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A NEO-NAZI NIGHTMARE
PLAGUES THE PEOPLE OF UKRAINE,
WHILE THE U.S. SUPPORTS THE CHAOS
The thought of a country falling into the hands of a Neo-Nazi leader is terrifying enough on its own. What makes the idea even more horrifying is that these ideals are being supported by the EU as well as the United States. As per usual behavior of the American media, the issue has been nearly ignored and simply swept away from the public eye. The reality of the matter is that Ukraine is in an extremely dangerous situation, and for once, the West isn't coming to the rescue, but rather supporting the emergence of Neo-Nazi leaders and a living hell for the Jewish community of that country.
VIDEO: KIEV UKRAINE PROTEST 2014 LIVE - EXPLOSIONS
CONSISTENT POLITICAL DIVIDE
(Map via Washington Post)
The above map gives a but of much-needed insight into the severity of the Ukrainian protests, and the history of the country's division. As shown in the map, the two most predominant groups in the country are either ethnic Ukrainians who speak the same language, and ethnic Russians who still predominantly speak Russian. While this surely doesn't explain all of the possible political flaws of the country, it helps explain why elections are often very close when it comes time to select a president. Most ethnic Ukrainians choose one candidate, while the ethnic Russians side with the other almost by default. On a larger scale, the two different groups each claim a different side, Europe as a whole, or Russia.
These demographics are a clear indication of why many Ukrainian citizens are not on the same page politically, and why the protests have become as severe as they are today. In the case of ex-president Yanukovych, in the 2010 elections, the votes were nearly 50-50 and he won with 49% of the vote. This year, when Yanukovych rejected the deal with the EU, this offended a number of ethnic Ukrainians who wanted to move away from the label of Soviet-related. On the other side, it gave Ukraine's ethnic Russian community a heads-up that the country would be siding more closely with the wishes and ideals of Putin.
OLEH TYAHNYBOK
A specific threat to the safety of Ukraine's innocents and a strong component of the ongoing protests is Oleh Tyahnybok, a far-right political monster with a sinister agenda up his sleeve. It's not fair to say that Tyahnybok is the only Nazi-related threat, but he is certainly a key player in the current anti-Semitic disaster. He is the leader of a nationalist party called the All-Ukrainian Union, a party that has been correctly labeled as anti-Semitic (Wikipedia). Tyahnybok's career in far-right politics began in the early 1990s, when he became a member of the Social-Nationalist Party of Ukraine. In 1998, he was elected to the Ukrainian Parliament. Reelected four years later as a member of the Our Ukraine bloc, Tyahnybok was dismissed in 2004 from his duties in parliament after a string of distasteful and racist comments during a speech. His words of political wisdom included such gems as, "They were not afraid and we should not be afraid. They took their automatic guns on their necks and went into the woods, and fought against the Moskali, Germans, Kikes and other scum who wanted to take away our Ukrainian state." To no one's surprise, Tyahnybok denied that his statements were in any way anti-Semitic, explaining that he was instead pro-Ukrainian. It sounds like he's pro-bullshit, given his involvement in today's current Ukrainian crisis.
With the recent overthrowing of president Yanukovych, the opportunity for Neo-Nazi control in Ukraine via Oleh Tyahnybok is wide open. As a leader of the Svoboda Party (previously known as the Social-Nationalist Party), an extremely far-right faction that has a history of once being allied with WWII Nazi Germany (New York Times), Tyahnybok has strong ties with his nation's most prominent neo-fascists. In 2005, he wrote a letter to the Ukrainian president insisting on an investigation of what he deemed "organized Jewry and criminality in Ukraine" (Huffington Post). The fact that Tyahnybok is slowly heading towards being the leader of the pack in the Ukrainian political elite does not read well for its Jewish population, which is estimated to include over 100,000 people. How he has gotten away with the crime of masking his deep-rooted anti-Semitism with sugarcoated ideas about national pride is a dangerous phenomenon.
FAR-RIGHT ROOTS
The country of Ukraine has a history of housing neo-fascist parties, with its infamous Right Sector having headquarters in Kiev. Right Sector is described as a far-right, nationalist group that identifies itself as following the tradition of Ukrainian partisans who fought against Nazi Germany in World War II (Wikipedia). Dmytro Yarosh, leader of the group, states the members of the Right Sector hail from several other, smaller nationalist groups, including the Ukraine National Assembly. On the other hand, Right Sector member Andriy Tarasenko mentioned that the organization was just recently formed near the end of 2013, and that its members varied - - some not having any affiliations with other groups, but simply "ordinary citizens." Whatever the composure of the group, the fact remains that its agenda does not bode well for the future of Ukraine.
WESTERN SUPPORT OF NEO-NAZI TAKEOVER
While Tyahnybok has had no problem rallying up enough support for his lunacy, his popularity and level of power both had an extra push thanks to the United States government. Leave it to the best democratic nation on earth to help establish Neo-Nazi hysteria abroad. In December of 2013, it was announced that the U.S. had just forked over $5 million to Ukraine in support of a new form of government. In the same month, Senator John McCain was seen meeting with Ukraine's worst, including Tyahnybok and Arseniy Yatsenyuk. McCain, who has publicly voiced his disappointment with the Obama Administration on the handling of Ukraine, was not paying a visit to Ukraine's far-right to put out any fires or to peddle democracy. He has circulated the idea that he is taking the necessary actions that Obama has not, but obviously whatever deal agreed between McCain and Tyahnybok has not been progressive for peace. McCain along with Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut released a joint statement on their trip to Ukraine, stating, "We have begun working together on legislation that would impose targeted sanctions on government officials and other persons who have committed, ordered, or materially supported acts of violence against peaceful citizens in Ukraine, or who are complicit in the rollback of Ukraine’s democracy (John McCain)." Let's consult the current death toll of peaceful protestors to assess the success of McCain's special meeting. As of March 3, 2014 it was reported that a total of 95 people so far have lost their lives to the violence in Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has sent a number of troops to Ukraine, sticking by the excuse that it is necessary in order to protect the Russian citizens that live there (Fool). The Russian forces now have complete control of the Ukrainian city of Crimea, and President Obama has stated that Putin's orders are a breach of international law. President Obama warned Putin that there would be "costs" if Russia invaded Ukraine (Alternet), which may have simply fueled a fire that initially wouldn't have burned as wildly. The United States' inactivity in the situation is a suspicious surprise coming from a country that normally does not consult the world rulebook when it comes to declaring war or adopting another country's political problems.
RELEVANT ARTICLES
Oleh Tyahnybok (Wikipedia)
Ukraine in Turmoil After Leaders Reject Major E.U. Deal
There are No Neo-Nazis in Ukraine. And the Obama Administration Does Not Support Fascists
Rein in Ukraine's Neo-Fascists
Ukraine's Revolution and the Far Right
Ukraine's New Leaders: From Neo-Nazis to a Muslim, a Jew And A Heavyweight Boxer