“May 18 is a sad date – one of many that fill Ukrainian history. It reminds us of a tragedy that touched the entire people, every one of its families, and every Crimean Tatar personally. That was the date sixty years ago when the deportation of Tartars from the Crimean Peninsular began,” is stated in a statement by Victor Yushchenko, addressed to the participants of the rally dedicated to the 60-th anniversary of the deportation of the Crimean Tartars.
“The entire nation was turned into exiles by a resolution signed by Stalin. Close to 200 thousand of the Crimean Tatars were forced to leave their homes and face hunger, cold, and oblivion. The old, women, and children – the families of those who were fighting in the war – were sent into exile. War heroes were also sent to special settlements. Almost a half of the exiled people died from cold and hunger during the deportation alone.
Having committed the crime, the headship of the USSR did everything to erase even the memory of the Crimean Tatars. Mosques, schools, and graveyards were destroyed; even the ancient names were erased off the map of the Crimea.
We bow our heads today before the victims of the deportation, before those whose graves remain along the railroads in the middle Asia, Ural, and Siberia.
Back then, during the tough 1940-s, the fate of the Crimean Tatars was shared by the other people of the Crimea: Germans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Turks, Kurds, Persians, Gypsies,” is stated in the declaration. “The people of Ukraine understand the pain of the Crimean Tatars as no one else. Ukrainian word “golodomor” (famine) along with the Tartar word “surgun” (deportation) mark the crimes committed by the communist regime in its war against the peoples of the former USSR.
Let the memory of the deceased live forever!
Let us honor those who preserved love for their native land even in exile and those who returned to rebuild their parents’ houses!
The independent Ukraine opened the way home to the repressed people. It is our moral and human responsibility to help the Crimean Tatars heal its wounds and renew historic justice.
Today, we have to do everything possible together that the tragic past does not repeat itself, that respect for human dignity, human rights and freedoms in our country are guaranteed to every individual.
I believe that together we will build a democratic and prosperous Ukraine.
Glory to you and to Ukraine!
Sincerely, Victor Yushchenko