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This week Ukraine celebrates Dignity Revolution anniversary. The head of Mejlis of Crimean Tatar people and deputy candidate who entered the Verkhovna Rada through the list of Presedent’s party Refat Chubarov recalled about the first “Maydans” in Crimea during the meeting with students of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv. He assessed events that happened with Crimea and defined three factors that can influence on the present situation regarding Ukraine and its aggressive neighbor.
About last year Crimean events
“Almost a year ago, on the 21st of November the newly elected Mejlis of Crimean Tartar people held a meeting with ambassadors and heads of diplomatic missions. In 10 minutes prior to the beginning of the meeting ambassadors start calling me and say: “We return to our offices by cars as Azarov announced that Ukraine would not sign the association agreement in Vilnius on 28th of November.” At that moment we understood that we, Ukrainians, had become witnesses of a drastic turn of Ukraine. After that events that continue by now started,” recalls Refat Chubarov. He specifies events that happened back then: the first demonstrations of Crimean “Maydan”, the appearance of the gunmen, takeover of the Verkhovnaya Rada, masked gunmen in unmarked uniforms and the rapidly held referendum.
A number of incidents that happened last year are very important in historical context. Chubarov admits that he couldn’t even imagine that occupation of Crimea would take place within such a short period of time. He remembers as leaders of that time, including him, gathered 17 thousand people together to confront the Crimean authority they considered to be a separative one: “On the 26th of February we didn’t let the deputies to gather and the session wasn’t held. We thought we saved ourselves, Crimea and Ukraine but on the 27th of February at 4:40 in the morning the Head of State Security Service of Ukraine informed me that unknown persons wearing ski masks entered the Verkhovnaya Rada of Crimea with a huge amount of weapon. You already know what happened next.”
Refart Chubarov believes that Moscow traced events that took place in Kiev and had planned own actions as a result. That’s why, the date of the Crimean referendum has been changed three times: from 25th of May on the 30th of May and then on 16th of March. Chubarov thinks that for today people who “achieved” the separation of Crimea from Ukraine didn’t received what they wanted: “all those people who were chasing around the streets with tricoloured flags and helped gunmen also have problems today.” The expectations of people are not satisfied completely. “Manna from heaven didn’t fall down as they expected.”
About occupational authorities
Russian authorities control the state of public opinion since the manipulation of consciousness and thoughts of Crimeans is one of their trump cards. “The worst thing that started to happen in Crimea is kidnapping. It is also killings of people because of political and ideological reasons. All these things say that there are certain tasks that they implement. One of those tasks is to create a moral terror, to spread fear and despair among people and force the ones who do not agree to leave Crimea.” Here Refat recognizes parallels with the first occupation of Crimea that took place during the Catherine II ministry in 1783, when Crimean Tartars were leaving Crimea massively because they had been left the land that had fed them.
Chubarov considers that it’s important for Russia to keep the behavior of Crimeans on the very same level as in other regions of the state. He believes that there is no systematic, structured opposition in Russia and there are only people who try to show their disaccord. “It’s not the case in Crimea yet, as there are still those people who are ready to display their disagreement and even demand the observance of human rights.”
As for future
Chubarov believes that the intra-Ukrainian factor is the most important one that will force Crimea to come back.
At the same time there are three factors without which the above mentioned one won’t work out. “The first one is connected with Ukrainians and our internal life: starting from the military and ending up by financial condition. The second factor is the attitude of international community, international measures and the general attitude of international institutions and leading countries to Russian aggression. The thirds factor that unfortunately does not work yet is the Russian one.” Chubarov explains the meaning of the last one. He thinks that the Russian society seeing the inadequate behavior of its leader should resent and stop his actions with the power of its vote. “I have been wrong about that. One thing I know: Crimea isn’t and has never been the final purpose of Russian aggression against Ukraine,” he confesses. He believes that Putin forces the western society to back down, sit around the conference-table and finally define place of Russians in all global processes. “If to think about this from that point of view, then it means we haven’t reached the peak of the confrontation yet,” sums up Refat Chubarov.
Julia Balka
