CRIMEAN DIAGNOSIS: The United Nations (UN) Stresses Significant Deterioration of Health Care in the Occupied Peninsula

Transcription

1 # RELEASE UMEROV AND CHYIGOZ ARE FREE Leaders of the Crimean Tatar People Freed as a Result of Numerous International Negotiations. ð. 3 MEDICINE CRIMEAN DIAGNOSIS: The United Nations (UN) Stresses Significant Deterioration of Health Care in the Occupied Peninsula pð. 7-9

2 NEWS Updated Draft Resolution on Crimea Presented in the UN Ukrainian delegation submitted a revised draft resolution Situation of Human Rights in the Temporarily Occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol (Ukraine) for consideration to the Secretariat of the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. As reported by the Speaker of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations Oleh Nikolenko, the document was co-authored by 34 countries. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin stressed that the resolution should become the basis for a consolidated effort to free Crimea from the occupation, and noted that as of today the draft document is the most radical, because it calls things by their right names. We see the need for very simple, but tough wordings. Without diplomacy, Pavlo Klimkin said. Thus, the draft resolution calls on Russia directly to execute the order of the UN International Court of Justice regarding the abolition of the ban on the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, and stresses the need to provide education opportunities in Crimean educational institutions in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages. According to the Head of the Foreign Ministry, the promotion of a powerful and clear resolution, which will consolidate the international community in support of Ukraine, is an extremely important issue. In addition, this document can be used in legal proceedings against Russia. Voting on the resolution in the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly is scheduled for mid-november. It is expected that in December the document will be put to the vote in the General Assembly of the United Nations. Ukraine was elected a member of the UN Human Rights Council for Its diplomats hope that the powers it obtained will be used to create additional opportunities for strengthening the fight against human rights violations in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. Russian Monetary Units with the Image of the Occupied Crimea Outlawed The National Bank of Ukraine banned cash and currency exchange transactions with the banknotes and coins issued by the Central Bank of Russia depicting the Ukrainian territories temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation. This applies, in particular, to the Russian banknote denomination of 200 rubles with the symbols of Sevastopol: Chersonese of Taurida and the Monument to the Sunken Ships. Financial institutions and Ukrposhta government-owned mail service, when effecting or giving out money transfers, are prohibited from accepting and dispensing banknotes and coins issued by the Central Bank of Russia in case they contain image of maps, symbols, buildings, monuments, artefacts of architecture, history and local lore, and other objects located in the Ukrainian administrative and territorial units occupied by Russia, the NBU statement says. Jamala Became a UN Goodwill Ambassador Jamala, the Ukrainian singer of the Crimean Tatar origin and the winner of the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest became a Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations International Organization for Migration. According to the information released by the UN News Center, the singer will join the fight against trafficking in persons this phenomenon is recognized as a global crime and concerns all countries of the world without exception. Jamala will take part in an information campaign dedicated to combating modern forms of slavery. In particular, she will be filmed in a special video dedicated to this problem, the message says. A Resident of Crimea to Appeal an Illegal Court Ruling to ECHR Rustem Mennanov, a resident of the occupied peninsula, intends to file a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights over an illegal judgment of a Crimean Court. Mennanov was fined 2000 rubles (about 34 USD) for mentioning the Mejlis and greeting the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev on his birthday on a social network. The occupation authorities classified the Rustem Mennanov s action as an administrative violation abuse of freedom of the mass information. According to the lawyer Fevzi Karakash, the de facto Supreme Court of Crimea did not meet the appeal of his client and left the first instance court judgment unchanged. Rustem Mennanov, however, is not going to put up with an unlawful sentence, so next is the going to file a complaint with the International Court. Film About Oleh Sentsov Nominated for International Award The work of the Russian director Askold Kurov The Trial will be shown in the Czech Republic at the Silver Eye 2017 cinematographic contest. The motion picture will compete for the title of the best documentary in Eastern and Central Europe. Crimea Inform Magazine, No.5 (5). October Certificate of State Registration КВ Р of Founder: Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency. Publisher: Mega-Press Group Ltd. Address: 2d Les Kurbas Street, Kyiv, Tel.: (044) Editor-in-Chief: Y. Kazdobina Address of the editorial office: 8/16 B. Khmelnytskyi Street, Kyiv, Tel: (044) ; Fax: (044) , , office@ukrinform.ua. Reproduction is only permitted with prior written permission of the Editorial Board. The cover photo is provided by Ukrinform. Printed at: LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY PRIME-PRINT 9 Boryspilska St., Kyiv, Ukraine, (044) Order No. 3970/2. Circulation: 2800 copies. Distributed free of charge.

