Saturday, November 26, 2005
SENT NOV. 24, 2004, or DAY 3 of OR
WHO'S LEADING A CIRCUS IN UKRAINE?:
Greetings Friends,
The fall out over Viktor Jushchenko's taking a symbolic presidental oath yesterday has been tremendous. Already yesterday and immediately after the oath was made, the speaker of the parlaiment, Volodymyr Lytvyn commented that Jushchenko is only discrediting himself by taking such actions, and all day long various figures supporting Janukovych have echoed this claim. Furthermore, Putin in a statement today said that Ukraine is a state of law, implying that Jushchenko's actions are illegitimate (while taking the supposedly legitimate action of sending Russian special police to guard the offices of the presidential administation in Kyiv). And finally, this evening during debate at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) over the final certification of the the results of the election, a Janukovych supporter stated that the opposition is leading a circus on the streets of Kyiv and throughout Ukraine.
It is no surprise that Janukovych was certified this evening as the Ring Leader of the real circus happening in Ukraine today (i.e., the CEC did certify tonight its declaration yesterday that Janukovych won). Who looks more ridiculous, the millions on streets throughout Ukraine demonstrating for Jushchenko, or the men in suits sitting inside buildings guarded by Russian special police flown in this morning for their and Kuchma's "protection?"
And who looks more ridiculous than the filthy rich oligarchs and politicians that backed Janukovych whose applications for visas to the US are "under review" (an anonymous source has let it out that these mens' applications most likely will not gain approval, and that furthermore, the White House is considering seizing all their money in US banks, since the money was made illegitimately, and even some of it is money stolen from US taxpayers, as it was money given to Ukraine as AID money through the IMF/World Bank.)
These are the figures whose respect for the law that they are suddenly trumpeting today has lead to millions of people mobilizing across the country to certify in the streets the fact that Jushchenko has already become their president. Jushchenko's oath was a pledge to his supporters that he will stay the course until the end, and in one comment yesterday, he declared, "Some don't like to see my face, but its the face of my nation" (a statement which has an additional sense for those who know about what is widely beleived as an attempt on his life via poisoning last September--he looks a lot worse today than he did before the incident). Jushchenko is not one among that sad line of ego-driven, megalomaniacal leaders of revolutions. Kyiv and most of Ukraine is covered today in orange. The cities of Lutsk, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytstkyj, Vynnytsja, and Kyiv have all passed resolutions rejecting the validity of Sunday's vote, and more of such resolutions are coming. Against all the most negative stereotypes in the West about Ukrainians, people here are proving with each passing moment that they are not a nation of thieves and bandits, nor of the politically apathetic; they are instead proving that they have been a battered nation whose time has finally come to rise and fight for its dignity. PORA (Now's the Time)!
And it is just fantastic that all of this is happening on the first anniversary of the Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia that uprooted the corrupt oligarchy of ex-Communist Party chiefs and Soviet bosses (Sheverdnadze stepped down last year on November 23).
But the Ukrainian officials are proving more stubborn--perhaps they are proving one stereotype about Ukrainians true. But so are the millions who are demonstrating against them.
With that, the situation is getting tense. I am once again back in Pidhajtsi, and I have heard all day long people asking whether if the shooting has begun. Nothing of the sort has happened yet, but there are all kinds of reports about this and that indication that provocation is about to begin. The authorities are rather openly mulling over using force to clear Kyiv. Bush has warned against this, and has strongly urged Putin to back off. The spectre of the Cold war seems to on the haunt, especially as the EU early-on just threw up its arms in disgust. Germany's Schroeder also made a statement today, rejecting the legitimacy of authorities' actions in Ukraine and urging Putin to keep his distance.
And then the soldiers, the damned police--Russian "special police" in Kyiv?!? And the authorities here claim that they believe "Ukraine is not Russia" (which is the title of a book published by Kuchma this summer)? If they fear that they can't rely on the Ukrainian police and soldiers to potect them, how can they claim to be the legitimate power in this country? And how else is one to read the situation, other than that Putin's
government is determined to keep the Ukrainian masses (whether Ukrainian, Russian, Jews, Romani, etc.) impoverished and pinned under the control of a corrupt oligarchy?
