KYIV – On August 9, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine had a meeting with the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people.
The meeting took place on the joint initiative of both parties and was aimed at deepening the cooperation of the President’s Office, the President’s representation in Crimea and the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and the coordination of efforts toward deoccupation of the peninsula and its reintegration.
The meeting was attended by Permanent Representative of the President in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea Anton Korynevych, leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov and Kutultai delegate Rustem Umerov.
“Our meeting was planned to get to know each other better, discuss all important issues as regards Crimea and the protection of Crimean Tatars. What steps we must do together, what is already being done by you,” Mr. Zelenskyy said.
The parties discussed the protection of human rights, especially those of political prisoners, in the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. They also touched upon legislative initiatives and humanitarian issues.
Messrs. Dzhemilev and Chubarov informed the president about the current situation on the occupied peninsula. Mr. Dzhemilev noted that the invaders were trying to oppress the indigenous people of Crimea in every way.
In order to record all human rights violations in Crimea, Messrs. Chubarov and Dzhemilev offered to raise in the international arena the issue of establishing a permanent monitoring mission on the temporarily occupied peninsula. According to them, the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Group and the Special Monitoring Mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe that operates in the temporarily occupied part of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts already have this right.
Mr. Korynevych noted that the occupying authorities of the Russian Federation dd not allow international human rights monitoring missions to enter the Crimean peninsula, as they understand that the evidence gathered could be used in international courts, in particular in the International Criminal Court.
“It has a mandate all over Ukraine, but it is not allowed in Crimea. We must insist everywhere, at all international platforms, that the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission has the right to enter Crimea,” Mr. Chubarov stated.