The History of “Laz Home” Party

The inaugural meeting of ‘Laz Home' Party took place on 1 st January 1999 in Arkab (Lazistan) .There were about eighty people present and a further nine sent apologies. Among that score of founder members were our present general-secretary Mr Ismail Avci Bucaklisi. This initial meeting also adopted the seven original aims of the party:

1.To study local conditions and attempt to remedy any that may be prejudicial to the best interests of of the people of LAZISTAN by the creation of public opinion or other means.

2.To foster the Laz Language and Literature in Lazistan and Turkey.

3.To encourage the study of Laz history from a Laz point of view.

4.By self knowledge to further the acceptance of the idea of the Caucasian character of LAZISTAN, one of the Caucasian Nations.

5.To publish pamphlets, broadsheets, articles and letters in the Press whenever possible, putting forward the foregoing aims.

6.To arrange concerts and entertainments with a Laz-Caucasian flavour through which these aims can be further advanced.

7.To cooperate with all societies concerned with preserving the character of LAZISTAN.

8.To press the Turkish Government to recognize all minority languages and peoples , giving them cultural rights and autonomy, living in present day Turkey.

From its earliest days, ‘Laz Home' was openly political and cultural and by November 1999, the party has officially committed itself to Laz self-government. The fourth aim was modified: ‘to further the acceptance of the Caucasian character of LAZISTAN and its right to self-government in domestic affairs in a Federated Turkey'.

LAZ LANGUAGE

The Laz language is the most obvious example of the unique identity of the Laz people and must be available to all who wish to learn it. Funding should be found to assist in the training of language teachers and the provision of courses for all ages.Co-operation, via the Government, with speakers of other lesser- used languages of Turkey, in the production of resource material and the development of language teaching has been successful and must be matched by financial support locally. “Laz Home” Party is committed to winning financial assistance to the language.

The Laz is one of the thousands of languages which are insufficiently described and are in danger of disappearing in one or two generations if nothing is done to preserve them. It is spoken mainly in small parts of Turkey (and Georgia) and forms with the Mingrelian, the Georgian and the Svan the Southwest Caucasian languages. The Laz speaking community lives in the most part of Turkey.They form a compact language area on the Black Sea coast in two counties of Rize and Artvin.There are also great numbers of language islands in the Northwest regions of Turkey, since the exodus of Laz people after the war between the Ottoman Empire and Russia from Batumi, Georgia where some Laz villages remain. Nowadays a great number of Laz are settled in Istanbul, Ankara and other cities in Turkey. And it is not rare to meet Laz immigrants in west European countries like Germany and France. The Colchis or Colchida region is called Kolkheti in Laz , its native language. This is the coastal eastern border of the Black Sea , the LAZISTAN, in present day Turkey (and Georgia).The majority of Laz people are living in Turkey , but Laz has no official status in Turkey. 1.5 million Laz live in Turkey and approximately 250,000 speak Laz. The term LAZISTAN is also used for the region of the Laz in Turkey , but that region does not cover all the Laz territory. In adition LAZISTAN is a forbidden term in Turkey, where Dogu Karadeniz is used to name Colchis.

Email . Dobadona@hotmail.com