|
Human Shields, Ukraine Wants You!
The Ukraine, Europe's second largest country, is on the verge of outright dictatorship. After the presidential election on November 21, about 200,000 protesters have gathered in Kiev's Independence Square, as well as other places around the country, to protest against alleged ballot fraud. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, and Alexander Lukashenka of Belarus, Europe's last dictator (well, so far), have congratulated the establishment candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who has been pronounced the winner by a slim margin. Meanwhile, international observers say the ballot count was fraudulent. The opposition has claimed victory, and its presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko has symbolically given himself the oath of office. Western European leaders encourage both the regime and the opposition not to use violence. There is still hope for a peaceful, democratic solution. Just like in Serbia in 2000, after the now indicted war criminal Slobodan Milosevic tried to cling to power by making up election results, people are pouring in to the huge demonstrations from the entire country. Hundreds of thousands have gathered in the Independence Square, defying the Ukrainian winter to defend their liberty. Many more are on their way. In Serbia, the protesters achieved their goals without violence, by being resilient and many. Likewise, in Georgia a bloodless revolution overthrew president Edward Shevardnadze last fall. Again, large, peaceful protests wore down the support of the regime and led to its downfall. Hopefully, the Ukrainian crisis will be solved as peaceful. But it could also be another Tiananmen Square, where Chinese troops in June 1989 disbanded a large pro-democracy demonstration by massacring about a thousand of the protesters. This time few in Western Europe seem to care much. Sure, the European Union issued a statement calling for the Ukrainian government to release the actual election results, and the European Council urged both sides to resolve the situation peacefully. But who doesn't remember the huge demonstrations of the last couple of years, when the United States was preparing to overthrow the terror regimes of Afghanistan and Iraq? On some days, over a million people gathered worldwide to protest the war against Saddam Hussein. In Stockholm, the demonstration was the largest since the Vietnam War. Where are those protesters today? Well, nowhere near the Ukrainian embassies and far from Kiev's Independence Square. Posted by: tipper 2004-11-25 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=49705 |