Anyone who commits crimes against humanity must be exposed to justice

The Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said this on the day of memory for the struggle for the rights of the Crimean tatar people, reports Ukrinform and quoted his contribution on Facebook.

He recalled that “one of the Soviet regime has committed one of the most serious crimes in his history on May 18, 1944 on May 18, 1944.

“In just a few days, over 190,000 people – older people, women, children – were granted to Siberia and Central Asia. Thousands died under inhuman conditions, hunger and forced work.

He noted that the Soviet authorities tried to extinguish the presence of Crimean Tatars from the Peninsula in order to rename settlements, to extinguish cultural and historical traces.

“It was a deliberate crime – a crime of genocide,” he said.

According to him, the story is important – because what was possible in 1944, including impunity, violence and disregard for human dignity, was repeated in 2014.

“Modern Russia acts in the same way as the Soviet totalitarian regime: persecution, intimidation, forced gain and extermination of everything Ukrainian and Crimean tatar in Crimea,” said Umerov.

“We remember, and we will not allow the memory to be deleted. The defense of freedom, human rights and our country is our duty. Anyone who obliges crimes against humanity must be held accountable and justice. “

May 18 marks the day of memory for the struggle for the rights of the Crimean tatar population in Ukraine and is reminiscent of the 81st anniversary of mass shift – an act of genocide against the Crimean tatars.