In the past two months, protests in Ukraine have escalated from a disagreement with their president to a deadly street war. Could it happen in the United States?
Protests began peacefully in November, after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych withdrew from a treaty with the European Union at the last minute, choosing instead to partner with Russia. The people of Ukraine felt that the president was representing the needs of only the wealthy, rather than of the people.
In reaction to ongoing protests, the president issued new laws restricting protest, putting heavy fines on anyone who wore masks or helmets and bans on more than five cars traveling in a convoy. Internet media outlets are required to register with authorities. In short, the Ukrainian people are losing rights.
Peaceful protests turned violent last Wednesday, when at least three demonstrators died in showdowns against the police force (though the protesters had been shot, police are denying culpability). One protester was found, allegedly tortured to death, in the woods far outside of town. Fringe anti-government groups have also joined the protests, which are increasingly evolving from a pro-EU group to a violent anti-government riot.
The police, the Berkut, brought in to deal with the large crowds are famously brutal. Amnesty International is calling for an investigation into allegations of excessive force by officers.
Photos have emerged online of protesters using homemade catapults to launch Molotov cocktails at armed police; tire fires heavy with smoke mark the line between rioters and police; Greek Orthodox priests stand in the line of fire to try to calm the tension.
So, could this happen in the United States? It’s possible.
Looking through American history, it’s easy to find examples of civil liberties being trampled, and of police action getting out of hand, such as when police dogs and firehoses were turned on young adults and children during peaceful Civil Rights marches. In 1970, the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds on a group of unarmed Kent State college students protesting against the Vietnam War, killing four, injuring nine and paralyzing one student permanently. More recently, seated nonviolent protesters were sprayed with pepper spray on the UC Davis campus.
In any unstable situation, crowds can get out of control; we see examples of that with our neighbors to the north, after Vancouver, Canada, saw looting after the hockey team the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Bruins. Looting and violence thrived after Hurricane Katrina and in the weeks that followed.
In short, it could happen anywhere. It is up to individuals to be prepared.
Could you protect yourself in a crisis? How have you prepared?
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Russ says
Ukrainian people are fighting tyrannic oligarch called president and his gang. The situation for average person is dire as there is no work, post soviet retired generation has lost all their benefits, government run healthcare is disaster – you go to the hospital you bring your own medicine and pay-up the doc. There are “tariffs” on all government services, no bribe nothing gets done. There is no middle class, only rich oligarchs and average folk trying to survive.
If we get to this state than maybe, until then we care more about Bieber arrest than our economic state.
This site has allot of info on the situation http://www.kyivpost.com/