Ukraine, Obama, hypocrisy and ethnic cleansing
Question: Why did President Obama condemn the use of deadly government force against the violent protesters in the Kiev Maidan riots on February 20th but not condemn the use of deadly force and military operatons by the new coup established regime against the entire civilian population who voted to secede in East Ukraine?
The first event was a violent coup and the 2nd was a largely attended peaceful referendum. The first event was conducted by predominantly west Ukrainian young violent hooligans with far right nationalist views. The 2nd event was attended by a broad swath of East Ukrainian citizenry including many families, elderly people, a large number of middle aged women and men. Videos of the referendum show tens of thousands of people voting peacefully to separate, a stark contrast to the dark and violent imagery of the Maidan riots and government overthrow. Considering that the country is largey divided along ethnic lines, why was establishing new boundaries that would have led to less bloodshed not considered as a viable option for sustainable peace by the US government?
In February 2014 the Right Sector and Svoboda Party as well as a number of far right nationalist groups overthrew the democratically elected government of Ukraine in a violent coup that was shown on video around the world. The groups used extreme methods of violence including petrol bombs and mass attacks against the Berkut police forces of Ukraine and eventually overthrew the elected government. The United States supported those groups and issued the following statements to de-escalate the violence against Ukrainian citizens.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
We are outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people. We urge President Yanukovych to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kyiv and to respect the right of peaceful protest, and we urge protesters to express themselves peacefully. We urge the Ukrainian military not to get involved in a conflict that can and should be resolved by political means. The use of force will not resolve the crisis -- clear steps must be taken to stop the violence and initiate meaningful dialogue that reduces tension and addresses the grievances of the Ukrainian people. The United States will work with our European allies to hold those responsible for violence accountable and to help the Ukrainian people get a unified and independent Ukraine back on the path to a better future.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
Statement by the Press Secretary on Ukraine
The United States welcomes the agreement signed today between Ukrainian President Yanukovych and Opposition leaders. The agreement, facilitated by Foreign Ministers Fabius, Sikorski, and Steinmeier and witnessed by Russia, is consistent with what we have advocated in calling for a de-escalation of the violence, constitutional change, a coalition government, and early elections. We support the efforts of all those who negotiated this agreement, commend the courageous opposition leaders who recognized the need for compromise, and offer the support of the United States in its implementation. Now, the focus must be on concrete action to implement this agreement, which we will be monitoring closely.
In this regard, we call for immediate implementation of the initial steps -- an end to the violence, amnesty and security normalization, and passage of the constitutional package in the Rada -- to provide space for the negotiations to begin on formation of a technocratic coalition government. Respect for the right of peaceful protest –- including on the Maidan –- is essential. As we have said, there must be accountability for those responsible for the violence and the casualties that have resulted since the crisis began, and we remain prepared to impose additional sanctions as necessary. The United States stands with the Ukrainian people as they work to restore peace, security, and human dignity across the country and determine the future course of their nation.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
Excerpt:
Barack Obama released a scathing statement in which he said his administration was outraged by the images of Ukrainian security forces firing automatic weapons on their own people. “We urge President Yanukovych to immediately withdraw his security forces from downtown Kiev and to respect the right of peaceful protest, and we urge protesters to express themselves peacefully.”
Kerry said he felt “anger and anguish” at the violence in Ukraine. He called on Yanukovych to undertake serious negotiations with opposition leaders immediately.
“The violence must stop. We unequivocally condemn the use of force against civilians by security forces and urge that those forces be withdrawn immediately. The people of Ukraine and the international community will hold to account those who are responsible for what has occurred and the United States has already begun implementing sanctions through travel bans on Ukrainians responsible for the violence.”
US State department spokesperson Jen Psaki condones bombing civilians. https://www.youtube.com/...
http://youtu.be/...
On May 2nd the Odessa massacre took place, implemented by the same far right radical groups that had participated in the Maidan riots. The US did not condemn that violence at that time. Instead the United States gave the new coup installed Ukrainian government a large media payment the very same day through the USAID program.
USAID INCREASES SUPPORT FOR MEDIA AND PRESS FREEDOM IN UKRAINE
For Immediate Release
Friday, May 2, 2014
USAID Press Office
http://www.usaid.gov/...
This support takes place on May 2, 2014- the very same day of the Odessa massacre.....the Kiev Post publishes the following article on May 3, 2014, the very next day.
http://www.kyivpost.com/...
Headline at link reads:
Police say pro-Russians accidentally set fatal Odessa fire with Molotov cocktails (LIVE UPDATES, VIDEO)
Print version
May 3, 2014, 6:45 p.m. | Ukraine — by Kyiv Post
Now take a look at the way these people died and attempt to figure out all these "accidents". Warning graphic photos: Pictures are of corpses in various states of death. They were not accidental deaths.
http://ucmopuockon.livejournal.com/...
After the people of east Ukraine witnessed the massacre in Odessa and the massacre of the local ethnic Russian people in Mariupol on May 9, 2014, the idea of separating East Ukraine from West Ukraine became understandably very popular amonst the majority of the 7.5 million ethnic Russians living in the east. The United States did not support the right for the Ukrainians in the east to hold a peaceful referendum and separate. Instead they supported the new coup government that chose not to carry out an investigation of the Odessa massacre, that very same government which had sent the Right Sector radicals (now inducted into the newly formed National Guard) to Mariupol where extreme violence, that included government troops shooting civilians on camera with their hands raised in the air, took place.