3 RELEASE UMEROV AND CHYIGOZ ARE FREE Leaders of the Crimean Tatar People Freed as a Result of Numerous International Negotiations. The Way Home From Simferopol by plane to the Russian city of Anapa, and from there by plane to the capital of Turkey, Ankara Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chyigoz took this route from the occupied Crimea on October 25 to be given to Turkey. All their movements were kept in deep secret, until Umerov and Chyigoz found themselves in safe territory. Information that the two political prisoners were free was made public after the plane had landed in Ankara. And already on October 27, Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chyigoz finally returned home, to Ukraine, where their relatives and friends had been waiting for them. The liberation of the Kremlin s prisoners, which became a surprise for the majority, had been preceded by intense legal and diplomatic work. Only few people know how many rounds of negotiations have been held by President Poroshenko jointly with Mustafa Dzhemilev, how many meetings took place in New York, where our delegation made the issue of hostages a priority. The President asked his Turkish counterpart Erdogan to join the liberation in private meetings of Presidents Poroshenko and Erdogan in Kyiv as well, Iryna Gerashchenko, the First Vice-Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada, said. The release of Umerov and Chyigoz became possible following talks between Russian President Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who joined the cause at the personal request from Petro Poroshenko. Details of the release are not disclosed. I thank the President of the Republic of Turkey for his efforts in freeing our heroes, as we had agreed in New York and Kyiv....This issue will continue to be among the priorities in my talks with world leaders. After all, the joint fight for the liberation of all Ukrainian citizens and their return to their native home continues! President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko I think this is the beginning of the liberation of Crimea and the restoration of the integrity of our country. I congratulate all fellow citizens on this victory. Mustafa Dzhemilev, Commissioner of the President of Ukraine on Crimean Tatar People Affairs The aggression committed by Russia must be punished. And do not forget about Crimea, Lugansk and Donetsk. Continue to implement economic sanctions to such an extent that Russia itself would abandon its intentions. Ilmi Umerov appealed to European parliamentarians during his speech in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly Euronest. There (in Crimea Ed.) people die every day, people are imprisoned there every day. Those who resist terror do not take up arms and use the peaceful methods that the European community calls for. Akhtem Chyigoz during his speech in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine within the framework of the Parliamentary Assembly Euronest. Deputy Сhairmen of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Ilmi Umerov and Akhtem Chyigoz were convicted on the basis of trumped-up criminal cases in September of this year. The verdict to Chyigoz provided for 8 years in a strict regime colony for participating in a rally in support of Ukraine s territorial integrity, which took place near the building of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in February Umerov, in his turn, was illegally sentenced to two years in a colony settlement for a public call to actions aimed at changing the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. UMEROV AWARDED THE PLATFORM FOR EUROPEAN MEMORY AND CONSCIENCE AWARD The Crimean Tatar Resource Center nominated Ilmi Umerov for the Platform for European Memory and Conscience award awarded to people who resist totalitarianism in the world. Umerov was given the award on November 8 in Paris. Platform for European Memory and Conscience brings together 48 state and private institutions from 18 countries. The project was created on October 14, 2011 during the Prague summit of the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group in order to combat totalitarianism and anti-democratic movements. 3 #6 2017

4 GUEST OF THE ISSUE Hanna Hopko, UKRAINE IS GRADUALLY TURNING FROM A FOREIGN POLICY OBJECT INTO ITS FULL-FLEDGED SUBJECT AND INFLUENCES DECISION-MAKING AT DIFFERENT LEVELS The Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Foreign Affairs spoke about the importance of unity in countering Russian aggression, the downsides and upsides of the national foreign policy and the way to free the Ukrainian territories from the Russian occupation. are the priorities of the Ukrainian foreign policy today? What place What among them belongs to the restoration of Ukraine s territorial integrity? In December 2016 our Committee organized parliamentary hearings on topical issues of Ukraine s foreign policy for the first time in a decade and a half. In June 2017, the Verkhovna Rada approved the recommendations developed as a result of the hearings. These are several dozens of items that set the priorities for the Parliament, the President, the government and other authorities in the sphere of foreign policy. Of course, repelling the Russian armed aggression and restoring territorial integrity are the first-priority issues. The international support of Ukraine and the unity of the world community in countering Russian aggression is the necessary precondition for regaining the occupied territories. Therefore, the issues of sanctions against the aggressor state, common pressure on Russia for the release of hostages, de-escalation of the conflict, questions of Moscow s responsibility for its crimes, military, technical and defense cooperation between Ukraine and its Western partners are the priorities of our foreign policy. Among other priorities are European and Euro-Atlantic integration, energy security, economic cooperation with different countries, in particular, market diversification and exports increase. # Фото: «Укрінформ»

