Crimean Tatars Dissatisfied With Yushchenko Statement
Crimean Tatars are indignant over a recent statement by Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko that the Milli Mejlis, or Tatar National Congress,
should reject its declaration on sovereignty, RosBalt reported on 20 May, citing
the newspaper "Poluostrov." Yushchenko, meeting with Milli Mejlis
leaders on 5 May in Bakhchisarai, asked them to reject the 1991 declaration
on the national sovereignty of Crimean Tatars, which he described as a document
that "contradicts the Ukrainian Constitution and causes anxiety among Crimean
communities." The paper opines that "representatives of the elder
generation see the president's words as humiliating to Crimean Tatars, people
who, like Ukrainians, have a right to self-determination." The Crimean
Tatar youth organization Devlet has also condemned Yushchenko's statement, saying
Crimean Tatars will never refuse their right to statehood. The 1991 declaration
states that "Crimea is a national territory of the Crimean Tatar people
on which they alone have the right of self-determination" as accorded by
internationally recognized legislation.