Ukraine’s Violent Far Right

We gain insight into events in Odessa by reviewing the origins of the Feb. 21 coup in Kiev, the existing divisions in Ukraine at that time, and the role of the U.S. government in supporting the coup. Two articles help. Counterpunch provides a timeline that includes leaked e-mails from December 2013 about destabilizing Ukraine and includes the transcript of the Nuland-Pyatt conversation. Another useful article written on January 22, 2014 appeared in the Guardian. The author is a knowledgeable sociologist with expertise on Ukraine. Even before the coup, he emphasized the divisions in Ukraine and virtually forecasted future events on that basis.

Another lengthy article with a different orientation is by Luke Harding. He downplays the fascist component of the revolution and emphasizes its grassroots component. He downplays Right Sector violence. However, even in his article he has this photo that shows the Right Sector practicing street fighting:
APTOPIX Ukraine Protest.

We can be certain that Harding was wrong about the Right Sector violence, referring at one point to its play acting, in view of the leaked conversation between Paet and Ashton.

Up to now, the pro-Russian separatists have not employed the kinds of extreme violence seen in the Maidan snipers or in the Odessa arson. On the other hand, evidence points to the deadly hand of pro-Kiev far right persons in Odessa.

My bottom line is always the same because, as an American interested in ending the U.S. empire, my focus is on the U.S. meddling.

The U.S. has supported the coup and helped to bring it about. The U.S. knew that it was supporting far right elements. No doubt it has given the green light for an offensive in the eastern part of Ukraine. The U.S. government has a very long record of disregarding a country’s peoples or their divisions in favor of supporting all sorts of governments and dictators as long as they are pliable puppets. This is again the case in Ukraine. The hypocrisy of the U.S. government arises because its rhetoric doesn’t match its true objectives. Its objective is to have a government in Kiev that it controls or that acts according to U.S. larger objectives. What people in eastern Ukraine feel or want is basically not important to the U.S. government. The aspirations of these people are only relevant to the U.S. government to the extent that they present an obstacle that the U.S. must attempt to surmount.

The U.S. government will now make totally meaningless statements about Odessa. I quote “Today, the international community must stand together in support of the Ukrainian people as they cope with this tragedy,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement mourning the “heartbreaking” loss of life.

“The violence and mayhem that led to so many senseless deaths and injuries is unacceptable.”

Such statements are divorced from the history preceding these deaths and from the U.S. participation in that history. The U.S. will spin the event to place further demands on Russia or to justify further Ukrainian military suppression in parts of Ukraine experiencing deep divisions and violence.

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8:46 am on May 4, 2014