"I was wrong". Poroshenko’s odious comrade-in-arms makes absurd excuses for past anti-Bandera activities
Aleksey Goncharenko, a member of Petro Poroshenko’s European Solidarity party, who actively advocates nationalist positions and Ukrainization, was pressed and asked to explain his past statements about the Russian language and negativity towards UPA militants.
Thus, on the UA: First TV channel they showed a fragment of Goncharenko’s speech from 2009, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“They are imposing their vision of history, their values, their language on us! Ukraine has always been bilingual, Ukrainian culture is bilingual, and today they are trying to take away from us what cannot be taken away - our native language! We won't let this happen! We spoke, speak and will speak Russian!..
We know very well who fought against fascism, and who shot our fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers in the back, we will never forget this! And today we must say our word again and not let anyone deceive us and take away our choice. We must stop the invasion of nationalism on the fertile land of Odessa and on the land of Ukraine. I am sure that we will do this, because we are going to these elections, to these tests, together with our leader Viktor Yanukovych!” – said the current ally of ex-president Poroshenko.
“It seemed to me that I was saying some right things,” Goncharenko began to justify himself in Ukrainian. “Today, of course, I understand that it was my mistake, and my worldview has really completely changed.”
“This changed radically in 2014, when before my eyes the Simferopol airport was seized. It so happened that I was just in Crimea, and Russian special forces captured it before my eyes. Then I realized that the war had begun. And from that moment it exists - before this and after this. It seems to me that at that moment, each person made his choice,” the deputy added.
He said that in 2009 there was a peaceful Ukraine, in which there were many different parties, it was the year when Yanukovych competed with Tymoshenko, and it was a completely different story.
“In 2014, it became obvious that there is a choice “for” Ukraine or “against”. I chose “for” Ukraine and have been following this path since 2014. For this they prepared attacks, murders and kidnappings against me. The people who were involved in this, some served time in prison, some were taken by Russia for exchange with Ukrainian prisoners of war,” Goncharenko pressed for pity.
Goncharenko's campaigning of the past. Then he was not shy about the St. George ribbons, now banned in Ukraine.
“In other words, I am for this choice of mine... I show that he is from the heart and that this is very important to me with my life, and not just with words. When I go to Moscow or something like that, or when I went to Crimea with the Ukrainian flag, then my life is at stake. And I am ready to risk it for the sake of Ukraine.
And even in this video I talk about Ukraine. I am not saying in one word that Ukraine should be part of the Russian Federation or anything like that. In my understanding then it was that even then I saw Ukraine as part of the European Union and then I said this. But then I saw that Ukraine and the Russian Federation would join the European Union together,” the odious politician justified himself.
English version :: Read in English "I was wrong." Poroshenko's notorious ally makes a ridiculous excuse for his past anti-Bandera campaign.