The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has taken the Odessa businessman, former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada and leader of the Rodina party Igor Markov, into custody until December 20, 2013, who is accused of 'beating' Ukrainian nationalists in 2007. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office opened criminal proceedings, despite expiry of limitation period in the case of hooliganism, and now plans to close the ATV TV channel and the Timer internet portal, funded by Markov. It all started with the protection by his supporters of a monument to Catherine the Great six years ago, and the last straw was the release on the ATV channel of a movie about massacres of Poles by Ukrainian fascists in 1943 in Volyn.
The courts of various instances denied three times the modern Banderovites a lawsuit against Markov; last time it happened at the level of the High Specialized Court of Ukraine. But once again the political expediency in the Prosecutor General's Office has gained the upper hand. It was still possible to forgive the monument to Catherine the Great (as well as a banal fight with 'Bandar-logs' – many from the president's Party of Regions fought with them). But Markov and his television company, by starting to 'dig out' the background of the Volyn Ukrainian drama in 1943, which swallowed up tens of thousands of Poles, raised their hand against the 'sacred' – 'the deepening of political association between Ukraine and the United Europe' stated in the agreement that was signed by representatives of Kyiv and Brussels on September 18. Moreover, sad as it is, the notorious 'deepening of association' for the present Polish authorities has also proved to be more important than restoring of historical justice in respect of compatriots.
"Mother was torn"
When in 2009 the Poles did not admit to their territory the participants of the children's (!) Bicycle race in memory of Stepan Bandera, organized by Ukrainian nationalists, it seemed that our western neighbors were seriously concerned about their own historical heritage, including tragedies of the Second World War. Here, one can remember numerous Polish historical memory foundations, the Warsaw Institute of National Remembrance, etc. These themes seemed to be no longer tabooed, even if it comes to unpleasant historical moments associated with the country in whose power Yushchenko was, so pleasing for the 'democratic Europe', a 'democrat' . Times change though. And quickly at that. After coming to power in Ukraine of 'serious people' led by Viktor Yanukovych it became clear that Ukraine's efforts toward integration with Europe, despite many forecasts, are gaining momentum. It is also equally clear, however, that it is impossible to ignore the own history. Neither in Ukraine, nor in Poland. Now, on the threshold of the anniversary of the Volyn tragedy on April 8, 2013, a bill was submitted to the Senate, the upper house of the Polish parliament from the opposition Law and Justice Party on recognizing the genocide of Poles committed in 1943 in the Volyn region and in other regions of Western Ukraine by militants of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army. The document also said about July 11 to be declared the Martyrdom Day of kresovyan (Ukrainian Poles). Two days later, a similar bill, but in a milder version, with no mention of the word 'genocide' was submitted to the lower house of parliament (Sejm).
Discussions started, during which Brussels' agents of influence such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Radosław Sikorski, began to court members of the parliament, persuading them "not to re-open old wounds ", not to undermine the prospects of Ukraine's accession to the European Union. All this was told in the movie on the Odessa ATV television channel 'Volyn without time limitation'. There is chilling evidence of how people were thrown into wells, burned alive, tortured, all this being done without any pity on women or young children, or 80-year-old people. "My mother was torn, " "the bullet passed along the temple…" It is terrible to hear such things.
It all started in March 1943, when the Volyn regional provod (a governing instance of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists that operated in German-occupied territory) decided to exile local Poles from Volyn. The 'exile' turned into mass killings that reached the peak on July 11, when 150 settlements were attacked simultaneously. Historians still argue about the number of victims of those events. In any case, it comes to tens of thousands of people - from 50 to 80,000 (including the missing, i.e. those people whose bodies were never found or identified).
Genocide or just its 'attributes'?
The controversy surrounding the issue of the mass destruction of Poles in Volyn drew a wide response, including the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, whose 148 deputies (Regionnaires and Communists) sent a letter to Polish colleagues, calling them to recognize the genocide. This would have been an adequate response from the West to the Svoboda party and similar associations.
Yanukovych then was not daunted by such a turn of events. One must suppose that Viktor Yanukovych arranged his intrigue, showing Europe how it is difficult for him to keep control over the passions raging around the sensitive issues of Ukrainian history. And Sikorski fulfilled his task. The Polish Parliament adopted a statement of "ethnic cleansing with the attributes of genocide ", but not about the genocide as such. "You have not been seized with manipulation and emotions, " the minister thanked the deputies. One of the leaders of the Polish left-wing politicians, former Prime Minister of Poland Leszek Miller described this politicians' flexibility as a "humiliation of not only Poles, but also Ukrainians who fought against Nazism and fascism. " "When killing Jews, it is genocide, when killing Poles it is not! " another former prime minister, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of PiS protested too. The famous Polish political writer Zbigniew Lipski called the wording adopted in the Seim's resolution having no meaning. According to him, it is as much as saying that the massacres committed by the SS are 'murders with the attributes of genocide, " but not genocide.
Anyway, the politicians have done their part. At the highest level, the issue of genocide has been closed. Further offences taken by the President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski at the fact that a meeting with him concerning the tragic events of 1943 was attended not by equal to him on the status, President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych, but just vice-premier Grishchenko, were of no particular importance for the official Kiev.
"We are not a dumb herd "
Igor Markov threatens with up to seven years in prison. He was arrested by the police of Odessa on October 22, when he appeared himself for questioning on the case of 'hooliganism' of 2007. And if before the ambitions of the former deputy came to nothing more than his native Odessa, now he is turning into a politician of a national importance. Like another famous prisoner - Yulia Tymoshenko. It is significant that, Tymoshenko herself noticed it at once.
"In the East and South of Ukraine a new, young, energetic, charismatic, ideological leader of the pro-Russian citizens of Ukraine was born, who will undoubtedly run for president, and this is a beginning of the end of Yanukovych himself, " a forecast contained in a letter to the former 'orange princess' instantly spread all over the Ukrainian social networks.
The ATV channel and the online Timer edition are now working intermittently. "The unparalleled in our history DDoS-attack continues. We apologize to our readers for the inconvenience forced, " the portal editorial staff informs. Moreover, there was information in the Ukrainian media that the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting is going to file a lawsuit in court seeking a cancellation of the ATV channel's license.
Pressure by the authorities continues. Prosecutors started checking the prisoner's bank accounts and all related entities, including the ATV. The Svoboda Party's deputy, Pavel Kirilenko sent a letter to the Prosecutor General's Office requiring to ban the Markov-led Homeland political party as antistate.
While waiting for the arrest, Igor Markov has pre-recorded a video message to the people of Odessa, which was posted on YouTube:
"Dear Odessites, if you see this message, it means that I have already been arrested. I appeal to all of you who share our beliefs, who have not forgotten what the words 'honor' and 'duty' mean. I call you to take to the streets and show this regime that we are not a dumb herd, we are citizens, the citizens of this city, the citizens of this country, and they shall not turn us into slaves. "
