A regular meeting of the Working Group on the solution of actual issues of the temporary occupied territory under the chairmanship of the Permanent Representative with the participation of the First Deputy and Head of the Mission’s Office on Work with the Citizens Moved from a Temporary Occupied Territory, was held on the 20th day of December, 2017 in the settlement of Chaplynka. Head of Chaplynka District State Administration, heads and officials of the united territorial hromadas (communities) of Chaplynka district, representatives of the local executive authorities who work with the citizens of temporary occupied territory took part in the meeting.
The participants of the meeting discussed the aspects of optimization in providing the administrative services in the sphere of passportization of the citizens who live in Crimea. The representatives of public organizations once again pointed out the facts of corruption risks and limited capacity of registration in the electronic queues in the subdivisions of State Migration Service in Kherson region. The Permanent Representative noted that establishment of the Administration Service Centers in inventory of the territorial hromadas (communities) of the Kherson Region would be a main way of optimization of this situation. Head of the District State Administration and the representatives of the united territorial hromadas (communities) informed of the intension of establishment of such centers with the functions of obtaining documents for biometric passports and ID cards in the settlements of Chaplynka and Askania-Nova in 2018. This will allow increasing at least in three times the ability of services provision in the sphere of passportization, in particular for Crimean residents, in Chaplynka district since the spring 2018. The Representative and other members of the Working Group encouraged public organizations to inform the representatives of the Central Administration of Security Service of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol about all the facts of corruption connected with passportization of Crimean residents.
During the meeting the parties discussed an issues connected with rendering assistance to the internally displaced persons from the temporary occupied territory. It was recorded a relatively small number of internally displaced persons in Chaplynka district in comparison with a significant number of persons who come from the temporary occupied territory of Ukraine in Crimea to solve the humanitarian issues and exercise their own rights. The representatives of the public organizations pointed out a pressing issue of legislative regulation of a status of the citizens who live on the temporary occupied territory, in particular in the spheres of the provision of secondary legal assistance, administrative services etc. The Representative of the Legal Assistance Office informed of the absence of lawyers in the district, about only one acting judge in the district court and only two notaries in the district. This situation with has a negative influence on the provision of legal assistance to Crimean residents, in particular in cases of ascertainment of facts of birth and death on the temporary occupied territory. The Permanent Representative called the district authority for the best promoting the career guidance and personnel work among the local population in order to increase a number of lawyers able to occupy the relevant positions that are promising in the context of massive need for provision of legal services for Crimean residents.
The issue of legalization of transport services provided to the citizens of temporary occupied territory for transportation from the checkpoint “Kalanchak” to the mainland Ukraine was raised on the meeting. The Permanent Representative and his First Deputy informed the meeting about the efforts of the Mission Office to start a constant passenger long-distance service on the rail road route “Vadym-Kherson-Kyiv”. The Permanent Representative pointed out an incomprehensible, situation when a Public Joint Stock Company “Ukrzaliznytsia” has logistic and material capabilities to organize a dozen of daily trains from Ukraine to the capital of the aggressor state, but at the same time cannot organize a minimal comfortable passenger service from Perekop for Crimean residents. The First Deputy stated a long-time evasion of Kherson Regional and Kalanchak District State Administrations of announcement of competition for inter-district automobile routes “Checkpoint Kalanchak-Kherson” and “Checkpoint Kalanchak-Kalanchak” with stopping at the settlements of Kalanchak or Chaplynka. Chaplynka District State Administration was recommended to interact with Kherson Regional State Administration and to held a competition for automobile routes “Checkpoint Kalanchak-Chaplynka” and to intensify the work on the legalization of passenger taxi transportation from the village of Chaplynka to the checkpoint.
The participants of the meeting discussed a preparation for functioning of the checkpoints in winter period. In particular, need of installation of tent heaters near the checkpoints was emphasized, and public organizations having trailers at the checkpoints were called for heating of the citizens who are sensitive to bad weather (children, older people). It was stated that under conditions of the absence of centralized budget financing for arrangement of the checkpoints in 2018, the Mission will take measures to arrange them at the expense of current assets of the responsible organizations, first of all it is “Ukravtodor” and attached technical assistance.
Also there was raised a question of possible location of subdivisions of the Central Administration of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol on the territory of Chaplynka district which due to the efforts of the Mission in 2018 will be relocated in Kherson Region. The First Deputy reported that due to the efforts of the Mission there was established a lawful mechanism of transportation of the deceased persons for burying from Crimea to the mainland Ukraine through the checkpoints. It was indicated that such transportation should be done in the mornings on working days with a timely notification of the checkpoints by phone. According to the legislation of the funeral business, a coffin or mortuary urn along with persons who carry out transportation must be accompanied by the representatives of the Border Guard and Customs Service to the nearest place of forensic medical examination agreed by phone (medical establishments of the village of Kalanchak, the village of Chaplynka, the town of Henichesk etc.), where unfortunately the coffin/urn must be opened. The Mission urges all the persons faced the corruption risks from the side of the Customs Service during transportation of urns and coffins through the checkpoints to inform about this the representatives of the Central Administration of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the Mission immediately.
The participants of the meeting discussed the issue of information security in Chaplynka district in the context of illegal television and radio broadcasting from the temporary occupied territory which contains propaganda and justification of genocide of the Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar peoples, Russian aggression against Ukraine, stirring up of hatred, Russian militarism and chauvinism and disseminates false information. Under conditions of absence of information from the State Committee for Television and Radio-Broadcasting related to the monitoring of such content in the settlements of Kherson Region close to the checkpoints, the Permanent Representative called Heads of the territorial hromadas (communities) of Chaplynka district to report about such illegal broadcasting, its mode and content to the Mission in a prescribed manner. The intensification of broadcasting capability that is planned in 2018 in the settlement of Chaplynka was discussed too.
Also at the meeting of the Working Group the parties discussed issue of environmental protection safety connected with the threats spread from the temporary occupied territory of Ukraine in Crimea. Head of the State District Administration and the representatives of the territorial communities pointed out the facts of massive air and water pollution of Syvash caused by the work of enterprises of chemical industry controlled by the occupation authority in the town of Armyansk and the town of Yany Kapu (Krasnoperekopsk). The participants of the meeting stated that in the framework of investigation of relevant criminal proceeding it was determined that the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea has been keeping correspondence with the local government for a long time. The First Deputy of the Permanent Representative mentioned that the indicated proceeding will be under a special control of the Mission.
The Permanent Representative and the First Deputy visited the area of relevant environment pollution at the line of delimitation immediately after the meeting and discussion of a number of issues of the sustainable development of the district and became personally certain of its presence and continuity.