On Wednesday, March 18, participants of the Russian Strategy-18 initiative held single rallies in Moscow and St. Petersburg for the de-occupation of Crimea and in support of Ukrainian political prisoners. They unfurled posters that claimed: “LIBERATECRIMEA”, “Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of Crimea — they have the right to land and resources”, “Fight against terrorism in Crimea is a fight against dissent”, “Crimean Tatars are not terrorists”, “Stop persecutions in Crimea”, “Crimea is Ukraine” and others. The corresponding photo report published by the protesters via Facebook.
“March 18, if someone forgot, is a “holiday”date for the invaders, the day of the “return of Crimea to its native bay”. More recently, this event – “the day of the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation” – was celebrated with great fanfare. But after a lapse of time mass rapture faded”,- the report claimed.
“The long-awaited exchange of prisoners did not take place. Instead, there were new raids, new arrests. Six more Crimean children were left without fathers, four more Crimean Tatars were imprisoned. The disappointment is huge: many believed that the exchange would happen, that the prisoners would return to their families”,- the activists emphasized.
We remind that every month on the 18th, activists go out to the streets of the city in order to tell others about the situation in the annexed Crimea, to inform Russian society about the facts of violation of human rights and freedoms. They united in a perpetual event called Strategy-18 in honor of the day of deportation of the Crimean Tatars on May 18, 1944.