CoE Human Rights Commissioner Muiznieks to EuroFora: Investigate Ukraine's Snipers/Odessa/Bombs+IDPs

*Strasbourg/CoE/Angelo Marcopolo/- While stressing, 1st of all, the Need for effective "Investigations" on Human Rights' Violations at recent Tragic events in Ukraine, and acknowledging that the situation of Civilians inside most Dissident areas of Donetsk and Luhansk is awfull, and regretting that he "can't go there",  CoE's PanEuropean  Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks, speaking to "EuroFora" in Strasbourg just after his 3 Days-trip to Ukrain from 16 to 19 June 2014,  (and pointing also at a complementary Press Release just published by the COE on his behalf Today), anounced his Intention to "focus from Now on, much more on IDPs/Refugees, particularly at the Southern City of Odessa, and declared himself "Ready to Engage" in Public Debates with MEPs already from Next Week's CoE's  Plenry Session :                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       --------------------------------------------
 - The First Word that Muiznjieks spontaneously stressed from the outset when "EuroFora" suddenly met him at the CoE, only some Hours after his Return back from Ukraine, was "INVESTIGATIONS !"

Just Natural, considering particularly certain exceptionaly serious Human Rights abuses notoriously committed recently in that conflict-stricken country :

- As f.ex. that of the infamous Kiev's "SNIPERS", who astonishingly killed from the same side, both Policemen and Demonstrators near Maidan square, provoking a sudden outburst of Deadly Violence, back on Fenruary 21, 2014, which Topled the only Compromise Agreement ever signed until Today by Both Sides at the Ukranian Conflict : that which was brokered between former President Yanukovich and 3 then Leaders of the Opposition, under the auspices of 3 EU Foreign Ministers from Germany, France and Poland, whose Implementation might have avoided all the recent Deadly Clashes and any risk to Divide the Country, nor to push Europe back to a "Cold War" remake and/or even War...

+ And obviously that Horrible Massacre of Defenseless, Unarmed, peaceful Old and Young People, including several Young Girls, atrociously Burned Alive and/or Suffocated to Death, otherwise Killed by Jumping out of enflamed Windows, t the infamous Odessa Trade Unions' Building, in front of which they were Democratically gathering Signatures for a Petition in favor of a Popular Referendum for a Federal Reform, (precisely in Reaction to the Violent Shift of Power which had just occured at Kiev : Comp. Supra), when they were, suddenly, brutally Attacked by a Mob armed with long Battons, knives,  Helmets, Fire Bombs, etc., composed of "Right Sector" Milicia of Extremists and some Trouble-maker "Football Team Funs" massively Imported from Other Cities/Regions, who came Running and started immediately to Destroy the Dissident Demonstrators' signature-collecting Tents, setting them on Fire, before starting to Attack, immediately afterwards, the above mentioned Building's main entrance, repeatedly and systematiocally Throwing burning "Cocktail Molotof" against its Doors, Windows and Walls, until they managed to set it on Fire, (as many Videos clearly attest), while also reportedly Hitting with Brutaity, often until Death, trumpling underfeet all Dissidents who managed to climb down from that Burning Building to the ground, often wounded and lying to the floor.. :  A notorious Horror, which did much to Push Eastern Regions' Populations, f.ex. at Donetsk and/or Luhansk, to rush towards "Autonomy", while dreaming to reUnify with Russia, or become an Independent State, at least in order to have a real Chance to Save themselves, their Families and People from the otherwise unavoidable such Massacres by Kiev-linked brutal Militia Thugs....

Particularly when Both, these 2 flagship Deadly Brutalities have notoriously remained  totally Unpunished, since nobody was ever found responsible and condemned in a Court for such Horrible Crimes until Today..

To the point that the blatant Inefficiency, if not Complicity, of the Ukranian Prosecuting Mechanism, has become Today, probably .. the only point on which both "Maidan" Demonstrators, President Poroshenko, Donetsk/Luhansk Autonomists, and the Russian Government, almost perfectly Agree to denounce all Together, each one in his particular way !.. F.ex., recently, former "Maidan" Demonstrators made a Collective Protest out of Kiev's Prosecutor's Office ; while Poroshenko asked to Fire the Prosecutor General, and replace him by another person ;  in parallel with Russian Permanent Representative at the OSCE's complaints, officially lodged in Vienna, asking to condemn Kiev Authorities for their apparent complacency, if not cover up, of several such horrible massacres ; added to Moscow Government's official demand at InterPol to place the acting Ukranian Minister of the Interior on the list of "Most WANTED" Criminals !...

