( http://m.apnews.com/ap/db_306481/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=PrQIkBmS )
But what about the Maidan activists? What about the many organised groups of armed nationalists and fascists who took to the street, fought the Berkut and pushed the Yanukovych regime out - despite the February 21st agreement that had been signed by all the main opposition parties? Will they be disarmed? Probably not, because they are being co-opted into the de jure legal coercive apparatus of the Ukrainian State.
On Tuesday last week, as the military offensive against the Eastern rebellion took shape, Andriy Parubiy, the fascist that the neo-liberal Yatsenyuk regime chose to do its dirty work, declared on Twitter:
"Reserve unit of National Guard formed #Maidan Self-defense volunteers was sent to the front line this morning."
( http://consortiumnews.com/2014/04/16/ukraine-through-the-us-looking-glass/ )
A revamped Ukrainian National Guard was announced in mid-March, and as commentators observed at the time, and Parubiy's tweet confirms, this was essentially a move to incorporate the Maidan activists into the security/military structures of the State.
In addition, as recently as last Monday, Interior Minister Avakov announced the creation of special police divisions to preserve public order. Up to 12,000 members are to be recruited. How many of these will be Russian speakers from the East who are opposed to the coup regime? ( http://rt.com/news/ukraine-bounty-payouts-protesters-156/ )
It is the anti-regime groups that are to be disarmed. The Maidan pro-regime groups are to be given uniforms.
The text then states:
"The announced constitutional process will be inclusive, transparent and accountable. It will include the immediate establishment of a broad national dialogue, with outreach to all of Ukraine's regions and political constituencies, and allow for the consideration of public comments and proposed amendments."
This is the section of the agreement that supposedly speaks to the demand of the Russians and the rebels for greater autonomy from Kiev.
According to the BBC report ( http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27072351 ):
"Russia has pushed for federalization of Ukraine - giving the country's regions more power outside the central government, with the apparent aim of keeping the heavily Russian-speaking eastern regions within Moscow's sphere of influence. Although the talks' final document doesn't specify federalization, it does speak of a "constitutional process (that) will be inclusive, transparent and accountable," effectively meaning that federalization will remain a top issue."
In fact the agreements wording is so general it is difficult to see how it could have any impact at all on federalisation. The federalisation issue is simple - who decides? Does the whole of Ukraine decide whether any part of the Ukraine can have devolved powers, or does just the region in question decide? For example, does the Donbas region decide on whether it wants devolved powers, or does the whole of the Ukraine have to decide first whether the Donbas region has a right to even decide for itself. The regime has been framing the federal issue in terms of the latter approach. The agreement will have no impact on the resolution of this issue. The wording is extremely general and consistent with a number of conflicting approaches. It is designed to defuse the situation - not solve the problem.
In the meantime, in Brussels this week, NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen stated that the imperialist bloc would increase its presence in Eastern Europe, flying more sorties over the Baltic region and deploying allied warships to the Baltic and Eastern Mediterranean. General Philip Breedlove, NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, raised the possibility of more ground forces at some stage.
The Geneva agreement changes nothing. The USA/EU/NATO will not accept any resolution of the Ukraine crisis that does not include the Ukraine being integrated into the USA/EU/NATO geopolitical space. They have been working for this outcome for 20 years, have spent $5 billion on it, and have caused a regional crisis with possible global implications in order to achieve it.
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