The Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People ( crh, Къырымтатар Миллий Меджлиси - ''Qırımtatar Milliy Meclisi'') is the single highest executive-representative body of the

Crimean Tatars , flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg , flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars , image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg , caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace ...

in period between sessions of the

Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People The Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People is a national congress and the supreme representative plenipotentiary body of the Crimean Tatar people.Platform of European Memory and Conscience. The Mejlis was outlawed by

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

in 2016 for "the use of propaganda of aggression and hatred towards Russia, inciting

ethnic nationalism Ethnic nationalism, also known as ethnonationalism, is a form of nationalism wherein the nation and nationality are defined in terms of ethnicity, with emphasis on an ethnocentric (and in some cases an ethnocratic) approach to various politi ...

and extremism in society" and listed as an extremist organization two years after the

2014 Russian annexation of Crimea In February and March 2014, Russia invaded and subsequently annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine. This event took place in the aftermath of the Revolution of Dignity and is part of the wider Russo-Ukrainian War. The events in Kyiv th ...

. In April 2017, the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordan ...

delivered its order on the request for the indication of provisional measures, according to which Russia must lift the ban; Russia has since ignored and refused to comply with the binding decision.

History

The current Mejlis was founded in 1991, to act as a representative body for the Crimean Tatars which could address grievances to the Ukrainian central government, the Crimean government, and international bodies. In its activities Mejlis is subordinated to Qurultai, guided by its decisions, current regulations, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people statute, norms of international law and legislative acts of Ukraine not contradicting with these standards. The main goal of the Mejlis is the liquidation of consequences of genocide conducted by the Soviet state in regard to the Crimean Tatars ( Surgun of 1944), reinstatement of national and political rights of the Crimean Tatar people and realization of their rights on the free national state self-determination on its national territory. Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people consists of 33 members including the Mejlis chair person.

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is ...

is the location of Mejlis. On June 30, 1991, the Mejlis declared its sovereignty over the Crimean Tatars, and adopted the Crimean Tatar's national anthem and

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and symbolizes a given nation. It is flown by the government of that nation, but usually can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanings for its colours a ...

. Also, the Crimean Tatars elected 14 Crimean Tatar Deputies to the

Verkhovna Rada of Crimea Verkhovna Rada of Crimea or the Supreme Council of Crimea, officially the Supreme Council of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea ( uk, Верховна Рада Автономної Республіки Крим, Verkhovna Rada Avtonomnoï Respubl ...

. These 14 deputies were the first Crimean Tatar representatives in the Crimean Parliament in over 50 years. During the 1998 parliamentary elections, members of the Mejlis joined the Rukh election list. During the 2002, 2006, and 2007 parliamentary elections, members of the Mejlis joined the Our Ukraine election list. On April 6, 2010, several pro-Russian Crimean political leaders in Crimea demanded the disbanding and banning of the Mejlis and all other forms of political representation for the Crimean Tatars (including the Kurultai), claiming that they were "organized criminal groups and said their activities are unconstitutional." Crimean Tatar organizations urged

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

to "protect Crimea's indigenous people from discrimination". During the 2012 parliamentary elections, members of the Mejlis joined the

All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" The All-Ukrainian Union "Fatherland" ( uk, Всеукраїнське об'єднання "Батьківщина", translit=Vseukrains'ke obiednannia "Bat'kivshchyna") referred to as Batkivshchyna (), is a political party in Ukraine led by Pe ...

election list.Mustafa Dzhemiliov is number 12 on the list of the United Opposition 'Fatherland'
''

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'' (2 August 2012) Since 2012, Mejlis is member of the Platform of European Memory and Conscience. The status of Mejlis was legalized by the Presidential decree of May 18, 1999 "About the council of representatives of Crimean Tatar people". In 2010, the

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

reformed the council cutting it almost in half and establishing control over it by appointing its members by the

. From its foundation in 1991 until 2013, its chairman was Mustafa Dzhemilev).Regions and territories: Crimea

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Since October 2013, the chairman is

Refat Chubarov Refat Abdurahman oglu Chubarov; Crimean Tatar Cyrillic: Рефат Абдурахман огълу Чубаров uk, Рефат Абдурахманович Чубаров, translit=Refat Abdurakhmanovych Chubarov (born 22 September 1957) is ...

