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Natalia Vitrenko Gives Webcast In Paris,Exposes EU Support for Neo-Nazi Coup inUkraineFebruary 25, 2014 • 11:15AMThe following report is from EIRNS(Executive Intelligence Review):Dr. Natalia Vitrenko, leader of theProgressive Socialist Party of Ukraine,yesterday began a tour of Europe at thehead of a delegation of signers of theJanuary 25 appeal by 29 Ukrainianorganizations, addressed to worldleaders, to stop a neo-fascist coup inUkraine. Yesterday evening she keynoted awebcast, broadcast on the site of theSolidarity and Progress (S&P)organization,www.solidariteetprogres.org.The speakers were introduced by S&Pleader, former French PresidentialCandidate Jacques Cheminade. He discussedthe doctrines of Anglo-Americangeopolitics, going back to HalfordMackinder at the turn of the 19th to 20thcentury. Today, Cheminade said, the goalunder the modern continuation of thesedoctrines has been to create a focus ofdestabilization in the center of Europe,which could trigger a showdown againstRussia. He cited Zbigniew Brzezinski onthis intention.Cheminade introduced Natalia Vitrenko,doctor of economics, former member of theSupreme Rada of Ukraine, and leader ofthe PSPU, as having fought for the pasttwenty years to prevent this currentcrisis from coming to pass. On her visitto Europe now, she is joined by Col.Valeri Sergachov, leader of the Kiev RusParty, former member of the OdessaRegional Council, and a decorated veteranof the War in Afghanistan; and VolodymyrMarchenko, chairman of the All-UkraineTrade-Union Organization "UkrainianConfederation of Labor," former member ofthe Supreme Rada and member of itsCommittee on Constitutional Issues, anddeputy chairman of the PSPU. BothSergachov and Marchenko participated inthe webcast as well.1
The following translation of Dr.Vitrenko's keynote and the remarks of hercolleagues has been produced from theRussian-language audio track of theevent. The speeches were translated andbroadcast in French (archive video willbe available soon on theS&P website).Note: This is a preliminary translation.A final translation will be posted soon.Natalia Vitrenko:Bonjour, camarades!Iam very glad to greet you, and I knowthat millions of people around the worldare watching and listening to us.On January 25 of this year, in Kiev,there was a gathering of 29 leaders ofUkrainian political parties and publicorganizations. We wrote an appeal to theSecretary-General of the UN, the leadersof European organizations, including thePresident of the European Union and theChairman of the European Parliament, aswell as other leaders, as well as U.S.President Obama and the leadership of theU.S. Senate and House of Representatives.Among us were representatives of fourdifferent political parties, and ten whohave been Members of Parliament at thenational level in Ukraine.We stated, first of all, that it is a liethat the people of Ukraine want to signan Association Agreement with theEuropean Union. The Ukrainian people donot want this.Secondly, we stated that it is a lie thatwhat is going on in the Maidan is apeaceful demonstration. Guerrillas are incharge of the Maidan, and thoseguerrillas are neo-Nazis.Third, that the will of the majority ofthe population in Ukraine is beinggrossly flouted, because the majorityfavors Ukraine's increased integrationwith Russia, and does not want Nazism inUkraine.We, although we represent politicalforces, are denied access to the media.We appealed to those European andAmerican organizations to invite us toEurope — us, who are not in power inUkraine today, but we are not neo-Nazis.
