Thursday, November 20, 2008

Ukraine is playing with anti-Russian rhetoric

Five influential European newspapers ‘The Times’ (Great Britain), ‘Le Monde’ (France), ‘El Pais’ (Spain), ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung’ (Germany), and ‘Dziennik’ (Poland), published today the interviews of the President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, based on their joint meeting two days ago (on 18 November). The main topics of discussion were the 75th anniversary of the Great Famine in Ukraine (Holodomor), Ukrainian bid for NATO membership and internal political and economic situation in country. Talking about these issues, President Yushchenko couldn’t manage himself not to be anti-Russian.

Among all the articles the real “must read” is the one in ‘El Pais’ named “Ucrania quiere garantías para no perder de nuevo su independencia” (“Ukraine wants the guarantees not to loose its independence”). Mr. Yushchenko told journalists that Ukraine needed to become a member of the North-Atlantic Alliance not to loose its independence. The most impressive – as for me – quotation of Viktor Yushchenko from this text concerns the letter of Dmitry Medvedev, mentioned in this blog: “The President of Russia humiliated millions of people who rest in peace, killed innocent people who had not done anything wrong to anyone”. (In the original: “El presidente de Rusia humilla a millones de personas que hoy descansan en paz, inocentes asesinados que no debían nada a nadie”).

The idea that the NATO may save Ukrainian independence from the Northern neighbour was quoted also in ‘The Times’. In article titled “Don’t turn deaf ear to Ukraine Nato bid, Viktor Yushchenko begs allies” the President “gave warning that expansion of the military alliance was vital to European security in the wake of Russia’s war with Georgia, and the only way to secure Ukraine’s independence”.

I’m just wondering why Mr. Yushchenko is so straight in his words. He may not like Dmitry Medvedev or Vladimir Putin, or all Russia as a whole phenomenon, but why he’s showing that on public?

To be pro-Ukrainian doesn’t mean to be anti-Russian. It is a mistake to demonstrate your national consciousness through international conflict. It’s twice big mistake if a half (if not more) of the population of your country speaks Russian at home. (Just for information: I speak Ukrainian). And it’s a three times big mistake, if you are provoking conflict with your neighbour who sells you gas, and whose businessmen own almost all oil refineries in your country. Ukraine is really playing with fire.

You may read full ‘El Pais’ article here, and ‘The Times’ here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel."
Samuel Johnson, quoted in Boswell's Life of Johnson
English author, critic, & lexicographer (1709 - 1784)

Anonymous said...

To be pro-Ukrainian does not necessarily mean that one has to be anti-Russian - you are right, Tetyana.

But roosha has had, and still has, an anti-Ukrainian, very chauvinistic attitude towards Ukraine.

It stems from sovok days, when the sovoks, centered in rooshan maskva, attempted to create homo sovieticus, and eliminate all nationalities - except rooshan, and the rooshan language.

When the President of roosha denies that there was a Holdomor, in effect, that's disrespectful to Ukraine - and anti-Ukrainian.

Germany has come to terms with the wretched era of the Nazis.

roosha, in typical form, and in accordance with die-hard habits, will not, and does not want to come to terms with its own horrid history, which had such a drastic and terrible effect on Ukraine.

roosha considers you to be "friendly" when roosha is standing on your throat.

Otherwise, xenophobic, chauvinistic, and backward roosha considers you an "enemy."

roosha needs to stop trying to be Ukraine's master, and needs to learn how to be a good neighbour. And Ukrainians need to learn how to stop crawling up the Kremlin's butt for everything - перестаньте підлизуватися і продаватися кремлю.

It is time to stop walking on eggshells around the kid with the perpetual bad temper tantrums - roosha.

Ukraine is within its rights to stand up for itself as a sovereign, independent, free and democratic country.

roosha needs to get civilized - finally.

And that's not being "anti-rooshan." That's being factual.