Far-right attack on Roma camp in Kiev
By
Jason Melanovski
3 May 2018
Members of the far-right Ukrainian paramilitary group C14 recently attacked a Roma camp in Kiev, forcing families and children to flee. The incident was just one of many assaults in Ukraine committed by right-wing groups against ethnic minorities and those opposed to the oligarchic government of Petro Poroshenko.
A report released days after the attack by Amnesty International pointed to the involvement of local government officials: “On the night of April 20-21, representatives of the radical organization C14 committed a pogrom of the Roma camp on the Lysi mountain in the Holosiivskyi district of Kiev. The pogrom was preceded by several visits to the camp of representatives of the C14 and workers from the Holosiivskyi district administration, who demanded that the Roma leave the site. According to eyewitnesses, during the pogrom against the Roma, gas cartridges, cutting items and, possibly, firearms were used. According to reports, children were among the injured.”
In a video posted to YouTube, Roma families are seen fleeing with children and personal items in their arms, as they are chased and attacked by the fascists with rocks and tear gas. C14 later posted photos of members burning the families’ tents. The group boasted about the attack on Facebook.
C14 is an offshoot paramilitary group of the right-wing nationalist Svoboda Party. The “14” in its name refers to the 14-word white supremacist slogan, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.”
Despite the fact that C14 carried out the attack in broad daylight near several busy metro stops and bragged about it on social media, a police investigation was not opened until five days later. While…