#7 2017 CRIMEA IN 2014 2017 WITHOUT MANY WORDS Sometimes, one photo can say more than a hundred words. This photo issue will recount the most dramatic moments of Crimea s seizure by the Russian Federation in the spring of 2014, life in the occupied peninsula and its amazing heroes who despite repressions, persecution, and intimidation fight to show that Crimea is Ukraine. In the photo: a one-man picket against Russian aggression in Simferopol, April 17, 2014
Occupation to revenge striving for freedom. On November 21, 2013 Euromaidan protest a series of rallies against the then President Yanukovych s decision to suspend European integration as well as against pervasive corruption and government s dictatorship started. A violent crackdown on a peaceful student demonstration at night of November 30 lead to a largescale peaceful protest that later grew radical and turned into bloody clashes between the protesters and the police. In January and February of 2014 the country went through illegal persecution, abductions and torture of Euromaidan activists, snipers shooting to kill unarmed people. The events of late 2013 - early 2014 are known as the Revolution of Dignity. And it s these events that catalyzed the open Russian aggression against Ukraine and the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. In the photo: rallies against illegal police violence and in support of Ukraine s association with the European Union started in Crimea in November 2013. From the very beginning, the participants of the Crimean Euromaidan experienced immense pressure from the Russia friendly Crimean authorities. When the occupation started most of the activists were forced to leave the peninsula because of the threat of criminal prosecution and physical violence. One of Crimean Euromaidan leaders Andriy Shchekun was held captive by the occupiers for 11 days. When it became known that the Crimean Parliament planned to hold an extraordinary session supposed to make an illegal decision to separate Crimea from Ukraine, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people called for a peaceful rally in support of Ukraine s territorial integrity for February 26, 2014. In the morning, thousands of those supporting Euromaidan and Ukraine s unity gathered near the building of the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea. Pro-Russian forces provoked clashes amidst the peaceful rally which lead to the death of several people. Later, the occupation authorities launched an investigation into the so-called February 26 case and arrested several activists, in particular, the Deputy Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Akhtem Chyihoz, and illegally charged them with organizing mass riots. Crimea Inform Magazine, No.7 (7). November 2017. Certificate of State Registration КВ 22665-12565 Р of 04.05.2017. Founder: Ukrinform Ukrainian National News Agency. Publisher: Mega-Press Group Ltd. Address: 2d Les Kurbas Street, 03148 Kyiv, Tel.: (044) 455-46-23. Editor-in-Chief: Y. Kazdobina Address of the editorial office: 8/16 B. Khmelnytskyi Street, 01001 Kyiv, Tel: (044) 279-81-52; Fax: (044) 279-86-65, 234-83-66, e-mail: office@ukrinform.ua. Reproduction is only permitted with prior written permission of the Editorial Board. The cover photo is provided by Stanislav Yurchenko/RFE/RL. Printed at: LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY PRIME-PRINT 9 Boryspilska St., 02099 Kyiv, Ukraine, (044) 599-19-40. Order No. 4229/2. Circulation: 2800 copies. Distributed free of charge.
Immediately following the culminating events at Kyiv Euromaidan in the late February, the first little green men appeared in Crimea. They were military servicemen without insignia. As a part of the Special Operations Forces they moved to seize and block government buildings and military facilities in Crimea. Initially, Russia denied that the little green men were part of the Russian Federation military, however, on April 17, 2014, the Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly acknowledged that those in Crimea were the Russian soldiers. Archbishop of Simferopol and Crimea of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kiev Patriarchate Klyment stood up for the Ukrainian military, blocked by the Russian invaders in a military unit. On March 2, 2014, the 36th Marine Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian Navy was blocked hundreds of litttle green men, 20 KAMAZ trucks and several Tigr cars surrounded the Brigade. On March 4, Colonel Yuliy Mamchur, the Commander of the Sevastopol Tactical Aviation Brigade the of the South Air Command (Belbek military airfield) along with his soldiers went unarmed out to the green men who blocked the military unit with the battle flag and the flag of Ukraine. In response to the demand to switch to the invaders side, Mamchur said that the personnel of the Tactical Aviation Brigade in Belbek are loyal to the people of Ukraine and the military oath and are ready to defend the territorial integrity of their country with weapons in their hands. 3 #7 2017
On March 5, 2014, women of Bakhchysarai organized a protest near the blocked military unit against the presence of the Russian troops in Crimea. A Crimean Tatar is handing over products to the Ukrainian soldiers blocked in the military unit. Both adults and children took part in the Women Against the War protest. In the photo: a girl is holding a poster saying «Putin is a shit». March 14, Simferopol. Residents of Crimea formed a Live Chain, the purpose of which was to boycott the illegal referendum on the status of Crimea, scheduled for March 16. Participants held Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags, as well as posters saying: No to Referendum!, No to War, We Stand for Peace, Crimea is Ukraine. #7 2017 4
