Simferopol, March 07 (Navigator, Mikhail Ryabov) – The Crimean Tatar Mejlis called for the urgent deployment of UN peacekeeping troops to the territory of Crimea due to the threat of reprisals against supporters of the Ukrainian status of the peninsula.
Subscribe to the news "Navigator - Crimea" >>>
“The situation in Crimea and around Crimea continues to worsen.
The decisions “On holding an all-Crimean referendum” adopted on March 6, 2014 by the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and setting the date for its holding on March 16, 2014, served as a new factor in the escalation of tension in Crimean society. The multinational population of the peninsula rightly fears large-scale provocations that could be organized by members of paramilitary (Cossack) organizations from the Krasnodar Territory and other regions of the Russian Federation entering the territory of Crimea en masse.
The expansion of the presence of Russian troops on the peninsula, carried out against the backdrop of excessive activation of the so-called “people’s vigilantes” and “self-defense units” that are hindering the activities of journalists and diplomats, and the exclusion of OSCE observers from Crimea indicates that the situation could at any moment reach an extremely dangerous stage directly threatening the safety and lives of people.
The threat of violence against Ukrainians, Crimean Tatars and all Ukrainian citizens living on the peninsula, whose positions on the issue of the status of Crimea differ from the position of those who today are pursuing a policy of separatism and separation of Crimea from Ukraine, is becoming more and more real. Violence can also be used against many people of other nationalities who do not agree with the policies of the current “government” in Crimea.
In the current situation and in order to prevent a large-scale humanitarian and social catastrophe, the consequences of which will be tragic for all people, regardless of their nationality,
The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people appeals to all international organizations, parliaments and governments with a call to immediately consider the possibility of introducing UN peacekeeping forces into the territory of Crimea,” the head of the Mejlis, Refat Chubarov, said in a statement.