5 What are the main achievements and failures of the Ukrainian foreign policy in recent years? The most important thing is that the world community supports the territorial integrity of Ukraine and unequivocally condemns Russian aggression. The UN, European and other international organizations condemned Moscow. The United States, EU countries, Japan and other states imposed sanctions on Russia. The creation of an international coalition in support of Ukraine is a significant success and an important element of our security. Of course, this is not enough for the rapid liberation of the occupied territories, but such international support will deter the Russian Federation from escalating aggression and turning it into a large-scale war against Ukraine. Another success was the breakthrough in the European direction Ukraine signed the Association Agreement with the EU, including a free-trade zone with the world s largest European market. We received a visa-free regime, and now Ukrainians can freely travel to Europe. We managed to diversify our critical imports, in particular for energy carriers, and we have not bought gas from Russia for almost two consecutive years. At the same time, after the closure of the Russian market for many of our goods, Ukraine diversified its exports, and now we export about 40% of the products to the EU countries and about the same amount to the Asian countries. The reorientation of exporters to the markets of Europe, Asia, and Africa contributed to the restoration of economic growth. And although its pace is not yet satisfactory, the key to their growth lies more in the realm of domestic policy. In general, Ukraine is gradually turning from a foreign policy object into its full-fledged subject and influences decision-making at different levels. A striking example is the successful campaign launched by the Ukrainian delegation for the resignation of the pro-moscow PACE Сhairman Agramunt. Among the failures of our foreign policy, one should first of all mention the low-quality work of many diplomatic missions, and lack of ambassadors in important countries and international organizations. In my opinion, coordination of efforts among various departments for joint promotion of Ukrainian interests in the international arena needs improvement. We work little with neighboring countries, and pay insufficient attention to strategic Western investors. All these policy directions need to be invigorated as soon as possible. During your foreign travel, you often raise the issue of the occupied Crimea and the violations of the rights of its residents by the occupation authorities. How do listeners react? I raise the Crimean issue every time I travel abroad. I regularly meet with relatives of the Ukrainians imprisoned in Crimea and Russia, representatives of human rights organizations, and pass their appeals to foreign partners. The last example is a letter to Kurt Volker from the families of the prisoners of war of Donbas and political prisoners of the Kremlin. There is a consensus among civilized countries on the issue of supporting Ukraine and non-recognition of the occupation of Crimea. The USA, Canada, the countries of Europe, and other states are to some extent exerting pressure on Moscow. Among the failures of our foreign policy, one should first of all mention the low-quality work of many diplomatic missions, and lack of ambassadors in important countries and international organizations. In my opinion, coordination of efforts among various departments for joint promotion of Ukrainian interests in the international arena needs improvement. How do you feel about the statement of the President of the Czech Republic, Milos Zeman, that Crimea is a fait accompli? A statement like this from a high European tribune in 2017 is plain madness. Especially from a President of the Czech Republic, a country that was also occupied by Hitler in a hybrid way in , saying that it was a fait accompli. We will never accept the attempts to revive the policy of fait accompli in Europe, and both the President of Ukraine and our Ministry of Foreign Affairs have clearly stated this. The Senate and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic also publicly condemned the statement of the Czech President. Neither Ukraine, nor the world will forget and forgive Moscow the occupation of Crimea. And the new US energy sanctions against Russia is another proof of this. Do you think the question of restoring Ukraine s sovereignty over the occupied territories of Crimea and Donbas needs to be considered separately? What should the international mechanism for the return of Crimea to Ukraine be like? Crimea and Donbas have their own specifics but, in general, all the occupied territories are an integral part of Ukraine. Therefore, there should be a unified policy of restoring territorial integrity. In particular, I submitted amendments to the draft law No on the return of Donbas to extend its operation to Crimea. After all, this war is not against Crimea or the Donetsk region, it s not just the occupation of the territory of Sevastopol or Lugansk. This is a war against Ukraine as a state and the occupation of Ukrainian territories. All our territories, each city and village, all our citizens are equal and important for us and we are fighting for the liberation of entire Ukraine from the invaders. But the formats of negotiations can be different, and the return of different territories can occur at different times and through different mechanisms. As shown by the experience of Croatia and other countries, this approach can be successful. This is a very difficult task, and all methods are suitable for its solution. But it is important to really assess our forces and understand that no country will fight for us with Moscow. We must work both on strengthening economic sanctions and on the possibility of introducing peacekeeping forces or provisional administration, etc. These options are so far impossible to implement, but in the future there may be circumstances when this becomes realistic. Our task is to carefully prepare. And then we will be able to realize our chance and defeat a much stronger aggressor, just like the biblical David defeated Goliath. But it became possible because David was self-disciplined and mentally prepared for the crucial moment this gesture of mental preparedness is perfectly conveyed in the famous sculpture by Michelangelo. The Davidlike mood and mental work should be done in order to free Crimea at the opportune moment. And this time will inevitably come. 5 #6 2017

6 FACE OF AGGRESSION ANCIENT KHAN S PALACE IN BAKHCHYSARAI BEING DESTROYED Due to unprofessional restoration works, irreparable damage has been caused to the unique museum complex, a historic and architectural site of global value. J ournalist Osman Pashayev wrote about restoration work on the grounds of the Bakhchysarai Khan s Palace. According to him, the authentic tiles and old oak beams were removed from the buildings of the palace, and the 18th-century murals on the facade were damaged. Under the pretext of preparing for the centenary, the museum was closed for four days. It is forbidden to take pictures. The palace is guarded on all sides like a prison.... The Oleksandrivskyi Fountain was washed with a high-pressure cleaner hose (the use of such devices during the restoration is strictly prohibited Ed.)! Some pieces fell off; they plastered them and are now staining with modern paint in white The Bakhchysarai Khan s Palace is a patrimonial residence of the Giray Dynasty, the rulers of the Crimean Khanate. This is the only remaining example of the Crimean Tatar palace architecture in the world. Experts say that such disruptive repair works can change the status of the monument and make it impossible to include it in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. # color. The Catherine s Mile was also washed with oxalic acid and high-pressure cleaner. The letters crumbled. All the paintings on the facades are urgently daubed by ordinary workers. Nobody is even talking of proper restoration professionals, Pashayev wrote in Facebook. The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine expressed its indignation over the illegal work on the national monument of Khan s Palace (security number 285), which is a part of the historical environment of the Crimean Khanate capital in the city of Bakhchysarai and is included into the UNESCO World Heritage Preliminary List in The Ministry of Culture appeals to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) requesting to once again call on the Russian Federation to strictly observe the norms of international law and refrain from illegal actions that cause or may damage the cultural heritage of Ukraine in the territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the statement said.

