DNIPROPETROVSK — The Dnipropetrovsk police are searching criminals who have written “Smert khokhlam!” and “Smert Ukraintsam!” [“Death to the Khokhols!”, “Death to the Ukrainians.” – Ed.] in the city streets. Two weeks ago the anti-Ukrainian slogans appeared on the left bank of the city near Donetske Shosse Street. However, then the hooligans reached the city center and a couple of days ago the inscriptions were found in the students’ Haharina Avenue near the national and transport universities. As deputy head of the municipal department of the Ministry of Home Affairs Vladymyr Sedletsky said during the press-conference, the police had received two complaints concerning the abovementioned inscriptions. However, before the police came community services had demonstrated rare efficiency and painted these inscriptions over or washed them off. The police were given the task to increase their vigilance, especially during the night hours, and collect the information through the agents’ reports. “We react to all similar complaints,” Sedletsky said. “Currently patrol forces, ‘Berkut,’ municipal guard and traffic police are trying to catch the hooligans. Such actions lead to the administrative penalty for the municipal beautification damage and the criminals will just be penalized. However, if we arrest these people and in the course of investigation we find out that they have done it with the purpose to stir up national hatred we will consider the commencement of prosecution.” Meanwhile, the information about the anti-Ukrainian inscriptions has been caught up by the Russian media and the known Chechen website www.kavkazcenter.com blamed “the Russian agents” for the appearance of the xenophobes’ slogans in the center of Ukraine.
“It is just nonsense” – this way the leader of the Russian Community of Dnipropetrovsk Viktor Trukhov reacted to this information. According to him, “not a single sensible person will do such things.” Trukhov concedes that the anti-Ukrainian inscriptions are an attempt “to set the Ukrainians and Russians at loggerheads.” “Unfortunately, our society does not lack morally depraved people. I will not bring forward any unfounded accusations but I hope the police will be able to find the provokers.”
The famed Dnipropetrovsk political expert, associate professor of the Dnipropetrovsk National University Viktor Pashchenko said that he has seen xenophobes’ inscriptions in Haharina Avenue for a long time. The major part of the Dnipropetrovsk universities with a lot of African and Asian students is situated in this area. “It is very sad but the youth trend to sympathize with skinheads. I have seen the graffiti “Be white-skinned!” or “Be proud of being white-skinned!” on the fences and walls many times. About a year ago when one of the Russian skinhead leaders was killed sorrowful inscriptions in his honor appeared in Dnipropetrovsk. The Ukrainians have been attacked, too. For example, someone has secretly written: “Do not speak Polish!” under an advertisement in Ukrainian. The political expert considers similar scribble not to be that harmless.
“The displays of xenophobia and nationalism in our city is a shame,” the coordinator of a Dnipropetrovsk public association Viktor Berezka declared. “Dnipropetrovsk has always been a multiethnic city that is why the public opinion has always blamed the displays of national hostility or hatred,” he remarked. “Nevertheless, we cannot deny that the alarming symptoms trend. I can explain it by the aggravating social and economic situation, property stratification and social injustice.” Besides, in schools and universities nobody talks about friendship between nations anymore, vice versa, they cultivate centuries-old offences. Berezka thinks that the government has to react to the displays of national and racial hatred otherwise Ukraine will get into hot water.
TO THE POINT
The MP Oleksandr FELDMAN promised to pay a material consideration to those who will provide information about the authors of the anti-Ukrainian graffiti in Dnipropetrovsk, www.unian.net informs. The MP believes that the inscriptions on the Dnipropetrovsk buildings have been made with the purpose to rouse national hatred and provoke aggression towards the national minorities.
