President Erdoğan marks 155th anniversary of Circassian tragedy

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan marks 155th anniversary of Circassian tragedy.

Turkey on Tuesday remembered the deportation of the Circassians 155 years ago from their homeland in the Caucasus by the Russian Empire.

The Circassians, a predominantly Muslim people, suffered greatly under the Russians and were subjected to ethnic cleansing.

A war in 1864 near the Black Sea port city of Sochi resulted in a defeat for the Circassians and saw the empire invade all of Caucasia, a region extending from the eastern Black Sea to the Caspian Sea.

 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also sent a telegram to the event. 

“We remember with grief the events that detached Crimean Tatars from their homeland on the 75th anniversary. We wish God’s mercy to those who lost their lives in the most unforgettable crimes against humanity in Turkish and world history," Erdogan said.

"We carry the pain of this tragedy in our hearts even after 75 years. Turkey will continue to defend the rights of the people who live in Crimea and had to leave after the occupation," he added.

In a plight similar to that of the Crimean Tatars, nearly 1.5 million Circassians were expelled from the region to the east of the Black Sea when it was overrun by Russia in 1864. Some 400,000-500,000 are believed to have died.

Most of the Circassian exiles were absorbed into the Ottoman Empire, settling as far away as present-day Jordan.