In approaching of the all-Ukraine Day of mourning – 67th anniversary of deportation of the Crimean-Tatar people, the chairman of Milli Medzhlis, Mustafa aga Abduljemil Kyrymoglu answered questions of the newspaper "Arraid".
- Mustafa аgа, is it possible to tell so: the deportations which were carried out by the communistic mode of the USSR in the end of the Second World War, were of exclusive character and scale, that they can be considered not having analogue, unprecedented in world practice and history.
- In the history of mankind, of course, there were very many ethnic, religious cleanings and deportations. And in the Soviet period the Crimean Tatars were not the first who underwent total deportation. For example, all Koreans living on the territory of the Far East were deported to the Central Asia in 1937 for war with Japan was prepared and the Kremlin heads considered that Koreans will co-operate with Japanese. The destiny of about 170 thousand deported Koreans also developed tragically enough. The old Korean who endured this deportation, told, how one of commodity echelons with the Koreans, following from the Far East to the Central Asia, was dumped to the Baikal Lake.
The Crimean Tatars were not the first people to be deported from Crimea by ethnicity. Even before occupation of Crimea by the Nazi armies deported ethnic Germans (about 60 thousand persons) - proceeding from the assumption that they will co-operate with the Nazis.
Special foulness in deportation of the Crimean Tatars, and some other deportations of the people of Crimea and the North Caucasus in 1943-44, consisted that the Soviet power punished the civilians when the basic male part of these people, called in the Soviet army, still continued to struggle on fronts for that very Soviet power. The history never knew such perfidy in relation to its citizens.
- There are some explanations of the reasons of deportation - official, actual, hidden: cooperation with the occupational power, preparation for the capture of Turkey by the Soviet Union, primary incompatibility of mentality of the Crimean Tatars with other ethnic groups of Crimea, etc. What of these or other reasons corresponds to your representations about true motives of deportation of the Crimean-Tatar people?
Probably, to some extent it was explained by plans of councils in relation to Turkey, and desire to "explain" the reason of catastrophic defeats of the Soviet army and occupation of huge territory of the USSR in the first years of war. After all there were boastful statements of the Soviet heads that the Red army is so strong that in case of war no any enemy soldier will step into the territory of the USSR and that war will be held only on the territory of the enemy.
There are some sufficient proofs that after the war, also as an explanation of their initial defeats, they planned to deport "for treachery" all Ukrainians who in struggle against fascism proportionally to the number had the greatest losses. There were only difficulties of a technical order. But in any way I would not name as the reason "incompatibility of mentality of the Crimean Tatars with other ethnic groups of Crimea".
The Crimean Tatars in comparison with other ethnoses of Crimea more rigidly resisted to the establishment of the Soviet regime, collectivization, total Russification and, accordingly, even before the mass deportation they in much greater extent underwent "cleanings" and reprisals. Here, probably, it is possible to consider mentality of the Crimean Tatars, their relation to totalitarian forms of government, to private property.
But, as many historians mark, they had no conflicts with other people living in Crimea on a national basis. On the contrary, almost all travelers across Crimea, since first years of annexation of Crimea by Russia, mark goodwill and good nature of the Crimean Tatars with people of other nationalities, combination in them of deep religiousness with exclusive religious tolerance.
I will quote only one Russian writer, the poet and historian V.Izmaylov, who traveled across Crimea in 1801-1802, from his published in 1805 in Moscow book "Travel to midday Russia",
"… Simple huts of Tatars,
Where breathes pure heat of friendship,
Innocence of heart, conscience of truth,
Where people are sincerely glad to people…
Farewell, I leave you!"
Half a century passed as I have read V.Izmaylov's book in the department of rarities of the library of A.Navoi in Tashkent, and these shrill lines were not erased from my memory.
Strict continuation of the policy of Russia since Catherine II, which was directed on "clarification" of this strategically important peninsula from "infidels" and "its settling by indigenous Russians" was the main motive of deportation, in my opinion.
- As it is known, in the way of deportation in its first years were killed about half of our compatriots. It was irreplaceable and awful loss. What would you name among other terrible consequences of deportation of the Crimean-Tatar people?
Human losses as a result of deportation, of course, were terrifying, and it is quite natural to speak about the necessity of recognition of this crime as genocide. In some areas of Uzbekistan (Kashkadarinskii, Dzhizak) almost whole settlements died of exhaustion and illnesses and there was nobody to bury the dead. Hastily buried and slightly covered bodies were torn off by flocks of jackals.