Voting at a polling station in Simferopol. No international observers monitored the illegal referendum, there were numerous legislative and procedural violations and a heavy military presence in the streets. The illegal referendum and its results are illegitimate and are not recognized by any civilized country. March 18, 2014: funeral of the Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov. He became the first victim of the unprecedented cruel repressions of the occupation authorities against the Crimean Tatars, who had openly boycotted the illegal referendum. On March 3, Ametov came out to a peaceful protest against the occupation of Crimea by the Russian troops. From the square he was taken away for parts unknown by the so-called self-defense detachments. Nobody heard from Reshat Ametov after that. On March 15, he was found dead with numerous traces of torture on his body. Three children orphaned. On May 18, 2017 President Poroshenko awarded Reshat Ametov with the Hero of Ukraine title. A rally in support of the so-called referendum in Simferopol. Preparations for the illegal referendum on Crimea s status took very little time. The date of the volition was moved up several times: first it was scheduled for May 25, then it was moved up to March 30, and in the end the final date of March 16 was announced. 5 #7 2017
On May 11, 2014, Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker, scenarist, writer and a civic activist was detained in Simferopol on an accusation of organizing a terrorist group and preparing terrorist attacks in Crimea. Hennadiy Afanasyev, Oleksiy Chirniy and Oleksandr Kolchenko were arrested along with Sentsov. All of them were charged with planning to blow up the Eternal Flame memorial and the monument to Lenin in Simferopol. On August 25, 2015, the North Caucasus District Military Court sentenced the Ukrainian filmmaker to 20 years of imprisonment in a strict regime colony. In February 2016, Sentsov was convoyed to Yakutia. Hollywood and Russian actors, numerous human rights organizations spoke in defense of Sentsov, however Russia refused to extradite him to Ukraine. As of today, the occupation authorities illegally hold captive 57 political prisoners most of whom are Muslims and Crimean Tatars. #7 2017 6
Activists of the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Crimea openly demonstrated their civil position even under the occupation. On May 3, 2014, Russian occupation forces did not let the leader of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev into Crimea. Over 5 thousand Crimean Tatars gathered at the illegal Russian checkpoint demanding to let Dzhemilev come to the peninsula. Subsequently, they managed to break through the military line and meet Mustafa Dzhemilev near the Ukrainian checkpoint. However, on the way back they were blocked in the buffer zone by the heavily armed Russian border guards. Dzhemilev was forced to return to Kyiv. The Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis Refat Chubarov is also banned from Crimea, and the Mejlis itself which is the self-government body of the Crimean Tatar people, is labeled an extremist organization by the occupation authorities and banned in Russia. In April 2017 the International Court of Justice ordered the Russian Federation to restore the Mejlis s work. Due to the repressions initiated by the occupation authorities, a lot of Crimeans were forced to move from the territory of the peninsula to mainland Ukraine. 7 #7 2017
As early as in 2014, Russia began an illegal conscription of Crimeans to the ranks of the Russian Army and Navy. Thus, Russia grossly violates the obligations it has as an occupying state. According to international humanitarian law, the occupying state may not compel protected persons to serve in its armed or auxiliary forces. No pressure or propaganda aimed at voluntary enlistment is permitted. Brainwashing for small and young Crimeans is a strategic task of the Russian Federation, for the implementation of which significant resources are allocated. Since the beginning of the occupation in Crimea, Russia has been introducing its education strategy, which provides, inter alia, a return to the Soviet military education system. #7 2017 8
Soviet symbols return to the occupied Crimea Under the supervision of Big Brother : a homeless man is walking past the house with a mural depicting President Putin. Theodosia. Back to the USSR mandatory marches are becoming commonplace in the militarized Crimea. The peninsula returns to the Cold War era. According to experts, the occupation authorities cut down social and economic programs, and develop the military-industrial complex and increase the number of troops instead. Therefore, all infrastructure and life in the peninsula in general have to submit to the military sector. Crimeans, who express disagreement with the occupation, continue to be detained in the peninsula. Even the slightest hint of pro-ukrainian sentiments, like, for example, vyshyvanka, becomes the reason for detention. 9 #7 2017
The Simferopol Railway Station is always half empty. On the edge: a Ukrainian, who is traveling to Crimea, is being searched by Russian security officials. The tourism industry in Crimea is gradually declining. If in 2014, Russians showed interest in the occupied Crimea, then in the following year the number of Russian tourists dramatically declined because of abnormally high prices and poor transport connection. During 2015, only 1.1 million holidaymakers visited the peninsula (before the occupation the number exceeded 6 million), and even this figure is gradually decreasing. On December 8, 2016, Volodymyr Balukh was arrested in Crimea. The activist did not conceal his pro-ukrainian position even after the occupation of the peninsula: he did not renounce Ukrainian citizenship, hung the national flag on the roof, and a plaque Heavenly Hundred Heroes Street on the wall of his house. Balukh was illegally sentenced to 3 years and 7 months of imprisonment in a colony-settlement. Formally, he was accused of illegal storage of explosives and ammunition. #7 2017 10
In 2016, a Ukrainian singer of Crimean Tatar origin, Jamala (Susanna Jamaladinova), won the Eurovision Song Contest with the song 1944, which tells the story of deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944. This event also drew attention in Europe to the human rights violations in the occupied Crimea....I would have had a choice if I had given up my principles. In order not to be in prison, it was enough to admit guilt, to break morally. But I do not want my descendants, children of the whole Ukraine to reproach me that I showed weakness, Volodymyr Balukh said in his final speech at the court hearing. 11 #7 2017
