14:03 19.01.2015

Crimean Tatar activists urge for international conference on security of Crimean Tatars

3 min read
Crimean Tatar activists urge for international conference on security of Crimean Tatars

The second all-Crimean conference on the protection of Crimean Tatar rights has urged the Ukrainian authorities to initiate an International Conference on Crimean Tatar Security, with the support of the UN in April

The decision was made at the conference, held in Simferopol on Saturday, the "Center for Investigative Reporting" news agency has reported.

"[We] entrust the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine with initiating an international conference on Crimean Tatar security and identity under the aegis of the UN in April, 2015. [We] entrust the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine with exploring the possibility of granting third party status in Ukrainian-Russian relations to the Crimean Tatar people and providing [Crimean Tatar] national self-governmental agencies with the right to appeal to international judicial authorities," reads the address to Ukraine's leaders.

Participants at the conference believe that ensuring the rights of Ukrainian citizens living in Crimea and recognizing the Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people of Ukraine must become a main task of Ukrainian state policy

The document also urged the implementation of parliamentary resolutions and Ukrainian law on restoring rights for deported citizens and ensuring the rights and freedoms of citizens in the temporarily occupied territories.

In addition, the participants at the conference demanded that "the shameful law of Ukraine on the creation of the 'Crimea' free economic zone" be revoked.

The participants also adopted a resolution stating that any kind of authority in Crimea must only be created, and should only operate, if the Crimean Tatars have clearly expressed their will, and that government agencies must act to benefit the Crimean Tatars.

The document also reads that the drafting of young Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks into the Russian Armed Forces poses a threat to their existence. As a result, a committee of mothers for the protection of the youth of the peninsula's indigenous peoples was set up. The resolution also reads that a petition should be sent to the UN, the Council of Europe and other international organizations to halt the drafting of Crimea's indigenous people into the Russian army.

There were attempts to sabotage the conference by dozens of young people in sweat suits, who refused to state their names, and who were screamed repeatedly and loudly. They almost succeeded in provoking a fight within the building. The police were called but were of no use. In the end, the organizers managed to escort the disruptive elements out of the building.

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