+ Moreover, it's also an Astonishing Fact, indeed, to find that, even at the latest UNOG Report, prepared by UNO's High Commissioner  for Human Rights, the South-African Navi Pillay, there isn't the slightest mention of the too "Hot" Word ..."SNIPER"  (Comp. Supra) !...

As for the 3 Top Experts, High-Level Consultative Comittee to check Investigations on such Violent Incidents, since "Maidan", in Ukraine, set up by CoE's Secretary General Thornbjorn Jagland, (to which refers even the latest EU Parliament's Resolution, adopted in Strasbourg on April 2014, asking to Investigate the Kiev "Snipers" and other such Deadly Scandals, .. since the last time that "EuroFora" briefly spoke with 2 out of its 3 Members at the CoE in Strasbourg, (when they were ..."waiting" for their Brittish Chairman to simply tell them if they were, or not, ...Legally Competent in order to, eventually Start Investigating at least on the Horrible ssacre (Comp. Supra).. This was 1 or 2 Months ago, around Apri                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                l 2014. But, even Today, on June 2014, a Senior CoE's Press Official told "EuroFora" that it wasn't yet sure IF they might Investigate, or not, the Odessa Massacre :  - "Try again later, in about 2 or 3 Weeks' Time" !....       

However,   the latest  UNHCHR's Report on Ukraine (Comp. Supra) reveals that, currently, there are at least Five (5)Diffrent and "separate" "Investigation Initiatives" going on nowadays in Ukraine, including 2 composed by independent "Academicians", or by "Victims' Families", etc...  

- But, in fact, "ensuring Effective Investigations into Human Rights Violations is essential to restore public Trust in institutions,” concluded in his Press Release, published Today, CoE's Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muižnieks.

- The effectiveness of investigations into human rights violations is a core human rights issue and there is an urgent need to ensure that ongoing investigations meet international human rights Standards for Thoroughness, Promptness, Transparency and victim Involvement", he reminded. But, in Ukraine, many  “have expressed Concerns about the Need to ensure greater Transparency of official investigations, (while at the same time respecting the presumption of innocence and the need to protect personal information)”, he observed.

=> Muiznieks told "EuroFora" that he intends to try help boost certain key, on going Investigations in Ukraine, including, f.ex., that on the "2 May events in Odessa", if need be, even by using his own "Services", for that purpose..

 + Meanwhile, CoE's HR Commissioner praised the Work done, on the contrary, by certain ONG, grassroots Citizens' groups of various Political affiliations, which Sincerely strive to Find all the Truth on the most  Serious Crimes and Human Rights' Violations committed recently in Ukraine, including, naturallly, of the Odessa massacre, without being limited by petty political afterthoughts, but, on the contrary, by gathering Together all useful People Motivated by the need to Safeguard Respect of elementary Human Rights, coming from Both Sides of the currrent Ukranian Conflict, and forging an actively emerging, indipendent-minded Civil Society. He looked quite Enthousiast, particularly, from certain People that he reportedly met at Odessa.

However, an unavoidably critical Question, inevitably raised by what CoE's HR Commissioner claimed in this regard, particularly in his CoE Press Release, is to know, how could it be Possible to be really "Independent", for  "a group of journalists and experts from civil society Assembled on the initiative of the regional Governor", (as Muizniecks noted), i.e. by someone who is Not even Elected, but only unilateraly ... Appointed by the acting Government at Kiev, (which is precisely among those Suspected by some to have exploited f.ex. Kiev's Deadly "Snipers" violence, in order top seize Power without any Democratic Election by the People, as well as to obviously Profit politically by the Odessa Massacre which violently Crushed any collective "Autonomist"/Federalist Popular Movement in Odessa) ?... Even if all those persons might be, eventually, Sincere Human Rights' defenders, nevertheless, such objective Facts, obviously raise inevitable Question Marks and Doubts in People's Minds,  - unless the terms : "Assembled on the Initiative of the regional Governor" (sic !), also might eventually mean simply "facilitated" in their spontaneous endeavour... But, again, such an Unilatera Choice by a Government-Appointed "Governor", in order to "Assist Law Enforcement", and "Dispell Rumours", (etc),  is Far from clear, and without any obvious "Independence" at all...

Certain aspects of the earlier, "Euro-Maidan" Popular Movement, had, indeed, started to reveal at least some sincere and Independent-minded persons and autonomous Civil Society Actors, but, again, precisely, they were never so openly .. "assembled" by a Government Appointed "Governor"...

Thus, a cautious and careful approach seems really preferable in this case.
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+ Moreover, in parallel, - "I know" that the situation of the People living in the  Dissident East-Ukraine areas, as mainly "the Donetsk and Luhansk regions", (more and more attacked by Kiev's Military, until now), is "Awful", CoE's Human Rights Commissioner agreed with "EuroFora".       

