Events in Remembrance of Victims of Deportation 1944 were Held in Simferopol

17 May 2012

On May 17, 2012 the mourning events were held in Simferopol in the framework of the events, timed to the 68^th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people from their historical Homeland – Crimea, including the laying of flowers to the memorial stone near the railroad station, Salgir Park and architectural complex “Revival” in the Crimean State Engineering – Pedagogical University.

On the same day the evening-requiem, in remembrance of the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people was held in the Ukrainian Musical and Drama Theatre.

Before the evening began the anthem of Ukraine and Crimean Tatar national anthem were performed and one minute’s silence in remembrance of those who didn’t return from the places of deportation was held.

The evening-requiem was attended by the First Vice-Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, the President of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars Refat Chubarov, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine, Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Estonia to Ukraine Lauri Lepik, the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea Viktor Plakida, the First Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers of ARC Georgy Psarev, rector of the Crimean State Engineering – Pedagogical University Fevzi Yakubov, veterans of the Crimean Tatar national movement and human rights advocacy movement in the USSR that were invited to Crimea by Mejlis, as well as the MPs of the VR ARC and local councils, inhabitants of Crimea and many others.

Addressing the audience Refat Chubarov noted that every human life is unique and has to be taken care of and that it is everyone’s duty not to let repeating that genocide that was committed in 1944.

“Every day our relatives and friends pass away – those who were directly subjected to the deportation buried their parents, brothers, sisters that died of cold and hunger in exile. They left this world never seeing justice, because the state didn’t busy itself to say them: “Forgive, you were slandered, you were deprived of your Homeland, name, language, you were killed and thrown to prisons because you are Crimean Tatars. But today everything is in the past, because the state not only guarantees the non-recurrence of what had happened to you, but adopts special laws to ensure all measures to help you in overcoming of all those catastrophic destructions and consequences, caused by the deportation. However, there is no such law. Any attempts to adopt it meet severe opposition of the ideological heirs of the regime that committed this crime”. Refat Chubarov reminded about the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, held on May 16, 2012 and statement of the leader of the Faction of the Communists Peter Simonenko who once again repeated the chauvinistic, groundless accusations of Crimean Tatars that were debunked by the European organizations and qualified as crime, committed by the totalitarian Communist regime.

“There are many well-known human rights advocates of the former USSR in this hall today, the President of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars mentioned. Ican’tnamethemall. Therearetoomanyofthem. You can see them all tomorrow at the all-Crimean mourning meeting”.

In his turn, the Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in Crimea Viktor Plakida expressed his condolences on the eve of the 68^th anniversary of the tragic event – the deportation of Crimean Tatars. Viktor Plakida noted that during few May days an unprecedented number of Crimeans were exiled.

 “Only after obtaining the independence Ukraine could do everything to let those who left his Home return to Crimea,- Viktor Plakida said. Today the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych does everything to restore justice and ensure that good, peace and tolerance would accompany the future of Crimea”.

He also noted that following from the history, people have to make lessons in order not to let such tragedy repeating in the future, to ensure peace in Crimean land for everyone and for ever.

The First Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers of ACR Georgy Psarev said: “Deportation is our common pain. It is the grief of thousands of people, disabled destinies and warning to those politicians who do not want to acknowledge the lessons of the history. There is no doubt that the deportation of Crimean Tatars, Armenians, Bulgarians and other people is a crying crime. On May 18, 1944 the first train with the deportees was sent to the Central Asia. Thiscausedtheuncountablelosses. Many innocent people died. This is a hard lesson not only for the politicians, but also for all generations, that first of all teaches us to honor a human life”.

The world was also given to the rector of the CSIPU Fevzi Yakubov. He noted that there were always wars in Crimean land, but he underscored that the inhabitants of the peninsular never fought against each other.