Government officials in the Transcarpathian region of Western Ukraine sent
an ultimatum today to Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister
Arseniy Yatsenyuk, and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Vladimir Groisman.
Transcarpathia (Zakarpattia) demands autonomy from Kiev citing “irresponsible
policies” of the Ukrainian leadership in the last 25 years leading to
the “utter devastation and plunder of Transcarpathia“.
Information translated from the LENTA.RU article Transcarpathian Region Demands Autonomy from Kiev.
Unedited Translation
The deputies of the regional council of Transcarpathia demanded from the
President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk
and Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada Vladimir Groisman grant autonomy to the
region. The statement to politicians Kiev MPs adopted at the plenary session,
according to the publication Zakarpattya.net.ua.
“We demand to recognize Transcarpathia special self-governing
administrative territory, the necessary amendments to the Constitution of the
country must be made without delay”, – the document says.
According to deputies, the Ukrainian industry is literally “is”
catastrophically impoverished people, the economy is on the verge of default,
“the ideals of the Maidan cynically rejected.” “Last chance to save the
situation – immediately authorize a real, not declarative financial and
administrative independence of the local authorities”, – underline the
parliamentarians.
According to them, the result of “irresponsible policies” of the Ukrainian
leadership in the last 25 years has been “utter devastation and plunder of
Transcarpathia”.
Chairman of the Transcarpathian Oblast Council Michael Rivis edition
Depo.Zakarpate said that the parliamentarians have decided to recall their
appeal Poroshenko and Yatsenyuk on their own promises of decentralization,
devolution.
Publication UNN, citing the press service of the Ukrainian Security
Service (SBU) in the Transcarpathian region reports that the Secret Service
has already begun testing the treatment Transcarpathian deputies. “According
to its results will be taken as defined by the current legislation of
Ukraine”, – noted in the department.
December 7 SBU Directorate for the Transcarpathian region start criminal
proceedings on the fact of calls published on Facebook to join the “Ruthenian
people’s army” to liberate the region. December 6 employees of the SBU and
the Ukrainian nationalists tried to disrupt the meeting with activists of the
Transcarpathian deputies of Parliament of the Czech Republic and the European
Parliament in the city of Svaliava.
In December 1991, held in Transcarpathia regional referendum. Despite the
fact that the majority of voters – 78 percent – were in favor of granting the
region autonomy rights, Kiev Transcarpathia this status is not granted.
Interpretation of Events
The obvious interpretation is Transcarpathia is just plain fed up. Who
isn’t these days?!
I asked reader Jacob Dreizin, a US citizen who speaks Russian and reads
Ukrainian what it all means. Dreizin explains the Ukrainian regions collect
taxes and send the money to Kiev. Kiev siphons off most of the money for war
and various corrupt activities, and returns only a small portion to the
regions.
Transcarpathia has had enough of this process and wants to collect all the
taxes itself, sending a tiny bit to Kiev. Obviously this will not go over
very well with Kiev.
In that regard, Dreizin says part or the above translation reads as if the
Ukraine Secret Service is cooperating with Transcarpathia. Instead, the
Secret Service is evaluating the autonomy request with an eye towards
criminal charges.
However, this idea will go over big with other regions of Ukraine who are
equally fed up with their tax dollars being wasted.
“This is not like the USA where states cooperate in trade. The regions of
Ukraine are more like individual fiefdoms,” said Dreizin.
Ukraine Regional Map
Transcarpathia is the smuggling center for Ukraine over mountainous dirt
roads from Hungary and Slovakia. Cheap cigarettes are one of the key items
according to Dreizin.
Several hundred thousand citizens in Transcarpathia hold passports to the
neighboring countries. Ukraine has limited ability to crack down should these
people take to the streets.
It will not send in the tanks as it did in the East.
Auspicious Timing
Timing of today’s announcement is fresh on the heels of a Dutch referendum
in which approximately 64% of Dutch voters thumbed their noses in rebuke of
the government which campaigned in favor of the EU-Ukraine association
supported by the rest of the EU.
The Netherlands is the last holdout.
“I don’t believe the Dutch will say no, because it would open the door to
a big continental crisis,” said self-admitted liar and EC president Jean-Claude Juncker.
ZeroHedge has an excellent writeup using Juncker’s own words Dutch Referendum May Have Unleashed European “Continental
Crisis”.
Continental Crisis
As long as we are discussing the prospects of a “Continental Crisis” let’s
throw the breakup of Ukraine into the mix along with the breakup of Spain,
and Brexit.
Note that Russian president Vladimir Putin no longer needs to send troops
to Ukraine. Instead, Putin can sit back and watch Ukraine self-destruct
making any agreement between Ukraine and the EU meaningless.
Crimea. Forget about it. It’s now part of Russia.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