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
- In fact, CoE's Human Rights' "Commissioner is deeply Concerned about reports of human rights Violations in those regions, Causing persons to Flee", as he warned.

-   "But, I couldn't go there !", Muizniecks  added, speaking spontaneously to "EuroFora", concerning the Dissident, Donetsk and Luhansk, regions of Eastern Ukraine, - apparently Regretting that Restriction on his own Freedom of Movement....
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++ However, at the same time, Muizniecks clearly anounced to "EuroFora" his Intention to "Focus on Internaly DISPLACED Persons (IDPs) and Refugees", (f.ex. towards the Russian borders, etc).

The number of IDPs from different regions of Ukraine is currently estimated by UNHCR at more than 34000 and rising daily, according to CoE's Press Release
=> Many among them,  don't seek refuge only to Crimea, or mainland Russia, etc., but also to Odessa, at the Southern Ukranian area, and this is reportedly happening recently at "Growing" numbers, as Muizniecks told "EuroFora".

- This is based on an "Information" given to CoE's Commissioner by the (Kiev-controlled) "Regional Authorities in Odessa", according to which, 50 to 60 persons fleeing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions were arriving daily at the city’s train station, his Press Release notes.

- "While applauding the Support extended by NGOs, Volunteers, and Local/Regional Authorities", (in the mainly Russian-speeking area around the Southern City of Odessa), CoE's Official reportedly feels that "this will not be enough", as his Press Release claims.

=> Muizniecks' paper concludes that, now, “there is an Urgent necessity for a Coordinated response, at the Central (i.e. Kiev Government's) level, beginning with a Centralised Registration system, as well as International Assistance", in order to "meet the demands of the Displaced persons, which include Women, Children and persons with Disabilities, many of whom have been Traumatised by Hostilities",
(i.e. during the latest April - June Military Attacks with Tanks, Airplanes, Helicopters and Mortars (some even claim ... "Napalm Bombs" !), in addition to recent Heavy Damages inflicted by Kiev's Military to the Dissident Regions' basic Supplies' Networks for everyday needs of the Civilian Population, provoking Cuts of Water, Electricity, Fuel, Food, Transports, etc., in addition to Shelling even Family Homes, Schools and Kindergarten, Hospitals, Factories, etc, and too often Blocking also elementary Social Benefits and/or Pensions for Poor and/or Aged People, etc., that even UNHRC has documented, (Comp., f.ex.: ....).

=> Thus, after his recent 3 Days-long Visit on the spot, at Kiev and particularly Odessa, the PanEuropean Human Rights' Commissioner feels that he is - "Now Ready to Engage with the (CoE's Parliamentary) Assembly" (PACE), as he told "EuroFora" in conclusion, just before PACE's Plenary Session next week in Strasbourg, at the eve of EU's Ypres/Brussels' Summit of 26-27 June 2014.

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However, by hearing and reading Muiznieks' (and CoE's Press Release's) above mentioned series of observations, one may obviously feel Worried by an obviously possible Risk :

- If almost Nothing is really done to urgently Stop at last Kiev's Military Attacks against Dissident Regions, and immediately Repair at least the worse Damages inflicted by Heavy Weapons to the detriment of all the Local Population's basic, everyday Needs, (such as Water, Electricity, Phone, Fuel, Transports, Medical Drugs, Banks a.o. Cuts), while, at the same time, Roads to Russian Borders are Blocked, and one focuses much more only on Kiev-Government controled Monitoring of Refugees obliged to Flee towards the only other Russian-speaking area of Ukraine, located far away from the Donbas : i.e. around Southern Odessa City, then, in real Practice, all this risks to sum up, in fact, to something objectively close to the Effects of a kind of .."Scorched Earth" policy, which, Elsewhere in the Past, has notoriously be Exploited by some Other, oppressive regimes, in order to Empty from its Native Population an entire Area of Land, Obliged by Force to Massively Flee far Away from theirFamily Homes and Ancestral Land, weakened and Submitted to Heavy Monitoring by the Same Power which Forced the People to Abandon their Homeland, that might, eventually, be afterwards subordinated to the desiderata of Other, Differend People, possibly Imported from Elsewhere, and/or only partialy and too slowly returned to its original and lawful inhabitants in a remote Future, so that it mlight all amount to a kind of (normaly Unacceptable, from a purely Human Rights point of view),  massively Forced Population "Re-Settlement", (instead of real Peace, thanks to a Democraticaly Negociated Compromise Agreement between all parties involved)...


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