20 February 2016
MEDIA RELEASE
Australia’s Ukrainian community mourns those killed in ‘Revolution of Dignity’, two years on
At this time Ukrainian communities of Australia join their countrymen and women in Ukraine and around the world in commemorating the memory and heroism of those who paid the ultimate price in the battle for a free and democratic Ukraine.
Chairman of the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations, (AFUO) Stefan Romaniw said “These people gave their lives so that future generations of Ukrainians could live with dignity, with a government that respects their human rights. Rights we take for granted in Australia. Their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”
20 February 2014 marked a violent end to months of protests in Kyiv’s Maidan Nezalezhnosti, Independence Square, when over 100 protestors, now referred to as the ‘Heavenly Hundred’, were killed with many more wounded by the then government’s special Berkut forces.
Initial protests began on 21 November 2013 when crowds amassed in outrage against the then pro-Russian President, Viktor Yanuykovych’s decision not to proceed with an Association Agreement with the European Union. The demonstrations swiftly took on a broader meaning, a general demand for corruption to end and for Ukrainians to be treated with dignity.
Sadly, only one month later the Russian Federation illegally annexed Crimea and the following month invaded East Ukraine, the latter an ongoing conflict whose death toll has risen above 9,000.
Australia announced sanctions against the Russian Federation in March 2014 following its annexation of Crimea. Sanctions were expanded in September 2014 and again in March 2015 in response to its ongoing threat to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: STEFAN ROMANIW 0419 531 255
