18 May 2014
MEDIA RELEASE
Ukrainian World Congress expresses solidarity with Crimean Tatars
commemorating 70th anniversary of deportation from Crimea
The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) expresses solidarity with the Crimean Tatars on this day of mourning and commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of their people from the Crimean peninsula by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin.
Falsely accused of collaborating with Nazi Germany during World War II, over 200,000 Tatars were forcibly removed from their homes and transferred to remote regions of the Soviet Union, many of them succumbing to hunger and disease during the inhumane process.
Today, following the forced annexation of Crimea, the Crimean Tatar population is experiencing new persecutions, including threats, searches and a cynical ban on commemorative events in Crimea of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and the entry to Crimea of Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev. As a result, over 7,000 Crimean Tatars have already left the peninsula.
“On this day of mourning marking the beginning of the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatar population from Crimea the Ukrainian World Congress calls upon the international community to continue its monitoring efforts on this peninsula to ensure that the human rights and fundamental freedoms of the Crimean Tatars are respected,” stated UWC President Eugene Czolij.