7 MEDICINE CRIMEAN DIAGNOSIS: How Doctors and Patients Live in the Occupied Peninsula The United Nations (UN) declares that the quality of medical care has deteriorated in Crimea since the illegal annexation. Due to low wages, numerous inspections, bureaucracy and fines, doctors move from public to private hospitals. Patients have to stand in long queues in community clinics. Residents also need to bring high-quality medications from Ukraine s mainland because there is a shortage of medications in the peninsula and insufficient number of generics are imported. Some residents left the peninsula in search of medical assistance because of the peculiarities of Russian legislation. It concerns, in particular, drug addicts who received substitution maintenance therapy (SMT) before the occupation of Crimea. It is prohibited in Russia. But not everyone managed to leave experts call the figure of several hundred dead due to the cancellation of the SMT program. In the RF, this data is refuted. Medical Care According to the report Situation of Human Rights in the Temporarily Occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol (Ukraine) in , which was prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Crimean residents faced several major problems in the field of medicine after the occupation of the peninsula: lack of doctors, poor-quality medications, absence of substitution therapy for drug addicts. Since 2014, the brain drain of doctors from public and community hospitals to private health facilities has begun. Experts say the main reason is the big difference in the medical staff salaries. For example, in Sevastopol, a doctor in a private clinic can receive a monthly salary 2.5 times higher than a public hospital specialist. In the commercial sector, their salary is about 40 thousand Russian rubles, in an ordinary hospital it is about 16. The working conditions are also much better. And it s not just about good medical equipment. In private hospitals, there See pp. 8 9 for more 7 #6 2017

8 MEDICINE 7195 is no bureaucracy and no permanent mass inspections by various controlling bodies including the Prosecutor s Office of which doctors complain. The report indicates that the problem of insufficient medical staff existed in Crimea before 2014 as well. But the situation has only gotten worse. So, a year ago only 62.3% of doctors positions in public hospitals were filled. The most significant shortage was felt among therapists, pediatricians, general practitioners and emergency doctors, as well as laboratory technicians. This year, the local authorities of Armyansk and Sudak have openly complained about the deplorable situation with the staffing level at the hospitals. In February this year, the Crimean Republican Center for Disaster Medicine and Emergency Medical Care reported that they lacked about one thousand emergency medical workers and ambulance staff. Those patients who have to stand in huge queues to see a doctor in a public hospital or go to private clinics suffer most of all. Back to Street Drugs After the annexation of Crimea, those drug addicts who received substitution maintenance therapy (SMT) suffered. There were 806 such patients before the occupation. However, it was impossible to continue treatment in Crimea after the occupation by Russia. The main obstacle was the Russian legislation that prohibits the use of methadone and buprenorphine for the treatment of drug addicts. According to the Russian authorities, all patients were withdrawn from their SMT programs within two months. However, according to the World Health Organi- doctors worked in Crimean public medical institutions in November zation recommendations, this period is not sufficient for patients to stay off the street drugs. According to one of the participants of the SMT program in Crimea Oleg (the name was changed Ed.), it was completely stopped within a few weeks. Although there were still enough drugs available to last for another two months. It was not about importing new batches of drugs. They could have given us at least what was left. Let them ask the authorities where this methadone has gone, Oleg said. The man left Crimea back in May 2014, on the fourth day after the end of the SMT program. Five days after the end of the program, he came to Kyiv with a withdrawal syndrome. I began to feel the consequences of not taking drugs while still at home. I did not care if there were Banderites in Kyiv, as Russian TV channels showed us. I decided that it would be as it should be. I came and was pleasantly surprised that I was helped here, Oleg, who is still on SMT, said. Dozens of people from more than 800 patients left for mainland Ukraine to continue treatment under SMT programs. All the rest remained in Crimea. In early 2015, the UN Special Envoy for HIV/ AIDS in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Michel Kazatchkine, stated that at that time, 80 to 100 people who had previously taken SMT in Crimea had already died. Those deaths were mostly due to overdoses of drugs and suicides. However, the Russian authorities refuted this data. According to Pavel Scala, Director for Politics and Partnership of the International Charitable Foundation Alliance for Public Health, there have been no counting of dead SMT recipients in Crimea since that time. According to estimates, the number of dead at the moment is much more than two hundred, he said. According to Oleg, his friend, who was on the SMT program, has already died in Crimea. He came to mainland Ukraine in 2015, but returned to the peninsula. The Russian authorities almost compelled him to go to the rehabilitation center near St. Petersburg. After returning from there, he died in Crimea some time later. According to Oleg, no one in Crimea will investigate why a person died. It is easier to indicate in the documents that the death was caused, for example, by a heart failure. It should be noted that three Russians filed a lawsuit with the European Court of Human Rights. They seek legalization of substitution therapy in Russia. #

