Since last november Ukraine has been in the spotlights because of the happenings in the country. Protests against the government led by former president Viktor Janukovich started in Maidan Nezalezhnosti, but soon spread all over the country. In Ukraine AEGEE is present with seven locals, namely AEGEE-Dnipropetrovsk, AEGEE-Kharkiv, AEGEE-Ivano-Frankivsk, AEGEE-Kyïv, AEGEE-Lviv, AEGEE-Odessa and AEGEE-Sevastopol. Most of their members were actively involved in supporting and helping their fellow countrymen during the difficult times. The Network followed the happenings closely and in the month of February, the seven Ukranians local were awarded with the Locals of the Months title. The AEGEEan spoke with the board of two of them: AEGEE-Kharkiv and AEGEE-Kyïv.

The AEGEEan: The whole world is focusing its attention over Ukraine. How do you feel the atmosphere is like? Does this affect the life of your local and your members  and, in general, how does this affects the live of a normal Ukrainians?

Board Meeting AEGEE-Kyiv

AEGEE-Kharkiv: Ukraine is everywhere these days: TV, social networks, media… And, of course, the atmotphere is rather stressful for Ukrainians. We have to adapt our AEGEE life to the situation in the country too. We had to move the spring NWM from Kharkiv to Lviv for example, because of the situation in the eastern part of Ukraine. As for our local we haven’t made big changes in general and we try to keep the situation out of our daily communication, work and projects. Of course we talk about it (it’s the main topic for all of us), but, there are different opinions sometimes. We still have a lot of ideas to realise in the future. In general, Ukrainians didn’t expect so much attention and a lot of people actually began to feel more patriotic and felt this historical moment. But, the life of the majority of Ukrainians doesn’t change: work, holidays, traveling, weekends and other things (except for some eastern parts of Ukraine, it’s a hard time for them).”

AEGEE-Kyïv: Indeed the situation affected the life of all our members and board in general. We, as local from the capital of the country and the heart of the riots, couldn’t stay calm and pretend nothing happened. As board, we had to make a statement to our members about our attitude towards the situation when all this started at the end of November. Living in the capital means having people with absolutely different opinions about the situation, to be honest even in our board (and we have nine people plus three members of the Revision Commission) we had some controversies. That’s why our statement to members was very diplomatic – we asked them not to keep silent and act, if they feel it’s time but to keep a cold head too as the situation was really dangerous. We also had to cancel many of our events, birthday party and some activities – it was just inappropriate to celebrate and party when people were dying on Maidan. The life of AEGEE-Kyiv changed from a local that always had a lot of motivated people, who travel, want to take part in organising their own projects to a local with members who were mostly tired of the situation. Until March we had only social meetings. And now we, as board, are trying to do everything for our members to act, to participate, to travel and open the world. We changed our HR-strategy so that each member could be heard. The same was happening to Ukrainians – after all they were really tired and some lost the hope. Elections and the latest events might change the situation, and we feel that the young generation finally believes that they can be the change and that their opinion, voice and actions are utmost important.

‘Inspired by SU’ social meeting AEGEE-Kharkiv

The AEGEEan: All Ukrainian locals have been selected to be Local of the Month. It is one of the many examples of AEGEE trying to do something in civil society. Do you feel the support from the network?

AEGEE-Kyïv: We were extremely pleased by everything that was done by AEGEE-Europe, many AEGEE-locals, Working Groups and particular persons, especially knowing that most of Europe didn’t have an appropriate picture of what was happening and trusted only our words and what we posted on social networks. It was inspiring. There was a flashmob, changing profile pictures to a black square with Ukrainian flag, donations that were made, reposts of articles written by Ukrainiasn and of course, the fact that Luis Alvarado Martinez, President of AEGEE-Europe, came to Kyïv. It’s a big step forward, and not just a quote from the Statement of Principles about AEGEE’s aims. It’s action, which means much more.

AEGEE-Kharkiv: Yes, during these months we really felt it. Speaking, for example, about Facebook, where we saw the support of hundreds of people every day: posts, photos, messages. It’s really a big thing for us. These things have made our days better for months.Thank you very much. It’s what happens in a big family too: some children get sick and the whole family does their best in order to relieve the suffering of their kids.

The AEGEEan: In the past, AEGEE has been helping with the improvement of dialogue in places as Cyprus and Western Balkans, while always paying special attention to youth. Do you think AEGEE could play such a role in Ukraine?

AEGEE-Kyïv: Yes. But now the most important for us is to show that it is not so dangerous to come to Ukraine as is shown in the media of many countries (of course Russian news as well, but that’s another story). The success of Election Observation Mission, that sent more than 20 members from different locals to our country, shows that coming here and seeing everything by yourself can have a more powerful impact and communication might be the key to understanding.

AEGEE-Kharkiv: We are young and we are open to the future. We learn something, sometimes make mistakes and after it, we become more experienced. And of course AEGEE can help us with pushing the limits of our mind, and to become more serious, responsible adults.

The AEGEEan: Could you say you feel more European because of AEGEE?

AEGEE-Kharkiv: AEGEE shares European values with us that we just began to learn (and they are not about economic and politic matters). We can take all the best from Europe, for example being more law-abiding. AEGEE is a big platform to make yourself more open-minded, to see what the real Europe is and to involve this in your life in your country.

AEGEE-Kyïv: We would even say we understand more what being European is now. AEGEE definitely changed the life perspective and was the reason that we do not have many typical stereotypes anymore. And we cannot say we feel European in a political way, but for sure we feel more open-minded and struggle more to get new information, news. We have feeling that we can not only do something on a local, but also on the European level to help our country.

Written by Erika Bettin, AEGEE-Venezia

With contribution of Liliya Buyukliyska, AEGEE-Sofia

Yesterday marked the bloodiest day so far since the protests started in Ukraine. In one single day in Kyiv alone, more than 100 people have been killed and more than 500 people have been hospitalized according to the Maidan medical service coordinator.

