This Week in the News

While on an official visit to Turkey, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov stated that the Ukrainian government is prepared to begin a dialog with the Crimean Tatars to address their needs. This policy is in continuation of the Yanukovich's efforts of negotiation with the Tatars as Prime Minister and governor of Donets'k, Azarov added. The Prime Minister is committed to resolving the Tatars' complaints exclusively through negotiation. Turkish ambassador to Ukraine Ahmet Bülent Meriç commented that there is no "hidden agenda with respect to Crimea" on the part of Turkey. The Turkish government is likewise committed to help the Crimean Tatar population preserve their cultural identity and language in their homeland. Hopefully this means that the Ukrainian government in Kyiv will take a stronger approach in protecting the Tatars especially in light of the determined efforts of Istanbul.

Meanwhile, various Crimean Tatar groups picketed the headquarters of the Mejlis, expressing dissatisfaction with the Mejlis' failure in satisfying the needs of the Tatars and in not securing land for the Tatar population. Server Kerimov, a member of the Координационный совет общественно-политических сил крымско-татарского народа (Coordinating council of socio-political forces of the Crimean Tatar people) accused the Mejlis and Dzhemilev of corruption and of assuming too much power. After the speeches and picketing, the protesters entered the Mejlis building, but no one was in there. Dzhemilev, in response, was displeased with the protest, stating that the protesters were putting on a show, not actually trying to resolve any issues or problems. He also criticized the protesters for being angry with the Mejlis for not solving the land issue when the Mejlis has no jurisdiction over it.

Релігія в Україні (Religion in Ukraine) reported that these protests are an outgrowth of the confrontation between the Muftiat of Crimea--aligned with the Kurultay and Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars--and the Spiritual Administration of Ukrainian Muslims (DUMU) in Kyiv. At the end of February, the DUMU sent a mufti from Kyiv to Crimea. This sparked an immediate angry response from Crimean Tatar muftis, calling the followers of the DUMU's mufti cultists and directly attacked Ridwan Veliyev (the DUMU mufti sent to Crimea) as a cowardly opportunist and without any authority to even call himself mufti. At the very least, the move by the DUMU in Kyiv to send down their own religious representative displays a lack of knowledge of the Crimean Tatar religious culture and political situation. At the worst, this is an intentional schismatic move. Regardless, this issue is laden with conflict. Although none of the articles I read expressly linked the protesters to the DUMU or Veliyev, the implied relationship between them is problematic. If Azarov intends to keep his promise, getting the Mejlis and the DUMU to have talks should be of high priority.

Articles referenced in this post:

Azarov: Kyiv ready for dialog with Crimean Tatars

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/99752/

Азаров в Турции пообещал продолжать помогать крымским татарам (Azarov in Turkey promises to continue to help the Crimean Tatars)

http://www.religion.in.ua/news/foreign_news/8853-azarov-v-turcii-poobeshhal-prodolzhat-pomogat-krymskim-tataram.html

Оппозиционные Меджлису крымско-татарские организации выразили недовольство его деятельностью (Crimean Tatar opposition groups expressed dissatisfaction with the Mejlis' work)

http://www.religion.in.ua/news/ukrainian_news/8865-oppozicionnye-medzhlisu-krymsko-tatarskie-organizacii-vyrazili-nedovolstvo-ego-deyatelnostyu.html

Между муфтиятом Крыма и Духовным управлением мусульман Украины разгорелось противостояние (Conflict erupts between the Muftiat of Crimea and the Spiritual Administration of Ukrainian Muslims)

http://www.religion.in.ua/news/ukrainian_news/8570-mezhdu-muftiyatom-kryma-i-duxovnym-upravleniem-musulman-ukrainy-razgorelos-protivostoyanie.html

This Week in the News

Disagreement between the Crimean Tatar population and the government of the Autonomous Republic are heating up and may come to a head soon. After last week's pronouncement from Prime Minister Dzharty to Mustafa Dzhemilev regarding the 'illegally seized land,' national attention has once again turned to the Tatar situation. The Kyiv Post reports that as the Tatars, returning from exile, found that their lands had been seized and given to Russian and Ukrainian resettlement populations. Unofficial bans on dealing with the Tatars prevented them from even buying back their land. This led to the Crimean Tatar population settling where they could, some in tents, some in shacks, some on what appeared to be open land. Of course, this caused friction 20 years ago, and because the issue was never resolved, the tension remains.

In the face of all of this, Dzharty claims that there has been no discrimination towards the Tatars, stating that because of some Tatars making a living out of selling seized land, it is time for them to get off the seized land. This, coupled with enormous land sales--into the thousands of hectares--by companies to rich investors and developers. Both sides are hoping to come to some sort of a consensus on the issue by the end of the month, when an official investigative report will be finished.

The following is a video form Al Jazeera explaining the situation:



I, however, do not see these problems going away soon. There is too much money to be had in selling the land for a profit, and for the businessmen and politicians selling the land, it is a lose-lose situation to provide land for the displaced Tatars. The only real solution is for a mandate to come from Kyiv with an effort to enforce any land reforms. Kyiv, however, is reluctant to do this also because of the Autonomous status of Crimea and the Russian majority on the peninsula. Enforcing land grants would be a mess, and would probably precipitate conflict, which could easily involve either Russia's Black Sea Fleet, which is already there, and UN/NATO peacekeeping forces, or both. I do not think that any side wishes this issue to devolve into violence.

In an interview marking the 20th anniversary of the collapse of the USSR, Dzhemilev, who this week was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his tireless work on behalf of the Crimean Tatars, again decried the Crimean and Ukrainian governments for failing to assist the Tatar population. He stated that "nothing good" has happened on behalf of his people on the peninsula, noting the failed representation reform. The interview is linked below.

Following on the heels of Dzhemilev's trip to Turkey where he arranged an agreement for using Turkish money to build schools and houses in Crimea, many in international newsmedia are suggesting that the recent revolutions and protests in the greater Muslim world will bode well for Turkey, which could mean trouble for Crimea. Some economists predict that Turkey and Saudi Arabia will emerge this year as twin poles of the Muslim world, and that Turkey especially will profit from disrupted tourist dollars to the Mediterranean. Greater political influence and economic weight will change the power balance between Turkey and France--and thereby the EU. France, who has a vested but not disrupted presence in North Africa, was a vocal opponent of Turkey's rapprochement into the EU, but with a larger hand to play, Turkey may have a chance to reopen negotiations for getting into the Union. Should that happen--a long shot at this point, to be sure--Ukraine's chances of joining the EU take a real jump up, because in the geopolitical scene, Turkey and Ukraine have more similarities than differences in reference to their relation to the EU.

Articles referenced in this post:

Turkey and Ukraine -- different but similar

http://www.todayszaman.com/columnistDetail_getNewsById.action?newsId=233883

Mustafa Dzhemilev nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/96180/

Tatars carry on decades-long struggle to reclaim Crimean land taken away

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/96308/

Crimean Tatar leader: “We don’t want that kind of republic.”

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20110203/162440136.html

Безлад в Африці: Туреччина виграє, Україна програє?

http://www.epravda.com.ua/publications/2011/02/1/269184/

Crimean Tatars fear for the future

http://english.aljazeera.net/focus/2010/08/201087102453222638.html