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Russian oppositionists hush up far-rights’ participation in Kiev’s events

Russia’s presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights has express its astonishment over the silent stance taken by the Russian opposition politicians and mass media

MOSCOW, December 06, 20:28 /ITAR-TASS/. Russia’s presidential Council for Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights has expressed its astonishment over the stance taken by the Russian opposition politicians and mass media, which hushed up the participation of far-right organisations in the events in Kiev’s Independence Square (the Maidan).

“The day before yesterday in the centre of Kiev, a group of ultra right nationalists attacked members of the Ukrainian Confederation of Free Trade Unions, our partner organisation,” said Boris Kravchenko, the council’s presidium member and the leader of the Russian Confederation of Labour. “Our people were brutally beaten up and the trade union’s symbols and leaflets were destroyed.”

“Unfortunately, it has received no adequate assessment from the Russian politicians, public figures and mass media that are giving all-out support to the protest actions in Kiev,” he told Itar-Tass. “They prefer hushing up the role the far-right oppositionists are playing in the Kiev events even in the cases where political hate crimes are concerned.”

“Hatred towards socialist and democratic values was driving the far-right activists to commit the attack,” he said.

“Ukraine’s Confederation of Free Trade Unions struggles for higher social standards of labour relations in Ukraine,” Kravchenko said.

“The incident must be assessed by those who are protesting in Kiev’s Independence Square now and by those who are supporting them in Russia,” the trade union leader said with confidence.

“We are puzzled by a position of the Russian public figures backing the so-called euro-Maidan in Kiev but keeping silent about the ultra right party Svoboda (Freedom) taking part in it,” said Aleksandr Verkhovsky, also a member of the council for civic rights and the leader of the Sova (Owl) information analytical centre.

“One can’t help commenting on it,” he said. “Even if you support some forces there it is worth saying the Svoboda party is revolting for us. Still, we have not heard any remarks on the issue so far.