Author Archives: RomanInUkraine

Polish FM: “If you don’t support this, you’ll all be dead.”

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2014-02-21/polish-minister-tells-protest-leader-you-will-all-be-dead/

***

More: The Polish foreign minister has been filmed telling a protest leader that if the opposition did not sign up to a deal offered by Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych “you will all be dead”.

Radoslaw Sikorski, one of three European foreign ministers who brokered Friday’s agreement to end the bloody standoff, was emerging from talks with opposition leaders when he issued the stark warning.

“If you don’t support this [deal] you’ll have martial law, the army. You will all be dead,” he said, in comments that were captured on film by ITV News.

When asked if he had managed to convince the opposition, the minister, clearly frustrated, muttered: “I don’t know.”


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/10654239/Polish-foreign-minister-warns-Ukraine-protest-leaders-Sign-deal-or-you-will-all-die.html

Curt’s Letter to Mr. Putin

DEAR MR PUTIN : A LETTER FROM A FRIEND

I really do love you Vladimir Vladimirovich. Your delivery of Russia from chaos has been a great achievement. And you have established yourself as a great man.

But you value stability more than eliminating corruption. And this is why, if you do not ‘pivot’ from your current strategy, you will fail.

I want a restored and strong Russia. I think the future of my people and your people depend upon a stronger Russia and a weaker America.

But people cannot follow you if you have nothing to offer. People will not follow china, because it has nothing to offer.

Russia can offer one thing: the path to eliminating corruption for the rest of the world.

If you want to restore your empire, then the total destruction of the corruption that is endemic to the eastern peoples must be placed above your territorial ambitions.

If you eliminate corruption you will not need to work to restore your empire. It will be a force of gravity. If you do not work to eliminate corruption, you will continue to repel the people and generate discontent.

Curt Doolittle
Kiev

***

also from Curt:

PUTIN OVERPLAYED HIS HAND

US State Department has the spin going, it’s good spin, and someone got the right talking points to the president. Best tactic for Putin is “self determination without chaos”. And just wait. Fear of looking weak might drive him to push the Crimean issue, and then try to split the country under ‘self determination’. My gut is that as long as the protesters hold out for resignation of the president, then unity will prevail. Very interesting.

Scared as hell the past few days but it’s such a privilege to be here and see people topple a corrupt government.

Peace Deal(?)

Today, reports circulated of a deal being negotiated between the Ukrainian president and the Ukrainian opposition. Chances are the protesters will allow the opposition to speak for them, though they’ve scorned them in the past. The deal would include immediate presidential elections, plus a roll back of presidential powers. The fluctuation of presidential powers illustrates the callousness of Ukrainian democracy. In 2004, when the Orange Revolution brought Victor Yushchenko to power, the Rada (congress) limited presidential powers with a constitutional reform. In 2010, when Victor Yanukovych, the Russian-backed villain of the Orange Revolution, returned to power, the Rada struck the constitutional reform and restored presidential powers.

Ukraine, has always been the border of empires. At different times in the chaotic history of the steppes, Ukrainian Kozaks allied with Tartars to sack Moscow, they allied with Poles to fight the Tartars and Ottomans in the 17th century, and made a treaty with Moscow to rebel against the Polish crown.

Today, Brussels and Moscow contend for influence. The best thing for Ukrainians would be a dismantling of the hyper-centralized, corrupt, ineffective bureaucracies of their government and the development of local or private solutions. Both powers contending for influence, however, want the bureaucracy to remain intact so that they can simply affect the leader.

In this regard the peace deal would be a lost opportunity. On the positive the people have shown their strength. The fact that they are able to overthrow a corrupt government will be a restraint on all future regimes.

Government thugs beat up a Russian journalist who attempted to portray them as heroes

[youtube]tVwzI966YcA[/youtube]

The journalist praises them and encourages them to talk about what’s happening. Once Topaz’s friends start beating him, the reporter begs Topaz to make them stop — “Topaz, give the command! Give the command, Topaz!”

***

update: Holy Crap!!! Topaz is captured!!!

[youtube]a6dSkkQPKPo[/youtube]

The protesters ask him what he’s doing. He says, choking back tears, that he came to protect his president.

“The one that’s murdering us?”

“I was told differently,” Topaz answers.

“If they asked you to jump off a building for your president, would you do that too?”

Russian Media unplugs Crimean Politician when begins telling the truth

[youtube]STfUDzi8hWY[/youtube]

Andri: Well, prostitute in studio asks him about the situation in Crimea. She believes that deputy from Crimea shares pro-Russian and anti-protest views. But suddenly he starts to tell all the truth: – that officials in power from Party of Regions have stolen a lot of property, that they are totally corrupted and that’s why they afraid revolution wins. He also says that situation in Crimea is peaceful, there are no conflicts, no big protests and that there are very few protesters activists who support Maidan and they are totally peaceful and doesn’t create any danger for officials and Crimean government. And that was enough for Russians to turn off that guy