United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Regional Representative Mr. Oldrich Andrysek visited Crimea

27 July 2011

On July 26, 2011 in the framework of his working visit to Crimea Mr. Oldrich Andrysek UNHCR Regional Representative in the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine visited a range of Crimean Tatar settlements, and places of cultural, historical and religious heritage of Crimean Tatars.

In his trip Mr. Oldrich Andrysek was accompanied by the President of World Congress of Crimean Tatars, First Deputy Chairman of Mejlis – Refat Chubarov; Head of Department of foreign relations of Mejlis Ali Khamzin, Head of Land Commission of Mejlis Zevdzhet Kurtumerov, assistant of MP of Ukraine Lilya Muslimova, Head of Foundation for Naturalization and Human Rights “Assistance” – executive partner of UNHCR in Crimea Akhtem Zeytullaev.

Mr. Oldrich Andrysek started studying the modern problems of Crimean Tatars with the visit to the provisional construction site of the Grand Mosque (Buyuk Juma Jami) in Simferopol. Here the high visitor was informed about the history of allocation of this land plot to the Religious Board of Crimean Muslims. “It’s a pity that the question of allocation of this construction site of the Grand Mosque was hampered for years, but thanks God, with direct involvement of the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Vasily Dzharty we all together could find the way out of this situation,” – Refat Chubarov noted, he also added that the results of the open tender for the best draft design of the Grand Mosque will be announced already at the end of August 2011.

Then the UNHCR Regional Representative in the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine visited Crimean Tatar settlement “Vasiet” (Stoganovka) that was founded 20 years ago.

By the way, this very settlement was visited by the High Commissioner for Refugees Ms. Sadako Ogata in September 1997 during her two-day visit to Crimea which resulted in finding forms of the simplified procedures of acquisition of Ukraine’s citizenship by more than 80 thousands of Crimean Tatars who returned to Crimea by that time from Uzbekistan and other post-Soviet countries.

The Ambassador Oldrich Andrysek and his companions were met by the Head of the local Mejlis Edem Mustafaev and local residents. Staying in one of the most unsettled blocks of Vasiet settlement the local activists told their guests about the most sensitive problems of development of their settlement, such as lack of centralized water supply, roads, and unfinished power lines. “There are 982 school children, but we have no school in our settlement and they have to go off road to the remote schools,” –Edem Mustafaev said.

Addressing the local residents the UNHCR Regional Representative Mr. Oldrich Andrysek underscored that his task is to assist people in implementation of their rights specified by the UNHCR mandate and added that things that he has seen in Crimea could let him draw attention of the governing body to many other questions related to the situation with the returning Crimean Tatars that also require care and concern of the international community.

Then Mr. Oldrich Andrysek visited the studio of Rustem Skibin, a famous Crimean Tatar handicrafter at Akropolis settlement. After the review lecture and exhibition of the last works Rustem Skibin invited his guests to the traditional coffee drink during which they exchanged opinions on the current situation and perspectives of preserving of the national handicrafts.

When the guests arrived to “Ana-yurt” settlement its residents already waited them gathering next to the site of the mosque construction. The Chairman of the local Mejlis Eldar Ibragimov told about the history of the settlement and today’s problems that in many respects resemble the problems of other Crimean Tatar settlements: lack of electricity, water supply and social infrastructure. At the same time, according to the residents of “Ana-yurt” settlement some of the problems created by the authorities bare an artificial nature. For example, refusal to register people on the address of legally allotted land plots. Ambassador Oldrich Andrysek noted that this problem is within the framework of the UNHCR mandate and said: “we will surely consider this problem and we will try to solve it together with the authorities”.

After the UNHCR Regional Representative Mr. Oldrich Andrysek visited Crimean Tatar settlement that was founded in early 90-es he and his companions also visited the squatted land settlements located on Balaklavskaya Street and “Krymavtogaz” district, where they met Crimean Tatars defending their right for land for construction of houses for their families. During his visit of the squatted land settlements the Head of Land commission of Mejlis Zevdzhet Kurtumerov informed Mr. Ambassador in details about the reasons and preconditions that made people carrying out various actions in order to protect their right for land.

After Mr. Oldrich Andrysek visited Simferopol and Simferopol region he went to Bakhchisaray where he visited the places of cultural, historical and religious heritage of Crimean Tatars – Khan’s Palace and historical complex Zyndzhyrli Medrese. Here Mr. Ambassador also had meeting with the Head of Ismail Gasprinsky’s home-museum Yakub Appazov, the founder of museum “La Richese” Guliver Altin, and lecturer of the Crimean Industrial Pedagogical University Nariman Abdulvaapov who informed the guest about the most sensitive problems related to the revival and preservation of the cultural and historical monuments of Crimean Tatars.

During the separate meeting with the Fist Deputy Chairman of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov, Head of Department of foreign relations of Mejlis Ali Khamzin, Chairman of Bakhchisaray regional Mejlis Akhtem Chiygoz the UNHCR Regional Representative Mr. Oldrich Andrysek received exhaustive explanations to many questions that he asked after his visit to Crimean Tatar settlement and meetings with local residents, including the peculiarities of the election process and activity of the bodies of national self-governance of the Crimean Tatar people – Qurultay, Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people and local Mejlises.

The parties also exchanged opinions on the perspectives of carrying out of the International forum on the restoration of the rights of the Crimean Tatar people to their homeland, its security and guarantees of development in Ukraine.

The extensive program of the UNHCR Regional Representative’s working day ended in Eupatoria, where Oldrich Andrysek and Refat Chubarov visited the historical and cultural monument of Crimean Tatars – Odun-Bazar qapy, restored by the efforts of Maecenas Dilyara and Zeynura Yakubovs and Dilyaver Mambetov.

During the trip the Regional Representative was accompanied by a Spanish-French filmmaker, Ms. Paula Palacios, who is making a film on past and present of the Crimean Tatar people.