And we would tell you the truth. Theseagencies did not invite us, but wereceived invitations from the ParisianAcademy of Geopolitics, from the SchillerInstitute, and from our colleagues inItaly. We are very grateful for this.Therefore we are making this tour asrepresentatives of people's diplomacy,representing the majority of thepopulation of Ukraine, who want to stopthe flames of civil war. We know withcertainty, that thecoup d'etatinUkraine threatens the stability of theEurasian continent.Our delegation includes people of variousprofessions. I am an economist, a doctorof economic sciences, a professor and anacademician. Valeri Sergachov, mycolleague in that he is also the head ofa party, is a retired colonel, a combatofficer [and an experienced veteran ofthe Afghanistan war —on-site translator'snote]. The deputy leader of my party,Volodymyr Marchenko, who is responsiblefor our party's ideological work, is anengineer, an industrial designer.Therefore we are well aware of whatUkraine's real potential is, and what theprospects for our country would be in thecase of integration with the EuropeanUnion or with the Eurasian Union.First of all, Ukraine has never beenoffered membership in the EU, is notbeing offered, and will never be offeredsuch membership, because the EU woulddisintegrate, sooner than admit Ukraineas a member. The members of the CustomsUnion, on the other hand, Belarus,Kazakstan, and Russia, are our long-termand reliable partners; Ukraine'sintegration into the Customs Union, andonly such integration, can provide animpulse for the economic recovery ofUkraine.But the Ukrainian oligarchs, and that'swho has been determining our country'spolicy, long ago integrated themselvesinto the EU. An example is the wealthiestman in Ukraine, the billionaire RinatAkhmetov. He bought a fancy house forhimself in London for 40 million poundssterling. He already owns companies in2
both the USA and in EU countries. Thechildren of the Ukrainian study inEuropean countries, they go to Europe formedical care, they take their vacationshere, and they keep their money in thebanks of the City of London and offshorezones. Therefore, they are orientedtoward Europe and the West. It was inorder to defend their money, that theywanted to sign the Association Agreement.This Agreement would have completelydestroyed machine-building in Ukraine anddealt a serious blow to all industrialproduction and to agriculture. TheAgreement would have required Ukraineimmediately to open its domestic markets,with all imports tariff being immediatelylifted from 72% of all products.The output of Ukrainian industrialcompanies is not competitive in today'sEuropean market. Our Academy of Scienceshas calculated that the cost ofcompliance with EU standards would be 160billion euros. This is equivalent to thebudget of Ukraine for four years. We donot have this kind of money. In otherwords, Ukraine would have been condemnedto the bankruptcy of its industrialenterprises, a total economic collapse,and mass unemployment.In addition, the Agreement prescribedthat all of this would be presided overby supranational organizations: theAssociation Council and the TradeCommittee. Ukraine, that is, would havelost both its state sovereign and itseconomic sovereignty. Furthermore, theAgreement provides that Ukraine, uponsigning it, would enter into a CommonSecurity and Defense Policy. This meanspolitical convergence. This means pushingUkraine into NATO. From both the economicand the military standpoint, this wouldhave been a blow against Russianinterests. Calculations done by a jointtask force of the Russian and UkrainianAcademies of Science showed thatintegration with the Customs Union wouldbe very beneficial, economically, forUkraine.In addition, it is the case thathistorically and in its outlook, Ukraine
is unquestionably oriented toward Russia.We are one people. We are the people ofRus. An ancient Russian state was formed.One thousand one hundred and fifty yearsago, its initial capital was in Novgorod.Later the capital was in Kiev. After theperiod of the Tatar-Mongol yoke, Moscowbecame the capital. And, all together, wewere called "Rus." There was LittleRussia, White Russia, South Russia, andGreat Russia. "Ukraine" was artificiallycreated by the Austro-Hungarian Empire,in order to tear away a chunk ofterritory from Russia. Because 336 yearsago, there had been a unification ofGreat and Little Russia [Russia andUkraine]. And it was only in 1922 thatUkraine appeared as a nation-state.Therefore, in economic terms, in world-outlook, and genetically, the majority ofthe Ukrainian population is orientedtoward Russia. Let me read you some data,published in the journalObozreniye byNikolai Shulga, head of the