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Crimea and Sevastopol

Crimea invites Ukraine’s Jamala to sing at opening of memorial to deportation victims

Ukrainian singer Jamala won this year’s Eurovision song contest with a song about the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944

Ukrainian singer Jamala Vyacheslav Prokofiev/TASS

Ukrainian singer Jamala

© Vyacheslav Prokofiev/TASS

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SIMFEROPOL, May 17. /TASS/. Crimea’s authorities will be glad to see Ukrainian singer Jamala who won this year’s Eurovision song contest with a song about the deportation of Crimean Tatars in 1944 at the opening ceremony of a memorial dedicated to the deportation victims, Crimea’s Deputy Prime Minister Ruslan Balbek said on Tuesday.

"Jamala would have an all-round support from the Crimean Tatars and from all people living in Crimea should she sing this song at the opening ceremony of the memorial complex instead of Eurovision. This song would be more appropriate there and then and everyone would praise it and her talent," he said, adding that the song looked out of place at the Eurovision song contest.

The first stage of the memorial complex will be unveiled at the Syren station near Bakhchisarai on May 18. The complex will center round a wooden railway car that was used to deport Crimean Tatars from the peninsula in 1944. The complex will be completely launched in 2019, by the 75th anniversary of the deportation.

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Jamala not to perform in Crimea at memorial opening — producer

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