The Parliament of the Republic of Estonia has approved the recognition of the mass deportation of the Crimean Tatar people by the Soviet regime as an act of genocide.
This was reported by the Presidential Mission in Crimea.
‘Today, the Parliament of the Republic of Estonia (Riigikogu) approved the Statement on the recognition of the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people by the Soviet regime in 1944 as an act of genocide. 83 deputies of the Riigikogu supported this Statement,’ the statement reads.
The Statement, in particular, condemns the mass extermination of Crimean Tatars and their forced deportation from the Crimean peninsula. The document also emphasises that the Russian Federation, after the occupation of Crimea in 2014, continues its policy of genocide against Crimean Tatars, aimed at destroying their identity.
The members of the Estonian Parliament called for condemnation of the ongoing crimes against Crimean Tatars in the occupied Crimea, which continue today through systematic detentions, torture, abductions and prohibitions to study and use their native language.
The Statement also calls on the international community to show solidarity and continue to condemn the occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation.
Earlier, the deportation was recognised as an act of genocide against the Crimean Tatar people in 2015 by Ukraine, in 2019 by Latvia and Lithuania, in 2022 by Canada, and in 2024 by Poland.
‘Estonia reaffirms its support for Ukraine and constantly takes an active part at all levels of the Crimean Platform, demonstrating its unwavering position on the restoration of the territorial integrity of our country. We thank the members of the Estonian parliament who initiated and supported this process, as well as Dmitri Teperik, an expert of the Council on Cognitive De-occupation of Crimea, for supporting this process,’ the ministry added.