Evening star., 1925-03-30
Explains Tifis Congress.
Was Red Propaganda. Georgian
Envoy Here Declares.


l notice in the press dispatches, car
ried in your paper. accounts of the
recent sitting of the Soviet congress"
at Tifiis, Georgia, in the Caucasus
Being native Georgian and repre-
senting my country as well as the
Confederation of the Caucasian Re-
publics, I should like to correct the
false impression that has been created
by glowing accounts of the welcome
accorded that congress" by Georgians.
The congress-" or Soviet COM
mittee, from Moscow, was purely a
communistic body to strengthen the
communists control of the Caucasus.
The so-called premier" NJ. Orak-
dclashvili, while a Georgian by birth
vas never member of the Georgian
democratic government or political
parties. He is not a premier in any
sense, but a dictator, under the au-
thority of Soviet Moscow, where he
received his education as a student
and was an enrolled member of the
Cheka. So 1t is with all the members
of the so-called Soviet Government
of Tran nscaucssia-' They are import
ed communists, arbitrarily appointed
and in no sense representative of the
people. My country, Georgia. is a
white, Christian race of very ancient
civilization and has never accepted
communism or bolshevism. In fact,
1t opposed communism and success
fully prevented its control of the
Caucasus at the time of the Moscow
communistic revolution of 1917. and
declared itself independent, as did all
Of Franscaucasia and North Caucasia-
The independent republics of Caucasia,
though recognized by the powers of
Europe and by treaty with Soviet
Russia itself. were overwhelmed by
the red army in 1921, and the COM
munists sought to destroy the church,
which they did, murdered the metro
politan and imprisoned the patriarch,
Ambrosius, and even now holding in
prison over 1900 persons for religious
offenses, numbering or banishing
1000 men, women and children, seiZ-
ing the property of the state and all
authority, closing up all the Georgian
press, censoring all news and pro-
hibiting free speech.
This travelling propaganda CON
gress" that camped at Tifiis Is
reminiscent of the red train outfits
that are sent through Persia and
Arabia to convert the natives to
communism. In fact, the Caucasian
Republics are a barrier across the
path of communism and that is one
Of their chief offenses. They have
also the worlds richest deposits of
oil and manganese, but the so-called
concessions" which Moscow is dan
Cling before the industrial world, and
which some American capitalists are
represented by Moscow as possessing,
will prove as unstable as the aban-
doned new economic policy of Lenin.
These vast properties in Georgia and
Azerbaijan belong to the national re-
publican governments, whose legally
elected representatives are convened
in Paris in a Caucasian confederation,
and no business men will find any So
called Concessions workable with
out the consent of the duly elected
and established and recognized gov
ernments OF these republics, even
though they are temporarily in the
position that the governments of
Belgium and Poland were In during
the World War.
No news comes out of Russianized
territory except Soviet propaganda,
which exploits the doctrine of the
Third Internationale, for world revolu-
tion, and the destruction of all forms
of religious teaching and the worship
of God. VASILI d. DUMBADZE,
Diplomatic and economic representa-
tive of the Caucasian Confederation
of the National Government of
| Caucasia.