The Militant - November 3, 2014 -- Letters

Vol. 78/No. 39 November 3, 2014

Letters

‘Inspiring newspaper’
I would like another six months of your inspiring newspaper. I am grateful to all of you who work at the Militant and keep us inmates all over the United States and other countries up-to-date with the Cuban Five and other subjects.

A prisoner
Florida

Complex events in Ukraine
I read various news sources to follow events in Ukraine, and happened upon your recent coverage. Recent events in my homeland are very complex. So while it was good to see your support for our people, I was rather surprised to see, at the end of the article, the assertion that the Maidan protests were free of anti-Semitism. [See “Stalinists Whitewashed Nazis’ Massacre of Jews at Babi Yar” in issue no. 37.]

I wish that this was true, but it is not.

You are correct that Putin’s propaganda is ridiculous. But while the impetus for the anti-Yanukovych protests was democratic and progressive, certain far-right organizations emerged, and grew strong, during and after the Maidan movement. (In particular Svoboda, which now has a handful of cabinet members.)

Unfortunately, most American reporters and commentators have failed to see the complexities of present-day Ukraine, opting instead to support one or another side with un-nuanced stories. One can take the side of the Ukrainian people without going so far in creating a tidy image.

Michael Shevchenko
by email

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