"Decommunization" Laws: Deeply Divisive and Destined for Strasbourg | KRYTYKA - April 2015 |

Ukraine needs to shed its Soviet past and translate the victory of Maidan into real reform and European integration. This must be achieved through dialogue and respect for those Ukrainians who currently view the government in Kyiv with suspicion and distrust. And through laws which meet European human rights standards and the requirements of rule of law. The so-called "decommunization" laws in their present form hearken back to Soviet practice of imposing certain ideology as correct. This is a retrograde move, which will certainly result in Ukraine's being found in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Volodymyr Viatrovych is right on one thing: the issue of decommunization is indeed related to security policy. At a time when Ukraine is under attack, unity is vital.

No Dignity In Maidan Massacre

A fatal flaw in the founding act for democracy in Kyiv that hunts the state even today.

The Battle for Kiev | The Nation - 21 Feb. 2014 |

All parties involved share responsibility for the failure of negotiations and the escalation of violence in Ukraine. 

Odessa, Ukraine--The Ukrainian government and the president certainly have much to answer for. They permitted radicals to build a heavily armed encampment smack in the very heart of the nation's capital and in violation of three separate court orders, all just a few yards away from the main government buildings. They have repeatedly given in to the intimidation of roving bands of armed and masked hooligans who, having now become a law unto themselves, endanger the lives of peaceful citizens. Just before the most recent spate of violence, during the "peaceful" interlude that followed the president's last amnesty offer, for example, law enforcement officials stood by as a civic initiative known as "Kievans for a Clean City" was brutally assaulted near the Maidan.

Another peaceful Saturday action "Kyivians for a Clean City" ended with over 20 Kievites being hospitalized due to injuries. The organizers of the action were also hospitalized. The blood of women was spilled, staining the bright banner. Perhaps February 15 will go down in history as the date of a real civil confrontation in Ukraine.

The parliamentary political opposition (Yatsenyuk, Klitschko and Tyahnybok) also has much to answer for. Its contempt not just for the current constitution but for the parliamentary process itself, as manifested by its routine seizure of the Speaker's podium to prevent parliament from functioning, has only further weakened and discredited the political process.

With power seemingly within reach, it has relied on ultraradical and openly neo-Nazi groups to achieve the kind of political control that it probably could not achieve through the ballot box. After all, just as the views of the political opposition have hardened with the escalation of this crisis, so have the attitudes of the supporters of President Yanukovych's party, the Party of Regions, which remains the largest in the country. By carelessly embracing the slogan of revolution, however, it has unleashed forces that it is now powerless to control.

Finally, those Western governments which have taken it upon themselves to intervene in Ukraine's internal political drama also have much to answer for. Their undisguised bias against the popularly elected Ukrainian government and insistence on mutually exclusive demands--protect freedoms and defend the rule of law, but do not defend freedoms and the rule of law if force must be used--has enervated the government, emboldened the opposition and given the most radical elements a free hand to create mischief. By failing to insist that the political opposition distance itself from the radicals, Western policies bear part of the responsibility for the escalation of violence.

There is, however, little sign that anyone in the West is actually listening to average Ukrainians, who are fed up with the current violence. More often than not, political officials, pundits and editorial boards cling firmly to their initial assessments of the unrest as a "tug-of-war" with Moscow, and remain oblivious to the danger that rise of violent nationalism on the wave of popular discontent with the government poses to Ukrainian democracy and national unity.

One reason for this is simply amnesia. Four generations have passed since fascism rose to power in the heart of Western Europe, sweeping aside the weak and ineffective popularly elected governments. It seems implausible for such a thing to happen in Europe today. Understandably, Europeans would much rather dwell on how postwar fascism in Italy, Spain and Portugal gradually became reconciled to the basic principles of liberalism and constitutional democracy, than to accept the idea that they are witnessing a slow-motion replay of the March on Rome organized by Italian fascists in 1922. 

But the single most important reason Western governments cannot see the dangers to democracy in Ukraine is the assumption that simply by being against Russia one must at the same time support democratic values. For the United States, in particular, this is a recurring theme. During the Cold War the United States often provided crucial assistance to "friendly fascist" dictatorships in its struggle to prevent the expansion of Soviet communism.

A Western fascist putsch reverberating today

So today, even though communism is no longer a threat, and Russia is calling upon all parties to let Ukrainians sort out their own issues without external interference, many in the West continue to act as if the major problem in Ukrainian politics is Russian involvement. Of course, Russia's deep cultural, linguistic and religious ties with Ukraine cannot be overlooked, but this only makes the absence of Russian politicians in Kiev during the current crisis stand in sharp contrast to the daily pilgrimages there of European and American emissaries.

Western policy has lost touch with reality in Ukraine because it is Russia, not Ukraine, that is its real focus. Simply put, Western policy has lost sight of Ukraine itself.

