Posted on 11/23/2004 8:37:21 PM PST by Leo Carpathian
Maidan An Internet Hub of Civil Resistance of Ukraine
How it started
Maidan was started on Internet on Dec 20th 2000 as a reaction to government's efforts to block information distribution about the political opposition activities and to spread the misinformation about the civil protest actions, caused by the disappearance of the journalist Georgiy Gongadze.
The site Maidan has been initially created by Georgiy Gongadze's friends, journalists, programmers and the activists of "tents protest action" that had been held at central maidan ("the Square" in Ukrainian) of Ukrainian's capital city Kyiv. Maidan was an official information site of "Ukraine without Kuchma" protest action.
At that time the Ukrainian officials had tried to obstruct the free information flow of other Ukrainian internet publications. That helped the decision to move the site Maidan to a server outside of Ukraine. In cases of other sites downtime, information about the protests was distributed exclusively by Maidan which made it impossible for authorities to hide the facts about the protests completely.
When the protests faded out, Maidan had evolved into a new quality becoming a kind of collective mind that gathers information, produces and discusses new political and civil ideas as well as provides the feedback from the politicians.
At present Maidan has live exclusive news feed, a library, the most popular discussion forums in Ukraine devoted to the politics, the legislation and the human rights, religion, culture, Ukrainian language, etc.
For almost 4 years Maidan tops the "Politics" web-ratings, consistently ahead of sites of powerful political organizations like Victor Yushchenko's "Our Ukraine", "Julia's Tymoshenko Block", SDPU (u), and Committee of Electors of Ukraine. Recently (October 2004) we have been having about 10 000 visitors a day.
Support Maidan with a donation! http://maidan.org.ua/donate/index.htm
Maidan is evolving into an independent intellectual center of Civil Society Formation in Ukraine.
From the cyber space into a real life
From the very first days Maidan had the tradition of direct interactive communication or members with politicians and civil activists via the Internet.
With time some site contributors had volunteered to meet each other in person, made contacts with the politicians and the admin group. Thus Maidan is forming a mixed real-virtual environment - the networked structure of people of different political views united by the vision of truly independent, democratic, just and prosperous Ukraine.
That self-organized environment embraces both people meeting each other in real life and individuals whom nobody yet met in person and who are writing under aliases. There are people who never got on the Internet and know about Maidan from site printouts only, like the students of Kyiv Mohyla Academy who are publishing the do-it-yourself newsletter "Maidan-Mohylyanka" using both the logo and principles of Maidan.
The principles of Maidan: an environment with a networked structure
Maidan's environment is formed by people of different age and gender, ideology and religion, members of different parties and not affiliated with any of them. These people do praise the values of democracy and open civil society, dismiss the extremist ideologies, racial and national hatred and xenophobia. Most of them are not planning any political career for themselves.
Maidan uses theoretical background of resistance movements outlined by Gene Sharp, Polish "Solidarnost" union, Serbian "Otpor" movement, Belorussian movement ZUBR and the heritage of Ukrainian Anti-Communist movement for Independence before 1991.
Some Practical Projects
For more than 3 years Maidan supports political prisoners in Ukraine helping to spread the information about the prison conditions and the state of legal proceedings. Maidan organizes fundraising events to support the prisoners and their families financially.
Maidan participates in non-violent street protests and other actions. Few examples of most recent actions include around the clock safeguarding of Judge's Yuri Vasilenko home (the Judge had dared to take the court action against the Ukrainian President Kuchma); the demonstration of support of Belorussian opposition struggle for democracy near the Embassy of Belorussia in Kyiv.
Maidan initiated an open letter that protested the project of re-writing Ukrainian history handbooks with the aim of pleasing the Russian Federation establishment. Thousands of signatures of Ukrainian historians and intellectuals were collected. As a result, Ukrainian government had dropped the idea of re-writing the handbooks.
