On December 13, at a plenary meeting of the Verkhovna Rada, the first vice-speaker of the Ukrainian parliament, Alexander Kornienko, announced the creation of the inter-factional deputy association “Free Ichkeria”. Its members included 12 deputies from the political parties “Servant of the People”, “European Solidarity” and “Voice”.
The MFO “Free Ichkeria” considers its principles to be recognition of the sovereignty of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which is occupied by Russia, recognition of the illegitimacy of Ramzan Kadyrov’s government in Chechnya, recognition of the genocide of the Chechen people, said member of the association, deputy Alexander Merezhko. On his Facebook account, he called the creation of the MFO an important step towards the de-occupation of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
“This significant event became possible, in particular, thanks to the initiative of the united Chechen diaspora and its leaders Dzhambulat Suleymanov and Anzor Maskhadov, with whom we held fruitful discussions about the future of the ChRI. Being in opposition to Kadyrov and publicly speaking about his crimes at the international level is life-threatening. But I am glad that there are people who, despite the risks, are still ready to fight for the independence of their homeland. Chechnya faces a difficult path from de-occupation to free elections and independence. It is important that in Ukraine she found a friend along this path, and there will be more of these friends. Members of the microfinance organizations will work on this,” Merezhko noted.
Meanwhile, it is obvious that a split is occurring in the ranks of the Chechen diaspora in Europe. In November, two separate congresses of supporters of the independence of the Republic of Ichkeria were held. On November 25-26, a forum initiated by Dzhambulat Suleymanov was held near Paris - the 1st International Congress of the United Diaspora of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. A day later, a conference was held organized by the prime minister of the unrecognized Ichkeria in exile, Akhmed Zakayev. According to the publication “Caucasus. Realities”, “these congresses became a kind of political duel between two leaders of the diaspora: some participants in the events openly spoke about dividing Ichkerians into opposing camps.”
This summer, a deputy group “For a Free Caucasus” was created in the Verkhovna Rada. It included deputies from the ruling party of Ukraine “Servant of the People” and from opposition factions. The group was led by a deputy from the European Solidarity party, Alexey Goncharenko. In May, he proposed to the Rada to recognize the genocide of the Circassians and the independence of Ichkeria, and later, together with deputy Musa Magomedov, he introduced a bill to parliament recognizing the independence of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria.
Earlier, at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Goncharenko spoke about the oppression of the North Caucasian peoples and pitting them against each other by Moscow. “Once upon a time, the peoples of the Caucasus suffered from repression and genocide. In the 19th century, the Circassians suffered. During the Great Patriotic War, hundreds of thousands of Chechens and Ingush were deported. At the end of the 20th century, Chechens tried to defend their freedom. As a result, 200 thousand of them were killed,” said Alexey Goncharenko.
In October, the Verkhovna Rada adopted a resolution recognizing Chechnya as a territory temporarily occupied by Russia, and also condemned the “genocide of the Chechen people.” All 287 deputies present voted for the resolution.