BELARUS BLOCKS HUMANITARIAN AID TO CHORNOBYL VICTIMS. Participants in a conference in Warsaw on 16 May focusing on the after-effects of the Chornobyl nuclear accident adopted a resolution saying that Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka's "dictatorial regime is preventing international humanitarian aid from reaching victims of the disaster at the Chornobyl nuclear power station," AFP reported. The 12- state meeting condemned the Belarusian government for introducing a 40 percent tax on international humanitarian aid and appealed to the international community to send aid directly to the some 3 million Chornobyl victims in Belarus. Also on 16 May, some 50 young people from various European countries staged a protest in front of the Belarusian embassy in Warsaw to denounce Lukashenka's regime and its human rights violations. JM
UKRAINIAN MINERS, TEACHERS PROTEST WAGE ARREARS. More than 1,000 coal miners from Pervomaysk set off on a 130-kilometer march to Dnipropetrovsk on 15 May to demand the payment of wage arrears, Ukrainian Television reported. According to the Independent Trade Union of Coal Miners, strikes continue at 46 mines over wage arrears (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 6 and 7 May 1998). Also on 15 May, some 3,500 teachers in Kherson staged a rally in front of the local government building to demand payment of the previous two months' wages. Fifty of the 55 schools in Kherson are on strike, while almost 300 teachers have declared a hunger strike. JM
On 18 May, Crimean Tatars mark the 54th anniversary of their mass deportation from Crimea by the Soviet authorities. Although that was one of the saddest days in the history of the Crimean Tatar people, they are by no means the only ones who have to live with such a heritage. Among the other nations deported by Stalin were the Koreans, Chechens, Ingush, Karachais, Volga Germans, and Kalmyks, to name just a few. Why then do we, the Crimean Tatar community, consider 18 May so important?
The reason is simple: the "Surgun," as the mass deportation is called in Crimean Tatar, has not yet ended. More than half of the Crimean Tatars deported 54 years ago have so far been unable to return, even though most other deported groups are now back in their historical homelands. Along with the Ahiska (Meskhetian) Turks, the Crimean Tatars stand out as the nation that continues to experience the direct effects of deportation and not just the resulting dislocation.
If the Crimean Tatars had been helped to return to their homeland, had received an apology from those responsible, and had been compensated for their losses, 18 May would not have the significance it is currently accorded. It would, of course, be commemorated as a time of mourning. But the next day, Crimean Tatars would return to normal life.
Unfortunately, they do not have that option. And as a result, the Crimean Tatars have no choice but to make a big fuss about their deportation and thus keep the memory of 18 May 1944 alive. Their nation remains divided; many still have relatives in Uzbekistan or other parts of the former Soviet Union who cannot yet return to Crimea . Indeed, many continue to search for relatives lost during the "Surgun," as a glance at Crimean Tatar newspapers shows. Advertisements in those papers reveal that even now, many Crimean Tatars have been unable to find out whether their loved ones are alive or dead.
Moreover, it appears that many Crimean Tatars are losing ground in their peaceful struggle to return and resettle in their Crimean homeland. Some 90.000 Crimean Tatars were denied the right to cast their ballots in the March 1998 Ukrainian elections because Kyiv does not consider them citizens of Ukraine--despite the fact that they were forcibly and unjustly uprooted from their homeland and did not become Uzbek citizens by choice. As a result, the Crimean Tatars have almost no representation in the current Crimean parliament--in sharp contrast to the situation before the March ballot, when they had 14 representatives in the legislature.
Mustafa Jemilev and Refat Chubarov, the two Crimean Tatar representatives in the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv, are bound to find it extremely difficult to shoulder the responsibility for an entire people, even with the support of the Ukrainian government. And unfortunately, it appears that there are many in Kyiv who will seek to block their efforts to help the Crimean Tatars.
On 17 May, Crimean Tatars living in the U.S. once again peacefully gathered to commemorate the "Surgun." At a special ceremony in Corum, New York, they dedicated the first Crimean Tatar monument in honor of all Crimean Tatars who were killed or died during the "Surgun" and its aftermath. And, in particular, they remembered those whose bodies were thrown off the trains carrying the Crimean Tatars from their homeland to Uzbekistan.
