No: 140, 5 May 2014

There is no legitimate basis and no justification for the fact that Mr. Mustafa Abdulcemil Kırımoğlu, the leader of the Crimean Tatar Turks, was prevented from accessing his homeland, Crimea on 3 May. We condemn such action which is unacceptable in every way and find it worrisome.

Moreover, we have learned that an inquiry was launched after Crimean Tatars cheered their leader Mr. Kırımlıoğlu, whom they had come to meet, and showed a democratic and peaceful response, and that Mr. Refat Chubarov, President of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly (Majlis) was threatened that the Assembly could be abolished.

Although we expect this will not happen, we consider that adopting such a menacing attitude toward the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, which is the sole legitimate representative body of the Crimean Tatar Turks who have always voiced their opinions and demands peacefully and who have been uneasy during the extraordinary circumstances that they have been through, is a serious development which will escalate tensions in the region.

In this context, we would like to remind all the concerned parties that the Ukrainian Parliament has recognized the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, the executive body of the Crimean Tatar National Congress, as the fully authorized organ of the Crimean Tatar people by its resolution dated March 20, 2014, and that similar decisions have been taken at the local level.

We expect that due respect will be shown to the democratic rights and freedoms of the Crimean Tatar Turks and to their sole legitimate representative body.