During the Parliamentary elections of 2002 Maidan members had supported the political blocks of Victor Yushchenko and Julia Tymoshenko and the Socialist Party of Ukraine; they worked in election committees of opposition candidates. A group of Maidan members had implemented the full cycle of election organization in a district, which was labeled as one of the most problematic in the whole Ukraine by the rep. for European Council Mrs. Hanne Severinssen (95th election district). The candidate supported by Maidan won. During the re-elections the team of Maidan staged a door-to-door information campaign in 18th election district with the aim to prevent the election of a pro-regime candidate. Out of 4 districts, where held, this was the only one with a democratic candidate to win.
Maidan is selects ideas and proposals on current Ukrainian politics and civil life voiced on internet discussion forums and forwards them to the Members of Ukrainian Parliament. Some propositions and ideas had already been implemented or are in the process of being implemented.
Maidan and the media
Based on the copyleft principle Maidan encourages the distribution of news and articles in electronic and printed media. Maidan is widely quoted and sometimes discussed in Ukrainian media. Ukrainian branch of Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty distributes Maidan's materials frequently and dedicated a whole radio show to Maidan on Mar 31st.
Maidan and its individual members had often been praised in media by opposition leaders and harshly criticized by the government officials.
Maidan had been featured in Wired, one of Maidan admins has been interviewed for an editorial in "Time" magazine and main TV channels of Germany and Australia.
How it works
The site's operations and the offline actions are funded by personal assets of its administrators and through donations of members and site's visitors. Despite limited financial contributions, Maidan maintains its independence. Maidan has no owner; it is not controlled by any political force and is not restricted by a particular ideology.
Maidan has no HQ and no assets, the Internet operations are performed from home computers and internet cafes.
Maidan's operations are provided by volunteers who administer the server, maintain the software, write and edit news and articles, moderate topical forums, produce the photos. Our members are Ukrainians evenly distributed on the globe, thus providing the additional reliability and security. In case of political repressions against members in Ukraine, the operations of Maidan will be carried on without interruption by its members abroad.
In its own unique way Maidan secures the freedom of speech in Ukraine. Its existence makes pointless the efforts to impose harsh censorship upon other internet publications: whatever happens, Maidan informs about everything!
====================================================================== Support Maidan with a donation! http://maidan.org.ua/donate/index.htm ======================================================================
The web site is in Ukrainian and also in English.
Where's the link for the English page?
Go to the site (http://maidanua.org/), and you'll see a orange strip at the top, with a blue one underneath.
The first word is "novyny" (news, it seems), the second word is recognizable: English. Click on it. No difference in the URL, sorry.
Interesting, protests planned in the U.S. and other countries.
The URL needs the /) taken off to work.
http://maidanua.org
From another thread...any thoughts?
"The Communists never disappeared."
You are absolutely correct. Take a look at the following article. It is a little dated, and a number of things have changed since then, but far more has remained the same. Notice the date it was written. (BTW, I don't necessarily agree with the part about Gamsakhurdia...more on that some other time).
Thought the above post might be of interest given what's happening in the Ukraine.
Great information, great advice....
America and the Eurasian Alliance Part II
Dr. Alexandr Nemets
Friday, May 23, 2003
On May 18-19, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov visited Malaysia and, according to initial data, concluded new agreements regarding Russian weapons supply to this country.
What remains of the sometimes firm American grip on Southeast Asia? Probably the Philippines alone. That's because Chinese influence in Singapore and Thailand is burgeoning, and other members of the Eurasian Alliance will follow the Chinese lead in these countries.
3) Expansion to Belarus, Ukraine and, possibly, Poland
Belarus, "the last dictatorship in Europe," enjoys perfect ties with both Russia within the framework of the emerging "United States of Russia and Belarus" and China. Moreover, Belarusian President Lukashenko is developing ties with Western Europe while opposing the "American dictate."
Poland, which is doing its best to become the real ally of America, is located between China-Russia-Belarus (eastern part of Eurasian Alliance) and Germany-France-Belgium (western part of Eurasian Alliance). For how long will the "Polish buffer" be capable of withstanding the growing pressure from both East and West? It would be particularly irrational to underestimate Germanys influence over Poland.
Ukraine, criminalized and chaotic, is extremely unstable. This country is under great pressure from Russia, namely:
The Kremlin intends to add Ukraine to the "United States of Russia and Belarus"; Putin himself is giving top priority to ties with Ukrainian president Kuchma and other local leaders.
