Last weekend in Strasbourg there was a meeting of the first Chechen Assembly of Europe, which brought together representatives of numerous Chechen diasporas in EU countries. In particular, representatives of Chechens from Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, Great Britain, France, Poland and Estonia were present.
Hamza Chernomorchensko, the editor-in-chief of «Voice of Islam», was an invited guest and a representative of the media. The representatives of the diaspora decided to make this Assembly a permanent body of European Chechens, with annual congresses (except for emergency congresses) and the coordinating functions of the Assembly Council during the breaks. Yokhar Gazanbiev was elected technical coordinator of the Council.
The need to create a pan-European Chechen parliament is connected with the new reality in which the Chechen organizations that have existed in Europe for a long time are insufficient to solve their vital problems. Today, according to various estimates, there are several tens to hundreds of thousands of Chechens living in EU countries (including the still existing United Kingdom) who were forced to leave their homeland as a result of both wars and repressive occupation policies, or who were born in Europe. In addition, the forced exodus from the land of the ancestors (Daimokh) continues and tends to intensify. But even in their new places of residence, these people face serious problems.
Persecution by the Russian security forces, to which they still formally belong, including through Interpol; physical terror against these people themselves or their relatives who remain in their homeland; informational terror, whether from Kremlin propaganda or local Islamophobes; The involvement of individual representatives of the Chechen diaspora in the activities of extremist groups that discredit Islam and are used to demonize Chechens; the preservation of national and religious identities and traditions, as well as the need for successful integration into new societies — the solution to these problems requires the consolidation of the efforts of the entire nation, in this case its free and conscious part.
The organization Bart-Marcho (Unity and Freedom) initiated the creation of the Assembly. In his opening words to the participants of the Assembly, its chairman, Chechen historian and public figure Yambulat Suleimanov (pictured with a microphone), called on the participants to unite their efforts to help integrate members of Chechen communities in various countries where they have found refuge, to help them find education and employment, to protect their rights in accordance with the legislation of these countries, as well as to counter extremist ideas among youth and any actions that could discredit the good name of the Chechen people.
Bibulatov Mahmoud, Sulumov Yaragi, Baduev Isa from Germany, Akhaev Ruslan from Estonia, Lema Shamkurzaev from the United Kingdom, Airsbi Abubakar, Sheikh Musaitov, Apti Sulukhadzhiev, Yakub Kant from Austria, Islamov Umar from France and others also shared their thoughts on the work of the Assembly and the tasks facing Chechens in Europe. Urgent issues facing the Chechen diaspora were raised by Maynat Kurbanova (pictured), who came from Germany. In particular, she spoke about the need for serious efforts by the entire diaspora to preserve the national identity of the growing generations of European Chechens, as well as the problems faced by Chechen women in emigration.
On the whole, from our interactions with the participants of the Assembly, they expect that in the future its meetings and activities will be focused on practical problems of Chechens living in Europe. In one way or another, an attempt has been made to unite the European Chechen diaspora. Now the Chechen Assembly of Europe faces the task of transforming itself into a real parliament and coordination center of Chechens in Europe, which will represent them not only in words but also in deeds before the states and societies of their current countries of residence. We wish the organizers and participants of the Assembly success in this endeavor.