Crimean Tatars: Russian Authorities Aim to Disband the Mejlis
Policies are being implemented in Crimea that, according to the Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights, have the end-goal of eliminating the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. With the forced eviction of the Crimea Foundation, a charity organization that provides funding and locales for the Mejlis, from its premises and the freezing of its financial assets, formal obstacles preventing the Mejlis from performing its duties have been established.
Below is an article published by Interfax:
The Crimean Field Mission on Human Rights has said that local authorities in Crimea are implementing policies aimed at the liquidation of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.
The mission stated this in its review, which sets out the chronology of the actions of the Crimean authorities that led to the actual eviction of the Mejlis from its premises in Simferopol, where Mejlis representatives gathered for many years, reads a statement posted on the Web site of the human rights organization on Wednesday [23 October 2014].
While analyzing the actions of the Crimean authorities, mission experts claim that the court and prosecutor's office chose disproportionate measures as part of a dispute between the Crimean prosecutor's office and the Crimea Foundation charitable organization, namely, the freezing of the organization's bank accounts and forced eviction from its own premises, which the foundation provided as an office for the Mejlis. Crimea Foundation cannot currently use its property and bank accounts, engage in its activities and, therefore, it cannot provide assistance to the Mejlis.
"Thus, formal obstacles were established for the further activity of the Mejlis and NGO Crimea Foundation charitable organization. Such restrictions violate freedom of association, which applies both to associations with legal status and associations of persons who are non-judicial," human rights activists said.
