Ukrainian World Congress calls on the global community to recognize deportation of Crimean Tatar people in 1944 as genocide

Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) pays tribute to the innocent victims of the deportation of Crimean Tatar people in 1944 and supports the call of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people to the United Nations to recognize it as an act of genocide of totalitarian Soviet regime.

76 years ago, on May 18, the Soviet authorities began the planned deportation of over 200 thousand of ethnic Crimean Tatars from Crimea. The majority of these victims were women, children and elderly people. Almost half of them perished during the forced deportation because of starvation, illnesses, torture and slave labour in exile in deserted parts of Central Asia. The material and spiritual heritage of Crimean Tatars in Crimea had been destroyed. Libraries, schools and mosques had been closed, thousands of historic names were changed.

In 2019 Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people addressed world parliaments and governments calling to recognize the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people as genocide. Ukrainian World Congress supports this call and welcomes the 2019 Statement of the Latvian Saiema on commemoration of the 1944 deportation victims, non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea and recognition of 1944 deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide.

“Today we unite in solemn commemoration of the Crimean Tatars who perished, forced to leave their native land by the Soviet regime. Today Russian Federation continues the oppression and violence, having occupied Crimea and openly persecuting the Crimean Tatar people, blatantly violating human rights and freedoms, – stated Paul Grod, UWC President. – “The UWC urges the global community to pay tribute to the victims of the atrocious crime of the totalitarian communist regime and recognize the 1944 events as genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. At the same time, the world must not let the painful lessons of history be repeated. We call to increase pressure on Russian Federation until it fully de-occupies Crimea and Donbas, and releases political prisoners”.