The leader of the Crimean Tatars called for a referendum boycott

Crimean Tatars will boycott a referendum on the status of a region initiated by local authorities. This was announced on the air of the ICTV television channel by the head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people Refat Chubarov.

“Today everyone suddenly fell in love with the Crimean Tatars. The Crimean Tatar factor will become at the forefront. We need to continue to act according to conscience. This is our land. Nobody asked us when we were developing some plans. The referendum, from my point of view, cannot be.

In Ukraine, on February 22, a change in power took place. The Verkhovna Rada suspended President Viktor Yanukovych from power, changed the constitution, assigned the performance of the president’s duties to the speaker Alexander Turchinov and appointed presidential elections on May 25. On February 27, the Rada approved the composition of the government of popular trust.

On March 1, the Federation Council unanimously supported the president’s request to enter Russian troops into Ukraine. Then Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov and the deputy head of the Foreign Ministry George Karasin said that making a decision does not mean that it would be implemented immediately.

The new Prime Minister of Crimea, with the support of armed people without identification marks, was elected pro-Russian politician Sergey Aksenov. His administration refused to obey the new Kyiv authorities. On March 6, the Supreme Council of Crimea decided to join the ARC in Russia. 78 of the 100 deputies of the Rada of Crimea voted for the entry of the ARC into the Russian Federation and the holding of a referendum on this issue on March 16.