Weltschau

The “Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform” is a collaborative platform consisting of over 50 non-governmental organisations that operate in Turkey. The Platform met with representatives of its component groups in Eskişehir on March 9, 2024, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the Crimean Tatar Exile on May 18, 1944, the 10th anniversary of the Occupation of Crimea, and the 2nd anniversary of the assaults launched by Moscow across Ukraine.

Prior to delving into the topic, it is beneficial to provide an overview of the status of Crimean Tatars and their associations in Turkey.

Since the initial occupation of Crimea by Tsarist Russia in 1783, millions of Crimean Tatars have been compelled to abandon their homeland due to ongoing mass migrations that spanned over a century.

Alongside the challenges posed by forced migrations and settlement issues in the destinations of migration, they endured years of hardship as they attempted to adapt to new geographical, social, and cultural environments. They conscientiously carried out their civic responsibilities in their newly adopted country.

During the period leading up to the formation of the Republic of Turkey, one of these countries, they actively participated in the War of Independence and assumed significant responsibilities throughout Turkey’s century-long history.

The Crimean Tatars, who were forcibly displaced from their native land by the Soviet Union on May 18, 1944, experienced genocide, which resulted in the loss of 46% of their population throughout the exile and in the months that followed. The fight to come back to the fatherland that commenced in the exile areas, culminated with the continuation of the Glasnost and Perestroika policies executed in the Soviet Union. Following the Crimean Tatars’ 1987 demonstrations in Red Square, the Kremlin government was compelled to hold talks with the Tatars. The Kremlin stated during the talks that it could only resettle 500 Crimean Tatars in Crimea annually. In this instance, the Crimean Tatars severed their expectations from the central government after realising that a 500-year period to reclaim their homeland was impractical and began a mass migration there using their own resources.

Crimean Tatars residing in Turkey did not abandon their citizens, who were able to come back to Crimea. Since the early 1990s, they have organised campaigns that have significantly aided in the field of education, the construction and acquisition of numerous buildings in Crimea, and the resurgence of the culture. The Crimean Tatar diaspora in Turkey purchased and furnished the two buildings used by the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, which serves as the elected and executive body of the Crimean Tatar people. Apart from constructing buildings for the elderly and orphans, the Crimean Tatar press, cultural and artistic organisations, religious societies, and national school buildings were supported. Once more, the diaspora in Turkey constructed and delivered a fully functional hospital in Akmescit after furnishing it with medical equipment.

Thanks to their own resources and the assistance, they received from the diaspora over a 25-year period, the Crimean Tatars, who were able to return, started to establish themselves once more in the Homeland Crimea. The Crimean Tatars have started to have a significant impact on a variety of organisations in Crimea, including national schools, religious societies, cultural and artistic groups, and representative bodies.

The Crimean Tatars have overcome many obstacles to reclaim Crimea as their homeland, participate in its social, cultural, and political life, establish a presence in non-governmental organisations, and organise the organised expression of their rights. However, the heavy weaponry of about forty thousand fully equipped Russian soldiers brought an end to the occupation of Crimea, which began on February 27, 2014, with the raid of the Crimean Parliament by armed and organised people concealing their faces.

At the Crimean Association Headquarters in Ankara, representatives of the Ukrainian Embassy and the Crimean Tatar diaspora gathered for a crisis table in the evening of the first day of occupation.

Crimean Tatars residing in various parts of Turkey came together at the rally in Ankara on March 2, 2014, firmly declaring that they did not accept Russia’s occupation of Crimea, thanks to the organisation that came together just three days after the occupation.

Crimean Tatar organisations staged a protest against Putin’s December 1, 2014, visit to Ankara and held a rally that same day.

On December 10, World Human Rights Day, and ten days after Putin’s visit, Crimean Tatar organisations gathered in front of the Russian Embassy in Ankara to express their opposition to Russia’s violations of the Crimean Tatar people’s human rights and the occupation of Crimea.

The “Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform” was formed on February 8, 2015, in Ankara, by 42 Crimean Tatar organisations that were founded in Turkey. They made the decision to come together to fight for the enduring survival of the Crimean Tatar language, civilization, and culture by engaging in political and democratic action against Russia’s illegal occupation of Crimea.

On February 28, 2015, on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Occupation of Crimea, the organisations in Turkey organised the first event under the name “Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform” in front of the Russian Embassy in Ankara.

Mustafa A. Kırımoğlu, the head of the Crimean Tatar people, and Refat Çubar, the president of the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, attended the second meeting of the “Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform” on April 4-5, 2014.

It was decided to hold the World Crimean Tatar Congress in Ankara during this meeting, which was attended by representatives from other countries where Crimean Tatars are residents.

On August 1–2, 2015, in Ankara, 184 non-governmental organisations representing Crimean Tatars residing in Crimea and the diaspora across the globe convened. In order to support the national self-government bodies, the Crimean Tatar National Congress and the Crimean Tatar National Assembly, and to give our nation’s voice—which is desired to be silenced in our occupied homeland—a global platform, they founded the “World Crimean Tatar Congress” as an international non-governmental organisation.

