18 MAY - IS THE DAY OF COMMEMORATION OF VICTIMS OF DEPORTATION OF THE CRIMEAN TATAR PEOPLEAnnually, the whole Crimean Tatar people commemorate 18 May as the Day of national mourning. At the same time, this sorrowful date is always used as the day for showing a national unity in the struggle for restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people. According to recollections of the witnesses of deportation, the overwhelming majority of soldiers and officers of NKVD, displayed extreme brutality towards the unfortunate people in forcibly deporting people from their houses to collection points at Crimean train stations and loading them in cattle-wagons. Brutality was equally used against children, the aged, and pregnant women. The sick who were bed-riden and could not deported within set time frame, where liable to execution. In the recent past, up to the mid 1980s, on this day, Crimean Tatars that had been deported gathered at cemeteries, where their close ones laid to rest, that had not lived to see their return to the Homeland. Columns of Crimean Tatars paid their debt to victims, who died in exile, and proceeded to the center of cities and settlements, where they attempted to hold meetings. The activists of Crimean Tatar movement tried to use any opportunity to make as many people of other nationalities as possible, know about the tragedy of the Crimean Tatars, their agonizing struggle to return to the Motherland and restoration of their lawful rights by the Soviet regime. At the same time, the authorities try to prevent the Crimean Tatars from holding meetings on this day. As a rule, the authorities took unprecedented measures for "protection of public peace" in all cities and settlements, in which Crimean Tatars lived. In Crimea, from 1968 till the middle of the 1980s only a few thousand Crimean Tatars lived. On this day, the local party organs took special measures on "protection of public peace". The authorities purposely spread the most incredible gossip among the population of Crimea that Crimean Tatars harboured an inclination to retaliate against Russian-speaking residents. Unfortunately, the authorities' provocations sometimes achieved their purpose. Refat Chubarov recalls 18 May 1969 in Crimea: “My parents managed to return to Crimea in July 1968. We settled in the village Novopavlovka of Krasnoperekoskyi region. There were only 4 Crimean Tatar families in this village. Adults, including my father had decided to gather on 18 May 1969 outside of the village near a river together with families to pray in memory of victims of deportation. The local authorities found out about it, which as we later learned, they had recommended to all people of our village to reinforce oversight for their children, because Crimean Tatars were going "to slaughter" them. Up to now I remember a scared face of my schoolfellow, Volodya Salobay, and his question "Why are you going to slaughter us?" The attitude of residents of Crimea started changing when the observance of the sorrowful date 18 May began and with the beginning of mass repatriation of Crimean Tatars. From 1994 state bodies of government as well took part in measures dedicated to the commemoration of victims of deportation from Crimea. Annual holding of joint mourning meeting of the Parliament of the ARC, Council of Ministers of the ARC, and society of Crimea became a tradition. Unfortunately, for the last two years, when the leadership of the Crimean Communist Party came to be the leadership of the Parliament of the ARC, they began attempts, namely on the eve of morning measures in Crimea, to justify the inhuman crime, which was committed by Communists. Thus, in 1999, the chairman of the Parliament of the ARC, Leonid Hrach, in his numerous public addresses has insisted on the necessity of new, positive coverage of Stalin in the history of USSR, using the 55th Anniversary of liberation of Crimea from German troops. Already in this year he has tried to prohibit the playing of Crimean Tatar national anthem before the beginning of the all-Crimean mourning observance. The basic actions of mourning observance measures in commemoration of victims of deportation of Crimean Tatar people on 18 May 2000, as in previous years, were mourning processions and an all-Crimean meeting. At 10 a.m. they put flowers on memorial stones at the railroad station square and near the Salgir River. Prayers were offered. Six columns of people with manifests, which arrived from all regions of Crimea, moved from different places in town to the Central area of Simferopol. At 13 p.m. a mourning meeting was started. After ritual prayer by the Mufti of Moslems of Crimea, Adzhi Emir Ali Ablayev; first deputy of Chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people, member of Ukrainian Parliament, Refat Chubarov, opened the meeting. In his speech he noted the constructive steps, which were taken by the President of Ukraine and Government of Crimea towards solution of issue of the Crimean Tatar people. At the same time he stressed that Kyiv understands Crimean Tatar problems better than Crimea. The fraction of the Communist Party in the Parliament of the ARC at the head of which is Leonid Hrach