Ukraine (cont.)

[josie_L]

I don’t doubt for a minute that the US and EU expressed support for the protesters. They should have, and not only the protesters against Russian tyranny, but also those who protested the tyranny of the Mullahs in Iran. But the latter, of course, is another story.

But, as the whole world knows, it’s not a “coup d’etat” when a corrupt executive runs away and the legitimately elected parliament is still in place and continues to govern. The president is not the whole government. He’s one man, and only conditionally authorized to run his branch of government. Yanukovych ran away to a foreign, hostile power and aided it in attacking his own country. That’s not a coup d’etat, that’s a traitor forfeiting any right to his office.

Oh man, that was on point. Bravo!

p.s. I might plagiarize that.

 

[AnastasiaRomano]

Crimean Tatars condemn ban on rally to mark Stalin’s persecution

A Crimean Tatar leader condemned as “inhuman” an official ban on commemorations of Stalin’s persecution of Tatars - hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to help the ethnic group.

Crimean Prime Minister Sergei Aksyonov issued a decree on Friday banning all mass gatherings in the region, annexed by Russia in March from Ukraine, until June 6. He cited violence in southeast Ukraine as the reason.

The Mejlis, the Crimean Tatars’ main representative body, had planned to hold a rally in regional capital Simferopol on May 18, the date Soviet deportations of Tatar families began in 1944. Many of the 200,000 deportees died on their way into exile.

Refat Chubarov, chairman of the Mejlis, described the decree as an “inhuman act” at a news conference on Friday.

“What do the authorities want to show the Crimean Tatars on their day of national mourning, on a day when they say prayers for the souls of their deceased?” he said.

Chubarov said the Mejlis would take a final decision on how to respond to the ban on Saturday but warned many Tatars were likely to take to the streets in protest.

reuters.com/article/2014/05/16/us-ukraine-crisis-crimea-tatars-idUSBREA4F0LS20140516

 

[Ridgerunner]

Crimean Tatars condemn ban on rally to mark Stalin’s persecution

reuters.com/article/2014/05/16/us-ukraine-crisis-crimea-tatars-idUSBREA4F0LS20140516

How does that saying go?..“History does not necessarily repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Putin’s rehabilitation of Stalin is both repulsive and ominous.

 

[josie_L]

Here are notes written by Svetlana Gunnashkina, a Human Rights defender, who works on the Presidential (Russian) Human Rights Committee (as per her findings and observations in Crimea):

According to data from the Federal Migration Service, since 15 April 170,000 of 250,000 applicants had received Russian passports. (However on 19 April Romodanovsky said the Federal Migration Service had already received 350,000 applications for Russian citizenship. This is implausible: one of these figures is erroneous.)

Only 20% of the population of Crimea, which amounts to 2 million people, have managed to submit applications.

Places in the queue are already being sold, some people are being seen without queuing. Migration officers are not giving any information to the public.

In the queue we were told that from 19 April documents will no longer be accepted from people who have no residence registration in their Ukrainian passport. Nobody has explained what this decision is based on, but people are very worried. We did not manage to check this rumour.

It is still unclear whether people can get a Russian passport and keep their Ukrainian citizenship. Crimeans have been told verbally that it is possible. However, the statement to be submitted when refusing Russian citizenship reads as follows:

"I, [full name], declare that I want to keep my existing Ukrainian citizenship (status of a stateless person) for myself and my minor children.

In connection with this I reject the recognition of myself and my minor children as citizens of the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 5 of the Agreement between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Crimea on the entry of the Republic of Crimea into the Russian Federation and the creation within the Russian Federation of new subjects (Moscow, 18 March 2014).

I have been given information about the legal status of foreign citizens and stateless persons, and of the need to obtain the requisite document, and also with the legal consequences of my decision".

In this way, the intention to keep Ukrainian citizenship means that Russian citizenship must be rejected. Moreover, people sign to say that they have been given information about their future legal status, whereas, on the contrary, they are completely unaware of the status of foreign citizens in Russia or about the documents they would need to have.

Zhenya Bobrov has appeared on Crimean television three times to explain Russian legislation. In these appearances he spoke about the legal situation of foreign citizens in Russia and about the legal consequences of non-compliance by foreign citizens during their stay and residency, liability for which is set out in the Administrative Code, which can lead to administrative deportation and a ban on entry to the country for 5 years, and also being held for up to two years in a detention centre until deportation.

