Two years ago, on 26th of February, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people called on all patriots of the Crimea to a peaceful rally in support of Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
That day, more than fifteen thousand Ukrainian citizens – the Crimean Tatars, Ukrainian, Russians and representatives of other nationalities, despite the inaction of local law enforcement agencies, disrupted the plans of Russian security services and collaborators to force the Crimean Parliament to adopt separatist decisions on the separation of the Crimea from Ukraine.
The Kremlin’s plan to present the occupation of the peninsula as a own initiative of the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea failed.
In the early hours of 27 February the Russian invaders were forced to openly seize the Crimean Parliament, the government, the state broadcasting company and other administrative buildings with armed special operations soldiers.
The inhabitants of the Crimea managed to protect the peninsula and to protect Ukraine from Russian occupation for one day.
It is already for two years Russia makes the Crimeans of all nationalities, especially the Crimean Tatar people, to pay with their lives and to serve their sentences due to criminal cases due to the above mentioned action. Ukrainians have to suffer the kidnappings, tortures, mass searches, arrests, interrogations and a ban on entry to the Crimea. There are repressions against national self-government bodies of the Crimean Tatar people, the independent media, the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the Ukrainian Roman Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate. There are arrests and political trials over the best sons of the Ukrainian and the Crimean Tatar peoples: Oleh Sentsov, Akhtem Chigusa, Hennadyi Afanasev, Ali Asanova, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Oleksandr Kostenko, Talyata Yunusova, Eskendera Emirvalieva, Eskendera Kantemirova, Arsen Yunusov, Eskendera Nebieva.
Despite all of above mentioned, Crimea demonstrates its strong will to freedom for these two years.
The resistance continues, starting with the peaceful protest on 26 February, and the peaceful solitary protest on 3 March of the first martyr of the occupation of Reshat Ametov, through the support of the Crimean volunteers of the blocked Ukrainian military in their own bases, through the organization of large-scale rallies from 5 to 8 March and on 3 May. The resistance will be continued through the rally of memory of victims of the deportation (genocide) of the Crimean Tatar people on 18 May, through an honest professional journalistic activity, through the renewed broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channels and radio stations, the distribution of the Ukrainian books and printing media and, in general, through patient waiting for the de-occupation.
The fight for the Crimea continues. It will not stop unless all political prisoners are returned to their homes in a free Ukrainian Crimea, until the Crimean independent media resume broadcasting, until every traitor, every Russian invader is convicted.
The resistance continues!
Glory to Ukraine!
Crimea is Ukraine!