Mejlis Wants Special Law to Enshrine Rights of Crimean Tatars

The newly elected head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov, will press for the adoption of legislation that reinforces the status and rights of Crimean Tatars. The head of the Mejlis expressed concern that the Crimean Tatars have no legally enforceable guarantees of their preservation and development as a people who emerged in Crimea and who had their statehood.

“Simply put: the indigenous people of Crimea are returning, but there is no legislation that regulates the issue of their development, that guarantees by law their rights, or that provides legal mechanisms for the implementation of their rights in Ukraine,” he said in an interview with ZN.UA.

Refat Chubarov recalled that under Article 11 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the state encourages the development of the Ukrainian nation and the ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious identity of all indigenous peoples and national minorities.

“But the legislation of Ukraine does not even decipher who is indigenous! Therefore, we need a clear answer to this question,” said the head of the Mejlis. “This could be a law ‘On the Status of the Crimean Tatar People in Ukraine,’ a bill which at one time was registered in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, but which was never considered. When it comes to the legal perspective, this factor needs to be considered when making election legislation. Legal mechanisms that will enable the Crimean Tatars as an indigenous people to participate in the management of Crimea must be clearly written out,” said Chubarov.

According to him, the Crimean Tatars today have little representation in the government of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and cannot participate in the administration of the autonomy. “This includes, among other things, the issues of administration and management of natural resources of Crimea, as well as everything related to compact residence of the Crimean Tatars, to certain periods of our history and statehood, to the restoration of historical place names. Not having their rights enshrined in law, Crimean Tatars do not feel confident in their homeland today and in the future,” said Chubarov, UNIAN reports.