Crimean News № 69
(Mass Media Review for July 31 – August 5, 2000)
Articles are shortened
Representative office of Ukrainian President in
Crimea Reports
A Plan of Joint Actions Discussed
There Is No Vakhabism*, But the Russian NTV** Attempts
to Find It At All Costs
Crimea is Perplexed Because of Actions of Russian Journalists
In Sokolinoye* - by Ethno-Tour
Politics
Representative office of Ukrainian President in
Crimea Reports
On
July 25, Anatoli Korneychuk, the
representative of the President of
Ukraine in Crimea met with
members of Ukrainian Parliament Mustafa Jemilev and Refat Chubarov. A measures
to provide representation of the Crimean Tatar people in the Crimean Parliament
were discussed at the meeting. Leaders
of the Crimean Tatars submitted their propositions to members of the Working Group near the Representative
office of the President of Ukraine. There are two visions on how this problem could be resolved: a quota
system of elections or elections on
proportional basis in one all-Crimean multi-mandate electoral district. In the
case one of these propositions is accepted, the Law of Ukraine “On Elections to
the Supreme Soviet* of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” would be changed
accordingly.
The propositions will be
discussed at the next sitting of the Working Group.
Presently,
there are 262 000 Crimean Tatars in Crimea, or 12.5% of Crimean population. In
5 Crimean districts, Crimean Tatars constitute more than 20%: Belogorsky – 32%,
Sovetsky (26.6%), Kirovsky (25.5%), Pervomaysky (25%) and Bakhchisaray (22%).
The Yani Dunya (The New World) newspaper,
№ 31 (532), August 5, 2000, p. 2.
Note: The Parliament of Crimea
On
July 27 the plenary sitting of the
Working Group to develop the draft of
Regulations on Elections of the Deputies of the Qurultay* of the Crimean
Tatar People took place.
Several
versions of the draft prepared by members of the Working Group were discussed
at the sitting. Principal regulations of these versions, to organize elections of the delegates of
the Qurultay, were voted.
It is
proposed in the approved draft of the Regulations, that the upcoming elections
of delegates to be conducted by mixed
(majority-proportional) system. Another
distinctive feature of the draft is that Crimean Tatar political and public
organizations and their blocs will take
part in the elections.
The
draft will be published in mass media
to be discussed by Qurultay delegates and the public.
The Mejlis Press Service, Golos Kryma (The
Voice of Crimea) newspaper, № 32 (351), August 4, 2000, p. 1.
Note: Qurultay of the Crimean Tatar
people – the National Congress of the Crimean Tatars.
A Plan of Joint Actions Discussed
A
plan of joint actions was signed on August 2 by Representation of the Ukrainian
President in Crimea and Council of Representatives of the Crimean Tatar people
near the President of Ukraine.
The document was signed by the Representative of the
Ukrainian President in Crimea Anatoli Korneychuk and the Chairman of the Council of Representatives of the Crimean Tatar people Mustafa Jemilev.
A developed plan satisfies both parties.
Joint actions, outlined in the plan, are directed to resolve problems of
the Crimean Tatar people in social and humanitarian spheres, health care, land
distribution, in cooperation with the
legal structures. Members of the Council of Representatives of the Crimean
Tatar people, staff of the Representative Office, Council of Ministers of
Crimea, executive power bodies
bear equal responsibility of
executing this plan.
An
issue of representation of Crimean Tatars in the Crimean Parliament will be
separately discussed. A special group has been created to examine all the
proposed versions and after discussing them
at the next sitting, to submit proposals to the Ukrainian Verhovna Rada
(Parliament). Representatives of the
Crimean Tatar people have already submitted their proposals for working group
to discuss.
The Qirim (Crimea) newspaper, № 34 (583),
August 5, 2000, p. 1.
There Is No Vakhabism*, But the Russian NTV**
Attempts to Find It At All Costs
In
the last days of July, a report on supposed
active dissemination of Vakhabism in the territory of Crimea was
broadcasted in Segodnya* program
of NTV Channel.
The Press Group of the Main Department of the
Ukrainian Security Service in Crimea stated, that these references have no any real ground and were never
confirmed by the Security Service. Since interests of the State and its unity
were touched upon, the Security Service
of Ukraine informs that “This
production has biased, irresponsible nature and does not match the
reality, can be evaluated as run after
sensation. We see this topic as the
next point of purposeful action, as intention to raise negative resonance in
the Crimean region.”
This channel recently presented a series of reports
which represent Crimea not in the best view. There is a suspicion that all this
is done deliberately…
Viktor Stus, The Krymskaya Gazeta (Crimean
Newspaper), № 140 (15996), August 3, 2000, p. 1.
Note: * Vakhabism – a radical flow
of Islam, appeared in XIX century in Saudi Arabia.
