Ukraine's political opposition said on Saturday it would set up a headquarters of national resistance following clashes between police and pro-Europe protesters and had begun to organize a country-wide strike.
"We have taken a common decision to form a headquarters of national resistance and we have begun preparations for an all-Ukraine national strike," former economy minister Arseny Yatsenyuk, one of three opposition leaders, told journalists.
He said the opposition parties sought the resignation of the government and early parliamentary and presidential elections to force out President Viktor Yanukovich.
link.
Those of you who have followed this blog know I am not a fan of Yanukovich. He's a crook and a monster on a personal level. You also know I am not a fan of Timoshenko (Tymoshenko) either: the woman is a Ukrainian flavoured Ann Coulter. Frankly, in many ways, Ukraine has developed into the situation which it has earned: the pettiness of its politics are obscene. You think the US has dysfunctional political parties? The worst of the Republicans and the Democrats ought to go take positions as interns at the Rada.
However, ranting aside...
It ought to be damned apparent Ukraine is under tremendous pressure right now. Russia, which has the economic strings still, has enormous influence. Putin does NOT want Ukraine to become part of the European Union. He wants Ukraine to be part of the Eurasian Union, what some are calling the Soviet Union v2.0. Truthfully, if I were Putin, with Putin's biases, I'd want Ukraine to be part of it, too: I have food security, a ethnically related population which I can absorb easier than any other than perhaps Belarus and I have several other - if developed - points for economic growth as well. Just think! 1/3 of Ukrainians would probably uproot for better jobs. Russian and Ukrainian are pretty close...so, 15 million workers! Huzzah!
With Russia's strings pulling on Ukraine, the EU ought to have been willing to make guarantees they would step up for Ukraine...if they felt Ukraine was as important as is often implied in the media. One journalist once said, without Ukraine Russia is not an empire. If the EU wanted to defang Russia in that regard, in that manner, they ought to have been willing to step up. They did not. What message does that send?
Then there are some of the requires which Ukraine was required to meet in the agreement. To Europeans, to even most Americans and Canadians and many others, they seem reasonable. However, despite what Ukrainians and Europeans often state ("We get along so well because we are European!") Western European - even European Union as a whole values - and Ukrainian are vastly different. While these ought to be included eventually, to do so in the first round was less than brilliant.
To make matters worse, Merkel's rant at Yanukovich was ... stupid, frankly. Pride is a huge thing for Ukrainians.
Ranting at the EU done.
Now for Ukraine. Good grief. Yanukovich's pride and paranoia are ridiculous. If he thinks he can postpone the pain or make the EU come round to his position, he's mistaken. He must give ground. Yet his pride...he cannot. Sadly, he of all people ought to know by doing this he is emboldening Putin. The next time will not be better. It will not be easier. The thumb screws will be worse. He'll be frakked even more. You bet he's going to get slammed...unless of course he really does want a part of the Eurasian Union. Has Putin given him some sort of promise? There were secret talks... I may be going too far there.
As for the Opposition. You folks are dumber than a sack of sand (I had something else in mind, but I try to keep this blog relatively family friendly). You were in power. You had the opportunity to reshape and pull Ukraine into the EU. YET. YOU. BLEW. IT. Don't just blame Yuschenko. ALL OF YOU WERE TO BLAME. Petty squabbles and grabs for power and alienating anyone who might disagree without rather than compromising with them (a classic Ukrainian pitfall: agree with me or I will beat you into doing so!!!) made governing impossible. Now you want to trigger a second orange revolution. I doubt you will succeed, the Ukrainian people are even less enamored with those which have tried and failed than the Republican Party, but even if you do, it's going to be torture for the country either way.
While titillating to read about, exciting for the moment, in the end, in reality, an attempt at a second Orange Revolution looks to be more like a whole lot of painful torture. Pain, not fun or excitement.
Mr Klitschko:don't be Mr Grey.
(and stay IN ukraine, for goodness sake)
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