In Ukraine, today, they honor the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people

In Ukraine, today, they honor the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people

On May 18, Ukraine commemorates the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people. On this day in 1944, the Soviet regime committed one of the gravest crimes in its history – the deportation of the Crimean Tatars from their native land, Crimea.

This was reported by the Minister of Defence, Rustem Umyerov. He noted that in a short period, about 200,000 people were taken to Siberia and other remote regions of Russia, including the family of the head of Ukraine’s defence department.

"In a matter of days, more than 190,000 people – the elderly, women, and children – were forcibly taken in freight wagons to Siberia and Central Asia. Thousands did not survive the journey, the inhumane conditions, hunger, and forced labor. Those who survived fought for decades for the right to return home. Among them was my family. Like the majority of Crimean Tatars, I was born in exile, in Uzbekistan," the statement reads.

Umyerov emphasized that this was a deliberate crime, as the Soviet authorities tried to destroy the very presence of the Crimean Tatars on the peninsula, changing the names of settlements, and erasing traces of culture and history.

81 years ago, at dawn, soldiers and NKVD operatives burst into the homes of the Crimean Tatars. While the men were at the front, mainly women, children, and the elderly were forcibly made to leave their homes, given only a few minutes to pack. Ruthlessly, without any explanation, the Crimean Tatars were herded into freight wagons to be taken thousands of kilometers away from their Homeland.

"This horror 81 years ago became a reality for the representatives of the indigenous people of Ukraine. These events became a history that we must not forget," was noted by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The status of "special settlers" assigned to the Crimean Tatars after their deportation to the then Uzbek SSR and the Urals meant living under constant surveillance by Soviet repressive organs and being forced into hard physical labor. People found themselves in conditions of hunger, disease, and a lack of basic necessities – clothing and footwear.

As a result, according to official NKVD data, about 30,000 people died in the first 18 months of the deportation. However, according to estimates by the National Movement of the Crimean Tatar people, actual losses were significantly higher.

At the same time, the Soviet authorities destroyed not only the people – libraries, cultural monuments, and everything that preserved and transmitted national identity and knowledge were targeted. The very nation was targeted. A people who had to go through survival, returning to their native land, and a new wave of occupation.

After the forced eviction of the Crimean Tatars, the Soviet authorities immediately liquidated 237 amateur art collectives, 24 museums, 861 schools, 1063 libraries, as well as the entire book fund in the Crimean Tatar language and hundreds of unique manuscripts.

Simultaneously, the occupiers began to massively change the names of cities, towns, streets, and rivers, deliberately eradicating mentions of the true history of the peninsula and trying to erase any traces of the Crimean Tatar people’s presence from the cultural space.

Today, the Russian Federation continues to deny the fact of the genocide and avoids responsibility for Stalinist repressions and the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people.

"Unfortunately, in 2014 history repeated itself: RF uses methods of Soviet totalitarianism – persecuting, intimidating, forcibly mobilizing, rooting out everything Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar in Crimea," Umerov noted.

After all their sufferings, the Crimean Tatars endured and returned, they preserved themselves, their culture, and dignity, although they are once again going through not the best of times. The destruction of cultural monuments of the indigenous people of Ukraine, political persecution, arrests of Crimean Tatars who are against the occupation of the Crimean peninsula, searches of their homes in search of "nationalism", as well as illegal mobilization into the ranks of the Russian army – all these are components of a crime against humanity committed by Russia.

"Today we remember those who did not survive the road of exile and foreign lands. And at the same time, we stand shoulder to shoulder with the Crimean people in the fight for a Ukrainian Crimea and for the right of every nation to live on its land. We remember," stated the Security Service of Ukraine.

Just like 81 years ago, the main goal of the aggressor country is to erase identity.

"The deportation began with an order. Occupation – with a lie. But then and now the goal is the same – to erase identity. We will not allow this. Because Crimea is not just land. It is pain, that resonates with the voices of our ancestors. It is memory. It is duty," emphasized the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Today, after the illegal annexation of the peninsula, the Russian Federation repeats the crimes of the past – repressions, oppression, and persecution. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine called to remember and honor the victims of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.

"On this day in 1944, the totalitarian regime began the deportation of over 190,000 Crimean Tatars from the peninsula. Today, after the illegal annexation of the peninsula, the Russian Federation repeats the crimes of the past – repressions, oppression, persecution. We remember. We honor. We will not forget," the statement reads.