Ukrainian MFA: Ban of Crimean Tatar Mejlis is reminiscent of forced deportations in 1944 Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:17:00 PM

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign affairs, the attempts of the Russian-Crimean authorities to ban the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People is evidence that Russia is attempting to oust the Crimean Tatars from the occupied Peninsula, Interfax-Ukraine reported.

"We regard the plans for the banishment of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People on the temporarily occupied territory of Crimea to be a deliberate imposition by Moscow of a sentence on the presence of the Crimean Tatar people in Crimea,” the Ministry’s spokeswoman, Mariana Betz, stated during a briefing in Kiev on Thursday.

According to her, such actions are reminiscent of the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatars in 1944.

In February, the Russian Proscutor of Crimea, Natalia Poklonskaya, initiated proceedings to ban the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People on the basis of Article 9 of the law of the Russian Federation “On Countering Extremist Activity”.

The internationally recognized Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation in March of 2014 in the wake of the Ukrainian revolution. The Kremlin has faced international condemnation for its annexation of the Peninsula, leading many western countries to impose economic sanctions against Russia. In the United Nations, only Afghanistan, North Korea, Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria recognize Crimea as a legitimate federal subject of Russia.

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