There appeared on December 26 a number of statements of political figures reporting on the subversive activities of the Turkish side among the Crimean population, in particular the diaspora of the Crimean Tatars.
Originally appeared at Russorient, translated by Carpatho-Russian exclusively for SouthFront
The first statement was made by one of the organizers of the blockade of the Crimea, Lenur Islyamov. According to him, Turkey will render financial assistance in forming a volunteer battalion in Ukraine, to be named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan. The battalion will include 560 Crimean Tatars. Soon after the first publication of Islyamov’s interview, part of the material was removed. Citations were provided from Islyamov, who answered in the affirmative to the question as to whether Turkey supports the actions of Tatars in the Crimea. “It very much supports this. Here already on Friday a military uniform is coming. They are already beginning to fit us out. The Turkish government understands that Ukraine will not be able to react very quickly”, said the political figure. The main purpose of the battalion will be “protection of the borders of Crimea, in Crimea itself.” “We shall act so as to approach Crimea as soon as possible. The tasks of this battalion are to strike in such a manner that only we can know. We know every path and spring in Crimea”, explained Islyamov. He noted that a blockade of the peninsula with the support of the Azov Battalion and Right Sector is already organized and should lead to an electricity blackout on the peninsula on December 31. According to him, they have not yet succeeded in achieving support from the authorities of Ukraine, but they are already helping by “not disturbing” them.
The Governor of Sevastopol, Sergey Menyaylo, reacted to the statement of Islyamov, against whom Russia has presented an official charge of sabotage. He declared that Turkey has again given Russia a “stab in the back”. “This is wrong. This is the next stab in the back for Russia. Turkey is showing its true face”, said the Governor. He noted that by supporting revolutionary inclinations of the authorities of the Crimean Tatar people, Turkey is showing open aggression in its relation to Russia.
Regarding Islyamov’s provocative and aggressive statements, the Turkish mass media provided only the comment of the Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma for Security and Counter-Corruption, Irina Yarovaya, which comment in turn the mass media called “strange”. The newspapers Akşam and Milliyet provide the pronouncements of the parliamentarian: “If Turkey is helping the national saboteurs of Ukraine through its Ministry of Defense, the image of the Turkish authorities will only be spoiled, and they will affix to themselves the status of accessories and betrayers. The Crimea is Russia, and therefore the security of Crimea is reliably ensured in all spheres. Europe should be engaged in correcting the actions of the countries with whom it cooperates”, declared Yarovaya.
Also information appeared on the activation of the radical organization Gray Wolves in Crimea. In December they already visited the Crimean diaspora, as the same Islyamov reported. By analogy to Syrian events (where radicals under cover of the Turkomans directly conducted operations in the north of Syria), the Wolves plan to conduct diversionary operations in Crimea under cover of the peaceable Crimean Tatars. The “charitable” fund TIKA shelters the activity of the radicals. Now they plan to take the Kherson area under control, with corresponding claims for management of the region. The leader of the Crimean Tatars, Moustafa Dzhemilev, has already urged his compatriots to move to the Kherson area, and Turkey will render material support to Tatars in their plans: Dzhemilev and Refat Chubarov have already traveled to Turkey for approval of their actions.
Turkey is now pursuing several goals immediately. First, it is necessary to restore its influence on Crimea and the Crimean Tatars that had been lost after the peninsula’s reunification with Russia. Secondly, it is necessary in any way possible to harm Russia, which has shot down Turkey’s hopes to control the north of Syria where Syrian Turks live. Finally and thirdly, it is essential to adhere to the official ideology — support of the Crimean people is perfectly fits within the framework of the ideas of pan-Turkism and neo-Ottomanism.