“There used to be so many of them – they had their own schools, cultural centres, mosques” recalls one former resident of Crimea, referring to the Crimean Tatar population that was once a prominent feature of the peninsula. That was before the Second World War.
Today, the ethnic makeup of Crimea looks much different, largely the result of a 1944 genocide carried out against the Crimean Tatars by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin. In May of that year Stalin ordered the deportation of 230,000 Crimean Tatars on trumped up charges that they collaborated with the invading Nazi forces. Of those deported, nearly half died.
Crimean Tatars are now facing a new form of ethnic cleansing at the hands of Vladimir Putin. When Russia annexed Crimea in March 2014 invading Russian forces (then referred to as “little green men”) wasted no time in shutting down their media outlets, closing schools and cultural centres, and persecuting their leaders. The most well-known of those leaders, Mustafa Dzhemilev - an outspoken critic of the Soviet Union and modern day Russia, human rights activist, and a Deputy in Ukraine’s parliament - was recently in Canada to shed light on the current plight of Crimean Tatars and advocate for strengthened pressure against their Russian persecutors.
Dzhemilev’s trip was timely, with his visit to Parliament Hill coinciding with Deportation of the Crimean Tatars Memorial Day. While there, he had several meetings with members of Canadian Parliament as well as federal ministers, including the Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion. He pushed Canadian lawmakers to adopt a tougher line vis-à-vis Russia, especially given the oppression and gross human rights violations against Crimean Tatars by the Moscow regime. “Human dignity is constantly being violated,” he told CBC News in an interview. “If Western countries decide to re-establish relationships with Russia and become friends again, it is a disaster for the entire Crimean Tatar people.”
For many Ukrainians, Crimea’s swift annexation was a fait accompli before most were even aware of what was happening. At a May 19 question and answer session in Toronto, hosted by the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars in cooperation with the International Council in Support of Ukraine, Dzhemilev shared an insider’s perspective of what had gone on during those fateful days.
“Initially the Crimean Tatars were able to force the separatists to back down,” he recalled. But despite their efforts, on February 27 terrorists managed to take over the Crimean parliament. “There weren’t even that many of them,” he went on to say, describing how a total of only 110 terrorists, who were disguised FSB (Russian Secret Service) agents, carried out the act in less than a day.
The swift and relatively non-resistant nature of the takeover left many wondering why Ukrainian authorities had not done more to defend Ukrainian sovereign territory. “Ukrainian Alpha Units [units of the Ukrainian Special Forces] could have done something, but they didn’t…they had no orders to protect Crimean Tatars,” said Dzhemilev. “In fact,” he continued, “all embassies, including the new Ukrainian government, called to say not to resist, not to provoke the situation, that it needs to be solved ‘in other ways.’”
After the annexation Crimean Tatars had hoped that the international community would step up and intervene, Dzhemilev explained. They had even asked for UN peacekeepers, but that request, too, fell on deaf ears, he told the large crowd.
Although small in stature, the Ukrainian parliamentarian and leader of the Crimean Tatar people has garnered a legendary reputation, one that has gained him the respect of world leaders. In March Dzhemilev spoke at the United Nations in New York, highlighting the numerous human rights violations that have continually been occurring in Crimea since the occupation.
“I believe that such actions by the occupiers against all indigenous people of Crimea … are sufficient reasons to introduce new and harder economic and individual sanctions against the Russian Federation,” he said, underscoring that “all measures should aim to force the aggressor to leave all the occupied territories of Ukraine, and to hold the occupier-country’s leaders accountable for all crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine.”
That message was reiterated in Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.
In his discussions with top level Canadian parliamentarians, Dzhemilev noted that given Canada’s new policy of “re-engagement” with Russia, Crimean Tatars are concerned that its opposition to the annexation and continuing occupation of Ukrainian territory is softening. “Until the occupation of our land is over, we cannot make any deals,” he said.
His remarks likely hint at Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion’s refusal to honour a Liberal campaign pledge to enact an American-style Magnitsky Act, which would freeze assets and ban visas of Russian human rights violators. Last year the House of Commons unanimously passed a motion by former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, calling for such a measure. Despite the all-party backing and current split within the Liberal caucus, Dion has refused to keep party promises, claiming that current laws already give the government the “capacity” to address such human rights violators.
While prospects for Crimea’s liberation are unclear, Dzhemilev remains positive. “I am an optimist,” he said while in Toronto. “I believe I will live to see the day when Crimea is freed and Russia is prosecuted.”
“There used to be so many of them – they had their own schools, cultural centres, mosques” recalls one former resident of Crimea, referring to the Crimean Tatar population that was once a prominent feature of the peninsula. That was before the Second World War. 
Dzhemilev’s trip was timely, with his visit to Parliament Hill coinciding with Deportation of the Crimean Tatars Memorial Day. While there, he had several meetings with members of Canadian Parliament as well as federal ministers, including the Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freeland, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion. He pushed Canadian lawmakers to adopt a tougher line vis-à-vis Russia, especially given the oppression and gross human rights violations against Crimean Tatars by the Moscow regime. “Human dignity is constantly being violated,” he told CBC News in an 
For many Ukrainians, Crimea’s swift annexation was a fait accompli before most were even aware of what was happening. At a May 19 question and answer session in Toronto, hosted by the Canadian Association of Crimean Tatars in cooperation with the International Council in Support of Ukraine, Dzhemilev shared an insider’s perspective of what had gone on during those fateful days.
That message was reiterated in Canada to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government.
