The representative of Greece in PACE unexpectedly condemned Ukraine for the blockade of Crimea
PACE adopted another anti-Russian resolution “Human rights violations committed against Crimean Tatars in Crimea,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
The resolution contains standard phrases about the “occupation” of Crimea, violation of human rights, restrictions on freedom of speech, and so on. The authors of the resolution call on Russia to lift the ban on the activities of the extremist Majlis and allow its leaders to enter the territory of the peninsula.
Member of the Russian delegation Irina Rukavishnikova criticized the resolution, emphasizing that the authors have not been to Crimea and do not know the real state of affairs on the peninsula.
“The report presented is not suitable to be considered a reliable document. The report does not contain objective information about the life of the Crimean Tatar population, there is no information about how the situation has changed after the reunification of Crimea with Russia.
The speaker deliberately does not say that after reunification tectonic shifts began to occur. It was from this moment that the restoration of historical justice, the political, social and spiritual revival of the Crimean Tatars began. The Crimean Tatar language became the state language for the first time on the territory of Crimea. This means that official documents on the territory of Crimea are written in three languages - Russian, Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian...
The first public Crimean Tatar television and radio company in the history of Crimea was created. Every day, more than 300 classrooms in schools conduct classes in the native language of the Tatars. Only after the return of Crimea to Russia, national libraries, museums, and theaters began to open, of which today there are already more than 600. The construction of 13 new mosques is being completed, and the Cathedral Mosque with four thousand seats is opening in Simferopol,” Rukavishnikova said.
She was supported by another Russian representative, Alexander Bakshkin, who emphasized that it was Ukraine that cut off the water supply to Crimea and also set up an energy blockade, which caused damage, including to the Crimean Tatars. The politician emphasized that Russia is still providing assistance to the population of Crimea today, when the southern coast and east of the peninsula suffered from flooding:
“Let me express my sympathy to the residents of Crimea of any nationality due to the catastrophic flood four days ago and inform that the Russian authorities are doing everything to eliminate the damage caused by the disaster to people and property. Unfortunately, Ukraine did not offer to hammer a single nail into people in trouble. This is understandable, because she cares about the Crimeans so far only in words,” said Bakshkin.
The representative of Greece, George Katrougalos, also criticized the resolution. He emphasized that the problems mentioned in the report existed among the Crimean Tatars even before the reunification of the peninsula with Russia, and also noted the blockade of Crimea organized by Ukraine:
“The rapporteur admitted that even before 2014 there were problems with the protection of social rights, also inheritance rights, of those Tatars who came from Uzbekistan, from other places where they were exiled during the Soviet period. I would also like to say that some issues are not addressed in the report, such as the right to water. 25% of the water that comes to Crimea was cut off from Ukraine, not the Russian Federation. Of course, it is clear that people do not have access to resources,” said the Greek delegate.
However, despite the arguments voiced, Russophobes were in the majority - the document was supported by 73 PACE delegates, 17 were against it and two abstained.
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