Annexed to the Letter of Ingilos

United Nations, New-York, USA

Mr. Michel Klor-Berchtold 5-7, Kartnerring, Vienna 1010 OSCE Secretariat, Office of the Secretary General Tel.: 51-436-0, fax: 51-436-39

People are persecuted in Zakatala District of Azerbaijan for their Christian religion. ¹ This has had no analogues in the world for decades now. Since 1918, all the ways for national, cultural and economic development have been cut off for Muslim Ingilo Georgians, the original residents of the district, as well as for other ethnic minorities of Azerbaijan - Didos, Avars, Tsakhurs, Lezgs, Talyshes, Tats, Curds, etc. No autonomy was given to the mentioned ethnic groups, though some of them count 100, 200 or 300 thousand people. Ingilo Georgians who demanded to have kindergartens and schools in their native Georgian language were declared untrustworthy and have been subject to state policies of making Tatars (traditional Georgian name for Muslims and Az-eris in particular) and Turks out of them.

We, Ingilos are the original residents of three districts of Azerbaijan - Kakhi, Zakatala, and Belekani. We are Georgians by origin, as well as by language. The territory was taken from Georgia by Bolsheviks in 1920 and given to Azerbaijan. Our ancestors were Christians, but were forcefully made Muslims in 17-18th centuries. The process of restoration of the Christian religion among Ingilos began 140 years ago. Most of Ingilos residing in Kakhi District are Christians at present. The other part of us, the most numerous in the three districts, makes the Muslim community. Restoration of Christian religion among the community began seven years ago.

In 1860-1870s we already had schools where several subjects were taught in our native Georgian language. It would be natural to continue having them in 1920s,but the leadership of Communist Azerbaijan decided it otherwise. They pursued Panislamic policies of assimilating all the minorities. We, Muslim Ingilos, have been subject to these policies, while Christian Ingilos, Armenians and others were supposed to leave the "Muslim" country. This is why the state policies of Azerbaijan have pursued this aim beginning from 1920s.

Georgian primary and literacy schools that were opened in 1921-1922 were changed to Turkish primary and literacy schools. Ingilo Georgians hardly knew anything of Turkish at the time. Tens and hundreds of those who dared to protest were shot and killed at the spot or exiled to Siberia. The Azerbaijani authorities used the Soviet regime's boundless repressive force against Georgians rather than for the political purposeof establishing dictatorship. Ingilos, who had always been oppressed and were very much frightened then, could not take any measures until 1938. They continued to learn in Turkish schools. Georgian schools were restored in main villages in January 1938, but they were again changed into "Azerbaijanian" ones in 1941.

Early in August 1944 the well-known Ingilo Georgian public figure Giorgi Gamkharashvili met Stalin in Moscow and presented the just demands of his people to him. As a result, Georgian secondary, eight-year, primary and boarding schools (22 in all) were opened in main villages of our region. However, in 1955 the Azerbaijanian authorities, and in particular the Party officials, closed the Georgian schools after the 20th Congress of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union claiming that they had been opened by the traitor Beria and the tyrant Stalin. Azerbaijanian schools were opened instead.

Ingilos answered with a new protest movement led by the student Ildirim Musayev from the village of Aliabad that resulted in reopening all the Georgian schools and a new Georgian boarding school in Zakatala. However the oppression on the side of the authorities became even more severe. In 1968-1970, bandits hired by the District Party Committee burnt dwelling houses, cattle-sheds and haylofts belonging to more than a hundred Ingilos. Some of them were beaten, others imprisoned. This was done for the purpose of frightening Ingilos and closing Georgian schools. Besides, Ingilo specialists continued to be oppressed. This is why many of them have left the motherland.

The KGB has become even more active. It began intimidating and winning over to their side Ingilo families in order to assimilate them easier. In 1963-1964 the heads of the villages of Zegami and Tasmalo were taken to Kakhi. After KGB had "worked" with them, the population of the villages "voluntarily" closed Georgian schools and kindergartens and opened Azerbaijanian ones. Georgian is no more spoken in these and other villages of the district. Those who can still speak it prefer to conceal this.