**Obviously, it is difficult to imagine that the same provisions will be applied to residents of Crimea who refuse Russian citizenship. This would mean that Crimeans who were born and have lived all their life in Crimea and have houses and property here will begin to be expelled from the territory of Crimea administratively. It sounds too absurd to be true, but that is what the law says.

But nobody has bothered to develop other laws for the presence of “foreigners” in Crimea. **On 18 April the deadline for applying to keep Ukrainian citizenship and rejection of Russian citizenship ended. It is not known what will happen with the rest of the people (see the attachment at the end of the text).

The queues in Simferopol for refusing Russian citizenship were huge. People slept near the office of the Federal Migration Service, kept lists so everyone would know their place and wouldn’t have to start the count all over again. At first the reaction towards us was negative, as if to say: Well, are you happy with what is happening?

But then people understood that we do not represent Mr. Putin and began to ask us questions about Russian law. If it is applied to them as it is to foreigners, then their situation will be unbearable. Those who refuse citizenship are category at special risk. According to the Federal Migration Service there are already 3,000 people in Crimea who have refused Russian citizenship. The Federal Migration Service doesn’t know whether to give them a permanent residence permit or one for temporary residence. There is no answer to this crucial question and no bylaws or regulations on this subject have been passed. There was also a suggestion that they could give Ukrainian citizens migration cards as would be given to foreigners who have just arrived on Russian territory.

There is also one more category – citizens who have neither rejected Russian citizenship nor received Russian passports. Their behaviour is fully logical: we do not recognise the new authorities and will not play by their rules. There was also this formula: we will live like we lived before the occupation. This is also a group at risk: since they are being recognised as citizens of Russia by default, we can say that are already recognised as Russian citizens. At the same time, many of them now see their future and the future of their children in Ukraine. This is connected not just to their principled position of not recognising the annexation of Crimea, but also with the urgent need to continue with education, health care, and doing business in Ukraine, as well as in the EU and US. It is unlikely that a Schengen Visa will be issued to the holder of a Russian foreign passport issued in Crimea.

hro.rightsinrussia.info/archive/ukraine/crimea/gannushkina

 

[KyrieEleison17]

These people (separatists) don’t consider themselves Ukrainian

And that makes it Okay to kill them. Right. Gotch’ya.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Thought this article would come in handy, so here it is:

Even Russian human rights body finds Crimean referendum falsified

05.05.14 | Halya Coynash

khpg.org/index.php?id=1399238176

If you actually read the thread you would know we already proved this report was an opinion piece by a man who claimed to survey the entire Crimean population in the space of three days (including the day he arrived and departed) and to accurately represent their views. The fact that the Russian gov’t even allowed this report to be published on their website is a credit to their transparency.

I repeat: the report is based on the claim of a single man who claims he surveyed 2 million Crimeans on a three day trip to Crimea.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

As for “Russian” Human Rights Reports in general, let’s look at what the US State Department is doing in Russia (amazingly tolerated by the Russian gov’t - if the State Department were doing this sort of thing in Canada I can guarantee you they would be monitored by CSIS and one by one each individual would end up in jail and we would suspect every single “Canadian” cooperating of Treason):

Russia

Accountability
$35,000
Center for Human Rights
To support educational and legal assistance programs focusing on human rights. This organization will develop three programs that will feature public discussions and educational seminars.

$360,241
Reducing Corruption
To reduce the corruption potential of laws and regulations that affect entrepreneurs in Russia. This organization will strengthen anti-corruption expertise by training local experts to more effectively review legislation and by supporting them in the accreditation process with the Ministry of Justice.

$25,000
Increasing Access to Information
To help citizens engage with the local bureaucracy to increase transparency and accountability. The organization will hold seminars on how to request information from the government according to existing Russian law.

$44,930
Anticorruption initiatives
To increase transparency in the local municipal government and develop anticorruption awareness in the region. This project includes seminars and roundtables on methods for reducing corruption.

$719,535
Transparency in Russia
To raise awareness of corruption. The organization will provide legal advice to citizens and will conduct research on levels of corruption and anticorruption efforts.

