Ruslana: Maidan Will Lend Crimean Tatars a Shoulder to Lean On

Kyiv, 24 March 2014 – “I urge the society to unite in helping the people of Crimea, – said public activist, singer Ruslana, as she addressed the Ukrainians during a briefing at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center. – Crimea SOS and Euromaidan SOS are among the most active platforms, and they can be contacted for coordination of actions.”

Ruslana reminded the audience that according to opinion polls, the level of support of the union with Russia in the Crimea was only slightly higher 40%. “Of course, there is pro-Russian sentiment, but it’s not that high. Russia has taken power by force and we demand that the international community uses the phrase ‘forceful takeover of Crimea by Putin and Kremlin’,” the singer emphasized.

Ruslana also touched upon the issue of Kremlin’s propaganda. “One can take over a country with information war, and that’s what Putin is doing today. It is the work of his political strategists at the psychological level, they are using methods of intimidation. This is an attempt to capture the Ukrainians, break them with propaganda”, said Ruslana, adding also that she was outraged with the disinformation about Maidan itself, “as long as there is a one percent chance to sue Putting for slander, I’ll do it.” She also made a note about the signs of Russian propaganda in China shaping a false public opinion in the country.

Speaking about the March 23 ‘Viche’ (Ukrainian for ‘public assembly’), Ruslana explained the essence of the resolution Maidan activists drafted yesterday: “We rightfully demand that the current government come up with a way to communicate with Maidan. Such resolutions cannot be simply laid next to the flowers. The government must appoint a practical coordinator to interact with Maidan. This message is addressed to Turchynov and Yatseniuk.”

Ruslana pointed out the staffing mistakes made by the interim government and condemned the position of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry on Crimea. “Yesterday the situation was explosively dangerous. We’ve been walking a tightrope. The interim government has failed to deal with Crimea, and now people are getting involved to save the situation. I talked to the Ukrainian military in Crimean yesterday, and their position was very straightforward: no one even cared to give any orders. There had been no calls, no visits, no support”.

Ruslana is a Ukrainian public activist, singer, former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. She is the first Ukrainian to have won the Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award. In 2013 she was on the Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.

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