We are accustomed to the fact that government is governed by society. People often do not think about the fact that this role can be entrusted to organizations that are not related to official structures. Nevertheless, in the world there is a large, generally positive experience of the activities of non-governmental organizations that contribute to the development and stabilization of public life. One of them is the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars. What it is? How does it work and form? Let's figure it out.
A bit of history
To fully understand why the Crimean Tatar Mejlis was created, it is necessary to turn to history. The roots of the people are very deep. Creating a system of your own
self-government, they relied on the experience of their ancestors, as well as the whole of Muslim civilization. Dictionaries say that the Mejlis is a kind of parliament, a legislative body in some countries of the East. In Iran and Azerbaijan, the so-called public entity is responsible for creating the norms and rules of public life. In countries, for the most part Arab, the Mejlis is a meeting of people's representatives who are
delegated authority to resolve certain issues. The acts that he accepts are not always of official significance, but are executed by all members of the community, that is, are binding in nature, based on respect for traditions.
What is the Crimean Majlis?
The people who had again settled on historical land faced the question of organizing a structure that would allow them to defend their rights and effectively interact with local and central authorities. In 1991, the Kurultay of the Crimean Tatars was convened, which by that time had already moved to the peninsula. His decision formed the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatars. In addition, his main tasks and principles of activity were formulated. This body was entrusted with the prompt resolution of the problems that faced the Crimean Tatar community, communication with local authorities and other authorities. Kurultay himself meets once every five years. Local communities delegate the most respected representatives to attend the meeting. It is from their number that the Crimean Tatar Majlis is chosen. These are people who enjoy the unconditional trust of the whole people. At the end of the period, they give an account of their activities.
Majlis functions
Despite the fact that the body is not state, it has a kind of charter. The regulations on the Majlis were approved in Kurultai. Due to the fact that public life cannot be skeletal, this document states that it can change and
supplemented by decisions of the representative assembly. According to the Regulation, the Majlis is the highest organ of the people. Between the sessions of the Kurultay, he is authorized to implement the decisions of the latter, to consider other operational issues that arise in the development of public life. In accordance with this document, the Mejlis is subject to the laws of Ukraine, the norms of international law. Its main goal is to fight for the rights of the Crimean Tatar people, to contribute to its arrangement on their native land. Over time, the competence of the body was supplemented by a representative function at the international level. From the day of its foundation, the Crimean Mejlis has established itself as an effective and to some extent influential body. Its representatives were involved in work on all problems, one way or another relating to the life of the peninsula, affecting the interests of the people. The Mejlis was quite active in providing housing and land for deported citizens. According to the
state program , subsidies were regularly allocated for arranging the returning population. With these funds, housing was purchased, which was distributed in turn. In addition, building land was allocated to the needy.
Forms of activity
The Majlis is not just a meeting that is selected periodically by the Kurultai. In fact, this is a whole network of smaller entities. It is generally accepted that only the central council of Crimean Tatars is called the Majlis. Simferopol is its location, which in itself is understandable, since it is the capital of the peninsula. However, any council formed at the level of districts and cities has the same name. That is, the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people is a multi-level education.
Naturally, the functionality of its activities depends on administrative compliance. If the Mejlis is educated in the village, then its task is to interact with the local council on issues within the competence of the latter. Such bodies in Crimea were not created in all regions, only where there is a sufficient concentration of ethnic population. In order to inform the public about its activities, the Mejlis can create and finance the activities of the media. They work and respond quite quickly to the socio-political situation on the peninsula. One of the main places in the implementation of the organ’s information function is occupied by the site of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar people.
Relocation to Homeland
Initially, the Majlis set itself the task of returning all deportees and their descendants to the Crimea. In general, this turned out to be a fully feasible event. It was supported by the state budget. All new arrivals were provided with housing, received compensation for moving and carrying baggage. The Mejlis regularly proposed to legislators of various levels to approve additional programs for equipping the Crimean Tatars. The fact is that most often they received land in places without infrastructure. Not only roads, but sometimes there was no water supply there. All this had to be decided, of course, by the state. Only the “push” of slow officials had to the public. Here, the ability of the Crimean Tatar people to rally and follow the leaders showed their strength. The peninsula saw many mass rallies during which the main routes were blocked if the authorities were too slow in solving urgent problems.
