(Vatican Radio) The international community is putting pressure on the Ukrainian Government
to take immediate steps to resolve the nation’s political crisis.
The US Vice
President has spoken, yet again, to Ukraine’ President, Viktor Yanukovych, urging
him to remove riot police, release detainees and hold those responsible for attacking
journalists and protesters accountable.
Over two months of intense protests
have put Yanukovych under substantial pressure. But he has made no moves to work with
the opposition since last week, when he pushed parliament to pass a measure providing
amnesty to many arrested protesters.
Vatican Radio’s Linda Bordoni spoke to
Bogdan Voron, creator of one of the Euromaidan art projects which gives voice to the
ever more organized protesters in Kiev.
Voron says that Euromaidan (the wave
of ongoing demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine) is very creative…
Listen
to the interview…
Voron explains
that Euromaidan is basically civil unrest, but it gathers groups of artists who produce
movies, political posters, art work, music that express the message of Euromaidan.
Voron described a Christmas tree in the center of Kiev “that has become a
symbol of post-modern art. It is covered with posters and Ukrainian flags with the
names of cities across the nation where the protesters come from, as well as flags
representing different nations where non Ukrainian Euromaidan protesters come from.
He
says that in art “Kiev is showing its power of transformation and healing, when ‘fear
becomes fun’.”
Voron says theirs is “a non-political message about freedom,
about the struggle for justice, it’s an attempt to be heard and understood because
in Ukraine the government doesn’t listen to the people”. So the Euromaiadan artists
express their feelings with all the instruments of art.
Voron says that the
unrest started as a protest against the Government that refused to sign an association
agreement with the EU: “It began like a student protest”. But after students were
beaten on 13 November, the protest expanded to become a more general protest against
the violence, and hundreds of thousands of Kiev residents came out into the streets
to join the protest. It is not a protest against the Government’s refusal to sign
the agreement, but a protest against the Government and president’s violence” he said.
Voron
illustrates the protesters’ organization, which he says, “is very good: they have
a headquarters; they have kitchens, a real hospital, a cultural center, a free university
and self-defense units”. He says “over 5000 people wear military helmets, they carry
special equipment and metal shields to protect themselves from the metal bullets because
– he says – two protesters were killed during the clashes with police. The protest
territory is on the central square of the Ukrainian capital and it has increased”.
Voron describes dozens of barricades with fortifications: “There is a road filled
with water and ice, then barbed wire, and then bags of snow”. He says pavement stones
and Molotov cocktails are readily available and there are even watchtowers to keep
watch on the possible arrival of police.
Speaking about the expectations and
hopes of those involved, Voron says there is a feeling amongst the protesters that
they are “on the boat” of change and it is the moment to fight for welfare and for
their future. He says “We stand for truth and democracy. We are fighting against corruption
and injustice”. Voron describes the protesters as those with the higher education:
“they have travelled, they have the capacity for critical thinking, they know foreign
languages” he said.
“One of the problems in Ukraine – Voron points out – is
that almost 80% of the people have never been abroad and they have not seen how the
rest of Europe lives. He says many think that Europe is “evil”. However – Voron adds
– “Ukrainian society is not divided: in Kiev protesters come from all over Ukraine
and there are other nationalities as well – Ukrainians, Russians, Armenians…. He says
that within the movement there is a high level of religious tolerance and the presence
of all political parties from the liberals to the nationalists.
Regarding media
freedom, Voron says journalists are divided into those who have embraced the protest
and those who are spokespeople for the government and the oligarchs.
Voron
says the Church plays an important part in the movement, with the presence of Catholic
and Orthodox priests in Euromaiadan. He says they came to help and support their people
as many as 90% of the protesters are Christians and while they are non-political they
give spiritual support and encourage the protesters in difficult moments. He tells
of instances in which the priests have interposed themselves between police and protesters,
and have even been injured in the process.
Asked whether he is optimistic for
the outcome of the protest, Voron says there is an expression that says: “Euromaiadan
is everywhere and Euromaiadan is in every person who supports the movement”. “It’s
not a one-day action – he says - it started in November and now people have embraced
it as a broad concept. For example – he says - “there is a boycott of products made
by companies owned by governing party members” He stressts tht the movement is also
a protest against corruption, a movement to transform the country.
Voron
underlines the fact that he believes that “Ukraine is not divided by language or religion
or nationality: it’s divided by the belief in good, in democracy, in the rule of
law, while on the other side there are the people who feel very comfortable in corrupted
society, that are bound to corruption...”