On Monday, December 28, activists of the international movement for the de-occupation of Crimea and solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people #LIBERATECRIMEA presented the Strategy of the movement online. The participants presented the public part of the Strategy and prospects for the further implementation of #LIBERATECRIMEA. Activists of the movement from different countries of the world joined the event and shared their experience of working on the liberation of Crimea and the formation of solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people.
At the beginning of the event, Aet Kukk, Head of the Estonian Institute for Human Rights, who supported the development of the #LIBERATECRIMEA strategy, made a welcoming speech.
Eskender Bariiev, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and one of the coordinators of #LIBERATECRIMEA, said that the work on the Strategy of the movement was carried out from 2018 to May 2020. According to him, about 100 people from among experts and activists worked on it. Together with Oliver Loode, an expert at the Estonian Institute for Human Rights, coordinator of #LIBERATECRIMEA, he told about the history of the creation and initiation of the movement, about the campaigns and actions carried out around the world.
In particular, the activists spoke about the results of the Freedom Camp international summer camp, the United by the Flag – #LIBERATECRIMEA campaign, actions and pickets around the world aimed at strengthening the civil voice in support of the de-occupation of Crimea, information (citylight) campaigns and music concerts, dedicated to the 5th anniversary of Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the results of the campaign “MP Candidate, tell me: who Crimea belongs to?”, "MP, help the prisoners of the Kremlin!” and other #LIBERATECRIMEA initiatives.
The activists noted that the position of the #LIBERATECRIMEA international movement is that it is a movement that fights for the de-occupation of Crimea and solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people.
“Vision of the #LIBERATECRIMEA international movement: Crimea is a free, prosperous region, which is an integral part of a democratic Ukraine. On its territory, the implementation of all collective and individual human rights is ensured, including the collective rights of its indigenous peoples – Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks”,- said Eskender Bariiev.
The mission of the #LIBERATECRIMEA movement, he said, is that activists are working towards the non-violent de-occupation of Crimea, the protection of human rights and the implementation of the collective rights of the Crimean Tatar people in their historical homeland.
“#LIBERATECRIMEA does this by mobilizing and strengthening the voice of civil society in Ukraine and around the world in support of the liberation of Crimea, the restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and the observance of human rights in Crimea”,- Bariiev said.
According to Oliver Loode, the movement strategy envisages the following values:
– Liberty;
– solidarity;
– non-violent approach;
– a human rights-based approach;
– observance of the rule of law;
– art and creativity;
– independence;
– lack of involvement in politics;
– safety;
– democracy.
Liudmyla Korotkykh, manager of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, spoke about the goals of the #LIBERATECRIMEA international movement. According to her, the main goal of the movement is to end the illegal occupation of Crimea as the root cause of countless human rights violations in Crimea committed since February 2014, through a non-violent struggle through strengthening the voice of civil society.
She noted that the strategy also identified 4 additional / specific goals:
1. Providing systematic support for the de-occupation of Crimea and restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
2. Promotion of the protection and realization of individual and collective human rights in the occupied Crimea.
3. Creation of a global network of allies, partners and friends of the Crimean Tatar people and promoting the implementation of their collective rights in Ukraine.
4. Ensuring sustainable development of the international movement #LIBERATECRIMEA.
After the presentation of the strategy, activists of the movement from Ukraine, Australia, Lithuania, Latvia, Germany, Great Britain, Israel, Russia and other countries of the world made speeches. They shared their experience of organizing rallies, pickets and other events in support of the liberation of Crimea and the formation of solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people and noted that they intend to continue to fight for the de-occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula in a non-violent and creative way.
Read more about the activities of the international movement #LIBERATECRIMEA.