On the humanitarian situation in the Crimea before and after blackout

On the night of November 22 the undermining of transmission tower on Ukrainian territory has led to the fact that a large part of the Crimea was left without electricity. Crimean authorities described the incident as a terrorist attack, and accused it of radical representatives of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis. On the possible humanitarian consequences of the blackout on the peninsula he told Russian human rights activist, member of the Civil Society Development Council and Human Rights under the President of Russian Federation, expert of the Moscow Helsinki Group Andrey Yurov.

Member of the Presidential Human Rights Council (HRC), Andrei Yurov watching the human rights situation in the Crimea from February 27, 2014. On March 5, 2014 directs “the Crimean field mission on Human Rights” (PCF), which monitors the humanitarian situation on the peninsula.

– The bombing transmission towers, which left without electricity Crimea, the Crimean regional government accused the Crimean Tatar Mejlis. Members of the Majlis, located in Ukraine, recently agitated for an energy blockade of the Crimea from the Ukrainian side. It turns out, they gave the authorities an excuse to ban iron organization?

– who campaigned and who is not, you need to seriously deal. Majlis – the organization of multi-vector, there are very different points of view are represented. That’s not all it was decision of Parliament. Medzhlis interface. There Majlis leaders, who are in Ukraine, there are members who are in the Crimea, including under investigation. The situation with electricity, I would rate as a very unpleasant for everyone, and it can have grave humanitarian consequences for vulnerable groups of the population in the Crimea, for example, for those who are now in a hospital or maternity home. For all the people for whom the continuous supply of electricity depends on their survival.

– Can cause de-energizing of the Crimea ethnic conflict?

– On the one hand, the Majlis is accused of undermining its remaining members in the Crimea threatened problems. Majlis was formed over 20 years ago as a representative assembly to solve internal issues in all of the Crimean Tatar people. According to my observations, the question of respect for the Majlis is important for 70% of the Crimean Tatars. On the other hand, people are unhappy that the government ensure that everything is fine, everything is under control, this type of state of emergency can not be. In relation to the local authorities is growing discontent, and it can result not only in an ethnic conflict, but also in civil strife.

– How likely is it that the Majlis will forbid?

– This publicly say the Crimean authorities, the public prosecutor. In my view, the prohibition of the Majlis will be a colossal mistake.

– Some of the Crimean Tatar organizations support the new government, is not it?

– Crimean officials are sending to Moscow triumphant about how they work perfectly with the Crimean Tatar community. Indeed, they have a “pocket organization.” But they are no more than 10% of the Crimean Tatar population. Everything that happened, a colossal tragedy for the Crimean Tatar community and yet not realize anyone tragedy for power. Because it leads to a confrontation that whatever is said local Crimean officials. I am only talking about the humanitarian situation. We receive regular signals that the number of classes with Crimean Tatar language learning is reduced, the number of facts of everyday xenophobia, for example, in response to what people say in the Crimean Tatar language.

– What the hell happened to the fundamental rights and freedoms in the Crimea for a year and a half of your observations?

– During the year, closed down all independent media, many journalists left the peninsula. This is a heavy blow for the development of civil society, and it is difficult to compensate for something else. Closed the famous Center for Investigative Journalism. And the worst thing – closed ATP, the main and only TV channel of the Crimean Tatars. Now it’s television works on the territory of Ukraine. It is important that before the closure of ATP was prepared to work within the framework of the Russian laws and be loyal to the government, if not, then at least correct. Now he is “under the roof” of Kiev, and in fact the Russian government has lost control over it.

– But instead of ATP in Crimea opened another official channel of the Crimean Tatars ( “Millet”).

– ATP was influential independent TV, half-Russian-speaking, two-thirds – Crimean Tatar and Ukrainian speakers. At various times he collected from 300 to 800 thousand. Audience, and that’s a lot. This audience is lost, it will not look Russian channel. On the APR rising acute local problems related to the same corruption. Now the media can not talk about it, and the authorities have more opportunities to abuse their position, without fear of publicity.

– In July, you said that it’s not so bad in the Crimea with human rights. As things stand now? What was achieved?

– failed to achieve anything: we do not achieve, we are monitoring. Next is the question of the reaction of the authorities – they react to our information or not.

– React?

– Apparently, the authorities do not like to hear what we say, and the Federation Council responded by including us in the “patriotic stop list” (published July 7, 2015). But this is only the reaction of the Federation Council. The reaction of other structures are different, sometimes constructive, as, for example, at the Human Rights Commissioner in the Russian Federation Ella Pamfilova, who supports us.

– PCF may acknowledge the junk on the territory of Russia the organization?

– So far, this “stop list” junk prosecutors acknowledged only one organization – National Endowment for Democracy (USA). TMC is not foreign, it is generally not an organization. This is an informal initiative of three human rights defenders, and my two volunteers from Russia and Ukraine. There are experts who sometimes for their money go to the Crimea, and give us your opinion. I, the head of the CPM permanently live and work in Russia. Why mission got in the “stop-list”, I totally understand.

– Contact with a “stop list” somehow affect the work of the CPM?

– Mission reformatted, it is much smaller. Rather, we support the work of the other two structures – “the Crimean Human Rights Group” and the Field of Human Rights Center, staffed by Russians and citizens of CIS countries. There are a grand coalition – “The Initiative Group of Human Rights in the Crimea.” So far, all of these organizations do not seem to relate to the undesirable. For OPM hit the “stop-list” has created only one problem, which is everything: I can not work with any official in the Crimea. “Stop-list” – the document is not legal, but political. With this label is now not a single official to meet with me will not. Before that, we as the working group reported to the human rights and political structures of the Russian human rights situation, now we can not do that. I think that the introduction of the CPM in this list lobbied Crimean authorities. Just local authorities were unhappy that we report what is happening in the federal Crimea. They have formed an unfavorable image in the eyes of the presidential administration.

