On Wednesday, October 20, the Crimean Tatar Resource Center held a meeting with representatives of the Slovenian Embassy in Ukraine. The diplomats were told about the situation with human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, and the interlocutors discussed ways of further cooperation.
The meeting was attended by the Ambassador of Slovenia to Ukraine Tomaž Mencin, Deputy Head of Mission, Plenipotentiary Minister Blaž Masle, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, Head of the Department of Legal and Foreign Affairs of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Eskender Bariiev, managers of the CTRC Zarema Bariieva and Liudmila Korotkykh.
Representatives of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center told diplomats from Slovenia about the situation with human rights violations in the occupied Crimea, about systemic repressions against pro-Ukrainian activists and representatives of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people. They were informed about all political prisoners who disappeared and died during the occupation. There were presented clickable charts "Victims of the occupation of Crimea", developed by the organization, which are permanently available via the organization's website in 4 languages and reflect the current number of political prisoners, missing and dead people during the occupation of Crimea.
The diplomats were given booklets prepared by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center about political prisoners in Crimea, "My Dad Is a Hero!", As well as a report on the activities of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and a report "Situation analysis in the occupied Crimea as of 2020".
In addition, the Ambassador 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 internally displaced, 10 families who remained on the peninsula.
To prosecute those responsible for human rights violations in the occupied Crimea and prevent violations in the future, representatives of the CTRC invited the Ambassador to promote the adoption in Slovenia of a law similar to the Magnitsky Act, which provides for the introduction of personal sanctions against persons responsible for human rights violations in the occupied Crimea.
“We express our deep gratitude for the fact that the Republic of Slovenia has joined the Crimean platform. In order to realize the goals of the Crimean Platform, we would like to propose to hold an international forum both in Ukraine and in Slovenia”,- Bariiev emphasized.
The interlocutors discussed the issues that will be raised within the framework of the forum. In particular, representatives of the embassy are interested in the topic of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people, their culture, traditions, and repressions against their representatives. In this regard, the managers of the CTRC spoke about the problems that the Crimean Tatars, who remained in the occupied Crimea and who were forced to leave the peninsula, face every day. The topic of self-organization of the indigenous people, of systemic repressions against members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people was explained.
The head of the CTRC Board spoke about the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944, when 238,500 people were evicted, and the death toll in the first years of the deportation was 110,200 people.
“The deportation of the Crimean Tatar people is a lengthy process. After the occupation of Crimea in 2014, thousands of Crimean Tatars left the peninsula due to their political position. Moreover, a new law on forced evacuation has appeared in the Russian Federation, which can contribute to the deportation of an inconvenient population, and first of all the Crimean Tatar people”,- Bariiev explained.
The diplomats thanked the representatives of the CTRC for the information provided, and also confirmed their support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.