, Solidarity Union with Political Prisoners and the Human Rights Centre "Memorial".
The first representatives to arrive to Kalmykia were from the Ingush, Balkar and Karachai nations. Chechens and Germans from the Volga region also plan to take part in the congress.
"We've gathered here for the noble aim - to achieve full rehabilitation of our repressed nations. Each of us is patriot not only of Russia but also of his or her own nation. The Russian laws on rehabilitation of repressed nations and victims of political repressions should be enforced to the full, and our task is to act in ensemble towards our common aim," Dalkhat Kasaev, a member of the Karachai delegation, said on the eve of the congress, as the website "Civitas.ru" reports.
"The moral duty of our generation is to restore the historical truth and historical memory, and to rehabilitate everyone who was illegally subjected to political repressions, including for the reason of his or her nationality affiliation," said Arkadiy Goryaev, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the constituent assembly.
The idea to set up a united organization of deported nations of Northern Caucasus and Kalmykia belongs to the NGO operating in Chechnya and named "Children of Kazakhstan", as asserts the author of the "Blog on Chechnya" (blog.vchechne.ru).