Government troops muder civilians in Mariupol –murders take place at 1:50 mark http://youtu.be/... Once again there was no condemnation from the United States for these killings.
During the referendum, people trying to vote were killed on camera, once again, by new coup government forces who by this time were receiving financial support from the United States. No mention was made in the US media of these killings, nor the killings on camera in Mariupol. Instead the US government and media consistently kept a focus on President Putin of Russia who they blamed for supporting the people in East Ukraine.
http://youtu.be/... Murder of citizens by new coup military take place at 2:52 mark. Two people died as a result. There was no condemnation from the United States.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/...
http://www.state.gov/...
Around that time the people of East Ukraine who took up arms against the new coup installed government that was invading east Ukraine were being labeled as 'terrorists' by the new regime. They have even been called 'Untermensch' by the government, a term the nazis used to describe victims as 'subhumans'. These people were never terrorists. They were the fathers and sons of east Ukraine who simply didn't want to live under a government they had witnessed killing civilians of ethnic Russian descent. They wanted to protect their land and their way of life against people they belived were fascist murderers. They took up arms to protect their families and their way of life. That is not difficult to understand under the circumstances. Some fighters did sneak across the border to help them, possibly no more than in any other regional conflcit where ethnicity and geographic boundaries play a role. This is common and not proof of direct Russian involvement. Even if it was, is it not completely understatndable that relatives and friends across the border in Russia may want to help their family members against people that are killing them? Juxtapose that fact in comparison to the fact that the United States is a country that is 5,000 miles away and has no legitimate right to be financing the new coup established Ukrainian army.
http://youtu.be/...
http://youtu.be/...
The US government chose to put forth the story that the separatist movement was made up of strictly Russian fighters, however, this was never the case and has never been proven even though it is believed to be true by a large portion of the US population due to the massive media coverup of the violence that has been conducted by the Right Sector (National Guard). The large amounts of video evidence on You Tube clearly show the people fighting are predominantly the men of east Ukraine. There are many videos of parades and support from locals available for viewing. There are some fighters who came from other regions but a quick look at the videos of separatist events in Donestk show that these are the fathers and sons of the women and children that cheer them on in their fight for their own freedom from fascism and tyranny and the quest for their own “manifest destiny “. Many of them came from the Berkut police force which was deprived of over 17,000 police when the overthrow took place, others were regular Ukrainian army personnel who decided not to fight against their own people and instead join the fight for their own people. Numerous videos on You Tube show them giving up their weapons and deciding not to fire upon their own people. This is also completely understandable.
http://youtu.be/...
http://youtu.be/...
The Bombardment of Slavyansk
The indiscriminate shelling of Slavyansk began in mid May 2014 and took place for a period of approximately 45 days. During that time the new Kiev government authorized the military to use massive firepower against the entire city (population 120,000) filled with women, children, the elderly, the destitute, their pets, the moms, dads and families of Slavyansk. Bombs fell anywhere and everywhere, killing over 200 people including many women and children. The US government did not condemn this atrocity and war crime. Instead, they actively supported it through financing and military supplies. The US media did not report on this atrocity and war crime which lends credence to a cover up. The bombing of the city of Kramatorsk also took place at this time as did numerous other military atrocities across the countryside.
http://rt.com/...
Why did the US government condone the shelling of the civilian population of East Ukraine and not denounce it as the atrocity it was? What was the reason for the shelling of the city by the Kiev government that the US tolerated? During the bombings they intentionally destroyed the city water suppy facilities, the electrical facilities and food storage and distribution centers thereby creating a human rights tragedy leaving many people homeless. All of these actions were effected directly against the civilian population of Slavyansk which led to hundreds of civilian deaths, including many women and children and a huge exodus of refugees fleeing to Russia (not to Kiev). The UN has stated that the number is at least 110,000 - yet US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki sociopathicaly went so far as to deny this and avoid questioning on the shelling of civilians, all the while constantly framing the conflict as the fault of Vladimir Putin and Russia. She actually insinuated that it was the Russian military dropping white phosherous on people when asked of it's illegal use by the KIev Ukrainian military by AP reporter Matt Lee. Mr. Lee explains to her that it was the Ukrainian army doing this, she attempts to deflect blame.
Skip to 7:45 mark.
https://www.youtube.com/...
Apparently bombing civilians who peacefully voted to separate and establish their own country is ok by Barack Obama and the US government, however, when the Maidan protesters violently overthrew the former government - using force against extremely violent protesters - was not allowed. This is completely hypocritical and disingenuious, to say the least. Especially considering the magnitude of military force and explosive ordinance being used and the indiscriminate killing of civilians taking place. The videos below show the impact of the shelling of Slavyansk and surrounding villages.
The Donbass people being attacked by the US financed Ukrainian military.
https://www.youtube.com/...
45 minutes of atrocities. Much of this footage was filmed by the Ukrainian army themselves. Video includes them dumping corpses. Graphic warning: video shows over 100 atrocities.
https://www.youtube.com/...