Activist Fatima Suleymanova is one of the most visible millennial Chechen ladies in modern-day politics.As an agent of the Chechen nationwide independence motion United Force, Suleymanova projects on behalf of Chechen refugees in Europe and works closely with Ukrainian MPs.
She has been associated with cultural and political occasions within the Chechen diaspora across the EU and the U.K.
and has actually called for Chechnyas de-occupation at the Council of Europe.A Masters student at Sorbonne University focusing on languages and literatures of Russian-controlled areas, Suleymanova also challenges bias in academic community towards nations colonized by Russia.In an interview with The Moscow Times, Suleymanova went over the importance of talking about Chechnyas self-reliance, why Chechen activists are typically misconstrued by both the Russian opposition and Western academic community, the gender dynamics of Chechen independence motions and the challenges faced by Chechen refugees.This interview has been modified for length and clarity.The Moscow Times: Why is it crucial to talk about Chechnyas independence at global institutions like the Council of Europe?Fatima Suleymanova: What we are witnessing today in Ukraine is a continuation of what started in Chechnya.
If the international neighborhood continues to neglect the scenario in Chechnya, the risk of Russian imperialism will not disappear not after Putin, not even after a Ukrainian victory.Dzhokhar Dudayev, the very first president of the independent Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, alerted: If Europe concurs that Chechnya is Russias internal affair, then soon Europe itself will become Russias internal affair.
His words have shown to be prophetic in the context of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
This is why the decolonization of Russia including the end of the occupation of Chechnya is essential to taking apart the imperialist foundations of the Russian state.
Putin called the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
the catastrophe of the 20th century.
The genuine tragedy of the 20th century was that the collapse of the U.S.S.R.
was never ever completed.
Today, we should not duplicate the errors of the 1990s.
Russian imperialism needs to be ended for the sake of long lasting peace in Europe.Fatima Souleimanova (left) at a rally Courtesy photoMT: When you speak out versus the Kremlin, you often come across activists from the Russian opposition, and I understand that its not always easy.
Could you inform us a bit more about the issues youve had with them?FS: Each time we speak with members of the Russian opposition about Chechnya, we do not hear anything new.
They just repeat the exact same cliches that Russian authorities duplicated for centuries, and utilize the same tricks.The Russian Empire guaranteed not to conscript Chechens into its army, but broke that promise.
The Soviet Union declared it would enable us to practice our culture and religious beliefs, yet it suppressed both.
The Russian Federation informed us to take our independence.
We did, and in action, Russia waged war and began butchering Chechen civilians.So today, we refuse to think the Russian opposition when they promise us that they will give us broader powers within Russia after the collapse of Putins routine.
We do not need more comprehensive powers, we need full freedom from Russian occupation.We have spoken with many Russian opposition leaders, including the most widely known, Vladimir Kara-Murza and Ilya Yashin.
As quickly as they were released from Putins prisons, they instantly began calling for an end to sanctions, arguing that only Putin, not the Russian people, bears responsibility for Russias crimes.But when it pertains to individuals preyed on by Russia, Chechens among them, Kara-Murza has no hesitation in making us bear that obligation for all those criminal offenses, implicating us of killing Ukrainians more easily than Russians do, simply because we are not Slavic.
This was his reaction to a French senator who asked whether the situation in the republics like Chechnya might be described as colonial, and whether uprisings were possible there.
When our nationwide liberation movement United Force provided a declaration slamming Kara-Murzas xenophobic remarks at the French Senate and called for the development of a separate, permanent platform within PACE for the native individuals shackled by Russia, Kara-Murza accused us of calling him a Russian propagandist.
And this came after we had actually helped a European MP who wished to check out Kara-Murza in prison, and after we had actually started several conversations with him about the future of both Russia and Chechnya.
Fatima Souleimanova at the Council of Europe.Courtesy photoIlya Yashin has revealed comparable views, and did it even more aggressively, to the point that meaningful discussion with him has actually become impossible.
