EU on Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People: ‘History is repeating itself’

The EU Delegation to Ukraine is today marking the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of the Genocide of the Crimean Tatar People.

During the Sürgünlik, ‘exile’, more then 191,000 Crimean Tatars were subjected to ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide through deportation carried out by the Soviet authorities from 18 to 20 May 1944. The deportation was supervised by Lavrentiy Beria, chief of Soviet state security and the secret police, and ordered by the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.

“In 1944, within just a few days, the Crimean Tatar people were ruthlessly torn from their historical homeland and forcibly deported thousands of kilometers away from Crimea. This act was a deliberate attempt by the Soviet regime to destroy the nation, stripping it of its language, culture, and very right to exist,” the EU Delegation to Ukraine said in a statement.

“History is repeating itself. Today, in occupied Crimea and throughout all other temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, both the Crimean Tatar people and Ukrainians are suffering every single day,” the Delegation said. “They are subjected to severe human rights violations, torture, and systematic persecution at the hands of the Russian occupying authorities.”

The Delegation also said the EU would never forget this crime and would not forgive “those who are inflicting terror today”. 

“Justice and peace are achievable only through the full restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and by holding Russia accountable for its crimes,” concludes the statement.

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