9 Is it true that Russia is deliberately exterminating residents of Crimea? I think the answer is different: they give a cruel treatment even to their own citizens, and the occupied Crimea simply got run over by this paver A Crimean doctor told about the state of health care in the occupied peninsula (for security reasons, the name of the respondent is not indicated Ed.) The health care system is in Russia is undergoing a thorough optimization. Every third polyclinic, every second maternity hospital and in-patient facility are shut down. In Crimea, this process is also in full swing. They have cut down the ambulance service. Narrowly specialized facilities are closed in many cities. For example, in Yevpatoria a strong ENT unit, as well as blood vessel surgery unit and traumatology and orthopedics unit are being shut down. Nowadays, to visit a highly specialized doctor, one should go to Simferopol. Famous Crimean health resorts also die 11 out of 15 sanatoria for people with TB are put up for sale now. The healthcare regulations in the Russian Federation are morally obsolete. In Ukraine, the situation was similar in the 90s of the last century. It is absolutely unsystematic. However, a failure to follow the regulations is strictly punished. Crimean hospitals are subjected to endless inspections. A separate issue is the inspectors who come to us from Russia. In Some of my friends who work as oncologists were forced to explain why they gave patients with the an advanced stage of cancertoo big a dose of opiates. Officials did not care that the doctors eased the patients suffering, they were worried about something else: What if somebody becomes a drug addict? The destruction of substitution therapy has become a disaster for drug addicts. Many switched to street drugs and began to In Russia and, similarly, now in Crimea, generics (generic analogs of original drugs Ed.) ineffective and substandard are very common. They have colossal side effects! At best, the patient will not die from them... Here (in the peninsula Ed.), there is a huge shortage of highquality drugs. There are medicines that are given out for free. But they can hardly be called medicines! That is, if you, for example, want to take an antibiotic, you can choose the free one. And if you still want to be cured, you will buy the original drug, the cost of which will be 4 5 times higher than in mainland Ukraine. Naturally, the Crimeans frequently go to the so-called medicinal tours to the mainland. Young and active doctors go to private clinics. Salaries are twice as high there as in municipal clinics on average, 40 thousand rubles. Private clinics are now very popular in Crimea. There, a person, at least, can undergo the necessary treatment quicker, rather than wait for months in a public hospital. ABOUT THE SYSTEM ABOUT DRUG ADDICTS ABOUT MEDICATIONS ABOUT PERSONNEL the RF, there are no national treatment protocols as in Ukraine. Therefore, their inspections are based on the so-called clinical recommendations that are often inconsistent with each other. Doctors are fined for any incorrect (from the point of view of the Russian medical regulations) action. There is a whole system of penalties. For example, the cost of all unnecessary examinations or medications prescribed to a patient is deducted from the salary of a doctor. Thus, a doctor may have two diagnoses: tuberculosis and oncology. Logically, he or she must schedule appropriate examinations to find out which diagnosis is correct. So, for the examination of an unconfirmed diagnosis or for extra drugs, the doctor will pay out of his or her pocket. Is it true that Russia is deliberately exterminating residents of Crimea? I think the answer is different: they give a cruel treatment even to their own citizens, and the occupied Crimea simply got run over by this paver die. If a person with a substance dependence wants to survive, he must go to mainland Ukraine. But even this is not so simple. Squealing is encouraged among drug users, they are banally paid for turning in those who go to substitution therapy in Ukraine. There is a shortage of medicines. An oncologist, for example, can divide one ampoule for three patients, or administer one drug, and indicate another in order to observe the treatment regimen. Otherwise, the patient can complain, and the doctor will be punished. There are absolutely strange rules. For example, if a person dies in the palliative ward, the body cannot be taken from the ward before the arrival of the crime scene investigation team. Just imagine: patients can stay in a room with a dead body for 6 12 hours. Now, the Southern Coast of Crimea is a miserable sight from the point of view of medicine. For example, in the 2nd Yalta Hospital only 7 out of 35 medical positions are filled. There is an unspoken order at hospitals: not to hire Crimean Tatars... 9 #6 2017

10 PROBLEMS OF OCCUPATION PLAYING WITH THE PAST Instruction in schools and universities of the temporarily occupied Crimea has been subject to the requirements of the Russian educational legislation for the fourth year in a row. Ukrainian education in the peninsula is almost destroyed: changes have affected the language of instruction, the grading system and the teaching methodology. From the very beginning, the occupation authorities have paid special attention to history. The distortion of real historical facts and the fabrication of new ones, the removal of Ukrainian textbooks from circulation and even their public destruction has become a strategic task for the Russian Federation. After all, the rewriting of history, as experts point out, is intended to legitimize the illegal annexation and occupation of the peninsula in the eyes of its residents, especially of the younger generation. Oleksandr UDOD, Head of the Ukrainian Historiography Department at the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a Council of Europe expert on historical education Oleh OKHREDKO, an expert and analyst of Almenda Center for Civic Education An Attempt on Reality The displacement of the Ukrainian state educational system in 2014 happened phenomenally fast. Almost immediately after the so-called referendum in Crimea, the Russian Federation adopted changes to its law On Education that de facto allowed the occupying state to create legal and organizational foundations for the transition of Crimean schools to the educational standards of the Russian Federation starting on September 1, Everything happened with a lightning speed, says Oleksandr Udod, Head of the Ukrainian Historiography Department at the Institute of History of Ukraine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, a Council of Europe expert on historical education. The campaign for the withdrawal of Ukrainian history textbooks began back in March There were even cases of book burning. In the summer of the same year, special historical literature, like Crimea in the History of Russia by Kirill Kochegarov, was brought to the peninsula from the Russian Federation. They had no time to bring updated history textbooks by September, so schools were formally allowed to use Ukrainian textbooks, but provided that teaching should be carried out in the proper (from the point of view of the invaders) way. Schools were even totally inspected for unreliable teachers. Along with the introduction of the Russian history textbooks to schools and higher education institutions of Crimea the course on the history of Ukraine was abolished. That is, history teaching became completely subjected to the ideological component and no other options were provided. Every effort is made to justify the logical return of Crimea to the Russian Federation, Oleksandr Udod explains. And in this context, it is very important to compare the methodology of teaching history in Ukraine and Russia. Today in Europe and in Ukraine in particular, the priorities are the deideologization of historical education and the formation of critical thinking skills in children. In Russia, on the contrary, ideology and mythologization prevail. Themes from the Soviet past are renewed: Sevastopol is the city of Russian glory, Crimea was illegally transferred to Ukraine, Crimean Tatars are the traitorous people, etc. Glorification of the current president of Russia is also popular in textbooks. Instead, everything that concerns Ukraine is characterized negatively, and manipulative clichés are used for the description of events in Ukraine in late 2013 early 2014 such as junta, Russophobia, Banderite and others. Original Russian Land The fact that the government of the Russian Federation had long used textbooks for propaganda purposes, calling Crimea a part of Russia and staking a claim to the territory of another state, is emphasized by Oleh Okhredko, an expert and analyst of the Almenda Center for Civic Education. Even before the occupation, the territories of Crimea and the Northern Black Sea region, which are not part of the Russian Federation, were studied in the Russian history textbooks for the 6th grade within the framework of the ancient history of Russia, the expert says. «Let s take for example one of the textbooks, Istoriya Rossii. S drevneyshikh vremyon do kontsa XVI veka [History of Russia. From Ancient Times to the End of the 16th Century] by Danilov and Kosulina. In the textbook, which was published in 2012 and by 2014 was reissued 5 times, the Greek city-states of the Northern Black Sea region and the Scythian Kingdom are clearly identified as the Russian territory. The text begins like this, The first states arose in the south of our country...greek seafarers founded city-states Olbia, Panticapaeum, Chersonese, etc. Given that the south of Russia in Europe is the Rostov region and the Caucasian Black Sea coast, the city of Olbia is lo- #

