Crimea votes to join Russia, accelerating Ukraine crisis

[Constitutional Paulicy]

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Crimea votes to join Russia, accelerating Ukraine crisis
By Alissa de Carbonnel 1 hour ago

SIMFEROPOL, Ukraine (Reuters) - Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula.

The sudden acceleration of moves to bring Crimea, which has an ethnic Russian majority and has effectively been seized by Russian forces, formally under Moscow's rule came as European Union leaders gathered for an emergency summit to seek ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation.

The Crimean parliament voted unanimously "to enter into the Russian Federation with the rights of a subject of the Russian Federation". The vice premier of Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea military base in Sevastopol, said a referendum on the status would take place on March 16.

more here.... http://news.yahoo.com/big-power-talks-ukraine-crisis-little-progress-003521587--business.html

 

[69360]

Accelerates? More like ends. If the will of the people is to join Russia then so be it. The US or the EU are not going to war with Russia over Crimea. There will be some big talk and then this will quietly slip out of the news.

 

[fisharmor]

Hahaha.... it surprises me how clueless the average American is to what's going on here.
It's really obvious, to me anyway, that the rest of the world has some stuff it needs to work out but hasn't been able to for the last 70 years because of the pax Americana.
Now everyone's noticing we're much more interested in melting the faces off of 4-year-old Pakistani girls than in geopolitics, and they're making a go of it.

I mean, I was in Deutchland in 2000, and even back then I got the impression that the mood there was something like "We tried this twice and failed, but this time we're going to do it a little differently."
And it makes total sense that Russia's all like "HEY!!! We're oooooooooon to you........"

 

[juleswin]

This is turning out to be the least deadly invasion in all of human history, I mean more Americans on average die from a SWAT invasion of a drugs suspects house than this so called invasion or like some would call it invitation. But I guess the US has to respect their decision since its democratic and all, right?

 

[vita3]

If they voted for it, there shoudn't be any more hubb-bub from our end. si or no? lol

 

[Todd]

If they voted for it, there shoudn't be any more hubb-bub from our end. si or no? lol

I think the spin on this is that the vote came when their was armed Russian soldiers in the room when it happened. Calling it coercion.

 

[klamath]

I think the spin on this is that the vote came when their was armed Russian soldiers in the room when it happened. Calling it coercion.

I actually believe the people of crimea lean Russian however I know if the side was reversed and it was a county with US troops patrolling the streets and the people vote to join the US there is no way in HELL people on here wouldn't call it out as a unfair vote.

 

[Lucille]

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-06/crimea-parliament-accelerates-crisis-votes-join-russia

While the world is convinced that Putin's Tuesday press conference was an admission of blinking to the west, the reality is anything but that, and hours ago Crimea's parliament voted to join Russia on Thursday and its Moscow-backed government set a referendum within 10 days on the decision in what Reuters said is a "a dramatic escalation of the crisis over the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula." To be sure, the Crimea - which has an ethnic Russian majority - affiliation to Moscow as opposed to Kiev is well-known, yet still the sudden acceleration of moves to bring Crimea formally under Moscow's rule came as European Union leaders gathered for an emergency summit to seek ways to pressure Russia to back down and accept mediation. And now all Putin has to do is sit back and say the people have spoken and without spilling a drop of blood has effectively split the country in two parts, with the entire east of Ukraine, where pro-Russian sentiment also runs high - sure to follow Crimea. Just as we said from the very beginning.
[...]
But back to the Crimea, where a parliament official said voters will be asked two questions: should Crimea be part of the Russian Federation and should Crimea return to an earlier constitution (1992) that gave the region more autonomy?

"If there weren't constant threats from the current illegal Ukrainian authorities, maybe we would have taken a different path," deputy parliament speaker Sergei Tsekov told reporters outside the parliament building in Crimea's main city of Simferopol.

"I think there was an annexation of Crimea by Ukraine, if we are going to call things by their name. Because of this mood and feeling we took the decision to join Russia. I think we will feel much more comfortable there."

 

[Cap]

If the will of the people is to join Russia then so be it.

If legit, I totally agree.

 

[klamath]

It is funny that even though there is absolutely no American troops on the streets of the Ukraine when the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelming to impeach their president many on here called it a US installed coup. Calling out the hypocrisy on here is really getting fun.

 

[HOLLYWOOD]

Crimea is 75% Russian... majority rules. Question will be, what about all the other Oblasts within the Ukraine borders? Obvious this country is divided/segregated East/West.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

But back to the Crimea, where a parliament official said voters will be asked two questions: should Crimea be part of the Russian Federation and should Crimea return to an earlier constitution (1992) that gave the region more autonomy?

It's obvious that Russia will always act as a protector of Crimea, so why not just opt to be an independent nation? Greater autonomy will be nice, but they will probably vote to join Russia too.

