By Vestnik Kavkaza
Yesterday, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich urged foreign players to stop interfering in the country’s internal affairs. “It is important for them not to think that they can be bosses here, on Maidain or outside Maidan. I am absolutely against somebody who comes to our country and teaches us how to live,” Yanukovich said, noting that the Ukrainians have enough political will and wisdom to solve their own problems.
Meanwhile, American republican senator John McCain visited Kiev and met the head of the nationalist “Freedom” Party, one of opposition leaders, Oleg Tyagnibok. They even stood near each other on stage, speaking in front of supporters of European integration on Maidan. The fact caused indignation among American and Israeli Jewish organizations. “McCain made a miscalculation. Obviously, he had no idea who was standing near him. But if he knew who Tyagnibok is, the case would be much more serious. It means that American politicians are very Machiavellian,” the head of the Jerusalem office of Simon Vizental Center, Efraim Zuroff, told Izvestia. According to Zuroff, Tyagnibok and his deputy Miroshnichenko were included into top-10 of the most evil anti-Semites in the world in 2012. The list was made by Vizental Center which headquarters is situated in Los Angeles. The top-10 was presented to the US State Department as a recommendation to include these people into the list of personas non grata in the United States.
Empowerment of nationalist parties in Ukraine cause concerns among Russian Jews as well. The president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia, Alexander Boroda, is sure that “Freedom Party has anti-Semite character in its political activity and makes it the corner-stone. There is more nationalism than patriotism on Maidan, moreover, radical nationalism which is close to fascism.”
According to Boroda, Ukraine should decide whether it is with the EU or the Moscow-led Customs Union through a referendum or other constitutional means. “We don’t really understand when representatives of other countries, and not common citizens of other countries, but leaders of other countries support one or another side in the contradiction – those who support integration of Ukraine with Russia or those who stand for European integration. It splits the Ukrainian society. It is an attempt of pressure, blackmailing, and alluring. People should decide it by themselves. Everything which radicalizes the society, all parties which use nationalist, xenophobic, anti-Semite rhetoric shouldn’t have an opportunity to speak in public. They shouldn’t take part in any coalitions to prevent propaganda of their ideas,” Boroda is sure.
He thinks that “the struggle against such parties in Ukraine is one of key direction of the activity. We don’t have clear statistics on empowerment or reduction of anti-Semitism in the context of political tension in Ukraine these days. We see potential increase of the tension. It is taking place not for a long time to have serious consequences. But the parties which should be dissolute or at least judged by the society raise their heads today and it is very bad. It will lead to great problems.”
