From: MSN Nicknamesatanay_b (Original Message) Sent: 6/8/2005 6:30 AM
The following was recevied from Asida Lomia:
......................................................................................
The Caucasus Foundation
25 Clara Street, North Haledon, N.J., USA 07508 Tel: 973-423-0072 Fax: 973-423-1135
Email: ykazan@aol.com & ykazan@abkhazia.org
The Abkhaz Diaspora’s Inalienable Right to Return to Abkhazia
May 21, 2005
The purpose of this policy statement is to provide a concise analysis of the Abkhaz Diaspora’s inalienable right to return to its ethnic homeland as citizens of Abkhazia whenever they want to do so and to provide a legal mechanism for amending the Abkhaz Constitution to facilitate the reintegration of our people.
The historical tragic record of the Abkhaz Diaspora is well known and I do not need to go through it in this statement.
Despite the above realities, the Abkhaz Diaspora endured, preserving its language, culture, customs and heritage from generation to generation until the present date. Today the Abkhaz Diaspora consider themselves ethnic Abkhaz, regardless of their current citizenship or present residence.
The Abkhaz Diaspora for over several generations has patiently waited for the opportunity to return home. It is the legislative responsibility and moral imperative of the Abkhaz parliament and President to bring our people home as full Abkhaz citizens, not quazi Abkhaz citizens.
The Diaspora’s desire to return home should not be interpreted with suspicion or paranoia reminiscent of the Soviet era, rather it should be viewed for what it is; a sincere desire to reestablish their roots and ties to their homeland and people.
This organization was established in 1979 ; in the State of New Jersey – USA – it was known as North Caucasus Center before it was changed to the current name. It is a none profit organization, dedicated to encourage and support, in legal means, the indigenous people of the Caucasus; wherever they may be, to maintain their national identity, culture and languages
Page 2
Another significant reason why facilitating the return of the Diaspora into Abkhazia is demographics. The demographic reality is that a return of many Abkhazians to Abkhazia will democratically create a majority for our people in our homeland. There is no need for artificial or engineered majorities. When the Diaspora either returns home or is granted citizenship rights to vote in Abkhaz elections, the democratic process will work in our favor in the peace process to the Georgian’s detriment.
Why should the Georgian refugees "rights to return" to Abkhazia be superior to the Abkhaz Diaspora’s rights to return? In fact, the Abkhaz government should make us their first priority. In the final analysis, all Abkhaz people are bound by the same ethnic and cultural identity and must remain united to preserve its national identity and the future of its people. The Diaspora represents the last, best, and only hope for rebirth and revitalization!
Chapter 7 articles 83 and 84 of the Abkhazian Constitution contains the legal mechanisms and framework for being amended. The President of Abkhazia should seize the initiative by introducing a historic and landmark legislation before the Abkhaz parliament to amend the Abkhaz Constitution by granting citizenship rights to all those persons living in the Diaspora who can demonstrate, through credible evidence presented, their Abkhaz ancestry.
This procedure should be gender neutral and applicable to both men and women above the age of 18 years who can trace their ancestry through either parent to a common Abkhaz ancestor. A similar gender neutral procedure should be implemented, regarding citizenship rights derived through marriage to an Abkhaz national with a non-Abkhaz national.
It is for the Abkhaz government to determine the means of implementing the orderly return
of its Diaspora to Abkhazia.
Finally, the President of Abkhazia in spearheading this motion to amend the Abkhaz Constitution will be exercising true leadership and independence of action regarding the status of its people. This legislation should be adopted, independently of other issues surrounding the peace process, future relations with Georgia, and the orderly return of Georgian refugees to the Gal region. Abkhazians do not need to seek approval of Georgians for the return of its own ethnic sons and daughters into Abkhazia.
Almighty God has blessed our homeland and its people for over a millennium. May God continue to give our people and our leadership the strength and wisdom to reinvent our homeland and create a 21st Century Abkhaz Renaissance. This has been my dream and this is our destiny.
Yahia Kazan
May 21, 2005
May 25, 2005
Dr. Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
United States Department of State
Washington, D.C. 20520
Your Excellency,
I acknowledge receipt of Ambassador Steven R. Mann’s letter dated May 6, 2005. I am forwarding my response directly to you for your review. After carefully analyzing his response to my letter, it became necessary to share some additional thoughts with you regarding the political stalemate between Abkhazia and Georgia. In June 2002, I led a delegation to Tbilisi, Georgia to meet with the Georgian leadership and discuss the possibilities for an equitable honorable peace between our two great ancient peoples. I had numerous lengthy political meetings with the Georgian leadership including a detailed personal meeting with President Shevardnadze. Specifically, I implored him to consider a peace proposal that would guarantee Abkhazia’s sovereignty, physical security and political and economic dominance over its territory. President Shevardnadze reiterated several times during my discussions with him that Abkhazia will have maximum independence within Georgia. However, he failed to understand that Abkhazia would never return to Georgia in any manner reminiscent of the past, i.e. autonomy or super autonomy status within Georgia. A national anthem, its own parliament, a veto power over Georgian legislation, economic control over its territory, and a local police force, simply failed to meet Abkhaz expectations and/or demands.
Regrettably, the Georgian leadership failed to seize the initiative during my June 2002 trip to Georgia. During the ensuing three years, the Abkhaz people, both at home and in the Diaspora, overwhelmingly rejected the concept of Abkhazia within a Federated Georgia. In fact, many of the indigenous Abkhaz population obtained Russian passports and determined that becoming citizens of the Russian Federation was the only option left for their freedom, and for their future.
It is imperative that the United States Department of State, as well as the Georgian leadership recognize that Abkhazia simply will not return to a status within Georgia , which is asymmetrical, i.e. anything less than equal. United Nations sponsored confidence building mechanisms, and NGO initiatives, while well intended, will not influence our people at all to sacrifice what they gained from the war; namely their freedom from Georgian domination and control. Our people find it incredibly arrogant that the Georgian leadership can continue to submit peace proposals that are oblivious to the political reality that Abkhazia will not return to Georgia as a subordinate power. I must tell you frankly that the Abkhaz leadership, the indigenous Abkhaz population, and the Abkhaz Diaspora find this attitude ridiculous, for the simple reason that the Georgians are living in the past.
Finally, let me share with you reality on a personal level. In 1994-95, one of my close friends son, was a 17-year-old young man at the time and fought during the war. He is now 27 years of age and represents an entire generation of Abkhazian youth who have grown up outside of Georgian control. He had thousands of other young man who fought and died in the war, along with their families will not tolerate a return to Georgia as a subordinate political entity. This is the reality on the ground that must be respected by all concerned parties, including the friends of the UN Secretary General. If the Georgian leadership, the United Nations Security Council, the friends of the UN General Secretary, and the United States government are unwilling to accept this reality then Abkhazia and its people at home and abroad are willing to wait as long as necessary to be independent and free of Georgian control. This is reality.
Respectfully submitted,
Dr. Y. Kazan
President
Abkhaz Alliance
