Circassian social activists ask to adhere to the principle of national quotas when appointing officials

The heads of public organizations Dzhanibek Kuzhev (Abaza), Abu-Yusuf Banov (Council of Elders of the Circassian people) and Rauf Daurov (Centre of Circassian Culture) appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to help solve the problem of infringement of the rights of Circassians and Abaza in Karachay-Cherkessia, where, according to them, the majority of leadership positions are occupied by Karachays.

This is reported by the "Caucasian Knot" . Social activists also demanded that the post of head of the Federal Tax Service for Karachay-Cherkessia be retained by a representative of their ethnic group.

“The topic of constantly arising interethnic tensions and non-observance of national parity in the power structures of Karachay-Cherkessia has been relevant for the Abaza and Circassian peoples living on the territory of the republic for almost 20 years. We believe that the Abazins and Circassians in the KChR are deprived of a guaranteed percentage of representation in government bodies. The long-term personnel bias in favor of representatives of the Karachay nationality is the main detonator of a possible inter-ethnic conflict, ”the letter of the heads of public organizations says.

The authors of the letter also note that today, out of 48 federal executive bodies in Karachay-Cherkessia, only one of them is headed by a Circassian, and in the executive bodies of the republic, which are headed by Karachays, the number of working Karachays is up to 85-90%.