OSCE High Commissioner came up with a report on the issues of nation

OSCE High Commissioner came up with a report on the issues of national
minorities in Crimea, including Armenians

17:35, 17 August, 2013

YEREVAN, AUGUST 17, ARMENPRESS: OSCE High Commissioner on National
Minorities (HCNM) Knut Vollebaek published a needs assessment report
on 16 August 2013, entitled The Integration of Formerly Deported
People in Crimea, Ukraine.

As Armenpress was informed from OSCE media center, the document seeks
to provide an up-to-date analysis of the current situation of national
minorities in Crimea and offers recommendations for easing
inter-ethnic tensions and increasing the integration of Crimean
society, as well as attempts to raise awareness of the issue. Since
the late 1980s, some 266,000 Crimean Tatars and thousands of other
people (Armenians, Bulgarians, Germans and Greeks), who had been
deported en massefrom Crimea on ethnic grounds by the Soviet regime
back in the 1940s, have returned to the region.

Given difficult economic and social circumstances, Crimea was not
fully prepared to handle such a large and rapid migratory influx.
Incidences of hate speech, vandalism of religious sites, violent
clashes and widespread unauthorized occupation of land illustrate the
depth of social divisions and perceived injustices in Crimea.

`While the Government of Ukraine and the Crimean authorities have made
laudable attempts to facilitate repatriation and resolve some of the
issues facing the formerly deported people (FDPs), many structural
problems remain. Further effort and support, including from the
international community, is required to reach a sustainable solution,’
Vollebaek notes in the report. The report is based on research by
independent experts commissioned by the HCNM and on the results of
Vollebaek’s numerous visits to the region.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress