Ukraine protesters topple Lenin statue in Kiev

[BelgianMadCow]

Source: The Guardian

Ukrainian opposition protesters pulled down a statue of Lenin in central Kiev as hundreds of thousands took to the streets in the latest display of anger at President Viktor Yanukovich's rejection of closer ties with Europe.
...
Since last Sunday, when protesters attempted to storm the presidential administration and riot police responded ruthlessly, there has been no violence. The government has so far taken a hands-off approach to the protests but resisted concessions. The prime minister, Mykola Azarov, survived a no-confidence vote in parliament on Tuesday and branded those on the square "Nazis and criminals", but after previous attempts to clear the square with force increased the protest mood, police withdrew from the city centre.

However, on Friday, Kiev police said that if two occupied buildings in the centre, including the main City Hall, were not vacated within five days, they would be cleared with force.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/08/ukraine-opposition-viktor-yanukovych-european-integration

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Picture series here: http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2013/dec/08/ukraine-protests-government-opposition-thousands-kiev-independence-square



People sleeping in camps in occupied squares in opposition to regimes that are perceived unjust and/or oppressive? I thought that idea had "died"?

[SoapBox]

1. Ah yes...if in doubt, just call those who oppose you

"Nazis and Criminals".

It's standard talk in the TeaPukeTerroristBagger play book, isn't it?

[BelgianMadCow]

2. Yep. The exact same thing is happening in Spain, where the governing party, which is of Franco

descent (the PP) is calling protesters nazis whilst passing a law that includes fines of up to 600.000 euro for people involved in protesting at the home or office of elected representatives, calles escraches. These escraches have a long history in latin-american protest by the way.

The veneer of democracy is thinning in several places at once.

[Laelth]

3. k&r for exposure. n/t

-Laelth

[hue]

4. The 99% demanding a voice in a fascist regime!!

[BelgianMadCow]

9. it reminds me of this moment

Sol, Madrid, 2011

[kelliekat44]

5. This is exactly how I would feel living under GOP complete control of our government.

"This is a decisive moment when all Ukrainians have gathered here because they do not want to live in a country where corruption rules and where there is no justice,"

[Purveyor]

6. That would be us residents of the state of Michigan. eom

[oberliner]

7. Michigan had a Democratic governor from 2003-2011

I'm confident another will be voted in sometime in the not so distant future.

[Purveyor]

8. I'm not feeling it here on the ground yet... :( eom

[freshwest]

10. Never 'dies' with sufficient unified masses in cities. Social fragmentation by media affects us.

The events there can be construed in more than one way. Yanukovich and Azarov may still see ties with Europe as another form of occupation like WW2 thus Nazis.

Some say that the EU is part of an ancient global banking conspiracy, no different than what they claim the elites did in WW2 with the Nazis...



Who's kidding who? More important, who's screwing who?

Street demonstrations are not always liberal events. Those protesting gay rights in Russia a while back, with people from the EU bussed in, met a lot of violence directed at them as well as mobs going down the street to beat others 'suspected of being gay.'

Are closer ties with the EU better for the Ukraine?

I'm neutral, as I know people from Russia and the Ukraine. They have opposing views.

Russia once controlled the Ukraine and there is a very harsh history between them, that they have not forgotten.

As a supporter of western style human rights and social democracy, the EU has done a better job than others. But there are those in Europe itself that hate the EU.

We have Birchers here who see the EU and UN as enemy to American sovereignty.

Russia has been fighting with them for years, what Stalin did was genocidal, and they argue about pipelines now.

The biggest question is, can the Ukraine survive without keeping its ties to Russia? Can the EU offer Ukraine a greater deal or independence?

[BelgianMadCow]

11. I see your point - as a matter of fact, I'm ready to go protest the entire EU as it stands

in Brussels next week. Whether the EU institutions are such a brilliant scheme, is highly doubtful. The massive austerity which is leading to societal collapse in the south puts me in the camp of sceptics of current EU policy, as do the secret TTIP negotiations.

But nonetheless, there's a lot of good things to be said for Europe. I don't know enough about Russia to weigh in how it balances out. And I'm in favor of returning sovereignty back to the People, everywhere. I HOPE this protest is a part of that, but I'm not sure.