Crimean Tatar representative council accuses Russia of ongoing genocide
The Mejlis, the highest representative body of the Crimean Tatar people, has stated that the current Russian policy in occupied Crimea is a direct continuation of Soviet genocidal practices.
Source: statement put out by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars on the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar Genocide (the 81st anniversary of the deportation).
Details: The Mejlis emphasised that the mass deportation of 1944 was executed deliberately to erase the Crimean Tatar people and that today Crimean Tatars are once again facing arrests, persecution and the destruction of their cultural identity.
In its statement, the Mejlis called on the international community to:
- recognise the deportation of 1944 as an act of genocide;
- ramp up pressure on Russia with more sanctions;
- support the "deoccupation" of Crimea and the formation of a Crimean Tatar national-territorial autonomy there.
The Mejlis also stressed the absolute need for Ukraine to legally secure the Mejlis as the official representative body of the Crimean Tatar people.
Quote: "The recognition by the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers according to the Ukrainian Law 'On the Indigenous Peoples of Ukraine' of the status of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people as the representative body of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people must be a vital step to ensure the rights of the Crimean Tatar people."
Details: The Mejlis also reiterated that the Crimean Tatar people remain unbreakable and continue to fight for a chance to return to their native land.
Quote: "Any attempt to legalise the occupation of Crimea… is an act of support for the crime against humanity and a betrayal of the memory of the genocide victims."
Background: On 13 May, it was reported that Rustem Virati, a 60-year-old Crimean Tatar who was imprisoned by the Russians for eight years, had died in a penal colony in the city of Dmitrovgrad in Russia's Ulyanovsk Oblast.
Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!