Institute ofSociology of the Ukrainian Academy ofSciences. This is the most respectedsociological research in Ukraine. Theyasked people what foreign policyorientation they would prefer Ukraine tohave. Fifty-four percent of thepopulation replied in favor of developingrelations with Russia and building up aneastern alliance. In favor of relationswith the developed countries of the West— 15%. People were asked how they viewedthe prospect of Ukraine's joining a unionwith Russia and Belarus. Fifty-ninepercent favored this, 21% were against.These figures were clearly differentiatedby region. In western Ukraine, 16% werein favor of this idea of union withRussia and Belarus. In eastern Ukraine,84% of the population. But the nationalaverage was 59% in favor.The date of that poll was 2011. AfterYanukovych came to power [in 2010], therewas a dawn-to-dusk campaign throughoutUkraine, in favor of integration with theEU. It was hammered into people’s headsthat, once the Association Agreement weresigned, there would be jobs foreverybody, wages like in France, pensions3
like in Germany, and everything would behunky-dory.Therefore, two years later, in May 2013,the figures showing the orientation ofour population had changed somewhat. Infavor [of alliance with Russia andBelarus] were 49%, with 28% against and22% undecided. If we split the undecidedin half, the result is still that 60% ofthe Ukrainian population is orientedtoward union with Russia and Belarus.But the Ukrainian oligarchs, headed byYanukovych, were preparing to sign theAssociation Agreement on November 29 inVilnius. Suddenly, one week before it wasto be signed, the Ukrainian governmentdecided to halt the process and not signfor Association. And, indeed, on November29, 2013, Yanukovych refrained fromsigning the Agreement.The minute the whistle sounded, theParliamentary opposition summoned peopleto a “Euromaidan,” to pressure thegovernment on this issue. Indeed, people— several tens of thousands — poured intoIndependence Square in Kiev, demandingAssociation with the EU.The majority of these people simply hadno idea of what awaited Ukraine, were itto sign. It was only in January of 2014,that this diagram appeared on thegovernment website. It shows that ifUkraine signed the Agreement with the EU,Ukraine would lose [U.S.] $36.9 billionin 2014 alone, whereas if Ukraine didn’tsign, but rather built up its relationswith Russia, it would gain $5.1 billionin 2014. But by then, nobody waslistening.That is because on the night of November29-30, [2013] the Yanukovych’s stafforganized a provocation, and the Maidanceased to be peaceful. What was thisprovocation? The organizers of the Maidanannounced that the demonstration wasover. They began to take down the stageand remove the sound system. Only 300-400people remained in the Maidan, primarilyyouth. At 4:00 a.m., a thousand peoplefrom the Berkut special police forceshowed up in the square. And the Berkut,
rather than merely pushing people out ofthe square, started brutally beatingthem. At 4:00 a.m., quite a number of TVchannels happened to have crews in thesquare. The videos they filmed were thenshown not only in Ukraine, but all overthe world, to demonstrate “how theUkrainian authorities were dealing with apeaceful demonstration.” The next day,tens of thousands of people from variousregions of Ukraine, chiefly the westernparts, streamed into Kiev. As of December1, the neo-Nazis took the lead within thedemonstration.They brought in well-trained guerrillas,who began to do combat with lawenforcement. Neo-Nazis did not appear outof nowhere in Ukraine on December 1, butmuch earlier. After the end of World WarII, the Organization of UkrainianNationalists (OUN), thesecollaborationists, were taken under thewing of the U.S. CIA. The minute Ukrainebecame independent [in 1991], theirorganizations were legalized insideUkraine.President Yushchenko, in particular, dida lot to promote the growth of the neo-Nazi movement in Ukraine. PresidentYanukovych not only did not cancel theNazi decrees of Yushchenko, but alsocontinued the same line. The questionarises: why did Yanukovych do this? TheParty of Regions, headed by Yanukovych,is not a party with an ideology. It is abusiness corporation, which uses banditryto enhance of its own wealth in every waypossible.U.S. support has been very important forthem. Under both Yushchenko andYanukovych, the USA did everything itcould to develop the neo-Nazi movement inUkraine. I sued the President, demandingthe repeal of the Nazi decrees. I wentthrough all the levels of court inUkraine and beyond, up to and includingthe European Court. All of them ruled onthe basis of a political decision, ratherthan the law. Contrary to the standardsset by the Nuremburg Tribunal, toresolutions of the UN, to the DurbanDeclaration, and to the European4
