Meeting with the MPs of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic

19 April 2018

On April 19, the Mejlis Office of the Crimean Tatar People met with the MPs of the Parliament of the Turkish Republic headed by Volkan Bozkır, who is currently on an official visit to Ukraine. All participants of the Turkish delegation are members of the Committee on International Relations of the Turkish Parliament. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkey to Ukraine – Yonet Can Tezel.

From the Crimean Tatar side the following delegates participated in the meeting: the Leader of the Crimean Tatar People – Mustafa Dzhemilev, the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People – Refat Chubarov, the Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People – Ilmi Umerov, members of the Mejlis – Eskender Bariev and Riza Shevkiev, and the First Deputy Minister for temporarily occupied territories and Internally Displaced Persons of Ukraine – Yusuf Kurkchi.

Leaders of the Crimean Tatar people informed the guests about the situation in the occupied Crimea, about illegal arrests and fines against Crimean Tatars, as well as about numerous searches, bullying and torture conducted by the representatives of the occupation law enforcement agencies.

Volkan Bozkır, Chairman of the Committee on International Relations of the Turkish Parliament, said that the Crimean Tatar people can count on the all-round support of the indigenous people of the peninsula and the non-recognition of the annexation of Crimea by Russia. “Our position is clear and consistent. We do not recognize the annexation and occupation of Crimea, and we hope that the persecution of the Crimean Tatars will cease and they will live freely at their homeland in Crimea.” – noted the member of the parliament. 

At the end of the meeting, the Turkish delegates presented memorable souvenirs to the representatives of the Crimean Tatar people and promised to support the Crimean Tatars, in particular, assistance in building a Mosque in Kyiv and housing for settlers from Crimea. In return, Crimean Tatar leaders presented to the honoured guests a souvenir plate of the well-known Crimean Tatar master-ceramist Rustem Skibin.