People were found on the streets with single gunshot wounds in the neck, head or heart. So they aren’t being shot by police officers with the reason to disperse the crowd. These are no fascist radicals who are out to murder police officers. They are just people who try to protest against Yanukovych’s regime and protect their fellow countrymen from harm, and for this they are being murdered in cold blood. For those still having a hard time to believe all this, watch this video of an innocent grandmother being shot out of nowhere (take care! this video has very graphic contents) in the city of Khmelnytskyi. For good reason, many Ukrainians feel their state has been captured by a corrupt elite, which uses the most extreme forms of violence against its own people and which cannot be dislodged by the usual democratic means.

To understand the current divide in Ukraine, one has to understand the history and geography of the country and what is going on elsewhere. The western part of the country used to be part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and was Polish territory between the two World Wars. While the eastern part and Crimea used to belong to the Russian Tsar. This, of course, left its mark on the different regions both culturally and economically. The west, north and center of Ukraine are primarily Ukrainian-speaking, while in the east and in Crimea, Russian is the dominant language. It’s in that part of the country where Yanukovych has his political base as well as where most of the rich oligarchs pulling strings behind the scenes, are from.

Of course, the real situation is far more complex than being described here. Almost all ethnic Ukrainians speak fluent Russian as well, and not everyone is so nationalistic that they hate everything Russian. In the east, recent events have surely eroded Yanukovych’s power base a bit and many people support him only because they don’t know what is happening right now in Kyiv (there is little or no information shared on the television/ radio) and because of the economic dependency on Russia. However, what is happening in Ukraine is about many other things than just a battle between closer ties with the European Union or with Russia. It’s about violence, corruption, lack of democracy and most of all accountability.

But all of this is still important as background information, if one is to look at the events happening outside of Kyiv. Even if the main Ukrainian TV station is still playing soap operas, the events in Kyiv are actually quite well covered in the European media. But there is a lot happening elsewhere as well, which isn’t getting the media coverage it deserves. Take the beautiful baroque city of Lviv in the western part of the country – the heartland of Ukrainian nationalism. There as well, hundreds of people took to the streets to protest. The offices of Yanukovych administration in Lviv were seized, as well as the prosecutors’ office. People forced the surrender of the police of the Interior ministry making officers come out with their hands up. Train traffic from Lviv to Kyiv was halted by the government because it is afraid that more people will be joining the protest there, while the people of Lviv themselves blocked a border crossing with Poland. Also in other western cities like Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil and Uzhorod, the people were able to capture local government offices.

The situation in Lviv might easily be as chaotic as in Kyiv, described Maryana Semenyak. “At this moment we don’t have any police at all in Lviv, so for the second day in a row it is the people who are patrolling the streets and protecting each other and making sure nobody robs banks or shops. There are always stupid people who want to make use of the situation. I’ve also seen with my own eyes titushki (street hooligans sponsored by the government) being out there to provoke people, destroying everything and trying to rob stores, only to pretend later that we are the terrorists and are to be blamed for this. I saw one yesterday who managed to convince people to destroy one huge shop, but thankfully normal people managed to stop them. All the boys that I know are around the city patrolling to make it safe.”

In Lviv there is a Maidan (large square ed.) as well, where protesters gather and where a lot is happening. “A few hours ago a guy was suddenly shooting with a gun, but no one got hurt as many people were around and were quickly able to stop him.” While the regional assembly in Lviv issued a statement condemning the Yanukovych regime for its violence on demonstrators in Kiev and declaring it took executive power locally for itself, people in the streets are actively building up barricades in front of the captured buildings and around the Maidan, making sure people stay safe from government violence and waiting for events to come. For anyone who watched the events in Kyiv unfold this must be an all too familiar sight, and one that an be seen all over western and central Ukraine now.

Building barricades in front of the Ministry of Interior.

It’s a whole different situation in Crimea, the peninsula stretching into the Black Sea in the south of Ukraine. This is the only region in Ukraine where ethnic Russians have a majority, comprising approximately 60 percent of its population of 2 million. Just 60 years ago the peninsula was transferred to Ukraine by the Russian President Khrushchev (reportedly while he was drunk).

Most of the titushki and berkut (Ukrainian special police) and other police forces in Kyiv are come from regions like Crimea and believe they are actually fighting against some kind of fascist rebellion which is out to threaten their Russian culture. When news got out through pro-Yanukovych TV channels that “far-right nationalist groups in Western Ukraine are arming themselves and creating havoc”, the reply of people here was to arm themselves and organize patrols to defend themselves from a supposed danger to come.

You can therefore also be sure that news about the Lviv regional assembly’s declaration to take the executive power in their own hands, will stir up a lot of emotions here. A majority of people here feel that their history, culture, ethnicity and most importantly their language rights are being threatened by the increasing strength of the anti-government movement.

During the last week, a Russian presidential adviser and leading Kremlin idealist: Surkov made a trip to Crimea to meet local political leaders, suddenly roads all over Crimea had thousands of billboards simply saying: “Stop Maidan”. This mysterious but lavishly funded organisation also managed to hire dozens of people as titushki and sent them to Kyiv and other cities. With a population here at odds with Maidan and with big Russian interests in the peninsula at stake (mostly concerning its naval base in Sevastopol) it no longer requires much imagination to see Ukraine tear up along ethic, linguistic, cultural and historical fault lines.

Even though today an agreement between the opposition and Yanukovych is being signed under auspices of European negotiators and early elections are being called, there is still a lot of mutual distrust, special interests and provocateurs trying to stir up emotions. The democratic gains of the 2004 Orange Revolution quickly evaporated when the victors failed to reach out to the Russophone southeast, énd made the same mistakes as their predecessors: a complete lack of transparency in governance.

