Ukraine Election Crisis Revives Cold War Rhetoric

If it weren’t so very serious, the crisis in Ukraine’s election process would be a cause for nostalgic joy. The western powers are setting themselves up as arbiters of what democracy means while the Soviets, or rather Russians (an accidental slip), have resorted to premature congratulations and name calling. While the army and police in Ukraine have not yet moved against the pro-Yushchenko protesters and the state media decides to back them (according to rumor they will), Washington, London and Moscow are reverting to 1970s language.

For those still digesting turkey and cranberry sauce and who missed the theft of an election earlier this week, the government of Ukraine conspired to defraud the people of their democracy. Viktor Yushchenko clearly won the election, and only the killing of cops, the burning of ballot boxes and votes in some areas from more than 100% of the electoral allowed the Central Election Commission to claim Viktor Yanukovych, the government candidate, as the winner. Since Monday morning, hundreds of thousands of Ukraine’s citizens have occupied the city of Kiev and other places to prevent the fraud from succeeding.

In Washington, Secretary of State Colin “No Credibility Left” Powell said, “It is time for Ukrainian leaders to decide whether they are on the side of democracy or not, whether they respect the will of the people or not. If the Ukrainian Government does not act immediately and responsibly, there will be consequences for our relationship for Ukraine's hopes for Euro-Atlantic integration and for individuals responsible for perpetrating fraud.”

Meanwhile, readers of Pravda were treated to some choice language.

The strongarm tactics used by the western stooge, Yushchenko, are typical of the anti-democratic processes set in motion by a rampant and militant Washington, crushed in the grip on a monetarist, neo-conservative crypto-fascist clique of elitists, whose corporate greed speaks louder than the mores of internacional [sic] diplomacy and whose thirst to dominate the world's resources in the lifetimes of Rumsfeld and Cheney throws any moral concept into the trash bin.