But for the Crimean Tatars in Crimea and for those still living in exile, everyday is another "18 May." This will remain the case until all the Crimean Tatars are able to return and settle in their ancestral homeland, until they are allowed to live there in peace and harmony with other nationalities just as they did before the "Surgun." But as they continue their struggle, it is both their hope and ours that there will be no more martyrs to add to the long list of those who have already died for the Crimean Tatar national cause.
...AND WITH BLAIR, BRITISH BUSINESSMEN. Yeltsin met separately with Tony Blair on 15 May and reached tentative agreement on an informal "meeting without neckties" (a term used in Yeltsin's recent meetings with the Japanese prime minister) in Russia next year. Yeltsin invited Britain to participate in a project with Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany to produce An-70 transport planes. Yeltsin also met with leading representatives of the British business community, whom he called "our tried and trusted partners." Some of the businessmen complained that starting prices for shares in the Russian company Rosneft are too high. Yeltsin said he will examine the issue. BP
On 18 May, Crimean Tatars mark the 54th anniversary of their mass deportation from Crimea by the Soviet authorities. Although that was one of the saddest days in the history of the Crimean Tatar people, they are by no means the only ones who have to live with such a heritage. Among the other nations deported by Stalin were the Koreans, Chechens, Ingush, Karachais, Volga Germans, and Kalmyks, to name just a few. Why then do we, the Crimean Tatar community, consider 18 May so important?
The reason is simple: the "Surgun," as the mass deportation is called in Crimean Tatar, has not yet ended. More than half of the Crimean Tatars deported 54 years ago have so far been unable to return, even though most other deported groups are now back in their historical homelands. Along with the Ahiska (Meskhetian) Turks, the Crimean Tatars stand out as the nation that continues to experience the direct effects of deportation and not just the resulting dislocation.
If the Crimean Tatars had been helped to return to their homeland, had received an apology from those responsible, and had been compensated for their losses, 18 May would not have the significance it is currently accorded. It would, of course, be commemorated as a time of mourning. But the next day, Crimean Tatars would return to normal life.
Unfortunately, they do not have that option. And as a result, the Crimean Tatars have no choice but to make a big fuss about their deportation and thus keep the memory of 18 May 1944 alive. Their nation remains divided; many still have relatives in Uzbekistan or other parts of the former Soviet Union who cannot yet return to Crimea . Indeed, many continue to search for relatives lost during the "Surgun," as a glance at Crimean Tatar newspapers shows. Advertisements in those papers reveal that even now, many Crimean Tatars have been unable to find out whether their loved ones are alive or dead.
Moreover, it appears that many Crimean Tatars are losing ground in their peaceful struggle to return and resettle in their Crimean homeland. Some 90.000 Crimean Tatars were denied the right to cast their ballots in the March 1998 Ukrainian elections because Kyiv does not consider them citizens of Ukraine--despite the fact that they were forcibly and unjustly uprooted from their homeland and did not become Uzbek citizens by choice. As a result, the Crimean Tatars have almost no representation in the current Crimean parliament--in sharp contrast to the situation before the March ballot, when they had 14 representatives in the legislature.
Mustafa Jemilev and Refat Chubarov, the two Crimean Tatar representatives in the Ukrainian parliament in Kyiv, are bound to find it extremely difficult to shoulder the responsibility for an entire people, even with the support of the Ukrainian government. And unfortunately, it appears that there are many in Kyiv who will seek to block their efforts to help the Crimean Tatars.
On 17 May, Crimean Tatars living in the U.S. once again peacefully gathered to commemorate the "Surgun." At a special ceremony in Corum, New York, they dedicated the first Crimean Tatar monument in honor of all Crimean Tatars who were killed or died during the "Surgun" and its aftermath. And, in particular, they remembered those whose bodies were thrown off the trains carrying the Crimean Tatars from their homeland to Uzbekistan.
But for the Crimean Tatars in Crimea and for those still living in exile, everyday is another "18 May." This will remain the case until all the Crimean Tatars are able to return and settle in their ancestral homeland, until they are allowed to live there in peace and harmony with other nationalities just as they did before the "Surgun." But as they continue their struggle, it is both their hope and ours that there will be no more martyrs to add to the long list of those who have already died for the Crimean Tatar national cause.