Yanukovych failed himself as he also repeated the mistake of supporting the interests of a few oligarchs. He went against the direct wishes of the majority of the people and then ruthlessly destroyed all dissent in a dictatorial manner. It is clear that whatever will happen, he has discredited himself and cannot have a future role in Ukrainian politics.

One can only hope that after early elections, whoever comes out as winner will have the brains and power tp create a national reconciliation and calm down regional fears. There is no reason why people in Crimea couldn’t support Euromaidan. Moving closer to the EU means that Ukraine has to protect minorities and regional languages, which for them paradoxically may actually be what they want most. It will also mean better welfare standards on top of obvious benefits like the rule of law, a proper democracy and political freedom.

Also the European Union (EU) should learn from the past. Only a truly meant effort to win over the whole of Ukraine and seriously counter the destabilizing Russian influences will succeed. This includes financially protecting the country from Russian blackmail with gas and import tariffs, and protecting aging industries in the east of the country that are not ready yet to compete in the EU’s open market.

If Yanukovych is finally forced out of power and cooler heads in Ukraine and the EU persevere, after the rocky start it had as an independent nation since the break-up of the Soviet Union, Ukraine could get on the right track again. Otherwise, the events of the last weeks might only be a warning for more violence and destruction to come. The brave people of Ukraine who are risking their lives on the streets these days, deserve a nation with an accountable government which respects their civil rights and which will never repeat the horrific violence that was used against its own people the last few days.

Written by Koen Berghuis, AEGEE-Cluj-Napoca. Pictures by Maryana Semenyak, AEGEE-Lviv.

«Imagine the situation: you are at the Agora, where many significant proposals should be discussed and voted upon. The opposition (a group of people not supporting such changes) is blocking the Chairperson from leading the plenary/discussion of the proposal. The solution:  the Vice-chair is leading the discussion from the middle of the plenary room, not giving any time for the discussion and adding some voting proposals which had never even been in the agenda. And by the way, the Chair and Vice-chair are from the group of people who are pushing changes to be approved.

So what happens next: the budget of the entire organisation is being approved after two minutes of presentation without ANY discussion allowed. Then, other proposals about limiting freedom of speech and more are put forward to vote  without any proper introduction and, of course, no discussion.  And then, seeing that proposals are not reaching a majority with the electronic system, the Vice-chair decides that the voting will be done by simply raising hands. And, oh what a miracle!, all the proposals are approved with a big majority! Ahh, I also forgot to mention that 250 hands were counted within maximum five seconds. » These words were written by Alla Resheten, former Chairperson and AEGEE-Kyiv member on her Facebook profile on 16th of January, describing the fraudulent actions of Ukrainian politicians. 

But first let’s go back to December 2013, when after three weeks of protests and gathering at Maidan, the main square of Ukraine, every Sunday for a march out of millions, Ukrainians started to lose their hope. (note: you can read the first review of events in Ukraine until the 14th December here).

The tactics of the government was quite clear – to ignore. To ignore the people lying in front of the buildings where they work, of the warnings made by the US and some other countries, of hundreds of people still staying at Maidan. Ignorance of the oaths to protect and work for the Ukrainian people they made. And after ignoring the marches and protests all around Ukraine, President Viktor Yanukovych and Russia’s Vladimir Putin announced that Moscow will invest $15 billion  in Ukrainian government securities while cutting the price that Kiev pays for Russian gas imports by about one-third. The budget of our country was partly saved, but what was the price paid for that? There is also the question of what Russia wants in return for its help. “Russia is unlikely to simply become Ukraine’s benevolent rescuer”, said Lilit Gevorgyan, a CIS and Russia analyst based in London. Putin is likely to seek “tangible gains, such as lucrative Ukrainian assets”, as well as a bigger role in controlling the transit of Russian natural gas through Ukraine to the rest of Europe.

Is it enough to say that we are sold out? The situation in Maidan was critical and the opposition suggested protesters to block the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) to prevent the following agreements from beign passed. Several hundreds of people rushed there in the morning, mostly those who stayed in camps from 21st of November and active Kyivans on cars called AutoMaidan. However, they were ignored back again and had to return to the main square.

During the following days, the activity of the whole protest was much lower. Maidan was still the centre of the events, but there were no other signs in other districts. In many regions, people had no clue what was really happening there, mostly because of the media. Companies and businesses started to prepare for Christmas time, suggesting destinations to go, there were sales in every corner and Christmas movies on TV. From my side, we all had our working deadlines, clients and honestly thought about ourselves – so less people stayed on Maidan. Everyone was ready to rush there as soon as the messages appeared on Facebook, but life continued. The personal life of each Ukrainian, the daily routine.

The Government shows its real face

The Government kept silent but the real face appeared in their actions. They understood that they could not take the protesters from the streets, so they started to chase the leaders and punish them. Three cars owned by Maidan activists in Kharkiv were burned down on December 21st at night. The cars were owned by Maidan volunteers who had been helping out by making tea and sandwiches for Kharkiv Maidan protesters. Dorozhny control activist Volodymyr Moralov was fired by thugs. Dmytro Pylypets from Kharkiv received several knife wounds. Journalists, operators and many people who were famous among protesters and had the power to lead the people, were asked to come for «fa ew questions» meaning they might be invited to the Court and condemned to jail.

The horrible things happened when a well-known opposition journalist and Maidan rally activist, Tetyana Chornovil, was savagely beaten late on  December  24 by thugs on the way home. According to Tetyana, she was on her way home, in a village near Kyiv where her parents lived, from Maidan square late at night. When she left had Kyiv, she saw she was followed and forced to pull up after a jeep hit her car several times.There were two thugs who broke the window of her car. Tetyana tried to escape but the thugs caught her and started beating. Around midnight, she was taken to the hospital and treated for serious injuries in her head. Her nose was broken and doctors had to put stitches on some injuries.

