Deputy Chairman of the Public Council of Crimean Tatar people and Crimean Tatar organization "Qirim Birligi" Enver Cantemir-Umerov called the words of the US Representative to the OSCE James Gilmore about enforced disappearances and torture in Crimea insinuations.
Earlier, Gilmore called on Russia to stop the "oppression campaign in the Crimea", return full control over the peninsula to Ukraine, immediately release all political prisoners and withdraw its troops and military equipment from eastern Ukraine. According to him, the situation in Crimea remains dire, as Crimean Tatars and others who oppose the "Russian occupation" have been subjected to forced disappearances, arbitrary imprisonment, forced "psychiatric" treatment, exemplary trials and torture. The statement was submitted to the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna and published on the website of the US mission.
"All these are nothing more than insinuations and manifestations of information warfare. It is not worth waiting for true information about the life of Crimean Tatars in Crimea from the mouth of the US and Ukrainian representatives," Cantemir-Umerov told RIA Novosti.
According to him, Crimean Tatars have integrated into the Russian Crimea and do not pay attention to various kinds of speculations that take place at international venues. "We are solving internal problems related to the rehabilitation and development of our people. We don't consider it necessary to get involved in various squabbles and discussions at all," the agency's interlocutor said.
Crimea became a Russian region after the referendum held there in March 2014, where 96.77% of Crimean voters and 95.6% of Sevastopol residents voted for joining Russia. Ukraine still considers the Crimea to be its territory, but temporarily occupied. The Russian leadership has repeatedly stated that the Crimean people voted for reunification with Russia democratically, in full compliance with international law and the UN Charter. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the issue of Crimea is "finally closed".
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: sakirs.ru
Based on materials from RIA Novosti