In Chicago, in the midst of a large rally marking the 11th anniversary of the beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine, Crimean Tatars gathered with Ukrainians and other communities to express their strong support for the struggle to restore Ukraine's territorial integrity and to call for international solidarity.
This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Foundation United State of America.
At the rally in downtown Chicago, organized by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, representatives of the Crimean Tatar community, including Zera and Zarema Mustafayev, representatives of the Crimean Tatar Foundation USA, played an important role. They drew attention to the brutal repression of Crimean Tatars who remain under Russian occupation in Crimea.
"The Russian-Ukrainian war has been going on for 11 years. It started with the occupation of Crimea in 2014, when the world failed to unite to stop Russia. This impunity then led to a full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022," they said in an emotional speech.
The Mustafayevs stressed that during the years of occupation, thousands of Crimean Tatars became victims of violence, arrests and disappearances, and that Moscow is accused of systematic human rights violations in Crimea.
"For 11 years of occupation, Moscow has been brutally persecuting the indigenous Crimean Tatar people and ethnic Ukrainians who remain loyal to Ukraine. The occupiers are trying to force Crimean Tatars out of their homes by intimidating them with terror, illegal arrests, criminal mobilization and torture. Hundreds of Crimean Tatars have been victims of Russian repression, abducted from Crimea and imprisoned," said Zera Mustafayeva, President of CTF USA.
The foundation also expressed concern about the news of possible diplomatic negotiations between the US and Russia, noting that any agreements should take into account the interests of Crimean Tatars and Ukraine.
"The start of Trump's talks with dictator Putin has shocked us all. The positions announced by the United States are unacceptable for Ukraine, but we will not allow our fate to be decided without us! The principle remains unshakable: nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine! Nothing about Crimea without Ukraine and Crimean Tatars," the Crimean Tatar Foundation added.
"Nothing about Ukraine without Ukraine! Nothing about Crimea without Crimean Tatars!" - These words became the key slogan of the rally. The participants of the rally demanded the restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and support for the Crimean Tatars' right to self-determination.
"The condition for a peace treaty ending the Russian-Ukrainian war must be the restoration of the territorial integrity of independent Ukraine within the 1991 borders. Russia, as the aggressor, must be forced to make peace and pay reparations to Ukraine. The international community must support the right to self-determination of the oppressed peoples of Russia! Putin, as a war criminal, must be brought before a special tribunal and punished," the speakers concluded.
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Photo courtesy of Crimean Tatar Foundation United States of America.
Prepared by: Inna Mikhno