The blockade of Crimea by Crimean Tatars and members of Right Sector brings the Russian-occupied peninsula back into the spotlight ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting on Sept. 28, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko are due to speak.
While the protest coincides well with Poroshenko’s planned speech on the
persecution of Crimean Tatars at the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 29,
analysts were divided on how closely the move might be connected to Poroshenko’s
upcoming speech.
Three checkpoints into Crimea were blocked on Sept. 20 by Crimean
Tatars, members of Right Sector and other activists as part of a planned
blockade announced on Sept. 8 to call attention to Russia’s human rights abuses
on the peninsula.
The protest has been led by lawmaker Mustafa Dzhemiliev, the former
chairman of the Crimean Tatars’ Mejlis, or parliament, and Refat Chubarov, the
current leader of the Crimean Tatars, along with members of the
ultranationalist organization Right Sector.
Several hundred trucks with perishable goods are now stuck at the
border, according to Oleh Slobodian, a spokesman
for Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service.
Within hours of the blockade starting on Sept. 20, it became clear that
both regional authorities in Kherson Oblast and the Interior Ministry in Kyiv
had approved of the protest in advance.
Zoryan Shkiryak, an Interior Ministry adviser, wrote on Facebook on
Sept. 20 that police from Kherson Oblast would be on hand to provide security
and “prevent provocations” at the protest.
“Everything is under control,” Shkiryak wrote, adding that the Security
Service of Ukraine, local police and border guards were all working together
with protest organizers to ensure that things go smoothly.
“Don’t search for pitfalls in the blockade of Crimea. Everything is
being done correctly. Right now, a bunch of scumbags, moral freaks and traitors
live (in Crimea). Not all of them, of course, there are some of our own as
well. They wanted to go to Russia? Go on! They got it! … Life is short, and
Crimea is still ours!” Shkiryak wrote.
Artyom Shevchenko, the Interior Ministry’s main spokesman in Kyiv,
echoed that sentiment, writing that “heart and soul is with the protesters” on
his Facebook page.
Asked on Sept. 20 whether or not he approved of the protest, Poroshenko
told Ukrainian journalists that he would “do everything possible to get Crimea
back.” He said he planned to raise the issue of Crimea at the UN General
Assembly.
The protest was planned well in advance, with the Crimean Tatars putting
forward a list of demands to Russian authorities on Sept. 8 when they first
announced plans for the “Civil Blockade of Crimea.” The demands included the
release of all Ukrainian political prisoners, a halt to the persecution of
Crimean Tatars, the repeal of the entry ban on Crimean Tatar leaders Chubarov
and Dzhemilev, unhindered access to Crimea for foreign journalists and human
rights activists, and unhindered work for Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian media
outlets on the peninsula.
Announcing the blockade, Chubarov and Dzhemilev noted that nearly $475
million worth of food had been transported to the occupied territory from the
Ukrainian side since the beginning of the year – a fact which they described as
“trading in the blood” of Crimean Tatars, whom they said face discrimination
under the Russian-backed occupation authorities on the peninsula.
Chubarov didn’t rule out the possibility of taking the blockade a step
further, and cutting off energy supplies.
In comments to Ukrainian news outlet Crimea.Reality, Chubarov said that
“the occupiers will not rethink their actions against us at first. But then
there is October. We told the president clearly yesterday that if they won’t
adhere to human rights, then we don’t know why we should supply them with
electricity,” Chubarov said.
He stressed that ordinary residents would still be allowed through the
checkpoints as usual – just not trucks carrying products.
Olexiy Haran, professor of political science at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy,
stressed that the protest had overwhelming support among residents of the
peninsula, and said that while the timing of the event may coincide with
Poroshenko’s planned speech, it was “long overdue.”
He said the authorities in Kyiv were unlikely to intervene, not because
the even was pre-approved or pre-planned, but because “it would simply be
illogical to go against the Crimean Tatars at this point.”
“In any case, this problem simply ripened and eventually over-ripened.
Of course, they could have done this earlier, but there were more risks of
Russia reacting against Mariupol or other areas earlier. Those risks have
subsided, so Ukraine has more opportunities now (to act against the occupation
of Crimea,” Haran said.
The main reason for the protest is the discontent of the Crimean Tatars
and other residents on the peninsula, he said, and their anger has been
building for more than a year now.
Taras Berezovets, head of political consulting
firm Berta Communications, saw more to the protest than meets the eye, however.
“The point isn’t even in the Crimean Tatars –
the Crimean Tatars are just instruments in this,” he said, noting that it was
no coincidence that the blockade was allowed right before Poroshenko’s speech.
“They’re using the same hybrid tactics that
Russia has been using,” he said. “If Russia starts to accuse Kyiv of organizing
this, Poroshenko will say that the government has nothing to do with it, ‘No,
no, this is just Crimean activists.’ And this theme will come up at the UN
General Assembly when both Poroshenko and Putin speak.”
He said that while the Crimean Tatars were
sincere in their actions, the current blockade seemed like more of a PR stunt
that would cause more damage than it’s worth.
“We need to remember that these are our
citizens, and we are creating serious problems for them,” he said.
“We’re pushing away our people on the peninsula,
because they’re definitely not going to like us more after this, that’s the
problem,” he said. “We want to get our people back, not the territory,” he
said, adding that this would not build trust.
Berezovets also noted that Russia might react
fiercely to the blockade, warning that Russian security services could crack
down on Crimean activists even harder than before in revenge for the protest.
Nariuman Dzhelyal, deputy head of the Mejlis in
Crimea, said in comments to Radio Liberty that the Russian authorities had
already begun putting pressure on protesters.
“They tried to convince me, and through me to
convince others, that this protest won’t bring anything good, that it will only
further destabilize things. And at the same time they warned that those who
attend will have trouble upon returning. They warned me to make efforts to make
sure that residents of Crimea, the Crimean Tatars, didn’t go to this protest,
under the threat of possible criminal cases being opened against them,”
Dzhelyal was cited as saying.
Staff writer Allison
Quinn can be reached at [email protected]
