The finalists of the selection for Eurovision-2019 Anna and Maria Opanasyuk found themselves in the center of the scandal after an interview with one of the Ukrainian TV channels. In a conversation with journalists, the artists refused to recognize the "occupation" of the Crimea.
“We will not say the phrases you want to hear from us,” said Maria on ATR.
According to her, “smart people” will independently be able to make a conclusion as to which country the peninsula is part of. Anna added that Ukraine “lost” the Crimea.
“We can endlessly say that our Crimea is, but we are going there through two borders,” she concluded.
In the Verkhovna Rada called on Anna Maria to prevent participation in the selection for Eurovision-2019. As stated by Deputy Borislav Bereza, the group’s reluctance to recognize Crimea as Ukrainian indicates that the Kremlin’s loyalty is more important to them.
“Therefore, we say to girls who do not know whose Crimea they want to save their parents' career, forgive and make a choice from those left behind,” Bereza said on Facebook.
Later, during the final selection round of the competition, the jury and the presenter again began to ask the singers about the Crimea and brought the girls to tears.
“And if I ask you now, whose Crimea, and this question will drive you into a fork, this will put an end to either your career or my mother’s,” said Sergei Pritula, host of the First Ukrainian TV Channel.
To the moderator's question, the girls replied that they would choose a family between the competition and their parents. At the same time, they stressed that they were born in the Crimea, did not violate any laws and did not go to Russia with concerts.
The mother of the girls, Larisa Opanasyuk, is the Deputy Chairman of the Peninsula’s Council of Ministers. She said she supports the position of daughters.
“I’m just proud of them, because they performed very decently - very openly and honestly, the way they think and the way many people in the Crimea and Ukraine think,” said Larisa Opanasyuk on REN TV.
According to the Ukrainian media, the father of the singers, Alexander Opanasyuk, until 2016, served as a judge of the judicial division in criminal matters in the Supreme Court of Crimea.
Note that the data on the parents of the artistes have been added to the database of the Peacemaker site.
The discussion on the position of Anna Maria was attended by a jury member and winner of Eurovision 2016, singer Jamala, who said that she could not judge Anna Maria's performance impartially. In their speech, they recalled an interview with singers, which was the reason for the subsequent questions about the status of the Crimea.
- Jamala
- © Frame: YouTube / UA video: First
“How can you say in an interview that Crimea is just a homeland?” There is only one answer ... Crimea is Ukraine, ”said Jamal.
According to the voting results, the Anna Maria duet scored less than the other five participants in the final. In the selection, singer Anna Korsun won, performing under the stage name Maruv.
In the Crimea, said they would be happy to see Anna and Maria Opanasyuk. This was told by the head of the Crimean Public Chamber, Grigory Ioffe.
“The fact that these two young performers were not led to political provocation, that they spoke very sincerely, without getting into the political jungle, suggests that they are worthy and very real Crimeans,” RIA Novosti told Ioffe.
In his opinion, now the singers have to go through serious trouble in Ukraine.
“But they must remember that they will always be able to return to the Crimea and will be welcome people and Crimeans here,” Ioffe stressed.
- © Anna-Maria Opanasyuk
"We listen to society"
Note that the jury had questions to Maruv, as the singer went on tour to Russia. The national public broadcasting company of Ukraine has to decide whether it will represent Ukraine at Eurovision-2019.
“Now we have to approve or agree on the winner, who will travel from Ukraine. And we, as a public broadcasting, listen to society. In society now there are different opinions: a performer who has a concert activity in Russia, can he represent Ukraine. There is a point in our contract that we need to discuss with Maruv, ”said member of the company's board, Aleksandra Koltsova, to Gromadske TV.
- Maruv
- © Frame: YouTube / UA video: First
According to her, Maruv should provide answers to the organization’s questions within 24 hours, and the company will take the final decision in 48 hours.
Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Vyacheslav Kirilenko said that artists who do not go on tour to Russia should represent the country at Eurovision-2019. The politician claims that the national selection for the contest has become "part of the hybrid war of Russia against Ukraine."
“Representative of Ukraine cannot be an artist who tours in the aggressor state, plans to do it in the future and does not see anything unacceptable in it. Therefore, the story of a participant from Ukraine is still far from complete, ”wrote Kirilenko on Twitter.
Later it became known that Maruv offered a contract in which the refusal of the tour in Russia is indicated as one of the requirements. This is the agency TASS.
Participant of the final selection, singer Yulia Yurina, who performs under the stage name Yuko, announced her desire to obtain a Ukrainian passport.
“Yes, of course, I have a desire to obtain Ukrainian citizenship,” said Yurina during the selection finals, adding that she knew about the need in this case to pass a Russian passport.
Maruv has become a victim of Ukrainian politics, a source in the Self-Help Party told RT.
“Why Ukrainian artists can not perform in Russia? We are not in a state of war, moreover, Russia remains the largest trading partner of Ukraine. Chaos reigns in society, and participants in the song contest must answer strange questions about whose Crimea, ”the party said.
In turn, a source in the party "People's Front" notes that Ukrainian artists are forced to perform in Russia because of the state of the industry in their homeland.
“Spectators do not go to concerts, they simply have no money. What should artists earn, how much money to write hits? Ukraine simply cannot afford to contain high-class specialists, ”said the source RT.