Russian oligarchs are purchasing, almost for nothing, tidbits of Ukrainian petrochemical and steel industries.
Russian TV channels broadcast to Ukraine pictures of "Mother Russia prospering under kind czar Putin." And this works: The starving Ukrainians are jealous of half-starving Russians!
Remarkably, China also has strong positions in Ukraine as the major purchaser of Ukrainian weapons technology, steel, etc. These positions solidified after President Kuchma's visit to China in mid-April.
And it is hard to overestimate the political and economic influence of Germany and France in Ukraine, which prefers the euro to the dollar and aspires to become an EU member.
At some moment, the pressure from East and West will become unbearable, and Ukraine will fall under Eurasian Alliance control. That's very probable. And this will add to the pressure on Poland. By the way, Moscow is extremely irritated by Polish consent to send troops to patrol postwar Iraq.
4) Expansion in Central Asia
In October 2001, NATO put air bases in Kazakhstan and Tajikistan. It was supposed that, in the new environment, Chinese, Russian and Iranian influence in oil-rich Kazakhstan and other Central Asian nations would weaken dramatically.
However, French and German servicemen came to these bases along with American servicemen. And French oil companies are presently expanding investments in oil and gas deposits in western Kazakhstan. Will it be possible for American troops as well as U.S. and U.K. oil companies to counterbalance the influence of the Eurasian Alliance in this strategic region?
5) Expansion on Korean Peninsula
On May 11-15, the Moscow media both the leftist and the pro-government media gave following "average" estimation of the events on the Korean peninsula:
North Korea recently, after the Iraqi War, accomplished its exit from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, thus openly challenging Washington. At the end of April, U.S. representatives came to Beijing for talks with North Korea, thus confirming Beijing's role of mediator and arbiter.
In several days, Secretary of State Colin Powell claimed, the conflict will be solved on the basis of old conditions, shameful for America: fuel oil deliveries to Pyongyang in exchange for nuclear weapons production termination. And such termination is non-checkable in the environment of Kim Jong-il's regime.
Eventually, it is possible to conclude that China will confirm its dominating position in Northeast Asia. (end of Moscow media estimations)
Can we agree with such an insulting-to-America conclusion? The point is that Chinese economic and political influence also grew very strong in South Korea, not just in North Korea, in 2000-2002.
South Korean magazines claim that the old "Degoog" (Great Country) phenomenon has been reborn. In medieval Korea, top-ranking officials used to call China the "Great Country" and considered the emperor's court in Beijing to be the supreme authority.
Now South Korean former presidents, parliament deputies, etc., are using every opportunity available to visit Beijing and meet the president or premier of China, to ask them for mediation and support in their troubles with North Korea, to scratch out some economic concessions. "Degoog" is back.
And Moscow, enraged by the defeat in Iraq, is hopeful for "compensation," with Chinese assistance, on the Korean peninsula: If America is "out" and Moscow is "in," then it would be possible to lay the dreamed-of Trans-Korean railway, which could be connected, through the Trans-Siberian railway and Moscow, with Western Europe. A lot of gains for the entire Eurasian Alliance!
By the way, in 2001-2002, the EU established ties with Pyongyang.
6) The struggle is also under way on the South Asian subcontinent, the Middle East (out of Iraq and Iran), Eastern Europe (out of Poland), Balkans, etc.
3. Some Conclusions
It is easy to see that, by May 2003, almost the entire Eurasian Continent became an arena of struggle between America, U.K. and their allies (Eastern European countries, Italy, Spain, Scandinavian countries, Japan) and the expanding Eurasian Alliance. No side can claim victory at this stage.
However, the most important fact is that the Eurasian Alliance is only forming, taking its initial shape. At the next stage, the mature Eurasian Alliance could become extremely threatening to American interests, because it would combine
the mighty financial and technological potential of Germany, France and, probably, the three countries of Benelux;
the huge economic potential and work force of China;
rich Russian natural resources and the remaining military-technological potential of this country.
