{"id":116238,"date":"2014-05-04T07:27:00","date_gmt":"2014-05-04T07:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/?guid=5a2e36a3385897935b5e2045f7c53fe5"},"modified":"2014-05-04T07:27:00","modified_gmt":"2014-05-04T07:27:00","slug":"massacre-in-odessa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/editorials\/massacre-in-odessa\/","title":{"rendered":"Massacre in Odessa"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><b>Massacre in Odessa<\/b><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Ukraine is the epicenter of European fascist reemergence. Friday&#8217;s Odessa massacre revealed its ugly face writ large.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Unrestrained brutality explains it. More of the same is likely. Perhaps much worse ahead. Maybe Friday&#8217;s incident was prelude for more planned slaughter.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On May 2,<a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/world\/730288\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\"> Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> reported what happened in Odessa, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;As many as 38 people died in a fire lit by Ukraine&#8217;s Right Sector and self-defence radicals at the building of trade union council in the Black Sea city of Odessa on Friday, a spokesman for the Ukrainian interior ministry said.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;According to the ministry, thirty people died of carbon oxide intoxication, eight died having jumped out of windows. As many as 50 people sought medical assistance, including ten policemen.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On May 3, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/world\/730313\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> reported Ukraine&#8217;s Interior Ministry saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;As a result of clashes and fire in the Trade Unions House in Odessa&#8217;s Kulikovo Pole square, 42 people have died and 125 have been injured and taken to hospital. There are 21 policemen among the injured.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Itar Tass said survivors &#8220;were cruelly beaten by Kiev radicals with batons.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">An Odessa region police report said:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Thirty-seven people were killed and some 200 injured, including 22 policemen.&#8221; Over 130 suspected perpetrators were detained. Ten criminal cases were initiated.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Neo-Nazi Right Sector were responsible. Kiev putschists helicoptered them in. They came with orders to attack self-defense force activists violently. They took full advantage.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Odessa regional council member\/mayoral candidate Alexei Albu was attacked. He explained what happened, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;When we came out of the burning building, a crowd of nationalists attacked us. I can say that about a hundred people were hurt.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;People jumped out of windows. Everything was in smoke. People lying on the ground were kicked with feet.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;I and one of our activists, Vlad, have serious head injuries. We are heading for a hospital. Earlier in the day, our activist Ivan received a bullet wound.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Right Sector members who attacked the House of Trade Unions were fully equipped, armed and prepared beforehand.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">On May 3, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/russia\/730293\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc;\">Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Kerry&#8217;s refusal to discuss Ukraine is irresponsible approach.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Russia&#8217;s Foreign Ministry said he asked to speak with Sergey Lavrov on Syria. When he knew &#8220;Russia proposed to include the Ukrainian issue, (he) postponed the talk\u2026&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Such an approach clearly indicates that the American colleagues are not interested to look for a way out of the explosive situation fraught with unpredictable consequences and actually play into the hands of the current leadership in Kiev.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Russia&#8217;s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin expressed shock &#8220;at the placidity of Western countries over the illegitimate Kiev leadership&#8217;s actions with the use of force against residents in southeastern Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Such an attitude of the West made Kiev sure of impunity for its actions,&#8221; he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"color: #1255cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><span style=\"color: black;\">On May 2,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2014\/05\/02\/remarks-president-obama-and-german-chancellor-merkel-joint-press-confere\"> Obama expressed support for violence against Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters<\/a>. He lied saying:<\/span><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(A)s as Ukrainian forces move to restore order in eastern Ukraine, it is obvious to the world that these Russian-backed groups are not peaceful protestors.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;They are heavily armed militants who are receiving significant support from Russia.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The Ukrainian government has the right and responsibility to uphold law and order within its territory, and Russia needs to use its influence over these paramilitary groups so they disarm and stop provoking violence.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(I)f the Russian leadership does not change course, it will face increasing costs as well as growing isolation &#8211; diplomatic and economic.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(I)f Russia continues on its current course, we have a range of tools at our disposal, including sanctions that would target certain sectors of the Russian economy.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(I) it continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine and disrupt this month&#8217;s presidential election, we will move quickly on additional steps, including further sanctions that will impose greater costs. &nbsp;But that is a choice facing the Russian leadership.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;(T)he Ukrainian government has already shown itself more than willing to work through some of the issues that would ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are respected, that you have a representative government.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;They&#8217;ve shown themselves willing to discuss amendments to their constitution that devolve power to a local level.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The Ukrainian government in Kyiv has followed through on the commitments that it made in Geneva. We need Russians to do the same.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Washington bears full responsibility for elevating fascist putschists to power.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: It bears full responsibility for Kiev violence.