The World Crimean Tatar Congress was attended by 400 delegates from approximately 200 organisations and 400 observers from 14 countries where Crimean Tatars are residents.

The following was stated in the meeting’s opening statement: a) The free and democratic will of the Crimean Tatar people must be obtained before any action or decision pertaining to Crimea’s future can be approved; b) Specifically, any practice that the occupying forces attempt to enforce by coercion and violence will not be recognised; c) Nobody’s plans to destroy the Crimean Tatars, the emblem of their modern history’s struggle for democracy and freedom, will include them. (http://www.kirimdernegi.org.tr/bildiriler/919-dunya-kirim-tatar-kongresi-ii-toplantisi-acilis-bildirisi)

It made an appeal to everyone on the globe, demanding that the illegal occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation cease immediately and that all necessary steps be taken to restore the territorial integrity of Ukraine. (http://www.kirimdernegi.org.tr/bildiriler/921-dunya-kirim-tatar-kongresi-nin-dunyaya-muracaati–(turkce-english)

The Board of Directors, chosen during the 2015 World Crimean Tatar Congress in Ankara, also met in Turkey, Romania, Ukraine, and Lithuania. The Lithuanian Parliament reserved a space for its meeting on April 12, 2016.

In addition to prioritising Russia’s two-year aggression against Ukraine, the Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform and the World Crimean Tatar Congress have been carrying out their determined activities against the occupation of Crimea for the past ten years.

Mass rallies are held on a regular basis in one place every year; commencing with the date of the invasion of Crimea on February 27, 2014, the anniversary days of the martyrdom of the Prime Minister of the Crimean People’s Republic Noman Çelebi Cihan on February 23, 1918; the Great Crimean Tatar Exile on May 18, 1944; and the all-out assaults launched by Moscow across Ukraine on February 24, 2022 are also on the agenda. Crimean Tatar organizations in Turkey, in many matters, have continued their work uninterruptedly for ten years with rallies, open-air meetings, press releases, conferences, panels, symposium-style meetings, cultural events, being a guest in print and visual media, and relations with non-governmental organizations and international organizations.

Because of this, Crimean Tatars who now reside in Turkey uphold strong ties to their homeland Crimea in all situations, strongly oppose the occupation of Crimea, and carry on with their organisations’ work in public spaces like squares and halls while upholding democratic principles, human rights, and the rule of law.

On March 9, 2024, in Eskişehir, the representatives of the “Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform,” the joint working platform of over 50 non-governmental organisations operating in Turkey that was mentioned in the opening paragraph of this article, met and talked about the platform’s agenda. Following a discussion of the issues, the final declaration is published below.

“Crimean Tatar Organizations Platform

Declaration of Consultation Meeting Results

Eskişehir, 9 March 2024

The Crimean Tatar Organizations Platform declares the following points: The Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform uses the Crimean Tatar National Congress and the Crimean Tatar National Assembly as references, as they were chosen freely and democratically by the Crimean Tatar people prior to the occupation. The Crimean Tatar Organizations Platform is within the World Crimean Tatar Congress. The Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform is determined to oppose this unlawful and morally reprehensible occupation of Russia. The Crimean Tatar Organisations Platform is committed to fighting for the end of the occupation in all circumstances, working together with all of its organisations in a democratic manner while adhering to the principles of human rights and the rule of law.

We believe it is our duty to support the Ukrainian people in their noble struggle to defend their homeland against Russia’s treacherous and ugly aggression, knowing that the future of the Crimean Tatar people depends on democracy as well as the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.

The invasion that has been going on for a decade in Crimea, as well as house raids before dawn, kidnappings, tortured interrogations, detentions based on made-up crimes, and ten-year prison terms handed down by quasi-courts, have transformed Crimea into an open-air prison. Furthermore, thousands of kilometres from Crimea, in the most remote parts of Russia, the Crimean Tatars are subjected to a life of captivity. In a jail remote from his native country, Crimean Tatar National Assembly Vice President Nariman Celal is likewise being held captive. Currently, the occupying administration has detained 235 individuals, 205 of whom are Crimean Tatars. Put differently, Crimean Tatars make up 88% of those targeted for persecution. They will one day pay for the atrocities against Crimean Tatars aimed at intimidating them.

Even the May 18 day of mourning is intolerable to the current expansion of the mindset that drove the Crimean Tatars into complete exile from their homeland on May 18, 1944. For a decade, it has prevented commemorations in our occupied homeland. In this regard, we hereby declare that, in keeping with the significance and message it will convey, on May 18, 2024, on the 80th anniversary of the Crimean Tatar Exile, we will hold our mourning rally in Eskişehir together with our Crimean Tatar organisations that have been established in Turkey. The Crimean Tatar people will, under no circumstances, surrender!” (http://www.kirimdernegi.org.tr/haberler/1781-kirim-tatar-teskilatlari-platformu-ndan-eskisehir-toplantisi-sonuc-bildirgesi)

* Tuncer Kalkay is the president of the Crimea Foundation.