On June 2, the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) leadership met with the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People Refat Chubarov and leaders of the Mejlis Ilmi Umerov, Riza Shevkiyev, Abmedzhit Suleymanov and Eskender Bariyev.
The UWC was represented by Paul Grod, UWC President, Roman Waschuk, Chair of the UWC Foreign Policy Council, Borys Wrzesnewskyj, Chair of the UWC Human Rights Commission, Pavlo Sadokha, UWC Regional Vice President for Western and Southern Europe, Michael Sawkiw Jr, Executive Vice President of Ukrainian Congress Committee of America and Director of Ukrainian National Information Service and representatives of UWC Offices in Toronto, Kyiv and Brussels.
The meeting focused on the strategic issues of cooperation between the UWC and the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. The parties discussed preparations to the Crimean Platform Summit in Kyiv and implementation of joint initiatives within the Platform’s three levels – intergovernmental, interparliamentary and expert level.
Other cooperation priorities remain unchanged: de-occupation of Crimea, countering Russian aggression and disinformation, protecting human rights in temporarily occupied Crimea, joint international advocacy for maintaining and strengthening sanctions against Russia, bringing to justice those responsible for blatant violations of human rights, and strengthening collaboration between our diaspora communities.
“The Ukrainian World Congress and Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People are working together to strengthen international coalition in support of de-occupation of Crimea and Donbas. Together with the international community we resolutely proclaim: Crimea is Ukraine”, stated Paul Grod, UWC President.
“Today we must speak not about the past, but about the future. What will happen after the de-occupation of Crimea? What will it be like and how do we have to solve its problems? Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of the peninsula, are the key factor of the de-occupation process, and we are happy to cooperate with the UWC in achieving this joint goal”, noted the Chairman of the Mejlis Refat Chubarov.
