10 years ago, on March 15, the appeal of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and to the entire Ukrainian people was made public.
In that document, the Crimean Tatars strongly condemned the act of aggression by the Russian Federation and asserted their right to self-determination as part of a sovereign and independent Ukrainian State.
The Crimean Tatars called on the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to accede to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, to recognise and enshrine in laws and other legal acts of Ukraine the status of the Crimean Tatar people as an indigenous people.
In addition, the Crimean Tatar people also called on the Verkhovna Rada and other supreme state authorities of Ukraine to immediately and together with international organisations (UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, European Union) to ensure the free expression of will and implementation of the Crimean Tatar people’s inalienable right to self-determination on their historical territory – Crimea.
Eskender Bariiev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, was the initiator and author of the draft of this appeal. As he notes, thanks to the appeal, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People became the first organisation in the world that:
– affirmed the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine within internationally recognised borders;
– strongly condemned the act of aggression by the Russian Federation and the attempted annexation of Crimea;
– Declared non-recognition of the Crimean referendum of March16, 2014 planned to change the territorial affiliation of Crimea;
– categorically rejected any attempts to determine the future of Crimea without the free expression of will of the Crimean Tatar people, the indigenous people of Crimea;
– emphasised that the right to decide in which state the Crimean Tatar people should live belongs exclusively to the Crimean Tatars themselves;
– demonstrated their right to self-determination – that the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and the realisation of their right to self-determination in their historical homeland should be carried out within a sovereign and independent Ukrainian state;
– noted that any power in Crimea should be formed and operate only with the freely expressed will and consent of the Crimean Tatar people;
– called on the Verkhovna Rada and other supreme bodies of state power of Ukraine to immediately and in cooperation with international organisations (UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, European Union), in order to implement the natural rights of the Crimean Tatar people as provided for by international instruments on the rights of indigenous peoples, to ensure the free expression of will for the Crimean Tatar people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination in their historical territory – Crimea.
– categorically rejected any attempts to determine the future of Crimea without the free expression of will of the Crimean Tatar people, the indigenous people of Crimea;
– emphasised that the right to decide in which state the Crimean Tatar people should live belongs exclusively to the Crimean Tatars themselves;
– demonstrated their right to self-determination – that the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people and the realisation of their right to self-determination in their historical homeland should be carried out within a sovereign and independent Ukrainian state;
– noted that any power in Crimea should be formed and operate only with the freely expressed will and consent of the Crimean Tatar people;
– called on the Verkhovna Rada and other supreme bodies of state power of Ukraine to immediately and in cooperation with international organisations (UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, European Union), in order to implement the natural rights of the Crimean Tatar people as provided for by international instruments on the rights of indigenous peoples, to ensure the free expression of will for the Crimean Tatar people to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination in their historical territory – Crimea.