Ukrainiana

Maidan 2: Better Than Expected, to Be Continued

The spring sequel to the Orange Revolution came out clean and drew an audience that approached the early days of the winter 2004-05 protests. The mode was different: no sit-ins or tents — just the people and the stage. And yet the mood was very much the same: we came together again and we were as one.

Only this time, we Kyivites made it our mission to be there right from the start. We supplied the lion’s share of the audience. It was our way of saying hello to ChernoCo — the City Hall's pluto-kleptocratic practices — definitely a key mobilizing factor in Maidan 2. A mayor who challenges freedom of assembly in court is a mayor who fears his own people. Do we need that kind of mayor?

Main characters on stage: Tymoshenko of BYuT, Kyrylenko of NSNU, and Lutsenko of Narodna Samo’oborona.

Message to the people: “Yes, we’ve made mistakes and we don’t deserve your praise. But if we are to get this country back on the right track, we should act together.”

Message to the President: “Just do it!”

By that time, Yushchenko had already issued an ultimatum to the Coalition of National ImpUnity: “Stop party-shopping, give back what’s not yours or face disbandment.” (Technically speaking, this means that the so-called imperative mandate must be extended to the Verkhovna Rada on a retroactive basis.)

The Counter-Maidan, just a block away, was mostly attended by people shuttled in from eastern Ukraine. They broke camp in Maryinsky Park in front of the Cabinet building, where they plan to stay for two weeks.

Police behaved blamelessly and exhibited a hilarious sense of humor. Specifically, the MoI gives the following rally attendance estimates: Maidan 2, from 25 to 27 thousand; Counter-Maidan, from 30 to 35 thousand. Quite frankly, that’s one of the best April 1 jokes I’ve ever heard! Less humorous and more objective observers would have to admit that, at the very least, “we” outnumbered “them” 3 to 1.

The Coalition has promised to take their case to the Constitutional Court in the event the President disbands parliament. (It might also attempt procrastination techniques aimed at probing the staying power of Maidan 2, along with efforts to augment the Counter-Maidan.)

Despite no known incidents of violence or vandalism, “blood” is one of the most frequently used words in the VIP vocabulary of the Counter-Maidan. The message that decorates the stage reads: “A United Ukraine Is Our Future.” This may look a little bizarre considering the typical punch line in the speeches delivered there. And here’s how it usually happens. A speaker mounts the stage, he or she starts talking stability, and, all of a sudden, there’s blood all over the place — “blood this” and “blood that.”

Dear Coalitionists of National ImpUnity, don’t you “blood” us! If blood is all you got on your mind, get on the plane and get out of the country. Take your scaremongering fantasy with you. We want none of your blood business.

The situation will clear up in the next 72 hours. But even before it does, it’s already clear that settling on the imperative mandate as a compromise measure is a surefire road to disaster. By giving Yanukovych and his con artists another chance, Yushchenko will compromise this country’s future and will automatically qualify for No. 1 target of Maidan 3.

Insofar as he grasps these extreme possibilities, the odds are in our favor. President Yushchenko and NSNU have a unique opportunity to win back some of the support they’ve pissed away since Maidan 1. Maidan 2 reconvenes on Monday.