. The Mejlis's deputy leader is Ilmi Umerov. On 20 March 2014, two days after the annexation of Crimea by Russia, the

Ukrainian parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

officially and explicitly recognized the Mejlis as the executive body of the

Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People The Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar People is a national congress and the supreme representative plenipotentiary body of the Crimean Tatar people.Crimean Tatar people. The Ukrainian parliament also recognized the

as indigenous people of Ukraine. In March 2014, following the ousting of the Ukrainian president in the

2014 Ukrainian revolution The Revolution of Dignity ( uk, Революція гідності, translit=Revoliutsiia hidnosti) also known as the Maidan Revolution or the Ukrainian Revolution,

and the subsequent takeover of Crimea by pro-Russian separatists and Russian special forces, local authorities held a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on "reunification with Russia", the official result of which was a large majority in support. The Mejlis boycotted the referendum. Russia then officially annexed Crimea late March 2014. (Ukraine does not recognise the annexation and, backed by most of the international community, continues to assert its right over the peninsula.) After the annexation, most Mejlis members did not cooperate with the new Russian-Crimean authorities; of the six members that did, one became deputy speaker of the

Crimean parliament The State Council of Crimea (russian: Госуда́рственный Сове́т Респу́блики Крым, uk, Державна Рада Республіки Крим, crh, Къырым Джумхуриетининъ Девлет Ш ...

, and another became head of the Crimean State Committee for Interethnic Relations and Deported Peoples.A day in the life of Nariman Dzhelyal

Politico ''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...

(27 December 2016) In May 2014, Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev was prevented from entering Crimea, resulting in Crimean Tatars organizing large protests and a failed attempt to help Dzhemilev enter Crimea after Crimean Tatars broke through a border checkpoint. In response, Crimean authorities accused the Mejlis of extremist activity regarding "illegal" gatherings marked by "violence and threats of violence", warning that the Mejlis could be dissolved and outlawed across Russia. On 3 July 2014, it was announced that for the first time, Mejlis would hold its session outside of Crimea in

Henichesk Henichesk ( uk, Гені́чеськ, Heniches’k, ; rus, links=on, Гени́ческ, r=Genichesk, p=ɡʲɪˈnʲit͡ɕɪsk) is a port city along the Sea of Azov in the Kherson Oblast of southern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative centre ...

. Russian law enforcement seized the Mejlis building in

on 20 September 2014.Crimean Leader Says Mejlis Does Not Exist

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

(22 September 2014) The Mejlis was labeled an extremist organisation by

n authorities in Crimea and banned by the Russian-appointed supreme court there on 26 April 2016.Crimean court bans Tatar ruling body in blow to minority
Thestar.com.my (26 April 2016) According to Regional Prosecutor General

Natalia Poklonskaya Natalia Vladimirovna Poklonskaya (russian: Наталья Владимировна Поклонская, Natal'ya Vladimirovna Poklonskaya, links=yes (); uk, Наталія Володимирівна Поклонська, translit=Nataliia Volo ...

, it was banned because its leaders had sought to destabilise Crimea since the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia through the use of "propaganda of aggression and hatred towards Russia, inciting

and extremism in society". The Mejlis was also said to be responsible for stopping all cargo traffic between (mainland) Ukraine and Crimea in the autumn of 2015 and a late November series of explosions that damaged voltage power lines leading to a massive Crimean

power outage A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...

.Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis may be outlawed for extremism

TASS The Russian News Agency TASS (russian: Информацио́нное аге́нтство Росси́и ТАСС, translit=Informatsionnoye agentstvo Rossii, or Information agency of Russia), abbreviated TASS (russian: ТАСС, label=none) ...

