Nalchik holds rally on Memory Day of Balkars' deportation victims

The rally of Balkars, held today in Nalchik, at the Memorial to victims of violent deportation of the Balkar nationals, has instructed the Board of Elders of the Balkar People (BEBP) and the organization named "Balkaria" to initiate the process of self-identification of the Balkar people, since the problems raised by the BEBP on behalf of the nation are not solved. About 500 persons present at the event have voted unanimously for the initiative.

In spite of the fact that Oyus Gurtuev, a member of the BEBP, read out a telegram from Mikhail Zalikhanov, a State Duma Deputy, asking to commemorate the victims without "politicizing" the issue, people could not do without politics.

Ismail Sabanchiev, Chairman of the BEBP, said in his speech that Stalin and Beria had evicted Balkars in order to expand the territory of Georgia. According to his version, a confirmation is in the fact that the pre-Elborus territory was added to Georgia.

After paying tribute to history, the speaker passed over to analysis of the today's situation with the Balkar people, having noted that no territorial rehabilitation of Balkar people ever took place. Moreover, with introduction of the so-called "inter-village territories" many Balkar villages lost their lands, needed for traditional animal husbandry, while municipal formations Khasanya and Belaya Rechka were deprived of their status with violation of the constitutional rights of their residents, as Mr Sabanchiev has noted.

The rally passed a resolution and supported the BEBP's idea to meet Alexander Khloponin, Plenipotentiary of Russian President in the NCFD (North-Caucasian Federal District), "to address the accumulated problems."

The resolution offers to set up the Board of Elders of Northern Caucasus Nations at the Plenipotentiary and award it with special consultative powers.