ANKARA: Turkey’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday reiterated the country’s determination to stand by the Crimean Tatar Turks, marking the 77th anniversary of the forceful mass deportation of the community by the Soviet Union.
In a statement, Tanju Bilgiç, the ministry spokesperson, recalled that on the night of May 18, 1944, some 250,000 “Crimean Tatar Turkish kinsmen were torn from their ancestral homeland and exiled under inhumane conditions.”
Bilgiç underlined that a large number of Crimean Tatars lost their lives during this “tragic event” and those who survived were “forced to live yearning for their homeland.”
“77 years after the exile, Crimean Tatar Turks are challenged by the hardships created by the illegal annexation of Crimea. Turkey will continue to stand by its kinsmen in their struggle to overcome their aggrievement, attain peace and prosperity, and to protect their identities,” he said.
Russian forces entered Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in February 2014, with Russian President Vladimir Putin formally dividing the region into two separate federal subjects of the Russian Federation the following month.
Turkey and the United States, as well as the United Nations General Assembly, view the annexation as illegal, as does the European Union, which imposed sanctions on Russia for the seizure.
The Crimean Tatar National Assembly last month expressed gratitude to Turkey as Ankara had recently signed an agreement with Ukraine to sponsor a housing project in the country for displaced Crimean Tatars.
The assembly praised Turkey’s efforts to raise the living standards of Crimean Tatar Turks forced to migrate from Crimea since Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014. – Agencies
