Estonia intends to recognize deportation of Crimean Tatars as act of genocide

ERR reported the information.

The document, supported by 54 MPs, condemns the extermination of the Crimean Tatars and their mass deportation from their native Crimean peninsula to the territory of Central Asia, which was planned and carried out by the totalitarian Soviet regime in March 1944.

The outlet recalled that in 1944, Soviet authorities forcibly deported approximately 200,000 Crimean Tatars, tens of thousands of whom perished. This mass deportation resulted in the Crimean Tatar people losing their homeland and enduring decades of brutal Russification. It was not until November 1989 that the ban on their return was lifted.

The statement further condemns the ongoing genocide of Crimean Tatars in Russian-occupied Crimea, citing systematic detentions, torture, abductions, and restrictions on the use of their native language. The document highlights that the goal of these actions is to erase the identity and cultural heritage of the Crimean Tatar people.

In addition, the parliamentarians called on the international community to demonstrate solidarity with the Crimean Tatars and continue to condemn Russia's occupation of Crimea.

According to the document, the MPs also demand the unconditional restoration of Ukraine's state sovereignty over the territory occupied by Russia during the armed aggression that began in 2014, and emphasize that Crimea is an integral part of Ukraine.

The date for consideration of the application in the parliamentary hall and voting on it has not yet been set.

• On September 11, a Ukrainian national memorial to commemorate the tragedy of the Crimean Tatar people was unveiled in Kyiv as part of the fourth summit of the international Crimean Platform.