Before and after

They found a video registrer on Tetyana’s car. You can watch it here.

One day before, Tetyana was busy video-shooting the posh houses of the Interior Minister Zakharchenko and the Prosecutor General Pshonka. Among Chornovol’s many investigative publications are those addressing alleged organized crime background of Ukraine’s richest man Rinat Akhmetov and the current President Viktor Yanukovych, as well as lavish countryside property of the latter.

December, 25th. EuroMaidan activists called for a picketing of the Ministry of Internal Affairs at 8 am, attended by hundreds who called for Zakharchenko’s resignation. The OSCE and the U.S. embassy in Ukraine condemned the attack. Opposition parties accused the authorities of being behind the attacks, while a statement from Olena Bondarenko of the Party of Regions (which is the party of the President) categorized the attack as spontaneous violence caused by EuroMaidan and blamed the opposition. 

December, 27th. The Church services and torchlight marches to commemorate the 105th birthday of WWII leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists were held in several cities in Western and Central Ukraine, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Khmelnytsky, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk. They were all initiated by the nationalist «Svoboda» (Freedom) party, the one of three from the opposition. In Kyiv, a two-thousand people strong column bearing torch lights marched from the Maidan square in the downtown along the capital’s central streets. They looked really aggressive and of course were judged by other people.

One more thing that people started to notice was the aggressive mood of the protesters. They had been standing for our rights for more than month, without proper sleep and neither showers, far away from home and comfort and received many help without any hesitation – they were offered free sleeping places, food, even money by Kyivans who couldn’t stay with them because of the job. Nevertheless, seeing no light in the end, many of them started to behave extremely aggressive. My dad’s friend, member of «BMW ClubUkraine» was taken out of his car and accused of being the one who bought the car for the bribes he got. The fight started from nothing. And situation like this happened sometimes. The mood has changed. Now only by wearing sport clothes you can be accused of being paid to come as provoker and not allowed to enter the protests.

However, protesters had invited everyone to spend New Year on Maidan all together and there were a lot of them during the 31st of December. However, a lot of people left to vacation. But even if Maidan reminded a Christmas Fair rather than a protest, some active people still fought.

January 5th. 45 cars driven by Maidan protesters came to the Zakarpatya residence of Viktor Medvedchuk, the grey eminence of Ukrainian politics and Putin’s stooge in Ukraine. As the gates of the residence were locked, protesters chanted slogans and honked cars. There were six police officers outside the residence. Road police patrols on the way to the residence took the number plates of protesters’ cars.

January, 6th. The authorities responded fast – and repeatedly cut supplies of electricity to the Maidan area, deliberately causing black-out and additional hardships for Maidan protesters staying in tents and two buildings near Maidan square. However, the activists were supported by Kyivans who brought wam clothes and got light by car engines.

“Do not throw the Christmas tree away – Maidan needs it!”
 

January, 12th, The activists of the AutoMaidan went into their cars to picket the posh Mezhyhirya residence of Viktor Yanukovych. The purpose of the picket was to hand in summons for Yanukovych to appear in the people’s court on Maidan square.

January, 13th.  During the stand-off when the police was blocked by AutoMaidan cars, Yuri Lutsenko (Ukrainian former Minister of Internal Affairs who was sentenced to four years in jail for embezzlement and abuse of office in 2012, but recently released from prison for health reasons) and his wife boarded one of the buses to try to ask the besieged police to leave the buses and take off their masks.  As Lutsenko failed, the protesters began to roll the bus. The police jumped out of the bus and began to beat up those close to its entrance. Yury Lutsenko was one of them trying to stop the police. Instead, the police beat him ruthlessly. One of the injuries to his head had to be sown up. On his way to hospital Yury Lutsenko lost conscience three times. 

There were a lot of rumors about the attack at night of 15th of December, so many people were ready to go out to support the protest. Everyone was happy in the morning, seeing posts on Facebook saying that nothing happened and the night was calm. If only we knew what would be following…
Back to black

The agenda of the day was only the budget – the painful and the most important document to ratify. However, as no one was allowed to discuss and the typical mess among Ukrainian politicians started, the opposition blocked the Rada electronic voting system and the majority was voting by raising hands.

The Vice-Speaker of the Rada, Ihor Kaletnyk, put the bills to the vote, addressing the legislature from the stalls as the rostrum was blocked by the opposition. The opposition says it was impossible to count the votes exactly. However, the majority just announced the results within seconds after the vote. You can see on this video that they raise their hands, a person asks «How many?» and three seconds later, the answer is ready «235!» (2/3 of the needed votes to ratify the document). Journalists say that the noises in the Rada were so loud, no one could actually hear which bill was put to the vote.

The draft bill “On amendments to the Law on the Judicial System and Status of Judges and procedural laws on additional measures for protecting citizens’ safety” has not been passed through any profile committees or parliamentary hearings. There have been no assessments or legal analysis, and it was voted on straight after the budget law, without any discussion. The bill was registered on January 14th by Party of the Regions’ members Volodymyr Oliynyk and Vadym Kolesnichenko. The latter is well-known for legislative initiatives which ape the worst offensives against democracy in the neighbouring Russia. I’ve downloaded it and it contains more than 50 pages written in Times New Roman, 11.

The bill introduces Article 151 “Libel” to the Criminal Code. This establishes a criminal liability for “deliberately circulating knowingly false information which denigrates the honour and dignity of another person. A libel linked with accusations of committing a serious or particularly serious crime are punishable by corrective work from one to two years or restriction of liberty for up to two years.

