Eskender Bariiev, 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, took part in the panel discussion Ukraine 30: Not Just Words, which was organized by the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine.
The speakers were:
Eskender Bariiev – Ukrainian public figure, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, Head of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
Oleksandra Ustinova – Ukrainian politician, social activist, MP of Ukraine of the 9th convocation, a member of the Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on Law Enforcement Activities, who is a representative of the parliamentary group Justice.
Serhii Sternenko – Ukrainian public figure and popular YouTuber.
During the discussion, experts discussed the challenges for Ukraine on the 30th anniversary of its restored independence, as well as ways to preserve the values of freedom in the face of the fight against the Russian occupier and corruption.
“Today we need to think about what we want to see Ukraine in 2030. We must understand the national idea of the citizens of Ukraine. We must understand what kind of Ukraine we want to build, what role in international politics we can take, what positions, how we can be attractive in order to strive for this. These are important components for the de-occupation of Crimea and the Donbas”,- Bariiev said.
The expert cited as an example the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which clearly outlined 17 areas that show what the world should strive for. Based on this, Ukrainians need to think about what our country should strive for, how it should be realized within the framework of these goals.
“It is important that we see what Crimea will be like as part of Ukraine. This is necessary in order to send a message to our citizens living in Crimea. They must understand that they have not been forgotten. Only then will the Crimeans continue to maintain communication with us, ”he added.
The Head of the Board of the CTRC stressed that almost 8 years have passed since the occupation. Generations change. The Russian Federation is purposefully engaged in population replacement.
“What population we will get the Crimea with is unknown. This is a big problem. But today we must do everything so that the qualitative composition of the population does not change”,- the expert noted.