Georgia, Tbilisi, Dec. 15 / Trend N.Kirtzkhalia /
Didoytsy living in Dagestan want to live in Georgia, Didoytsy representative Mohammad Ramzanov said in Tbilisi.
Ramzanov met with Georgian MPs. He said he brought about 15,000 signatures to Tbilisi, in which the majority of the adult population reaffirms desires to live in Georgia.
Ramzanov said they were oppressed by Russia for years, and were not allowed to speak their language or study their own history.
"We were repressed from 1944. Our houses were burned and everything was destroyed. We demand compensation for victims of the repression. We arrived in Georgia to tell the world how we are treated. Please allow us to live in Georgia," he said.
MP Nugzar Tsiklauri said at this stage Georgia is not considering changing its borders with Russia, but parliament believes the Caucasus is a single cultural area.
"In this regard, there is no North and South Caucasus, but a single Caucasus in any matter - in the relations between nations, scientific and cultural relations, and so on. We are ready to assist these people" Tsiklauri said, adding that the Georgian parliament will request the preservation of the Didoytsy ethnicity from the international community.
The Didoytsy are an indigenous people living in 46 mountainous villages in Dagestan.