By Caity Ross
Central Connecticut State University became the stage for political protest Wednesday afternoon during a visit from President Obama.
Although the President arrived to give a speech about raising minimum wage, protestors of different causes came seeking his attention and the attention of the media.
The eye grabbing blue and yellow Ukrainian flags seemed to bleed into one as their line of protestors grew with the line of people waiting to see the President. They chanted, “Ukraine has not yet died,” in Ukrainian and waved signs reading “DEMOCRACY FOR UNKRAINE.”
“We are here because it is important that the Ukraine remains a sovereign nation,” Julie Nesteruk of Wethersfield said. “I am here because treaties and promises are being broken, and our country is being redrawn by Russia.”
The crisis in Ukraine has been developing since the end of 2013, but Ukraine has been in crisis since its beginning. The country separated from the Soviet Union in 1991 and has had a national identity issue since. In recent days, crises sparked after ousted President Viktor Yanukovich decided to back out of a landmark trade deal with the European Union for a $15 billion bailout from Russia’s President Vladimir Putin.
The deal would have opened doors for Ukraine to join the EU and the Western world. Protests began immediately and the resignation of President Yanukovich was demanded. Anti-protest legislation was then signed into law by Yanukovich, banning all forms of public protests — violence broke out.
“People have died doing what we’re doing here,” Nesteruk said. “We’re here because the corrupt governments under the arm of Yanukovich and under the arm of Putin silence the voices of the people.”
The crisis in Ukraine grew at the end of February when Ukrainian officials reported Russian military taking control of airports in Crimea, an autonomous, pro-Russian republic in southeastern region of Ukraine. The number of Russian troops violated the Budapest Memorandum which made an agreement between Russia, the US, the EU and Ukraine that no threats or force were to be taken against the integrity or political freedom of Ukraine. Pro-Ukrainian’s feel Russia is trying to spread its arm back into the country and convince Crimea to join it.
“[Putin] claims he’s there for the protection of the Russian speaking citizens,” said Nesteruk in disbelief. She had been chosen as the spokeswoman for their cause on this day, her voice carried over the crowd and the emotion behind each word was shared throughout her fellow protestors. “What have the Ukrainians done that protection of their own citizens from them is necessary?”
Russian parliament granted President Putin the authority to use military action in Ukraine but he stated, he has “no intention to fight the Ukrainian people.”
“We are here because we are a free, sovereign country and the only way we can establish that is with the help of the United States government, and with the help of the European Union, and with the help of all those who advocate for democracy and human rights,” Nesteruk said. In agreement with the protesters on either side of her, Nesteruk compared Putin to a modern-day Hitler, seeing his presence in Crimea as an act of oppression, control and violence. She feels Obama must use more than “strong words” when dealing with Putin’s Russia.
Since Wednesday, the United States government has promised a $1 billion loan and recovery experts to the Ukrainian government. Lawmakers in Crimea have voted in favor of leaving Ukraine for Russia, and will be putting it to a regional vote in 10 days. Oleksandr Turchinov, the acting Unkrainian president, and the western part of Ukraine oppose the leave, calling Crimea an integral part of the country.
President Obama stated that, “in 2014 we are well beyond the days when boarders can be redrawn over the heads of democratic leaders.” On Thursday Obama met with Putin and stated that “Russia’s actions are in violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty.”
Putin stands by his authority to protect Russian speaking citizens within Ukraine saying, “Russia cannot ignore the calls for help from the eastern and southeastern Ukraine.”
The US and EU have froze the assets of Yanukovich, and sanctions have been drawn up against Russian and Ukrainian officials, as well as others that are responsible for or complicit in threatening Ukrainian freedom. Russia and Ukraine refuse to budge from their opinions on the matter.
Also in attendance, their numbers rivaling the Ukrainian protestors at one point, were protestors of the Keystone XL pipeline. The issue began in 2012 when TransCanada Corporation proposed a 1,179 mile, 36 inch diameter, crude oil pipeline extension to the already existing pipeline which would begin in Alberta, Canada and end in Cushing, Oklahoma.
“We need to keep the carbon in the ground, we need to find alternative energy sources and develop them,” said Jerry LaPlante, a retired science teacher and resident of Suffield. Protestors feel the Keystone XL pipeline will add a tremendous amount of pollution and CO2 in the world, doing nothing to wean America off its dependence on fossil fuel and destructive energy uses.
“The pipeline will not only bring tar sands to the Gulf of Mexico, spreading more oil everywhere, but the oil will be exported anyway,” said LaPlante. “The last thing we need to do is export more oil.”
Supporters of the Keystone XL extension argue it will create jobs in America and produce enough oil to displace the amount imported to sustain the 15 million barrels used daily in America. They argue the extension is the safest way to transport the oil and will be the cause of economic growth.
“They say this will create jobs, money, and that the oil will stay in the US but those are blatant lies,” said Eric Stowe, 55. “Canada will get the money, China and India will get the oil and we will suffer the environmental costs.”
Environmentalists predict carbon refineries, due to the processing of the tar sands and oil mixture, will increase carbon pollution. Further, the impacts a spill could cause are beyond toxic to the world environment. “We need to make a quick move from fossil fuels and destroying the world,” Stowe said.
“We are here because Obama pledged in 2008 to focus on climate change and encouraging new sources of green energy,” Paul Gebauer said as he held a sign with a picture of his daughter on it, and the words “YOU PROMISED HER A CLEAN WORLD” underneath it. “This pipeline will have a huge impact on the environment, and the planet needs to be saved for our children and their children.”
Protestors feel Obama has not come through on promises made to finance green energy technologies and advancements in solar and wind power. They feel he is playing both sides of the field, compromising with Big Oil while making weak promises to green energy. “The consequences are reaching a point of no return. The planet needs to be saved, “ said Stowe.
President Obama has stated that he would only go through with the pipeline if it “does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.”
A group of protestors, concerned about the unemployment rate, found a place between the other groups, and held signs reading, “JOBS NOT HANDOUTS.” They were small in number but spoke with strong and urgent voices. “We are here to be heard, we want quality jobs, jobs that can support a family,” said Dan Buzzell.
As of February 2014, 175,00 workers have joined the work force, but unemployment rose 0.1 percent due to the amount of Americans seeing an increase in improving jobs within the work force. The White House has pushed for an extension of unemployment benefits since nearly 1.3 million Americans lost their benefits at the end of 2013.
“We don’t want hand outs. $10.10 can’t support my family of five. We want our construction jobs back. We want jobs that will last,” said Buzzell. The small group agreed that they and the millions of Americans unemployed or laid-off want quality jobs to support a dignified quality of life.
“We are here not only to get Obama’s attention, but the media’s,” said Stowe, as he waved his sign from Copernicus Garage. “This is important to the world, and Obama can’t let us down, and by us, I mean all of human kind.”
