April 10:
International Day of Solidarity with the People of Odessa
In response to the increasing repression of anti-fascist activists
by the government of Ukraine, the U.S.-based Odessa Solidarity Campaign is
calling for an International Day of Solidarity with the People of Odessa,
to take place on April 10, the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Odessa
from fascist occupation. The day will include protests outside Ukrainian
embassies, including in Washington, D.C.
Following is the statement calling for the Day of Solidarity. You
can support this effort by widely sharing the statement.
For more information about the situation in Odessa, see: www.odessasolidaritycampaign.org.
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The Odessa Solidarity Campaign is
an all-volunteer team of human rights activists dedicated to supporting the
people of Odessa, Ukraine, in their heroic resistance to fascism. More
information can be found at our website: www.odessasolidaritycampaign.org.
The OSC is a project of the United
National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC). www.unacpeace.org.
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A Call for an April 10 International Day of Solidarity
with the People of Odessa!
The Odessa
Solidarity Campaign is calling for an International Day of Solidarity
with the People of Odessa on April 10, 2017, to draw attention to
the Ukrainian government’s repression of anti-fascist activists in that city.
We are calling for rallies, vigils and demonstrations outside Ukrainian
embassies and consular offices around the world. April 10 is a date of great
significance to all Odessans, as it marks the day in 1944 when Odessa was liberated
from years of fascist occupation.
February 2014 saw the overthrow of the elected president of
Ukraine in a violent, right-wing coup supported by the U.S. government. Just
three months later, on May 2, Odessa experienced one of Europe’s worst civil disorders
in many decades, when 46 mostly young progressives were brutally murdered by a
fascist-led mob at Odessa’s Kulikovo square.
Ever since that day, relatives, friends and supporters of those
who were killed have been demanding an international investigation into the
massacre, a demand that has been blocked by the federal government working
hand-in-hand with the fascist organizations responsible for the deaths. This
obstruction by the Ukrainian government has been noted by the United Nations,
the Council of Europe and other international bodies, as well as the U.S. State
Department.
It should be noted that, despite many videos taken of the fascists
participating in the massacre, not one of those responsible for the murders has
ever been brought to trial, while many anti-fascists arrested that day are
still in prison, many never having been charged with a crime.
Each week since the massacre, Odessans have gathered in Kulikovo square to remember their dead and press the demand
for an investigation. And nearly every week, neo-Nazi organizations like the
notorious Right Sector harass and sometimes physically attack them. The police
occasionally intervene, but the fascists are never arrested.
In an alarming new development, several anti-fascist Odessans have
been arrested by federal authorities and falsely charged with serious crimes.
On Feb. 23, Alexander Kushnarev, 65, a deputy
of the Limansk District Council and father of one of
the young people murdered at Kulikovo square, was
arrested by agents of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Also arrested was
Anatoly Slobodyanik, 68, a retired military officer
and the head of the Odessa Organization of Veterans of Armed Forces. The
Odessan region’s chief prosecutor claims the two men were planning to kidnap a
member of the country’s Rada, or parliament.
The Rada deputy, Alexei Goncharenko, a
member of a parliamentary bloc allied with Ukrainian President Petro
Poroshenko, was in fact missing for a short time. But he quickly reappeared and
was interviewed on the Ukrainian television channel EspresoTV,
stating that his abduction had been staged by law enforcement officers. Kushnarev may have been selected for a government frame-up
because Goncharenko was at the scene of the 2014
massacre where Kushnarev’s son was killed.
Kushnarev and Slobodyanik
are now languishing in the Odessa prison where conditions are aimed at breaking
the prisoners’ will to resist. Both elderly men have had long-standing heart
problems and it is feared they may not survive their confinement.
Since the two men were taken into custody, the homes of other
relatives of the victims of May 2 have been searched by police. Ominous reports
are now surfacing about plans to arrest more relatives and supporters and
extract “confessions” of plans to commit violent acts against the government.
Since the coup of 2014, the right of the Ukrainian people to free
speech has been steadily restricted. The continuing demand of Odessans for an
international investigation into the massacre at Kulikovo
square has been a particular irritant to the federal government. If the voices
of these brave people are allowed to be silenced, Ukraine will have taken
another huge step toward becoming an undemocratic police state in collusion
with murderous fascist groups.
All out for the April 10 International Day of Solidarity
with the People of Odessa!
Free Alexander Kushnarev, Anatoly Slobodyanik & all political prisoners in Ukraine!
Stop the repression against relatives & supporters of
those killed on May 2, 2014!
No to fascism in Ukraine & all over the world!
The Odessa
Solidarity Campaign is a project of the United National Antiwar Coalition
(UNAC).
It was
founded in May 2016 following the second anniversary memorial of the massacre
of May 2, 2014.
A delegation
of UNAC members from the United States attended the memorial, which was held at
Odessa’s Kulikovo square.
www.odessasolidaritycampaign.org -
www.unacpeace.org
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