A new documentary on the exile and repatriation of Ahıska Turks, also known as Meskhetian Turks, who have spent their lives without a state for more than half a century, was prepared by the Turkish Presidency's Directorate of Communications.
According to a statement made by the directorate, the difficult days of Ahıska Turks, who were exiled by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin in 1944 and condemned to live stateless because of their beliefs and ethnic origins, were told in the documentary “120 Minutes.”
The production details how Stalin, who gained the upper hand toward the end of World War II, gave the Ahıska Turks on the Georgian border only two hours to pack their belongings and leave the country to prevent possible moves from the Turks and to reduce the Turkish ethnic density.
The documentary goes on to explain how the community, which has been living away from its homeland for more than 70 years, returns to its homeland in 120 minutes through the initiatives of the Republic of Turkey.
In the film, which was shot in the Erzincan and Bitlis provinces, Ahıska Turks, who are the last surviving witnesses of the exile living in Turkey, are interviewed.
Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun stated that the oppression faced by the Ahıska Turks who were exiled was revealed through the documentary and noted that the film describes how the Republic of Turkey and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan protected them.
Pointing out that the persecution inflicted on Ahıska Turks is ignored by many countries in the world, Altun said: "The homesickness of our Ahıska Turk brothers, who were brought to our country by the order of President Erdoğan, has ended. The Republic of Turkey has always stood by the oppressed, wherever they may be in the world, and has always extended and continues to extend a helping hand to its Turkish and Muslim brothers.”
