5 June 2014

The end of an era as the historic Euromaidan stage is taken apart tonight. As posted by the EuroMaidan Journalist Collective: Ukraine was a very different place when it was set up just over seven months ago, and the speeches, chants, dances, songs, prayers, funerals, that took place on it will never be forgotten.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has practically withdrawn all its observers from the Donetsk and Luhansk regions for security reasons.  Two groups of the OSCE observers, who had been monitoring the situation and were reported missing since May 26 and May 29, respectively, have not re-established contact with their OSCE colleagues.

According to some families that have to Dnipropetrovsk from Kramatorsk, mostly families with children, the armed men at roadblocks on the main roads to leave the city are demanding that people leaving pay them USD 1,000 per adult and USD 500 per child.

The Brussels G7 Summit began today with Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. This is the first meeting since March when it was decided that the G8 meeting would not go ahead as planned in Sochi (Russia) as a reaction to the Russian Federation's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The G7 leaders are expected to discuss foreign policy challenges today. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-14-392_en.htm

M. Dzhemilev (Leader of the Crimean Tatars) and B. Obama

 I wonder, what really would they have to say to each other (M. Dzhemilev, Leader of the Crimean Tatars, and B. Obama)? One with a peace prize, the other having spent decades as a political prisoner, months on a hunger strike and to this daycontinues to lead the Crimean Tatar movement (whilst currently banned from re-entering Crimea), committed to non-violence even as the Crimean Tatars face more repression and uncertainty.