Foreign analytics convinced that Crimea is to become part of Russia after referendum

March 14, 2014 - PRLog -- The atmosphere involving the referendum on the status of Crimea, which is expected to be held in the republic’s territory and in the city of Sevastopol this Sunday, 16 March 2014, remains tense due to the current political situation in Ukraine and close attention from the whole international community.

Only two questions will be brought up at the referendum: “Do you support Crimea joining the Russian Federation as a federal subject?”, and “Do you support restoration of 1992 Crimea Constitution and Crimea’s status as a part of Ukraine?”

It is planned that the ballots will have/contain the options in three languages: Russian, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar, and the ballots cast for both or no options will be declared invalid.

Earlier, The Supreme Council of Crimea has adopted a decision to join Russia as a federal subject.

However, the new Ukrainian authorities who came to power as a result of the bloody events in Kiev consider the Crimean referendum illegitimate. In their opinion, according to Article 73 of the Constitution of Ukraine, the questions concerned with changes to the state territory must be resolved by the all-Ukrainian referendum exclusively.

In her turn, Valentina Matvienko, the Chairman of the Council of Federation, expressed her confidence that actions of Crimean government are legitimate under the United Nations Charter, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international documents that confirm the right to self-determination of state people.

“Moreover, there already is an established international case law. Specifically, I would like to recall the decision of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo, dated 22 July 2010, which, according to Article I point 2 of the UN Chapter, set a precedent, according to which an official government mandate is not required to hold a referendum on self-determination of a part of a country. International precedent is law. Therefore, Crimean authorities act under international law and the decisions of the International Court of Justice,” she said.

The current situation is also intensified by the massive information propaganda and censorship imposed on Ukraine. For example, on 11 March 2014, the National Television and Radio Broadcasting Council of Ukraine demanded that all cable operators stop broadcasts of five Russian television channels. This decision was criticized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) despite the fact that the Western countries defend the actions of new Ukrainian authorities.

“Banning programming without a legal basis is a form of censorship; national security concerns should not be used at the expense of media freedom. Everyone has the right to receive information from as many sources as he or she wishes,” said OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatović in her statement published on the organisation’s official website.

Meanwhile, the response of politicians and public figures to the events on Ukraine remains ambivalent. For example, Henry Kissinger, the former US Secretary of State, has criticized both the actions of Moscow and the steps undertaken by the West in regards to the situation in Ukraine and has called the concerned parties to come to a peaceful solution. According to him, if Ukraine is to survive and prosper, it must not be an outpost for one side against the other, but a bridge between them.

In his turn, Gerhard Schröder, the former Chancellor of Germany, has voiced criticism against Ukraine and the European Union (EU), stressing the fact that the EU politicians has made a big mistake by forcing Kiev to choose between Russia and Europe.

Marine Le Pen, French National Front leader, maintains a similar position. As early as in the December 2013 she expressed surprise at the fact that the EU has declared the Ukrainian president illegitimate based on the opinion of only several thousand demonstrators. In addition to that, according to her, the decision for Ukraine to join the European Union which is currently being on the brink of ruin and collapse would hardly be the best solution to the problems for both sides.

Commenting the situation in Crimea, Marek Halter, French writer, reminded that this is not the first case for Europe when a territory was transferred from one country to another by the decision of a local referendum. As an example, he mentioned the state of Saarland, Germany, which was a part of France after WWII until the majority of its inhabitants voiced their decision to become a part of Germany once again.

Meanwhile, the authorities and the majority of inhabitants of Crimea consider their efforts to join Russia completely legitimate. On 11 March 2014, Crimea has adopted a declaration of independence that transforms Crimean Autonomy into the Republic of Crimea. Vladimir Konstantinov, the Chariman of the Supreme Council of Crimea, said that his document is required to legitimize the decision to join Russia, and that Crimea’s return to Ukraine is out of the question.

According to the poll conducted by Crimea Institute of Political and Sociological Research, 99% of Crimea region residents are informed about the referendum, more than 90% are going to vote, 77% are going to support joining Russia, and 97% negatively view the current situation in Ukraine.

In a comment on the situation, well-known Russian researcher of history of the Baltic States, author of numerous scientific publications and several books Dr. Mikhail Krysin expressed his belief that the recent revolution in Ukraine is a result of lopsided approach to history supported and sponsored by the West.

“History shapes the conscience of people only as far as they remember it, and some people in Ukraine remember it in a very lopsided way and dream of wiping whole centuries of Ukrainian history from everybody’s memory. The ongoing campaign of demolishing the monuments which remind people of centuries-long ties between Ukraine and Russia supports this claim,” the expert said.

According to him, Crimea has always been a bridge between Ukraine and Russia.

Full text news agency "PenzaNews": http://penzanews.ru/en/opinion/55244-2014