Turning the pages back... December 5, 2004 (12/04/05)

Turning the pages back...

December 5, 2004

Last year at this time, as our editorial of December 5, 2004, noted, "readers, listeners and viewers around the globe saw that the Orange Revolution in Ukraine was not waning, but growing. More and more people flocked to Kyiv to take part in the mass protests there, and more and more actions were organized around the country in support of the opposition. The momentum seemed to be on the opposition's side, judging by the actions of the Verkhovna Rada, the fact that the Supreme Court was hearing Viktor Yushchenko's appeal, and the ever-increasing reports of news media, police, security officials and ordinary people taking the opposition's side. Mr. Yushchenko vowed to stand fast on insisting for a revote of the second round of the presidential election due to the massive vote fraud that rendered the election illegitimate."

Meanwhile, the editorial continued, "Viktor Yanukovych, the favorite son of the eastern regions and the hand-picked successor of President Leonid Kuchma, seemed to be strangely quiet this week. His supporters were deserting him in droves, willing to sacrifice their candidate for the sake of something greater - a reflection of whatever their personal interests are. His wife resorted to scare tactics as she told an audience in Donetsk that the demonstrators in Kyiv were ingesting drug-laced oranges and that there was an outbreak of meningitis."

Russian President Vladimir Putin of Russia got a visit from Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who was proposing a completely new presidential election, with new candidates. President Putin supported the outgoing president's idea, noting: "A revote of the second round might prove useless. ... And then what? A third, fourth, 25th time. This could continue as long as one of the sides doesn't obtain the result it needs."

Our editorial went on to state: "What Messrs. Yanukovych, Kuchma and Putin, and others who support them would like the world to believe is that the millions demonstrating in Ukraine are simply unhappy that their candidate lost. Therefore, these 'malcontents' are not to be taken seriously. Thankfully, most of the West agrees with the opposition that there is much, much more at stake here. What we're talking about is an election stolen from the people of Ukraine. The people are not going to stand for this and that's why they've been occupying Kyiv ...

"The only issue in Ukraine is that the voice of the people must be heard. Millions are demanding a free and fair election, and their demands and aspirations deserve the strong support of the West. ..."

Source: "The will of the people" (editorial), The Ukrainian Weekly, December 5, 2004, Vol. LXXII, No. 49.

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