Maidan

Yes, the system is flawed and needs changing. However, Maidan convinced the world of Ukraine’s unequivocal choice - democracy. What nobody is convinced about is that Ukraine’s politicians have learned their lessons. Perhaps it’s time we teach them? Appealing to conscience is undoubtedly correct however this should not preclude looking for other forms of leverage (Reflections on the article "Moral Holodomor")

France obviously still has little affection for Ukrainians. Perhaps too many there cannot forget that thanks to the Central Rada and its German alliance, and then to Petliura, who overthrew Hetman Skoropadsky after he had agreed repayment of Ukraine's portion of the tsarist debt to France, French capitalists and industrialists & part of the middle-class, lost all their money in 1919.

If the food item you bought in a supermarket proves rotten and smelly, you don’t just, so to speak, swallow it. Why accept information which is no less toxic and of dubious quality especially when it makes serious allegations about anti-Semitism in Ukraine?

Almost everyone has a favorite list this time of year-- best movies, books, person of the year.

The Russian authorities by hurtling across the border in pursuit of one politically out of sync young man, Mikhail Gangan, have presented Ukraine with an invaluable test and an opportunity to demonstrate its maturity to the world

One senses that for some people the Charter and situation in Ukraine are confined to a virtual realm in which contact with reality is of absolutely no importance. A journey by public transport in Kyiv for example, will assuage all concerns about the threatened position of the Russian language

Neither media outlets nor the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs are entitled to make very serious allegations of criminally liable offences without some basic checks. These must involve ascertaining at very least whether the person in question was anywhere near the place where the criminal offence was alleged to have occurred

Silence plays into the hands of those who have absolute contempt for human rights and human dignity. We are endeavouring not to be silent, but those fighting us have power and opportunities for pursuing their ends. Our voices will continue to sound the alarm when human rights are being violated, but if we cannot hope for a receptive ear and help in passing on information, we will be almost powerless.
If that indeed is what those who ordered this attack are hoping to achieve, please help us to ensure that they fail. It will be our shared victory

How could Abdugani Kamaliyev (Tursinov) be illegally handed over to the Uzbek security service when the European Court of Human Rights had ordered a halt on any expulsion 15 hours earlier?
Even if some believe (I would beg to differ) that one or two individuals make no odds, I would respectfully suggest that the question of where it will all end if the Russian FSB is shown so very clearly that they can act with impunity is ignored at our peril.

The Russian authorities are increasingly demonstrating an inexplicable willingness to cooperate with repressive regimes. No holds barred, it would seem, for their new friends. This, unfortunately, has included no legislative bars. Abdugani Kamaliyev (Tursinov), an Uzbek married to a Russian national is in danger of being unlawfully expelled to Uzbekistan despite a request to extradite him having been turned down