The meeting of the 5th Kurultay, 2nd Session, was held in Simferopol on December 5-6, 2009. In addition to elected delegates of the Kurultay, representatives from diaspora organizations in Turkey, Romania, Germany and the US, Crimean officials, and invited guests attended the sessions. The agenda of the Qurultay included the following:

• Consideration of the use of the term "Genocide" for the deportation of the Crimean Tatars on May 18, 1944
• Allocation of land to Crimean Tatars
• Review of 18 candidates for President of Ukraine in upcoming elections
• Review of the status of Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis and Mustafa Jemilev's decision not to place his name as a candidate for the position of Chairman

Prior to the December meeting, there was considerable speculation and concern as to who might be the next Chairman of the Mejlis. Jemilev himself admitted that his decision to leave the post was not supported by many members of the Kurultay. As a result of outpouring support for the Crimean Tatar leader, the Kurultay almost unanimously voted not to replace Jemilev, and he accepted to continue in that position. (Photo Credit: Ayla Bakkalli)

A View from 5th Kurultay, Simferopol

[Crimea-L] Message 5788, 6 December 2009.
RFE/RL, 7 Dec 2009.

Early in November 2009, a delegation from Yalta, consisting of the Yalta Mayor Serhiy Brayko; Zaur Smirnov, Head of the Inter-ethnic Relations and Migration Division; and Yalta City Council member Dairush Taranpey visited Azerbaijan. On November 1, they visited the city of Khachmaz, where they signed an agreement, establishing Yalta and Khachmaz as sister cities. The agreement covers a variety of issues, among which are cultural exchange, widening social and economic ties, and touristic development. On November 2, Yalta representatives met with Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan, who praised the Ukraine-Azerbaijan relations and emphasized that the sister-city agreement provides another evidence of good relations between the two countries. Zaur Smirnov, as a representative of the Crimean Tatar people, presented President Aliev a letter from the President of the World Congress of Crimean Tatars, Refat Chubarov, expressing his gratitude and respect for Azerbaijani people. He thanked the government of Azerbaijan for allowing and assisting Crimean Tatar students who study in Azerbaijani universities.

Maidan, 13 November 2009.

The first Crimean Tatar Cultural Center, named for Mustafa Jemilev, was opened on October 12, 2009, in Odunpazari district of the city of Eskisehir. The ceremony was attended by Turkish officials and a visiting delegation from Crimea, which included Alexandr Taryanik (Mayor of Bahcesaray), Ilmi Umerov (Governor of Bahcesaray), and Fevzi Yakubov (President of the Crimean State University for Engineering and Pedagogy) among others. The official name of the Center is "Mustafa Abdulcemil Kirimoglu Kirim Tatar Kultur Evi," which uses Jemilev's Turkish name.

Dignitaries and Guests at the Opening of Cultural Center

In his opening remarks, Burhan Sakalli, Mayor of the Odunpazari district, noted that the aim of the Center is to preserve the customs and traditions of Crimean Tatars and to ensure that they continue observing and cherishing their ethnic culture. Speaking at the ceremony, Mehmet Kilichdar (Kılıçdar) , Governor of Eskisehir, emphasized that Crimean Tatars represent a significant and inalienable part of the city, there being more than 100,000 people of Crimean Tatar descent living in the city. Mustafa Jemilev, who also spoke, thanked Burhan Sakalli for his efforts in establishing the Center and expressed his gratitude to Turkish people who support Crimean Tatar culture and language. (Photo Credits: Municipality of Odunpazari, Eskisehir)

Governor of Eskisehir speaks at the Opening of Cultural Center

QHA New Agency, 13 October 2009.
Maidan, 14 October 2009.

Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported that more than two dozen Crimean Tatar artifacts that were removed from Crimea by the Nazis during World War II were returned by Austria to the Bakhchisarai Historical and Cultural Reserve on Monday, December 21. "This handover was the first instance where Crimean Tatar artifacts stolen in the years of the Nazi occupation of Crimea were returned to Crimea," noted a brief statement from the Mejlis. "There remain in museum collections outside of Crimea a significant number of such artifacts, which were removed by force or arbitrarily handed over by the Soviet leadership from the museum collection of Bakhchisarai between the 1950s and 1980s."

Kyiv Post, 23 December 2009.

In a surprising development, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) handed over a collection of historical documents kept in its archives of criminal cases to representatives of the Crimean Tatar people. The documents relate to first meeting of the Kurultay, which convened in December in 1917 in Bakhchisaray. The collection consists of photocopies of over one thousand documents, which are being made public now. The originals are still kept in the archives of the former OGPU-NKVD, as all participants of the first Kurultai were later arrested, executed or sent to labor camps. (Editor's note: Crimean Tatar leaders Numan Chelebi Cihan was brutally murdered in February 1918 in Sevastopol and Cafer Seydahmet escaped to Turkey.)