11 HISTORY TEXTBOOKS ARE TO BE INSPECTED IN RUSSIA HISTORY TEXTBOOKS ARE TO BE INSPECTED IN RUSSIA The Federation Council, the upper chamber of the Russian parliament, instructed the Committee on Science, Education and Culture to examine history textbooks that are used in schools. In particular, those sections that deal with the events in Ukraine in and the seizure of Crimea in the spring of Such an inspection, according to its initiator, the Speaker of the Chamber Valentina Matviyenko, is aimed at inspecting texts in textbooks for their ideological compliance with the Kremlin s official rhetoric. The Committee must take prompt measures to ensure that the texts are written correctly from the legal, political, civil, and any point of view, and oblige the Ministry of Education and Science (of Russia Ed.) to immediately correct that, Matviyenko said. cated on the banks of the Dnieper-Bug Estuary near Mykolaiv (at a distance of more than 600 km from the Russian- Ukrainian border), the ancient Greek city of Panticapaeum existed on the site of modern Kerch, and the ancient Greek city of Chersonese on the site of Sevastopol, such statements in the textbook is a frank manipulation. That is, twelve-year-old students of Russian schools are told that the south of their country is located in the territory of another state, namely in the territory of Ukraine, Oleh Okhredko says. Distortion of History as a Sign of Totalitarianism Today, as Oleh Okhredko notes, in the schools of the occupied peninsula students at grades study history using three textbooks published in Moscow: Istoriya, konets XIX nachalo XXI veka: uchebnik dlya 11-go klassa obshcheobrazovatelnykh uchrezhdeniy. Bazovyi uroven [History of the Late 19th Early 21st Centuries. Textbook for the 11th Grade of General Educational Institutions. Basic level], Istoriya Rossii. 10-y klass. Uchebnik dlya obshcheobrazovatelnykh organizatsyi v 3-h chastyakh [History of Russia. 10th Grade. Textbook for General Educational Organizations in 3 Parts], Istoriya Rossii: nachalo XX nachalo XXI veka. Uchebnik,10 klass [History of Russia: the Beginning of the 20th the Beginning of the 21st Centuries. Textbook, Grade 10]. The common feature of these textbooks is that they all represent the occupation of the peninsula as a reunification with Russia. That is, this way the Russian Federation is trying to justify the illegal annexation of Crimea. Now, the historical science of the Russian Federation serves the occupying power, conditionally legitimizes it, Oleksandr Udod insists. It is not the first time we see something like this. During the Second World War, German occupation forces in Crimea also organized schools with instruction in strict compliance with the ideology of the Third Reich. So, it is absolutely the style and trademark of the occupying power. The situation in Crimea is an eloquent testimony of the role that history plays in a totalitarian state. According to experts, the concern is that historical science is used as a tool for fomenting hostility between peoples. The danger is that the hate speech is inculcated in childhood already, and the consequences of these manipulations will be very difficult to overcome, Oleksandr Udod says. Therefore, after the deoccupation of Crimea, specialists will have to work for many years to restore civilized study of history and its adequate perception. 11 #6 2017

