DISINFO: Crimean referendum and secession from Ukraine fully complied with Article 138 of the Constitution of Ukraine
SUMMARY
As for Crimea, one time (1991) an Autonomous Republic, despite the position of the local population, remained part of Ukraine. The rights of the Crimean people were more or less protected. But after the nationalists came to power, when the slogan "Crimea without Russians" was sounded, the lives and security of the inhabitants of the peninsula were endangered. A decision had to be made, it was made. The Crimean referendum and secession from Ukraine fully complied with Article 138 of the Constitution of Ukraine.
RESPONSE
Manipulative statements. Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about the illegal annexation of Crimea, claiming that it voted to rejoin Russia through a legal referendum.
Crimea is an internationally recognised part of Ukraine. Іn 1997, by signing the Friendship Agreement with Ukraine, Russia also recognised that Crimea belongs to Ukraine.
On the 1991 Crimea sovereignty referendum, there was no mention of an option to return to Russia. Voters were asked whether they wanted to re-establish the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic or not.
94% of voters supported the proposal by favouring being part of a newly independent Ukraine, and the Supreme Council of Ukrainian SSR established the autonomous Crimean Republic within the territory of Ukraine. On May 6 1996, the newly adopted (in Crimea) Crimean Constitution was amended to identify Crimea as part of Ukraine (albeit a highly autonomous part). After Ukraine adopted a new constitution in 1996, Crimea maintained its autonomy. Crimea has its own parliament and government.
There is no available evidence that the lives and safety of the residents of Crimea were at risk.
It is true, that by Article 138 of the Ukrainian constitution - "The competence of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea comprises: 1) designating elections of deputies to the Verkhovna Rada of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea... 2) organising and conducting local referendums.
Regarding the so-called 2014 referendum, it was organised hastily and at gunpoint following the Russian covert invasion of “little green men” and barring impartial observers from entering the peninsula can hardly be called "reunification in strict accordance with all the norms of international law".
The referendum offered two choices: join Russia or return to Crimea’s 1992 constitution, which gave the peninsula significant autonomy. Those who favoured Crimea remaining part of Ukraine under the current constitution had no box to check.
Local authorities reported a turnout of 83%, with 96.7% voting to join Russia. The numbers seemed implausible, given that ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars accounted for almost 40% of the peninsula’s population. (Two months later, a leaked report from the Russian president’s Human Rights Council put turnout at only 30%, with about half of those voting to join Russia.)
Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, recognised on 17 April 2015 that "our soldiers were deployed in Crimea to help the inhabitants express their opinion." Vladimir Putin admitted (and was proud of) that the plan to annex Crimea was ordered weeks before the so-called referendum.
No international body recognises the so-called referendum in Crimea. The UN noted that it was not valid and could not serve as a basis for any change in the status of the peninsula. On 17 December 2018, the UN General Assembly confirmed its non-recognition of the illegal annexation of Crimea.
The European Union does not recognise and continues to strongly condemn this violation of international law, which remains a challenge to the international security order. In response to the illegal annexation of Crimea, the EU has imposed restrictive measures against the Russian Federation. In June 2020, the European Council decided to renew the sanctions until 23 June 2021.