On May 18, 1944, Stalin’s henchmen began the sudden and brutal deportation of Crimean Tatars from their homeland.
As the result of such as heinous crime, more than 30,000 Crimean Tatars died of starvation, disease, and exhaustion in their place of exile. And this was over the course of just one year. In fact, the real scale of the loses is difficult to precise, as we now understand the true nature of Soviet official statistics.
Clearly, this was a genocide – one of the most serious crimes that can be committed against humanity. Under my presidency, on November 12, 2015, the Parliament of Ukraine finally put a name to this tragedy and officially recognised the 1944 deportation as genocide.
Unfortunately, the fight against the legacy of the red terror continues to the day, 77 years later. Today, Stalin’s henchmen are reborn into devoted supporters of Putin’s regime and are committing cruel and cynical crimes against innocent people- abduction, torture, and imprisonment continue unabated on the Peninsula.
I feel for those who must endure the hardships of the “Russian World” once again. I appeal to my Tatar brothers: “European Solidarity” is with you. The whole civilised world is with you!
I believe that Ukrainian sovereignty will be restored on the Crimean Peninsula and that Crimea will once again return to Ukraine. Glory to the indomitable and freedom-loving Crimean Tatar people! Glory to Ukraine!