Jul 31, 2011

Circassian Genocide Memorial to Be Built in Georgia

A monument commemorating the Circassian genocide will be erected May 21, 2012 in the Georgian coastal town of Anaklia, Georgian Minister of Diaspora Issues Papuna Davitaia said July 29.

He said that the competition for the best memorial project will be opened September 10, with the participation of Georgian and foreign sculptors.


Davitaia said that the date of May 21 has been chosen because it is the day when the Circassian people themselves commemorate the genocide. It was earlier reported that a Circassian Cultural Center would be opened in Georgia.

On May 20, the Georgian parliament accepted a resolution recognizing the genocide of the Circassian people at the hands of the Russian Empire.

The resolution stated that the Georgian Parliament recognizes as an act of genocide the mass murder and forced exodus of the Circassian people (also known as Cherkess or Adygh) from their historical land during the Russian-Caucasian war 1817-1864. This recognition of genocide is in accordance with the IV Hague Convention on Laws and Customs of War on Land of October 18, 1907, and the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

According to the resolution, the Georgian parliament also recognized the Circassian people who were deported during and after the Russian-Caucasian war as refugees, with reference to the UN Convention on the status of the Refuges.

Source: A monument commemorating the Circassian genocide