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An Interview with Reuters Concerning Svoboda, the OUN-B, and other Far Right Organizations in Ukraine (March 4, 2014) Full-Text Ivan Katchanovski As you will see, one photo shows Oleg Tyahnybok, alleged here to be the leader of the Svoboda party, giving what appears to be a fascist salute. In other pictures, Oleg is shown standing beside, amongst others, U.S. Senator John McCain (former Republican presidential candidate), U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, and the new prime minister of Ukraine. First of all, have you seen these pictures before and can you in any way authenticate them (particularly the notion that Oleg really IS giving a fascist salute)? I have asked U.S. officials about this already but haven't received any replies so far. I have seen these pictures of Oleg Tyahnybok with John McCain and Victoria Nuland in mainstream Ukrainian and Western publications. They are authentic. I have not seen the picture with Tyahnybok allegedly making a fascist salute at a congress of Svovoda. I think that this picture is authentic, but I do not think that it depicts him giving a fascist salute. It is more likely a some kind of hand greeting or another such gesture. There are many such pictures of Ukrainian politicians, such as ex-president Yanukovych, showing them with such gestures, even though they are not neo-Nazi or not far right. C14 organization, which is affiliated with Svoboda, and some members of Svoboda leadership were depicted using neo-Nazi symbols, and Svoboda was named the Social-National Party before 2004. But I have not seen Tyahnybok or his Svoboda party officially and publicly using fascist salutes or other neo-Nazi symbols in the last several years. Secondly, can you, of your own knowledge, explain who Oleg is and what his position is in the Svoboda party? Oleg Tyahnybok has been the leader of Svoboda party since 2004. He is also a member the parliament of Ukraine. He is expected to be a Svoboda candidate during the early presidential elections in May 2014. Thirdly, can you describe, briefly, the history of Svoboda, their possible links to pro-Nazi or fascist elements such as Stepan Bandera or Yaroslav Stetsko and more modern far-rightmovements in Europe? Svoboda was founded as the Social-National- Party of Ukraine around the time when Ukraine became independent in 1991. It combined radical nationalism and some neo-Nazi features, which were exemplified by its name and its use of Wolfsangel as a party symbol. But the party changed its name in 2004 to Svoboda, which means Freedom in Ukrainian. It tried to moderate its ideology and increase its popularity. The party won the 2010 local elections in three regions of Western Ukraine. It received 10.5% of the national vote in the 2012 parliamentary elections and formed its own faction in the parliament. Svoboda regards itself as an ideological successor of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists led by Bandera and Stetsko. Svoboda cooperated with 1 the National Democratic Party of Germany, the National Front (France), and other far-right parties in Europe. Fourthly, can you describe Svoboda's relation to other parties, both far right and otherwise in the current Ukraine upheaval, and their role in both the recent unrest and in efforts to form a new government? Svoboda was a part of an opposition which led mass protests against the Yanukovych government. More centrist and more popular opposition Fatherland and UDAR parties and their leaders cooperated with Svoboda and its leader during the mass protests. Svoboda and its C14 affiliate also formed some paramilitary self-defense units on Maidan. Svoboda publicly distanced itself from violent attacks of the presidential administration and the parliament, but there is evidence indicating that Svoboda members, C14 and activists linked to them were involved in these violent attacks and in storming and occupying Kyiv City administration and regional administrations, primarily, in Western Ukraine. But Pravyi Sektor (Right Sector), a paramilitary organization formed by other far-right political organizations and groups of football ultras, played a much more important role in the most significant violent attacks. Pravyi Sektor became a rival to Svoboda, even though some Svoboda members and activists cooperated with or joined Pravyi Sektor. Svoboda members became a deputy prime-minister, ministers of defense, ecology, and agriculture, and the head of the prosecutor general office in the new government. - Given what you've said below, do you regard Svoboda as Fascist or neo Nazi? Is it antiSemitic? Svoboda currently is best described as a radical nationalist party, and not as a Fascist or neoNazi. It is now not overtly anti-Semitic. But in 2004, Tyahnybok made a speech in honor of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which was created by the Bandera faction of the OUN in 1943. He stated that the UPA fought against Russians, Germans, Jews, and "other scum," and that they should not be afraid to do the same now. He used pejorative terms for Jews and Russians. Last year, Ihor Miroshnychenko, who is a leading member of Svoboda and the member of the parliament, used a similar derogatory term to refer to Mila Kunis, a Hollywood star, as a Jewish, and say that therefore she cannot be regarded as a Ukrainian, in spite of being born in Ukraine. Andrey Parubi (new sec of defence council) is described some places as a co-founder of Svoboda. What's his relationship with Svoboda and what are his politics? Is he an extremist? (He is also named some places as linked to Fatherland). In the 1990s, Parubiy was an organizer and the leader of "Patriot of Ukraine" and a leading member of the Social-National Party. Patriot of Ukraine was a paramilitary wing of the SocialNational Party, a predecessor of Svoboda. He left these organizations y 2004 he was active in the "Orange Revolution." He was then elected a s member of the Ukrainian parliament from the Viktor Yushchenko Our Ukraine bloc, and in 2012 from Yulia Tymoshenko's Fartherland. During the recent events, Parubiy was the commander of “Maidan self-defense,” which included paramilitary units organized by Svoboda, Pravyi Sektor and other groups and organizations. 2 Patriot of Ukraine was one of the founders of Pravyi Sektor. But now Patriot of Ukraine is a paramilitary wing not of Svoboda but of the Social-National Assembly. Parubiy and several other activists of Patriot of Ukraine were tried for beating Communist-led demonstrators in Lviv on November 7, 1997. In his interview, Parubiy said that main TV channels in Ukraine then broadcast videos of him personally beating the demonstrators. But the trial was moved to another region because of pressure from the far right. The criminal case was closed due to the statute of limitations. Parubiy projected a more moderate public image since 2004. But during the recent events he also cooperated with Svoboda and Pravyi Sektor. His photo leading a march of Patriot of Ukraine is on the cover of his book published in 1999: http://bookcrossing.vkursi.com/5969.html - what are Svoboda's most current links with the European far right? A member of the Ukrainian parliament from Svoboda met last year with members of a German regional parliament from the NDP: http://www.npd-fraktion-sachsen.de/index.php?s=3&aid=2096 - what is C14? Is that connected to Combat 14 that exists in the UK? C14 is a far right youth organization affiliated with Svoboda. Its leader Yevhen Karas was photographed giving a fascist salute, and the group uses other neo-Nazi symbols. The "14" in the group name likely refers to 14 White supremacist words. I do not know any connections between C14 and Combat 14. C14 led a paramilitary "self-defense" unit, which helped Svoboda to occupy by force the Kyiv city administration during the mass protests against Yanukovych. There is a recent BBC report profiling C14 starting on 3:20 http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe26394980 - and- though it’s a complex story - is it fair to call Bandera a collaborator with the Nazis or participant/collaborator in the Holocaust? Bandera and the OUN collaborated with Nazi Germany, primarily in the beginning of World War II. Bandera and many other leaders were arrested by Germans following their attempt to declare a Ukrainian state allied with Germany on June 30, 1941. My research shows that the majority of OUN and UPA leaders served in local police, administration, and military units or collaborated with Nazi intelligence and security agencies. A significant proportion of the OUN leaders and members assisted in these capacities in the Nazi mass murder of Jews, Ukrainians, Poles, Russians, and Belarusians. 3