Both he and Kara-Murza use the very same manipulative rhetoric: We desire Chechnya to stay in Russia, but if Chechens vote to leave in a referendum, naturally they can.Yashin even declared that he thinks that Chechens choose to be in Russia.
If thats true, then why did Russia launch 2 wars in Chechnya? And why does Russia maintain roughly 200,000 soldiers in and around Chechnya even now, throughout the war in Ukraine?MT: How do people in the Chechen diaspora respond to the fact that you, a Chechen lady, freely take part in politics?FS: As a Chechen female in politics, I receive assistance not only from Chechen women however likewise from Chechen men.
In the Chechen mindset, the love of flexibility is so strong that anyone who defends it is admired.
This is why, for example, we have heroes like Gikhoyn Tamasha, a Chechen female and military leader who withstood Russian aggression throughout the Caucasus War in the 19th century.During the two current Russo-Chechen wars, numerous Chechen ladies were involved in the affairs of Chechnya since it was a fight for the self-reliance of the entire Chechen country and not just a separatist movement, as Russians love to claim.MT: Chechen and Ukrainian women who resist Russian hostility are treated in a different way.
Inform us more about this.FS: Both Chechen and Ukrainian women who participated in the wars are heroines for withstanding Russian aggression.
Unlike Ukrainian women, who are recognized as heroines by the worldwide community, Chechen females were labeled as terrorists.
I see this double basic plainly today.
Its particularly pertinent now, as Ukraine targets Russian military centers utilized to bomb Ukrainian civilian cities strikes that are fully authorized under the laws of war.
When Chechens did comparable things, resisting, the world responded extremely differently.This distinction in understanding exists because the worldwide community has picked to believe Russian clichs about Chechens, instead of listen to Chechens themselves.
If they truly listened, they would realize that Europeans have far more in common with Chechens than with Russians.
Unlike Russia, which has always lived under an authoritarian regime, Chechnya has historically been an egalitarian society.MT: How is Chechnya dealt with in Western academia? Do you see any discrimination or double standards?FS: During my 5 years of research study at Sorbonne University, I constantly chose to discuss Chechnya throughout examinations whenever we were allowed to pick our own topic.
But now its my last year in university, so I want to do something more meaningful.
I decided to organize a conference about Chechnya.
My preliminary idea was to hold it in honor of the 30th anniversary of the First Russo-Chechen War.
However when I shared this concept, I didnt encounter real interest.
Whenever I requested assistance, I was redirected from someone to another without receiving clear answers.
Rather of assistance, all I heard were reasons that this conference couldnt or shouldnt happen.
I altered the subject to focus on the deportation of the Chechen people under Stalin an act of genocide.
I faced the exact same obstacles.Fatima Suleymanova at a rally marking the anniversary of the Soviet forced deportations of the Chechens and Ingush in 1944.
Courtesy photoSciences Po in Paris arranged a conference on the 30th anniversary of the First Russo-Chechen War.
Among the speakers was Oleg Orlov, a Russian human rights activist.
But even at an occasion that was apparently devoted to Chechens, the so-called good Russians didnt think twice to challenge us.
Orlov explained Dzhokhar Dudayev as somebody who liked war and did not look for compromise.
When we tried to respond to these lies, we were silenced by the conferences organizers.
We ultimately handled to speak out, but it was quite difficult.MT: In your opinion, and based upon your deal with Chechen diasporas and worldwide organizations, what is the biggest problem that Chechen refugees face today?FS: One of the biggest issues is the problem of getting political asylum.
Western countries incorrectly presume that the Russo-Chechen wars are a distant memory which Chechens no longer face threat.
But they forget, or choose to disregard, that Chechnya stays under Russian occupation.
Even the tiniest act of demonstration against the regime can lead to abuse, death, or, considering that 2022, required conscription to combat versus Ukraine.Another significant concern is the risk of expulsion or extradition.
When a Chechen is understood to oppose the Russian regime, Moscow concerns a Red Notice via Interpol based upon false terrorism charges.
And yet, European nations have continued to believe those charges sending Chechen refugees back to Russia, where they deal with torture, death or forced mobilization.
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