The Crimean tatar Mejlis managed to get the new Crimean government’s permission to hold an All-Crimean Mourning meeting on May 18.

The event dedicated to 70th anniversary of Crimean Tatars forced deportation is to be held at the Simferopol central square.

Members of Mejlis managed to persuade the new government during negotiations that prohibiting this kind of event was absurd. At the same time, both parties laid down their conditions. According to the agreement, the meeting will be held in line with the Crimean Tatar Mejlis scenario. There will be no Ukrainian branding at the event, however - for the first time since Ukraine’s independence. According to Deputy Head of Mejlis Mr. Nariman Jelyal, there will be only Crimean Tatar people’s flags and their anthem. “There will be neither Ukrainian flags nor Russian,” - the politician stressed.

At the same time the Crimean Tatars representative body demanded to prohibit members of so-called “self-defence forces” to hang around in the city’s centre in order to avoid provocations and conflicts.

A range of events devoted to the deportation anniversary is scheduled in Crimea alongside the meeting. Respective events are also to be held in some cities of the continental ukraine, namely Kyiv and Lviv.

adapted from Crimea. Reality and ACN