Lvov radicals demand official status for Bandera Nazi flag

22.03.2018, Lvov.

Lvov nationalists gathered a picket in front of the municipal council’s building in the city of Lvov, and demanded municipal authorities to recognize red and black flag of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, organization banned in Russia), as well as fly it together with the official flag of the country, the UNN agency reported on March 22nd.

 “We demand deputies to come to their senses and make a conscious decision. Red and black flag has to be flown next to the blue and yellow one. Today we are having a peaceful event, but if they do not make the decision, we will start acting more radically,” UNN cities Taras Hammer, the leader of the Ukrainian Neo-Nazi organization Right Sector (organization banned in Russia) in Lvov.

About a hundred people, representatives of various radical and nationalist organizations took part in the picket.  The picket took place when the city council had a session.

On March 1, the so-called anti-Bandera law took effect in Poland, which, in particular, imposes criminal responsibility for public demonstration of symbols used by Ukrainian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century. Additionally, according to the Polish law, demonstration of Bandera Nazi symbols is criminally prosecuted, even if one does it outside the borders of Poland. Responding to these actions, some Ukrainian local councils ordered to fly the flag of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN, organization banned in Russia) next to the state flag. The city council of Ternopol, as well as regional council of Zhitomir region, made a ruling to fly red and black flag next to the blue and yellow one during celebrations.

Editorial comment

In 2014 and 2015, Western neighbors of Ukraine turned a blind eye to glorification of Ukrainian nationalists , but starting from 2017, so-called the nationally oriented policy of Ukraine started to encounter their strong resistance.

The majority of Ukrainian elite, apparently in order to please its “European friends and partners”, wishes to take radical nationalism away from the political surface. It explains the situation when local bodies even in the Western part of Ukraine show reluctance to being involved into “historic” confrontation with Poland and, in particular, fly a red and black flag. Nevertheless, there are groups inside the Ukrainian authority, for whom the idea of building a national state in accordance with the testaments of Dontsov and Bandera are much more important than becoming part of Europe.

Source: Rossa Primavera News Agency

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