Ok, enough of the polemicizing. Here is a round-up of some news and rumors from today and last night, followed by photos:
In Kyiv, the flag pole in the center of the central Independence Square is flying a Ukrainian flag and below it, an Orange Flag.
A whopping 19 international observers were actually able to get into voting centers in the eastern state of Luhansk to do their jobs. Luhansk had 2,000 voting centers.
My uncle from Pidhajtsi led a group of observers to Donetsk. He had a video camera with him. He videotaped a man voting without a passport and voter-registration. My uncle protested against this violation. The response was that he and fellow observers were minorly assaulted, removed from the voting center, and the camera was broken. But at least the tape made it back to the OUR UKRAINE offices in Kyiv. Jushchenko has claimed to have, and OUR UKRAINE is preparing, a list of 11,000 violations.
Starting last night, thousands were outside the presidential administration protesting, which triggered the arrival of Russian special forces--especially after Kyiv Mayor Omelchenko switched sides and came out for Jushchenko. With that, it is uncertain that either the army or Kyivan police will help authorities. But they might. And all day today people remained at the administration buildings.
Oleksandr Moroz has claimed that there are upwards of 3 million already in the capital. This conflicts with Western reporting, which gives a much lower figure. I think that Moroz is exaggerating (although he in general is a very reliable fellow). No doubt the Western reports I have read have underestimated the number of people in the capital. Let's say there are 1 million, and more are coming (keep in mind, Kyiv itself is a city of 4 million).
A bus of 40 people left from Pidhajtsi today, heading for Kyiv. And there already are a significant number of fellows from Pidhajtsi in the capital, who went yesterday and the day before by bus and private car. Some of them report many stops by police along the way (I spoke with my third-cousin in Kyiv by cellphone yesterday. . .)
Yesterday and today in Pidhajtsi were huge demonstrations by small-town standards (at least 1,000, out of a pop of about 4,000 within the town itself; Pidhajtsi and connected villages altogether are about 7,000). Today the demo turned angry--people began naming those who had agitated for Janukovych. Yesterday there was a picket after the demo in front of the police station, demanding that those officers present who had turned over their right to vote in accord with the "budget-worker" scandal come outside and explain themselves. Then today, after the demo, a few headed to picket in front of the offices of the Janukovych campaign in Pidhajtsi.
Another bus left from Pidhajtsi for Kyiv after the demo, also after which people--pensioners, workers, business owners, etc.--simply came to the fellow organizing the buses to and fro the capital to give him money for to support the guys on the trip to Kyiv. Altogether they donated 3,000 hryvnjas, a huge sum in Ukraine (up to 10 months worth of wages for a good job, well over a years worth for those with less reliable work and those on pensions) . There was an emotional bon voyage. People said "Go Fight for Us," and sang the national anthem.
No doubt the same thing has happened elsewhere and will continue to. . .
Rumors floating about Kuchma possibly declarring a state of emergency.
Then a humurous anecdote that I got from a Ternopil newspaper: Apparently, there are gangs of Yanukovych supporters going around Kyiv slashing tires of the cars of Jushchenko supporters. Many Jushchenko supporters have tied orange ribbons to their car's antennas or sideview mirrors, etc. Well, apparently a man parked his car who then got out carrying a pro-Janukovych sign. Pro-Jushchenko folks tied an orange ribbon to his car, and later a gang of pro-Janukovych supporters slashed his tires. The fellow was later interviewed, and he said, "I don't mind what they did--what they are doing is right!"
And one more thing: the snow is falling hard in western and other parts of Ukraine. It is cold, the winds are blowing hard (or really were today), but the heat of the moment is keeping us warm and the mutual support of people in struggle is keeping spirits high. People are opening their homes in Kyiv to those coming from the provences, and the solidarity, the smiling, the mutual affection being shown. . .is simply fantastic. And people are celebrating. They're singing folksongs at night in the pubs, but also at the demonstrations, and also on the streets walking to and fro from demos. And no doubt a significant amount of wine, beer, and horylka is being consumed in many places, both to keep warm, but also to celebrate, and at least it is being consumed with an air of hopefulness, and not the desperation that has driven so many to drink in this country these past 13 years.
Please, everyone, keep in mind what is happening here, tell friends, write letters to papers, and call senators and representatives if you have the energy, and tell them that there is no question about the situation here. Tell them that Ukraine already has a new president, Viktor Jushchenko.