 

[gwax23]

Good

 

[Peace&Freedom]

It is funny that even though there is absolutely no American troops on the streets of the Ukraine when the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelming to impeach their president many on here called it a US installed coup. Calling out the hypocrisy on here is really getting fun.

Two words: covert ops. The US doesn't need overt troops where covert operations will do, as confirmed by multiple reports covering the Ukrainian "revolution" (read coup).

Meanwhile, NO violence reported concerning the Russian troops in Crimea, no evidence the people there don't want them around, no confirmed evidence of covert ops by the Russian government. You appear to be making no distinctions whatsoever based on these details.

 

[klamath]

Funny I didn't hear anything about the peoples right when the majority of the former east block counties vote and WANTED to join the EU and NATO. The words I was hearing around here was that the US was trying to surround Russia. Yeaw the hypocrisy runs high.

 

[klamath]

Two words: covert ops. The US doesn't need overt troops where covert operations will do, as confirmed by multiple reports covering the Ukrainian "revolution" (read coup).

Meanwhile, NO violence reported concerning the Russian troops in Crimea, no evidence the people there don't want them around, no confirmed evidence of covert ops by the Russian government. You appear to be making no distinctions whatsoever based on these details.

There is no evidence of US covert OPs.

 

[eduardo89]

It is funny that even though there is absolutely no American troops on the streets of the Ukraine when the Ukrainian parliament voted overwhelming to impeach their president many on here called it a US installed coup. Calling out the hypocrisy on here is really getting fun.

The Ukrainian parliament removed Yanukovych from office illegally. Impeachment under their constitution can only be done for treason or another crime and requires a simple majority vote to bring the matter up, and then a two-thirds majority to actually impeach. To actually remove him after impeachment requires a three-fourths majority vote, that threshold was not met, not to mention the two other votes were skipped.

Ascertaining the legitimacy of the interim government in Kiev is quite tricky. According to Article 111 of the Ukrainian constitution, the President can only be impeached from office by parliament through “no less than three-quarters of its constitutional composition.” On February 22, 2014 the Ukrainian parliament voted 328-0 to impeach President Yanukovych who fled to Russia the night prior. However for an effective impeachment under constitutional rules the 449-seated parliament would have needed 337 votes to remove Yanukovych from office. Thus under the current constitution, Yanukovych is still the incumbent and legitimate President of the Ukraine.

http://www.lawfareblog.com/2014/03/russia-in-ukraine-a-reader-responds/

Article 111. The President of Ukraine may be removed from the office by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine in compliance with a procedure of impeachment if he commits treason or other crime.

The issue of the removal of the President of Ukraine from the office in compliance with a procedure of impeachment shall be initiated by the majority of the constitutional membership of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall establish a special ad hoc investigating commission, composed of special prosecutor and special investigators to conduct an investigation.

The conclusions and proposals of the ad hoc investigating commission shall be considered at the meeting of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

On the ground of evidence, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine shall, by at least two-thirds of its constitutional membership, adopt a decision to bring charges against the President of Ukraine.

The decision on the removal of the President of Ukraine from the office in compliance with the procedure of impeachment shall be adopted by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine by at least three-quarters of its constitutional membership upon a review of the case by the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, and receipt of its opinion on the observance of the constitutional procedure of investigation and consideration of the case of impeachment, and upon a receipt of the opinion of the Supreme Court of Ukraine to the effect that the acts, of which the President of Ukraine is accused, contain elements of treason or other crime.

http://www.president.gov.ua/en/content/chapter05.html

 

[DFF]

This is a move in the right direction. Probably more areas in the East will join Russia as well.

 

[mczerone]

Where's the push for poly-centric law?

Let people choose for their own property what "nation" is their governor. Popular vote telling a minority what state to be subject to is no better than a foreign coup telling the people who their new state will be.

 

[Constitutional Paulicy]

I live in Taiwan. The citizens of this country speak Chinese, eat Chinese food, celebrate traditional (not nationalistic) Chinese customs, sing Chinese songs, and are very Taiwanese in their understanding of the politics of mainland China. That doesn't mean they don't prefer by the vast majority to remain Taiwanese and independent of China.

Just because the majority of the Ukrainians speak Russian, eat Russian food, celebrate traditional (not nationalistic) Russian customs, sing Russian songs, and are very Ukrainian in their understanding of the politics of mother Russia, That doesn't mean they don't prefer by the vast majority to remain Ukrainian and independent of Russia.

We were once American colonist from England. Did we favor unification with England simply because we spoke the language and mirrored the culture?

I have a friend here in Taiwan who is from Belarus. He identifies with the Ukrainians. He is proud of his ethnicity as an ethic Russian, but also proud of his nationality as a Belarusian not a Bel-a-Russian.