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: It does so for Eastern Ukrainian brutality.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: CIA director John Brennan traveled to Kiev covertly.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He came with orders.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He directed America&#8217;s new friends to unleash violence against &nbsp;Eastern Ukrainian activists.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Vice President Joe Biden delivered the same message.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: He green-lighted violence on his Kiev visit following Brennan&#8217;s.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Kiev putschists attacked as ordered.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: They deployed military forces against peaceful Eastern Ukrainian activists.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: They helicoptered in neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs to beat and murder them.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Eastern Ukrainians freedom fighters acted solely on their own volition.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: No evidence whatever suggests Russian involvement or backing.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: The illegitimate &#8220;Ukrainian government has (no) right&#8221; to subvert law and order.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Eastern Ukrainian activists aren&#8217;t militants. They&#8217;re not paramilitaries.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: They&#8217;re ordinary people. They workers fighting for their legitimate rights.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Kiev putschists straightaway violated Geneva four-party agreement terms to resolve conflict diplomatically.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Fact: Russia supports them responsibly. &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\"><span style=\"color: #1255cc; text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/156532-odessa-ukraine-brutal-attack\/\">RT International<\/a><\/span> interviewed Aleksei Albu. He escaped from the burning Trade Unions House. He was viciously attacked. He was brutally beaten.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Militants from the Right Sector arrived from Kharkov to Odessa today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They attacked the center of the city first and then they moved on to the anti-Kiev protesters camp.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;They attacked the camp with about 200 people there &#8211; 100 of whom were women and men over 50 and 60 years of age &#8211; with Molotov cocktails.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The people at the camp then barricaded themselves inside the Trade Unions House.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Right Sector thugs surrounded the building. They &#8220;began throwing stun grenades and tear gas&#8221; inside.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;I was there inside the building and took part in the defense. We tried to defend ourselves as much as we could.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;When we were finally able to jump out of the window from the second floor, we were met by the Right Sector radicals.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;They beat us with their feet using bats and chains. My friend got an open head injury.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;I received a wound six centimeters long and am now in a hospital waiting to get stitches. We were all covered in blood, our legs were beaten by bats.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">A second unidentified activist told RT:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He was trapped on the Trade Unions House rooftop. So were about 50 others. &#8220;We tried to close all doors and windows that lead to the roof, got rid of all ladders,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Right Sector thugs blocked building entrances. Police did nothing to stop them.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">He was &#8220;waiting and hoping that someone (would) come here and help us get out alive.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;If police (didn&#8217;t defend them) against this angry mob, then (he didn&#8217;t) don\u2019t know how (he and others would) find a way to leave.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Vitaly Churkin called what happened &#8220;reminiscent of the crimes of the Nazis from whom the Ukrainian ultra-nationalists derive their ideological inspiration.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">RT video footage showed &#8220;disturbing scenes of dead bodies lying around the rooms with thick smoke in the air and blood stains on the floor.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Most bodies &#8220;had St. George ribbons attached to their clothes, distinguishing them as anti-Kiev activists.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Odessa authorities declared May 3, 4 and 5 &#8220;mourning days.&#8221; Flags with black ribbons were lowered to half mast.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">A Russian Foreign Ministry statement was clear and unequivocal, saying:<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;The tragic events in Odessa on May 2, in which, according to reports, 38 people died and 50 were injured, are viewed in Moscow as criminal irresponsibility of the Kiev leadership indulging insolent nationalist radicals, including the Right Sector, who are staging a campaign of physical terror against supporters of federalization and real constitutional changes in the Ukrainian society.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;We categorically condemn it.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">&#8220;Such intention to blame Russia for everything at any cost, even at the cost of cruelly killed people, is prompted by the attempt to remove the responsibility from the Kiev leadership for what is happening in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Friday&#8217;s massacre revealed fascism&#8217;s ugly face. Unrestrained brutality explains it. Obama endorsed it.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">One fascist regime supports another. They share guilt. They promise more of the same. People of conscience everywhere condemn it.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Thousands of Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters are its best and bravest. They vow continued resistance.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They reject illegitimate Kiev putschists. They do so justifiably. They demand fundamental rights everyone deserves.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">They merit worldwide support. They&#8217;re an example for freedom lovers everywhere to follow.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Power yields nothing. Change never comes top down. Always bottom up. Sustained commitment is required to achieve it.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">If societies fit to live in aren&#8217;t worth fighting for, what is?&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div style=\"font-size: 12px; min-height: 14px;\"><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: 19px;\">http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div><b>Massacre in Odessa<\/b><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>by Stephen Lendman<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Ukraine is the epicenter of European fascist reemergence. Friday&#8217;s Odessa massacre revealed its ugly face writ large.