Chairman of the Majlis
To supervise the activities of the body in Kurultai, its head is elected. This is the most influential representative of the people, dear
absolutely everyone. For a long time the head of the Majlis was unchanged. For twelve years, the people were led by
Mustafa Dzhemilev. In 2013, he was forced to leave office for family reasons, but did not step back from work to return the rights to the deported people. Currently, the head of the Crimean Majlis is Refat Chubarov. Due to the political position, Mustafa Dzhemilev is deprived of the right to visit the peninsula for the next five years. He carries out activities to protect the rights of the people in the international arena.
Property and Finance
To organize activities, any body that works on an ongoing basis needs funds, equipment, premises, and so on. According to the Regulation, the Mejlis forms its budget from donations. The document says that funds can be contributed both by private individuals and organizations, including non-governmental and international ones. The budget is set for one year. The use of funds, the receipt of donations, the correctness and legitimacy of spending is monitored by another special body - the Audit Commission. She, like the Majlis, is chosen by Kurultai. It has been working for five years. Its members have an advisory vote at meetings of the Mejlises of all levels. Their suggestions are binding. In addition, the Regulation determines that in case of liquidation of the body, the remaining funds are transferred to the Kurultay.
Participation in the political life of Ukraine
Since one of the main goals of its activity, the Mejlis of Crimea is positioning the restoration of the rights of the people, its participation in public life in any form has become its main priority. Almost from the moment of its foundation, the Mejlis led the participation of Crimean Tatars in the political life of the peninsula and the state. Local legislation did not make it possible to nominate representatives as candidates for elections (officially). This did not interfere in resolving the issues of delegating their representatives to all levels of self-government. So, candidates approved by the Majlis went to the 2012 local elections as self-nominees. In addition, Mustafa Dzhemilev represents the Crimean Tatars in the Verkhovna Rada since 1998. He was elected five times in a row on lists of various parties. While autonomy was part of the Ukrainian state, an informal "limit" on the number of national representatives among the leadership of the regions acted. As a rule, three district administrations were headed by Crimean
Tatars. One of them - Bakhchisarai - is permanent, since it is in this region that most of the representatives of the people live.
Cultural activities
One of the main areas of work of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis is the creation of conditions in order to preserve the identity of the ethnic group. For this, schools in the peninsula have created classes in which they teach in their native language. Much attention is paid to the creation and work of national amateur groups. Every year in Crimea a big holiday is held - Khidirlez, organized by the Tatar Mejlis. This truly magnificent show brings together national groups and artists not only from all regions of the peninsula, but also from abroad. Regular participants of the show were art groups from Turkey. The program usually includes a list of events, including concerts, shows, exhibitions of applied art, sports. Each year, a fair is planned to be held - the most beloved children's entertainment. On it, many housewives offer to try the delicacies of national cuisine. The holiday itself is held in honor of Saints Hidir and Ilyas. This tradition is ancient. It includes a whole list of rituals with which the forces of nature "appeased", asked for a rich harvest, a strong and viable offspring of domestic animals. This is a wonderful, very distinctive tradition that was loved by all the inhabitants of the peninsula. Everything is very fun and solemn. Unfortunately, this year the celebrations were foiled.
New conditions
As you know, the territory of Crimea migrated from one state to another. Everything is in accordance with the will of the people expressed in a referendum. Only the residents of the peninsula did not go to the ballot boxes on that day. It so happened that the preferences of the Crimean Tatar people remained beyond the current border of the Republic - in Ukraine. IN
In principle, the leaders of the people never concealed their devotion to the European integration policy of Kiev. Therefore, they did not support the holding of a referendum on the status of Crimea.
The opinion of the leaders, as usual, was supported by the people. This is one of the best “acquisitions” of self-government built by the Majlis. When resolving any issues related to the state level, they always act as a close-knit family. That is, when you need to go to the ballot boxes, nationality dictates their choice to people. This is not a “herd instinct” at all, as they sometimes try to imagine. It's just that people are used to trusting their leaders, who are supposed to better understand such issues in terms of responsibility. Only unity played a cruel joke with the Tatars in this case. And it's not that most of them boycotted the referendum. In fact, this did not affect the results. But the fact that they decided to break away from the entire Crimean people did not add authority to them. In the end, the normal goal of any elected body is the peace and quiet of voters. Not everyone, but everyone. It’s normal when respected people, exposed to trust, make sure that every “their” person feels comfortable where he lives, does not quarrel with his neighbors, does not feel inconvenience from sidelong glances, and so on. In this case, having obeyed their leaders, the Crimean Tatars found themselves in a very uncomfortable position.
