UF students and faculty are reacting to the deaths of three people in Kiev, Ukraine, following protests around the capital last week.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s refusal to join the European Union has prompted protests and riots around the country after the denial of the deal to join the 28-nation bloc, BBC reported.
“President Yanukovych’s rejection of a deal on closer ties with the European Union dashed the hopes of many Ukrainians who see the best prospects for Ukraine’s future residing in stronger ties with the West,” Bryon Moraski, a UF political science associate professor doing research in Kiev, wrote in an email.
The government’s subsequent turn to Russia in December for an economic bailout also added fuel to the fire.
“The protests became larger and more intense when the government used riot police to fiercely disperse these peaceful demonstrators, injuring some in the process,” Moraski said.
If Ukraine joined the EU, the accompanying rules and regulations would impede the ability of Russian businesses to maintain their existing ties and profits in these countries, he said.
“More recently, Lenin is known to have said that for Russia to lose Ukraine is comparable to a person losing his (or her) head,” Moraski said.
Fred Kolb, a UF Model United Nations team member, said he agrees with most of the international community in condemning the violent responses of the Ukrainian government.
“It’s shameful that the country seems to be returning to its ways from the Cold War that has been over for over two decades,” Kolb, a 20-year-old UF economics and political science junior, wrote in an email. “The majority of the protests have been peaceful, and the brutal methods of the Ukrainian police forces are now in the spotlight rather than the actions of the protestors.”
Bardia Khajenoori, a 20-year-old UF international studies and political science junior, said he believes the Ukrainian government has lost legitimacy through its recent actions.
“The people have spoken in favor of a pro-western direction and to ignore their will is simply undemocratic,” Khajenoori wrote in an email.
Moving away from Russia and into the western sphere of influence could have very real consequences for Ukraine, he said.
“Yanukovych was clearly extending his powers beyond what the public was willing to allow,” Khajenoori said, “and he responded with violence and repression when they demonstrated against it.”
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 1/31/2014 under the headline "UF students, faculty react to protests, violence in Ukraine"]
A tent sits in a street displaying signs reading “Ukraine Without Corruption.” The Ukrainian people are protesting after the local government refused to join the European Union. Three people have died, and the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, resigned on Tuesday.
