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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of UK in Turkey

26th June 2015

Crimean Tatars: suppression, intimidation, fear and distrust

Crimea
A country illegally uses military force to seize the territory of a neighbouring country despite having signed treaties recognising, and promising to respect, that country’s territorial integrity.  Once in de facto control, the new authorities systematically suppress and intimidate an important ethnic minority with strong links to Turkey. 
 
It’s happening right here in Europe.
 
I blogged in April 2014 about “Why Ukraine matters and what happens next”.  In that blog I noted UN concerns about human rights in Russia-controlled Crimea, including arbitrary arrest and torture, and about the Tartar community there.
 
So I was struck to read a report published on 5 June by an unofficial Turkish delegation which visited Crimea in April to collect information about allegations of  human rights violations against Crimean Tartars.  The report paints a chilling picture of systematic abuse and suppression of the Tartar minority in Crimea, which numbers around 250,000 people or around 10% of the Crimean population of 2.4m.
 
The report is available on the internet in English.  Rather than attempt to summarise it, I will include some exerts, as follows:
 
  • Page 4: “As the de facto [Russian-backed] government came into power, it intensified the repression of the Crimean Tartars and pursued a policy of isolation and discrediting prominent figures of the Crimean Tartar community and the members of the Majlis [Crimean parliament].  Their homes were raided and they were systematically called in for questioning.  After the annexation, there was a serious decline in the exercise of fundamental rights and freedoms, such as the right of assembly and demonstration, and the freedom of expression.  The de facto authorities pursued a systematic policy of suppression and intimidation.”
  • Page 5: “People opposed to the new [Russian] administration were accused of extremism and subjected to torture and abduction by persons unknown”.
  • Page 5: “It was also observed that the changes regarding the education and diploma procedures of Crimean Tartar language teachers form obstacles for Crimean Tartar language education.”
  • Page 5: “A suppression policy exists aimed at spreading fear and distrust in their neighbourhoods where Crimean Tartars are settled.”
  • Page 8: “It was seen that following the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation there has been a number of unsolved killings and disappearances, some of which were observed by eye-witnesses.”
  • Page 8: “Resat Ametov’s killing is the most known incident in this regard because there is a video shooting of his kidnapping on 3 March 2014 and his body was found on 16 March 2014.  It was reported that he was tortured and his eyes were gouged out.”
  • Page 10: “Prominent Crimean Tartars in Crimea are also accused of extremism, inciting people to rebel and setting up an organisation aimed at this, and have been subjected to systematic and arbitrary interrogation and arrests on these grounds.”
  • Page 11: “The delegation members who followed the official programme observed that almost all the Crimean Tartars abstained from speaking in front of the members of de facto Crimean Authorities.  The delegation members who had contacts outside of the official programme noted that the Crimean Tartars who talked to them were concerned about themselves or their relatives being harmed after these interviews.”
  • Page 12: “Following the open criticism of the Russia’s annexation of Crimea by the leading figures of the Majlis, Mustafa Kirimoglu (Cemilev) was banned from entering Crimea for five years from 22 April 2014.  Tatars in Crimea protested at the ban imposed on Mustafa Kirimoglu.  Following the protest, pressures on the Majlis members have increased.  On 5 July 2014, Refat Cubarov was also accused of extremism and his entry to Crimea was prohibited for five years.”
  • Page 13: “The refusal by the Majlis members to cooperate with Russia led to an increase in the de facto authorities’ policy of oppression, intimidation and threats against them.  Evidence of the pressure includes systematic questioning of the members, home raids, abductions, and torture and the confiscation of the assets of the Crimea Foundation (Fond Crimea).”
  • Page 16: “After the annexation of the Crimea, the pressure on and control of media intensified, which significantly curtails freedom of expression and freedom of information.  The Crimean Tartar media are severely affected by these developments.”

The report also includes at an appendix a list of the names of killed or “vanished” Crimean Tartars as established by the delegation during meetings with relatives and families during their visit  to Crimea.

 It is tragic to read this first-hand account of how, 15 years into the 21st Century, Russia’s actions in Ukraine have led to such a deterioration in the human rights of the Tartars.  More than a year on, the report makes clear that the Tartars continue to suffer thanks to Russia’s actions in the illegally annexed territory of Crimea.
Follow Leigh Turner on Twitter at @leighturnerFCO

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.