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In reply to the discussion: Wanted: Proof that what happened in Ukraine actually constituted a "western sponsored coup." [View all]pampango
(24,692 posts)42. On 2/20 parliament voted 236-2 to condemn the violence, ban the use of weapons against protesters,
236 deputies out of 238 present (...mostly from the opposition and some representatives of the Yanukovich's Party of Regions) voted (first reading) to condemn the recent violence, ban the use of weapons against protesters, withdraw troops and the police deployed against them.
The next day, February 21
A compromise deal was agreed to and signed by both opposition leaders and the president after overnight negotiations. The deal agreed to: a restoration of the Constitution as it was between 2004 and 2010; constitutional reform to be completed by September; early presidential elections no later than December 2014; an investigation into the violence conducted under joint monitoring of the authorities, opposition, and the Council of Europe; a veto on imposing a state of emergency; amnesty for protesters arrested since 17 February; surrendering of public buildings occupied by protesters; the forfeiture of illegal weapons; "new electoral laws" to be passed and the formation of a new Central Election Commission.
Parliament voted unanimously, 3860, to return to the 2004 constitution, and then 3320 in a vote to suspend acting interior minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, including 54 from the Party of Regions and 32 Communists. A bill was introduced in parliament on the impeachment of president Yanukovych, filed by Mykola Rudkovsky.
By late afternoon, hundreds of riot police officers guarding the presidential compound and nearby government buildings had vanished. Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski described the withdrawal of forces as "astonishing," noting it was not part of the agreement.
Oleksandr Turchynov stated that in fact most of the ministers had disappeared as well as Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko (who is reported to have fled to Belarus) and President Viktor Yanukovych, "The only one legitimate body left is the Verkhovna Rada so we are here to vote today. The major tasks for today are: to vote for the new speaker, prime minister and interior minister." In the Verkhovna Rada, deputies voted 328:0 to set the Presidential election date to 25 May. The action did not follow the impeachment process as specified by the Constitution of Ukraine; instead, the Verkhovna Rada declared that Yanukovych "withdrew from his duties in an unconstitutional manner" and cited "circumstances of extreme urgency" as the reason for early elections. Oleksandr Turchynov was then voted by parliament Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament and acting President and Prime Minister of Ukraine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution#Opposition_leaders_meeting_with_President_Yanukovych
Parliament voted unanimously, 3860, to return to the 2004 constitution, and then 3320 in a vote to suspend acting interior minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko, including 54 from the Party of Regions and 32 Communists. A bill was introduced in parliament on the impeachment of president Yanukovych, filed by Mykola Rudkovsky.
By late afternoon, hundreds of riot police officers guarding the presidential compound and nearby government buildings had vanished. Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski described the withdrawal of forces as "astonishing," noting it was not part of the agreement.
Oleksandr Turchynov stated that in fact most of the ministers had disappeared as well as Interior Minister Vitaly Zakharchenko (who is reported to have fled to Belarus) and President Viktor Yanukovych, "The only one legitimate body left is the Verkhovna Rada so we are here to vote today. The major tasks for today are: to vote for the new speaker, prime minister and interior minister." In the Verkhovna Rada, deputies voted 328:0 to set the Presidential election date to 25 May. The action did not follow the impeachment process as specified by the Constitution of Ukraine; instead, the Verkhovna Rada declared that Yanukovych "withdrew from his duties in an unconstitutional manner" and cited "circumstances of extreme urgency" as the reason for early elections. Oleksandr Turchynov was then voted by parliament Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament and acting President and Prime Minister of Ukraine.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2014_Ukrainian_revolution#Opposition_leaders_meeting_with_President_Yanukovych
Does not sound like a coup, does it? Several parliament members of Yanukovich's party defected to the opposition resulting in a parliamentary majority opposing Yanukovich and his tactics against the protesters.
Nothing in the February 21 agreement signed by Yanukovich and representatives of the protesters required him to resign his office or to order security forces not to protect government buildings. In fact it allowed him to stay in office until December 2014 when there would be elections, in which he presumably might be reelected. He was still the Commander-in-Chief and was in full charge of the security forces and the military.
Perhaps the parliament should have continued with impeachment proceedings in abstentia (since Yanukovich obviously was not coming back from Russia for the proceedings). I suppose that most people thought it a waste of time to impeach someone who had abandoned his office already and left the country. The US did not even follow through with an impeachment vote against Nixon after he left office voluntarily.
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Wanted: Proof that what happened in Ukraine actually constituted a "western sponsored coup." [View all]
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
OP
He feared for his life so much he took all day packing up his oil paintings and antique furniture?
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#22
Your first half of your post actually seemed to make a little sense....
go west young man
May 2014
#130
I have no clue what your military time has to do with your right to speak your mind.
NCTraveler
May 2014
#104
I don't bellieve your claims. You are making a big mistake in your writing that someone with your
okaawhatever
May 2014
#57
Maybe you could form a committee to get to the bottom of these unAmerican activities.
Comrade Grumpy
May 2014
#59
I'm not going to hold my breath for this Tommy. Unless you take RT or RU a a source I don't
okaawhatever
May 2014
#8
No, it's a guy running from failure. (something Putin did not approve of) As Matthew Henry said:
okaawhatever
May 2014
#67
Then if there's no proof, as you say, perhaps you might want to refrain from jumping to conclusions.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#19
So you have no evidence that shows Yanukovych was forcibly removed by a small group?
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#33
It's inane to speculate on CIA documents that you don't know to even exist.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#44
I'm not denying that what happened wasn't "regime change" or even a "revolution"...
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#30
But first let's talk about how that 'majority' came to be the majority, via ethnic cleansing...
Bluenorthwest
May 2014
#38
Of course you're not demanding proof. You clearly haven't provided any proof of your own assertions.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#73
Except that doesn't account for the lack of force or urgency surrounding his departure.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#43
"There was still a Parliament that could have ran the institutions and even negotiate on behalf..."
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#50
When Marcos fled the Philippines in 1986 he was not impeached after he left. He was replaced.
pampango
May 2014
#53
"This isn't a case where the vast majority of the nation wanted the guy gone."
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#75
Russian interference in Ukraine is quite tangible. US interference not as much.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#79
On 2/20 parliament voted 236-2 to condemn the violence, ban the use of weapons against protesters,
pampango
May 2014
#42
The video showed a very calm and orderly packing process for Yanukovych on February 21st.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#45
It was not the way the government was supposed to be changed. There were rules.
Comrade Grumpy
May 2014
#58
Except leaders typically don't pack up their oil paintings and leave the country, either.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#62
Part of the problem was the Constitution was basically designed to not allow impeachment to
okaawhatever
May 2014
#69
Laws, really. And Putin is to blame for those Ukrainian Protestors/Insurgents/Freedom Fighters
KoKo
May 2014
#85
And we all knew that Gerald Ford was illegitimate because he was unelected. nt
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#110
Related Washington Post article: What did Yanukovych take with him as he fled his mansion?
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#74
You Insult what you call a "fair handful of people" then want them to prove something
KoKo
May 2014
#84
But the "western sponsored coup" narrative is by its very nature a conspiracy theory.
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#113
Well...you could do some background reading by reporters familiar with the situation
KoKo
May 2014
#117
114 Replies (before mine) and nothing in the same universe as proof offered.
stevenleser
May 2014
#115
***Something just floored me about the timeline of events that I didn't realize before.***
Tommy_Carcetti
May 2014
#137