Civic Education
$550,000
Increasing Political Competition in Russia
To strengthen the capacity of groups and individuals to participate in civic life. The organization will provide training in communications strategies and ways of becoming more involved in civic life.

$34,811
Improving Civic Literacy
To develop leadership skills among local youth through educational and training seminars on human rights and the media.

$41,000
School of Human Rights
To conduct human rights training seminars for teachers in local schools and seminars for citizens on protecting their fundamental constitutional rights.

$33,600
Improving History Education
To educate young people about the lessons of the Soviet era. The organization will engage people in a discussion about what they understand of Soviet history and what implications it has for modern Russia.

$54,975
Teacher Training in Soviet History
The organization will conduct training seminars for teachers on Soviet history and its impact on present-day Russia. Materials will be made available in print and electronic formats for teachers from around the country.

$31,542
Civic Education
To hold a series of discussions on important local issues. The organization will also develop its social media outreach capacity.

$99,870
Promoting Civil Society
To teach civic leaders to use new technologies effectively in their work.

Democratic Ideas and Values
$65,000
Access to Information
To provide citizens and members of civic groups with information regarding current events in Russia.

$50,000
Raising Awareness of Human Rights
To continue hosting human rights-oriented outreach events. This organization will operate a public debate and discussion series, which will focus on issues relevant to Russia society.

$53,000
Citizen Engagement
To engage citizens in a discussion of local issues. The organization will update its website with information on election procedures and candidates.

Freedom of Association
$520,000
Trade Union Education and Strengthening
To build the capacity of associations to conduct internal training and external training. The organization will focus on developing skills in negotiation techniques and strategic planning training for its partners.

$200,000
Trade Unions: Expanding Freedom Of Association
To build the capacity of associations to conduct training and expand outreach activities. The organization will also produce analysis of situation with freedom of assembly throughout the country.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Thought that was all your American taxpayer dollars were being used for in Russia? Not even a third of it.

Freedom of Information
$49,990
Improving Access to Ecological Information
To improve access to information about Russian human rights and environmental issues. This organization will maintain its website and publish print and electronic editions of a journal on environmental issues.

$64,000
Civic Education
To share information about social and economic rights. This organization will use social media and other online technologies to share information with the public, and will hold discussions on social and economic rights in Russia.

$40,000
Access to Ecological Information
To provide access to accurate information about important environmental issues.

$65,036
Strengthening Freedom of Information
To help foster freedom of expression in Russia. This organization will provide legal assistance to journalists and media outlets and will host a series of educational trainings.

$47,808
Blogger school
To run an educational program for bloggers. The organization will operate three independent schools, bringing together active bloggers to receive training in the fundamentals of journalism.

$45,000
Blogger school
To run an educational program for bloggers. The organization will operate three independent schools, bringing together active bloggers to receive training in the fundamentals of journalism.

$70,000
Promoting Freedom of Information
To promote freedom of information by monitoring official information resources. Monitoring reports, news, and other resources will be disseminated on the organization’s website and as printed reports.

$40,928
News website
To maintain a blog-aggregator, which collects blog posts from civic activists, human rights defenders and other popular bloggers and reposts them on a single webpage.

Freedom of Information
$60,005
Independent Information Platform
To provide an independent venue for NGOs and others to hold media events.

$35,403
Defending Civic Leaders
To improve interregional cooperation among human rights workers and NGOs on new laws. The organization will create a web portal focusing on cases against civil society leaders.

$30,000
Website Maintenance
To maintain and expand a news website that focuses on civil society and human rights.

$50,000
Website Maintenance
To maintain and expand a news website that focuses on civil society and human rights.

$50,000
Freedom of Information
To provide reliable and accurate information on local events through a network of regional correspondents. The organization will publicize regional human rights blogs to help further disseminate information.

$69,047
Digital Archives
To preserve historical documents. The organization will digitize and disseminate Soviet era archives.

$40,000
Internet TV
To develop a web platform for the discussion of local issues. The website will include information on the role of local elected officials, news pieces and educational pieces on human rights and other subjects.

$36,350
Support for Journalists
To support independent journalism in the Russian Federation.

$54,672
Promoting Civic Engagement
To encourage the exchange of information on issues of local interest. The organization will develop an online portal to appeal to citizens becoming involved in public life for the first time.

Human Rights
$35,017
Supporting Prisoners
To raise awareness about the Russian judicial system. This organization will maintain a website and hold public discussions on this and other issues.

$99,680
Monitoring Human Rights
To provide technical and legal support for the activities of Russian human rights organizations currently under threat.
$50,000
Utilizing the Mechanisms of the European Court of Human Rights
To train human rights lawyers on international judicial procedures. The organization will operate its study tour program, which will provide 14 qualified lawyers and human rights defenders with hands-on training in European Court of Human Rights procedures and norms.

$44,020
Human Rights Education
To educate the public about human rights. Informational and networking meetings for regional human rights organizations and civil society actors will be organized as part of this program.

$35,000
Informational Aid for Refugees
To help refugees to secure residency permits and basic humanitarian assistance and to provide legal aid.

$90,000
Preventing Torture
The organization will monitor the use of torture in Russia. The organization will publicize the results of its monitoring on its website, through partner NGOs, and in local and national media outlets.

$55,673
Raising Awareness of Human Rights
To provide free legal representation and consultation to victims of human rights violations. Assistance will include utilizing regional or international instruments for human rights protection and defense.

$50,000
Monitoring Human Rights
To provide assistance to civil society leaders and NGOs in Russia. The organization will host discussions and meetings on the topic of civil society.

$50,000
Human Rights Monitoring
To raise awareness of the negative consequences for human rights of new Russian legislation. The organization will monitor the texts and implementation of Russian laws that pertain to human rights.

$50,140
Human Rights Monitoring
To support regional offices conducting human rights monitoring. The organization will collect and disseminate reports of human rights abuses.

$43,571
Information Network
To formalize a nationwide information news collection network. This organization will track and tag news stories collected by its regional correspondents, update its website, develop a correspondent network, and conduct analysis of collected information to identify relevant trends.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Whoops miscalculated even longer than I thought.

$65,000
Protecting Human Rights
To conduct ongoing monitoring of human rights throughout the Russian Federation, and to share that information with the public and other interested organizations.

$54,400
Human Rights Monitoring
To support regional offices conducting human rights monitoring. The organization will collect and disseminate reports of human rights abuses.

$39,094
Information Network
To formalize a nationwide information news collection network. This organization will track and tag news stories collected by its regional correspondents, update its website, develop a correspondent network, and conduct analysis of collected information to identify relevant trends.

$54,997
Reducing Extremism
To support a program of monitoring, analysis, and publications to counter xenophobia. The organization will conduct research and publish analytical reports based on its monitoring activities.

$56,783
Reducing Extremism
To support a program of monitoring, analysis, and publications to counter xenophobia. The organization will monitor the activities of extremist and ultra-nationalist groups, and publish analytical reports and books based on its monitoring activities.

$50,000
Defending Human Rights
To deepen local understanding of human rights through a series of roundtables and conferences, this organization will work to assist local authorities in better protecting them.

$32,285
Monitoring Human Rights
To conduct human rights seminars and consultations for draft-age youth, conscripts, and their families. The organization will also work to help young people exercise their right to alternative service.

$78,446
Legal and Informational Aid
To protect against human rights abuse through provision of material and technical assistance.

$25,092
Youth Engagement
To involve young people in a series of seminars and public events on themes pertaining to human rights, civic engagement and community peacebuilding.

$38,586
Human Rights Monitoring
To monitor the treatment of inmates and detainees currently held in prison. The organization will continue to operate a legal aid center for detainees and their families.

$45,766
Documenting Human Rights Abuses
To create a database of human rights violations.

$30,000
Promoting Human Rights
To implement a human rights education and training program for local officials and NGOs.

$44,662
Promoting Freedom of Movement
To provide assistance to Russian citizens whose right to freedom of movement has been violated. The program will include information dissemination as well as targeted practical legal support.

$28,215
Promoting Human Rights
To conduct human rights seminars and consultations for young Russian army draftees and to examine conditions in the army.

$36,512
Youth for Civil Society
To bring together and provide training for youth. The organization will conduct a series of five-day informational seminars.

$102,735
Human Rights
To monitor human rights violations throughout Russia. This organization will provide legal assistance to victims of human rights abuses, distribute information regarding abuses in the domestic and international press, and publish a newsletter.

$80,000
Promoting Human Rights
To promote broader respect for human rights in the armed forces. The organization will assess human rights conditions within military bases throughout Russia and update its website.

$46,302
Fostering Informed Public Participation
The organization will hold trainings and seminars on gender equality in Russian public life.

$41,950
Assistance to Prisoners
The organization will provide informational and legal assistance, hold trainings for lawyers, and maintain its website.

$57,000
Human Rights Center
To conduct a human rights and legal education program including leadership trainings for local NGOs, student workshops, and legal trainings for prison monitors. Legal assistance will also be provided to victims of human rights abuses and their families.

$28,545
Monitoring and Protecting Human Rights
To defend victims of human rights violations in regional and international courts.

$35,072
Defending Women’s Rights
To raise awareness of the problem of gender discrimination through roundtables and open discussions with leading public figures. The organization will also lead training seminars to empower women to defend their rights and will offer free legal aid to women in need.

NGO Strengthening
$20,000
NGO Strengthening
To provide access to information and legal assistance to Russian civic activists and organizations.

$100,000
Legal Defense of NGOs
To provide access to information and legal assistance to Russian civic activists and organizations.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Hopefully it will fit now…

$50,110
Strengthening Women’s Organizations
To implement a collaborative NGO project to assist young women in addressing the growing number of threats to their personal freedom posed by the local government.

$93,636
Human Rights Capacity Building
To increase the capacity of Russian NGOs to operate safely and effectively.

$57,500
Promoting Awareness of Human Rights Violations in Russia
To assist Russian human rights organizations by strengthening their advocacy and outreach capacity. The project includes a training program, consultations and mentoring and the development of a manual on advocacy campaigns.

$49,483
Assisting Civil Society in Russia
To assist civil society in Russia. The project will improve international cooperation and advocate for a greater EU role in assisting civil society in Russia.

$87,860
NGO Outreach
To provide legal assistance and NGO training programs for newly formed NGOs and initiative groups. The organization will include an annual training on human rights, which will provide past participants with additional training on effective legal practices for NGOs.

$51,610
Assisting Regional NGOs
To support new forms of civic initiatives in the Russian regions. The project will increase the capacity of and foster greater coordination among NGO activists.

$51,500
Building Analytical Networks
To improve the analytical skills of young Russian think tank analysts. The project include a two-day training in Moscow, a week-long training and research visit and publication of policy papers on democracy issues.

$35,000
NGO Strengthening
To increase the capacity of newly formed NGOs. The organization will host trainings for youth and seminars for the leaders of new and existing nonprofit organizations.

Rule of Law
$350,724
Fighting Corruption in the Regions through Legal Reform
The organization will provide training for legal experts on ways to reduce the potential for corruption in legislation, and to lay the groundwork for a private-sector commitment to fighting corruption. The organization will also hold discussions on issues of corruption in four Russian regions.
$45,000
Monitoring Human Rights Violations
To provide free legal representation and consultation to victims of human rights violations in Russia. Assistance will include utilizing regional or international instruments for human rights protection and defense.

$79,284
Access to Legal Assistance
To support a legal aid and education program for civic activists. The organization will provide free consultation and legal assistance.

$30,003
Protecting Historical Monuments
To protect historically and culturally relevant landmarks from misuse, neglect, and theft.

$50,000
Raising Legal Awareness
The organization will prepare and publicize information about new laws in Russia.

$900,000
Russia: Political and Civic Engagement
To encourage civic engagement of individuals and groups. The organization will provide networking and training opportunities for those who wish to become more involved in their communities.

$56,041
Promoting Human Rights
To monitor and analyze the implementation of European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) decisions in Russia.

Strengthening Political Institutions
$350,000
Increasing Political Competition (Supplement)
To strengthen the capacity of groups and individuals to participate in civic life. The organization will provide training in communications strategies and ways of becoming more involved in civic life.

Grant descriptions are from the 2013 NED Annual Report.

I will remember American taxpayer generosity the next time I pass through a ghetto in Detroit. If your gov’t were pulling these stunts in my country I guarantee you there would be consequences. That the Russian gov’t tolerates it is simply astounding. Again: Even in Canada anyone accepting this money would be called a traitor plain and simple.

 

[josie_L]

If you actually read the thread you would know we already proved this report was an opinion piece by a man who claimed to survey the entire Crimean population in the space of three days (including the day he arrived and departed) and to accurately represent their views. The fact that the Russian gov’t even allowed this report to be published on their website is a credit to their transparency.

I repeat: the report is based on the claim of a single man who claims he surveyed 2 million Crimeans on a three day trip to Crimea.

No, the report was not based on the likes of a single man, i.e., there were several others involved in the report:

Svetlana Gannushkina: **On 19 April I returned to Moscow from Crimea. I had travelled there with Olga Tseitlina, our lawyer at the Migration and Law Network based in St Petersburg, Zhenya Bobrov and also Andrei Yurov, a member of the Presidential Human Rights Council (an organization that I have left). **When we departed from, and returned to, Moscow we went through passport control, but in Simferopol there was no passport control. Andrei Yurov helped us by providing us with a car and driver. But most of my contacts were my own, ones I had got from various people, not just from those within the sphere of human rights. Many civil activists have left Crimea for the Ukrainian ‘mainland’. Others have sent their children there, so that they can study at school in Ukrainian in a peaceful atmosphere.

hro.rightsinrussia.info/archive/ukraine/crimea/gannushkina

And no, it’s not a credit to their transparency, i.e., they took it down because it contradicted the LIES Putin’s puppets had propagated during that farce of a referendum.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

No, the report was not based on the likes of a single man, i.e., there were several others involved in the report:

hro.rightsinrussia.info/archive/ukraine/crimea/gannushkina

And no, it’s not a credit to their transparency, i.e., they took it down because it contradicted the LIES Putin’s puppets had propagated during that farce of a referendum.

What’s happening in Ukraine is what the CIA calls blowback. The whole world knows it.

 

[josie_L]

And that makes it Okay to kill them. Right. Gotch’ya.

**Maybe it’s hard for you to understand this but they are terrorists that are acting on behalf of another country, so yes, they will be prevented from ceding Ukrainian lands to Russia by the Ukrainian military. **

 

[josie_L]

What’s happening in Ukraine is what the CIA calls blowback. The whole world knows it.

The world can believe whatever it wants to believe, I’m simply concerned in voicing the truth.

 

[KyrieEleison17]

The world can believe whatever it wants to believe, I’m simply concerned in voicing the truth.

LOL. I believe you… others wouldn’t, but I do.

 

[josie_L]

Ukraine is all for dialogue, but not under the barrel of a Russian gun

Andrii Deshchytsia, Ukraine’s acting minister of foreign affairs

Last week Russia’s President Putin said he believed referendums should not take place in the eastern regions of Ukraine on 11 May. Remarkably, the change of Putin’s rhetoric has inspired some hope in many European capitals.

Putin distanced himself publicly from pro-Russia armed separatists in the east, pretending Russia had no influence over them. Unfortunately, his posturings are nothing more than a diplomatic trick and are indicative of the long-term game the Kremlin is playing.

As many European diplomats have observed, Putin’s acts regarding Ukraine belie his words. Despite his claims to withdraw troops from Ukraine’s border, he did not – according to all the independent intelligence reports of Ukraine, Nato and the Pentagon. A few hours after his “goodwill” commitment, an armoured Russian “Tiger” (wheeled troop transporter) crossed Ukraine’s border by force to join armed militants in the Luhansk region. This is just one of a multitude of examples of Russia’s direct involvement in the unrest in Ukraine’s east. However, this fact is often lost in the western media because of the Kremlin’s highly coordinated information campaign on Ukraine.

Those who have lauded Putin’s “request” to separatists to postpone the so-called referendum should be reminded that it is not up to a president of a foreign country or a gang of armed militants to decide on a referendum in a sovereign and independent state. If the Kremlin truly wanted a de-escalation of tensions in the east of Ukraine, there are only two principal steps it could take: it must stop supporting armed Russian and pro-Russian separatists; and withdraw troops from the border. That’s the core of any roadmap towards a lawful and democratic solution to the crisis.

Both steps are fully within the authority of the Russian Federation and both can be quickly implemented and tracked. When there is a will, there is a way. Apparently there is lack of political will by Russian leadership to practise what it preaches. Instead, Russia is substituting disarmament with a so-called “dialogue”.

