Political Participation and Representation of Crimean Tatars and Other Formerly Deported People (FDPs): Needs Assessment

Abstract

Persons belonging to national minorities have the right to effective participation in cultural, social and economic life and in public affairs, in particular those affecting them. It is important to stress from the onset that the Crimean Tatars see themselves as indigenous to Crimea and have a strong political agenda. They ascribe great importance to political participation and representation, not only to solve pressing problems such as housing, education, culture and employment, but also as a precursor to more formalized and institutionalized self-governance as practised by the Crimean Tatar Qurultay (assembly) and Milli Mejlis (executive body) , even though neither is yet recognized as such by the Ukrainian State. Other FDPs also see the relevance of political participation and representation to resolving resettlement issues, support for cultural continuity and preservation of their language. However, the Crimean Greeks, Germans, Armenians and Bulgarians have never expressed any aspiration to political self-determination or self-governance. In general, they are also less politically mobilized than the Crimean Tatars. This is explained by a number of internal and external factors, most notably the manner of repatriation – the Crimean Tatars’ return was both on a larger scale and more synchronized than that of the other FDPs. The study was carried out by means of in-depth interviews with stakeholders and experts, including officials and deputies (both current and former, of various levels), Mejlis leaders, Crimean Tatar civic organizations, leaders of cultural organizations of other FDPs, candidates for the 2012 national Ukraine elections, journalists, political party chiefs of staff and NGO leaders (for a list of interviewees see Appendix 1). Media and document analysis supplemented the data obtained from the interviews.