On April 11-13, the executive board of the World Crimean Tatar Congress met for deliberations that coincided with an international human rights conference in Vilnius, Lithuania. This was the fourth such in-person gathering of the executive board and, notably, the third over the course of the last 12 months. With the most recent occupation of their indigenous homeland having begun in February 2014, the international diaspora of Crimean Tatars has slowly transformed the worldwide community it represents into a working body able to assist fellow Crimean Tatars trapped in Crimea in a model that should be familiar to the Ukrainian diaspora.
Convening for the first time in Symferopol, Crimea, in May 2009, the first World Congress of Crimean Tatars laid the groundwork for a worldwide representative body that would unite their people no matter how far off their community had been scattered. This past summer in Ankara, Turkey, the second such Congress attracted 410 registered delegates, 80 invited guests and 110 additional attendees, representing some 200 Crimean Tatar organizations from 12 countries.
Much like the impetus that led to the genesis of the first World Congress of Free Ukrainians in the 1960s, today’s Crimean Tatar leadership has demonstrated an understanding of the need for its worldwide diaspora to coordinate advocacy under an umbrella body. To that end, when the congress gathered in Ankara this past summer, they not only reelected Refat Chubarov as president, but they established an executive committee responsible for implementing its charter. The executive board has followed up on the mission directives established in Ankara, with follow-up meetings in both Romania and Kyiv.
The executive committee of World Congress of Crimean Tatars commences its extraordinary coordinating meeting at the Arka Gallery in Vilnius, located in the historic Basilian Monastery complex of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Holy Trinity. Seated at the head table (from left) are: WCCT Vice-President Mükremin Şahin, Mustafa Dzhemilev, WCCT President Refat Chubarov, and WCCT Secretary General Namık Kemal Bayar.
At the fourth meeting of the executive on April 11-13, this writer had the honor of not only attending the international conference in Vilnius, but also being a guest delegate at the deliberations of the executive committee. The overarching theme of the discussions therein was encompassed in their first resolution: “The right to self-determination of Crimea belongs to the Crimean Tatar people, being the indigenous people of Crimea. Any decision neglecting the will of the Crimean Tatars on the destiny of Crimea cannot establish justice.” Presentations given at the international conference focused on “Mass Violation of Human Rights in Occupied Crimea.”
The events in Vilnius got a shocking dose of reality when murmurs spread throughout the hall of the Lithuanian Parliament, where attendees had gathered. Member of the Seimas Vilija Aleknaitė-Abramikienė turned to those in my row to explain that Lithuania’s parliamentary website had come under cyberattack. This specific attack focused on blocking users from viewing the Parliament’s website, thus blocking the streaming live coverage of the conference.
Nevertheless, the conference went ahead with statements of solidarity from Loreta Graužinienė, speaker of the Seimas; Gediminas Kirkilas, deputy speaker of the Seimas; and Vytautas Landsbergis, first head of state after the restoration of Lithuanian independence.
U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) had the opportunity to declare solidarity with the indigenous people of Crimea in a pre-taped video address, stating, “These proud people were forced either to leave or get Russian citizenship, but they have not stopped the fight. The Crimean land belongs to the Crimean Tatars’ ancestors, and they have the right to live on their territory. I believe the U.S. is obliged to do everything possible that Russia suffers additional losses as it has occupied the territory illegally. We must help the Crimean Tatars. I will never stop fighting for free Ukraine!”
Another Ukrainian presence of note at the conference was Ivanna Bilych, co-founder of the new Volya Institute of Contemporary Law and Society, who delivered an address detailing the legal precedents the invasion of Crimea in 2014 has violated and the Volya Institute’s oft-cited legal report “Human Rights on Occupied Territory: Case of Crimea.”
The Ukrainian Embassy in Vilnius, under the direction of the ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Lithuania, Volodymyr Yatsenkivskyi, treated the gathered delegates to an after-hour reception, which included the unexpected surprise of the Crimean Tatar flag flying next to Ukraine’s national flag outside the Embassy. (This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Crimean Tatar’s national anthem and national flag, when the Crimean Tatar Mejlis concurrently declared its right to exist and function as the representative body for the Crimean Tatar people).
At the reception, the solidarity of Ukraine and its indigenous Crimean Tatar population was made clear, as the historic bond between these peoples was reiterated in statements from Crimean Tatar national leader Mustafa Dzhemilev; the chairman of the Mejlis of the Indigenous Crimean Tatar People, Mr. Chubarov; and the chair of the Union of the Communities of Lithuanian Tatars, Adas Jakubauskas.
The work being accomplished by the worldwide Crimean Tatar diaspora in the years following the most recent confiscation of their homeland cannot be overstated. Their resolve mirrors that of the Ukrainian World Congress and they understand that self-determination and human rights will never exist in their homeland so long as a foreign invader continues to occupy that land.
Toward that end, the continuing cooperation of bodies such as the World Congress of Crimean Tatars and the Ukrainian World Congress, and the work of Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian NGOs across the globe, including Ukrainian Congress Committee of America advocacy in Washington, must continue in order for their shared message to resonate with leaders in the United States and Europe.