Oleh/By  	:	DATO SERI DR MAHATHIR BIN MOHAMAD
Tempat/Venue	:	CRIMEA AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC
Tarikh/Date	:	15/07/2003
Tajuk/Title 	:	THE PRESENTATION OF DONATION BY 
			THE GOVERNMENT OF
			MALAYSIA TO 
			THE CRIMEA AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC
Versi 		:	ENGLISH
Penyampai	:       PM      


       Let  me  first thank you, Mr. Prime Minister,  for
   the  very  warm welcome and hospitality that  has  been
   accorded to me and my wife, as well as members  of  the
   Malaysian delegation.
   
   2.    I am personally very heartened to be part of this
   commemorative  occasion  to  honour  the  entire  Tatar
   population  in Crimea, who became victims  of  Stalin's
   oppressive  policies during the Second World  War.  The
   tragic events where approximately 188, 626 Tatars  were
   forcibly  deported en masse from their  own  lands  and
   villages  to Central Asia and other far away  parts  of
   the Soviet Union will always be remembered as a time of
   great  sorrow  and  sadness  in  the  history  of   the
   Republic.   Many  died  of  diseases,  exhaustion   and
   malnutrition in the process.   Our hearts go out to the
   victims  and  their  descendants of  this  inhuman  and
   brutal policy.
   
   3.    I  understand that the Crimea Autonomous Republic
   has  been  working hard to resettle the Tatar returnees
   and  attend  to  their  needs. We  empathise  with  the
   Crimean  Tatars'  struggle to rebuild their  lives  and
   reclaim their national and cultural rights in the  face
   of difficult social and economic obstacles.
   
   4.    In  solidarity  with the  people  of  the  Crimea
   Autonomous  Republic,  the Government  of  Malaysia  is
   pleased  to  contribute a sum of  US$  10,000  for  the
   reconstruction of the mosque in the city of  Evpatoria.
   We sincerely hope that this modest contribution from us
   could  help  bring back in a small way the  environment
   with which you have been familiar with.
   
   5.    I  extend to all of you my best wishes  with  the
   sincere hope that your government with the help of  the
   international community would be able to  overcome  the
   problems  related to the resettlement  of  the  Crimean
   Tatars.  Please accept this contribution in the  spirit
   of   friendship   between  Malaysia  and   the   Crimea
   Autonomous Republic.

   Sumber : Pejabat Perdana Menteri