There are a lot of stories how people were afraid to get to hospital for those who appeared to be there even with slight sickness did not come back alive those days. Whether there were confidential instructions from above or patriotically adjusted doctors considered as their duty to exterminate as much as possible "enemies of the people", noone knows. Anyway, among the declassified Soviet documents of that time there is no answer to this question.
But after all, the crime was not limited to physical destruction. Considerable efforts for a complete liquidation of a cultural heritage of the people were made – books on the Crimean Tatar language are burnt, mosques and all Muslim cemeteries are destroyed, cities and villages in Crimea are renamed. In places of deportation on the survived deported many constitutional laws did not extend. They lived under public commandant's supervision and according to special instructions not subjected to publication in the press.
For many years they had no right to enter higher educational institutions, and then, after Stalin's death and even after the so-called "exposure of his cult" by N.Hrushchev on the ХХ congress of CPSU in 1956, they had no right to enter many faculties of high schools. Certainly, they had no opportunities to be instructed on their native language. Therefore for completion of all losses still many years and many efforts are needed.
- In your opinion, did the fact that the majority of the Crimean Tatars appeared not in Ural and Siberia, but in the Central Asia, in the close for the Crimean-Tatars ethnic-language and religious environment, play a considerably softening role if to speak about physical, material and spiritual losses of the people? Or it was made purposely with a view of creation of the optimum environment for assimilation processes.
- I do not think that the Soviet management, choosing places for the deportation of the people, was anxious to create for them any softening circumstances. On the contrary. Even before the arrival of echelons with the deported, among the local population was made a considerable propaganda that, say, they will bring traitors of the native land who were the cause of killing on fronts of your fathers and brothers.
Many cases are known, when stones fell upon the exhausted people leaving cars, including from this "close ethnic-language and religious environment". These were first of all "the Soviet people", and then if something remained from national and religious, were the Uzbeks, the Russians, Muslims or Christians. After all to treat "traitors of the native land" in a human way, even if this "traitor" was just 3-4 years old, was not patriotic and looked like a kind of treachery of the Soviet canons.
There were many cases when in mosques on Friday sermons Imams spoke against the Crimean Tatars, naming them "traitors". Therefore the Crimean Tatars, especially in the first years of deportation, as a rule, did not go to mosques and prayed at home.
It is also known that the percent of the killed Crimean Tatars in the Central Asia in the first years after deportation was not lower, than in Siberia or in Ural. To assimilate the deported in that ethnic environment where the Crimean Tatars were deported, hardly entered into plans of councils, too. They were anxious basically by Russification of all people, including, certainly, the Uzbeks, the Tadjiks, the Kazakhs, etc.
- You were just half a year when you throughout three weeks instead of "ayneny" heard knocking of carload wheels. What your parents or elder sisters and brothers told about the remarkable situations connected with you, since that fatal morning on May, 18th, and till that time when you started to realize, remember events.
- Memoirs on Crimea, episodes from life in Crimea, circumstances of eviction, events on the way to the place of deportation in commodity cars, death of these or that relatives and acquaintances were among the basic themes of conversations of the Crimean Tatars for many years, especially when in the evenings people visited each other. Formation of outlook of the Crimean Tatars, their relation to the power developed mainly at home, in the environment of their fellow countrymen, and official Soviet propagation almost had no influence on it.
I remember well the day of Stalin's death. When the director of school with a sobbing voice informed us on death of "the leader of all times and people" everyone cried – teachers and children. Everyone, except the Crimean Tatars. We precisely knew, what dung died. And one our pragmatic companion, I remember, came up with idea that generally we had to give a little cry, and if we can't, we should rob our eyes with onion. Otherwise supposedly all of us or our parents would be put to jail.
- In the history of national movement there were cases of reference to the leaders of the Muslim countries, and also to the international Islamic organizations. These references had no significant result. Is it possible to explain it only by certain influence and position of the Soviet Union in the world order of that time?
