Crimean Tatars Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

The Crimean Tatar assembly gathered in the historic Tatar capital of Bakhchisaray on Saturday and voted for "national and territorial autonomy" from the rest of the Crimean peninsula — which, in the words of Russia’s US ambassador Sergey Kislyak on Sunday, is now part of Russia.

The resolution would set in motion the legal process for seeking independence from the Russian Federation by beginning negotiations with Ukraine, Russia, the EU, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, an international organizations said to be "the collective voice of the Muslim world."

The chairmen of the assembly, Refat Chubarov, said in an address that this resolution was the “beginning of political and legal procedures for setting up a national autonomous territory of the Crimean Tatar people on their historical territory in Crimea."

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The Tatars—an ethnic Muslim minority that has historically inhabited the Crimean peninsula—have reason to want their own independence. They were deported en masse by Stalin in the 1940s and forcibly relocated to other parts of the Soviet Union. Although they were allowed to move back to Crimea after the USSR broke up in 1991, many were not given back their land, and subsequently forced to live as squatters in their previous homes.

Chubarov also said, "It is doubtless, however, that not a single party should have the right to trample on the Crimean Tatar people's inalienable and natural right to determine their fate and their future on their historical territory in Crimea on their own."

The Tatars—who make up nearly 15 percent of the Crimean population—are mostly pro-Ukraine. After last month’s uprising in Kiev many were overwhelmingly opposed to the March 16th referendum that ceded Crimea to Russia.

“We want to continue living like we have been, with Ukraine,” Makhamad Sadykov, a Tatar resident in Crimea, told VICE News. “There’s no reason to take us over.”

Putin issued lukewarm reassurances to the Tatars soon after he annexed Crimea, but few Tatars found comfort in his words.

In a speech on March 18th, Putin stated that he wanted to “restore the rights” of the Crimean Tatars, and promised to respect their cultural and linguistic heritage.

But soon after Putin’s speech Crimean authorities announced that they would do exactly what the Tatars feared most—force them to vacate their land in exchange for other areas in the peninsula.

“We have asked the Crimean Tatars to vacate part of their land, which is required for social needs,” Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Rustam Temirgaliyev said in an interview with Russian state media on March 18th.

One Tatar women voiced the general sentiment to VICE News in Crimea: “It’s a fight between two people: Russians and Ukrainians,” she said. “They don’t consider Tatars at all, since we’re a minority. This is our homeland.”

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The resolution announced Saturday by the Tatar Parliament seeks to challenge this decision by allowing Tatars to remain on their land before anyone has a chance to forcibly move them. It remains unclear, however, if Russia will recognize this unofficial resolution.

Two Russian Muslim officials were at the assembly on Saturday in an attempt to coax the Tatars to align closely with Moscow. Rustam Minnikhanov, the head of Tatarstan, a largely Muslim region in Russia, said "I think we should get closer together, be together."

Despite Russia’s pressure, it does not seem like the Tatars are in a hurry to get together with Moscow anytime soon.

“We are afraid we won’t have freedom of speech in Russia,” one Tatar man told VICE News.

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation has released a statement indicating concern about the security of the Crimean Tatar community.

“It is of the utmost importance for the OIC that the right of citizenship, lives, religious and cultural heritage and property should be safeguarded,” the group said. “It is the firm belief of the OIC that in the 21th century, constructive dialogue, peaceful and good neighborly relations should be the norm for the members of the international community."