On March 27, 2019, Russian security forces in occupied Crimea conducted at least 26 searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars and detained 23 people. The searches were held in Simferopol, the nearby villages: Strohonivka, Kamenka, Aykavan, in the village of Volodymyrivka in Bilohirsk region and in the village Oktyabrskoe of Krasnogvardeysky region of Crimea. These searches were conducted with multiple procedural violations: residents were not allowed to enter their homes and their lawyers were not permitted to be present during searches. This was the largest and most organized crackdown by Russian occupying forces against Crimean Tatars during the past 5 years of Crimea’s occupation.<\/p>\n
#LIBERATECRIMEA, an international civil society movement for the de-occupation of Crimea and solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people, stands with victims of this most recent crackdown of innocent Crimean Tatars and their families. We condemn and despise the actions of the Russian aggressor who can exert its illegitimate authority in Crimea only through the language of brute force and intimidation. Today’s Russian Federation is an inhuman regime that is void of any morality and compassion and as such is destined for a painful demise that will hit its own people the hardest. <\/p>\n
We also point to the timing of this crackdown which was conducted right after the 5th anniversary of Crimea’s attempted annexation to the Russian Federation. What Putin and his cronies expected to become a big celebration in occupied Crimea and across Russia, in reality turned out to be something entirely different.<\/p>\n
In Ukraine and worldwide, governments, intergovernmental organizations (including the UN, EU and NATO) and civil society activists condemned the continued occupation of Crimea and called for Russia to return control over Crimea to Ukraine. Formal „celebrations“ in Crimea and in Russia dedicated to the 5th anniversary of the so-called return of Crimea to Russia were subdued and joyless events – reflecting the growing understanding among the general population that the occupation has brought more suffering and pain than anything worth celebrating.<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly the Russian aggressor understands this, too. But instead of drawing the correct conclusion, i.e., leaving Crimea and returning it to Ukraine, the aggressor directs its furious anger at Crimean Tatar people who continue to non-violently resist the illegal occupation of Crimea, in line with International and Ukrainian law. Hence, this most recent crackdown of Crimean Tatars is the clearest proof to date that Russia has failed in its reckless and irresponsible project to occupy Crimea – and in fact understands this itself. <\/p>\n
Our message to the international community of civilized states is that it is time to go beyond the typical rhetoric of non-recognition of Crimea’s occupation and to increasingly call for Crimea’s de-occupation from Russia.<\/p>\n
Our message to the civil society in Ukraine and worldwide is to continue pressurize political leaders of our countries to prioritize the de-occupation of Crimea even more and to take concrete steps for bringing the date of liberating Crimea closer.<\/p>\n
#LIBERATECRIMEA<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On March 27, 2019, Russian security forces in occupied Crimea conducted at least 26 searches in the homes of Crimean Tatars and detained 23 people. The searches were held in Simferopol, the nearby villages: Strohonivka, Kamenka, Aykavan, in the village of Volodymyrivka in Bilohirsk region and in the village Oktyabrskoe of Krasnogvardeysky region of Crimea. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":107873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-107872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n