While this bill does not, as it stands, propose imprisonment for libels, it is a clear offensive against freedom of speech. Its immediate targets are easily guessed, given the protests over the violent dispersing of peaceful protesters on November 30th, the savage attack on investigative journalist Tetyana Chornovol and others. With the Courts in Ukraine increasingly subservient, all it will take is for a Court ruling to formally absolve those widely suspected of liability for any public allegations against them to become criminally punishable “libel”.

These are the main points:

1. If there are more than 5 cars protesting, their driving license will be taken away for two years. The Article 122 is to be supplemented with a fifth paragraph which states: “a movement by a person driving a vehicle in a procession made up of more than five vehicles without agreeing the conditions and procedure of movement within the relevant division of the Interior Ministry in charge of traffic safety which creates obstructions to the traffic should be punishable by a fine from 40 to 50 times the minimum wage before tax, or the stripping of the person’s licence for a period of between one and two years with the paid confiscation of vehicle from its owner, or without this.” There are some seriously steep increases in fines. This means that any AutoMaidan car procession or similar, containing more than five cars, will automatically be in breach of this appallingly repressive law.
2. For not registered mass media, which is filming what is happening – seizal of their equipment + big fine.
3. Setting tents, scene, and even sound without police’s permission – to jail for 15 days.
4. Disrespect to court – to jail for 15 days.
5. Not executing demands of internet access restriction – fine 6,800 UAH (about 600 euro).
6. Not executing “lawful” demands of Security Service of Ukraine – fine more than 2 000 UAH (176 euro)
7. For violation of civic order rules – 10 days in jail.
8. Now it is not necessary to make a protocol/record for a person who might have violated a rule according to the police, it is enough to have the status of witnesses.
9. Blocking of access to dwelling – 6 years in jail.
10. For spreading of extremist materials – 3 years in jail. The law also suggests serious penalties for what is called “extremist activities”. This includes circulation of something called “extremist material” including at rallies, demonstrations, street processions, etc. Those accused of “extremist activities” will include those who provide information services, donations, property, educational, printing or material basis, telephone, fax or other forms of communications.
“Extremist material should be understood as documents in paper, electronic or other forms, intended for publication, which contain information of an extremist nature. That is, they call for, justify or argue in favour of the need to carry out activities to plan, organize, spur people to prepare or carry out actions aimed at a violent change or overthrow of the constitutional order, encroachment on the territorial integrity, inviolability, sovereignty of the state; the violent seizure or retention of power or authority;unlawful interference in the activities or obstruction of the legitimate activities of the authorities, bodies of local self-government , others in authority…”
11. Group violation of civic order – 2 years in jail.
12. Disorders – 10 and even 15 years in jail. Any Maidan participant can be judged!
13. Collecting information of Berkut (division of Ukrainian military force), judges, and other such people – 3 years in jail.
14. A threat to police – 7 years in jail.
15. NGOs who are receiving money from abroad now are ‘foreign agents’, and they have to pay a profit tax and officially called ‘foreign agents’. Such organizations will be obliged every quarter to post on the Internet or public in an official newspaper a report on their activities. An article will also be added to the Tax Code regarding such “foreign agents”.
16. NGOs and Churches cannot do the extremists actions.
17. The government can deny the Internet access. – Same happened in Egypt, Tunisia and many Arabic countries during the revolution.
18. A person can be judged (including going to jail) even without being present in the court.
19. Berkut and all others, who were guilty against Maidan activists, are free from the punishment and judgement.
20. You have to sign an agreement with telecommunication company to buy and use SIM, USIM cards.

When I started to write this article I had a tiny hope that the President would not sign this. I hoped he would be sly and would not do it to show people that he’s honest and get more votes on the elections in 2015. But now after a half of day news telling that most of «implementations» are signed, I can only hope for Ukrainian’s dignity and willingness to struggle for our freedom.

The president and his supporters are just brilliant in one thing – they gather the nation against them. Hoping for better future, that we have to fight for,
Anna

Written by Annie Smailikova, AEGEE-Kyiv

Armenak Minasyants (AEGEE-Yerevan) has done many things in AEGEE and recently was re-elected as Policy Officer on the topic of European Integration. The AEGEEan interviewed Armenak to hear more about his time in AEGEE and his interest in the Eastern Partnership Project and more. 

Why did you join AEGEE?

Good question! In the mid of 2010 I was looking for Yerevan-based youth NGO working and dealing with European projects. Sad to say, but at those times in my country (Armenia) we did not have many independent and politically non-affiliated youth NGOs, as even the student councils in our universities were very politically affiliated. So, just to be short, I accidentally found out that AEGEE-Yerevan’s first president, Shushan Khachatryan, was going to establish an AEGEE Contact in Yerevan, so I approached her and automatically became part of this family.

What have you been doing in AEGEE since joining the organisation?

Perhaps one of the most difficult and complicated questions to ask: for two years I was a Board member and President of AEGEE-Yerevan, twice elected as the Speaker of the International Politics Working Group (IPWG), for another year as the Main Team Member of the AEGEE Eastern Partnership Project, and last but not least, already for more than an year I have assumed the position of the Policy Officer on European Neighborhood Policy of AEGEE-Europe.

You have done many things on the local level of AEGEE, what good tips do you have when working on AEGEE in your local antenna?

My biggest advice to everyone involved on the local level of AEGEE would be to trust your colleagues and teams. I have been in many projects with huge amount of participants, and every time to get through any difficulty and to make a project happen you should dedicate yourself, work hard and first of all trust your team members.

How do you activate members in Yerevan?

If I were brutally honest, we have never had any problems with activating our members at AEGEE-Yerevan. Everyone joining AEGEE-Yerevan knows that it is some kind of a serious youth organization, which is considered to be the very leading one in the Armenia-EU relations youth sphere, thus every new member since the very beginning knows why he/she is joining the association, and the most important – what the Local Board expects from him/her. I am not mentioning the very good opportunity for all members to work in close partnership with the EU Centre in Armenia and the EU Delegation to Armenia, which are the partners of AEGEE-Yerevan and accordingly get much more professional skills. In general, this gives us strong and very motivated members, who are ready not only to attend local and European events, but also run their own in Yerevan.

