On August 8, 2014, at the noon of the International Day of indigenous peoples, a round table on “Crimean Tatars – indigenous people of Crimea/Ukraine” took place in the leading state-owned informational agency Ukrinform in Kyiv.

Outstanding leaders of the Crimean Tatar people – Mustafa Djemilev and Refat Chubarov – presented their views on the issue, as well as Ukrainian experts. Many scholars, civil society actors and human rights activists participated in the discussion; the event was widely covered by media, including numerous TV channels and popular Internet resources.

The long-lasted delay in the legislative entrenchment of the rights of Crimean Tatars and of their special status has been recognised as a wrong policy and a grave mistake made by Ukrainian State and repeated, regrettably, throughout the whole period of Ukraine’s independence (Mustafa Djemilev, MP). Djemilev suggested that otherwise, many serious conflicts at the territory of Crimea might have been avoided, and the scenario of Crimea annexation developed by the RF, would have been much more difficult to realise.

According to Refat Chubarov, Head of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people, “the last word is not yet said regarding Crimea, despite all persuasions and self-deceptions of the Russian political leadership. Any plans for restoring stable world order and renewed trust between states and peoples should include resolution of the Crimea crisis and Crimean Tatars’ problems that cannot be considered apart from each other. Strict articulation by Ukraine of its standpoint concerning inalienable right of the Crimean Tatar people on self-determination in their historical Motherland is not only requested but also highly needed; this would enable international community to be uncompromising in upholding the status of Crimea as a constituent part of Ukraine”. 

Natalya Belitser, expert of the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, believes that currently, the situation has unprecedentedly changed in favour of just aspirations of Crimean Tatars to safeguard their rights in the historical Homeland; their claims have now met support and understanding of the new democratic Government and society at large. She emphasised that any strategy for returning Crimea is impossible without comprehensive acknowledgment of the Crimean Tatar factor. Moreover, formal legal regulation of the “indigenous” status of Crimean Tatar people – in particular, in full compliance with norms and standards of the UNO Declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples – is extremely important for the effective assertion of Ukraine’s position concerning Crimea.

In his speech, Andriy Klimenko (who represented Maidan of Foreign Affairs and Crimean Expert Centre) said that concerning Crimean Tatar people and recognition of its role and place in our country, Ukraine during the last few months passed the way incomparable to that of previous decades, and this course should be continued without slackening or interruption. He stated that “…in the new Constitution of Ukraine the entry about Crimean Tatars as indigenous people of Ukraine should be stipulated. It is also necessary to implement what our society has come to during the Maidan events, namely, that Crimea should be transformed into the national-territorial autonomy of the Crimean Tatar people”. “Of course, there will be heated debates and discussions both inside and outside of the country. But they only clarify the issue, modelling in such a way future for Crimea within Ukraine, and future of Ukraine itself as a modern democratic state” – added Klimenko. 

Rustem Ablyatif  (Institute of Civil Society, Simferopol – Lviv) presented an overview of all attempts to solve Crimean Tatars problems at the national level, and of relevant recommendations by the international monitoring bodies, including UNO, Council of Europe, and OSCE. He also stressed the uniqueness of the situation faced by the Kirimli (Crimean Tatars) as an indigenous people of Crimea which is, at the same time, the people formerly deported on ethnic grounds.

The round table was jointly organised by the Informational Centre on Human Rights, Coalition to Counteract Discrimination, and Crimean Expert Centre with the support of the EU office in Kyiv and International “Renaissance” Foundation.

Natalya Belitser

Kyiv, 10 August 2014