Russia is becoming a pariah state

A retrospective look at the history of the Crimea, in the light of today's events became the topic of the round table organized by the Institute Reporters Freedom and Safety on Monday.

Renowned historian Jamil Hasanli paid special attention to the situation of the Crimean Tatars - the native inhabitants of the Crimea, which Russia wants to annex. In the late 19th century, 90% of the peninsula were the Tatars, and in 1944 they were deported by Stalin's regime.

He called a demagoguery  the current  assurances  of the Kremlin on the guarantees  for  the  Tatar population after joining Russia. Conducting  so-called referendum  is illegal, and is an attempt to legitimize the occupation and annexation of the Crimea, said Hasanli.

Under the pretext of protecting Russian, the Kremlin wants to suppress and capture the Crimean Tatars, and trample their rights, said Hasanli.

Director of Turan agency, Mehman Aliyev, said the Kremlins attempts to bribe the Crimean Tatars, promising them a place in the future government of Crimea. Regardless of the situation , Russia will suffer serious economic losses as a result of this action. Significant role in this will  play reduction of the  Western investments.

Representative of the Crimean Tatars Lir Caliphov regarded the events as an elaborate campaign by Russian secret services, as failure to reckon with the Tatars,  which is native population. Deployment of troops in Ukraine under the pretext of protecting the rights of the Russian-speaking population is a demagoguery, Khalilov  said.
"If Russia is concerned about the rights of the Russian population, then Tatars  have the right to defend their rights , including the descendants of those who had been exiled, and now live outside of Crimea.

Therefore, the upcoming referendum is illegitimate and will have serious negative consequences," Khalilov said.  Activist of the Tatar community Elvina Nurzuayeva reported permanent ties with relatives who inform about the daily provocations and rising tensions.

A spokeswoman for The Crimean Tatars, Dilara Bekirova, reported that she was forced to leave due to acts of violence against the Tatars and journalists.

Activist  of the community of  Meskhetian Turks, Ibrahim Burkhanov, drew a parallel between the fate of the Tatars and Turks who were persecuted and deported by Soviet power. Today Russia's actions is a logical continuation of this policy. "As a result, economic and political losses Kremlin will be very large and Russia will turn into a pariah state,  and no one will  take it into account," said Burkhanov. -