Photo: DESS
On Tuesday, October 8, representatives of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience met with the Crimean Tatar delegation of Turkey and Romania.
The meeting was attended by a delegation of representatives of the Crimean Tatar diaspora from Turkey and Romania, led by the head of the Platform of Crimean Tatar Organizations of Turkey, Umit Şilit, Viktor Yelensky, Head of the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience , Refat Chubarov, Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Eskender Bariiev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center, member of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, and others.
In his speech, Viktor Yelenskyy highlighted Ukraine’s state policy on national minorities and indigenous peoples, which is based not only on EU requirements, but also on the principles of statehood and justice. He recalled the importance of the Law on Indigenous Peoples adopted in 2021 and the importance of working on its implementation.
One of the important topics of the meeting was the restoration of historical place names in Crimea. In particular, Mr. Yelensky spoke about an exclusive wooden map of Crimean territorial communities with the historical names of settlements under the new administrative system, which was previously handed over to him by Eskender Bariiev, Chairman of the Board of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
“The issue of restoring justice is also the issue of restoring historical place names. We hope that you will return to the liberated Crimea, which will have historical names, where the rights of indigenous peoples will be ensured,” – Viktor Yelensky emphasized.
Umit Şilit, Chairman of the Platform of Crimean Tatar Organizations of Turkey, in turn, emphasized the importance of preserving the Crimean Tatar identity and culture, thanked Ukraine for its support and stressed the role of the diaspora in Turkey, which exceeds 5 million people.