12 NON-VIOLENT RESISTANCE The public platform Crimean Solidarity became known, first of all, due to nonviolent resistance to mass persecution of Crimean Tatars in Crimea. Its activists report from courts, are present during searches, collect money to pay fines for dissent, and support families of political prisoners. The coordinator of Crimean Solidarity, Dilyaver Memetov, whose father is also a political prisoner, speaks about the origins of the organization, the focus of its activities and how mutual assistance helps to break the terror machine launched by the occupation authorities. Dilyaver Memetov, THE MORE ACTIVITY WE SHOW, THE MORE SOPHISTICATED OBSTACLES THE OCCUPATION AUTHORITIES CREATE FOR US did the idea of Crimean Solidarity come from? Where As a result of the arrests of Crimeans who had shown signs of dissent, which (in Crimea Ed.) is called terrorism and extremism, many families were left without breadwinners. People faced problems (ranging from legal to everyday issues) they did not know how to solve. Therefore, Crimean Solidarity appeared naturally. Relatives of the arrested persons got to know each other, started to develop certain mechanisms for solving their problems. On April 9, 2016, relatives of political prisoners got together for the first time. They were joined by lawyers and activists. In May, when four Muslims were arrested in Bakhchysarai, four more families joined us. In June, it was decided to call this platform Crimean Solidarity. The work of our organization is conducted in three main directions. The first direction is legal, where lawyers help to resolve all sorts of legal issues, in particular, issues with documents, they also draw up appeals and complaints. The second direction is information. The department specializing in media relations appeared because the truth information from the primary source, live streaming from the scene, family history of political prisoners is vital in the current flow of lies around Crimea. It is the media department that informs, covers important issues, and appeals to the public. And, finally, the third direction is interaction with families. The task of the department is to solve financial, social and domestic issues of families left without breadwinners, to bring food packages to the guys in detention centers and so on. #

13 Mumine Salieva, the wife of Seyran Saliev, who was arrested on October 11, 2017, MORE AND MORE CRIMEAN TATARS OPENLY EXPRESS THEIR DISAGREEMENT WITH WHAT IS HAPPENING. Tell us, please, how the events unfolded on October 11. The armed detachment of the FSB headed by an investigator broke into our house with a search. Without introducing themselves, without reading the court order, they threw my husband brutally to the floor, lashed out at his mother, who, naturally, took their arrival very emotionally. They frightened our children. They turned the whole house inside out in search of weapons. They were looking for something among children s book and my books on economics. Having found nothing, they arrested my spouse under the article of Terrorism, which stipulates a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years. What does your husband do? My spouse is a very active person. The arrest was like the high point of his activity. He had been repeatedly subjected to administrative penalties in the form of a fine and arrest of up to 12 days only for the fact that he openly reported on the searches of Crimean Tatars. Seyran is an all-round and very open person. He helped in raising funds for sick children. He participated in organizing Muslim holidays for children and youth. We even jokingly called him the Minister of Youth. Therefore, what happened was a shock to all. How can such a person be accused of terrorism? People are changing; the events no longer frighten the Crimean Tatars. People, on the contrary, react more actively, openly express their position, disagreement: go to searches, to the court building for single-person pickets, collect money to pay fines, help families of prisoners. This suggests that the people themselves understand what is bad and what is good. If those arrested were terrorists or some marginal types, they would not enjoy such a strong support. They all cooperate and solve problems together, that is, the process of consolidation has begun and it is already irreversible. What difficulties do you face in your work? The more activity we show, the more sophisticated obstacles the occupation authorities create for us. The latest arrests (on October 11, there was a wave of detentions of the Crimean Tatars in Crimea Ed.) concerned only those who worked in the interaction department, contacted families and helped them. They are guys from Solidarity, socially active, sympathetic, kind and noble people. We also see that they can arrest a lawyer for nothing. Thus, Emil Kurbedinov (a well-known Crimean lawyer specializing in political cases) was detained for 10 days. We witnessed a search of Edem Semedlyaev s house (a Crimean lawyer Ed.) under a far-fetched pretext. They intimidate children of arrested persons at school and try to break activists through fines. And they create all these difficulties deliberately. Our activity annoys some, and they do their best to restrict it. But even detaining the most active ones, they will not stop us, because solidarity, assistance and support are essential qualities of the Crimean Tatar people. And this is a normal reaction of a sensible person not to drown somebody, but to help. Tell us, please, about the Crimean Marathon. What was it about, and what did it achieve? Our activity, namely presence at trials and searches, and showing support for political prisoners, has become a problem for the Russian Special Services. After all, they hoped that no one would know what was happening, that people would be left alone with heir problems, would suffer. But it did not turn out this way. The occupation authorities tried to intimidate people and shut their mouths using various methods of repression. The first blows were tortures, abductions, and then arrests under the far-fetched pretext of fighting terrorism. The next stage was administrative detentions. But the guys detained for five to ten days were not scared, but, on the contrary, were even more enthusiastic and began to work with even greater zeal. One of the recent maneuvers applied against active Crimeans was fines. Because today when the economy is going through hard times a dent in the wallet is very noticeable. We faced fines of up to 300 thousand rubles, that is almost 5 thousand dollars. And this means three years of hard work! To pay that off one has to live very sparingly, to restrain oneself. We began to think what could be done about this? And we realized that the only way out was mutual assistance. We offered every Crimean Tatar to give 10 rubles towards paying the fines. At a first glance, it doesn t seem to be a big amount. The price of a box of matches... But the overall contribution was very significant. Now every Crimean Tatar can say that he did not remain aloof from the common misfortune of our people. In a short time, we managed to collect the entire sum to pay the fines. Therefore, today we say that you should not be afraid to show that you disagree with arbitrariness and lawlessness. On the contrary, you need to be active. What international organizations do you work with? We take part in conferences of the OSCE and the UN. We also work with Russian organizations we establish contacts with the Memorial Human Rights Center. We also cooperate with charitable organizations that collect money for children of political prisoners. 13 #6 2017

