May 18, 2015

UNPO Commemorates 71th Anniversary of the Deportation of the Crimean Tatars


On the 71st anniversary of the deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar population from their homeland Crimea, the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) pays respect to the Crimean Tatars and calls on the international community to lend its full support to the realisation and protection of the rights of Crimea’s indigenous people, who has seen a sharp worsening of their already vulnerable conditions in light of Russia’s illegal annexation of the region in March 2014. In response to their refusal to recognize the authority of the de facto Crimean Government, Crimean Tatars have been subject to an especially harsh treatment by the occupying forces, and today, for the first time in 20 years, commemorations of the 1944 deporation are not being held in the Crimean peninsula.

At the time of the 70th Anniversary of the Crimean Tatar Deportation, thousands of families had already fled the peninsula to seek refuge in neighboring countries. Those who stayed reported on a near daily basis an intense pressure from local authorities and ‘self-defense forces’, with cases of physical harassment, house raids, marking of doors, land expropriation and vandalisation of property. Unfortunately, one year has passed and the siege on the rights of the Crimean Tatars has only increased, showing the Russian authorities’ efforts to suppress any political opposition as well as undermining public expressions of Crimean Tatar identity and anti-Russian sentiment.

The outrageous raid of the headquarters of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in September 2014 and the forced shutdown of the Crimean Tatar language TV channel ATR, in April 2015, when the channel not only went off air but was later replaced by a Government-sponsored station, are just a few illustrative examples of the persecution of the Crimean Tatars. Along with the brutal crackdown on freedom of expression, deportations and detentions carried out by the Russian authorities against prominent Crimean Tatar leaders have also increased. The Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis, Akhtem Chiygoz, under accusations of organizing ‘mass disorder’ in Simferopol outside the Crimean Parliament last year, was arrested in January 2015. Cases of abductions, torture and killings, besides other violations of human rights and the rule of law, find no serious efforts from local authorities to be investigated. Furthermore, Kremlin has been working to suppress reporting of such abuses by creating a so-called "information ghetto" through a crackdown on local and foreign media, according to a report published by Freedom House in March 2015.

In this context, the tragic deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar population to Soviet labour camps 71 years ago is being painfully revived, given the evidence that the current persecution has political and ethnic motivations. As such, it must be deemed arbitrary and contrary to the rule of law. Amidst multiple interests at stakes, Crimea has been the focus of geopolitical debates in the media and international forums; however, the impact of the Crimean crisis on those inside the peninsula who oppose the occupation, most notably the Crimean Tatars, and the deterioration of human rights, have been largely sidelined.

In light of the incertitude regarding the future of the Crimean Tatars in their homeland, UNPO once again calls on the international community, in particular the European Union, to pay more attention to the problems facing the inhabitants of occupied Crimea, in particular the Crimean Tatars, and to consolidate international pressure on Russia to comply with its obligations under international law.

Photo courtesy of RFE/RL (Oleg Kamushkin)