Ukrainian guardsman killed in protests against vote on rebel autonomy

[muriel_volestrangler]

Source: The Guardian

Demonstrators have brawled and lobbed grenades outside Ukraine’s parliament, killing one officer from the interior ministry’s National Guard, and injuring up to 100.

The violence was in protest against a parliamentary vote to grant concessions to territories held by Russian-backed rebels.

The interior minister, Arsen Avakov, said one officer died from shrapnel wounds and around 10 more were seriously injured. Most of the protesters appeared to come from Svoboda, a far-right political party that was part of the Maidan movement which overthrew President Viktor Yanukovych last year but did badly at the polls and only has a handful of MPs.

Kiev’s mayor, Vitaly Klitschko, called the unrest “a bloody provocation” and said those responsible should be brought to justice. It was the worst street violence in Kiev since the fatal crushing of the Maidan protests last year, which eventually resulted in more than 100 deaths and the ouster of Yanukovych.

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/31/blast-kiev-parliament-ukraine-mps-back-more-autonomy-for-rebels

[newthinking]

1. The same ones they used to gain power use the same violence against them

These are the same "front guard" that foiled the elections agreement in 2014 and led Yatsunek (the current Prime Minister) to power. Not surprised at all by this. One violent right wing group against another.

[salib]

2. If I were primarily Russian speaking in Ukraine I would want autonomy too.

Svoboda us a very frightening group and apparently has little or no tolerance for those they label as not properly Ukrainian.

[muriel_volestrangler]

3. The problem was the nationalists from Russia who went to eastern Ukraine and started

the fighting (early leaders of the 'independence' movement tended to come from Moscow). And Putin's annexation of Crimea spooked the Kiev government. If the Russians hadn't pushed it so hard, a decision on autonomy might have happened without the violence.

[Igel]

4. Fortunately, Svoboda gets

something like 1-2% of the vote.

It's not like they're the government; they had a larger portion under the Yanuk because they moderated their policies. Upon reversion, their percentage tanked.

Many areas of Ukraine are Russian speaking. Just like many Native Americans are English speaking. Some out of compulsion, some out of economic preservation. But make no mistake: The majority of Russian-speaking Ukrainians are ethnic Ukrainians, not ethnic Russians; and their grandparents learned Russian because they were forced to in school, because higher ed was in Russian, or because it was required for use in government and industry.