May 18
On a mournful day, the Crimean Tatar people hold rallies and processions annually. They have almost no political coloring. On this day, it is customary to recall the events of those "black" days in the life of an entire nation, when he had to voluntarily leave his native land. As a rule, rallies took place in all settlements where people live compactly. They were used state symbols, the flag of the Majlis. Then delegations from all over the peninsula came to the capital, held mourning events there. This year, tradition has been in jeopardy. But the fact is that in the Crimea
Mustafa Dzhemilev, the recognized leader of the Crimean Tatars, was going to come, to whom the government of the republic forbade entry into its territory. And everything would have worked out, but the former head of the Mejlis decided to “put pressure on the authorities”, using his favorite method - mass actions. So, on May 3, he wanted to cross the border of the Republic. According to some reports, up to five thousand Tatars gathered to meet him. Only even such a mass action did not help. The disgraced leader was not allowed into the Republic, as he repeatedly unambiguously expressed his position, radically different from the opinion of the majority of the Crimean population. According to Dzhemilev, the peninsula was annexed. The fact that the vast majority of the people wanted such a development of events, he does not take into account. Currently, he defends the right of his people to self-determination in international organizations. In addition, Mustafa Dzhemilev still leads parliamentary activities in the Verkhovna Rada. As for the mourning rally, everything went according to plan. The government of the Republic was not going to prohibit the Crimean Tatar people from celebrating a mourning date.
The role of the Majlis in the new conditions
Despite the initial negative attitude of the leaders of the Crimean Tatar people to the change of state ownership of the peninsula, there are a number of tasks that they will have to solve. It is difficult to argue that Crimea has become part of Russia. So why bang your head against a wall when there are many not only difficult, but also interesting events ahead. A good politician tries to use any situation in the first place to the benefit of his people. And the conditions for the integration of Crimean Tatars into Russian society are very good. After the referendum, the president of Tatarstan took them under his wing. Many mutual visits and meetings have already been held. The last one was on May 26th. The delegation from the "new" peninsula went to Kazan. There, a Cooperation Agreement was signed with the World Congress of Tatars. Leaders of peoples discussed issues of long-term cooperation. Apparently, Rustam Minnakhanov decided to help the brothers integrate into a society that is not only numerically superior to their previous “family”, but also much more multifaceted and heterogeneous in composition. In addition, practical issues were discussed. For example, it is now difficult for graduates of Crimea to decide where to go. The leader of Tatarstan invited them to choose the territorial universities. Naturally, friendly help and support in case of admission will be provided. It turns out that the Majlis, in spite of its fears, received much more opportunities for the implementation of its main tasks. In a large family, which is Russia, there are many new, sometimes tempting offers,
chances for any citizen.
Majlis as a positive experience
For more than twenty years of its activity, the self-organization body of the Crimean Tatar people has shown that rallying the people is the work of their own hands. If you live as a family, together achieve your goals, then achieving them is much easier. Yes, and every member of such a self-organized society feels more comfortable, understanding that it is not only the state that, judging by the events in the modern world, does not always fulfill its basic functions (meaning Ukraine). If, besides the official ones, there are also national leaders, this instills a little more confidence in the future. Apparently, one can learn from the people who managed to build their own system of self-organization both commitment to traditions and the ability to cultivate respect for elders in their children, to whom they are subordinate in national issues. Despite the fact that people did not do without mistakes and mistakes, on the whole their experience is quite positive and indicative. In any case, during events related to national traditions, they clearly demonstrate love for the heritage of their ancestors, their native land. Crimean Tatar art groups regularly delight with creative results, excellent training and excellent material support. Not a single holiday on the peninsula is complete without their participation. All this is the result of the activity of the body’s self-organization body, which managed to survive very difficult years, terrible upheavals and found the strength to continue building a happier life for posterity.