Paul
Goble
Staunton, June 3 – A group of scholars
from around the world who study nationality issues in Eurasia are circulating
an online petition calling on “all states, agencies, organizations and
individuals” to speak out in defense of the rights of the Crimean Tatars and
hold “the Russian authorities in illegal occupation of Crimea accountable for
the violation of these rights.”
Written by Idil Imirli of George
Mason University, Victor Ostapchuk of the University of Toronto, Andras
Riedlmayer of Harvard University and Maria Sonevytsky of Bard College and first
posted online on May 29, the petition has already garnered more than 200
signatures from scholars who constitute a who’s who of specialists in this area
(scholarsforqirim.com/).
The petition points out that “the
Crimean Tatars are a nation with a long and rich history going back many
centuries” and that “unlike Russians and Ukrainians, the Crimean Tatars have no
homeland other than Crimea. Ever since the Crimean Khanate was invaded and
abolished by Russia in 1783, in violation of the Treaty of Kuchuk Kajnardja of
1774.”
Moreover, it notes that “on 18 May 1944
the entire Crimean Tatar nation was deported to Central Asia, the Urals, and
Siberia. The mass deportation constituted an act of genocide as during and
after it about half of the deportees perished from hunger, dehydration, and
disease.
“It was only after the breakup of the
USSR and attainment of Ukrainian independence in 1991 that the majority of the
surviving Crimean Tatars and their descendants were able, with great effort and
hardship, to return to their homeland. Today their population there is about
300,000."
Because of the Crimean Tatars’ “catastrophic
history under the rule of St. Petersburg and Moscow, which has resulted in
massive national trauma,” the petition continues, “the vast majority of Crimean
Tatars [is] loyal to Ukraine and remain adamant in their opposition to the
Russian annexation of Crimea.
With regard to recent events, it
underscores that “the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014 was achieved through
a covert military operation under cover of which a coup occurred on 27
February, installing a new local government in Simferopol and declaring a
referendum that was at first concerned with increased autonomy, and a few days
later, secession of Crimea from Ukraine and accession to Russia.”
“This was done contrary to the
Constitution of Ukraine and that of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and
without even a clear option to vote for the status quo, as one option was to
join Russia and the other virtual independence from Ukraine. The referendum was
held contrary to all norms for referenda of this importance—such as the
possibility for free public discussion of the ramifications of a vote to
secede. Moreover, instead of monitoring certified by internationally recognized
agencies, it was carried out under the watchful eyes of masked Russian troops
and armed local ‘self-defense’ vigilantes.”
“The result, an official 83% turnout and
97% vote to join Russia, was clearly falsified, as virtually the entire Tatar
population and much of the Ukrainian and Russian population boycotted the vote.
There is considerable evidence that the turnout was no more than
30-50% and that only half of those who actually turned out voted for secession.”
The petition continues: “The Crimean
Tatar national assembly, the Qurultay, and its representative-executive body,
the Mejlis, have reaffirmed the will of their people to remain in Ukraine and
categorically condemn the Russian takeover. The Crimean Tatar population is currently
under huge pressure to accept Russian citizenship—refusal can mean loss of work,
pension, access to schooling, and other social benefits.”
“The international community has
condemned the seizure of Crimea and does not recognize the legality of its
annexation (United Nations General Assembly Resolution 68/262, 27 March 2014 and
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Resolution 1988, 9 April 2014),” the petition
points out.
And both “the Qurultay, the elected
assembly of the Crimean Tatars, and its representative-executive body, the
Mejlis, have voted to condemn the illegal occupation and annexation of Crimea
and refuse recognition of Crimea as part of the Russian Federation, to demand
recognition of the indigenous status of the Crimean Tatars, to demand the
establishment of Crimean Tatar national and territorial autonomy, and self-government
in Ukrainian Crimea [and] the full rehabilitation and restoration of the rights
of the Crimean Tatars.”
At a time when international attention has
shifted away from the illegal Russian annexation of Crimea and the equally
illegal actions of the Russian authorities there, the petition calls for
everyone to join its authors in supporting “the national and human rights of
the Crimean Tatars” and in holding “the Russian authorities ... accountable for
the violation of these rights.”
One can only add that simple human
decency requires no less.
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