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Unrestrained brutality explains it. More of the same is likely. Perhaps much worse ahead. Maybe Friday&#8217;s incident was prelude for more planned slaughter.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On May 2,<a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/world\/730288\"><span> Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> reported what happened in Odessa, saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;As many as 38 people died in a fire lit by Ukraine&#8217;s Right Sector and self-defence radicals at the building of trade union council in the Black Sea city of Odessa on Friday, a spokesman for the Ukrainian interior ministry said.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;According to the ministry, thirty people died of carbon oxide intoxication, eight died having jumped out of windows. As many as 50 people sought medical assistance, including ten policemen.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On May 3, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/world\/730313\"><span>Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> reported Ukraine&#8217;s Interior Ministry saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;As a result of clashes and fire in the Trade Unions House in Odessa&#8217;s Kulikovo Pole square, 42 people have died and 125 have been injured and taken to hospital. There are 21 policemen among the injured.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Itar Tass said survivors &#8220;were cruelly beaten by Kiev radicals with batons.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>An Odessa region police report said:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Thirty-seven people were killed and some 200 injured, including 22 policemen.&#8221; Over 130 suspected perpetrators were detained. Ten criminal cases were initiated.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Neo-Nazi Right Sector were responsible. Kiev putschists helicoptered them in. They came with orders to attack self-defense force activists violently. They took full advantage.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Odessa regional council member\/mayoral candidate Alexei Albu was attacked. He explained what happened, saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;When we came out of the burning building, a crowd of nationalists attacked us. I can say that about a hundred people were hurt.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;People jumped out of windows. Everything was in smoke. People lying on the ground were kicked with feet.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I and one of our activists, Vlad, have serious head injuries. We are heading for a hospital. Earlier in the day, our activist Ivan received a bullet wound.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Right Sector members who attacked the House of Trade Unions were fully equipped, armed and prepared beforehand.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>On May 3, <a href=\"http:\/\/en.itar-tass.com\/russia\/730293\"><span>Itar Tass<\/span><\/a> headlined &#8220;Kerry&#8217;s refusal to discuss Ukraine is irresponsible approach.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Russia&#8217;s Foreign Ministry said he asked to speak with Sergey Lavrov on Syria. When he knew &#8220;Russia proposed to include the Ukrainian issue, (he) postponed the talk&hellip;&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Such an approach clearly indicates that the American colleagues are not interested to look for a way out of the explosive situation fraught with unpredictable consequences and actually play into the hands of the current leadership in Kiev.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Russia&#8217;s UN envoy Vitaly Churkin expressed shock &#8220;at the placidity of Western countries over the illegitimate Kiev leadership&#8217;s actions with the use of force against residents in southeastern Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Such an attitude of the West made Kiev sure of impunity for its actions,&#8221; he added.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span>On May 2,<a href=\"http:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/the-press-office\/2014\/05\/02\/remarks-president-obama-and-german-chancellor-merkel-joint-press-confere\"> Obama expressed support for violence against Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters<\/a>. He lied saying:<\/span><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(A)s as Ukrainian forces move to restore order in eastern Ukraine, it is obvious to the world that these Russian-backed groups are not peaceful protestors.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They are heavily armed militants who are receiving significant support from Russia.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The Ukrainian government has the right and responsibility to uphold law and order within its territory, and Russia needs to use its influence over these paramilitary groups so they disarm and stop provoking violence.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(I)f the Russian leadership does not change course, it will face increasing costs as well as growing isolation &#8211; diplomatic and economic.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(I)f Russia continues on its current course, we have a range of tools at our disposal, including sanctions that would target certain sectors of the Russian economy.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(I) it continues to destabilize eastern Ukraine and disrupt this month&#8217;s presidential election, we will move quickly on additional steps, including further sanctions that will impose greater costs. &nbsp;But that is a choice facing the Russian leadership.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;(T)he Ukrainian government has already shown itself more than willing to work through some of the issues that would ensure that the rights of all Ukrainians are respected, that you have a representative government.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They&#8217;ve shown themselves willing to discuss amendments to their constitution that devolve power to a local level.&#8221; &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The Ukrainian government in Kyiv has followed through on the commitments that it made in Geneva. We need Russians to do the same.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Washington bears full responsibility for elevating fascist putschists to power.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: It bears full responsibility for Kiev violence.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: It does so for Eastern Ukrainian brutality.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: CIA director John Brennan traveled to Kiev covertly.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He came with orders.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He directed America&#8217;s new friends to unleash violence against &nbsp;Eastern Ukrainian activists.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Vice President Joe Biden delivered the same message.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: He green-lighted violence on his Kiev visit following Brennan&#8217;s.