76 years ago, on 18 May 1944, Stalin's totalitarian regime began to carry out the forced deportation of the Crimean Tatar people from the territory of their historical residence – the Crimean Peninsula. Almost 200,000 Crimean Tatars were forcibly deported in two days. During the first year after the deportation almost half of the deported Crimean Tatars died of starvation, diseases and exhaustion. Only after more than 40 years, when the Soviet Union collapsed and Ukraine became independent, Crimean Tatars got the possibility to return home.

76 years ago, the Soviet totalitarian regime deprived the Crimean Tatars of their homeland, and today they are deprived of their homeland by Russia. Following the attempt of the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the Russian occupation authorities persecute, intimidate, imprison, forcibly relocate, and carry out other systematic repressions against the Crimean Tatars. In 6 years of the occupation tens of thousands of citizens have fled Crimea, many Crimean Tatars have become political prisoners, the occupation authorities banned the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People and destroyed about 1,500 Crimean religious organizations.

18 May, that is proclaimed in Ukraine as the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Crimean Tatars Genocide, is a reminder to the world of another horrible crime of the Stalin’s totalitarian regime and the importance of strengthening international solidarity in restoring Ukraine's territorial integrity and support of the Crimean Tatar people in their struggle for their rights.

On 18 May 2020 the Crimean Tatar flag was raised at the Embassy of Ukraine in Norway to commemorate the victims of the deportation of the Crimean Tatars.

Crimea is Ukraine!