Netherlands recognizes deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide

The Netherlands has recognized the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944 as genocide, becoming the eighth country to do so. This is an act of international solidarity and recognition of the historical injustice that continues under the occupation of Crimea.

This was reported by Suspilne.Krym with reference to the website of the Dutch Parliament.

On June 18, the House of Representatives of the Netherlands decided to recognize the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatar people in 1944 as an act of genocide. According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiga, this is a powerful gesture of solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people, who are still being oppressed under the temporary occupation of Crimea.

Recognizing this historical injustice is crucial for establishing the truth and preventing similar crimes in the future," said Andriy Sybiga.

The Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov also expressed his gratitude to the Dutch Parliament. He reminded that the Netherlands has become the eighth country to officially recognize the deportation of Crimean Tatars as genocide, following Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, Canada, Poland, Estonia and the Czech Republic. He also emphasized that evil cannot go unrecognized.

Chubarov also thanked all the members of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people, representatives of NGOs and activists of the national movement for their many years of consistent work aimed at international recognition of the fact of the genocide of the Crimean Tatar people committed by the Soviet regime on May 18, 1944, and its tragic consequences.

Norway is also working on a report on the persecution of Crimean Tatars in the temporarily occupied Crimea and is considering recognizing the 1944 deportation as an act of genocide. Similar decisions have already been made by the Czech Republic and Estonia, and Ukraine calls on other states to support this initiative.

Back in 1993, the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea recognized the crime of the Soviet regime by establishing the Day of Remembrance of the Deportation Victims on March 26. In 1944, more than 238,000 people were forcibly evicted from Crimea, almost half of whom died due to inhumane conditions of resettlement.

Анна Бальчінос