As with all of the political turmoil present within nations, including our own, there are alignments of self-interest which need to be identified. For a close to home reference you might think about the differences between the “establishment class” of Republicans and the “grassroots conservatives” who also situate under the same tent.
We who value “freedom” and cherish “liberty” would no more consider Mitch McConnell a champion of our cause than Barack Obama. Nor would we align with “establishment” principles – yet, from the outside looking in, it would be easy to define us with ideological attachment to Republicans simply by our association.
It would be easy, yet it would be vastly inaccurate. Such is the larger dynamic as we look toward Ukraine and what is taking place.
“Freedom” and “Liberty” are tenuous propositions under the best of circumstances because they ultimately are defined by people. People with a vested interest in controlling the expressions thereof.
With that in mind a thoughtful contributor, with direct attachment to Ukrainian heritage, has provided us with a larger perspective to consider:
Things are being presented in the Western media a particular way, I don’t quite understand why.
People are not hearing anything about the normal ethnic Ukrainians across the country that are being stopped if their cars are too nice by groups of protesters in the roads with baseball bats.
The people get searched, cars searched, and told “it’s the law of the revolution” when asked what give the protesters the right to do take people’s property. We’re not hearing how the protesters and low information supporters have burned out police stations and told the police “we no longer need you”.
They have burned all records in some of the police stations so you can’t tell why people are locked up. The useful idiots are destroying the country’s civilized infrastructure.
It is exactly what occupy wall street wanted/wants to do here.
Now they have freed “political prisoner”, Yulia Tymoshenko. She has already announced her candidacy in the Ukrainian presidential elections.
“Lazarenko, former Ukraine PM and the person who gave Tymoshenko control of the Ukrainian gas industry in return for a 50% share of its profits, is now in prison in the USA after having been convicted in 2006 for money laundering, fraud, racketeering and extortion to the tune of $200,000,000, which money was stolen by Lazarenko during his 1996-1997 Ukrainian premiership.
When on trial in the USA, Lazarenko tried to oppose the admittance of Tymoshenko’s statements as being those of a co-conspirator. His counsel’s argument was that in view of the fact that Tymoshenko was a victim of his criminal activities – the granting of a former state monopoly to her in return for 50% of its profits – then she could not be classed as a co-conspirator in his money laundering and fraud. In its wisdom, however, the US District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, returned the following decision:
“The statements of Yulia Tymoshenko will be admitted as co-conspirator statements. Tymoshenko was both a co-conspirator of the money laundering conspiracy charged in count 1, and a participant in the scheme to defraud… and although she has not been charged as a conspirator, the government will introduce sufficient evidence to demonstrate that she was a participant in the conspiracy and that her statements should be admitted as conspirator statements.”
This statement from a US court notwithstanding, the Western press still portrays Tymoshenko as a whiter-than-white victim of a Kremlin backed political vendetta, a democrat suppressed by Yanukovych’s pro-Kremlin government.
The whole purpose of Tymoshenko’s entry into the political field was to make herself ever more wealthy; which indeed was the case with her mentor, fellow townsman, political fixer and former state farm tractor driver Pavlo Lazarenko, who is now languishing his time away in a US prison.
It seems that if any criminal, especially those “oligarchs” from the former Soviet bloc, says the magic words “freedom and democracy”, then all his less than savory activities are simply ignored.”
Tymoshenko accused in new $405 million embezzlement case
https://en.ria.ru/world/20111013/167659327.html
“The Ukrainian security service (SBU) launched a new criminal case against Ukraine’s former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on Thursday, accusing her of attempting to embezzle $405 million during the 1990s, an SBU official said.”
Ukraine brings new criminal case against Yulia Tymoshenko
“The Ukrainian Security Service said on Thursday it has opened a new criminal case against jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko over suspected embezzlement when she headed an energy firm in the 1990s.”
Tymoshenko Ally Sentenced for Embezzlement
https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052970203833004577249313403607628
“KIEV, Ukraine—A Kiev court sentenced former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko to four years in jail on embezzlement and abuse-of-office charges Monday, a move that Western officials allege follows a pattern of politically motivated trials against members of the opposition.”
Ukraine seeks ‘Tymoshenko’ funds
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/politics/Ukraine_seeks_Tymoshenko_funds.html?cid=37361918
“Ukraine’s top prosecutor, Viktor Pshonka, has met his Swiss colleagues to inform them that formal complaints against opposition leader and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for embezzlement could be filed in the near future.”
This Swiss article is from just before the protest started. Since the protesters consisted mostly of her supporters, I wonder if it’s connected to the fact Ukraine’s parliament voted for a law that would allow for her release AND gets to keep all the money she stole.
How many in Ukraine parliament members just became much more wealthy?
Welcome the new Ukraine President, Yulia Tymoshenko.
#Тимошенко уже в самолёте, летит в Киев. “@HromadskeTV: Тимошенко вже в літаку #Євромайдан pic.twitter.com/iGUuEjOajD”
— Jüri Vendik (@MaloverjanBBC) February 22, 2014