– Once PCF included in the “stop-list” if you can seek meetings with officials as a member of the HRC under the President?

– Achieve a formal meeting, I can, but because the meaning of the work, not in a meeting. Formally meet with me, but do not get to work systematically, yet know that I am in charge of the mission to “stop list”. HRC – people representing the actual current human rights organizations. At the HRC is no apparatus, the budget team. But if I was not a member of the HRC, I’d have killed or imprisoned.

– The OSCE Representative has recently confirmed that they want to monitor the situation in Crimea and will continue to seek access to. At what level is closed to them?

– Access is not limited absolutely. A political and diplomatic, not technical. They say, please come to Moscow, get the Foreign Ministry permit and drive on all four sides. But they are through Moscow can not enter, because the international community did not recognize the Crimea of ​​Russia.

– And what would you say to those who believe that you pump, and in fact the human rights situation is not the most topical in the Crimea, this transitional period, all normalized itself worse happened?

– First of all, media freedom and the Crimean Tatars in Crimea itself nothing ustakanilos. Yes, in a sense, I escalate. If you ask whether all this is 80% of the population of Crimea are interested, the answer is no, not interested. But human rights – this is not about statistics, it is always about the protection of a single person. When the representative of the majority is in the police and beat him there, he was at this moment the majority and the minority, taken separately unhappy and lonely man. If a person can not be guaranteed the right to a fair trial, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression, protection from torture, security of person and property, it automatically entails a violation of all the other, non-fundamental rights: social, labor, economic and others. If you ask any man in the street, whether it is freedom of speech is concerned, he will say no. But I think that most never interested in fundamental rights, but still interested in social problems. Fundamental human rights in Russia really interested in 1-2% of the population, the rest assured that the person their human rights issues do not apply, and if touched, it was an accident. But that’s okay, all the townsfolk think so. The so-called civilized countries are characterized by the fact that people who are interested in the fundamental rights of at least 5-10%. It’s a critical mass, which is enough to make a difference. And our 1% is not even enough to ensure that the situation at least not worse. rest assured that their personal human rights issues do not apply, and if touched, it was an accident. But that’s okay, all the townsfolk think so. The so-called civilized countries are characterized by the fact that people who are interested in the fundamental rights of at least 5-10%. It’s a critical mass, which is enough to make a difference. And our 1% is not even enough to ensure that the situation at least not worse. rest assured that their personal human rights issues do not apply, and if touched, it was an accident. But that’s okay, all the townsfolk think so. The so-called civilized countries are characterized by the fact that people who are interested in the fundamental rights of at least 5-10%. It’s a critical mass, which is enough to make a difference. And our 1% is not even enough to ensure that the situation at least not worse.

– What do you understand by civil consciousness?

– It does not depend on whether a person supports the authorities or the opposition. People who have them, are aware of their personal responsibility for everything that happens in the country. Subject either approves or does not approve of, and responsible citizen.

– If we compare the human rights situation in the Crimea, in the rest of Russia and Ukraine, where it is better, and which is worse?

– gradation does not build. When we talk about Ukraine, you have to understand that a human rights point of view, it is divided into three zones. In the Donbass, the territories controlled by the People’s Republic, the human rights all really bad. There, people have no possibility of real protection against arbitrariness of the authorities. The second area – “frontal”, Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk, and so on, the situation is very tense, about one million internally displaced people live is not clear where one and a half years. And there’s the rest of the territory of Ukraine, where the situation is, shall we say, different. Watching what characteristics we evaluate. For example, freedom of speech is more or less there. There are propaganda, and the complexity of independent journalism, but it is there. The situation is rapidly improving with the police. My fellow defenders en masse read the police lectures on non-discrimination, it is an unprecedented thing. I was not in Ukrainian prisons, I was there, no one let go. With regard to freedom of assembly and association, the situation is quite good. Nobody forbids NGOs, not to announce their foreign agents, even if they are pro-Russian. In Russia, the characteristics which I have called, the situation is alarming. But again most of it does not bother. People care about social sphere, not fundamental rights. But compared to Russia to Zimbabwe – the ideal of liberal democracy. Comparison is always a propaganda trick. If we compare the income, I’m sure that so far the average income is higher in Russia than in Ukraine. Nobody forbids NGOs, not to announce their foreign agents, even if they are pro-Russian. In Russia, the characteristics which I have called, the situation is alarming. But again most of it does not bother. People care about social sphere, not fundamental rights. But compared to Russia to Zimbabwe – the ideal of liberal democracy. Comparison is always a propaganda trick. If we compare the income, I’m sure that so far the average income is higher in Russia than in Ukraine. Nobody forbids NGOs, not to announce their foreign agents, even if they are pro-Russian. In Russia, the characteristics which I have called, the situation is alarming. But again most of it does not bother. People care about social sphere, not fundamental rights. But compared to Russia to Zimbabwe – the ideal of liberal democracy. Comparison is always a propaganda trick. If we compare the income, I’m sure that so far the average income is higher in Russia than in Ukraine.

– The conflict in the south-eastern Ukraine, then subsides, then again there is information about the shelling. Whether executed in Minsk agreements?

– I can say one thing: at some time there stopped flying projectiles. The truce, during which stop people die, it is always a difficult step. Now I am dealing with civilian organizations in the countries of the Norman “quartet” – Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France. We are trying to develop mechanisms to assist all parties in the process of establishing peaceful relations and protection of human rights.

Interviewed by Maria Litvinova

Sourse, 23/11/2015