On August 1-2, with their indigenous homeland under occupation, the second World Congress of Crimean Tatars gathered in Ankara, Turkey – the country with the largest Crimean Tatar diaspora population. This world congress attracted 184 Tatar groups from 12 countries, representing some 200 Crimean Tatar organizations. The number of registered guests at the congress (410) defied the organizers’ expectations. Russia had mobilized all of its best efforts to prevent the World Congress of Crimean Tatars from meeting at all by threatening Crimean Tatars living in occupied Crimea, setting up a rival Crimean Tatar body it could control and applying diplomatic pressure on the Turkish government.
Andrij Dobriansky, executive board member of the UCCA and the sole representative of Ukrainian diaspora organizations at the congress, addressed the delegates by calling on government leaders in the U.S. to, “Put aside political differences and stand together with all of the people of Ukraine and enact sectoral sanctions against Russia.” The congress was also addressed by Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavlo Klimkin, who declared that the so-called annexation of Crimea in March 2014 “is temporary – because it is illegal.” In a statement read by Mr. Klimkin, Ukraine’s President Poroshenko affirmed that “Ukraine will never in any circumstances accept the violation of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people to live freely on their own land.” Mr. Poroshenko pledged that Ukraine, together with its international partners, “will devote all its efforts to restore legality on the peninsula and the return of Ukrainian power to Crimea.”
Piotr Hlebowicz
Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin delivers a message from Ukraine to the World Congress of Crimean Tatars.
Given the current military occupation of Crimea, this second world congress proclaimed as its goal the development of a strategy of resistance for the worldwide Crimean Tatar diaspora. The newly elected president of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, Refat Chubarov, remarked, “Despite repressions by Russia, the Crimean Tatars will never accept its policy and are struggling against it.”
In September the UWC held its three-day annual general meeting in Madrid. The meeting was held at the world-renowned Cervantes Institute and was attended by 64 delegates and 53 guests from 20 countries. Working sessions addressed the issues of countering Russian disinformation, defending the human and national rights of Ukrainians, coordinating international efforts to support Ukraine and developing humanitarian initiatives, including the UWC-sanctioned project “Patriot Defence.” On September 13, the UWC held a peaceful march – whose theme was “Ukrainians throughout the world with Ukraine” – through central Madrid. Its aim was to demonstrate support of the Ukrainian people in their struggle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity
In the fall of 2015, The Weekly highlighted noteworthy stories about the work of Ukrainian diaspora women’s organizations. First, the WFUWO held its general meeting in Stockholm on September 3-5, during which over 50 participants discussed current issues in Ukraine and planned the way forward. Reports of the previous year reflected the fact that Ukrainian women’s organizations are directing most of their energies toward raising funds for the rehabilitation of soldiers wounded in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, support for families of those killed and wounded, the collection and distribution of humanitarian aid and protective equipment, as well as organizing demonstrations and actively disseminating truthful information about Ukraine.
Delegates and guests at the annual general meeting of the World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations (WFUWO).
On September 29, Ukrainian diaspora members in New York also met with Dalia Grybauskaite, the president of the Republic of Lithuania, at an informal high-level discussion titled, “Future of Eastern Europe: Empowerment of Women.” President Grybauskaite had invited world leaders from Central and East Europe and representatives of several international organizations to discuss ways to draw the international community’s attention to the situation of women in countries affected by armed conflicts, as well as help women survivors of wars, especially in Georgia and Ukraine. The discussion highlighted the suffering of more than 1.6 million people – two thirds of whom are women and children – who have been forced to flee their homes.
Among those invited to attend was Ukrainian Congress Committee of America President Tamara Olexy and Ukrainian National Women’s League of America President Marianna Zajac. The delegation from Ukraine included Vira Savchenko, sister of Ukrainian POW Nadiya Savchenko; National Deputy Mariia Ionova, vice-chair of the Committee on European Integration; and National Deputy Svitlana Zalishchuk, chair of the Subcommittee on Euro-Atlantic Cooperation and Euro-Integration of Committee on Foreign Affairs.
President Grybauskaite underscored that women have made a significant contribution to managing the consequences of armed conflict. She added that women help rebuild destroyed cities and communities, and take care of refugees and the wounded. Therefore, they should be provided with opportunities to take an active role in restoring peace and resolving conflicts. According to U.N. estimates, between 1992 and 2011 women made up only 9 percent of peace negotiators around the world.