APPEAL
of the IV Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar people
to Ukrainian democratic community

Simferopol, November 10 2001

Dear compatriots, friends!

Mass return of Crimean Tatars to their historical Motherland, from which, in May of 1944, they were deported by totalitarian communist regime, coincided with difficult years of rebirth and formation of sovereign Ukrainian state.

Currently, everybody, who has no any ambitious-chauvinistic opinions, agrees with main result of past decade: independent Ukraine has occurred. For this period, a meaning and importance of Crimean Tatar factor in Ukraine became obvious for serious politicians.

Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe considers that attitude of sovereign Ukraine to solution of problems connected with return and resettlement of the Crimean Tatar people and providing for their political, socioeconomic rights is integral part of the processes, which characterize the democratic transformations in state.

European states, USA and Canada don’t restrict themselves only by sympathy and understanding of our problems, but also they take an active part in Program of Development and Integration of Crimea (UN Program of Development and Integration of Crimea).

Foreign moral and material support for Crimean Tatars, unfortunately, didn’t find any proper understanding in the capital of state. The reason is not only an insufficient financing of program of return and resettlement of deportees (about 10%) of necessary funds, but also a retardation of measures and projects by certain political forces, including legislative, which are notrequired any significant resources. The Ukrainian parliament practically doesn’t adopt any legislative acts, which directed on solution of problems of the Crimean Tatar people. The main reason is an opposition of left forces. Communists-Bolsheviks and their following in Ukraine always have objected to show repentance, as a moral category. Their police mean a strangulation and assimilation of small peoples.

However, most of Crimean Tatars don’t pin their comprehension on new sovereign Ukraine with past totalitarian attitude to them and understand that, fortunately, there are strong, political moral forces in our state, which share their hopes and aspirations. Namely, in practical affairs of democratic forces, which oppose left revenge, and aspirate to overcome crisis and implement economical reforms, and try to solve a great number of problems, which were inherited as result of stay in composition of Soviet Empire, - we see outlines of future of Ukraine as the prosperous state.

Our people has also other “benefits”: their death-rate is more than the rest of population, almost full unemployment and unresettlement, their intellectual potential, education and practical experience, representation in bodies of government and administration is more lower.

We see tasks of Kurultay, which is the Supreme Representative and Plenipotentiary body of the Crimean Tatar people, in overcoming of bitter legacy of totalitarianism. We want to determine a legal form of our existence on land of our ancestry as distinctive people, who had a centuries-old statehood.

And now, as some time, when the Crimean Tatar Movement cooperated closely and relied on the world community and dissidents, we hope on cooperation, understanding of our problems and hopes by all democratic forces of Ukraine.

For our part, we state on our will to support the aspirations of Ukrainian people to democracy and sovereignty.

Only together we will be able to build the prosperous, democratic, European state!

Adopted at first session
of the IV Kurultay of the Crimean Tatar people