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Ukraine: Next Political Elite or "We Are Together And Not to Be Defeated"?

magduv&ruda | 13.12.2004 16:05 | Analysis | Repression | Social Struggles | World

This article was written by two anarchist activists from Kyiv, Ukraine during the second week of the protests - and has been translated just now. "During two weeks of mass protests people get to know - how to cooperate, how to trust each other and how to call the authorities to the answer"

Ukraine experiences the second week of mass actions of civil disobedience. The Kyiv – 2,6-million capital – centre is covered with protesters tent camps. Non-stop rally on Kyiv central square – Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Independence square) put together not less than 200-300 thousand people. In the daytime they can grow up to half a million or - according to some TV news – one million protesters. Noone could imagine that president elections falsification will spark such a splash of protest activity. Part of protesters hopes that charismatic leader of opposition and banker Viktor Yushchenko will bring Ukrainians to the democracy and prosperity. Others consider him as the only politician who is able to beat the candidate from the party of power and prime-minister Viktor Yanukovich, who had two criminal records earlier in life and appeared to be a person that was officially named the winner of the election. There are also people who don’t care much about politics but feel inspired by the protests saying that all these events will born civil society and self-organization. From the very days the protests were determined as revolution, “orange revolution”. Orange color of political opposition become the color of the hope – hope for changes. Nothing like this happened before.

***

Huge, not seen before crowds of active people on the streets. They shout slogans and have orange stuff on themselves. Cars are constantly honking like “one-two-three”: “Yush-chen-ko”. Countless numbers of cars on the streets with orange stripes and flags. Universities and institutes went on strike. In the very centre of non-stop rally you can find free field-kitchens and have hot food and tea. Buses with those people who want to join the rally every day arrive from all over the country. Some of their own free will – in order to support Yushchenko, - others come because they are paid or intimidated on penalty of losing their jobs. The last were driven in the buses or trains and taken to Kyiv to support Yanukovicha. (The scale of supporting these two different politicians are incomparable – on the 26th of November the news about first and the only pro Yanukovish 5-thousand people rally was met with laughing by the half-million orange rally on the Maidan Nezalezhnosti). Not far from the Maidan Nezalezhnosti, in Ukrainian House ( former Lenin museum) is situated help centre for newcomers who arrive to Kyiv specially to participate in rally. There they can get clothes coats, warm socks, medicines, food, place to sleep- thought a lot of Kyiv people take protesters to their homes to spend a night. Another similar centre with that difference that it has no place for sleeping is open on the main square (the headquarter of the political opposition occupy the second floor).

People

It is necessary to say about people. Relations between them and the whole atmosphere in the centre of the city are completely unique for Kyiv. Help centers are crowded with volunteers. They make food, guard camps, register and settle newcomers. Optimism and strict decision to struggle till final victory prevails in the tent camps – despite weeks which protesters have spent in frozen tents, in the rain and snow while warming themselves only with open fire. You also would have been optimistic if every day strangers have come to you, proposed some help, and invited to come to their homes to take a bath and sleep, said words of support and solidarity. On the streets people – before aloof and gloomy – now smiles each other. The level of politeness in the public transport increased enormously. Stranger is no more an enemy, he is a friend. If somebody has orange stripe on his jacket or rucksack – he becomes a brother. The main slogan of these days is “We are together and we are not to be defeated”. In fact it unites people and says nothing about political parties. And people say that for the first time for many-many years the feel together. All the attempt of the authorities to divide people of different ethnics (like “this nationalistic opposition presses Russians in Ukraine”) or people from different regions (like “eastern region is second chop”) are met with no support. Street protesters see people from eastern regions which voted for pro-Moscow Yanukovich were deceived and try to persuade them. Some of Yanukovich supporters when have come to Kyiv and seen all these rallies began to feel deceived themselves deceived and put on orange stripes.

All oppositional mass media are cut off in eastern regions and the local population has no access to an opposite to the official point of view. It refers not only the opposite, but even the different press. For example being invited to the pro-Yanukovich rally in the east of Ukraine Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov said that all that takes place in Kyiv is “a disbursed orange orgy”. The wife of Victor Yanukovich speaking in the public in Donest said protesters in Kyiv wear American valenki and eat plumped with drugs oranges. ( http://www.ljplus.ru/img/dvornin/ZHena.avi). People of eastern Ukraine don’t have any other information from TV accept for like this.

So what happened? What changed people and lead them to go on the streets?

Most of the people are tired of the Kuhma regime. From corruption, thefts and lie. From a blatantly growing distance betweern the rich and the poor. Under such conditions the main mistake of the regime was to stand Yanukovich as the candidate to rule the country. These days all of people rally not because of Yushchenko, but against Yanukovich. If some another candidate from the party of power was pushes by the authorities to the presidential chair - the candidate with another life story, without two criminal records and contacts in the Donesk mafia – then perhaps nothing would spark these mass protests. You can bear for a long time, when power is constantly named criminal but nothing special happens, but such barefaced attempts to put for presidency the criminal and recidivist were taken by people as insult - as recognition that crime is a standard.