** NTV – one of Russia’s TV channels.
*** Segodnya – news program of the NTV Channel
Crimea is Perplexed Because of Actions of
Russian Journalists
Sergei
Kunitsin, Prime Minister of Crimea expressed his perplexity caused by reports from Crimea recently
broadcasted by RTR* and NTV Channels, to Aleksei Sviridov, Consul of the
Russian Federation in Simferopol.
The Head of Crimean Government
stressed that facts were roughly
disfigured by these television reports,
and groundless, biased conclusions have been made. The journalists obviously
wanted to create a negative image of Crimea as an international resort, where
millions of Russians traditionally spend their vacations. As Kunitsin said,
“Such position is all the more strange considering that RTR is a Russian
Federation’s State Channel.”
He noted that the direct
connection can be observed between increasing numbers of tourists daily arriving
to the peninsula, and the negative informational pressing towards Crimea in the
Russian mass media.
Press Service of the Council of Ministers of Crimea, The
Krymskaya Gazeta (The Crimean Newspaper), №140 (15996), August 3,
2000, p. 1.
Note: *RTR – one of Russia’s State TV channels.
said Hubedin Qurtbedinov, Chairman of public
organization “Kirim – 2000”, opening the press conference concerning the Itogi*
program of the Russian NTV Channel.
According to him, there are no supporters of Vakhabism in Crimea. To
call Crimea “the center of Vakhabism” is completely groundless. It is hard to
find here even a small group of people who follow this Islamic flow.
Mohsin Mohammed, whose name was mentioned at the TV
program, told journalists, that he cannot understand how his name appeared at
NTV. He said, “the author tried to compare situation in Crimea and Chechnya.”
According to him, “broadcasted information is defamatory fabrication and
directed to destabilize the situation in Crimea and Ukraine, to create social, ethnic and confessional
tension.”
Viktor Stus, The Krymskaya Gazeta (Crimean
Newspaper), № 142 (15998), August 5, 2000, p. 2.
Note: *Itogi – news program of the Russian
NTV Channel
In the Office of Public Prosecutor of Crimea
On
August 2, Michael Poteben’ko, the Public prosecutor of Ukraine introduced
Aleksander Dobrorez (1953, State Justice Adviser) as the new Head of Crimean
Office of Public Prosecutor.
Vladimir
Shuba, former Crimean Public prosecutor is transferred to Dnepropetrovsk oblast
of Ukraine to serve as oblast prosecutor. These changes were made according to
the presidential decree on rotation of personnel.
Svetlana Sergiyenko, The Krymskaya Pravda (Crimean
Truth) newspaper, №140 (22553), August 3, 2000, p. 1.
Culture
Unique collection.
An exhibition of Crimean
applied arts of XVIII-XX centuries is opened at the Livadia Palace by the
Crimean Tatar Arts Museum. The museum has more then 1500 pieces at its funds,
with 600 of them collected in 2000.
Jewelry, weaving, embroidering, national women’s and
men’s dresses, ceramics, wood engraving are presented at the exhibition. Of
particular interest is the collection of Crimean Tatar applied arts, as
well as pieces of jewelry and ornamental embroidering.
V.Parfilyev, The Krymskiye Izvestiya (The
Crimean News) newpaper, №141 (2145), August 3, 2000, p. 1.
Note: * Livadia Palace – historical and archaeological
monument, located in Yalta.
In Sokolinoye* - by Ethno-Tour
Crimea
has not only sea and beaches. For two years already, the Association for
Support Rural Green Tourism Development
attempts to prove this fact. By idea of Association, it was possible to do it
in the village of Chernopolye, where an
ethnographical complex of Greek village is being created now. This Summer, a Crimean Tatar ethno-cultural
Center Kokkoz appeared in the village of Sokolinoye near Bakhchisaray.
A
project called “Business for Women – Study, Think, Act” have been extended to
Bakhchisaray region. Ethno-tourism, which is part of green tourism, is decided to be developed through women’s
business
in the district.
A lot
is done in Sokolinoye-Kokkoz for one month. As Marlen Asanov, Executive
Director of Kokkoz Center said, local teenagers, in national dress, already
guide excursion tours. Local inhabitants gladly enrich the ethnographic museum.
Near the Center, there is a café with national meals. A woman who is good at carpet-making
is intended to teach all interested
the art of making kilims.
Similar
projects are planned to launch in Belogorsk, Stary Krym, Saki, Yevpatoria and
Leninsky district. There is an idea to create an ethno-tourism route from
Solhat** to Bakhchisaray.
Kira Ivanova. The Krymskoye Vremya (Crimean
Time) newspaper, №142 (1009), August 5, 2000, p. 3.
Note: * Sokolinoye -
one of villages of Crimea, Crimean Tatar name is Kokkoz
** Solhat – Stary Krym