March 15, 2014

To the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine

To the people of Ukraine – Ukrainian citizens of all nationalities

STATEMENT

of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, all people of Ukraine – citizens of Ukraine of all nationalities

The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people – the supreme representative body elected by the Crimean Tatar people,

– under conditions of a genuine threat to the safety and freedom of all Crimean Tatars and all Crimean residents regardless of their nationality,

– fully recognizing the magnitude of the unavoidable aftermath of a direct military intervention and plans for the annexation of the Crimea by foreign state,

– acknowledging the utmost responsibility to the present and future generations of the Crimean Tatar people,

– remembering all the losses, humiliations, deprivation and repressions that the Crimean Tatar people sustained since the annexation of the Crimea in 1783, and the loss of their centuries-old statehood,

– in an effort to prevent the recurrence of genocide of May 18, 1944, when the Crimean Tatar people were forcibly deported from their historical homeland,

– reaffirming the traditional methods of nonviolent struggle for their rights,

– on the basis of the generally recognized norms of the international instruments that guarantee the right to self-determination enshrined in the UN Charter, Resolution No. 1514 (XV) of the General Assembly of the UN of December 14, 1960, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966, the Declaration on Principles of International Law Concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted on October 24, 1970, and other documents,

– on the basis of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of September 13, 2007, which sets out, inter alia:

a) the right of indigenous people to self-determination (Article 3),

b) the right of indigenous people to autonomy and self-government (Article 4),

c) the right of indigenous people to participate fully, if they so choose, in the political, economic, social and cultural life of the State of residence (Article 5),

d) that military activities shall not take place in the lands or territories of indigenous peoples, unless freely agreed with or requested by the indigenous peoples concerned. (Article 30),

e) the right of indigenous people to access to and prompt decision through just and fair procedures for the resolution of conflicts and disputes with States or other parties (Article 40),

f) nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted or construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political unity of sovereign and independent States (Article 46)

– based on the Declaration on the National Sovereignty of the Crimean Tatar People adopted by the II Kurultai of the Crimean Tatar People on June 28, 1991,

– believing that the Ukrainian State has not done everything in its power to restore the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and to determine the status of the Crimean Tatars as indigenous people of the Crimea, which has resulted in discriminatory acts towards the Crimean Tatars by the authorities,

we address the people of Ukraine, their representatives in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, with the following:

1) we reaffirm our recognition of Ukraine as a sovereign and independent state within the existing borders;

2) we strongly condemn the act of aggression by the Russian Federation and their plan for the annexation of the Crimea, considering it as a blatant violation of the international law that destabilizes the existing system of international relations;

3) we do not recognize the Crimean referendum of March 16, 2014 aimed at changing the territorial jurisdiction of the Crimea as legitimate under the international laws and the Constitution of Ukraine;

4) we categorically reject any attempts to determine the future of the Crimea without the free expression of will by the Crimean Tatar people – the indigenous people of the Crimea;

5) the right to decide in which state the Crimean Tatar people should live belongs exclusively to the Crimean Tatars;

6) we are convinced that the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and the realization of their right to self-determination in their historical homeland should be carried out within the sovereign and independent state of Ukraine;

7) we believe that any power in the Crimea should be formed and should operate only under the condition of freely expressed will and consent of the Crimean Tatar people;

8) we urge the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to accede to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples;

9) we urge to recognize the status of the Crimean Tatar people as an indigenous people of the Crimea, and to support it by the legislation of Ukraine;

10) we urge the Verkhovna Rada and the highest state authorities of Ukraine to immediately take action along with international organizations (the UN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the European Union) aimed at the realization of basic rights of the Crimean Tatar people laid down in the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and to ensure the expression of free will by the Crimean Tatar people for execution of their inalienable right to self-determination in their historical territory of the Crimea.

Chairman of the The Mejlis

of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov

March 15, 2014, Simferopol

Source: http://qtmm.org/

Translated: Regina Vasko