You recently took part in the Eastern Partnership conference in Lithuania and also another one in Brussels at the European Parliament: how do you make time to attend different conferences?

I have a life motto “If I do something, I do it the best” and if I have been appointed to any position within AEGEE, day by day I should make my best to prove everyone that it has been a right appointment. Additionally, both projects were some kind of a landmark youth events on the Eastern Partnership, to which AEGEE-Europe must be present. As you mentioned, I took part in two conferences in a row: the first one was the EaP Youth Forum in Kaunas, which was convened within the frames of the Lithuanian Presidency in the Council of the European Union. It was a side event of the EU-EaP Vilnius Summit and the joint conclusions of our forum were sent to the heads of the EU and the EaP member states. The second one was the EU-EaP Young Leaders Forum, organized by the European Parliament. We had a big AEGEE delegation to this event and had a chance to meet up with the President of the European Parliament, the EU Commissioner for Enlargement and Neighborhood Policy and groups of MEPs.

What makes you interested in the EaP topic?

Probably my home country’s direct involvement in the EU Eastern Partnership Programme is one of the most important points. In AEGEE I have worked on the EaP thematic already for three years and to be honest I still see lots of room for our development and involvement.

What made you apply to become a Policy Officer on European Neighborhood Policy?

Personal and professional interest, good opportunity to work in close contact with the Comité Directeur and definitely the willingness to contribute to the thematic and policy work done within AEGEE.

What will you focus on as a Policy Officer on this topic within this term?

During the term of 2012-2013, I have already managed to develop a well-shaped and inclusive position paper of AEGEE-Europe on European Neighbourhood Policy, which was successfully ratified at the Autumn Agora Zaragoza 2013. I would like to state, that within this term I would try to follow up of the mentioned Position Paper of 2012/2013, through attending relevant meetings, conferences, events and/or sending it to the respective stakeholders. Another key point of my actions would be sustainable monitoring of news, reports, developments on EU Eastern Partnership Programme and Euro-Mediterranean Partnership. The interaction with the Network and development of the effective cooperation is one of the key priorities of this term. The experience of the past year shows, that without constant and active communication with the Network, it is quite difficult to imagine any success while drafting and presenting a comprehensive position paper not only to externals stakeholders, but also to the AEGEE Network.

How have you been following the situation in Ukraine?

I picked up the easiest way to follow up the situation in Ukraine: I visited Kyiv and EuroMaidan on December 6th-7th. Frankly, the scenes, enthusiasm and European spirit which I saw and felt at Euromaidan in Kyiv could not be simply described by words. Ukraine is an amazing country, with a huge territory, hard working people and natural resources, but on the other hand now it is in the middle of political speculations done by a third party. Once again I would like to state my strong commitment and belief that Ukraine’s future is connected only with the European values and the EU. Only civil dialogue could lead to overcoming this deep political crisis in Ukraine, and hopefully it seems now that the good conclusion to this story is very close.

How do you think AEGEEans can help each other when such situations occur?

We first of all should show our solidarity with our locals and members who are in such situations, as for them even one very short letter coming from Copenhagen, Brussels, and Yerevan or from any other place may be a very strong inspiration. At the same time, I strongly believe that it is already high time for AEGEE not only to react but act, when such situations occur. At least for Ukraine, I would just suggest to take a very short break and follow up on the situation development, but be sure, we would act if we would see the necessity.

Written by Patricia Anthony, AEGEE-København

From Rome to Kuala Lumpur, from Cleveland to even Moscow, Ukrainians and representatives of different countries (some from Europe, some from Russia, Georgia and even Belarus) gathered in the main squares of Kiev to show that, regardless of where they live in the world, they support the EuroMaidan protests. The protests have been going on for more than two weeks (21^st of November up until today) and despite the bad weather conditions, threats and lack of sleep, Ukrainian protesters have remained at the Independence Square called Maidan. They have returned to the location of the «Orange Revolution» in 2004. But the situation is different now.

When I read about people gathering at Maidan, I was in Brussels, the “centre” of the EU. I found it difficult to imagine the spirit of the people protesting in Kiev. And honestly, I was also very mistrustful of the desirable “better future” that people were protesting for. The reason of my skepticism was caused by a sad conclusion – that after gaining Independence 22 years ago our politicians could not create a country that doesn’t need any help from others. And we still have to ask for money and choose which partner to work for. I did not expect that in two weeks everything could change. And I was so wrong.

A bit of background

On 30th March 2012 the European Union (EU) and Ukraine signed an Association Agreement. However, the EU leaders later stated that the agreement would not be ratified unless Ukraine addressed concerns over a “stark deterioration of democracy and the rule of law”, including the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko in 2011 and 2012 . On 21st November 2013 a Ukrainian government decree suspended preparations for the signing of the association agreement. The reason given was that during the previous months Ukraine had experienced “a drop in industrial production and our relations with the Commonwealth of Independent Countries (CIS)”.

The day when Ukraine rose again

The first protest started that day. Approximately 2,000 people gathered on Maidan after these breaking news. During the first week up untill the 29th of November, the number of people kept on increasing. The students of the main universities left lectures and went to Maidan. On 27th November it was reported that Kharkiv Polytechnical Institute staff allegedly checked class attendance, threatening truant students who attend Kiev’s EuroMaidan rallies with expulsion. In other universities, administrators have forbidden students from joining pro-EU protests, posting political commentary to social media networks, and wearing Ukraine-EU ribbons. The nation rose up after nine long years of waiting for a better life. On the 28th and 29th of November when our President Yanukovych did attend the EU summit in Vilnius the Association Agreement was not signed. The number of protesters in Kiev went up to 10,000. In Lviv, protesters numbered some 20,000. As in Kiev, the Lviv protesters locked hands in a human chain, symbolically linking Ukraine to the European Union. No party symbols were there, only Ukrainian flags and the EU flags.