stymies all efforts of conscious forces of society, which are directed to a solution of the Crimean Tatar issue. The Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the ARC, Serhey Kunitsin; the Representative of the President of Ukraine in the ARC, Anatoliy Korneychuk; member of the Ukrainian Parliament, member of fraction "Reforms and Order" Olexander Yemets, chairman of the Moslem Party of Ukraine, Farid Akchurin; representative of the Crimean Tatar Diaspora in USA, Abdurayim Demirayak; chairman of the Crimean Azerbaijan community, Ragim Gumbatov; representative of Crimean Tatar social-political organizations, Enver Ametov; and chairman of the voluntary organization, "Irrade" Yakub Ipchi took a part in the meeting. The participants of all-Crimea meeting adopted the resolution. Over 20000 people took part in meeting. After mourning meeting there was a general cebration luncheon. RESOLUTION The Crimean Tatar people enter the XXI century in conditions of a continued struggle for the full return of all Crimean Tatars to their own historical homeland from the places of deportation, including the restoration of their political, economic and cultural rights. The struggle of the Crimean Tatar people for equal political and economic rights in Crimea has encountered strong opposition from the adherents to the unlawful Communist Party, which has yet to assume responsibility for unlawful acts committed against the Crimean Tatar people and other peoples of former USSR. The leaders of the Communist Party of Ukraine, particularly its Crimean organization, are aiming to hinder the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and are striving to renew past practices of discriminating against people according to their nationality. In recent years, the police has aided the spread of mass anti-Crimean Tatar propaganda in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. Individual Crimean news services are spreading lies used by the Communists in the past to give credence to the mass deportations and execution of peoples based on their nationality. When the communists rose to leadership in the Parliament of the ARC political favoritism currying favors, and cronyism became the norm. In spite of the urgency of a number economical issues, first of all, transfer of lands to private ownership of citizens of Ukraine, members of the Parliament of the ARC and its leadership openly avoid searching for mechanisms for the fair allocation of land resources in Crimea amongst the population. The failure of the leadership of the Parliament of the ARC to address these questions shows its desire to keep tensions in the peninsula high. While the President of Ukraine and a significant part of the members of the Parliament of Ukraine of pro-state policy jointly with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people take the concrete steps, which directed to solution of the political-legal and socioeconomic issues connected with return, resettlement and restoration of rights of the Crimean Tatar people. While the President of Ukraine and the majority of the people's deputies who show interest in a dialog with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, are taking concrete steps to resolve the political-legal and socio-economic issues connected with return, resettlement and restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, a number of politicians in the Crimean Autonomous Representative Body are making an effort to exclude the native population of the Crimea and other inhabitants of Crimea from participating in political, economic and cultural life of the Crimean community. That kind of policy of the people in power toward the Crimean Tatar people will not go on indefinitely and furthermore will bring about a civil disorder. On the strength of the aforesaid, participants in the all-Crimean observance dedicated to 56th Anniversary of deportation of the Crimean Tatar people apply with the following demands to be met: President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma
The Parliament of Ukraine 1. To adopt the Law of Ukraine “On status of the Crimean Tatar people” The Parliament of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. With the aim of resolving the political-legal issues relative to the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, with the participation of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, to form a working group to formulate drafts of laws for the state of Ukraine the making and introduction of amendments and new articles in the laws of Ukraine pursuant to the "Supreme Rada of Crimea" and establishing elections for the upper chamber of the Rada of the Crimean Autonomous Republic. The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people 1.If the members of the Parliament of the ARC refuse to work jointly with the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people for making amendments and additions in Law of Ukraine “On the Parliament of the ARC” and “On elections to the Parliament of the ARC”, to develop and implement measures within the framework of legislative practices calling for the dissolution of the Parliament of the ARC. Approved Simferopol |