Speech by the project owner of tataria.online during this year's May 18 anniversary commemoration in Berlin.
Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Friends,
Today, we gather at this significant moment and face an important task – to honor the memory of the tragic events that occurred eighty years ago. On this 18th of May, we remember the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, one of the darkest chapters in European history, a planned and cold-blooded destruction of the indigenous people of Crimea.
We remember those who were mercilessly torn from their homes, families, and homeland. People who had to leave everything they knew behind and venture into the unknown, without knowing what the future held for them. It was a crime against humanity that left lasting scars on the national fabric of the Crimean Peninsula, violated the foundations of human dignity, and attempted to condemn the Crimean Tatars to oblivion.
Today, we stand together, expressing our solidarity with the Crimean Tatar people. Eighty years later, ten years after another tragedy for the Crimean Tatars – the occupation of the peninsula by the bloodthirsty, ruthless regime of the Russian Federation – we reaffirm our commitment to their cause.
But unlike eighty years ago, Crimean Tatars are not alone; you are fighting, not cut off from the world. The Crimean Tatars have become titans of spirit and faith in their future, and we, citizens of free Europe, promise to remember the suffering, the heroic endurance, and the unwavering spirituality of the Crimean Tatars.
Your history is an integral part of our history, and your struggle for justice and dignity reminds us of our own commitments to human rights and social justice.
We must not allow the tragedy that befell the Crimean Tatars to be forgotten. We must do everything in our power to ensure that their fate is not erased from the history books. We must fight against forgetfulness and injustice, against the cruelty of bloodthirsty regimes, and strive for a Crimea free from Russian terror, where the Crimean Tatars can feel free and safe, and where Crimean Tatar culture can flourish undisturbed.
Today, we pay tribute to all the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars, but also to those who today preserve the language, culture, and fight for a Crimea free from Russian occupation. Their memory lives on in our hearts and our work.
May this anniversary be a moment of reflection and commitment to the solidarity of the peoples of Europe. May all eyes be on Crimea and the Crimean Tatars, who are fighting to preserve their identity. As citizens of the European Union, on this tragic 80th anniversary, I call for greater support for the protection of Crimean Tatar identity and support for the Ukrainian state in its struggle for the liberation of the peninsula.
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