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Commentary: Ukraine's neo-Nazi problem
By Josh Cohen, Commentary
As Ukraine's struggle against Russia and its proxies continues, Kiev
must also contend with a growing problem behind the front lines:
far-right vigilantes who are willing to use intimidation and even
violence to advance their agendas, and who often do so with the tacit
approval of law enforcement agencies.
Slideshow ( 3 images ) A January 28 demonstration, in Kiev, by 600
members of the so-called "National Militia," a newly-formed
ultranationalist group that vows "to use force to establish order," illustrates this threat. While the group's Kiev launch was peaceful,
National Militia members in balaclavas stormed a city council meeting in
the central Ukrainian town of Cherkasy the following day, skirmishing
with deputies and forcing them to pass a new budget.
Many of the National Militia's members come from the Azov movement, one
of the 30-odd privately-funded "volunteer battalions" that, in the early
days of the war, helped the regular army to defend Ukrainian territory
against Russia's separatist proxies. Although Azov uses Nazi-era
symbolism and recruits neo-Nazis into its ranks, a recent article in
Foreign Affairs downplayed any risks the group might pose, pointing out
that, like other volunteer militias, Azov has been "reined in" through
its integration into Ukraine's armed forces. While it's true that
private militias no longer rule the battlefront, it's the home front
that Kiev needs to worry about now.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin's seizure of Crimea four years ago
first exposed the decrepit condition of Ukraine's armed forces,
right-wing militias such as Azov and Right Sector stepped into the
breach, fending off the Russian-backed separatists while Ukraine's
regular military regrouped. Though, as a result, many Ukrainians
continue to regard the militias with gratitude and admiration, the more extreme among these groups promote an intolerant and illiberal ideology
that will endanger Ukraine in the long term. Since the Crimean crisis,
the militias have been formally integrated into Ukraine's armed forces,
but some have resisted full integration: Azov, for example, runs its own children's training camp, and the careers section instructs recruits who
wish to transfer to Azov from a regular military unit.
According to Freedom House's Ukraine project director Matthew Schaaf, "numerous organized radical right-wing groups exist in Ukraine, and
while the volunteer battalions may have been officially integrated into
state structures, some of them have since spun off political and
non-profit structures to implement their vision." Schaaf noted that "an increase in patriotic discourse supporting Ukraine in its conflict with
Russia has coincided with an apparent increase in both public hate
speech, sometimes by public officials and magnified by the media, as
well as violence towards vulnerable groups such as the LGBT community,"
an observation that is supported by a recent Council of Europe study.
In recent months, Ukraine has experienced a wave of unchecked
vigilantism. Institute Respublica, a local pro-democracy NGO, reported
that activists are frequently harassed by vigilantes when holding legal meetings or rallies related to politically-controversial positions, such
as the promotion of LGBT rights or opposition to the war. Azov and other militias have attacked anti-fascist demonstrations, city council
meetings, media outlets, art exhibitions, foreign students and Roma. Progressive activists describe a new climate of fear that they say has
been intensifying ever since last year's near-fatal stabbing of anti-war activist Stas Serhiyenko, which is believed to have been perpetrated by
an extremist group named C14 (the name refers to a 14-word slogan
popular among white supremacists). Brutal attacks this month on
International Women's Day marches in several Ukrainian cities prompted
an unusually forceful statement from Amnesty International, which warned
that "the Ukrainian state is rapidly losing its monopoly on violence."
Ukraine is not the only country that must contend with a resurgent far
right. But Kiev's recent efforts to incorporate independent armed groups
into its regular armed forces, as well as a continuing national sense of indebtedness to the militias for their defense of the homeland, make addressing the ultranationalist threat considerably more complicated
than it is elsewhere. According to Schaaf and the Institute Respublica, Ukrainian extremists are rarely punished for acts of violence. In some
cases - such as C14's January attack on a remembrance gathering for two murdered journalists - police actually detain peaceful demonstrators
instead.
To be clear, the Kremlin's claims that Ukraine is a hornets' nest of
fascists are false: far-right parties performed poorly in Ukraine's last parliamentary elections, and Ukrainians reacted with alarm to the
National Militia's demonstration in Kiev. But connections between law enforcement agencies and extremists give Ukraine's Western allies ample
reason for concern. C14 and Kiev's city government recently signed an agreement allowing C14 to establish a "municipal guard" to patrol the
streets; three such militia-run guard forces are already registered in
Kiev, and at least 21 operate in other cities.
In an ideal world, President Petro Poroshenko would purge the police and
the interior ministry of far-right sympathizers, including Interior
Minister Arsen Avakov, who has close ties to Azov leader Andriy
Biletsky, as well as Sergei Korotkykh, an Azov veteran who is now a high-ranking police official. But Poroshenko would risk major
repercussions if he did so; Avakov is his chief political rival, and the ministry he runs controls the police, the National Guard and several
former militias.
As one Ukrainian analyst noted in December, control of these forces make Avakov extremely powerful and Poroshenko's presidency might not be
strong enough to withstand the kind of direct confrontation with Avakov
that an attempt to oust him or to strike at his power base could well
produce. Poroshenko has endured frequent verbal threats, including calls
for revolution, from ultranationalist groups, so he may believe that he
needs Avakov to keep them in check.
Avakov's Peoples' Party status as the main partner in Ukraine's
parliamentary coalition increases Avakov's leverage over Poroshenko's
Bloc. An attempt to fire Avakov could imperil Poroshenko's slim
legislative majority, and lead to early parliamentary elections. Given Poroshenko's current unpopularity, this is a scenario he will likely try
to avoid.
Despite his weak position, Poroshenko still has some options for
reducing the threat from the far right. Though Avakov controls the
Ukraine's police and National Guard, Poroshenko still commands Ukraine's security and intelligence services, the SBU, and could instruct the
agency to cut its ties with C14 and other extremist groups. Poroshenko
should also express public support for marginalized groups like the Roma
and LGBT communities, and affirm his commitment to protecting their rights.
Western diplomats and human rights organizations must urge Ukraine's government to uphold the rule of law and to stop allowing the far right
to act with impunity. International donors can help by funding more initiatives like the United States Agency for International
Development's projects supporting training for Ukrainian lawyers and
human rights defenders, and improving equitable access to the judicial
system for marginalized communities.
There's no easy way to eradicate the virulent far-right extremism that
has been poisoning Ukrainian politics and public life, but without
vigorous and immediate efforts to counteract it, it may soon endanger
the state itself.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cohen-ukraine-commentary-idUSKBN1GV2TY#teaserId=11896683&teaserType=mobileExchangeNews
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Bye, All!
Alexander Koryagin
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