14 TRUE HISTORY TRANSFER WITHIN THE LAW As for the Russian accusations of including Crimea into Ukraine illegally, there is no legal basis for them. They rely on manipulations. The Russians believe that the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR overstepped its constitutional powers by approving the transfer of Crimea to Ukraine by its February 19 Decree, and this allegedly makes the transfer illegitimate. In fact, the transfer was done in several stages, and all legal contradictions were resolved. The final decision to include Crimea into Ukraine was made on January 25, 1954 at a meeting of the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee chaired by Malenkov. The entire protocol has not been declassified so we do not know the rationale and debate on the issue, only an extract with the relevant resolution is available to us today. On the same day, on February 5, the Council of Ministers and the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR adopted decisions on the transfer of the peninsula. On February 13, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR addressed the Union Parliament with a request to include Crimea into Ukraine. On February 19, the famous Decree on the transfer whose legitimacy is disputed by Russia was issued. However, already on April 26, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted two Laws that approved the previous Decree and introduced appropriate changes to the Union Constitution. Since the constitution has the highest legal force, its legitimate change has made the transfer of Crimea legitimate. On June 2, Crimea was crossed out from the Republican Constitution of Russia, and on June 17 it was inscribed in the Republican Constitution of Ukraine. Thus, Crimea has been a legitimate part of Ukraine since April 26, 1954, which was confirmed by four hundred Russian-Ukrainian treaties of all levels over the past 60 years. CRIMEA TO UKRAINE Transfer of the Crimean region from the RSFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 was the central event in the history of the peninsula in the second half of the 20th century. There are a lot of myths piled up around the inclusion of Crimea into the Ukrainian USSR, and many of them are still popular. However, the true events of 60 years ago eliminate all doubts regarding the peninsula s ownership. Not a Gift Crimea was not a Khrushchev s gift to Ukrainians. In early 1954, Nikita Sergeyevich simply could not make decisions of this kind independently. At the top of the informal hierarchy was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Georgiy Malenkov, and the formal head of the Union was the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR Kliment Voroshilov. Only in February 1955, Malenkov was defeated in the fight against Khrushchev and lost his post. That is why the decision to transfer Crimea was made collectively. For the same reason, Crimea could not become a bargaining chip in the inner-party struggle no one could single-handedly take advantage of the fruits of this victory, even if it were. After all, winning over Ukrainian comrades by the transfer of the peninsula would mean the loss of supporters among the Russian Communists. Beautiful Coincidence Contrary to the popular version, the peninsula was not a gift to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the reunification of Ukraine and Russia. Despite the fact that all newspapers and many solemn speeches interpreted the transfer precisely as a gesture of international friendship, there is no such wording in any official document. In addition, the 300th anniversary was celebrated on January 8, while the transfer of Crimea was carried out between late January and June. It was really a beautiful coincidence, but nothing more. Theory of Common Economy The economic version found in the documents on the transfer of Crimea, looks most elaborated. The motivational part says, taking into account the interconnectedness of the economy. According to Khrushchev s son Sergey, his father really tried to streamline the day-today economic management of the Lower Dnieper region and the peninsula within one republic. But the fact was that the project for the construction of the North- Crimean Canal was approved back in 1950, during Stalin s lifetime, when the transfer of Crimea was out of question. Also, Crimea was not a burden, which the Moscow leadership allegedly imposed on the economy of Ukraine. True, the peninsula was badly damaged during the war and was devastated by deportations, but a decade passed between those events and the transfer, and during that time the peninsula s industry was restored. Also, the agricultural revival (ranging from the resettlement programs to the construction of the Canal) was paid for from the all-union budget, and not only that of Kyiv. # Author Serhiy HROMENKO, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Publicist

15 IN THE SPOTLIGHT WITHOUT DAD... The Crimean House in Kyiv hosted a photo exhibition Adult Crimean Childhood, telling the story of the children who were left without parents and close relatives either imprisoned for political reasons or tortured by the Russian Special Services as a part of the repressions conducted by the occupation authorities at the peninsula. Daughter of the Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov. In early March 2014, he participated in a peaceful protest against the occupation of Crimea by the Russian troops. From there he was taken away to parts unknown by the so-called self-defense detachments. On March 15, Ametov was found dead with numerous signs of torture on his body. Son of the Crimean Tatar activist Enver Mamutov. In 2016, he was arrested on trumped-up charges of organizing a terrorist group (the so-called Hizb ut-tahrir case ). Children of the Crimean Tatar activist Rustem Abilatrov detained in The occupation authorities accuse Abiltarov of terrorism and membership in Hizb ut-tahrir group, banned in Russia. Author of the photos: Anton NAUMLYUK Organizers of the project: Center for Civil Liberties within the framework of the LetMyPeopleGo campaign and the Crimean House P ersecution of proukrainian activists, in particular, Crimean Tatars, continues in the territory of the occupied Crimea for the fourth year in a row. For this reason, 74 children lost their loved ones, and the latest wave of detention can bring this figure up to hundreds. 16 photo stories tell stories of the lives of children who live daily expecting their dad or grandad to return. At a first glance, these boys and girls in the photos are no different from other children: they also go to kindergarten or school, rejoice, feel sad, play and learn. But this feeling of ordinary disappears when you look in their eyes, too serious for a child. The project organizers note, Being a child of a political prisoner in the occupied Crimea is when you already have a stigma: son of a terrorist, daughter of a spy or granddaughter of an extremist. Our goal is to show everyday life of these children constantly waiting for the return of their loved ones. 15 #6 2017