Crimean Tatar leader Mustafa Dzhemilev says that after Russia's annexation of Crimea, Moscow is relying "on the old Soviet policy of dividing the Crimean Tatars."
In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian and Tatar-Bashkir Services on June 11 in Prague, Dzhemilev said that after attempts to persuade the supreme representative body of the Crimean Tatars to cooperate failed, now "there is every sign that the Mejlis will be closed and banned" throughout Crimea.
He also said that Moscow's annexation of Crimea is "damaging to the basic interests of Russia and the Russian people," and "a path to catastrophe, isolation, and loss of respect" for the country.
Dzhemilev, a Soviet-era dissident, has strongly protested Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.
In an interview with RFE/RL's Russian and Tatar-Bashkir Services on June 11 in Prague, Dzhemilev said that after attempts to persuade the supreme representative body of the Crimean Tatars to cooperate failed, now "there is every sign that the Mejlis will be closed and banned" throughout Crimea.
He also said that Moscow's annexation of Crimea is "damaging to the basic interests of Russia and the Russian people," and "a path to catastrophe, isolation, and loss of respect" for the country.
Dzhemilev, a Soviet-era dissident, has strongly protested Russia's annexation of Crimea in March.