The Batkivschyna United Opposition has said it shares the indignation of the Crimean Majlis at remarks that were made by Russian Consul General in Simferopol Vladimir Andreyev with respect to the Crimean Tatar people.
“Such statements are an insult to the honor and dignity of the
repressed Crimean Tatar people, justifying the crimes of the Stalinist
regime and inciting ethnic conflicts. We support the position of the
Majlis and are demanding the immediate withdrawal of Russian Consul
General in Simferopol Vladimir Andreyev, whose professional and moral
qualities are questionable and harm diplomatic relations between Ukraine
and Russia,” the press service of the Batkivschyna Party said in a
statement on Thursday.
The statement also notes that “the bloody terror of the Stalinist
regime in relation to the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar people is not
subject to justification – these are documented crimes.”
The party also said that in 2009, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe equated Stalinism with Nazism and called for
international condemnation of totalitarian regimes.
As reported, Andreyev said in an interview with the ATR television
channel, which was aired on the evening of May 21, while speaking about
why he did not advise Russian pilots, students and colleagues of twice
Hero of the Soviet Union, test pilot Amet-khan Sultan, to attend the
premiere of film “Haytarma,” which tells on the deportation of the
Crimea Tatar people on the basis of his biography, said that Russia
could not be represented at the premiere of the film “distorting the
truth about the Great Patriotic War (World War II).”
