The Orthodox cathedral in Užgorod, as seen from the ramparts of the Užgorod Castle-Museum
“We are not Transdnistria, we are not Georgia, we are a different people, and we hope the Ukrainians will give us a divorce in a peaceful way, like the Czechs and Slovaks did”, Fr Dmitri Sidor, the head of Carpathian-Russian parliament, told ZIK on 28 October.
Carpatho-Russians are seeking autonomy for the Zakarpatya oblast of the Ukraine. “The conflict in Transdnistria erupted because proud Moldova refused to divorce Transdnistria”, Rev Sidor argued. He considers the Ukraine to be a totalitarian state outside of the rule of law because the government refuses to engage in talks with the Carpatho-Russian leadership and rejects their demands. Carpatho-Russian activists wish the Zakarpatya Oblast Council session due on 1 December to endorse the results of the referendum of 1 December 1991 in which residents of Zakarpatya supported an autonomous status for the region. “The régime ignored our calls for autonomy for 17 years”, commented Yevgeni Zhupan, an Our Ukraine faction council member and an activist of the Carpatho-Russian movement.
Fr Dmitri warned that, if the Oblast Council does not support the Carpatho-Russian initiative on 1 December, they will wait for some time and then start to fight for their rights. “We shall demand our autonomy in a peaceful way. But, how we will fight for it is our national secret. If Lvov residents do not support us, we will have supporters coming from Rovno, Kiev, and Odessa”.
28 October 2008
ZIK
http://zik.com.ua/en/news/2008/10/28/155535 (in English)
Editor’s Note:
So much for American support of “democracy”! Well… perhaps, Fr Dmitri should convert to the “Assemblies of God”, and, then, the neocons would deign to “notice” his existence! Note well that “human rights” does not apply to Orthodox Christians. All Orthodox Christians in this country should take heed of this and act accordingly.
