27/11/2004 2:17:03 pm
They Will Not Simply Follow Orders. Despite being in Rome on vacation, it is hard not to devote some attention to the situation in Ukraine. For everyone engaged by principles of freedom, these are very important times, and of great importance not just to Ukraine but for Europe. I noticed that some representative of the Police Force in Kiev said that they will not follow possible orders to use violence against the hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. That is a good sign - when parts of government, and the armed forces in particular, no longer obeys orders the end is often not far away. Now the Speaker in the Parliament has obviously proposed that the election results be declared illegitimate, and the EU urges Ukraine to do the election again. That would be a good outcome. According to the official results, the current PM won by about 3 per cent. But with massive fraud resported by international organisations, it seems very likely that the opposition leader got more votes. Either case, the election has to be done correctly and that is the core of the struggle. Of course the PM has his supporters, but there cannot be a majority of the population that wants a leader that cheats his way to power. If you don′t have that principle of honesty, what good principles do you have? That says everything you need to know about that man. He is a gangster and can never be relied upon. Much now relies upon the strong will of the brave protesters in Kiev.