Greetings Friends,
The fall out over Viktor Jushchenko's taking a symbolic presidental oath yesterday has been tremendous. Already yesterday and immediately after the oath was made, the speaker of the parlaiment, Volodymyr Lytvyn commented that Jushchenko is only discrediting himself by taking such actions, and all day long various figures supporting Janukovych have echoed this claim. Furthermore, Putin in a statement today said that Ukraine is a state of law, implying that Jushchenko's actions are illegitimate (while taking the supposedly legitimate action of sending Russian special police to guard the offices of the presidential administation in Kyiv). And finally, this evening during debate at the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) over the final certification of the the results of the election, a Janukovych supporter stated that the opposition is leading a circus on the streets of Kyiv and throughout Ukraine.
It is no surprise that Janukovych was certified this evening as the Ring Leader of the real circus happening in Ukraine today (i.e., the CEC did certify tonight its declaration yesterday that Janukovych won). Who looks more ridiculous, the millions on streets throughout Ukraine demonstrating for Jushchenko, or the men in suits sitting inside buildings guarded by Russian special police flown in this morning for their and Kuchma's "protection?"
And who looks more ridiculous than the filthy rich oligarchs and politicians that backed Janukovych whose applications for visas to the US are "under review" (an anonymous source has let it out that these mens' applications most likely will not gain approval, and that furthermore, the White House is considering seizing all their money in US banks, since the money was made illegitimately, and even some of it is money stolen from US taxpayers, as it was money given to Ukraine as AID money through the IMF/World Bank.)
These are the figures whose respect for the law that they are suddenly trumpeting today has lead to millions of people mobilizing across the country to certify in the streets the fact that Jushchenko has already become their president. Jushchenko's oath was a pledge to his supporters that he will stay the course until the end, and in one comment yesterday, he declared, "Some don't like to see my face, but its the face of my nation" (a statement which has an additional sense for those who know about what is widely beleived as an attempt on his life via poisoning last September--he looks a lot worse today than he did before the incident). Jushchenko is not one among that sad line of ego-driven, megalomaniacal leaders of revolutions. Kyiv and most of Ukraine is covered today in orange. The cities of Lutsk, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytstkyj, Vynnytsja, and Kyiv have all passed resolutions rejecting the validity of Sunday's vote, and more of such resolutions are coming. Against all the most negative stereotypes in the West about Ukrainians, people here are proving with each passing moment that they are not a nation of thieves and bandits, nor of the politically apathetic; they are instead proving that they have been a battered nation whose time has finally come to rise and fight for its dignity. PORA (Now's the Time)!
And it is just fantastic that all of this is happening on the first anniversary of the Rose Revolution in the Republic of Georgia that uprooted the corrupt oligarchy of ex-Communist Party chiefs and Soviet bosses (Sheverdnadze stepped down last year on November 23).
But the Ukrainian officials are proving more stubborn--perhaps they are proving one stereotype about Ukrainians true. But so are the millions who are demonstrating against them.
With that, the situation is getting tense. I am once again back in Pidhajtsi, and I have heard all day long people asking whether if the shooting has begun. Nothing of the sort has happened yet, but there are all kinds of reports about this and that indication that provocation is about to begin. The authorities are rather openly mulling over using force to clear Kyiv. Bush has warned against this, and has strongly urged Putin to back off. The spectre of the Cold war seems to on the haunt, especially as the EU early-on just threw up its arms in disgust. Germany's Schroeder also made a statement today, rejecting the legitimacy of authorities' actions in Ukraine and urging Putin to keep his distance.
And then the soldiers, the damned police--Russian "special police" in Kyiv?!? And the authorities here claim that they believe "Ukraine is not Russia" (which is the title of a book published by Kuchma this summer)? If they fear that they can't rely on the Ukrainian police and soldiers to potect them, how can they claim to be the legitimate power in this country? And how else is one to read the situation, other than that Putin's
government is determined to keep the Ukrainian masses (whether Ukrainian, Russian, Jews, Romani, etc.) impoverished and pinned under the control of a corrupt oligarchy?
Ok, enough of the polemicizing. Here is a round-up of some news and rumors from today and last night, followed by photos:
In Kyiv, the flag pole in the center of the central Independence Square is flying a Ukrainian flag and below it, an Orange Flag.
