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Book defaming Crimean Tatars published with local authority funding

29.07.2013   
A book has just been published in the Crimea, partly with funding from the Kirov District budget, which dredges up the old lie, officially refuted even in Soviet times, bout alleged collaboration by the Crimean Tatars with the Nazis and effectively justifies the 1944 Deportation

A book has just been published in the Crimea, partly with funding from the Kirov District budget, which accuses the Crimean Tatars of collaboration with the Nazis and effectively justifies the 1944 Deportation.

This lie, first generated by Stalin in order to justify the Deportation of the entire Crimean Tatar People, is pulled out with monotonous regularity despite having been refuted even by the Soviet regime itself.  A Decree issued on 5 September 1967 by the Supreme Soviet of the USSR stated that: “After the liberation of the Crimea from Fascist occupation in 1944, accusations of active collaboration of a section of the Tatars resident in the Crimea with the German usurpers were groundlessly levelled at the whole Tatar population of the Crimea. These indiscriminate accusations in respect of all the citizens of Tatar nationality who lived in the Crimea must be withdrawn, the more so since a new generation of people has entered on its working and political life”.  (The text in English can be found in full here)

Interfax Ukraine reports that the First Deputy Head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People, Refat Chubarov and members of the Crimean Tatar community including relatives of Crimean Tatar partisans who fought in the Second World War are planning to ask the Prosecutor’s Office to give a legal assessment of the actions both of the authors of the anthology, and the public officials who made its publication possible. They are convinced that the book, entitled “Remembrance Book of the Eastern Crimea: “They asked us to remember” is aimed at inciting inter-ethnic enmity and hatred.

Refat Chubarov notes that among those outraged by the book are relatives of the Soviet intelligence agent Alime Abdenannova who was captured by the Nazis and shot.  She received Soviet awards, yet the authors of the book Vladimir Shirshov and Maria Shirshova claim that she became an agent of the German security service.

Refat Chubarov points out that more than a quarter of the print run (1200 copies) of the book was funded by the district council, as well as some village councils in the district who were asked by the district council for help in financing publication.

A presentation of the book had been planned for 25 July in the Kirov District Administration however this was cancelled following protest from Crimean Tatars.

From the report at Interfax Ukraine

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