Ottawa - Exiled Crimean Tatar leader and Ukrainian parliamentarian Mustafa Dzhemilev addressed the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade on Wednesday to raise awareness of the deteriorating situation of the Crimean Tatars since the illegal annexation of Crimea from Ukraine by the Russian Federation in 2014.

Dzhemilev was accompanied by His Excellency Andrii Shevchenko, Ukraine’s Ambassador to Canada.

Dzhemilev described the grievous and worsening political, economic, social and cultural conditions in Crimea and Ukraine since the annexation, particularly for minorities such as the Crimean Tatars. These developments include the manipulation and scarcity of food, energy and electricity supplies to the peninsula.

Crimean Tatars are also the targets of disturbing crackdowns and human rights violations, including kidnappings, torture, and extrajudicial killings. Most recently, the Supreme Court of Crimea declared the Mejlis — the self-governing body of the Crimean Tatars — an extremist organization and banned it, thereby increasing the likelihood of further arrests and persecutions.

Since the Russian annexation, Dzhemilev and other Tatar leaders have been barred from entering Crimea for five years.

The witnesses described the difficult living conditions of thousands of Crimean Tatars who fled the peninsula after 2014 and are currently finding shelter in regions of southern Ukraine. They also encouraged the international community to apply a more concerted and determined effort to recognize the plight of the Crimean Tatars as a human rights violation as well as the need to respect the sovereignty of Ukraine.

The hearing provided an opportunity for the committee to affirm its ongoing interest in monitoring developments in Ukraine.

The committee noted Dzhemilev’s personal sacrifice in advocating for the human rights of Crimean Tatars and saluted his lifelong commitment to their plight.

Quick Facts

• Wednesday coincided with the day of remembrance of the mass deportations of the Crimean Tatars from the peninsula to Central Asia by Soviet leader Josef Stalin in 1944.
• The Crimean Tatars were granted the right to return to the peninsula in 1989.
• According to the most recent census in 2001, the Crimean population of 2 million is comprised of 58 per cent ethnic Russians, 24 per cent ethnic Ukrainians and 12 per cent Crimean Tatars. An estimated 10,000 Crimean Tatars have fled Crimea since the 2014 annexation.
• In February 2016, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning Russia for its mistreatment and discrimination of Crimean Tatars, including kidnappings, the closure of Crimean Tatar media outlets, language and religious restrictions, intimidation and arrests

Associated Links

Click here for to watch Mustafa Dzhemilev’s testimony before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Relations.

For more information, please contact:

Marcy Galipeau
Committees Liaison Officer, Communications
Senate of Canada
613-944-4082
marcy.galipeau@sen.parl.gc.ca