Crimean News No 9
Leonid Kuchma: "We have many difficult problems which must be solved"
Welcome to the Rebuilt Crimean Tatar Library
State Committee Kept the Word
In September of last year the Ukrainian State Committee gave a considerable amount of money to the Crimean Tatar national schools in Stariy Krym town, Zuya village and Annovka village of the Belogorsk region for the restoration of the buildings as well as acquisition of various school accessories. In May this year the Chairman of the Committee M.Rudko and his deputy Y.Belukha together with representatives of the "Maarifchi" Crimean Tatar Teachers' Association visited these schools and familiarised themselves with the problems. The restorations of the schools of Zuya and Annovka will be done during the summer vacation. The Crimean Tatar school in Stary Krym opened last fall without school benches and a number of other necessary accessories. Today this school received equipment for Crimean Tatar, Ukrainian, and English language classes as well as for Chemistry, Biology, and Physics laboratories.
Z.Pinka, newspaper "Yani Dunya" ("New World"), No 22 (472), 5th June 1999, p. 4.
Mejlis' News
On June 3 a "round table" discussion about the problems of Crimean Tatars took place inside the Conference room of the Ukrainian Science Academy in Kiev. The topic was "Legal Guarantee of the Crimean Tatar People's Rights in Ukraine - Problems and Perspectives". The organisers were the Ukrainian Independent Centre for Political Research and the "Know-How" British Governmental Foundation. Thirty people participated in the "round table" discussions: Ukrainian MPs, staff-members of the Ukrainian State Committee on Nationalities and Migration, scientists, representatives of the Ukrainian state bodies, Ukrainian Presidential Administration, the Chairman of the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People Mustafa Dzhemilev, his First Deputy Refat Chubarov and Nadir Bekirov , who is the Chief of the Mejlis' Department of Political and Legal Issues. Various solutions to the political and legal problems of Crimean Tatars, particularly the draft of the Ukrainian Law "On Status of the Crimean Tatar People", were discussed at the meeting. The participants commended the Ukrainian President's Decree "On the Council of Representatives of the Crimean Tatar People" which was signed on May 18, 1999. All speeches and statements will be published in a brochure.
On June 3, 1999, the Chairman of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Mustafa Dzhemilev met with Ambassador of France to Ukraine, Pascal Fieska and the Embassy's First Secretary Jan Fransua Develi. During the meeting, which took place in Kiev, the problems of the Crimean Tatar people and the political situation in Crimea and Ukraine as a whole werediscussed in detail.
Information Service of the Mejlis, newspaper "Golos Kryma" ("Voice of Crimea"), No 24 (291) 9th June 1999, p. 1.
The Russian Capital Familiarised with the Information from the First Sources
On June 4, a press conference, which discussed the results of the trip to Moscow by the Prime Minister of Crimea Sergey Kunizin, took place in the Crimean House of Government. One of the reasons for the visit was the tourist season. The Russian media created a wave of negative comments about Crimea after the events of May 18*. The Head of the Crimean government initiated several meetings in Moscow with the representatives of the press and made a televised speech in order to dispel the negative remarks. The Crimean Government raised questions about commerce and the construction of the bridge over Kerch Strait. The Head of the Executive Branch, in an interview with the media, talked about the national composition of the Crimea, the role of the Crimean Tatar nation, its history, and the necessity of the creation of a Two-Chamber Parliament in Crimea. The second Chamber of Parliament would be composed of elected Tatar delegates.
*Peaceful protests organised by Crimean Tatars on the 55th Anniversary of their deportation from Crimea.
** There are three major ethnic groups living in Crimea: Russians, Ukrainians, and Crimean Tatars. The interests of the Crimean Tatars are often ignored by the other two groups.
*** Advisory structure under the President of Ukraine and the same structure under the Head of the Crimean Autonomous Government. This structure was created to deal with the issues of Crimean Tatars. It consists of representatives of Crimean Tatar people.
The Election Campaign
On June 4 President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma visited Crimea. The Head of the state had a meeting, which took place in the Verkhovnaya Rada*(Parliament) of Crimea, with the representatives of the state bodies in Crimean Autonomy and with the heads of the Crimean enterprises. After listening to the speakers, the President of Ukraine discussed the economic and social situation in the state, stressing that political stability is one of the necessary conditions for economic reforms. Kuchma then held a press conference in which he stated that after the session of the Ukrainian Parliament, which will be in the middle of June, the Ukrainian Government could possibly be changed. If this happens, the economic situation in the country will be worse. Kuchma is not ready to speak about the creation of the Two-Chamber Parliament in the Autonomy. The President did not meet with the Council of Representatives of Crimean Tatar People.
Lentara Khalilova, newspaper "Golos Kryma" ("Voice of Crimea"), No 24(291) 9th June 1999, p. 1.
* Autonomy's legislative body.
