President Poroshenko: The world cannot allow the repetition of the Crimean Tatars’ tragedy

President Petro Poroshenko delivered a speech in the course of the evening-requiem in memory of victims of genocide of the Crimean Tatar people.

The Head of State emphasized that 72 years ago, Crimean Tatars had found themselves alone in their trouble with Kremlin’s ruthless regime, which had subjected them to cruel challenges. “Today, we have millions of friends all over the world. The world cannot allow the repetition of the Crimean Tatars’ tragedy. It is a joint position of Ukraine, leading European countries, USA, prominent international organizations and our partners all over the world,” the President noted, infroms his press service.

Petro Poroshenko says that the protection of rights of Crimean Tatars and other nations living in Crimea is under constant attention of the Ukrainian authorities. Ukraine has raised an issue of not only prolongation, but also reinforcement of international sanctions against Russia and its puppets in Crimea taking into account an aggravated situation with human rights and freedoms on the peninsula.

“Our task is to protect the Crimean Tatar people in its Homeland. And our strategic task is to liberate the Ukrainian peninsula from Russian occupation step by step,” Petro Poroshenko stressed.

The President believes that the Ukrainian authorities must initiate amendments to Chapter 10 of the Constitution of Ukraine “Autonomous Republic of Crimea” that will fully come out of the inherent right of Crimean Tatars to self-determination as a part of sovereign and independent Ukrainian state.

“We have finally realized the necessity of establishing the national autonomy of Crimean Tatars in Crimea with full guarantee of equal rights and civil liberties of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and other ethnic groups of the peninsula,” Petro Poroshenko noted. The President is going to urge the Constitutional Commission to establish the working group on the elaboration of amendments and addenda to the given chapter.

“Crimea was, is and will remain an integral part of Ukraine. The country-criminal will be forced to return the loot sooner or later no matter how long the process of de-occupation may take. Such crime as annexation has no statute of limitations in the international law,” the President said and expressed confidence that Crimea and occupied territories of Donbas would be brought back under the Ukrainian sovereignty.

The Head of State informed that he would hold a series of meetings with international leaders at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on May 23. In the course of these meetings, the President will, inter alia, discuss the issues of de-occupation of Crimea and protection of rights of Crimean Tatars and other nations in the occupied Crimea. The President’s delegation will include Mustafa Dzhemilev, Refat Chubarov and Jamala.

“This war will be over for Ukraine when the last piece of our land in Crimea and Donbas is liberated, when the last invader leaves the Ukrainian land. Until then, we must be strong and firm in our faith. Crimea is not Russia. Crimea is Ukraine. And Ukraine is Europe,” Petro Poroshenko concluded.