Bsanna-News, 24 December 2009.

On August 23, a rally was held in Simferopol to commemorate the victims of Stalinism and Nazism. This event was organized by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people in cooperation with Crimean organizations of Narodnyy Rukh, Ukrainian People's Party, and Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists. 23 August 2009 marked the seventieth anniversary of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, signed by Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. This non-aggression Pact also included a secret protocol dividing Northern and Eastern Europe. The European Parliament and the OSCE designated 23 August as the European Day of Remembrance to Honor the Victims of National Socialism and Communism, with the aim of preserving the memory of the victims of mass deportations and executions. The participants in the Simferopol demonstration carried Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar flags as well as banners in Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian and English Languages. During the rally, a public prayer for those who died as a result of political repression and violence was cited by Haji Emirali Ablayev, the Mufti of Crimean Muslims.

E-Crimea News Agency, 23 August 2009

On August 8 and 9, Crimean Tatars and other ethnic minorities in Simferopol observed the International Day of the World's Indigenous People by organizing festive activities and a round-table discussion on the problems of the indigenous peoples of Eurasia. Participating organizations were Foundation for Research and Support of Indigenous Peoples of Crimea (FRSIPC), Republican Association of Karaims (Kirimkaraylar) and National and Cultural Society of Krimchaks. Activities included folk dancing, traditional sports of wrestling (Kuresh) and weight lifting, concerts featuring Tatar, Karaim, Krimchack, Nogay, Kalmyk and Khakassian folksongs as well as exhibition and sale of handcrafts and native foods.
Photographs relating to these events can be seen on Flickr Web site, posted by the FRSIPC.

Crimean Girls at Indigenous Day Festivities

The First World Congress of Crimean Tatars was held in Crimea, May 19-22, 2009, following the observance of the 65th anniversary of Surgun (Deportation) in Simferopol on May 18. More than a year in planning, the Congress aimed to bring together representatives of Crimean Tatar organizations throughout the world. The opening ceremonies took in Bahçesaray, in the presence of over 800 delegates representing 162 ethnic organizations in 12 countries. The group adopted a declaration establishing the Congress as an international organization and elected members of the Coordinating Council. Mustafa Jemilev was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Congress drafted communications to various bodies of the Ukrainian government as well as international organizations such as European Union and the OSCE. For an excellent analysis of the recent Crimean Tatar political activities and The World Congress, and the implications for the Ukrainian state, please see: Mykyta Kasianenko's excellent article, "Mustafa Jemilev nominated for Nobel Peace Prize" as well as Ayla Bakkalli's Report on the World Congress.

A Wreath-Laying Ceremony was held on Monday, 18 May 2009, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and other nationalities from Crimea in 1944. The event took place at the Victims of Communism Memorial, Massachusetts Ave., NW and New Jersey Ave., NW, Washington, DC (about two blocks from the Union Station), at 6:00-6:30 pm. Organized by International Committee for Crimea, Ukraina Citizens International Association and U.S.-Ukraine Foundation, the event was attended by Crimean Tatars, members of the Ukrainian American community and representatives from the Assembly of Turkish American Associations.

In December 2008, The Ukrainian Parliament approved a list of significant dates in Ukrainian history that will be observed officially in 2009. Accordingly, the 65th anniversary of the deportation of Crimean Tatars and other nationalities (Crimean Greeks, Armenian, Bulgarians and Gypsies) from their homeland is one of these dates. Speakers at the Wreath-Laying Ceremony included Olexandr Aleksandrovych, Embassy of Ukraine, Washington, DC; Yuri Miroshnychenko, a member of the Parliament of Ukraine (Verkhovna Rada), Kyiv; Greta Uehling, anthropologist and author; and Inci Bowman, International Committee for Crimea. For additional information on the Wreath-Laying Ceremony, see the Report.

The 65th anniversary of the Deportation was also observed in Simferopol, Crimea. The large event was attended by about 35,000 Crimean Tatars, their leaders, the members of Crimean Tatar diaspora who were in town for The World Congress as well as the officials of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. A banner covered the wall of the balcony from where the speakers addressed the audience and had the following words written in Ukrainian: "May 18 - the Memorial Day of the Victims of Genocide of the Crimean Tatar Nation." The Ukrainian Secret Service (SBU) also presented the Crimean Tatar leadership with recently classified archival documents relating to former Milli Firka members who were executed in the 1930s by the former Soviet authorities. The SBU's gesture was received as a welcomed move by the Crimean Tatars. For additional information on the Simferopol meeting, please see Idil P. Izmirli's report, Day of Trauma....