THOUSANDS OF Ukrainians have protested against the appointment of an allegedly “pro-Russian” education minister in the first major demonstration of public dissent against the country’s new president and government.
Some 10,000 people formed a human chain in the western city of Lviv and chanted slogans criticising Dmytro Tabachnyk, who was appointed education minister this month as part of a government formed by allies of Ukraine’s new president, Viktor Yanukovich.
About 5,000 people demonstrated against Mr Tabachnyk in Lviv last week. The regional council is one of several in western Ukraine that have called for his removal, saying he shows more loyalty to Russia than Ukraine.
They are particularly angry about Mr Tabachnyk’s claim that western Ukrainians have virtually nothing in common with their compatriots in terms of mentality, language, religion or politics and about his support for Russian to become Ukraine’s second official state language.
Shouting “Down with Tabachnyk” and waving placards saying “We will not dance to music from Moscow”, the protesters also carried a giant “school book” giving the minister top marks for subjects including “Russification” and “Briberymatics” from the “University of Ukrainophobia”.
The protests highlight a deep split between the Ukrainian-speaking and EU-supporting more nationalist western regions, and the eastern and southern areas that are home to millions of Russian speakers who favour stronger ties with Moscow than Brussels.
The 2004 to 2005 Orange Revolution was led by pro-EU politicians with a power base in western Ukraine. However this year’s presidential election was won by Mr Yanukovich, who is from eastern Ukraine, speaks much better Russian than Ukrainian and who has close links with Moscow.
His supporters subsequently ousted the government of Yulia Tymoshenko – whose stronghold is Lviv and surrounding areas – and set about reversing some of the policies of their predecessors.
Mr Yanukovich has vowed to scrap former President Yushchenko’s decrees giving high state honours to two second World War partisan leaders, Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych.
They are revered by nationalists for fighting for an independent Ukraine but loathed by Russia and by Jewish groups, which accuse them of collaborating with the Nazis.
Mr Tabachnyk has insisted that “Ukraine’s education system will not be influenced by my personal views on the country’s history”. He also said he would not resign, even if student protesters carried out a threat to go on hunger strike.
