🧵Thread on Russian disinformation campaign against the #CrimeanTatars. Please share.
In line with Putin's false "denazification" narrative, this Instagram post slanders the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people as Nazis and calls for Russian forces to arrest them in Ukraine 👇
In line with Putin's false "denazification" narrative, this Instagram post slanders the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people as Nazis and calls for Russian forces to arrest them in Ukraine 👇
It was written by a Crimean Tatar collaborator with the Russian FSB.
And, of course, it's all b.s. None of the men pictured are Nazis.
But they are passionate activists for their people and want Crimea back with Ukraine
And, of course, it's all b.s. None of the men pictured are Nazis.
But they are passionate activists for their people and want Crimea back with Ukraine
Brief history lesson: the Crimean Tatars are the indigenous people of the Crimean Peninsula. They are Muslim with Turkic roots.
Russia first annexed their homeland under Catherine the Great and they suffered centuries of bigotry, Russian chauvinism and population displacement.
Russia first annexed their homeland under Catherine the Great and they suffered centuries of bigotry, Russian chauvinism and population displacement.
But the biggest blow came under Stalin who deported their entire population to Uzbekistan and Central Asia in 1944.
46% died during the deportation (in suffocating cattle trains) and in the first 5 years of exile due to starvation, forced labor, disease and the harsh climate.
46% died during the deportation (in suffocating cattle trains) and in the first 5 years of exile due to starvation, forced labor, disease and the harsh climate.
The deportation and brutal exile was an act of genocide.
The Crimean Tatars commemorate this horrific event ever year on May 18th. They call it the Sürgün.
The Crimean Tatars commemorate this horrific event ever year on May 18th. They call it the Sürgün.
There's a reason why the Crimean Tatars were thrilled when the Soviet Union collapsed. Not only could they finally legally return to Crimea, but now their homeland was part of Ukraine. (Khrushchev transferred it to 🇺🇦 in 1954).
They thought they were done with Russia for good.
They thought they were done with Russia for good.
That's not to say life in Ukraine was a utopia. It definitely wasn't. They still suffered from discrimination, lack of land access and gov't corruption.
And one other big problem: Russian nationalist groups resentful of their presence on the peninsula.
And one other big problem: Russian nationalist groups resentful of their presence on the peninsula.
When I started filming my documentary in 2012, the Crimean Tatars showed me evidence of the antagonism they faced from these groups.
Russian nationalists defaced the Tatars' cemeteries, destroyed their makeshift settlements and even threw Molotov cocktails at their mosques.
Russian nationalists defaced the Tatars' cemeteries, destroyed their makeshift settlements and even threw Molotov cocktails at their mosques.
Cut to Putin's invasion & annexation of Crimea in 2014, and you can understand why 20,000 Crimean Tatars fled to mainland Ukraine.
And guess who's the PM of the Crimean Peninsula now? Sergey Aksyonov, a mafioso thug who was one of the Crimean Tatar's main harassers before.
And guess who's the PM of the Crimean Peninsula now? Sergey Aksyonov, a mafioso thug who was one of the Crimean Tatar's main harassers before.
Since 2014, Russia has:
Banned the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (their main representative body) and their TV station ATR
Abducted and murdered Crimean Tatars who spoke out against the invasion and annexation
And once again exiled their top leadership
Banned the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (their main representative body) and their TV station ATR
Abducted and murdered Crimean Tatars who spoke out against the invasion and annexation
And once again exiled their top leadership
Which brings us to that disinformation Instagram post. Who are the men being slandered as Nazis?
One is Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement. He's been described as the Crimean Tatars' Nelson Mandela & nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
One is Mustafa Dzhemilev, the leader of the Crimean Tatar national movement. He's been described as the Crimean Tatars' Nelson Mandela & nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
In 1975, he went on a 303 day-long hunger strike, one of the longest ever in the history of human rights movements.
He spent 15 years in Soviet prison camps.
Since the annexation, Russia has banned him from entering Crimea.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_D…
He spent 15 years in Soviet prison camps.
Since the annexation, Russia has banned him from entering Crimea.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_D…
Also on that list is Refat Chubarov, the current chairman of the Mejlis in exile and the president of the Worldwide Congress of Crimean Tatars. He's also a Ukrainian politician. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refat_Chu…
Lenur Islyamov, the owner of ATR, the Crimean Tatar tv channel, and the producer of "Khaytarma," a powerful film about the 1944 deportation (I'll include link later below).
