On Thursday, November 5, representatives of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center met with the Ambassador of Lithuania to Ukraine Valdemaras Sarapinas. The interlocutors discussed the situation in the occupied Crimea, the CTRC presented the main directions of the organization’s activities, and the parties agreed to jointly hold a number of events.
The participants of the meeting were the Ambassador of Lithuania to Ukraine Valdemaras Sarapinas, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of the Presidium of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Eskender Bariiev, manager of the CTRC Zarema Bariıeva.
Representatives of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center informed the diplomat about the situation with human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, about political prisoners who disappeared and died during the occupation of the peninsula. There clickable charts "Victims of the occupation of Crimea", developed by the organization, which are permanently available on the organization's website in 4 languages and reflect the actual number of political prisoners, missing and dead people during the occupation of Crimea were presented.
The diplomat was told about the difficult situation of the Crimean Tatar language on the peninsula. Representatives of the CTRC emphasized that in Crimea the invaders are changing the status of national schools to general education ones, and also create indirect barriers to the opening of Crimean Tatar classes.
Mr. Sarapinas was presented with the album "Hostages of the Occupation", which tells about the history of 20 Crimean Tatars families who became hostages of the occupation of Crimea: 10 are internally displaced, 10 are families who remained on the peninsula. They also handed over the booklets prepared by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center about the political prisoners of Crimea who disappeared and were killed during the occupation of Crimea, the booklet "My dad is a hero"!
In addition, the parties agreed to jointly conduct a number of events in an online format, given the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will be possible to combine several events. For its part, the CTRC is ready to inform the Seimas MPs about the situation in the occupied Crimea, provide more complete information about political prisoners and hold the exhibitions "Hostages of the Occupation", Crimean Tatars”,- Bariiev said.
The diplomat supported this idea and said that the Seimas of Lithuania adopted a resolution according to which 2021 will be the year of the Lithuanian Tatars. Mr. Sarapinas stressed that within the framework of this event, it will be possible to implement a number of joint initiatives both in Lithuania and Ukraine.
Also, the Ambassador was told about the Atalık (God's father) initiative, which provides for political patronage over the political prisoners of Crimea and their families.
The CTRC staff thanked Lithuania for recognizing the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as an act of genocide and stressed that for many countries Lithuania is an example of how to properly oppose the Putin regime. In addition, the Republic of Lithuania is one of six countries in the world that has adopted a law similar to the Magnitsky Act, and this is an important tool for imposing personal sanctions against officials responsible for human rights violations in the occupied Crimea.
The diplomat, in turn, recalled the continued support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and stressed that Lithuania will never recognize the illegal annexation of Crimea.