Conventions, they approved honoring Nazicollaborationists as Heroes of Ukrainewho had fought for the liberation of ourcountry. The national-socialist ideologyand its idols, such as Bandera,Shukhevych, and Konovalets, have allsurfaced at the Maidan.Let’s look at a video, showing what Nazisin Ukraine look like. [Translator: Thisis a torch march of Right Sector.] Theirslogans include “Glory to the nation,death to the enemies.” This is in Kiev,January 1, 2014. They are well-equipped.Here’s the leader of Svoboda, Tyahnybok.There they are in Kiev, at the Maidan.[Tr.: They are always masked. RightSector is a grouping of several right-wing movements.] Here they are toppling amonument to Lenin. Now you see themthrowing Molotov cocktails at lawenforcement. Here are their insignia.This is Right Sector leader Yarosh, withthe torch march. This is a “peacefuldemonstration.” And the Europeanpoliticians come, and here are theseposters of agents of the Abwehr, Banderaand Shukhevych.There they are tearing up the flag of theParty of Regions. They are shouting“Knife the Moskali [Russians], hang theCommunists.” Their greetings are likethose of the Nazis. In place of “Siegheil!” they shout “Slava Ukraine, heroyamslava!” [“Glory to Ukraine, to the heroesglory!”]Look at those chains. This is a “peacefuldemonstration.” And later, they had guns.They did not appear by accident orsuddenly. This has been prepared over along period of time, as a force forcarrying out a coup.Their swastika graffiti are all overKreshchatyk Street. There are portraitsof Bandera. This is December 1 . Here youhave policeman standing, unarmed.[Guerrillas shown attacking.] Now,Molotov cocktails. [Tr.: And cudgels.]They are attacking the PresidentialAdministration offices. [Long passage ofvideo.]On December 1, the whole world could seethat there were terrorist guerrillas in
the streets of Kiev. The EU said: No,this is a peaceful demonstration. Theseneo-Nazi guerrillas began to seizebuildings: the Kiev City Hall, the TradeUnions House, the Ministry ofAgriculture, the October Palace ofCulture, and then they broke into theMinistry of Energy. Only there, did theMinister of Energy say that there was adanger to the fifteen nuclear reactors inUkraine, and he drove them out of theMinistry building.Central Kiev was totally blockaded, butYanukovych was conducting negotiationswith the opposition. [Former EuropeanParliament President Pat] Cox and [FormerPresident Alexander] Kwasniewski, fromPoland, came to Kiev 27 times. SenatorMcCain from the USA, Assistant Secretaryof State Victoria Nuland, Stefan Fuele,Catherine Ashton, and a great number ofother European officials came to Kiev,they did not notice any guerrillas orneo-Nazis, and they demanded that thegovernment pursue only a peacefulsolution.But on January 15, Zbigniew Brzezinskigave his interview, saying that theMaidan should not stop, but must goforward. Then, on January 19, there was anew wave of aggression. The police, theBerkut, were just standing there,standing guard around the governmentquarter, making no moves, and nottouching the Maidan. But the neo-Naziguerrillas came out of the Maidan toattack the government quarter. [Video.]This is January 19. [Tr.: Here theguerrillas make their move to take thegovernment quarter.] The EU said thatthese are not terrorists or guerrillas,but “Euromaidan activists.” [Tr.: Eachtime, the actions are more aggressive. OnJanuary 19, you have them throwingMolotov cocktails at the police, settingthe police on fire.]What you’re seeing here, is how theEuromaidan defends European values.Out of twenty thousand people in theEuromaidan, there were 2000 neo-Nazis.Here you have February 18. They said theywere going on a peaceful march to the5
Supreme Rada. [Video of armed guerrillasattacking police outside the Rada.] Twodays later, on Feb. 20, they came afterthe Supreme Rada with guns. In theinterim, military depots and policestockpiles of guns had been seized. Nowit is estimated that there are as many as25 thousand armed bandits in Kiev andthroughout Ukraine. They have destroyedover 200 offices of the Party of Regions,shooting several office employees in thecourse of that. They have burned officesof the Communist Party.I am also the leader of a politicalparty. And I have my own attitude towardthe government, but we do not supportneo-Nazism. What can our party expect, ifthese people are in power?The neo-Nazis terrorized the Parliament,and on Feb. 20 they essentiallyreformatted the Parliament. On Feb. 21,they signed an agreement with Yanukovych.Three leaders of the opposition:Klitschko, Yatsenyuk, and Tyahnybok . Theagreement was witnessed byrepresentatives of three foreignministries of EU countries — ForeignMinister Franz-Walter Steinmeier ofGermany, Foreign Minister RadoslawSikorski of Poland, and the head of theContinental Europe Department of theFrench Ministry of Foreign Affairs EricFournier.This was a monstrous agreement. I neverimagined that the European Union couldflout the norms of law in such a way.Ukraine has a Constitution. Section 13 ofthat Constitution spells out theprocedure for amending the Constitution.Yet, the first point of this Feb. 21agreement demanded that amendments to theConstitution be adopted and announcedwithin 48 hours, including a change inour state system. The Constitutionrequires a vote by a [two-thirds]“constitutional majority” in twoconsecutive sessions, followed by reviewand approval by the Constitutional Court.The agreement contained not one wordabout dispersing the Maidan and disarmingthe guerrillas, so that the Parliamentmight vote in peace. Thus, by aimingpistol barrels at MPs, beating them up,and intimidating them with potential
repercussions against their families,they forced the Supreme Rada to conveneon Feb. 20 and start to vote. They votedto change the Constitution.The procedure for impeachment is spelledout in the Constitution. But theParliament spat on that, simply voted,declared that Yanukovych had resigned,and set elections for May 25.The agreement forbids declaration of astate of emergency. The agreement decreesthat violence should cease. Immediately,the Berkut and the police were ordered:no use of force, no resistance.Meanwhile, the guerrillas were shootingat them.In the space of these three months, theParliament has passed three amnesty laws.In 1999, when I was running for thePresidency of Ukraine, there was anattack, with two grenades, on me and myentourage. Forty-four people werewounded, including myself and VladimirMarchenko. The organizer of this attackwas arrested, convicted, and sentenced to15 years. After five years, he wasreleased. Just now, he has taken part inthe latest events. He was arrested whenhe and his buddies attempted to seize thecity hall of Krivoy Rog in theDnepropetrovsk Region. Eighteen Molotovcocktails were found in his car. He wasdetained, but under the amnesty he hasbeen released again.Now, the organizers and guerrillas of theMaidan are shaping the entire governmentof Ukraine. We can see from the SvobodaParty’s program, what kind of governmentthis will be. This is a neo-Nazi party,which does not conceal that it continuesto implement the ideology of the NationalSocialists. The European Parliament, inresolutions passed in 2010 and 2012,condemned any support for this party.Now, it appears, the head of this partywill become first deputy prime minister.Look at the Svoboda Party program. Itcalls for ending Ukraine’s participationin any international groups of countriesinitiated by Moscow. Impose visarequirements for travel to and fromRussia. Restore Ukraine’s status as a6
nuclear power. Demand from NATO membercountries favorable conditions forUkraine to join NATO. They have a specialchapter on Crimea, which calls forchanging the status of Crimea from anautonomous republic to merely a region.End the special status of the city ofSevastopol.I ask you: what use does the EU have forNazis in power in Ukraine? Is it notunderstood, that civil war in Ukrainewill develop more and more?There are fifteen nuclear power plants inUkraine. Ukraine has the largest naturalgas pipeline network in Europe. Ukrainehas dozens of large chemical plants. Whatdoes it mean to have a civil war in thevicinity of industrial facilities likethese?The Russian Federation’s Black Sea Fleetis based in Sevastopol. Russia gave theCrimean peninsula to Ukraine 60 yearsago, in token of friendship. Do CatherineAshton, Fuele and the others really notrealize that this neo-Nazi regime willprovoke a conflict with Russia? Do the EUofficials really not understand thatUkraine will be completely bankrupt, andthat millions of Ukrainians will becomerefugees, pouring into Europe in searchof work?What should be done? Moscow, Berlin andParis should immediately unite theirefforts to stop neo-Nazism in Ukraine.Adopt a decision, without Washington, onearly Parliamentary elections in Ukraine.But, first, disperse the Maidan anddisarm all the guerrillas. And, inaccordance with the standards ofinternational law, ban neo-Nazi partiesand movements in Ukraine. Only then willthere be a free expression of the will ofthe citizens of Ukraine and the formationof a normal Parliament.Without question, new Presidentialelections are needed, because Yanukovychis a scoundrel who has no right to holdany political office in Ukraine. But ifPresidential elections are held on theMaidan’s terms, and under a dictatorshipof Right Sector, then Ukraine will get aFuehrer. And then, with a neo-Nazi
Parliament and a neo-Nazi government, thecreation of a neo-Nazi state in thecenter of Europe will have beencompleted.These are our evaluations, and I thankyou for being so attentive. If you haveany questions, we welcome them.Questions and answersIn the question and answer period, thequestions were asked in French and areparaphrased here. Excerpts from theanswers have been translated fromRussian.Q.A question sent over the Internetbegins with thanks to Natalia Vitrenkofor her courage and her extraordinarycompetence as an economist. What wouldyou think of forming a new internationalanti-fascist committee — isn’t thissomething that would be urgent to do?Vitrenko:Absolutely. If, God forbid, aneo-Nazi regime remains in power inUkraine, then neo-Nazism will surfaceelsewhere, too. In the Maidan, they shout“Ukraine for the Ukrainians!” They willshout “France for the French!”, “Bulgariafor the Bulgarians!”, and so on.Therefore, all mankind must fight neo-Nazism, together.Q.Another question from the Internetbegins with thanks to Kiev Rus for givingFrance a Queen! [Anna Yaroslavna, thewell-educated daughter of Yaroslav theWise of Kiev, married Henry I of Francein the mid-11th century. –Ed.] Myquestion is: Why would anybody want toenter the EU, when everybody in Europewants to escape from it?Vitrenko:Don’t ask me! I’m againstUkraine’s entry into the EU. But I thinkthat the EU will soon fall apart.Q.What is the role of Putin? One of ourlisteners want to know about his Eurasianproject, on the one hand, and hisapparent support for the currentPresident of Ukraine, Yanukovych, on theother. Is the latter a question ofrelations among oligarchical groups,including those within Russia itself?7
Vitrenko:I would have liked Putin to actotherwise than he has done. I don’tunderstand why the USA declares Ukraineto be within its zone of nationalinterests, and interferes there, whileRussia, knowing that we are bloodbrothers and should be together, declaresnon-interference in Ukrainian affairs.Q.During the past week, the ruble hasbeen crashing. Is this related to theprocesses Mr. Cheminade talked about inhis introductory remarks? Is this theresult of an anti-Russia campaign?Vitrenko:There is a very strong anti-Russian campaign. This affects the pricesof Russian commodities on the commoditiesexchanges, which, in turn, has an impacton the Russian currency. But the economicsituation in Russia is not deterioratingas rapidly as Ukraine’s; what’s happeningin Ukraine is a catastrophe. Ukraine’sGDP has been declining for five quartersin a row, for the entire past year.Industrial production, especiallymachine-building, is falling. Thegold/currency reserves of the NationalBank are falling; they declined by one-third last year, and another 13% inJanuary. The trade deficit and budgetdeficit are increasing. Businessmen inwestern Ukraine, as a protest against thecentral government, refused to pay taxesin January. Tax revenues in January fellby a factor of six, as a result of this.The national currency is collapsing.Q.I read a lengthy article in Le MondeDiplomatique, concerning Ukraine’sagricultural land. Is there a danger,under the new regime, that internationalgroups will buy up the land in Ukraine,and use it primarily not for growingfood, but for biofuels?Vitrenko:This government is a totallypro-western, anti-popular government,which will do whatever necessary to keepafloat. Ukraine’s land is unique. Ourcountry has 20% of the world’s black-earth soil resources. [Audio break.]Q.What will happen, now that Yanukovychhas left? Could things develop in thedirection of a civil war?
Vitrenko:A civil war is already underway in Ukraine. Three more people werekilled in Kiev today. The entiresoutheast of Ukraine is rising up tofight. People’s defense units are beingformed. People are donning Russianuniforms as a mirror response to what ishappening in western Ukraine, wherepeople don Bandera uniforms.The new authorities have alreadycriminalized any manifestations ofseparatism. They are trying to head offany possibility of local referendums.They don’t want to have a situation likein Scotland. They want to turn the peopleof Ukraine into serfs who have no rights.I gave you the figures: 84% of the peoplein eastern Ukraine are in favor ofintegration with Russia. Thus the Naziauthorities are striving to keep theirclutches on Ukraine as a single state.They not only want to prevent secession,but to forbid any motion towardfederalism or a confederation. They thinkthat their American-trained guerrillaswill enable them to keep their Nazi gripon the country.I think they will fail, although I’m nowsure how it will happen. For us, theSecond World War was the Great PatrioticWar. Not only the heroic Army, but alsoevery Soviet person fought against thefascists: partisan units, theunderground, people working behind thelines. Every person fought the fascists.Therefore, things may come to a bigexplosion, but this construct will bedestroyed. But it will a real shame, ifthis leads to World War III.Q.Thank you for your presentation. Youhave clarified many things. My questionis, how would you define theresponsibility of the EU in thissituation? We have talked today about thegeostrategic posture of the EU and theUSA toward Russia and other Eurasiancountries. What is their responsibilityfor what has happened? There would appearto be two types of involvement in yourproblems: both the geopolitical, but alsothe background issues like land, as wasmentioned, and also natural gas.8
Vitrenko:The responsibility of the EUlies in the fact that three countries —Germany, Poland, and France — acted asguarantors of this agreement.Furthermore, just before that, ourForeign Minister met with foreignambassadors, primarily from Europeancountries. Here is a Ukrainian newspaper,reporting that during this meeting theforeign ambassadors totally condemned theattitude of the government toward theneo-Nazi Maidan. When the deputy head ofthe Ukrainian Security Service announcedthe need for an anti-terrorist operation,all the ambassadors attacked him. DutchAmbassador Pieter Jan Wolther stated,“Not even a broad interpretation of theterm ‘terrorism’ allows you to label yourpolitical opponents that way.” He said,“I would request that you choose yourterminology more carefully. Ukraine hasno need for an anti-terrorist operation.”This meeting took place Feb. 19.Preparation of the operation had begunthe night before, on Feb. 18. The subwaysystem in Kiev was shut down and theroads into the city were blocked. This isvery difficult to do in a city of 3million people. But they were demandingthat this anti-terrorist operation besuspended. It was suspended, and then, onthe 20th, the armed neo-Nazi guerrillaswent on the offensive. By evening, thecoup had been made.Therefore, the United States providedfinancing and training, while the EUblessed the operation. The USA and the EUbear full responsibility for thesituation in Ukraine.Q.What are the goals of the neo-Nazis?Vitrenko:The goals of the neo-Nazis,just as under Hitler, are to destroyhumanity in the interest of a “chosenpeople.” They use the slogan “14,”signifying a 14-word slogan that saysonly the white race has the right toexist on the planet. The Ukrainian neo-Nazis have in their program a pointdefining “European Ukrainocentrism” asthe strategy of the state. Under thispolicy, Ukraine is to strive to be notonly the geographical, but also thegeopolitical center of Europe. Hitler
proclaimed, “Deutschland ueber alles,”while the Ukrainian neo-Nazis proclaim,“Ukraine above all.” Tyahnybok, theleader of Svoboda, openly states thatjust as our fathers and grandfathers did,so we, too, should annihilate Russians,Jews, Poles and others.Q.I have been shocked to see Ukrainiansdemonstrating here in Paris, in supportof the Ukrainian rebels. There are250,000 Ukrainians in Lisbon, Portugal,but there were no demonstrations there insupport of the Maidan. A young man whowas a leader of the Ukrainian demo inParis, and who was originally from Lviv,explained to me that there are no Nazisin Ukraine, no Russophobes, or anythinglike that. He said there were two typesof Ukrainians: those who love Ukraine,namely them, the demonstrators, and thosein eastern Ukraine, who hate Ukraine.What do you think about that?Vitrenko: Those Ukrainians who came outin Paris to support the Maidan arevictims of propaganda from CNN, EuroNews,and other such media. A colleague of minewho teaches at a university in Londonwrote to me that not a single TV channelthere showed the events of December 1 orJanuary 19. Nobody covered those actions.Instead, they would show a pretty girlsaying, “We really want to change ourgovernment. It’s a bad government. Thepolice are attacking and beating us.Defend us peaceful civilians!”And since our government really has beenbad, a lot of people think: sure, thepeople in the Euromaidan are peaceful,and the government is going after them.They don’t see the neo-Nazis. They don’tsee the guerrillas. They don’t see theblood.What you have in Portugal, on the otherhand, is our people: migrant laborers whohave come to Europe seeking work, anywork, even the most menial, because thereare no jobs at home. They have left theirfamilies, their children. They rememberthat when we had the Soviet Union andwere together with Russia, we didn’t haveunemployment.
And they have a historical memory thatthe supporters of Bandera were alwaysbandits and terrorists, who should not besupported. You have to understand thecrimes of these collaborationists. Theyjoined the German fascists in fightingagainst the Soviet Union. The SovietUnion lost 28 million people. Ukrainelost 5.5 million people, killed. Twomillion were deported to do slave laborin Germany. These Ukrainian nationalists,the Bandera supports, were with theGermans. They shot partisans. They killedcivilians. They rampaged throughout theterritory occupied by the fascists. Therewas the case of Babi Yar in Kiev, where130,000 people were shot to death. Therewere only 1500 executioners who did this.Out of those 1500 executioners, therewere 300 Germans and the other 1200 werethese nationalists of the OUN. Theyserved as Polizei, as henchmen. And ofcourse our people still hate them somuch, that they will not tolerate them inpower.Christine Bierre:I would like to giveMr. Marchenko and Col. Sergachov theopportunity to add some remarks, if theywould like to.Volodymyr Marchenko:I would like to drawyour attention to the precedent, broughtabout by the USA and the EU. The essenceof the matter is that the EU hasproclaimed its principles and values,including the defense of human rights andthe defense of minority rights,democracy, free elections, and non-acceptance of Nazism. These standardshave guided the European Court of HumanRights, in implementing the provisions ofthe European Conventions. These valuesare the calling card of the EU,worldwide.In regard to Ukraine, EU officials haveviolated all of these declared principlesand values. In the Maidan, the neo-Nazisdeclared a “national revolution.” Theirslogans proclaim, “Ukraine forUkrainians!”, “Glory to the nation, deathto the enemies!” But the EU officialsmaintain that the Maidan is defendingEuropean values.9
Today, the new authorities proclaimedthat the only people considered part ofthe Ukrainian “nation” will be those whospeak Ukrainian. Beyond any doubt, thereis going to be forcible assimilation ofethnic minorities. Today, the newParliament repealed the Law on LanguagePolicy, which defined the procedure forthe languages of ethnic minorities toobtain official status on the regionallevel. [Tr.: This applied to certainregions, where the majority of thepopulation speaks Russian. Today, Russialost its special status.] In westernUkraine, speaking Russian on publictransport was banned, six or seven yearsago. Now these processes will begeneralized to Ukraine as a whole.Irina Farion [of the Svoboda party], aneo-Nazi, is being proposed as ministerof education in the new government. Sheis the teacher who forbid a schoolgirl touse her own name, which was a Russianname.Another problem is that European valuesinclude the rule of law. Natalia Vitrenkoshowed that the agreement witnessed bythe three foreign ministers included ademand to change the Constitution, toalter the state system of Ukraine, in thespace of 48 hours. They changed theConstitutional system illegally, shiftingfrom a Presidential to a Parliamentaryrepublic. Violating the supremacy of law,namely, the priority of Constitutionwithin the system of domestic law,President Yanukovych was illegallystripped of his authority.The European Parliament, or EU officials,termed guerrillas with weapons in theirhands, who were shooting civilians,shooting at elected bodies, and seizinggovernment buildings, “peacefuldemonstrators.” By supporting theUkrainian Euromaidan as a repository ofEuropean values, the EU officials haverecognized the swastika, as well ascollaborationists like Bandera andShukhevych and their practices, asEuropean values.This means that the precedent of supportfor neo-Nazis, terrorists, and guerrillas10
in Ukraine, may be spread to othercountries in Europe, to EU membercountries.Lastly, this: the EU has blessed theaccession to power of neo-Nazis, who havealready publicly declared Russia to be ahostile state. Russia and Ukraine arebound by a Treaty of Friendship andPartnership. And I think that the new,neo-Nazi Ukrainian regime will abrogatethis treaty. But even without that, ahotbed of tension has already beencreated on the Eurasian continent, andthe question of how to put it out, is abig problem for those who supported theEuromaidan and made out such values aswere expressed there, as a so-calledpeaceful demonstration.Valeri Sergachov:I would like tounderscore that there are 134 ethnicgroups living in Ukraine. Where arepeople supposed to flee? Poland andRomania have declared that they areprepared to accept refugees. Romania, forthe past five or seven years, has beenvoicing territorial ambitions regardingland in the Odessa region and Bukovina,which they call Bessarabia. Claims onCrimea have already appeared in theTurkish press. The nationalists say thatthe territory of Ukraine extends fromLviv to the Don River — and that isalready in Russia! I would like tounderscore, once again, that there are 15nuclear reactors in Ukraine: 15Chernobyls. This all creates thepotential for a military conflict thatcould spill over into World War III.Thank you