Leonid Kuchma: "We have many difficult problems which must be solved"
Not too long ago Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine, visited Crimea. After the meeting with the state authorities in the Autonomy, the President had a press conference with the journalists. These are some of the statements that were made during this conference: Gulnara Kurtalieva, "DINAU": Leonid Danilovitch, today in Crimea there is a lot of talk about creating a Two-Chamber Parliament in order to consider the interests of many nationalities. What do you think about this issue, and what do you think is the solution to the problems of the formerly deported people? Leonid Kuchma: I am convinced that a Two-Chamber Parliament is very necessary. As for Crimea, I do not want to be rash with the answer to the your second question because to tell you the truth, I have not thought about it yet. Without legal, political and, maybe, social evaluation it is impossible to answer this question. But I will try to come next time, and if you still wish to ask me, I will give you an answer then. Shevket Memetov, "Crimea" State TV and Broadcasting Corporation: On May 17, 1999 according to your Decree, an Advisory Council was created to deal with the problems of Crimean Tatars. Do you plan to meet with the representatives of that Council, while you are in Crimea? Leonid Kuchma: Yes. Svetlana Tumanova, RIA "News": Does the creation of the advisory body, composed of Mejlis members, imply legalisation of the Mejlis? What do you think about the goal of the Mejlis - creation of autonomy in Crimea? Leonid Kuchma: The Constitution of Ukraine also applies to Crimea. Our actions will be based on its framework. I (as President) have no right to indulge in this kind of activity as far as our Constitution is concerned. We believe that the Crimean Tatar problem does exist, but this problem is 90% socio-economic. I see that political problems exist as well and they can not be ignored. I think that we need to deal with them very carefully.
Newspaper "Krymskie Izvestiya" ("Crimean News"), No 113 (1864) 9th June 1999, p. 1-2.
Welcome to the Rebuilt Crimean Tatar Library
On June 7 the Gasprinskiy Republican Crimean Tatar Library was reopened.The restoration of the building has been completed and the renewed library opened its doors for readers. The library was established in 1990 as a Filial of the Centralised Library System of Simferopol. In 1995 it was transformed into the Gasprinskiy Republican Crimean Tatar Library. Today it is the center of knowledge of Crimean Tatars, Turk speaking peoples, and Moslem culture. More than 14 thousand volumes, including 4 thousand books on Crimean Tatar language and 1.3 thousand rare and valuable books can be found in the library. The restoration of the building is the first step of the project called "Rebirth of the Crimean Tatar Library". This project was initiated by the Head of the "Turkestan-Azerbaijan" Research Center and by the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. The project was financed by the Government of Netherlands (which donated 240,000 US dollars), by the "Renaissance" International Foundation (145,000 US dollars), as well as the Governments of Ukraine and Crimea. The next stage of the project is the publication of six books about literature and culture of Crimean Tatar people, and training of library staff. The rebirth of the Crimean Tatar library was a great event in the cultural life of Crimea and Ukraine. The Chairman of the Mejlis thanked the Government of Netherlands for the help. The Ambassador of Netherlands Mr. Onno Hatinga Van Sant said that the primary goal of the project is to give the people the opportunity to save their own culture because "history, literature and education are the main elements of the development of a culture". The director of the Republican Crimean Tatar Library talked about the project and expressed gratitude to all who participated.
Gulnara Useinova, newspaper "Golos Kryma" ("Voice of Crimea"), No 24 (291) 9th June 1999, p. 1.
A Reason to Visit Us
On June 7 the 41st FIJET Congress in Yalta began its work. FIJET is an International Organization of Journalists who write about tourism. The FIJET President under UNESCO Mr.Tijani Haddat thanked the Crimeans for their hospitality. By inviting the representatives of the well-known international organization of journalists, Crimeans hope that the peninsula will attract the attention of the world press.
Ludmila Konovalova, "Krymskaya Gazeta" ("Crimean Newspaper"), No 101 (15715), 8th June 1999, p. 1.
The Visit of Important Guests
June 9 was the first day of a four-day visit to Crimea by a large group of representatives of the diplomatic missions, international organizations and the Ukrainian government. The delegates met with the Chairman of the Verkhovnaya Rada (Parliament) and the Head of the Council of Ministers. During the visit, the diplomats and the representatives of the international organizations learned about the completed as well as the planned projects of socio-economic development that are financed by UNDP. Since 1995, the program has been operating in two communities: in Beloe and Kamenka of Simferopol town and some regions of the Sudak town. The program's range of activities has become wider since 1998 and now two more communities, one in Belogorsk and another in Bahchisaray, as well as one community in Simferopol have been receiving the benefits of the program. The governments of Canada, Switzerland, Greece, Norway, Netherlands, Sweden as well as international organizations such as UNDP, UNISEF, UNESCO, RED CROSS, and OSCE are participating in this program. The money of the sponsors was used to construct schools, medical centers, and 14 kilometers of pipes.
Information Service of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, "Krymskaya Gazeta" ("Crimean Newspaper"), No 102 (15716), 9th June 1999, p. 1.
Journalist Seminar in Yalta
The three-week courses for journalists, organised by Pilip Orlyk from the Institute for Democracy (Kiev), took place in Yalta. Many representatives of the newspapers, the radio, and the TV news industry came to this seminar. The head of the courses, Tony Housen, has worked for the Brithish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) for 20 years. A lawyer named Andrey Shekovtcev discussed the legal problems associated with journalism. This is not the first time that such courses are seen in Ukraine. Tony Housen has worked on a number of other projects in Simferopol and in Kiev. Projects like this one make an enormous contribution to the development of journalism.
"Haberler" ("News") Program, Crimean Tatar Redaction of the "Crimea" State Broadcasting and TV Company.