(16 February 2016)
The Mejlis denies its implication in the blockade of Crimea
, News from Crimea (17 March 2016) The Mejlis denied involvement in these events. (Also on 26 April 2016)

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe. Founded in 1949, it has 46 member states, with a p ...

Commissioner for Human Rights The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Strasbourg-based Council of Europe, to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the council's 46 member states. The ...

Nils Muižnieks Nils Muižnieks (born 31 January 1964 in the United States) is a Latvian-American human rights activist and political scientist. He had served as the Council of Europe's Commissioner for Human Rights between 2012 and 2018, succeeding Thomas Ham ...

urged the court to reverse the ban since he believed "Equating (the Mejlis) with extremism paves the way for stigmatisation and discrimination of a significant part of the Crimean Tatar community and sends a negative message to that community as a whole". Exiled in mainland Ukraine, Chairman of the Mejlis

stated the court's decision was unjustifiable and that "The occupiers in Crimea are doing everything to crush Crimean Tatars and force everyone to be silent".

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...

stated the ban "demolishes one of the few remaining rights of a minority that Russia must protect instead of persecute".Crimean court bans 'extremist' Tatar governing body

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

(26 April 2016) Deputy Chairman of the Mejlis vowed that the organization would try to continue its work despite the ban, saying "it will continue working in Ukraine and other countries". Deputy head of the Mejlis Ilmi Umerov was on 7 September 2016 released after a three weeks' involuntary detention for tests of his "mental capacity" in a psychiatric hospital in Simferopol (doctors ruled him entirely sane) after stating on TV that Crimea should be returned to Ukraine. Umerov was then charged with calling for Russia's borders to be changed, a charge punishable up to five years in jail.Russia demands loyalty or silence, say Crimea's hounded Tatars

Yahoo! News Yahoo! News is a news website that originated as an internet-based news aggregator by Yahoo!. The site was created by a Yahoo! software engineer named Brad Clawsie in August 1996. Articles originally came from news services such as the Associate ...

(2 October 2016) The

Supreme Court of Russia The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (russian: links=no, Верховный суд Российской Федерации, Verkhovny sud Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is a court within the judiciary of Russia and the court of last resort in ...

upheld the ban on 29 September 2016.Russia's Supreme Court Upholds Ban On Crimean Tatars' Mejlis

(29 September 2016) The Mejlis is contesting this ban in the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

. On 1 October 2016 (Russian-Crimean government),

Head of the Republic of Crimea The Head of the Republic of Crimea is the highest official and the head of the executive power of the Republic of Crimea; an internationally disputed federal subject of the Russian Federation located on the Crimean Peninsula. Crimean Head's pol ...

Sergei Aksyonov Sergey Valeryevich Aksyonov (russian: Сергей Валерьевич Аксёнов, uk, Сергій Валерійович Аксьонов, ro, Serghei Valerievici Aksionov; born 26 November 1972) is a Russian politician serving, since ...

, explained that Natalia Poklonskaya accused Mejlis in energy blockade through diversion. The same day Aksyonov's Vice-Prime Minister Dmitry Polonsky claimed that Mejlis is a puppet organization of the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...

. By late December 2016, nine Mejlis members were in mainland Ukraine, in Russia, or in self-imposed exile. One was imprisoned, and more than 10 had been charged with criminal and administrative offences in Crimea. In April 2017, the UN

made an interim order against the Russian Federation to allow Crimean Tatar Mejlis activities, and in July 2018, reminded Russia of its legal obligation. On 28 February 2022, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People stated it would recognize the Russian Federation, which it described as "a terrorist state", as international criminals over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Notes

References

External links

Center of the Information and Documentation of Crimean Tatars
— Statute on Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people
Official site of Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mejlis Of The Crimean Tatar People Politics of the Crimean Tatars Politics of Crimea Ethnicity in politics Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization Euromaidan Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Unicameral legislatures Platform of European Memory and Conscience Political organizations based in Ukraine Crimean Tatar organizations

History

See also

Notes

References

External links