An estimated 2,000 ethnic Tatars gathered outside the Crimean Parliament in Simferopol to show their support for Kyiv and a united Ukraine.<br /><br />There were scuffles with pro-Russian separatists who denounced what they called “the bandits” who had seized power in the Ukrainian capital.<br /><br />The health ministry said the body of an elderly man was discovered during the rallies. It said he had probably died of a heart attack. It’s reported seven people received minor injuries.<br /><br />The protests were held ahead of a planned parliamentary session. It was expected the issue of Crimea’s status would be debated but the speaker Volodymyr Konstantinov said the subject would not be discussed.<br /><br />Tatars were purged from the Crimean region by Stalin in 1944 during Soviet rule. An official apology with a call to return to Ukraine was given by Kyiv in 1991. They do not want the country to be divided.
