On 6 June, within the framework of the TDC project “Generation of Change” Ukrainian students met with Tamila Tasheva, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
Within the meeting agenda, the students were given a tour of the premises of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. During the meeting students also learnt about the Mission’s activities, in particular during the full-scale invasion, as well as they discovered stories and photos of Crimean victims of the occupation.
In the course of this unofficial meeting, the participants discussed the plight of the Crimean Tatars under the occupation of the peninsula since 2014 as well as the difficulties they face since 2022. In the focus of the discussion, there were the potential risks and outcomes of Crimea’s post-war returning, and the chances of restoring peaceful life on the peninsula in the near future. Tamila Tasheva emphasized primary steps of the process of Crimea’s reintegration, giving a clear vision of main issues and possible ways to resolve them to future policymakers.
The student were interested in the concept of “cognitive deoccupation” proposed by the Permanent Representative, as well as expressed concerns on such themes as transitional justice, amnesty, lustration, and the expulsion of Russians who unlawfully migrated to Crimea during the occupation.
The students were deeply involved in the discussion and shared their views on the future of temporarily occupied Crimea and its indigenous population. At the end of the meeting, the students were offered to write letters to political prisoners in Crimea to express their support.
A lot of other relevant captivating topics were raised and, as a result, the youth got a more comprehensive understanding of modern situation and incoming threats and possibilities of the peninsula’s returning.