To all these points you can add mass falsifications during the elections. The pre-election activity of population was the first sign that this campaign will be completely different from the previous ones. A lot of people took very seriously the appeal of opposition to come to local election polls and check whether their names are included to the registers of voters. And they found out that very often these register of voters were filled not properly. And it was very suspiciously. To some others it was clear that the regime is preparing falsifications because is not sure in the victory. Then intimidations and threats to fire or turn out from the university came. After that we got the information about pressure in the local election polls. And in the very end – gossips about falsifications in the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Its main serves that summarized election results was provided with additional, inner server the task of which was to guarantee the needed results. The opposition press believes that the Central Election Commission of Ukraine chief – Sergey Kivalov knew about it. The authority pressure had the part on every level of campaign and voting – during all this time premier-minister Yanukovich was in power. So it is easy to forecast which methods would he use if he becomes Ukrainian president.

A lot of people were also enraged by the influence that Russia tried to make on the campaign. Moscow made it clear that it was fully behind Victor Yanukovych. Russian pop stars, spin doctors and politicians were the usual guests of Yanukovich rallies. The arrive of the Russian president Vladimir Putin gets the culmination – officially he came to the military parade in honor of Ukraine liberation in the Second World War ( http://5tv.com.ua/img/forall/Putin_ne_lyubit_tsukerok_5tv_10112004__.wmv). Later Putin was the first who congratulated Yanukovich with the victory – before the official information about voting results.

All these facts leads to the natural answer that the comparison between Victor Yanukovich (that by Ukrainians are taken as bandit that is supported by another bandit (it is well known that Russian president before being politician was the officer of secret services) and Victor Yushchenko (that has no spoiled reputation but some US money) decides in Yushchenko favour. People from the Western Europe or US that strictly criticize Yushchenko because of his relations with the Washington, has a small vision of pro-power candidate, present Ukrainian power and how much Ukraine risks to lose in case Yanukovich will become he president.


Politics.

There are more than enough reasons to be optimistic. Camp tents and rally that all these days were blocking the president administration and the fovernment were not stormed despite almost every night protesters got information about the provocations prepared. Part of the militia, secret services and the marines attended the main rally and declared that they will stand together with the people and will not carry out “criminal” orders to provoke confrontation. The Vasilkiv (city near Kyiv) population blocked the local military college several times during the last days - troops were ordered to go to Kyiv but people didn’t let them out. After these events Kyiv protesters proposed to give Vasilkov the rank of the city-hero.  At the same time official are taken aback and that’s why - compromise. President Kuchma has agreed that second run of president election didn’t reflect the opinion of the whole country. The government is empty, the only minister that doesn’t want to leave the building is Anatoliy Tolstouchov. Perhaps he is afraid that once leaving the government building, he be will never come in again. Some days ago Kuchma took all the ministers together on his personal residence and names it “the government in exile”. Only this fast deserves to be laughed at. A lot of cities and towns in the western and central; regions announce Virtor Yushchenko their president and vote for no confidence to the Central Election Commission of Ukraine. Main TV cannels first strictly directed by the sensorship from the side of president administration, now states the decision the make their job good. All this means that there is no another way out.

Crewing the snivels.

It is obviously that the victory brings people on the streets. Oppositional leader on the contrary can’t boast of significant achievement. They could pressed down only two decisions of the parliament – Upper Rada – vote for no confidence to the official results, announced by Central Election Commission of Ukraine and resignation of the government together with the prime-minister Yanukovich. But the 1st decision the parliament have actually canceled and the legitimating of the second one perhaps will wait to the word from Constitutional Court Approval. Opposition leader Yushchenko image suffers instead the severe strike – the role of them played 2 rounds of negotiations between oppositional pro-western and pro-power and pro-Russian candidates. Before Yushchenko many times had promised to imprison all criminals, having in mind first of all Yanukovich. Now Yushchenko and Yanikovich are discussing ways out from the political crisis that hit the country. These negotiations gave not much results accept for one - Yushchenko was accused in the betraying his supporters. Similar accusations he heart 3 years ago during anti-presidential protests “Ukraine with out Kuchma” which sparked after the information about president Kuchma attitude to the journalist Gerorgiy Gongadze disappearance. Then Yushchenko signed the so-called “statement of the three”, in which protesters were named fascists. Now he is said to be extra-cautious and great part of protesters fear that their indecisive leader will head to the apathy and recession of the protests. Student organization “PORA” that was among the most active protesters have already dissociated from the oppositional leaders saying that results of negotiations with Yanukovich could be much better. Now the Upper Court of Ukraine called off the results of the second round and ordered a fresh ballot for 26 December.


***
But let them alone, those fucking politicians. The important thing is that Kyiv is acquainting with drum-bands. Before the orange rally begins Ukraine didn’t know this necessary detail of youth activists’ actions. Now does. During two weeks of mass protests people get to know - how to cooperate, how to trust each other and how to call the authorities to the answer. And it means that whoever will come out the victory – opposition or authorities – people have already learned such important lessons as practical skills of civil disobedience and belief in their own power. And in the future they will ably to go to the street again and again – in order to protest actively and effectively when they next time feel they are duped. And either new or old power will be obliged take this into account and look back on the streets.

magduv&ruda
- Homepage: http://www.zaraz.org/, http://russia.indymedia.org/

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