Meanwhile in Russia, there was a massive
rally in Moscow for media freedom and against Putin. Also, pro-unity
(Ukrainian) rallies were held today in Luhansk, Kharkiv and Odessa.
Finally, Nadia Tolynko (from Pussy Riot),
reporting on her visit to Kyiv:
‘It’s
peaceful in Kyiv … Here “self-organization” is not simply a pretty word. On
Maidan and Khreshchatyk everything is in perfect order. Clean. Rubbish is
automatically collected and carefully packed up.
… I
did not observe any looting. On the contrary, I observed that Sberbank
Russia – the bank of the aggressor nation, located on the Maidan itself, in the
midst of the barricades, did not have a single pane of broken glass, not a
single scratch.
I
spoke in Russian and got smiles and words of thanks that there are Russians who
do not support the aggressor Putin … “We love Russians, we despise Putin”.
Maidan
is a place of unbelievable power … A list of names the dead, read out at
midnight from the stage of Maidan.
I
hope that everything will turn out well for them. And perhaps, the consciences
of our putins and kiseliovs will awaken, and they will stop scoffing at
people who have already lost too many and too much, yet in spite of this, have
managed to hold their own.’ (See the full report here)
In Slovyansk, Pro-Russian militants stormed a police station and set up checkpoints. Ukrainian police said they seized around 400 small arms and 20 automatic rifles. Ukraine's interior ministry confirmed the death of a Ukrainian officer among other casualties in Slovyansk (Donetsk region). The dead includes a journalist who was shot while he was in his car.
According to Ukrainian activists, separatists are being paid $500 to storm buildings and about $45 to attend meetings outside captured buildings. These ‘meetings’ are thought to create human shields between police and armed insurgents inside.
In response, the government has launched an anti-terrorism operation. The population has been asked to evacuate the city centre, to stay indoors and away from windows.
Today’s address to the people of Ukraine by interim President Turchynov demonstrates how potent anti-terrorist language is to captivate the ears of the international community, mainly the US. In his address he said:
‘This is not a war between Ukrainians. This is an artificially created confrontation designed to weaken and destroy Ukraine itself. ... We have done everything to avoid casualties, but we are prepared to resist all attempts at invasion, destabilization and armed terrorist attacks. ... Those who have not fired on our security forces and who agree to put down their arms and vacate administrative buildings by Monday morning, will be amnestied.’
While there is much to be criticised here, the use of this anti-terrorism language is particularly interesting. Anti-terrorism language is rarely critiqued in mainstream in Western media due to the tenacious grip anti/terrorism has on the US imagination. Yet the use of this language in Ukraine, as opposed to it’s now conventional, often unquestioned, application to anti-government actions particularly in the Arab world, may bring into relief how it is a sweeping, even meaningless, claim.
In an unexpected step, the President of Belarus said that he opposes the federalization of Ukraine and recognizes Acting President Turchynov as the legitimate leader of Ukraine. Lukashenko was seen before as a close ally of Putin. This move indicates a sharp change in rhetoric from the Belarusian leadership, which voted in support of the Russian annexation of Crimea at the UN.
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