Ukrainian Elections

[Ulysses]

Yushchenko claiming he was poisoned, Yanukovich had an egg thrown at him, the Russians are after Tymoshenko. Can there be any more surprises in Ukrainian politics this year?

[StasUA]

Yes, and there will be. This election will shake power so dramatically as never seen before anywhere in CIS. If elections are falsified by government and Yanukovych wins, there is a chance of massive demonstrations and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians will march on Kyiv to demand the truth. Sort of revolution might happen. Elections will not be over in a week, their consequences will be so great that major changes will happen for the next half a year.

[NZman]

Originally posted by StasUA
Yes, and there will be. This election will shake power so dramatically as never seen before anywhere in CIS. If elections are falsified by government and Yanukovych wins, there is a chance of massive demonstrations and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians will march on Kyiv to demand the truth. Sort of revolution might happen. Elections will not be over in a week, their consequences will be so great that major changes will happen for the next half a year.

Hi Stas,

I read yesterday that the state has made it clear that it will use force to stop any post election demo's. This was from a Swedish newspaper. Is this the news on the streets of Ukraine?

Love the NZman

[StasUA]

Originally posted by NZman


Hi Stas,

I read yesterday that the state has made it clear that it will use force to stop any post election demo's. This was from a Swedish newspaper. Is this the news on the streets of Ukraine?

Love the NZman [/B]

Hey, good to see some old usernames here

It's not a surprise. I believe you are reffering to a statement made by mayor of Kyiv Olexander Omelchenko. He said that he will use all the force needed, as to not let disturbance of civil order in the city occur. However, it will occur. This just shows how Government is afraid of change. There are rumors that a lot of crooks in high positions are packing their bags and are ready to leave for Russia, where a regime similar to that of Yanukovych's is already in place.

As for a specific demonstration, I believe Omelchenko banned a proposal by opposition for 500.000 people meeting in Kyiv in front of the Central ELection Building.

[Zbyszek]

It really seems that Ukrainian elections are not to be the same more or less predictible spectacle as in usual world democracies. The most dangerous thing is that the presidential campaign works like a hatchet chopping Ukraine's body into two separate parts: western and eastern one.
Regardless of who is to be a president the damage has already been done. It is said that Yanukovych was a convicted criminal in his youth robbing and stealing and his past of being a boxer (weighing 140 kg) almost guarantees that he is a born political fighter. Does Ukraine need a fighting president now? Yanukovych makes gestures for Russian minority in Ukraine which echo in throwing eggs at him in Ivano-Frankivsk. On the other hand Yushchenko is not treated fairly or is rather largely ignored by the media who are much too much dependent on the Powerful.
While economic situation in Ukraine has improved considerably (I believe Yushchenko as a former prime minister should be given credit for it) in last three years , the country badly needs a good balance between eastern and western regions just to keep these winds of growth in sails.
As I am writing these words and I am listening to the radio, they say that 100 000 Ukrainians gathered in Kiev to support Yushchenko and to warn Government against possible garbling of the election results.

[Edited by Zbyszek on 24th October 2004 at 03:03]

[StasUA]

yes, as we speak there is a meeting of 120.000+ Yuschenko supporters in Kyiv demanding free-elections and putting a stop to pressures put by the government.





People that came to Kyiv from other cities, both from Eastern and Western Ukraine are saying that they were constantly stopped and asked by police to return and not go to Kyiv. Trucks were placed on roads to block them from reaching Kyiv. This is just one out of many examples on how much Government is lobbying one candidate and practically trying to destroy another.

However, difference is not that big between East and West Ukraine as the government once people to believe. The "myth" of a difference is created specifically to divide people and show Easterners that "Yuschenko" is only for Western Ukraine. When in reality, he is actually from north-eastern Ukraine and is pro-Ukrainian, not pro- any particular region.

[Zbyszek]

Originally posted by Dr_Watson
Where's the patriotic vote?
Ukraine does not need to be a servant like her neighbours, be it of Russia (Belarus) OR of the US (Poland), but an independent nation.
Both candidates are having difficulty distancing themselves from the image of being foreign-backed Quislings.

According to my non-scientific poll of a handful of Shakhtyor Donetsk supporters, Yushenko was against sending Ukrainians to Iraq in the 'Coalition of Boot-Licking Puppets'; so his rival's supporters' attempts to portray him as another Saakashvilli are false.
I think if some Eastern Ukrainian football fans want Yushenko to win, he must have a chance.
Apparently, the poisoning story may be true, despite denials from the hospital.

[Edited by Dr_Watson on 25th October 2004 at 03:31]

Hi Watson, I would agree with your reasoning but bitter conclusion from your presentation is that KUCHMA is the best option for Ukraine. He did not care much about democracy but he was quite successful in manouvering artfully between Russia and the European Union. Being democratically minded and independent minded is much too high standard for any person running for Ukrainian presidency. Nicolae Caucescu decided not to lick Russian boots but the results were disastrous for Romanian society. Independence has its high price for a nation and it usually can not feed the poor for a long time.
Personal courage is nice and respectable thing but let me remind you one old historic fact. A young and brave European king (in his twenties) of respectable dynasty , personally leading two powerful armies, died in a tremendous fight in Varna 1444. His death scared the nobles in his country so much that it became a top secret(!)which circulated as a terrifying rumour and was eventually revealed two years later.
I feel that a kind of unusual drama is unfolding in Ukraine these days and I pray for wisdom of people living in this beautiful land.