Tensions flared in the southern Ukrainian region of Crimea, as demonstrators pushing for a referendum on joining Russia clashed with members of the Tatar ethnic minority.
Thousands of flag-waving protesters from both sides gathered yesterday outside the local parliament’s building in Simferopol, the regional capital.
Lawmakers are hold an emergency session to discuss whether to support the plebiscite.
A vote for the referendum would be “symbolic,” rather than binding, assembly spokesperson Lyudmila Mokhova said by phone.
Divisions between the Ukrainian-speaking west and center and the pro-Russia east and south are straining the country’s unity after the nation’s bloodiest week since World War II toppled former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych’s Kremlin-backed regime.
The EU urged all sides to preserve Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Crimea, part of Russia until 1954 and home to its Black Sea fleet, has become the focus of tension.
Pro-Russia lawmakers “just want to protect their Russian language and Russian culture,” Sergey Aksenov, a member of the group in parliament, said on Ukraine’s Channel 5.
Tatars, who returned to their native land after Josef Stalin deported them under accusations of Nazi collaboration, are waving Ukrainian and Crimean flags, chanting: “Crimea is not Russia,” images broadcast by Espreso TV showed.
Pro-Russian organizations who represent the autonomous region’s majority ethnic group have been camped out in the area since Tuesday, with more than 7,000 people are rallying and their number is growing, Channel 5 reported.
The Tatar minority has supported the protests that erupted in November last year after Yanukovych snubbed an agreement with the EU in exchange for a US$15 billion bailout from Russia.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft