A Comedy to Damn Us All: The Hypocrisies of the Crimean Debate

By: OccidentalTemplar on 19:12

If you read CNN or BBC, you might be worried about those damned old Russians invading the Crimean peninsula. Or, you might “know” about how the Crimean’s were forced to vote for that joke of a referendum which got a 97% vote for joining the Russian Federation.

“Impossible!” you might say, “Who would ever want to be a part of the new Russian Empire, it must be false!”

However, what you won’t see on Western media are the crowds of hundreds of thousands of people in the Crimea shooting fire crackers, singing the Russian national anthem, waving Russian flags, and crying with joy due to their return to their homeland. Never mind the fact that the Crimean’s are deathly afraid of the Kiev government after the recent banning of the Russian language in the Ukraine. Never mind the fact that the absolute fascists in Kiev are the ones controlling the play at the moment.

Disagree with this analysis? Think the U.S.A. and Germany would never back a far right government? There are plenty of examples. One such example is a man named Ihor Yosypovych Tenyukh. He holds the cabinet position of minister of defense. Also he was and still is a member of the far-right Svoboda party. This is a party that was behind the racism during the past Euro cup matches and caused western governments to boycott the games in Ukraine.

So the German government completely bans and criminalizes far right nationalists in their country, but endorses, funds and defends far-right nationalists in Ukraine. I think we know the definition of hypocrisy, and I think we can thank Germany for such a great display of this concept. However, they are not the only government with a joke of a policy.

The Ukraine has deep and somewhat bitter divisions between the Russian speaking east, the Ukrainian speaking west and the Crimean peninsula. Yet, when Ukraine shows its scary side, the U.S. decides in this one case of human history that this is not “legal”. The U.S., along with almost all of central and western Europe supported the break-up of the former Yugoslavia, the Arab spring, and past African secessions, i.e. north and south Sudan. So why should the country of Ukraine be the one exception to all of the countries being split by revolution?

Well, balkanization of Ukraine simply wouldn’t fit the narrative of a country despotically controlled by outside forces (the Russian Federation). As it looks now, the Crimea has already become part of Russia, and the population centers in eastern Ukraine are up-in-arms, many demanding the same right to self-determination exercised by the Crimean peninsula. Furthermore, many of these people are demanding to become part of Russia once again. But of course, the Western media has made it very clear of there position, Russia is meant to become weaker by the coup-de-ta, not strengthened. We will simply have to wait and see what the U.S. government has in-store for act three of this drama.

Although hypocrisy abounds in this scene of geopolitical theatre, there could be massive consequence for the likes of the simple people. Thankfully the media has been reporting extensively on the fact that the “Putch” government in Kiev is actively militarizing its eastern border with Russia. Also, we all know of the American F-16’s sent to Poland recently. So, again, the West accuses the Russians of threatening military force, but they are actively working to prepare for a military conflict. All it will take is one fanatical Svoboda party member to fire one shot over the border to send us into a conflict, the likes of which have not been seen for over 70 years.

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A World of Tyrants and the Lessons the Ukrainian People can Teach us

By: OccidentalTemplar on 17:02

The month of February has showcased a host of protests by people as far and wide as Venezuela, Thailand, Greece, Ukraine and more. We saw countless Greek protests in the past, all of which failed to achieve any real change. At times, we couldn’t help asking ourselves, “is this it? Are we witnessing a chain reaction of change with which our generation could have never imagined?” No, we didn’t witness that change. Why did these protests fail to ignite changes sought by their followers? This can be answered by one word, “Force”.

All of these protests start and end in the same way. People get frustrated, they take to the streets. The police contain them and the protest gets media time. Then the police disperse them with water cannon, tear gas, rubber bullets and batons. What is achieved? Nothing.

These protests are indicative of the days we live in. Activists want something done, they go to streets and speak their mind, and then they are driven away through the use of violence controlled by the state. But what happens when a large group of citizens stand their ground against the charge of police. This is where the people of Ukraine come in.

The country of Ukraine is a very divided country. West of Kiev, the people are very pro-European Union whereas east and south the people lean towards Russia. The protests were big but most of the days on Maidan square were quite small. This ranged from fifteen to twenty-thousand people on the weekends and two to four thousand on the weekdays. On top of the fifty-fifty divide in the country, it is safe to say that an even smaller percentage wanted to see both the 2004 constitution and a resignation letter from president Yanukovich.

These goals were achieved despite their lack of popularity. If not a resignation letter, the president has lost any power with which to exert over the country. This was done because the states use of force backfired. The protesters wanted something, and the state wanted them to go away. But when the police tried to use violence, they were met with violence. By now the familiar image of police catching fire with Molotov cocktails and being pelted with rocks is as vivid an image as ever. But this wasn’t just a few isolated instances of violence, even when the police tried using armored cars, the protesters forced them back. How? They did this by meeting one person’s use of force with force of their own. Finally the police were pulled back and the president evacuated the city.

What do we have to learn from this? The state is not the only being with the right use violence. Violence is an awful tool. It makes people suffer unwantedly. But the state is willing to use it to maintain its role as a governing force in our lives. We all have a right to do whatever we wish. We can be influenced by others, however nothing can stop you except a simple decision between “Yes” and “No”. What tyrants in history show us is that might makes right in this world. But what Ukraine shows us is that the state can do whatever, whenever it wants and it will back up its words with violence.

The question then becomes, are people willing to defend their ideas with the same methods the state uses to enforce its? Ukraine is in a chaotic phase because what the protesters didn’t lack in fortitude, they lacked in thinking ahead. There will probably be a default the national debt, there could be a civil war and Ukraine could be balkanized in some time. But these protesters achieved something unheard of, a big change. Now other Ukrainians will be tested. Will they be able to defend their ideas in the same manner as the Kiev protesters will enforce theirs? In the end, individual thinkers able to make the “Yes” or “No” decision will determine if and when change comes to their countries.

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