But let us not be confused. As my colleague, the Polish minister of foreign affairs, said this month, one cannot hold dialogue or consultations under the barrel of a Kalashnikov. No government in the world would sit at one table with armed terrorists. First, Russia must pressure the separatists to stop shooting, immediately vacate buildings, turn in their weapons, and stop terrorising the population.

The Ukrainian government supports dialogue with peaceful civil society groups, but will take strong measures against armed criminals. The major premise of Kremlin’s rhetoric today is to mix those two notions and accuse Ukraine of an authoritarian approach, which is utterly ironic. Russia – an authoritarian regime, according to the Economist, and one of the most “not free” states on political rights and civil liberties in the world, according to Freedom House – is blaming Ukraine for a lack of democracy.

Ukrainians’ unrivalled longing for democracy was tragically proved by the EuroMaidan events in Kiev earlier this year, and further democratic developments would have continued unhindered but for the intrusion and military aggression of a foreign state. But, with or without Russia’s interference, Ukraine will proceed with decentralisation and constitutional reform, as it is within our own interests. There is no doubt that this process would have been much more efficient without Russian guns inside Ukraine and Russian tanks on our border.

However, Russia’s reaction to the so-called referendum has been too emotional and short-sighted to match Putin’s long-term diplomatic game. His foreign minister Sergei Lavrov’s call to “respect” the votes and put them into practice has again proved that the Kremlin supports separatists, disproving Putin’s rhetoric.

Last Monday, one of the separatists’ leaders, a Russian citizen and intelligence officer, Igor Girkin – nicknamed Strelok – proclaimed himself the commander-in-chief of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and turned to Russia for immediate military aid. He also called for law-enforcers in the Donetsk region to swear an oath of loyalty to this newly emerged state. And he intends to prosecute members of Ukrainian government, among others.

If Strelok is the negotiating party Russia wants to see at Ukraine’s round table, we presume that he is not welcome – by Ukraine, nor by OSCE co-facilitators. Why should a Russian special operative who had previously terrorised civilians in eastern Ukraine be the voice of the people? Rather, he is welcome at Ukraine’s criminal courts.

theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/may/17/ukraine-dialogue-russian-gun-putin

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Ukraine is all for dialogue, but not under the barrel of a Russian gun

Andrii Deshchytsia, Ukraine’s acting minister of foreign affairs

Right. Only under the barrel of a neo-Nazi Right Sector gun.

 

[josie_L]

Right. Only under the barrel of a neo-Nazi Right Sector gun.

Current parties represented in the State Duma

United Russia
Единая Россия ER
ЕР Conservatism, Statism, Pragmatism, Centrism, Neoconservatism Dmitry Medvedev 238 seats

Communist Party of the Russian Federation
Коммунистическая партия Российской Федерации KPRF
КПРФ Communism, Marxism–Leninism, Patriotism, Left-wing Nationalism Gennady Zyuganov 92 seats

Political party LDPR
Политическая партия ЛДПР LDPR
ЛДПР Russian nationalism, Pan-Slavism, Neo–Imperialism, Mixed economy Vladimir Zhirinovsky 56 seats

A Just Russia
Справедливая Россия SR
СР Social democracy, Democratic socialism Nikolai Levichev 64 seats

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politic…ties_in_Russia

Just letting everyone know that if they’re going to denounce the Kyiv government of being fascist/neo-Nazis, then one should look at the parties that make up the Russian Duma, i.e., the far-right neo-Nazi party, LDPR, holds 56 seats out of a possible 440, while the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine parliament) holds 35 seats (Svodoba) out of a possible 450 seats.

Here you’ll find a breakdown of the present interim Ukrainian government:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkhovna_Rada

 

[KyrieEleison17]

Here you’ll find a breakdown of the present interim Ukrainian government:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verkhovna_Rada

“This article is about the Ukrainian parliament.”

Try again.

 

[josie_L]

“This article is about the Ukrainian parliament.”

Try again.

I guess you never bothered to read the whole article because at the bottom of that page is a listing of parties representing the Ukrainian interim government, i.e., the Svodoba party does not have a majority of the seats at present, i.e., it is the party of regions that does (you know the party that Yanukovych once represented/led).

p.s. I guess it’s not the neo-Nazi government you perceive it to be.