Human rights in Crimea

No one can feel safe in Crimea. Further proof of this is Russia’s FSB secret police entering and searching ATR Channel journalists’ homes and Lenur Islyamov’s business facilities. Lily Bujurova, ATR’s ex-editor-in-chief, one of the victims of the FSB repressions, wrote on Facebook: “I’m still deprived of the opportunity to communicate. I will comment neither on the [FSB] search at my place, nor on the ‘legal reasons’ behind it… My heart breaks when I think of my 83-year-old mother whom I had to lead to the bathroom through a gauntlet of men wearing masks, armed with assault rifles, after giving her ample doses of heart pills and drops. What is her guilt? What is the guilt of my 8-year-old granddaughter whom I had to wake at dawn, whispering, ‘Don’t be scared, that’s OK, dear,’ and scaring her anyway. She looked at me with her eyes that were growing large and dark with fear and said, ‘I’m not scared, grandma, I’m not… what are these men with guns doing here? Will they shoot us?’ and she clung to me and I could feel her small legs tremble. I will never forget this.”

Ukraine’s interior ministry informed that two criminal cases had been opened on charges of unlawful entry into the home of the parents of ATR director [owner] Lenur Islyamov, and of obstructing the legitimate activities of the NGOs opposing the occupation of Crimea.

“These breaches of the law will be investigated into as soon as the unlawful occupation of Crimea ends,” reads the ministry’s official website. When this unlawful occupation will end is anyone’s guess, in view of the current domestic situation. Meanwhile, the Kremlin keeps playing their favorite Cheka game, except that after the FSB search of Lily Bujurova’s home social networking sites highlighted her poem that became known as an anthem of the underground Crimean Tatar national liberation movement in the former Soviet Union. It has these lines: When all our people come home, / We’ll have to recall where we come from; / You’ll have to remember / Where you’re from, / All of you unwelcome guests…”

The Day asked its experts for comment, precisely what kind of message the Kremlin is sending by exerting pressure on ATR, and whether journalism, the way it is generally perceived, is possible in Crimea.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE RATHER THAN A PRUDENT MOVE

Iryna BRUNOVA-KALISETSKA, Ph.D. (Psychology), conflict manager, resident of Crimea:

“The message is clear. Everything they don’t like or consider to be potentially at variance with their myth about a ‘happy reunion’ will be ruthlessly suppressed, using every possible means. Lily, regrettably, isn’t the only journalist whose home was searched by FSB, nor is she the first Crimean Tatar public activist [to have suffered this experience], even though she hasn’t expressed her stand so publicly of late. I believe what is happening is a degree of reflection of reactions. Ukraine can’t strongly influence the situation on the occupied peninsula using what means it has at its disposal, particularly in the sphere of human rights, those of journalists, and so on. Likewise, the occupation authority can’t influence the participants and organizers of the blockade of Crimea. The only option is persecuting those who remain in Crimea and are in contact with those taking part in the blockade – Lenur Islyamov in the first place. This looks more like an emotional response rather than a prudent move being part of some strategy aimed at removing the blockade. The kind of pressure they’re putting on Lily Bujurova points to this being an emotional response.

“Crimea hasn’t stopped serving as a showcase of the Kremlin’s domestic policy. Quite some attention is still being paid to public discourse within and without Crimea. Therefore, media supporting Russia’s official propaganda survive in the first place. Truthful stories about events in Crimea are an important component of the pressure being put on Russia, of keeping this issue on the international political agenda, forcing Russia to stop its aggression. It is also an important message for those who had to stay in Crimea – that Ukraine hasn’t forgotten about them or abandoned them. Of course, the newly started criminal prosecutions must accumulate evidence of the occupier’s crimes. All who violate international law and Ukrainian legislation, who blatantly violate human rights must realize that punishment will inevitably be meted out.”

 CAN’T BE OTHERWISE IN A TOTALITARIAN SOCIETY

Volodymyr PRYTULA, editor-in-chief, Krym.Realii (http://ru.krymr.com/):

“Today one can work only for Russia-controlled media in Crimea, state-run or pro-Russian channels. All other media are under pressure, even those struggling to show their pro-Russian stand. There are examples of registration being denied media that are sure to refrain from taking any steps against Putin, like krymedia.ru. Any such online media with a couple of journalists who dare write anything contrary to Putin’s general line is denied registration and its reporters are not admitted to official events. Their access to databases is restricted. ATR is one of the largest media that remains out of Russia’s control, even though the owners have tried to play by Russia’s rules. Crimea is not Russia. Today it is a gray area and even such measures don’t work there. Yet this is just one of the reasons.

“The Crimean Tatar movement is also out of the Kremlin’s control and poses a serious threat. From the standpoint of international law and in terms of logic, Crimean Tatars, rather than a handful of individuals who took part in that fake referendum, have the right to self-determination. And so the Kremlin is struggling to get the Crimean Tatars and their media, including social networking sites, under control. This can’t be otherwise in a totalitarian society, like the one being built in Crimea and the one that has long existed in Russia. Ukraine isn’t showing sufficient public response, probably because the public activists are too busy coping with the complicated domestic political situation. In fact, I don’t see many opportunities for the Ukrainian government to effectively influence the status of human rights in Crimea. The president has made a statement, as has the information policy minister. Perhaps the foreign ministry should respond to each violation of human rights by forwarding a note [of protest] to the Russian Federation and appealing to international organizations. Due to objective reasons – the war in the east and the domestic political situation – Ukrainian society is paying less attention to Crimea. However, one has to think in terms of strategy. The Crimean issue is a challenge to Ukraine’s think tanks.”