Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his message, “The exile and genocide inflicted upon the Circassian peoples is one of the most cruel and darkest pages in history.

We will always carry the grief of our Circassian brothers in our hearts.”

TOBB president Hisarcıklıoğlu said in his message:

“March 21^st, 2014, is the anniversary of one of the historically most anguished days. The Circassian – Russian wars ended on May 21^st 1864 in the Kbaada Valley near Sochi, called Krasnaya Polyana today, with a heavy defeat for the Circassians.

With the end of the war, Tsarist Russia exiled the Circassian peoples as well as subjecting them to genocide in accordance with the Tsar’s strategic goals.

The Circassian peoples, in their last stand in defense of their historic homeland of Caucasia, were persecuted grievously and exiled unjustly. Their heroic struggle against persecution and invasion will never be forgotten.

It is our hope that the way the Circassian peoples were ripped out of their homeland and exiled, and the wounds thereby inflicted in the hearts of humanity and history will provide a lesson to prevent a similar purge from happening again.

We are one and united in Turkey with all of our citizens; Circassian, Turk, Kurd, Laz, Georgian, Armenian, Greek and a myriad of others.

We are a country which will fight tooth and nail for homeland and a common future. Every pain in the past is shared by us all. The wound that bleeds is a wound on the body united.

On behalf of the Turkish business community, we share the pain of our Circassian brothers and sisters on this, the anniversary of the Great Exile and express our hope that such tragedy shall never again take place.”