The authorities have taken "so much care" of the population of Zakatala and Belekani Districts that in 1960-1970s Russian and Azerbaijanian sectors were opened in Georgian schools. This was the beginning of a new and even ruder stage of the ethnic and language degradation of Ingilo young people. The fact that three-language schools exist in our region is the result of the rude anti-Georgian activities of intimidation on the part of the authorities. Besides, since 1969 it has been forbidden for the Georgian Education Ministry and other patronage organisations to arrive for the purpose of rendering methodical and other kinds of aid to the Georgian sectors of the schools. Local militia and KGB would detain and drive Georgian guests out. The methods of isolating our villages and schools from the Georgian culture became even ruder during the last four or five years. The educational process in Georgian schools is brought to naught because of lack of control. One more state plan that aims at shutting down Georgian schools is being implemented this way.

The leader of Caucasian Muslims Sheykh-ul-Islam-Allahshukur Pasha-zade, accompanied by the "protector" of human rights and minorities Hidayat Orucov, arrived in the village of Aliabad (Elis-eni) from Baku in 1996. The village has a 10 thousand population of Ingilos. The two men were asked by daring young men from Aliabad who had just restored their Christian religion, why it was forbidden to build a church in the village and why the Christian community had been refused registration. Christians were waiting in vain for an answer for two years. In answer the Muslim religious leader appealed to the Muslims who were present (he took the Ingilo-Georgians for Muslim fanatics) to crush their Christian neighbours.

On January 23 of the same year, security and other state structures of Azerbaijan inflicted reprisals in the Georgian school of the village of Mosul. The icon of Our Lady was torn to pieces, as well as the portraits of Queen Tamar, King David Agmashenebeli, the Georgian poets Shota Rustaveli, Ilia Chavchavadze, Vazha-Pshavela, Akaki Tsereteli, and others. Historical maps of Georgia were also destroyed. It is noteworthy that this is not the first time they do this. Some "guilty" teachers were dismissed from the school. Those Ingilos who say toasts in Georgian and sing Georgian songs at wedding parties are still being summoned to security headquarters for questioning.

It was on 9 February that the Georgian Foreign Affairs Minister visited the Ingilo Muslim community at last. Local authorities and officials from Baku led by the mentioned H. Orucov arranged meetings only with small numbers of those Ingilos who were specially chosen and intimidated. Ingilo renegades from Aliabad hired by H. Orucov and the Head of Administration of Zakatala District R. Mecidov were supposed to speak about "the happy life of Ingilos".

The Chief Mullah of Aliabad, together with his team, visited the family of the teacher of the Aliabad school Zurab Abulashvili in April 1996. He warned him on behalf of R. Orucov and the Head of District Police: "A year has passed since we warned you for the first time, but neither you nor your family members and any of your relatives changed the Georgian family names, none of you returned to Islam. R. Mecidov, regional security leader, and the Head of Police told us that in case Georgians retain their nationality and the Christian faith we are authorised to burn all of their houses. We must not be afraid. We will not have to answer for that."

On 19 April 1997 R. Mecidov and other law enforcement bodies gathered people in Aliabad and Mosul. They declared Orthodox Christians and Baptists out of law, arrested several Christian men and dismissed women from their posts of teachers and nurses. Even relatives of Christian Ingilos were dismissed.

Our young people sent messages to Presidents Aliev and Shevardnadze describing the injustice in the region. Those who had signed the message, as well as their parents, were summoned to Militia, Prosecutor's Office and security bodies. At midnight on 26 and 27 May representatives of Azerbaijanian security services shot from sub-machine-guns at the houses of newly christened Ingilo Muslims. Ingilos who had restored their Georgian family names and nationality found notices on the doors of their houses with threats: "Unless you come to the Mosque for a prayer we will kill you all".

