Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine: statement of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.

In memory of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people

Today, May 18, marks the 81st anniversary of the beginning of the violent deportation of the Crimean Tatar people from Crimea to remote areas of Central Asia, Siberia, and the Urals. In connection with this tragedy, the Mejlis published a statement noting that about 200,000 people, mostly women, children, and the elderly, were expelled from their homes and sent to certain death in exile, where most of them never returned to their homeland.

“In a few days, about 200,000 people - mostly women, children, and the elderly - were forcibly expelled from their homes, loaded onto freight cars, and sent to certain death in exile, which lasted almost half a century and from which most never returned to their homeland. Hundreds of thousands of Crimean Tatars, deprived of their homeland, were buried abroad. This crime against humanity involved planned large-scale actions aimed at destroying the Crimean Tatar people, subjecting them to violent expulsion from their historical homeland and thus depriving them of the basis for the preservation, development, and well-being of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people,” the statement reads.

As a result of the 1944 deportation, 46.2% of the Crimean Tatar people perished from hunger, disease, hard labor, and the brutal conditions of the curfew regime. Now, 81 years after these events, the Crimean Tatars are once again suffering from repression, political persecution, and expulsion from their homeland.

Mejlis Initiatives

The Mejlis calls for recognizing the 1944 deportation as an act of genocide, increasing pressure on the aggressor state, and restoring the rights of the Crimean Tatar people. Their demands include the de-occupation of Crimea, the establishment of autonomy for Crimean Tatars, and bringing those responsible to justice.

• Appeal to the international community
• Condemnation of the Russian occupation of Crimea
• Prevention of genocide and violations of human rights
• Restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people

The Mejlis calls for support for their initiatives and recognition of the suffering of the Crimean Tatar people as a global issue in the modern world.