Dzhemilev on possible Crimean Tatar autonomy post-liberation — Zelenskyy’s support and his circle’s hesitation
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Crimea’s prospective autonomy aims to safeguard the rights of Ukrainians while potentially offering Crimean Tatars avenues to nurture their language and safeguard their culture within the region, MP Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar people, said in an interview with NV.
Crimean Tatars place significant importance on the indigenous peoples law of Ukraine, enacted in 2021, he said.
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“Our entire nation has awaited this law for 30 years, and we are deeply grateful to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for its passage,” Dzhemilev said.
“It serves as the groundwork for suggesting amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine, facilitating the transformation of Crimea’s current autonomy into a national-territorial autonomy for the Crimean Tatars.”
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Dzhemilev dismisses assertions that autonomy represents a move toward separatism.
“Many fail to grasp that states fragment not when they fulfill the legitimate rights of their citizens and indigenous peoples, but rather the opposite,” he stated.
“There was no autonomy in Donbas — did that prevent anything? On the contrary, had Crimean Tatar autonomy been established in Crimea, it would have hindered Russia’s occupation of the peninsula. The presence of collaborators in the Crimean authorities, which were consistently pro-Russia, would have been less probable.”
When asked about political willingness in Ukraine for national autonomy post-war, Dzhemilev stated that the president backs it, but his inner circle differs.
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“For instance, Mr. (Advisor to the Head of the President’s Office, Mykhailo) Podolyak voices many valid perspectives but then abruptly opposes autonomy, considering it a danger, despite recognizing the significance of safeguarding Crimean Tatar rights. How do you intend to defend the rights of Crimean Tatars as indigenous people if you deny them this fundamental right?”
In 2019, Crimean Tatar leaders proposed to Zelenskyy to amend the Constitution, establishing Crimean Tatar national-territorial autonomy in Ukraine.
“This law unequivocally affirms to the Crimean Tatars that Crimea is their homeland,” Zelenskyy said regarding the enactment of the law on indigenous peoples of Ukraine in the summer of 2021.
“Not merely through words, but through tangible measures.”
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Podolyak suggested in May 2023 that following the liberation of Crimea, its autonomous status might be rescinded. He argues that the presence of autonomies within a unitary state fosters separatist sentiments.
For the full interview with Mustafa Dzhemilev by journalist Olha Dukhnich, please visit the NV website and NV magazine No. 1 (382). The magazine is available for purchase here.
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