This article as a witness to events I followed very closely on Western media and satellite reception and varied sources to write my diaries in those days/weeks of the ugly, violent putsch to destroy democracy in Ukraine. No election held thereafter was free or whole.

EuroTrib archive key word | Maidan |

Confusing Episode in Ukraine | 21 Feb. 2014 |

My comment to BooMan's fp story - A Confusing Episode in Ukraine.

I just listened to a live broadcast of the speeches before a large crowd at Independence Square in Kiev. I just made a diary entry here @BooMan - Ukraine: Extremists Reject EU Deal, Demand Violent Overthrow.

A subdued crowd listened to opposition leader and Western favorite son Klitschko who got a luke warm response. The right-wing extremist leader took the stage and in fascist style brought the crowd to an uproar. He set a deadline for president Yanukovich resignation by 10am tomorrow morning or he will move a armed mob to the presidential palace and force his dismissal. Many months ago, the protests turned violent and has all the properties of a revolution: agitators in the crowd and propaganda war with support of Western media. Ukraine's Russian speaking eastern part will be loyal to Russia and listen to Putin's propaganda.

See my earlier diary - Regime Change In Ukraine - Who Bugged Nuland, An Embarrassment (Feb. 7) plus a description of some right-wing fascists leaders who entertained John McCain during his visist to Kiev. Just checking whether US Congress' money from the NGO NED and USAID's $1 billion were well spend.

From the photo-op with McCain in Kiev, I now recognise the fascist leader who rejected the EU deal and threatened to march on the presidential palace tomorrow morning: Andriy Tyahnybok from Svoboda party.

Andriy Tyahnybok from Svoboda party meets John McCain | Channel4 News - 16 Dec. 2013 |

'Jewish mafia'

However, in 2004 leader Oleh Tyahnybok gave a speech attacking what he called "the Moscow-Jewish mafia ruling Ukraine" and in another speech declared: "the Moskali, Germans, Kikes and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state."

Despite the controversy his statements attracted in the West, Tyahnybok was voted Person of the Year by readers of Ukrainian news magazine Korrespondent last year.

In another outburst from the party their deputy chief, Ihor Miroshnychenko, wrote an anti-Semitic attack on Mila Kunis on Facebook: "Kunis is not Ukrainian, she is a Yid. She is proud of it, so Star of David be with her."

Extremist ban call

The World Jewish Congress has called for Svoboda to be banned along with the Jobbik party in Hungary and Greece's extremist Golden Dawn.

Out on the streets of Kiev the red and black striped flag of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UIA) is regularly seen carried alongside flags carrying Svoboda's logo.

The UIA flag belongs to an anti-communist force that sought to establish an ethnic nation state under dictatorship during the Second World War.

Svoboda member of parliament Ihor Miroshnychenko called for the banning of a LGBT march this year declaring that "homosexuality provokes sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS".

McCain meets Ukrainian protest leaders amid rallies | CNBC - 15 Dec. 2013 |

But protesters continued to stream into the capital for the weekend protest. Talks between the government and the opposition on Friday appeared to go nowhere.

Sweden's foreign minister said Russia should not feel threatened if Ukraine moved closer to the European Union.

"Ukraine has a free trade agreement (FTA) with Russia and we have nothing against that," Carl Bildt told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Monaco.

"Why should they object that the Ukraine has an FTA with the EU? It is a win-win for Ukraine and Russia. Why they should see everything as a zero sum game? It's not," said Bildt, who was closely involved in EU talks with the Ukraine.

Following leading idiots like John McCain . A fascist of American heritage. True grit.

Analysis: U.S. Cozies Up to Kiev Government Including Far Right | NBC News - 30 March 2014 |

Svoboda, which means "Freedom," was given almost a quarter of the Cabinet positions in the interim government formed after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February.

The party's policies center around protecting the rights of what it calls "ethnic Ukrainians," the preservation of the Ukrainian language and culture, and strict controls on immigration.

Although much of the more extreme content has now been removed from Svoboda's leaflets, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Ukraine in 2012 that asked Kiev not to associate with the party on account of its "racist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic views."

The appointment of Svoboda co-founder Andriy Parubiy to position of secretary of the Security and National Defense Committee has raised eyebrows. Although now a member of the liberal-conservative Fatherland party, Parubiy led anti-Yanukovych street militias in Kiev in the wake of protests that erupted in December.

Senator John McCain before US Congress - NBC Video

US should send weapons to Ukraine now provocations delay wait for Russia to annex Alaska

His deputy is Dmytro Yarosh, leader of the even further right-wing group Pravyi Sektor, meaning "Right Sector." Its members formed the most militarized elements of the anti-government protest movement. Some of these demonstrators wore anti-Semitic insignia.

Recent coverage with Prof. Jeffrey Sachs ...

America's Imperialism Denied

PACIFISM IN TIMES OF WAR

Peace by peaceful means: Responding to aggression creatively and nonviolently | 31 May 2022 |