I will always remember the night and the morning of the 30th of November. My friends and I were going home around 3.25 am and decided to pass by Maidan. I was surprised to see only around 300-400 people as five hours before I had checked Facebook and the Maidan was absolutely crowded with protesters. They were singing and dancing near the main monument that symbolises our Independence. Most of them were young guys and girls, some journalists and people from other cities who didn’t have anywhere to go. If I do have the angel who protects me I think I was protected by him that night. In half an hour when I was sleeping at home, these peaceful people were attacked by the Berkut special police units, armed with batons, stun grenades, and tear gas (the video is almost deleted from the Internet). Berkut forces chased unarmed people several hundreds of metres and continued to kick them and beat them with batons. 35 people were injured as a result of the militia raid, including a Reuters cameraman and a photographer. Other protesters were detained. Most of the protesters were students. At 09:20 the Berkut besieged the St. Michael’s Golden-Domed Monastery where approximately 50 Euromaidan activists, including the injured, found sanctuary.

Have you heard the explanation of these cruel actions? I’ve never been so angry and ashamed of my government as when they claimed that protesters were interfering with preparations to decorate the square for the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. In the morning this Christmas tree was characterised as “bloody” and we all lost the desire to celebrate Christmas with our government.

From this day onwards, the protests ceased to be about the EU Agreement. The protests are now about human rights; the rights of every Ukrainian and our dignity. On the 1^st of December, Kiev’s District Administrative Court banned further protests in downtown Kiev at both Maidan and European Square, as well as in front of the Presidential Administration and Interior Ministry buildings, until the 7th of January 2014; nevertheless, on this day, around 500, 000 gathered on Maidan. The feeling was just incredible. Me and some other AEGEEans made posters to show our position. We stood with other people with smiles on our faces, with hope in our eyes, singing the national anthem all together and I’ve never believed in my nation so much. When the opposition appeared on the stage I thought that we had leaders and a chance to change things in Ukraine. Three of them – Vitaliy Klitchko (famous boxer from his party «Udar»(«Hit»), Arseniy Yatsceniuk from «Batkivscshina» («Homeland» – Yulia Timoshenko is also from this party) and Oleg Tyagnybok «Svoboda» («Freedom» – right nationalistic party) created the Opposition and said many words but there were no actions. While we were standing there, some people were already near the President’s office (ten minutes walking from Maidan) and the chaos began. We were aware that provocateurs were working against us but no one expected that a bulldozer would suddenly appear on the street without being stopped by Berkut. Many, many times there were posts on Facebook asking for the opposition to come to solve the problem but no one came. Many guys were beaten again when they were trying to talk to the police and now nine young innocent people are in jail. Now the media all over the world is telling this story in a different manner.

The 1^st of December was the start of another protest. A protest against bribes, corruption and against the permissiveness of the authorities that came in 2010 with Yanukovich. Against the brutal system where the winner is the one who pays more, where drunk drivers who killed a girl can pay the right people and be set free, where old people live on 1200 grivnas (120 euros) per month. We are waiting for an adequate plan from the opposition who don’t do anything. I do not blame them, as who knows, maybe they have been threatened by the President. But after today’s march of millions I don’t think people need that much support from them. The new leaders have been born on Maidan. Some of them are well-known active citizens, singers, writers or journalists and they have stood on Maidan from the very beginning.

There are many things that I would like to explain, illustrate or prove to my friends abroad to break the stereotypes they have from the media. However, I will sum up what I feel is most important. All that is mentioned above and below are only my personal thoughts and conclusions:

 1. Maidan is supported everywhere in Ukraine

As every coin has two sides, Maidan is not supported by everyone. Many people in the West of the country gathered in Lviv and other Western cities during the very first days of the pro-EU protests. But during the first week when the main issue was the Association, people mostly on the East gathered to show their negative attitude towards it. And they had a right to do that. Even now you can find such different opinionated comments on the Internet.

2. Protesters’ main aim is signing the Association Agreement

After the events on Friday, one week ago, it is not about EU or Russia anymore. Some call it useless some say there is no alternative but protesters want to show that they are fed up with the attitude towards them and they do not want to live like this anymore. Now it is not about following the leader who will change something, is about creating these changes in the system so that no one will be allowed to give bribes or to put innocent people in jail. I honestly admire their strength. The real problem is that there is no strong leader to follow. The opposition seems to be frightened by the number of protesters but they cannot just leave now as too many rely on them.  I spoke to an old lady, Oksana, who came to Kyiv from Lviv and has already been protesting for ten days. «We stand here but we don’t know who we stand for. Nevertheless, we have to be strong as we are the hope for many. It is our last chance to show that we do not agree with the way the government treats us».

3. Protesters are against Russians

The relationship between Ukraine and Russia will always be a difficult issue because of our common past. It is true that in the West, the Russians are not the most popular of nations. But not everyone feels this way. Despite the fact that protests are forbidden in Moscow after «Bolotnoe case», many Russians went to the city centre holding the poster «Russia is not Putin» (AEGEE-Moskva as well). There will always be the ones who will just follow the stereotypes but I believe that smart ones understand the fact that Russians are not the same. There is an interview on YouTube where a Ukrainian protester from Lviv is saying «We are okay here, it was much worse in Moscow and I’m really sorry for them». Now I am happy to see that throughout Facebook people are united.

“Putin! Hands off from Ukraine! Let people live!”. The protest in Moscow.

4. People are paid to go to Maidan

That’s what most of Ukrainians who watch TV think. Moreover they are told that drunk, homeless and ill ones are staying there because they have nothing else to do. That is not true. I am a skeptical person and do not believe things without finding out for myself. In the last two weeks I have been on Maidan more times than during the summer. I actually don’t like this touristic place but now it feels like home there. When I first went there I was offered hot tea and some food, I saw how the protesters cleaned the street and how they throw out drunk people, how my friends’ mom and Miss Ukraine 2013 come there after work to cook, how people from the West of the country explain to ones of the East what’s the difference between the dialects. And the best part when every three hours the anthem is sang by everyone. It inspires more than any speech of an amazing politician because it is real.

“I am not paid to be here” written in the sticker

5. The protest is violent and protesters are aggressive

People gathered on Maidan came from different cities and have their own past and beliefs. There are representatives of the right nationalistic party «Freedom» who are quite aggressive, like their leader. But from the very beginning with the help of social network the information about provocateurs spread very fast and this helped to avoid many fights. The events on Friday night when the Berkut beat protesters were shown in five different ways as each TV-channel has it’s own owner and some of them are politicians. During these two weeks the authorities tried to create the provocations using Berkut and Titushky (widely used term in Ukrainian mass media for street hooligans who are suspected to be sponsored by government). But I am very proud my people because many times I’ve seen that they are not paying attention to any of the provocations. I saw a guy playing the piano in front of the police, girls giving them flowers and women offering them sandwiches. Maidan is full of kind and smart people.

6. There are only nationalists there 

It is hard to say what everyone thinks. The most popular slogan that can be heard everywhere and works like a password: «Glory to Ukraine – glory to heroes» and it is quite controversial if you know Ukrainian history. It is the slogan of Stepan Bandera’s army who collaborated with Nazis during the World War II on the West. They wanted the Independence of Ukraine and fought against the Red Army. The second part of the slogan is «Glory to the nation – death to the enemies» and it is scary to hear that in the crowd of even 100 people. But in my view, the majority doesn’t want to discuss the past as they are focused on the future. That’s why «Glory to Ukraine – glory to heroes» is so popular at Maidan. And if it would be created only now, two weeks ago, no one would say they are nationalists.

7. Goodbye, Lenin ©

The news that Lenin’s statue was demolished appeared everywhere around 6 p.m. BBC.UK reported: “A Statue of Lenin, a symbol of Ukrainian-Russian relations, was pulled down today”. This sentence was everywhere, and I wonder since when was Lenin a symbol of Ukrainian-Russian relations? He is the symbol of revolution, socialism, but not our relations. But if you had no idea about anything which happens in the country what would you think? Those terrible Ukrainian protesters do not respect the common past. In half an hour one of the representatives of «Freedom» party said that it was made by them. It’s not a big surprise as this party always wanted to do that. But what surprised me personally is that no one stopped them. The police were there but they had no reaction. And in the morning everyone was talking about it. Just a strange coincidence to create another issue to discuss and forget about the aim of Maidan, maybe? But it’s only my opinion.

8. Bombs in the metro and panic on Facebook

Coming back to work after the weekend is indeed a strange feeling. I have my ribbon with the Ukrainian flag colours on my bag and in my hair, heard «Slava Ukraini» between my colleagues and was updating the news pages every five to ten minutes. While the main issue was still Lenin’s statue, the pictures of «Berkut’s» buses started to appear on Facebook and it was around midday. Live streams worked very badly till 3 am and then stopped. Pictures with «Berkut» occupying the streets that were blocked by protesters started to appear everywhere. The messages asking women and kids to leave Maidan were terrifying. Three central metro stations were closed due to the anonymous message about bombs. Smart decision from the government’s side as even my colleagues rushed to Maidan to support the protesters. The forces stood there without doing anything and it looked like psychological frightening. Nevertheless, they moved the protesters’ tents from some government’s buildings but didn’t go to Maidan. And during the following days “Berkut” is coming closer and closer to the protesters. I hope that they will remember that we all fight for our future. People are screaming “The police is with the people” and “Do not follow this order” to stop them. Around 500 young girls are still staying on Maidan. Every night is like a nightmare and each morning opening Facebook I pray not to see messages about the victims as this government is ready to do everything.

9. Media about Maidan

Studying public relations and working with journalists has given me some knowledge about the creation of the News. Despite the very fast growth of the official EuroMaidan page, TV still has a huge influence on the older generation. Not only in Ukraine, the News is used to manipulate people and this is especially effective on those who have never been to Maidan. On the 4^th of December I was woken up by my mom’s call telling me that a man died on Maidan because of tuberculosis. «It was shown on the news!» – she claimed. – «Don’t go there!». I decided to check the Internet. The news appeared right on the first page as a banner. And it looked like an advertisement.

I clicked on it and the korrrespondent.net website appeared. Recently it was one of the best media but it was bought by the politician who supports Yanukovich. All the journalists refused to write what they had been told and resigned. Now the whole team is new.

The article’s headline is «The risk of catching tuberculosis on Maidan is very high now!» and the text contained only a few sentences. «The man had tuberculosis in his lungs and he died on Maidan – the police said. UNIAN (Ukrainian paid news agency) reported that he was found dead on Maidan in the morning. The doctors advise against going to Maidan as the virus could still be there.

No links to the source, no names, no pictures. No possibility to comment. But the panic started. I decided to check the profile of the journalist and noticed that she is the top-blogger. Okay, this fact gives some reliability.

Unless she has only two posts and one of them was written on the 20th of July. Definitely, the top blogger. And when I was watching the video about the Russian journalist who got an Oscar for his lie about the events in Ukraine, the banner appeared once again.

One more example. This picture is taken during the protest in Greece.

This is the same picture but with the help of Photoshop it looks like it was taken on Maidan.

P. S. This is probably the best Christmas tree we have ever had!

Written by Annie Smailikova, AEGEE-Kyiv