A whopping 19 international observers were actually able to get into voting centers in the eastern state of Luhansk to do their jobs. Luhansk had 2,000 voting centers.
My uncle from Pidhajtsi led a group of observers to Donetsk. He had a video camera with him. He videotaped a man voting without a passport and voter-registration. My uncle protested against this violation. The response was that he and fellow observers were minorly assaulted, removed from the voting center, and the camera was broken. But at least the tape made it back to the OUR UKRAINE offices in Kyiv. Jushchenko has claimed to have, and OUR UKRAINE is preparing, a list of 11,000 violations.
Starting last night, thousands were outside the presidential administration protesting, which triggered the arrival of Russian special forces--especially after Kyiv Mayor Omelchenko switched sides and came out for Jushchenko. With that, it is uncertain that either the army or Kyivan police will help authorities. But they might. And all day today people remained at the administration buildings.
Oleksandr Moroz has claimed that there are upwards of 3 million already in the capital. This conflicts with Western reporting, which gives a much lower figure. I think that Moroz is exaggerating (although he in general is a very reliable fellow). No doubt the Western reports I have read have underestimated the number of people in the capital. Let's say there are 1 million, and more are coming (keep in mind, Kyiv itself is a city of 4 million).
A bus of 40 people left from Pidhajtsi today, heading for Kyiv. And there already are a significant number of fellows from Pidhajtsi in the capital, who went yesterday and the day before by bus and private car. Some of them report many stops by police along the way (I spoke with my third-cousin in Kyiv by cellphone yesterday. . .)
Yesterday and today in Pidhajtsi were huge demonstrations by small-town standards (at least 1,000, out of a pop of about 4,000 within the town itself; Pidhajtsi and connected villages altogether are about 7,000). Today the demo turned angry--people began naming those who had agitated for Janukovych. Yesterday there was a picket after the demo in front of the police station, demanding that those officers present who had turned over their right to vote in accord with the "budget-worker" scandal come outside and explain themselves. Then today, after the demo, a few headed to picket in front of the offices of the Janukovych campaign in Pidhajtsi.
Another bus left from Pidhajtsi for Kyiv after the demo, also after which people--pensioners, workers, business owners, etc.--simply came to the fellow organizing the buses to and fro the capital to give him money for to support the guys on the trip to Kyiv. Altogether they donated 3,000 hryvnjas, a huge sum in Ukraine (up to 10 months worth of wages for a good job, well over a years worth for those with less reliable work and those on pensions) . There was an emotional bon voyage. People said "Go Fight for Us," and sang the national anthem.
No doubt the same thing has happened elsewhere and will continue to. . .
Rumors floating about Kuchma possibly declarring a state of emergency.
Then a humurous anecdote that I got from a Ternopil newspaper: Apparently, there are gangs of Yanukovych supporters going around Kyiv slashing tires of the cars of Jushchenko supporters. Many Jushchenko supporters have tied orange ribbons to their car's antennas or sideview mirrors, etc. Well, apparently a man parked his car who then got out carrying a pro-Janukovych sign. Pro-Jushchenko folks tied an orange ribbon to his car, and later a gang of pro-Janukovych supporters slashed his tires. The fellow was later interviewed, and he said, "I don't mind what they did--what they are doing is right!"
And one more thing: the snow is falling hard in western and other parts of Ukraine. It is cold, the winds are blowing hard (or really were today), but the heat of the moment is keeping us warm and the mutual support of people in struggle is keeping spirits high. People are opening their homes in Kyiv to those coming from the provences, and the solidarity, the smiling, the mutual affection being shown. . .is simply fantastic. And people are celebrating. They're singing folksongs at night in the pubs, but also at the demonstrations, and also on the streets walking to and fro from demos. And no doubt a significant amount of wine, beer, and horylka is being consumed in many places, both to keep warm, but also to celebrate, and at least it is being consumed with an air of hopefulness, and not the desperation that has driven so many to drink in this country these past 13 years.
Please, everyone, keep in mind what is happening here, tell friends, write letters to papers, and call senators and representatives if you have the energy, and tell them that there is no question about the situation here. Tell them that Ukraine already has a new president, Viktor Jushchenko.
