FASCIST PUTSCH IN UKRAINE

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: march 2014 :: RMTnews 28 Fast-moving events in the Ukraine have moved beyond political conflicts to a dangerous military stand-off. Russian forces appear determined to defend the mostly Russian population of Crimea, while the US has sent air and naval forces to bases near the region. The background to the crisis is multidimensional yet most British media coverage has been superficial. Since the Ukraine became an independent state in 1991, the country has been bitterly divided. Ukraine’s eastern half is more industrialised and urban, mostly Orthodox in religion, with a large ethnic Russian population. Around 18 per cent of the Ukraine’s population is ethnic Russians but the Russian language is considered the mother tongue of 30 per cent of the population, including some ethnic Ukrainians. Crimea became part of Ukraine in 1954, when Soviet leader Nikita Krushchev transferred the peninsula from Russia. At the time, Russia and Ukraine were components of the Soviet Union so the change made little difference. With the end of the Soviet Union in 1991, the largely Russian population of the Crimea, which is 60 per cent of the total, was promised autonomy and language rights. With the current uncertainty, there is tremendous momentum toward returning to Russian sovereignty, especially given fears that autonomy and language rights are under threat from the new government in Kiev. In Kiev, the interim government includes not only conservative and neo-liberal parties but also the neo-Nazi Svoboda (Freedom) Party, which holds three cabinet posts, the position of national prosecutor and one of the deputy premierships. The Svoboda leadership glorifies Ukrainians who served in the Waffen SS. It praises terrorist groups that collaborated with the Nazis during the Second World War, actively participating in the Holocaust, in the mass killings of ethnic Poles as well as anti- fascist Ukrainians. During the violent clashes in Kiev in January and February, which saw both protesters and police killed, the fascist paramilitary Right Sector and other extremists left their mark on what had until then been largely peaceful protests. While there has been international condemnation of Yanukovych’s use of armed riot police, the key role of the fascist paramilitaries in escalating violence has been downplayed. In Kiev, New York Times reporter Andrew Kramer interviewed one of the far-right paramilitary leaders. He wrote: "During the Independence Square protests, Dmytro Yarosh made a name for himself as an expert with firebombs. Now, just weeks later, Right Sector leader Mr Yarosh, leader says he is running for president". "As Right Sector has made the transition into politics, its leadership has moved from an occupied post office into rooms at a hotel near Independence Square. The group still keeps stocks of beer bottles filled with gasoline on the sidewalk outside, even though there are no longer any riot police officers to fight". The firebomber Yarosh is now Ukraine’s Deputy Secretary of National Security. Further advances by the fascists cannot be ruled out, especially given the endemic corruption and incompetence of the established parties. One previous prime minister, Pavlo Lazarenko, was sentenced by a US court to nine years in jail for money laundering. It is estimated he pocketed up to $200 million while in office. Victor Yanukovych was elected president in 2010 with 48.9 per cent of the vote in an election declared fair by international observers at the time. His opponent was Yulia Tymoshenko, a close ally of Lazarenko, subsequently jailed for corruption but now released and preparing a presidential bid. Yanukovych, now a fugitive wanted for murder and FASCIST PUTSCH IN UKRAINE Kenny Coyle examines the origins of the growing crisis in Ukraine FAR RIGHT: Supporters of the far right wing Svoboda (Freedom) party with ‘white power’ flags burn the flags of the Communist Party of Ukraine and the Party of Regions of Ukraine during a rally in support of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army which fought alongside the Nazis during World War II.