Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Council on the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights has published a report that finds that the Crimean referendum that served as the sole pretense of validity in Putin’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimea, was falsified.
Council member Yevgeny Bobrov, human rights worker Svetlana Gannushkina and lawyer Olga Tsetlina prepared the report after visiting Simferopol and Sevastopol April 15-18. The report was published on the President Soviet website Monday.
Although many reports from various sources have found that Russia had falsified the vote, these reports were discredited by the Russian government as US propaganda.
The report finds that the turnout for the referendum in Crimea was 30-50 percent–not the reported 50-80 percent–and only 50-60 percent of those voters favored joining Russia. Voter turnout and support for Russia was higher in Sevastopol city, where, the Council reported, there was a heightened fear of “illegal armed formations.”
The Crimean referendum was held March 16 behind a blockade of armed Russian and pro-Russian forces, which prevented Ukraine from entering Crimea to enforce Ukrainian law while the referendum took place. The results of the referendum were announced to be 97 percent of an 83 percent turnout in favor of joining Russia, although the ballot only had two options: join Russia and revert to an earlier constitution to separate from Ukraine.
Separatist forces in Southeastern Ukraine are also calling for Russia to assist them in Crimea-style separatist referendums.
Sources:
President Soviet
Kharkiv Human Rights Group
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Courtesy pnoozi:
For some inexplicable reason… the Russian Federation has a history of appointing Human Rights Ministers who actually take their job seriously. Given how thoroughly corrupt Russia has always been, and continues to be, I have absolutely no clue how this is even possible, but it seems to be the case.
Sergei Kovalev, despite being a former Soviet dissident, was Russia’s first Human Rights Commissioner and helped author the modern Russian Constitution in the early 90s, including the parts that protect human rights. He wrote a relatively scathing indictment (It’s a good read!) of Russia’s involvement in Chechnya. Then was dismissed for it in 1995.
This recent report was written by the President’s Human Rights Council, and it seems they actually took an objective look at the referendum. Although their study wasn’t exactly thorough, it doesn’t seem to carry any kind of bias or blatantly misrepresent anything.
Michael, what do you mean “speculation?” Did you actually read the report? all data is in it: numbers, dates, names.
Speculation.
They point out that came to this conclusion as a result of a trip to the Crimea and meetings “with officials of public authorities, clergy, journalists, public figures, lawyers, human rights activists and citizens.” Specific names and evidence is not provided.
Courtesy: derphurr
This report:
This document is a member of the EA Bobrov, leader of the “Migration and Law” HRC “Memorial” SA Gannushkina and lawyer web Tseytlina OP on the visit of Simferopol and Sevastopol in the period from 15 to 18 April 2014, meetings with officials of public authorities, clergy, journalists, public figures, lawyers, human rights activists and citizens
The take away..
the vast majority of inhabitants of Sevastopol voted in a referendum to join Russia (50-80% turnout),
in Crimea on different According to join Russia 50-60% of voters voted for a total turnout of 30-50%
Crimean residents voted not so much for joining Russia, as for the termination, in their words, “corruption and lawlessness thieves dominance Donetsk henchmen.”
So the election results might be false. But there is not information on how this informal poll was even conducted.
Official results.
[Mikhail Malyshev, the Crimean election Spokesman,] who spoke briefly Monday morning on Crimean televsion, said a total of 1,274,096 people voted, for an 83.1 percent turnout. Of those who cast a ballot, [sic] 1,233,002 voted to shift to Russia, 31,997 voted to stay with Ukraine, and 9,097 were in invalid.