There were a few references of this kind. The most known reference in the Organization Islamic Conference signed by 25 Crimean Tatars, sent in June, 1983, became the "material evidence" on my 6th process on charge in "drawing up and distribution of the documents discrediting Soviet state and social order and its political system". On the same process appeared my reference "To all Muslims of the world" with an appeal to protect academician A.Saharov who was in exile and was exposed to mockeries for the performances in protection of human rights, including performances against occupation of Afghanistan by the Soviet armies, and also in protection of the rights of Muslims – the Crimean Tatars.
There was also a reference of Reshat Dzhemilev to the king of Saudi Arabia in 1978 in connection with self-burning of Musa Mamut. The religious writer-dissident Anatoly Levitin-Krasnov, the academician Andrey Saharov, the general Petro Grigorenko also addressed the Islamic world with appeal to raise a voice in protection of the Crimean Tatars. But there was no any reaction from their fellow Muslim brothers.
Only in Turkey this question was shined from time to time in some news media, especially in the press of the Crimean-Tatar diaspora, and supporters of the Party of National Action (Milliyetсi Hareket Partisi) which were named by the left-wing Turkish parties as "fascists", even carried out powerful demonstrations in front of the Soviet embassies and consulates not only in Turkey, but also in those countries of Europe where there was a considerable Turkish diaspora.
The basic reason of silence of the overwhelming majority of the Muslim countries was that there was a totalitarian form of government, absence of freedom of press and other democratic freedoms. And when there are no these freedoms, the power bears responsibility for all publications and other public statements of citizens. To spoil relations with the super-state which had possibility to play a dirty trick in any small country, certainly, was not desirable. Turkey is a different case. There claims of councils could always be answered so, "Well, whether you like it or not, even we don't like it, but we have a freedom of speech and demonstrations, we can not gag the people".
- The Crimean-Tatar national movement for returning to Crimea and restoration of rights of the people is fairly named unique. What factors formed and supported this uniqueness?
- Uniqueness of the Crimean-Tatar national movement consisted first of all in its extreme for the Soviet period mass character. All people were involved in the movement. Someone collected signatures to our references, someone collected means for sending to Moscow of hundreds delegates of the people. Thousands participated in our mass demonstrations and other political actions, while they obviously knew that they can be at least beaten for it, or even send in camps.
Dissidents in Moscow with white envy were surprised that under their references we managed to collect for rather short time hundred thousands of signatures; as the maximum number of signatures which was collected under one of their references was all about two hundred. But, in fact, their references, in comparison with ours, were more rigid and direct, did not contain curtseys in the address of "the wise Soviet management" and, hence, were more convenient for attraction of authors and signers to the criminal liability "for slander on the Soviet system" or "anti-Soviet propagation".
In all settlements where lived any number of the Crimean Tatars, were created groups of the National movement which co-coordinated their actions with regional and republican initiative groups. Very high degree of democratic character was observed at acceptance of any decisions. Thrown in prisons and camps active workers of the National Movement were not left to fend for themselves. They and their families got feasible help.
One more factor, drawing attention and liking of the democratic circles in the USSR and in the West, was that the Crimean Tatars in their references, statements and protest actions were not limited only to the national problems. The Crimean-Tatar legal experts on litigations were accused for the protests against occupation of Czechoslovakia in 1968, intrusions into Afghanistan in 1979, against abuse of psychiatry in political purposes, for references in protection of legal experts of different nationalities and creeds. Protest actions of the Crimean Tatars already in the years of perestroika against violent Bulgarisation and lawlessness against national minorities of T.Zhivkov's mode before embassy of Bulgaria, against execution of demonstrators on the Tananmen square in Beijing, before embassy of China in Moscow are known, etc.
For the post-Soviet territory creation by our own structure of national self-management was unique, too. Somewhere in the middle of 90-s' in America in the University of George Washington, I had a lecture for students and teachers about National movement of the Crimean Tatars. But before me spoke one of experts on national movements who paid attention to uniqueness of our movement in respect of creation of structures of national self-management. He spoke approximately so,
"In the days of perestroika and in the first years after disintegration of the USSR there were created a lot of national movements and "fronts", but almost all of them considerably weakened, broke up or shattered in groupings conflicting among themselves. And only National movement of the Crimean Tatars was not shattered, and even was consolidated and became stronger even more. And it happened for the reason that they in due time held democratic election, carried out their national congress and according to the standard norms of democracy elected the representative body".
Questions were set by Suleiman МAMUT.
By the newspaper "Arraid"
Related Links:
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