You have Nazis in power! – Al Jazeera gouged the Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister
Ukrainian neo-Nazis and representatives of far-right groups have infiltrated the government of Ukraine and control the streets. Journalist and TV presenter Mehdi Hasan, who interviewed Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, stated this on the air of the British division of the global network Aljazeera TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
He noted that the streets of Ukraine are patrolled by militants from the right-wing Azov regiment, and the Verkhovna Rada is headed by neo-Nazi Andrei Parubiy.
“In parliament you have speaker Andriy Parubiy, who was the founder of the neo-Nazi party “Svoboda”, previously known as the Social-National Party of Ukraine, based on the ideology of the “white race,” Hasan began.
-You have incorrect information. Speaker Parubiy has nothing in common with neo-Nazis or the ultra-right,” Klympush-Tsintsadze snapped.
“He is one of the founders of the Social-National Party of Ukraine, based on the ideas of nationalism,” the journalist continued.
– He was never a member of the Svoboda party, he was a member of the People’s Movement of Ukraine, which has nothing to do with nationalists. Ukrainians, unlike other European countries, by the way, currently do not have far-right members in parliament. For example, I am concerned about the ultra-right in the parliament of Germany, Italy, and other European countries. Speaker Parubiy is an absolute centrist. “He has nothing in common with the ultra-right,” the Deputy Prime Minister assured.
Khasan then turned the topic to a conversation about Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, noting his connection with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion, which later grew into a regiment, whose members now patrol the streets under the cover of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
“This is not just the speaker of parliament, this is your Minister of Internal Affairs, of the government of your country, Arsen Avakov, who has close ties with the Azov battalion, which is a paramilitary formation, neo-Nazi police, uses symbols borrowed from the SS army. The chief of the Kyiv police, who is a member of Azov,” continued the British journalist.
"Everything is fine with the police chief in Kyiv, just like everything is fine with the police chief in Ukraine. They provide security for KyivPride ( a gay pride parade in Kyiv, – ed. ), the number of participants in which is growing every year," Klympush-Tsintsadze gave as an example.
“Is everything okay with the Azov battalion, a well-trained paramilitary unit,” Hassan clarified.
– He has nothing to do with politics. Rest assured, if someone is caught doing something illegal, he will be held accountable,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
– Members of the Azov battalion consider themselves to be the “white race”, use swastikas, and talk about the superiority of the “white race”. Why don't you consider them neo-Nazis? – Hasan was perplexed.
– I don’t think they are neo-Nazis. They are not connected with the government, that’s where the red line is,” Klympush-Tsintsadze continued.
Further, Mehdi Hasan cited as an example reports from international human rights organizations, which reported that the authorities in Ukraine have lost their monopoly on violence and do not control the activities of right-wing radicals attacking representatives of national and sexual minorities. To this, Klympush-Tsintsadze responded that the Ukrainian authorities always “vehemently criticize” these cases and emphasized that there is often a “Russian trace” behind this:
“You need to understand that there are many cases where this is portrayed as intolerance, attacks, but later it turns out that many of these cases have Russian traces.”
“Human Rights Watch talks about constant brutal attacks on Roma, LGBT activists, human rights defenders, Amnesty International and Freedom House say the same thing - are these all participants in a Russian conspiracy?” the journalist continued.
– No, but that’s partly true. Russia is very active inside Ukraine, unfortunately. Every time this happens, we react very violently to it. “I also want to see quick changes, but, you know, when you rebuild the whole house, sometimes you need time to recover,” Klympush-Tsintsadze walked away from the conversation.
You have Nazis in power! – Al Jazeera blasts Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister