INTERVIEW: Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev (10/25/98)

INTERVIEW: Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Jemilev

by Tamara Tarnawska
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

The following interview with Mustafa Jemilev was conducted in Geneva on October 5 by Tamara Tarnawska shortly after the human rights activist had been awarded the 1998 Nansen Medal by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Sadako Ogata.

Q: What does the Nansen Medal mean to you and to the Crimean Tatar people?

A: We regard the award as an expression of moral support for our just cause involving the return of our people to its homeland in Crimea and the restoration of our rights. I consider the awarding of the Nansen Medal to me as evidence that our voice has been heard at a high level, that the Crimean Tatar issue has been recognized and that it is receiving the attention of the international community.

Q: For your participation in the Crimean Tatar national movement and the Soviet human rights movement generally you spent over 20 years in prisons, labor camps and internal exile. Did you ever believe at that time that your efforts would be successful and that you would win international recognition?

A: We hoped that the Crimean Tatar nation would one day be able to return to Crimea and worked to make this dream a reality. Quite honestly though, I did not expect it all to happen so quickly.

Even in the 1980s, when perestroika had begun, young people would come to me and say that they did not believe that our people would be able to return to their homeland during our lifetime and that it was necessary to prepare the younger generation to continue the struggle after us. The stagnant atmosphere of those years did not allow us to breathe fresh air and to believe in the fulfillment of our hopes. This was especially the case in the labor camps where at that time I was serving my latest sentence.

We could not even imagine then what has occurred today - that one day we would be able to talk about the problems of our people from the lofty podium of the U.N. Palace of Nations in Geneva. At that time we could only think about in which camp or prison we would perish because the regime was determined to stifle and eradicate all forms of dissent. Thank God that did not happen. Today we have the possibility to return to our homeland, though it is premature to say that all our problems have now been solved.

Q: What are the main problems and tasks currently facing the Crimean Tatars?

A: First, to enable all our people to return to their homeland. So far, only just over half - about 260,000 people - have managed to do so. The remainder, some 240,000, are still to be found in the places to which they were exiled and they simply do not have the possibility of returning to Crimea even though many of them would dearly like to do so.

Crimea today is part of Ukraine, a country that is building a democratic society and does not impede the return of our nation to Crimea - and is in fact providing significant assistance to this process. Nevertheless, despite these efforts, the situation of the Crimean Tatars continues to remain extremely difficult. Those who have returned find themselves in terrible conditions. Tens of thousands of them have no roof over their heads and are forced to live without water, electricity and heating. Another problem is that of separated families. The level of unemployment among Crimean Tatars is considerably higher than the average in Crimea. As a result of the long years of Russification, the situation as regards the restoration of our language, culture and traditions is also catastrophic.

We understand that the resolution of these problems requires considerable financial resources and that Ukraine, which is in a difficult economic situation, can do little to help us, even if it wants to. Unfortunately, moreover, although there are those among the country's leadership who do understand our problems and want to help, there also are those who do not. What is disconcerting is that problems that do not require much financial expenditure are also not being solved - first and foremost, legal ones.

Do you remember, when the new law on elections was being adopted, how much talk there was about the need to guarantee the right of the Crimean Tatars to have their people represented in Parliament? That did not happen and we were left out. Now, in the Crimean Parliament there is not a single representative of our nation. This not only holds back the resolution of our problems but also creates a dangerous threat to the stability of Crimea. The Crimean Tatars are outraged by this state of affairs. In their own homeland they do not have a single representative in the local Parliament and do not participate in the formation of the government.

Unfortunately, the Ukrainian state is not taking the essential steps to remove the existing discrimination against the Crimean Tatars which has been preserved since the times of the old chauvinistic Communist nomenklatura. Moreover, the state does not defend the rights not only of Crimean Tatars, but also of Ukrainians on the territory of Crimea.

Q: Which forces support the Crimean Tatars?

A: In Ukraine, there are different political forces pulling in opposite directions. There are those that dream of restoring the former USSR and the old totalitarian system. For them the Crimean Tatars clearly are enemies because they fought against the old system. These forces do not want our return to Crimea and if they had a chance would again force us from the peninsula. On the other hand, there are also national democratic forces which understand the significance of the Crimean Tatar factor for Ukraine and try to help us. Unfortunately, the balance of forces is not in favor of the democrats.

Q: And what about in the Ukrainian Parliament?

A: In the Verkhovna Rada there are two Crimean Tatar deputies: Refat Chubarov and myself. If it had not been for the existence of such a noble party as Rukh, the Popular Movement of Ukraine, which without any preconditions extended a hand of support and offered to place me on the list of its first 10 candidates, I would not be a member of Parliament.

Our links with Rukh go back to the times of our struggle against the totalitarian empire. The political party which subsequently emerged from the original Rukh was formed on the basis of a movement in defense of rights. This is essentially the main political force that backs us. There are other parties, though, which to a greater or lesser extent also support us. They are the centrist ones, or those right of center, including part of the Green Party and the National Democratic Party, and some of the deputies from the United Social Democratic Party and Hromada.

Q: And the Communists?

A: The Communists are categorically against us. President Leonid Kuchma promised us that the question of restoring a quota system in the Crimean Parliament would be reconsidered. He was supposed to have proposed an initiative on this in the Ukrainian Parliament. I spoke about this issue with Communist deputies, including ones elected in Crimea. I told them that for the sake of stability in Crimea it is important to give Crimean Tatars the opportunity to defend their interests legally in Parliament, and not leave them with no option but to do so outside it and resort to forms of civil disobedience. But the Communists were strongly opposed to a quota system and advised us to solve our problems through the Communist deputies.

Q: You mention civil disobedience. How in all these years did you manage to refrain from advocating violent means of resistance?

A: I have always believed that when violent means are used innocent people die, and that no just cause can justify the taking of innocent lives. That is why I have never contemplated calling for the use of violence, although there have been very critical situations when we were provoked by attacks on our settlements and had to declare a state of emergency and a general mobilization of our forces. But even then, it was with the aim of defending ourselves against bandits, and not attacking others.

Q: What role do international organizations play in helping the Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian Government cope with the problems of return and reintegration?

A: During the last few years, the circle of international organizations that have been helping to address the problems of the Crimean Tatars has been significantly widened. One of the pioneers was the UNDP [United Nations Development Program] with its program aimed at facilitating the reintegration of Crimean Tatar returnees. The OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] has also played an important role, especially the high commissioner on national minorities, Max van der Stoel. His office has in fact created a working partnership with the UN's refugee agency, the UNHCR.

The initiatives of UNHCR, headed by Madame Sadako Ogata, have had an exceptional impact. The effectiveness of the activity of UNHCR representatives, both at the headquarters and field levels, in protecting and assisting refugees and displaced populations, including Crimean Tatars and other formerly deported peoples, has contributed significantly to overcoming the problems inherited from the former Soviet empire.

Q: Finally, what did you feel when the high commissioner for refugees was awarding you the Nansen Medal?

A: I felt very great happiness and satisfaction. I was filled with the hope that we have really made significant headway in solving the problem of the return of the Crimean Tatars to their historical homeland. There was also another important aspect for us. The document on the presentation of the Nansen Medal states that it has been awarded to the chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people. As you know, the Mejlis, the elected assembly of our people, is still not recognized by the leadership of Ukraine. Therefore, I hope that the awards will have an influence on the Ukrainian leadership and help us to settle this question.

I also want to add that it was very pleasant for me to see representatives of our state at the awards ceremony in the Palace of Nations. I hope they were as happy as I was that such a high award was being given to a citizen of Ukraine.

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