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Kiev putschists attacked as ordered.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: They deployed military forces against peaceful Eastern Ukrainian activists.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: They helicoptered in neo-Nazi Right Sector thugs to beat and murder them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Eastern Ukrainians freedom fighters acted solely on their own volition.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: No evidence whatever suggests Russian involvement or backing.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: The illegitimate &#8220;Ukrainian government has (no) right&#8221; to subvert law and order.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Eastern Ukrainian activists aren&#8217;t militants. They&#8217;re not paramilitaries.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: They&#8217;re ordinary people. They workers fighting for their legitimate rights.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Kiev putschists straightaway violated Geneva four-party agreement terms to resolve conflict diplomatically.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Fact: Russia supports them responsibly. &nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div><span><a href=\"http:\/\/rt.com\/news\/156532-odessa-ukraine-brutal-attack\/\">RT International<\/a><\/span> interviewed Aleksei Albu. He escaped from the burning Trade Unions House. He was viciously attacked. He was brutally beaten.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Militants from the Right Sector arrived from Kharkov to Odessa today,&#8221; he said. &#8220;They attacked the center of the city first and then they moved on to the anti-Kiev protesters camp.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They attacked the camp with about 200 people there &#8211; 100 of whom were women and men over 50 and 60 years of age &#8211; with Molotov cocktails.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The people at the camp then barricaded themselves inside the Trade Unions House.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Right Sector thugs surrounded the building. They &#8220;began throwing stun grenades and tear gas&#8221; inside.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I was there inside the building and took part in the defense. We tried to defend ourselves as much as we could.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;When we were finally able to jump out of the window from the second floor, we were met by the Right Sector radicals.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;They beat us with their feet using bats and chains. My friend got an open head injury.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;I received a wound six centimeters long and am now in a hospital waiting to get stitches. We were all covered in blood, our legs were beaten by bats.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A second unidentified activist told RT:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He was trapped on the Trade Unions House rooftop. So were about 50 others. &#8220;We tried to close all doors and windows that lead to the roof, got rid of all ladders,&#8221; he said.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Right Sector thugs blocked building entrances. Police did nothing to stop them.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>He was &#8220;waiting and hoping that someone (would) come here and help us get out alive.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;If police (didn&#8217;t defend them) against this angry mob, then (he didn&#8217;t) don&rsquo;t know how (he and others would) find a way to leave.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Vitaly Churkin called what happened &#8220;reminiscent of the crimes of the Nazis from whom the Ukrainian ultra-nationalists derive their ideological inspiration.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>RT video footage showed &#8220;disturbing scenes of dead bodies lying around the rooms with thick smoke in the air and blood stains on the floor.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Most bodies &#8220;had St. George ribbons attached to their clothes, distinguishing them as anti-Kiev activists.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Odessa authorities declared May 3, 4 and 5 &#8220;mourning days.&#8221; Flags with black ribbons were lowered to half mast.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>A Russian Foreign Ministry statement was clear and unequivocal, saying:<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;The tragic events in Odessa on May 2, in which, according to reports, 38 people died and 50 were injured, are viewed in Moscow as criminal irresponsibility of the Kiev leadership indulging insolent nationalist radicals, including the Right Sector, who are staging a campaign of physical terror against supporters of federalization and real constitutional changes in the Ukrainian society.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;We categorically condemn it.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>&#8220;Such intention to blame Russia for everything at any cost, even at the cost of cruelly killed people, is prompted by the attempt to remove the responsibility from the Kiev leadership for what is happening in Ukraine.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Friday&#8217;s massacre revealed fascism&#8217;s ugly face. Unrestrained brutality explains it. Obama endorsed it.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>One fascist regime supports another. They share guilt. They promise more of the same. People of conscience everywhere condemn it.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Thousands of Eastern Ukrainian freedom fighters are its best and bravest. They vow continued resistance.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They reject illegitimate Kiev putschists. They do so justifiably. They demand fundamental rights everyone deserves.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>They merit worldwide support. They&#8217;re an example for freedom lovers everywhere to follow.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Power yields nothing. Change never comes top down. Always bottom up. Sustained commitment is required to achieve it.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>If societies fit to live in aren&#8217;t worth fighting for, what is?&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>His new book is titled &#8220;Banker Occupation: Waging Financial War on Humanity.&#8221;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>http:\/\/www.claritypress.com\/LendmanII.html<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.&nbsp;<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n<div>http:\/\/www.progressiveradionetwork.com\/the-progressive-news-hour<\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1217,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[461],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-116238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-editorials"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1217"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=116238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/116238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=116238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=116238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=116238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}