Odessa Solidarity Campaign Report:
MAY 2 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE PEOPLE OF ODESSA
In a major breakthrough for the people of Odessa, Ukraine, a United Nations human rights monitoring mission has criticized the Ukrainian government for its failure to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the fascist-led massacre of scores of people on May 2, 2014, at the city’s House of Trade Unions.
The U.N. “Briefing Note” was issued on the fifth anniversary of the massacre, when vigils were held across Europe and North America as part of an International Day of Solidarity with the People of Odessa.
And in a major departure from the near-total media whiteout of the issue in the U.S. media, an Associated Press story on the U.N. report was carried by media outlets across the United States and beyond, including The Washington Post, ABC News, Yahoo! News, (Minneapolis) Star-Tribune, Houston Chronicle, Seattle TImes and the (UK) Telegraph and Daily Mail.
This doesn’t mean there will be an impartial investigation, but it does help to shine a light on the massacre and the government’s failure to act.
The International Day of Solidarity, coordinated by the Odessa Solidarity Campaign (USA) and Prague Spring II (Sweden), included solidarity vigils in Berlin, Budapest, Donetsk, London, Moscow, New York City, Prague, Stockholm, Vancouver, Vienna and Wroclaw, among other cities.
In Washington, D.C., a delegation from the Odessa Solidarity Campaign, along with members of Struggle/La Lucha, held a vigil outside the Ukrainian Embassy and then hand-delivered a letter to embassy staff addressed to Ukrainian President-Elect Volodymyr Zelenksy. The letter urged the incoming president, who overwhelmingly defeated the ultra-nationalist incumbent, Petro Poroshenko, to break with the reactionary policies of his predecessor and agree to allow an international investigation into the massacre, as well as end the ongoing repression of relatives of those who died in the trade union building fire and journalists attempting to investigate the tragedy.
Meanwhile, police in Odessa reported that 4,500 people came out for that city’s fifth annual memorial. Among those attending was Joe Lombardo, co-coordinator of the United National Antiwar Coalition and a member of the Advisory Board of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign. (See Joe’s report HERE.)
For ongoing news and analysis about developments in Ukraine, see https://odessasolidaritycampaign.org and the Odessa Solidarity Campaign Facebook page.
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Photos from some of the May 2 solidarity vigils.
More photos will be posted as received.
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AP story on the U.N. report:
Full U.N. “Briefing Note”:
Letter to President-Elect Volodymyr Zelensky:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nyCnGb90ARTm3kAvyR5UAjPE_zAH7Hog/view
Video of the delivery of letter to President-Elect Volodymyr Zelensky:
https://ruptly.tv/en/videos/20190503-001
Joe Lombardo’s report from Odessa:
http://nepajac.org/rpt.htm?fbclid=IwAR02g0qGZkLfNgxsMoPUl1ZK5iOVoEnXV_pxKd4QPEVHxyPZ-Rq84Gtz93Q
Odessa Solidarity Campaign 