Residents of the annexed Crimea held protests against land expropriation by the Russian government
On May 27 there was a mass protest in annexed Sevastopol against the draft of the general city plan, Krym.Realii reports. Nearly a thousand people took part in the rally at Svoboda Square.
Protesters held banners with inscriptions: “We will defend the right to land,” “The general plan is not genial,” “Stop the judicial arbitrariness for land”, “Putin, protect the land of the people of Sevastopol”.
At the podium, the protest organizers placed posters with a quote from Russian President Vladimir Putin, “A Russian person who senses the truth will always win”.
The protesters adopted a resolution according to which they expressed their mistrust in the Russian-controlled legislative assembly of the city, and also in the local courts which “do not carry out their function according to the law”.
Rally participants also demanded that the draft general plan of the city be rescinded, the 50 million rubles spent on it be returned to the budget, and that a new draft general plan be developed in conjunction with local architects.
The protesters had one more demand – to obligate the Russian-controlled Sevastopol government to rescind the lawsuits to confiscate real estate from citizens.
According to Sevastopol horticulturalists, at the city courts 1,500 lawsuits have been lodged to confiscate plots of land from citizens and declare the Ukrainian ownership documents as invalid.
Representatives of the horticultural society of Kacha, whose lands will be transferred to the Russian Ministry of Defense according to the draft general plan, suggested a delegation be sent to Putin.
The local inhabitants are protesting against the document because it transfers lands from the private sector into the low-rise apartment construction zone, and formally condones the demolition of individual houses on these territories.
Furthermore, numerous plots of land owned privately by citizens will be transferred to the Russian Ministry of Defense according to the draft general plan.