A documentary titled "120 Minutes" was filmed to tell the exile stories of Meskhetian Turks, who had lived stateless for more than half a century, and the period of gaining a homeland.
The documentary 120 Minutes features the terrible days of Meskhetian Turks, who were exiled by Stalin in 1944 and doomed to live stateless due to their religious convictions and ethnic origins.
According to the documentary, Stalin, who acquired the upper hand about World War II, gave Meskhetian Turks on the Georgian border only two hours to pack their possessions and flee the country in order to avert probable Turkish attacks and diminish Turkish ethnic density.
The documentary depicts the story of Meskhetian Turks, who have been living away from their homeland for more than 70 years following a two-month exile journey in freight wagons carrying cattle and gained a homeland in 120 minutes through the Republic of Türkiye's initiatives, with the theme "Lives changing in 120 minutes."
The documentary, shot in Erzincan and Bitlis, features interviews with the Meskhetian Turks residing in Türkiye, the last living witnesses who experienced those events.
The said work will be presented to the audience on TRT Documentary today at 21.50.
"Türkiye has always stood by the oppressed"
Presidency's Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun noted that with the documentary, the oppression endured by the exiled Meskhetian Turks was displayed and stated that the documentary recounted how the Republic of Türkiye and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embraced the Meskhetian Turks.
Pointing out that the persecution inflicted on Meskhetian Turks was ignored by many countries in the world, Altun said, "The longing of our Meskhetian Turk brothers and sisters for a homeland, who were welcomed to our country upon the instructions of our President, has come to an end. The Republic of Türkiye 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 Turkic and Muslim brothers."
