'Self-occupation' or 'squatting') refers to the illegal occupation of land in Crimea; in the Ukrainian media, squatting is primarily discussed in regards to Crimean Tatar returnees, though most squatters are Slavs.

As a result of the slow process, many Crimean Tatars have turned to erecting impromptu structures on undeveloped land.

[citation needed] When the return of the Crimean Tatars began in 1989, there was no real support for such an undertaking from the Soviet government.

A proposed government programme to organise and facilitate the return of Crimean Tatars never came to fruition due to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Running counter to the NDKT was the OKND, led by Dzhemilev, which criticised the slow pace of government repatriation and called for returnees to resettle land on their own initiative.

[4] Dzhemilev said of Soviet repatriation efforts, "The USSR was able to evict the entire people in one night, and is it going to return them in 20 years?

However, this repatriation programme soon revealed itself to be hollow; the areas of the peninsula historically most inhabited by Crimean Tatars, including major cities and the Southern Coast, were declared off-limits to returnees.

In spite of this opposition, a tent camp was established on the Southern Coast in the village of Zaprudne [uk] (Crimean Tatar: Degirmenköy) in autumn 1989.

Despite early cooperation with the Soviet government, things soon turned sour; on 14 December 1989, the encampment was stormed by the militsiya, soldiers, and local settlers, who attacked the Crimean Tatars.

[4] With no existing infrastructure to facilitate the repatriation or housing of Crimean Tatars, early returnees found themselves in destitute living conditions.

Soon after its establishment, the village was attacked by state farm workers with the support of the Crimean authorities, leading to 17 being severely injured.

This time, the Crimean government left no doubts about its involvement, sending in special forces to support the farmers.

Dzhemilev claimed in 2010 that over a dozen commissions were established to investigate problems regarding squatting over the course of the previous six to seven years, but that they failed to reach a resolution due to the fact that "very interesting names of the highest echelons of power in both Crimea and Kyiv were revealed."

Yanukovych, who had fought for more stringent fines and prison time against squatters as Prime Minister, centred his concerns on Crimean Tatars for squatting in a 2010 speech.