The ultra-nationalist Right Sector movement has decided to become a political party, while slamming current authorities in Kiev and demanding early parliamentary elections. The group has nominated its leader, Dmitry Yarosh, as a presidential candidate.
As of today, the Ukrainian National Assembly (UNA) – which dates
back to 1990 and was regarded as a far-right political
organization in Ukraine – has ceased to exist, instead
transforming into the Pravy Sektor (Right Sector) party, Igor
Mazur, the party’s Kiev branch leader, said after the UNA meeting
on Saturday.
He added that the leaders of UNA branches – the Ukrainian
People's Self-Defense (UNSO), a paramilitary force, and Trizub
(the ultra-right Stepan Bandera All-Ukrainian Organization) –
have agreed to join the Right Sector.
The Right Sector also slammed the coup-appointed authorities in
Kiev, including the acting president, Aleksandr Turchinov, saying
that he is playing “undercover games.”
“Turchinov should have reported to the Ukrainian people a
long time ago,” said party member Andrey Denisenko.
“Even the Maidan from the tribune of which the opposition
leaders reported [to the people] every day has gradually calmed
down. This may be some kind of indecisiveness or maybe some
undercover games that have already hurt many Ukrainians. We must
understand that these authorities are not in their place, so we
consider the need to hold early parliamentary elections in the
near future.”
Denisenko added that the party has nominated Right Sector leader
Dmitry Yarosh as its candidate for president. Yarosh had declared
his intentions of running for Ukrainian president in May.
However, according to a recent poll conducted by Ukrainian research group
SOCIS about presidential election preferences, only 1.6 percent
are ready to vote for Yarosh.
Russia put Yarosh on an international wanted list and charged him
with inciting terrorism after he urged Chechen terrorist leader
Doku Umarov to launch attacks on Russia over the Ukrainian
conflict. The ultra-nationalist leader has also threatened to
destroy Russian pipelines on Ukrainian territory.
Yarosh, together with Igor Mazur and other UNA-UNSO members, was
put on the wanted list by Russia last Friday for participation in
hostilities against Russian soldiers in Chechnya in 1994-95,
according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.
Yarosh entered the international spotlight during the
anti-government rallies in Ukraine. He has headed Trizub since
2005. During the Maidan protests, the organization became the
base of the Right Sector movement. Its members were very active
in the violence which triggered the ouster of President Viktor
Yanukovich. Right Sector fighters used clubs, petrol bombs, and
firearms against Ukrainian police and have been wearing Nazi
insignia.