Ukraine Crisis Deepens Amid Separatist Talk (LA Times)

[NoPasaran]

KIEV, Ukraine — The political crisis over Ukraine's disputed presidential election threatened Sunday to tear the nation apart as leaders of eastern provinces pressed demands bordering on separatism and opposition supporters pledged to block the outgoing president's movements if he didn't meet their demands.

Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko both warned that the bitter struggle over which of them was the legitimate winner of the Nov. 21 vote risked escalating into violence and regional conflict.

Yanukovich, the officially declared winner of the campaign, met with supporters from 17 regional councils in eastern and southern Ukraine who had gathered to discuss demands for autonomy or independence should Yushchenko succeed in having the official results overturned. Yanukovich, whose power base is the largely Russian-speaking east, urged caution.

"I'm warning you against any radical measures," he said. "Once the first drop of blood is spilled, we will not be able to stop it."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-ukraine29nov29.story

[oscar111]

1. which offers best social benefits.. health, college, pension, jobs for all

No report seems to care about that.

anyone know? And how LW is the outgoing gov?

[necso]

2. This could turn real bad,

real fast.

As I understand it, the US and (some of) the EU states back the opposition, and Russia the government.

"Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, who has been helping to mediate the crisis, expressed concern about the hardening regional divisions in Ukraine. Asked in a television interview whether there was a danger of Ukraine splitting, he replied: 'This is a realistic threat, especially if it is supported by outside forces.'"

Gee, I hope that we don't do anything stupid.

[pberq]

3. Democracy? Think again

Anybody who takes at face value the propaganda regarding the Ukraine situation might want to take a look at these:

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=7...

<snip>
It is because of this ideological presupposition that Anglo-Saxon reporting on the Ukrainian elections has chimed in with press releases from the State Department, peddling a fairytale about a struggle between a brave and beleaguered democrat, Yushchenko, and an authoritarian Soviet nostalgic, the present Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovych. All facts which contradict this morality tale are suppressed.

<snip>
It has also been repeatedly alleged that foreign observers found the elections fraught with violations committed by the government. In fact, this is exclusively the view of highly politicised Western governmental organisations like the OSCE - a body which is notorious for the fraudulent nature of its own reports, and which in any case came to this conclusion before the poll had even taken place - and of bogus NGOs, such as the Committee of Ukrainian Voters, a front organisation exclusively funded by Western (mainly American) government bodies and think-tanks, and clearly allied with Yushchenko.

http://antiwar.com/justin/
<snip>
According to the U.S. government, and commentators on the left as well as the (neoconservative) right, the crisis in the Ukraine is a clear-cut case of "democracy" versus authoritarianism, "the people" versus "the oligarchs," and the forces of enlightened Europhilia up against the sinister specter of a resurgent Russia and a revivified KGB.

The only problem with this narrative is that it is unmitigated bunk.

Let's start with the central figures in this drama: the two Viktors – Yushchenko and Yanukovich. To begin with, you'll note that the former has a website in English, while the latter's site is only in the native Ukrainian and Russian. Yushchenko's audience is primarily the West, while Yanukovich is speaking to his own people. Right off the bat, the line of demarcation is drawn.

[UncleSepp]

4. We ought to stay far far away

I see nationalists squaring off against nationalists, with neither party loving Ukraine enough to take a peaceful, non-confrontational route. Nash Ukraine isn't the shining example of the power of the people that it's being made out to be in the US press - the coalition only got around to kicking the Nazis out of it this year. That's not to say that they -are- NS, just that they'll buddy up with whoever's expedient, indicating to me that they are more motivated by winning and acheiving power than by any specific idealism. Also Kuchma's coalition is not innocent of sharing its umbrella with embarrassing people or doing stupid things - these are the people who paid college students to dress up like fascists and hold a fake rally in support of Our Ukraine to strengthen the opinion that they are dangerous nationalists all of them. These are just a couple of small examples rotating around the same stupid pin of an idea. The more you stick your nose into this situation, the more you realize that both sides stink!

Sorry if this is incoherent or poorly spelled - it is early for me and I am reading and posting to keep myself awake :-P