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| Title | Crimean Tatars demand language rights on deportation anniversary |
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Country | Ukraine |
| Publication Date | 18 May 2009 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Crimean Tatars demand language rights on deportation anniversary, 18 May 2009, available at: http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4a1d3e13c.html [accessed 2 June 2012] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Crimean Tatars demand language rights on deportation anniversary
May 18, 2009
Crimean Tatars commemorate 65th anniversary of mass deportation in Simferopol.
SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine – At least 15,000 Crimean Tatars gathered in central Simferopol to mark the 65th anniversary of their deportation and to demand linguistic and political rights, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reports.
On May 18-20, 1944, the Soviet authorities deported some 200,000 Crimean Tatars to Central Asia, with nearly half of them dying en route.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Crimean Tatars began returning en mass to the Crimea.
The demonstrators in Simferopol held Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar national flags and called for schools to be established that teach in the Crimean Tatar language and for that language to receive official status on the peninsula.
Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Djemilev said that Crimean Tatars want Crimea to be an autonomous territory within Ukraine.
He said some 280,000 Crimean Tatars currently live in Crimea and at least 150,000 more are planning to return to their ancestral lands.
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
Topics: Tatars,
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