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Crimean Tatars call for reversal of Russian annexation

Participants at the World Congress of Crimean Tatars rebuked Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014.

By Jared M. Feldschreiber
Mustafa Dzhemilev, a veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, told a two-day congress session that about 10,000 members of the community have left Crimea since Russia's annexation in March 2014. The 300,000 Muslim Crimean Tatar minority makes up less than 15 percent of Crimea's 2 million population. Photo courtesy of WikiCommons
Mustafa Dzhemilev, a veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, told a two-day congress session that about 10,000 members of the community have left Crimea since Russia's annexation in March 2014. The 300,000 Muslim Crimean Tatar minority makes up less than 15 percent of Crimea's 2 million population. Photo courtesy of WikiCommons

ANKARA, Turkey, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- About 200 groups from various countries attended the second annual World Congress of Crimean Tatars in Ankara, Turkey, over the weekend, and called for "all necessary measures" to be taken to return Crimea to Ukraine.

Participants at the congress rebuked Russia's annexation of Crimea in March 2014. American and European officials alike have criticized Russia's repression of the Crimean Tatar community since the annexation took place. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, who spoke Saturday, said the annexation "is temporary -- because it is illegal," Voice of America reported.

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The 300,000-strong Muslim Crimean Tatar minority makes up less than 15 percent of Crimea's 2 million population.

Mustafa Dzhemilev, a veteran leader of the Crimean Tatars, told the conference that the Tatars who have fled were motivated by "discrimination and lawlessness" on the peninsula since Russia's takeover, as well as "forced conscription of young people to the Russian Army with the prospect of sending them to war with their Ukrainian brothers," Radio Free Europe reported.

The leaders said they also left because of the "complete absence of democratic freedoms and the lack of any prospects for young people."

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Russia's annexation of Crimea was followed by continued fighting in eastern Ukraine between Kremlin-backed separatists and Kiev forces. The United Nations has estimated that more than 6,500 people have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine.

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