Russia sentenced him (in absentia) to 19 years in prison on trumped up charges: khpg.org/en/1607630937
Russia sentenced him (in absentia) to 19 years in prison on trumped up charges: khpg.org/en/1607630937
Eskender Bariiev, a man I had the pleasure of getting to know when I made my film. He is the head of the Crimean Tatar Resource Center & head of the legal and foreign affairs department for the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.
Eskender has spoken multiple times at the UN about indigenous people's rights. ctrcenter.org/en/analytics/2…
And Ayder Muzhdabaev, a Crimean Tatar journalist and video blogger. He wrote this op-ed back in 2016: theguardian.com/world/commenti…
The Kremlin claims that all these men are "terrorists" and "extremists." It's a bogus charge that Russia frequently throws at Crimean Tatars in general, as Putin did on Feb. 21 when he claimed Kyiv was sponsoring "radical Islamic organizations" in Crimea (i.e. Crimean Tatars).
The Crimean Tatars are not extremists. Throughout their decades of resistance during the Soviet Union, they only embraced nonviolent, peaceful methods, which is still true today.
But that hasn't stopped Russia from abducting and arresting dissident Tatars still living in Crimea. euromaidanpress.com/2021/02/18/rus…
Side note, one super cool fact about the Crimean Tatars...
They were 1st Muslim people in the world to give women the right to vote in 1917.
That's 3 years before America did!
They were 1st Muslim people in the world to give women the right to vote in 1917.
That's 3 years before America did!
The Crimean Tatars are gender egalitarian. Here's an article by my good friend and Crimean Tatar activist Zarema Bariieva: ctrcenter.org/en/news/7358-k…
Back to the main topic, the Instagram post is yet another disinformation attack against the pro-Ukraine Crimean Tatars. But this time it's all the more serious and frightening precisely because of this horrific war.
Earlier this week I tweeted that my Crimean Tatar friends had been advised to leave Kyiv because if Putin succeeds in occupying it, they will most certainly be on his kill and arrest list:
The Instagram post confirms it.
https://twitter.com/cpaschyn/status/1497432005062979587?s=20&t=w9SXtMSMXEK3bF9RCU6cdA
The Instagram post confirms it.
So as Russia continues to target and oppress the Crimean Tatars, here's what you can do to help:
Visit the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and support their work: ctrcenter.org/en
Visit the Crimean Tatar Resource Center and support their work: ctrcenter.org/en
There's so much amazing history that I don't have time to delve into right now, but if you want to learn more about the Crimean Tatars, you can watch my documentary, "A Struggle for Home."
It's free if you have Amazon Prime:
amazon.com/Struggle-Home-…
It's free if you have Amazon Prime:
amazon.com/Struggle-Home-…
And watch HAYTARMA, the amazing narrative film about the Crimean Tatars' deportation in 1944 and heroism during WW2:
Some other famous Crimean Tatars:
Rustem Umerov, an MP in the Ukrainian Parliament who was part of the delegation sent to Belarus for peace talks yesterday.
Rustem Umerov, an MP in the Ukrainian Parliament who was part of the delegation sent to Belarus for peace talks yesterday.
https://twitter.com/mtutuncu/status/1498245026085851138?s=20&t=wYDrYHHKLl8LmlkBDfU5OQ
And Crimean Tatar singer Jamala, who won the Eurovision Song Contest for Ukraine in 2016!
She sang a song about the 1944 deportation:
She sang a song about the 1944 deportation:
Russia was pissed that she won. I wrote a piece for the NY Times about it:
nytimes.com/2016/05/20/opi…
nytimes.com/2016/05/20/opi…
Jamala is now a refugee. She fled Ukraine to Romania when the war broke out. Her husband is staying behind to fight:
https://twitter.com/furkankoc___/status/1498100616115195905?s=20&t=wYDrYHHKLl8LmlkBDfU5OQ
Crimean Tatars are calling on the world to stand up for Ukraine: ahvalnews-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/ahvalnews.…
Right now, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people is "encouraging all those Crimean-Tatars that are in the military reserve to actively join the ranks of the Territorial Defense at the place of their residence or their current location."
rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/2…
rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/2…
They are also providing humanitarian aid in Lviv, and encouraging "NATO, the U.S., and the EU to close the sky over Ukraine and establish a complete embargo and supply of Oil from Russia."
rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/2…
rada.gov.ua/en/news/News/2…
My appearance on @AJEnglish today. I spoke about my family in Ukraine, disparate media narratives in the war, and the Crimean Tatars.
#StandWithUkraine️ 🇺🇦 #CrimeanTatars #UkraineRussiaWar
#StandWithUkraine️ 🇺🇦 #CrimeanTatars #UkraineRussiaWar
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
