Statement of the Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality on Xenophobic Statement of Russian Actor Alexei Panin

12 September 2013

Following the meeting of the Mejlis Head Mustafa Jemilev with Mr Sergei Timoschuk, regional representative of the Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality in ARC and Sevastopol held on September 10, 2013 in the office of the Mejlis, the National Expert Commission published on its website the “Statement of the Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality on the xenophobic statements of Russian actor Alexei Panin”.

Text of the Statement is given bellow.

“For a long time the offences on the grounds of xenophobia or humiliation of individuals on the national or religious grounds were not widely spread in the Ukrainian society. The respect of every person irrespective of one’s nationality or religion, public tolerance and political correctness was considered to be a guarantee of wellbeing and harmonious development of our country.

However, today the increase of the manifestations of xenophobia, Ukrainian-phobia, Tatar-phobia, anti-Semitism, racism, national and religious hatred become more and more sensitive problem that gradually takes new cities and regions. This can’t leave the Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality and its regional representations indifferent.

The special public danger of various manifestations of xenophobia, racism and other forms of discrimination is stipulated by the fact that such separate actions could quite quickly develop into severest crimes under the certain circumstances threatening public peace (mass disorders, vandalism, extremism, terrorism and etc.), constitutional order and national safety of the state in the whole (armed conflicts, forced seizure of power, etc.)

The dissemination of xenophobia and certain increase of the level of intolerance in Ukraine reflect the international and European negative trends and at the same time some national and religious peculiarities.

According to the Mass Media a well-known Russian actor Alexei Panin after the car crash that took place on August 20, 2013 in Alushta made very humiliating statements in his interview to the Mass Media against the Crimean Tatars and direct calling to Crimean residents to make illegal actions against the Crimean Tatar people and intently made actions aimed at stirring up national hatred thus violating the Article 161, part 1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality was extremely indignant at the humiliating xenophobic statement against Crimean Tatars made in a cynic way by Russian actor Alexei Panin during the accident and repeated them his comments to various Mass Media.

The articles 21, 24 of the Constitution of Ukraine clearly guarantee all Ukrainian citizens the equality and prohibition of any discrimination or humiliation on ethnic, racial grounds, as well as color of skin, political, religious and other views, sex, ethnic and social origin, ownership status, place of residence, linguistic and other grounds.

The Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality shares the concern of the Crimean Tatar community and residents of Crimean about this negative case of xenophobia with participation of the public figure and states that it will pay much attention in the future to detection and prevention of dissemination of the materials that stirring up national and religious hatred, promoting Ukrainian-phobia, Tatar-phobia, anti-Semitism, Fascism, neo-Fascism, xenophobia, racism and etc.

However, the actions of the state bodies often could not be enough to say about the enhancement of the situation. That is why, considering the broad public response and real threat to the public peace, order and consent caused by Mr Panin’s statements and actions the Ukraine’s National Expert Commission for Protecting Public Morality calls the representatives of the authorities and local self-governance, public organizations, creative unions, Mass Media, educational establishments, Ukrainian citizens – representatives of all nationalities and religions to unite their efforts and prevent such cases in the future, preserving the general rejection and public condemnation of such shameful actions, establishment of mutual respect between the representatives of various nations and ethnic groups – the full citizens of Ukraine.”