by Miceál O’Hurley
ANTALYA (TÜRKIYE) — Diplomacy in Ireland – European Diplomat Editor-in-Chief Miceál O’Hurley sat earlier this week with Refat Cubarov, Chairman of the Mejilis of the Crimean Tatars on the sidelines of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum 2024 in Antalya, Türkiye. This third-iteration of the ADF included heads of state, ministers, diplomats and academics from 79 countries, with more than 4,500 attendees meeting under the theme ‘Advancing Diplomacy in Times of Turmoil’.
The interview of Refat Chubarov covered a wide-range of topics including the history of the Crimean Tatars, the indigenous people of Crimea, the tragedy of their history expulsions beginning with Catherine the Great and then again under Stalin as well as their return to Crimea upon Ukrainian independence and the turmoil and persecution they face today under Russian occupation. The first in this 3-part interview will appear next week.
The following is a short excerpt from the interview: "... There are about two hundred people in Crimea who are political prisoners. What do I mean by political prisoners? These are people who have had criminal cases fabricated against them on politically motivated charges. They were tried by Russia and sentenced then they were sent to prison, that is, imprisoned. There are 200-such people - 125 of them are Crimean Tatars - sixty-five percent. I mention these figures in order to show the disproportionality because Crimean Tatars now make up about 12% of the population of Crimea. Among those who have been imprisoned, 65% of them are Crimean Tatars. This suggests that Crimean Tatars are being targeted and persecuted and they are the object of such persecution." - Refat Chubarov, Chairman of the Mejilis of the Crimean Tatars speaking to Miceál O'Hurley of Diplomacy in Ireland - European Diplomat on the status of life of Crimean Tatars who have remained in occupied Crimea