In 2017, Russia moves to an active phase of the Kerch Strait Bridge construction which should connect the RF with the occupied Crimea. Russia did not coordinate the bridge construction with Ukraine in violation of the requirements of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Treaty between Ukraine and Russia on Cooperation in the Use of the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. In addition, the construction of the Kerch Bridge limits the freedom of navigation in the Black and Azov Seas and threatens Ukraine with huge economic losses. 49 Crimean Tatars were detained in October 2017 in the occupied Crimea for taking part in one-man pickets against illegal arrests of Crimean Tatar activists. 76-year-old Crimean Tatar Server Karametov, a pensioner suffering from Parkinson s disease, was detained by the police near the Supreme Court building in Simferopol. The elderly man was on a one-man picket in support of political prisoners with a poster that read: Putin and Aksyonov. Our children are not terrorists. Stop accusing Crimean Tatars. Two protocols were drawn up against the Crimean Tatar activist, namely for violating the one-man picket procedure and for disobeying police officers. Server Karametov fainted during the court session and an ambulance had to be called to take care of his health. #7 2017 12
450 thousand Russian rubles in small change. Activists of the Crimean Solidarity Association paid fines imposed on the Crimean Tatars in 10-ruble coins. In particular, they paid 300 thousand rubles (about 5000 USD) for Zarema Umerova, who was fined for placing pro-ukrainian posts in the social network Facebook. Another 150 thousand rubles (a little over 2400 USD) were paid for Osman Belyalov, who had been falsely accused by the occupation authorities of participating in an unsanctioned rally. Money for the fines was collected by supportive Crimeans. Yellow and blue colors in the occupied Crimea. The movement of non-violent resistance to occupation is growing in Crimea Crimeans try to show in every possible way that Crimea is Ukraine (photo from social networks) On September 27, the Simferopol de facto Court illegally sentenced Ilmi Umerov, Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, to two years in a colony-settlement and prohibited him to conduct any public activities. FSB Investigators launched a criminal case against Ilmi Umerov on May 12, 2016. His words on the air of the ATR Channel were regarded as a public call for actions aimed at challenging the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation. In the interview, the politician expressed the opinion that Russia should leave Crimea and Donbas. (in the photo: Ilmi Umerov s daughter Aysha and his granddaughter at the courthouse). 13 #7 2017
Almost 100 Crimean children were left without parents and close relatives either imprisoned for political reasons or tortured by the Russian Special Services in the occupied peninsula. The photo shows a little daughter of the deceased Crimean Tatar activist Reshat Ametov. October 2017: ancient Khan s Palace, the only remaining example of the Crimean Tatar palace architecture, is being destroyed in Bakhchysarai. Unprofessional restoration work not only damages the outstanding landmark, but actually leads to its destruction. The statement to this effect was made by Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, during the 39th session of the UNESCO General Conference. Umerov and Chyihoz are free. Leaders of the Crimean Tatar people were freed as a result of numerous international negotiations. The release of Umerov and Chyihoz 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. #7 2017 14
Together again: the released prisoners of the Kremlin were met by the loved ones in the native Ukrainian land. (In the photo: Akhtem Chyihoz with his wife Elmira Ablyalimova (center) and the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov (background, from left to right) at the Boryspil International Airport on October 27. A great loss. On November 23, the heart of the legendary Vedzhie Kashka, the symbol of the Crimean Tatar national movement, stopped. The 83-year-old woman felt unwell during the detention of Crimean Tatar activists by Russian security officers. She died on the way to the hospital. Vedzhie Kashka survived deportation of the Crimean Tatars during the Second World War, after that she fought all her life for the return of her people to their historical homeland. In 2014, she openly opposed the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and till the last breath, despite weak health, supported Crimean Tatar activists in their fight against Russian aggression, and also went to court sessions on cases of political prisoners. On November 24, the day of the funeral of Vedzhie Kashka, national flags with a black ribbon were raised in a sign of sorrow near the houses of the Crimean Tatars. 15 #7 2017
The Third Committee of the UN General Assembly approved the updated draft resolution Situation of Human Rights in the Temporarily Occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol (Ukraine). The language of the document is quite powerful and tough with clear unambiguous wordings, and its purpose is to protect the rights and freedoms of citizens in the Ukrainian peninsula, Serhiy Kyslytsia, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, who worked in New York to promote the Ukrainian document, said. In particular, 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, stresses the need to provide international organizations the access to the territory of the occupied peninsula and demands to ensure education opportunities in Crimean educational institutions in the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar languages. Photos used in the issue: Stanislav Yurchenko / RFE/RL (3), Anton Naumlyuk (1), Crimean Solidarity (1), Ukrinform (12), and photos from open sources (31).