Representatives of Crimean Tatar social organisations and Head of Crimean Tatar Mejlis Mr. Refat Chubarov gathered at a roundtable on March 25. Having discussed the current political situation in Crimea, the participants started working on a question How they should deal with these circumstances.

Ms. Marem Seitumerova, Head of “El Elge” Organisation, noted: “The reality is that we have to live further and I want the Kurultai to raise the question of acknowledging Crimean Tatars as the indigenous nation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.”

“We haven’t consulted international lawyers by now who could tell us what realities we’ll have to face according to the Russian legislation. We won’t be able to hold any single meeting or demonstration tomorrow, as this is forbidden in the Russian Federation. We’ll be rebound to the 60ies of the XX century, and begin our national movement from nothing, all over again,” - Mr. Kurtseit Abdullaev, Head of “Azatlyk” Organisation, noted.

Special attention has been drawn to the status of Crimean Tatars as an ethnic group. Mr. Shevket Memetov, Editor-in-Chief at the Crimean Tatar TV-Channel “ATR”, said that “It is necessary that the status of Crimean Tatars as ethnic group was protected by the State. People keep on returning from Asia, and we need a high-level meeting to discuss all the topical issues. Mr. Mustafa Dzhemilev, Mr. Refat Chubarov and Mr. Vladimir Putin have to be present at such meeting.”

Mr. Refat Chubarov, Head of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, noted that all propositions will be discussed at the Kurultai extraordinary session on March 29.

He also advised the Crimeans not to reject Russian Passports, but to remain their Ukrainian national passports as well: “We tell the people that this is what the reality is. You didn’t chose this reality, but you’ll have to deal with it. Russian Federation will provide all of you with Russian passports in a short period of time, but the State of Ukraine, since you didn’t abandon your citizenship willingly, will continue taking you as its own citizens.”