Courtesy of Mish.
An up or down vote on whether Crimea stays with Ukraine or joins Russia is slated for March 16, just 10 days from now.
Please consider Crimea Votes to Join Russia, Accelerating Ukraine Crisis.
Crimea’s parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum on the decision in 10 days’ time in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.
The vice premier of Crimea, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16. All state property would be “nationalized”, the Russian ruble adopted and Ukrainian troops treated as occupiers and forced to surrender or leave, he said.
Historical Background
Let’s take a look at the historical and political references as noted by the Financial Times.
“Crimea was, is and will be an integral part of Ukraine,” said Arseniy Yatsenyuk, Ukraine prime minister. Speaking in Brussels, he said the referendum had “no legal grounds” and urged the Russian government not to support those advocating separatism in Ukraine.
Oleksandr Turchynov, Ukraine’s acting president, said Crimea’s referendum would be banned, its parliament disbanded and snap elections held.
Crimea has been a bone of contention between Moscow and Kiev ever since Nikita Krushchev gave it to Ukraine in February 1954, in a move to mark the 300th anniversary of the 1654 treaty that unified Ukraine and Russia.
In 1992, Crimea’s parliament voted to declare the region independent of Ukraine and scheduled a referendum to confirm the vote. But after pressure from Kiev, lawmakers backtracked, announcing the peninsula was part of Ukraine.
What Country Should Crimea Belong To?
Like it or not, it’s pretty clear that in recent history Crimea was not part of Ukraine. Rather Crimea became part of Ukraine without a vote. In 1992 it almost left Ukraine, but the Crimea parliament was talked out of a vote.
What country should Crimea be part of? Should it be its own country? And should the people decide, or politicians?
U.S. Hypocrisy
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