AP, Ukraine :
The arrival of Russian troops in Crimea has opened old wounds among the Crimean Tatars, who were deported during World War II. Fearing that once again they will be unwelcome in their homeland, some are organizing community-watch patrols to protect their families and homes in a place they strongly feel should remain part of Ukraine.
Tensions have grown with preparations to hold a referendum on Sunday on whether Crimea should stay in Ukraine or join Russia.
“It turned out that there’s a sudden sense of danger,” said Dilyaver Reshetov, who heads the watch group in Simferopol’s Akmechet neighborhood.
While Crimea’s ethnic Russian majority may be in favor of joining Russia, Muslim Tatars have rallied to support the new Ukrainian leaders in Kiev. This, they fear, will make them a target of rising Russian nationalism on the Black Sea peninsula.
Shortly after pro-Russia President Viktor Yanukovych fled Ukraine two weeks ago, about 20,000 Tatars turned out for a rally in Simferopol, the Crimean capital, in support of the new pro-Western government in Kiev. They were confronted by a smaller pro-Russia rally, and at least 20 people were injured in clashes.
What started as just 40 volunteers has swelled to more than 200 in Akmechet, where residents have turned a mosque into a makeshift command center for organizing volunteers. The volunteers, armed with flashlights and maps, patrol the poorly lit streets and stop any suspicious vehicles trying to enter the neighborhood.