America would have to deal with an "unbeatable" adversary. Moreover, the geopolitical struggle could spread or is spreading already to Africa, Latin America and Oceania.
However, Russia, which put together the Eurasian Alliance both geographically and organizationally, is also the most vulnerable point of the newly emerged alliance.
If and when Moscow NOT Russia is out of picture, the Eurasian alliance would cease to exist. The following should be taken into account in the most serious way:
Almost the entire real wealth of Russia is concentrated in Moscow; Moscow is an object of hatred by almost all other Russian regions, particularly by the destroyed and impoverished peripheral regions of the Far East, the northern part of European Russia and the North Caucasus.
Some of these regions both "local elite" and "common people" are eager to accept any assistance from outside, particularly from the U.S., the U.K. and Japan to get rid of "Moscows protection."
U.S. diplomacy should "forget" Moscow and the Kremlin and concentrate efforts on the Russian periphery. This is a life-and death-problem.
Dr. Alexandr V. Nemets is co-author of "Chinese-Russian Military Relations, Fate of Taiwan and New Geopolitics" and the forthcoming "Russian-Chinese Alliance." Visit Dr. Nemets' Web site at http://excelenterprises1.tripod.com.
Link:
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2003/5/22/150547.shtml
24-11-2004 01:20 Maidan-INFORM
Kuchma declared himself ready to transfer his powers to Yushchenko in the morning, Yulia Tymoshenko claims
Print version // Edit // Delete // URL: http://maidan.org.ua/static/enews/1101252011.html
Kuchma declared himself ready to transfer peacefully his powers to Yushchenko in the morning, Yulia Tymoshenko claims
After negotiations in the presidential administration, Yulia Tymoshenko announced to the people picketing presidents office Kuchmas declaration that he is ready to start negotiations and peacefully transfer his powers to V. Yushchenko. She stressed, however, that it is necessary to demand that the negotiations start already during the night and called on picketers not to go away and on others to join them at 10-00 a.m.
Now the presidential administration is guarded by three cordons of heavily armed soldiers:
the first cordon is formed by a "Bars unit that has taken the side of the insurgent nation. The second cordon is formed by a Russian special unit Vitayz. It is hard to understand on which grounds a special unit of a foreign state is positioned in the Ukrainian land, but it is quite clear who invited them. Nevertheless, the fact that the Vityaz servicemen are accommodated in Irpin, on the premises of the Bars special unit, gives hopes: we are sure that they are going to follow Barss example and choose non-interference. The Regiment of presidential guards forms the third cordon.
Is Kuchma going to fulfill his promise? More than once we have seen that he told lies even on the highest levels. This might be just another falsehood on his part.
Still we hope that the authorities will lend an ear to nations opinion and recognize the road to democracy and freedom chosen by the people peacefully transferring presidential powers to Peoples President Viktor Yushchenko.
Print version // Edit // Delete // URL: http://maidan.org.ua/static/enews/1101252011.html
If Yulia Tymoshenko is not lying then Kuschma refused to follow the footsteps of Yelstsin.
Direct link to the English part: http://eng.maidanua.org/
From the sidebar: "Some parts of the site are in a multilingual mode! News and stories are in English, while other links may lead to texts in Ukrainian and other languages. Remember, this site is purely volunteer based and is still under construction! Stay with us!"
From http://www.postmodernclog.com/
novembre 24, 2004
Updates from PORA -- The Revolution WILL be blogged.
I've joined the PORA opposition group as an English page editor for the internet news site Maidan.org.ua (the #4 website in Ukraine!) I'm writing from HQ.
Here is some breaking news we've received:
-Authorities have begun violent action against peaceful protesters near the Presidential Admin building. 2 buses of special ops police units drove up and have moved on the demonstrators.
- The tent city has now reached as far as the Central Department Store on Kreshatik Street.
- The pro-Yanukovych tent city seems to be bleeding people at a quick rate. They either can't take the cold, or the heat. :)
- Provocateurs planted an "explosive" device in our tent city. Snipers were called in.
- There are reports of tanks approaching the city. This is still unconfirmed, and I'm skeptical about this one.
Stay tuned! The Revolution WILL be blogged.
.
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