Crimean activists demand Ukrainian nationalist groups’ recognition as neo-Nazis
The head of the Public Chamber of the Crimean Republic has called on the international community to recognize Ukrainian nationalist parties and groups as neo-Nazis, and institute a special international body that would investigate their criminal activities.
“The extreme, or as they themselves call it ‘integral’ Ukrainian nationalism has gone beyond all barriers and turned into a Nazi movement. Also, we can constantly witness its manifestations in modern Ukraine, like the founding of the volunteer military units and various political structures such as the Right Sector, the Freedom Party and the Radical Party,” Grigory Ioffe was quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.
The activist said that the international community must officially recognize the Ukrainian neo-Nazi groups and parties as such.
“The Nuremberg Trial has ended. No similar processes will take place in the near future. This is why lawyers must think of launching some legal action that would result in a decision by a specially founded body that must be above nations and national states,” Ioffe said.
Earlier, the head of the Crimean legislature, Vladimir Konstantinov, proposed holding an international conference that would draw public attention to crimes against humanity committed by Ukrainian extreme nationalists in different periods of history. Konstantinov said that the mass killings of Jews, Poles and other civilians in times of the WWII and the current war in Donbass, along with the blockade of Crimea were consequences of the same “criminal ideology.”
In late 2014, Russian Supreme Court recognized several Ukrainian nationalist groups as extremist and banned their activities in the Russian Federation. The banned organizations include the Right Sector coalition, the UNA-UNSO group, the Ukrainian Insurgent Army UPA, Ukrainian People’s Self-Defense and Stepan Bandera Trident.
In March the same year, the Russian Investigative Committee initiated criminal cases against several members of the radical Ukrainian groups over charges of fighting against Russian military in the Chechen wars of the 1990s. Right Sector’s Dmitry Yarosh also faced a separate criminal case over public calls for extremist activities.
