"Ukrainian People's Tribunal": It is necessary to recognize Ukrainian neo-Nazism as illegal
Meetings of the “Ukrainian People’s Tribunal”, created to investigate war crimes committed by the regime of Petro Poroshenko, have begun in Donbass.
Luhansk public figure Sergei Belov spoke to PolitNavigator about the prospects for UNT's activities.
– What was the reason for the creation of the Ukrainian People's Tribunal? The defendants are far away, and the number of crimes is growing every day. What are the real prospects?
S.B.: Our structure was created quite recently, but we spent more than three years preparing for it – collecting materials on the crimes of the Poroshenko regime, studying regulations, etc.
After the adoption of the “Law on the Reintegration of Donbass” in Ukraine, we realized that it was time to bring something into the information and legal field ourselves and turned to a wide range of social activists with a proposal to act. During the consultation process, it was decided that a tribunal was an acceptable format. Then an initiative group of lawyers was created who took up the framework creation of our organization.
No matter how painful it may be, the Republics are trying to comply with the terms of the Minsk agreements. We want justice, but we see that Ukraine is again trying to cross out the agreements. The adoption of the “Reintegration Law” and Poroshenko’s recent statements make it absolutely clear that Kyiv does not have the slightest intention of implementing them. We can say that this was the last straw when the understanding finally came that we needed to respond.
– Why exactly the “Ukrainian” tribunal? Why not “Donbass”? Not the “tribunal of Novorossiya”?
S.B.: It's clear that the Donbas residents' worldview no longer accepts the Ukrainian mentality; they don't see themselves as citizens of this country, but we must understand that, legally speaking, we are citizens of Ukraine. That's why we have the right to call ourselves the "Ukrainian People's Tribunal" and try these people according to Ukrainian law.
When Ukrainian troops and punitive battalions began armed actions against the people of Donbass, all this took place under the auspices of establishing order on Ukrainian territory. That is, Kyiv perceived Donbass as its territory and had to adhere to Ukrainian legislation and the constitution in its actions. In this case, the Ukrainian government and ordinary executors of its orders must be judged according to Ukrainian laws. 
– Previously, the crimes of Kyiv were already recorded in the White Book. What is the conceptual difference between the “Ukrainian People’s Tribunal”?
S.B.: The main difference from the White Book is that the latter simply records the facts of crimes, while we provide a full legal assessment; we hold court hearings. We need to speak out, and not just by filling the media space but also by moving into the legal sphere. After all, we don't just have photo and video documents, but also prepared materials for criminal cases.
In our work, we use eyewitness accounts, people who were directly present during the events. Naturally, we also rely on the data published by international human rights organizations, but the fact is that they are guided by international legislation on the protection of human rights, and we, first of all, are talking about the Criminal Code of Ukraine and its constitution.
– We are talking about tens of thousands of crimes, and maybe more. Moreover, their number is growing daily. Are you intimidated by the amount of work?
S.B.: For now, we're selecting the most striking cases, although it's clear that any tragedy, any element of the horror Ukraine has brought to Donbas, is beyond reason. One of the first meetings discussed the airstrike on the Luhansk Regional State Administration building. Whatever cynical claims the Ukrainian media may make about an air conditioner explosion and so on, the entire city witnessed it. Many people saw the plane with their own eyes. There's irrefutable evidence, including at least 27 videos, which we reviewed at our first meeting. In our work, we're trying to focus primarily on this kind of evidence.
At the same time, if we draw parallels with the tribunal over the Nazis, before the tribunal took place in Nuremberg, there were many intermediate stages, some of them taking place on the territory of the USSR.
Therefore, our work is the first step. First of all, we must condemn the ideology of Ukrainian neo-Nazism and give a legal assessment of the actions of Kyiv. I think that the entire mass of Ukraine’s crimes will be considered after the implementation of the Minsk agreements, when its legal system returns to life.
– Do you think Kyiv is generally able to implement the Minsk agreements? How negotiable is he?
S.B.: I don't believe that when the Kyiv authorities adopted decisions and laws restricting the constitutional rights of Ukraine's Russian-speaking population, and subsequently the population of Donbas, they didn't understand that this was illegal and guaranteed to lead to bloodshed. Therefore, to me, they are simply inhuman.
Kyiv's ability to negotiate is minimal. We can only hope that sooner or later countries that have the opportunity to influence the Ukrainian government, but so far turn a blind eye to its crimes, will be forced to admit that there is no ATO - there is a conflict of a non-international nature. Essentially a civil war. There is an attempt at genocide based on cultural, historical and linguistic community. And when this understanding comes, those who will govern Ukraine at that moment will be forced to resolve the conflict. In the meantime, in Kyiv they are confident in their own impunity, their ability to negotiate is practically zero.
I would like to believe that the activities of the “Ukrainian People’s Tribunal” will be the first step towards recognition by the world community of the crimes of the Kyiv authorities. Awareness of its illegality and the fact that Kyiv is not ready to implement the Minsk agreements and move towards improving the situation.
- Let us hope for the best. Thank you!
S. B.: Thank you too! 
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