Ukraine Moves to Disarm Paramilitary Groups

[Bosonic]

Source: New York Times

KIEV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Parliament on Tuesday ordered law enforcement agencies to immediately disarm unofficial paramilitary groups, signaling growing resolve in the interim government to confront nationalists and other vigilantes who played a big role in the overthrow of Viktor F. Yanukovych, the country’s pro-Kremlin former president who was deposed more than a month ago.

The bill, introduced and passed unanimously, ordered both the Interior Ministry and the Security Service of Ukraine, the country’s successor to the K.G.B., to disarm the groups because of the “aggravation of the crime situation and systematic provocations on the part of foreigners in southeastern Ukraine and in Kiev.”

The attempt to further consolidate control domestically came as Russia delivered yet another blow to the fledgling Ukraine government, which the Kremlin regards as illegal. Gazprom, the Russian state gas giant, announced a 40 percent increase in the price of natural gas sold to Ukraine, which is heavily dependent on Russia for its gas supply.

The passage of the anti-paramilitary bill comes as tensions in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, have grown between nationalist groups who continue to patrol the main squares of the city and Arsen Avakov, the country’s new interior minister.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/world/europe/ukraine-moves-to-disarm-paramilitary-groups.html?_r=0

[cosmicone]

1. So now, CIA sponsored thugs

cannot overthrow a CIA appointed government. How transparent.

[snappyturtle]

2. The thugs will probably be recruited into the appointed government' forces.

[newthinking]

7. It's not genuine as long as Svoboda and Right Sector are still in Executive administration

positions.

They still need to remove the svoboda "freedom of speech" and National Security heads and Right sector deputy admins where they do not have the power to act out their belief set.

[Boreal]

9. Right Sector and Svoboda

are the people who did the fighting and made the coup possible. The puppet regime wouldn't be there but for them.

I predict a "Night of the Long Knives" is coming because those people who fought are not going to just suddenly go from being lauded as heroes to being disenfranchised as criminals. These are the same people Nuland and Ashton described as "peaceful protestors" and the coup regime was perfectly happy with them BEFORE Yanukovych was forced to run for his life, but now that the coup regime is place, Right Sector and Svoboda have become an embarrassment, exactly like the Brown Shirts/SA.

[Igel]

8. Catch 22.

The result is either learned helplessness in which the other party just gives up and lies down to die or looks at you and says, "Eh, irrelevant."

[Alhena]

3. Everything in that Parliament seems to pass unanimously

pretty suspect.

[joshcryer]

13. Couple of dozen fled with Yanukovych.

Because they passed his illegal laws and likely feared arrest along with him.

The rest are obviously voting for unity, also, disarming armed gangs is sensible.

[newthinking]

15. You can't overlook the threat of violence

Yanukovich was fired upon as he was leaving by automatic weapons. He was heading to Eastern Ukraine to parlay with leaders there.

Just like Right sector surrounded parliment last week, right sector had "visited" many officials and threatened them and their families. I am not into defending Yanukovich, but I am *into* honesty and reality and not convenient "truthiness" that our media spouts about what happened.

Yanukovich eventually did flee when it became apparent he might not live to regret it. But that doesn't make up for the fact that in reality the reason that the minority parties were able to take over parliment was because of the terror that had been visited on the opposition parties.

Argue all you want that black is white, but that is how it came about, not the convenient story that is being spun.

[joshcryer]

18. Yanukovich was not fired upon.

He fled clandestinely. Had anyone seen him fleeing it would've been reported. He was gone for most of the night, btw, leaving federal buildings unoccupied even by security, and by the time anyone figured out something was up he and his cohorts were long gone.

[jakeXT]

4. From heroes of the maidan to saboteurs

"Ukrainians are demanding order," the country's parliament-appointed President Oleksandr Turchynov said prior to the vote. He emphasized that people who carry arms while not working with the security services or the national guard should be regarded as saboteurs.

http://en.ria.ru/world/20140401/188962883/Ukraines-Right-Sector-Faces-Ban-After-Shooting-on-Maidan-.html

[maindawg]

5. I cannot disagree

They should declare marshal law until the emergency is over. But right now, you have Russia occupying your best real estate. and on your border. You have a very nervous populace. I would say you are in defcon 5. It not time to be cool.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. Can you IMAGINE the reaction if that were here?

[joshcryer]

14. Armed right wing militias were popular in the '90s.

They come and go. McVey's militia is still operating in Alaska... though it's a bunch of paranoid old men. VICE did a documentary on them.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

19. The Southern Poverty Law Center tracks them...

There was a huge upsurge of right wing militias after Obama won.

They're armed up for that fantasy race war where they exterminate everything on sight that ain't pink.

[freshwest]

10. That's a good move... The videos of these guys in action is damning... n/t

[Jake Stern]

11. They fear the monster they birthed.

To quote the great Alanis Morisette, "Isn't it ironic?"

[joshcryer]

12. I thought the movement was pro-fascist?

[newthinking]

16. Sure, Right sector was free to terrorize the population until they turned on

those who shared tents with them in maiden.

I remember it wasn't that long ago that you and others were telling many of us that there was no real threat, and they were just small groups.

So now Right Sector has grown (they FORMED at maidan) and turned on those they helped to power and now it is obvious to see. But what about Svoboda? Which is also a fascist group. They are still in power and conveniently not being mentioned much.

As I have said, if this government is really uncomfortable with fascists, and not simply with fascists that threaten *them*, then they would also separate themselves from Svoboda. But trouble is they came into power with very dangerous people, and now, like what happened to their opposition, they could be afraid for themselves and their family if they really tried to deal with the problem.

[joshcryer]

17. I'm pretty sure they remain not a thread.

A couple of hundred people with guns aren't going to overturn popular sentiment by hundreds of thousands of protesters. It's always been overblown.

Right Sector hasn't really "turned" because they weren't really "a part" of the protest, they were never embraced to the level that was exaggerated here. There were just "in" it.