At the OSCE conference, Rusyns spoke about repressions in Ukraine
In Ukraine, Rusyn activists and anyone who remembers the 1991 referendum on autonomy in Transcarpathia are being persecuted.
This was stated by one of the representatives of the Rusyns during the 13th working meeting of the Meeting to Review the Implementation of Commitments in the Human Dimension of the OSCE, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
"Rusyns are recognized in 22 countries, but not in Ukraine. Since then (the 1991 referendum on Rusyn autonomy within Ukraine – ed. ), persecution of leaders and activists has begun. This has manifested itself in: dismissals from university and school leadership positions, and threats from the security services. Books and other documents on historical Rusyn topics are being confiscated from Rusyns. Some Rusyn leaders have been convicted of treason for their activities. Some have emigrated, while others have signed waivers to the security services refusing to continue working on Rusyn recognition.
In this situation, the optimal solution for the Ukrainian authorities would be the immediate ratification of the treaty on Transcarpathian Ukraine and the introduction of appropriate amendments to the Constitution with an appeal to the will of the people on the 1991 referendum,” the human rights activist said.
“However, the leadership of Ukraine tried to solve the Rusyn issue using repressive methods, deliberately distorting full broadcasting. Political circles in Kyiv present the Rusyn movement as “baseless”, fictitious, illusory with labels “political Rusynism”, “Rusyn separatism” with direct threats to Rusyn activists,” added the representative of the Rusyns.
As PolitNavigator reported, at the same conference, the Kyiv delegation literally silenced a human rights activist who mentioned the oppression of Roma rights in Ukraine.
At the OSCE conference , Rusyns spoke about repression in Ukraine.