The faction of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc (BPP) party intends to appeal to the UN, OSCE and NATO in connection with the alleged “violations” by Moscow of the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia. This is stated in a statement published on the website of the Ukrainian president.

"The draft ..." On the appeal of the Verkhovna Rada to the UN, PACE, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, the national parliaments of the states of the world to condemn the violation of the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia can be included on the agenda of the parliament’s meeting on May 14, " message.

The statement mentions “oppression” of the peoples of the North Caucasus, Idel-Ural, Siberia and some other regions of Russia, including allegedly because of their position on the Crimea and the situation in Ukraine.

“Poroshenko’s bloc” in the document explains that since 2014, pressure on representatives of indigenous peoples was allegedly intensified in Russia because of their political convictions: they are not allowed to organize “peaceful protests” and national movements, the BPP website said. In addition, Russia allegedly does not conduct fair and transparent investigations of crimes against representatives of indigenous peoples, the statement says.

Deputies of the BPP call on international organizations to pay attention to these “violations” and demand that they stop.

A source in the Self-Help party told the RT that Poroshenko did everything during his rule so that relations between Ukraine and Russia would never improve. He sticks to this course even now, shortly before leaving the post of the head of the Ukrainian state.

“Now the president’s team has begun preparations for the parliamentary elections, so it again attacks the Russian Federation. I do not think that such statements will bring additional political points to Bloc Petro Poroshenko. His political technologists don't even learn from their mistakes, ”said the source.

A similar point of view is shared by a member of the Council for Interethnic Relations under the President of Russia, Bogdan Bezpalko. According to him, for Poroshenko, anti-Russian policy is the only course, since it has not formed any other political platform.

“He made a bet on it, received the support of a certain number of the population of Ukraine. Poroshenko cannot bet on anything else. He is the president of the war: militarization, Ukrainization and the split of the UOC are happening in the country. Poroshenko continues to work in the same spirit. It is absolutely consistent, ”the expert explained in a conversation with RT.

Anti-Russian policy

It is worth noting that statements about the "harassment" of the indigenous peoples of Russia look strange, especially in the light of the fact that during the years of Poroshenko’s rule, the situation of ethnic minorities in Ukraine has deteriorated significantly. After the “Maidan” in 2014, forces came to power in the country actively encouraging nationalist sentiments, especially those directed against the Russian-speaking population.

The actions of the Ukrainian leadership led to a protracted conflict in the east of Ukraine, where self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics were formed. Some Ukrainian politicians do not even hide their hatred towards the Russian-speaking population. For example, in early April, a former deputy of the Verkhovna Rada from the Freedom faction, Irina Fahrion, in an interview with InTB TV channel, said that she considered Russian-speaking residents of the country to be “slaves” and “occupiers”.

“And here we are still claiming some kind of Russian-speaking right. We do not have a Russian-speaking population. They are either slaves or occupiers, and that’s it, ”she said.

Also Fahrion said that the Russian-speaking residents of Ukraine should not receive education and work if they do not know the Ukrainian language.

At the same time, Poroshenko himself, despite his policy, said that he was a “Russian-speaking” person. He expressed readiness to write a dictation or an essay to confirm his words.

“Here is a message for residents of the east of Ukraine. First position: we must save Ukraine, no one will impinge on your right to speak Russian. I myself am Russian-speaking, I have said many times that it is absolutely natural for me to speak Russian, ”said the president on the ICTV channel.

Western question

In addition to the Russian-speaking population, the ethnic minorities living in the West of Ukraine — the Hungarians, the Romanians, the Poles and the Rusyns — also came under pressure from Kiev.

In the fall of 2017, Poroshenko signed the law “On Education”, which provided for the transition of the entire learning process to the Ukrainian language from 2020. Subsequently, a law was signed on the exclusive use of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life.

Neighboring countries have repeatedly expressed disagreement with such a policy of Kiev. Thus, Hungary has repeatedly opposed laws that violate the rights of national minorities in the use of their languages ​​- in educational institutions, government agencies and the media.

Budapest’s dissatisfaction reached such an extent that in early March 2018, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Siyarto accused Kiev of a “brutal attack” on national minorities.

“The Ukrainian government has set itself two nationalist goals: one is to prevent minorities from learning their native language, and the other is to prevent them from speaking their native language,” the minister said.

Taking into account the diplomatic scandals with Hungary over the infringement of minority rights, the attacks of Poroshenko’s party towards Russia look ridiculous, a source in the Batkivshchyna party told the RT.

“In recent years, many questions have arisen to Ukraine itself. Poland, Hungary and Romania are dissatisfied with the fact that pressure on national minorities begins in the country. It was possible to reduce the degree of tension in relations with Hungary only after the intervention of Brussels, ”said the source.

The source stressed that now Budapest can again recall the "language issue". And it’s not Russia that will have to justify itself, but Ukraine.

  • Embassy of Hungary in Kiev
  • © Wikipedia

“It’s just not clear to whom — to Poroshenko’s already departed, or to the shocked Vladimir Zelensky, on whom they hung all these problems. And the conflicts were created literally from scratch, ”added the source.

This position was supported by Bohdan Bezpalko, who recalled that Ukrainian laws are contrary to EU norms, for example, the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.

“The law on total Ukrainization violates this charter. In fact, they contradict each other. It is not only about those citizens of Ukraine who consider the value of the Russian language, but also about those who belong to the Romanian, Hungarian, Polish communities. Their rights are also violated, ”the expert said.

According to him, the Hungarians stated this quite openly, which even led to a conflict between Ukrainian right-wing radicals and Hungarian diplomats. At the same time, statements about the "oppression of the indigenous peoples of Russia" are no more than "internal PR, responding to certain external customers," added Bezpalko.

Breakdown of the dialogue

In the Poroshenko’s party itself, there is no consensus on the draft resolution of the PPO on “violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia”. The RT source in the faction believes that the outgoing president is doing everything so that Vladimir Zelensky could not raise the issue of holding direct talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“As far as I know, the United States supports the idea that the leaders of Ukraine and Russia meet and discuss all sensitive issues. But it is not profitable for the ruling elites. Can you imagine if a solution to the conflict in the east of the country will be found in a month? What then will Poroshenko say to his voters? Therefore, anti-Russian hysteria is rising in society in order not to allow Zelensky to even look towards Moscow, ”the source said.

Meanwhile, a source in the Radical Party believes that the Rada can adopt this draft resolution in order to discredit Zelensky.

  • Rally in Kiev on the occasion of the adoption of the law on language, April 25, 2019
  • Reuters
  • © Gleb Garanich

“The newly elected president speaks Ukrainian very poorly and is now actively studying it. Therefore, Zelensky was against the adoption of the law on language, which deputies so quickly approved. Rada ignores the new president and will vote before the elections for everything with one goal - to compromise Zelensky and his party “The Servant of the People” before the parliamentary elections on October 27, ”said a source.

Parliamentary maneuvers

According to the ex-adviser to the president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, political analyst Oleg Soskin, “Petro Poroshenko’s bloc” is trying to get Russia recognized by the UN, NATO and the OSCE as a “prison of nations”.

“ Poroshenko, with the help of the“ external aggressor, ”wants to divert public attention from the issues that have accumulated to him and save himself in world politics in this way,” the political scientist said in an interview with RT.

The Ukrainian president wants to show Europe and the United States that he is Putin’s geopolitical enemy, Soskin added.

“In addition, Poroshenko takes into account the fact that Zelensky does not understand anything in these matters. The actions of the outgoing president are a blow to the elected leader who is not ready for such a confrontation, ”the expert emphasized.

  • Vladimir Zelensky
  • AFP
  • © Genya Savilov

In turn, Bogdan Bezpalko noted that “the main essence of Poroshenko’s entire policy is the struggle against Russia”.

“It fits into the ideology of Ukrainian nationalism, which is the denial of the Russian Federation, and also meets the order of foreign policy players. Being in opposition, Poroshenko will criticize Zelensky for his supposedly soft attitude towards Moscow and the Russians, ”the expert emphasized.

According to Bezpalko, in this situation, the actions of the Ukrainian president are win-win, since he is no longer responsible for the policies of the current government. At the same time Poroshenko can criticize the new leadership of the country for any attempts to normalize relations with Russia, posing as a betrayal of Ukraine, the expert concluded.