The Worldwide United by the Flag Network #LIBERATECRIMEA calls on Ukrainian and international communities to pay attention to the only Crimean Tatar TV channel ATR, which has been threatened with closure due to the cessation of state funding by the Ukrainian authorities.
The Crimean Tatar broadcasting, which is carried out by the TV channel, is a vital mechanism of preserving the language of the indigenous people of Ukraine, which, according to UNESCO, is in danger of extinction.
Activists of #LIBERATECRIMEA believe that the closure of the ATR channel as the primary source of objective information about the situation in the occupied Crimea:
– deprives the right of citizens of Ukraine, the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar diasporas in different countries of the possibility to get necessary and truthful information;
– may lead to a loss of confidence of the indigenous Crimean Tatar people living in the occupied Crimea, to the Ukrainian state;
– makes it impossible to consolidate the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar diaspora in various countries;
– makes it impossible to preserve the national identity of the Crimean Tatars, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, and Ukrainians.
“Therefore, the Worldwide United by the Flag Network #LIBERATECRIMEA calls on Ukrainian and international communities to pay attention to the situation around #АТR TV channel. We consider it unacceptable to cease state funding of the Crimean Tatar TV channel and urge authorities to resume funding #ATR as soon as possible”,- the statement outlined.