"Real violations of the right of people living in
Crimea are caused by the destructive, if not subversive policy of the Kiev
authorities," Natalia Zolotova said.
GENEVA, December 12. /TASS/. Kiev’s destructive policy and the West’s unilateral sanctions violate the rights of people living in Russia’s Crimea, Natalia Zolotova, an adviser to Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations Geneva office and other Geneva-based international organizations, said on Monday.
She stressed that the republic of Crimea and the city of
Sevastopol are part of Russia. "Real violations of the right of people
living in Crimea are caused by the destructive, if not subversive policy of the
Kiev authorities which now and then organize water, transport, energy and food
blockade of the peninsula or even resort to acts of sabotage and
terrorism," she said at a session dedicated to the United Nations regular
report on the human rights situation in Ukraine.
She drew attention to "West’s unilateral
restrictive measures against Crimeans" and attempts to isolate the
peninsula from the outside world under far-fetched pretexts. Such actions, in
her words, "are nothing but a flagrant violation of all categories of
rights of people living in Crimea and deserve a resolute condemnation and
immediate cancellation."
"For more than 20 years, Ukraine did nothing to
improve the situation of Crimean Tatars" and only now "Kiev has
become an allegedly ardent advocate of their rights on the international arena
using Crimean Tatars in its dirty political purposes," Zolotova said.
Russia, on the contrary, has already done much to
improve the situation in Crimea having rehabilitated repressed peoples, having
granted an official state status to the Crimean Tatar language, and having
legally ensured representation of minorities in power structures. "The
level of social protection has been increased, serious efforts are being taken
to develop education and culture, to promote inter-religious dialogue and
accord," she stressed.
The Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, a city with a
special status on the Crimean Peninsula, where most residents are Russians,
refused to recognize the legitimacy of authorities brought to power amid riots
during a coup in Ukraine in February 2014.
Crimea and Sevastopol adopted declarations of
independence on March 11, 2014. They held a referendum on March 16, 2014, in
which 96.77% of Crimeans and 95.6% of Sevastopol voters chose to secede from
Ukraine and join the Russian Federation. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed
the reunification deals March 18, 2014.
Despite the absolutely convincing results of the
referendum, Ukraine has been refusing to recognize Crimea as a part of Russia.
Source: ITAR-TASS 13-12-2016
