The recognized leader of Crimean Tatars, Mustafa Jemilev observed his 65th
birthday yesterday.
Born in Crimea on 13 November 1943, he was only six months old when his
family and the rest of the Crimean Tatar population were deported by Soviet
authorities in May 1944. His family lived in a special settlement camp in
Uzbekistan until 1956, when tight restrictions were relaxed. At the age of
18, he and several of his activist friends established the Union of Young
Crimean Tatars. His first arrest came in 1966, when he was sentenced for
refusing to serve in the Soviet Army.
A well-known Soviet dissident, He spent almost one fourth of his life in
Soviet prisons and labor camps. He is also remembered for staging the
longest hunger strike in the history of human rights movement. The hunger
strike, which lasted for 303 days (but he survived due to forced feeding),
drew world’s attention to the predicament of Crimean Tatars.
In 1986, as Jemilev was completing his sixth prison term in a hard-labor
camp, he was charged and tried for anti-Soviet activities once again. During
the summit held by Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan, however, the
American President asked for the release of five political prisoners as part
of the negotiations. Jemilev was one of those prisoners and he was released
with the condition that he refrain from any political activity.
In May 1989, he was elected to head the Crimean Tatar National Movement.
That year he returned to Crimea with his family, a move that would be
followed by the eventual return of 250,000 Tatars to their homeland. He is
currently serving as a member of the Ukrainian Parliament (Kyiv) and as
Chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis (Simferopol) .
Jemilev received the Nansen Medal, awarded by the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees for his persistent efforts and commitment to
defend the rights of Crimean Tatars to repatriate. The Crimean Tatar
leadership has always sought to solve conflicts by non-violent means. In an
interview Jemilev gave shortly after receiving the Nansen Medal in October
1998, he stated that “when violent means are used innocent people die, and
no just cause can justify the taking of innocent lives.”
We extend our birthday greetings to Mustafa Jemilev and our best wishes for
a long, healthy and successful life.
Inci Bowman, Ph.D.
International Committee for Crimea
Washington, DC
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