Nobody helps us, while the methods of the Azrbaijanian authorities are rude and directed at assimilating us. The Georgian authorities are not interested in our fate either. This is why we have been deprived of fundamental ethnic rights from the very beginning. We cannot receive education in our native language (we have no Georgian schools and kindergartens), cannot give our children Georgian surnames, have Georgian family names, create folk ensembles and societies in villages and schools. Turks and Tatars have seven societies in Georgia, while we have none in Azerbaijan. Under the Communist regime we could freely sing and dance at wedding parties, say toasts in our native Georgian language. However during the last years the Azerbaijanian authorities are depriving us even of these elementary rights. Thus, minorities in Georgia received wide autonomy from the very beginning (in 1921), but the people who lived on their native land and had lived there before Turkish tribes came to Azerbaijan have become victims of assimilation.

The only thing we, Georgians residing in Zakatala, Belekani and Kakhi Districts of Azerbaijan who are called Ingilos, need is the freedom of having Georgian kindergartens, Georgian schools, folk song and dance ensembles, Christian religion, Georgian family names and surnames, toasts said in our native language. We want to have all this peacefully. We are ready for martyrdom for our Christian faith, the faith of our ancestors, but still we want the freedom of religion.

We appeal to You to help usl

June 1 1997

Kakhi, Aliabad, Mosul, Ititala

1 Short historical note. On the verge of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Georgian feudal monarchy fell in three kingdoms and five principalities. TheKakheti-Hereti Kingdom that was situated in the extreme east existed until the early 17th century. After the Iranian Shah Abbas I's five devastating invasions (1613-1617), the kingdom lost all of its eastern provinces, i.e. entire Hereti. Eighty percent of the population was forcibly deported to Iran. Their descendants populate until now the Mazandaran, Gilan, and Fereydan provinces of Iran. Instead, Shah Abbas I moved Daghestanis from mountainous regions to Saingilo, intending to alienate the region from Kakheti politically and convert the remaining population to Islam by force. Since the early 19th century, the Georgians converted to Islam and living on this territory have been called Ingilos (a distorted Turkish word meaning "newly converted" or "newcomer").

Russian rule was established on the territory in 1830. In the 1840s, some of the Georgian Muslims started regaining the Christian faith. However, the Russian colonial authorities stopped the movement several years later, as they did not want to worsen their relations with Daghestanis. However, restoration of the Christian faith among the Ingilos in Kakhi is due to exactly this movement.

Due to the merciless policy of assimilation first in the monarchist Russia, then in independent Azerbaijan (1918-1920), and later in Soviet Azerbaijan, many Georgian villages in Saingilo (Belekani, Zakatala, and Kakhi Districts) lost not only the Christian faith, but also the Georgian language (Darbazi, Tsablovani, Belekani, Katekhi, Matsekhi, Gogami, Tala, Mukhakhi, Bazari, Kondakhi, Hengiani, Verkhviani, Zegani (Zegami), Tasmaluri (Tasmali), Chadivari (Lalapasha), Marsani, Shotavari, Koragani, Vardiani (Gyuluk), Vashlovani (Almalo), and others).

Pressure on the Georgian population is even stronger in Azerbaijan currently compared with the Soviet rule. Christians (Kakhi District) are under economic and administrative pressure with the intention to make them emigrate to Georgia. The Muslims fully isolated from Georgia are undergoing assimilation accompanied with economic sanctions.

The Georgian authorities that have given vast autonomy to ethnic minorities in Georgia in violation of the law have never protected our ethnic rights from the assimilation policies of the Azerbaijani authorities. However, during their visit to Baku on 29 January 2002, Georgian Parliament's Chairwoman Nino Burja-nadze and parliamentarian Revaz Mishveladze spoke to Azerbaijani President Aliev about the ethnic rights of Ingilos. The president promised to improve the existing situation. More than nine months have passed since then, but the situation has not improved at all. It even became worse. This is why we now rely upon the help of the people of good will in the West. We demand elementary human rights. We wouM like to have nurseries and schools in our mother tongue, the right to give our children Georgian first names, restore our family names and religion, and sing Georgian songs.

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