The Media Has Wrongly Reported the Violence in Ukraine
Ukrainian blood has been spilled as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian government. Following the events in the Maidan in Kiev as I have since December, I've noticed that reports in our media have somehow twisted such reports to imply either that "mobs" in Kiev have caused confrontation with government security forces, or that both sides have somehow tragically butted heads after weeks of a face-off. Neither of these is true; let's get the facts straight.
Background: Ukrainian president Yanukovych first told his people he would welcome a closer relationship with the European Union, something desired by many Ukrainians. He then abruptly changed course at the end of November 20013 and began to draw closer to Moscow. When he did, ordinary Ukrainians protested in the Maidan (Independence Square) in Kiev. Government forces attacked peaceful demonstrators. Photos and videos of these violent attacks distributed through various social media infuriated the people of Kiev, who then peacefully gathered en mass in the Maidan. They expressed their outrage at the attacks, and subsequently their discontent and disgust with their corrupt government. At this point, thousands and at times tens of thousands gathered 24/7 throughout December and pursued their protests in a peaceful manner as we've previously documented.
After weeks of peaceful protests, the government then displayed a heavier and heavier hand. As government attacks grew more violent, people naturally responded, although the response of the crowds can be characterized as rather muted compared to the attacks they endured from the government. While dozens of demonstrators were injured, even resulting in some deaths, the forbearance of the people - mostly ordinary Ukrainians - continued. The government, however, demanded that the demonstrators disband, and the simple fact is that when it became clear that the people were so fed up with the corruption and violence, the government has now responded the way governments almost always do: they are using lethal force. They have employed snipers - professional assassins - to kill as many people as they can. And they are doing so in the dozens.
The government of Ukraine caused the original demonstrations by its lies and its initial violent attacks. The government of Ukraine - prodded and manipulated by Putin in Moscow - ratcheted up the violence to overwhelming deadly force. It's important to understand this. It's not that demonstrators are heavily armed. They remain mostly ordinary Ukrainians standing up for their freedom from oppression and corruption. Any media that portrays this in any other way should be ashamed.
One last point: Conservatives who somehow sympathize with Vladimir Putin because he has given lip-service to so-called conservative values, and who now somehow overlook or excuse Putin's role in the deaths of innocent Ukrainian people should also be ashamed of themselves.
The Ukrainian people deserve our sympathy and our prayers. They are facing evil, deadly forces - the worst sort of force that government officials use when they opt to preserve their own power and privileges even if it means killing their own people. But while it's truly disturbing to witness their actions play out in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, it is just as disturbing to witness the reporting coming from some of the Western media.
LATE NEWS: A compromise of some sort between the government and its opposition has apparently been reached. The shooting and bloodshed has stopped. The people remain in the Maidan and continue to sing their national anthem and pray, as they have done through all this. Thank God for this respite. Let us pray it holds and that a peaceful resolution can be worked out, one governed by justice and charity.
Background: Ukrainian president Yanukovych first told his people he would welcome a closer relationship with the European Union, something desired by many Ukrainians. He then abruptly changed course at the end of November 20013 and began to draw closer to Moscow. When he did, ordinary Ukrainians protested in the Maidan (Independence Square) in Kiev. Government forces attacked peaceful demonstrators. Photos and videos of these violent attacks distributed through various social media infuriated the people of Kiev, who then peacefully gathered en mass in the Maidan. They expressed their outrage at the attacks, and subsequently their discontent and disgust with their corrupt government. At this point, thousands and at times tens of thousands gathered 24/7 throughout December and pursued their protests in a peaceful manner as we've previously documented.
After weeks of peaceful protests, the government then displayed a heavier and heavier hand. As government attacks grew more violent, people naturally responded, although the response of the crowds can be characterized as rather muted compared to the attacks they endured from the government. While dozens of demonstrators were injured, even resulting in some deaths, the forbearance of the people - mostly ordinary Ukrainians - continued. The government, however, demanded that the demonstrators disband, and the simple fact is that when it became clear that the people were so fed up with the corruption and violence, the government has now responded the way governments almost always do: they are using lethal force. They have employed snipers - professional assassins - to kill as many people as they can. And they are doing so in the dozens.
The government of Ukraine caused the original demonstrations by its lies and its initial violent attacks. The government of Ukraine - prodded and manipulated by Putin in Moscow - ratcheted up the violence to overwhelming deadly force. It's important to understand this. It's not that demonstrators are heavily armed. They remain mostly ordinary Ukrainians standing up for their freedom from oppression and corruption. Any media that portrays this in any other way should be ashamed.
One last point: Conservatives who somehow sympathize with Vladimir Putin because he has given lip-service to so-called conservative values, and who now somehow overlook or excuse Putin's role in the deaths of innocent Ukrainian people should also be ashamed of themselves.
The Ukrainian people deserve our sympathy and our prayers. They are facing evil, deadly forces - the worst sort of force that government officials use when they opt to preserve their own power and privileges even if it means killing their own people. But while it's truly disturbing to witness their actions play out in Kiev and other Ukrainian cities, it is just as disturbing to witness the reporting coming from some of the Western media.
LATE NEWS: A compromise of some sort between the government and its opposition has apparently been reached. The shooting and bloodshed has stopped. The people remain in the Maidan and continue to sing their national anthem and pray, as they have done through all this. Thank God for this respite. Let us pray it holds and that a peaceful resolution can be worked out, one governed by justice and charity.
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