{"id":13605,"date":"2014-03-28T08:53:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-28T08:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praag.org\/?p=13605"},"modified":"2014-03-28T08:53:49","modified_gmt":"2014-03-28T08:53:49","slug":"swede-helps-nationalists-in-ukraine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praag.org\/?p=13605","title":{"rendered":"Swede helps nationalists in Ukraine"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Mikael<\/a>
Mikael Skillt<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Three weeks ago Mikael Skillt worked for a construction company in Stockholm, Sweden. Today, he is a volunteer in a nationalist organization in Kiev. In an interview with Fria Tider, Skillt tells the story of a Ukraine where the role of the police has been assumed by paramilitary Right-wing groups.<\/p>\n

At the end of February, mere days after Ukraine\u2019s president, Viktor Yanukovych, was overthrown, Mikael Skillt boarded a plane bound for Kiev. He left behind a relationship that had just ended, a terrace house in a Stockholm suburb and a well-paid job as a planner at a construction company.<\/p>\n

The purpose of his trip was to volunteer for one of the nationalist organizations which, as a result of their central role in the Ukrainian revolution, have gone from being relatively marginal to controlling the streets of Kiev.<\/p>\n

It was not an easy decision to make, Skillt said when Fria Tider spoke to him over Skype. His former employer, also a personal friend, was not happy when Skillt suddenly quit his job to go to Ukraine. Skillt said he went anyway because of a sense of solidarity with the Ukrainian nationalists. \u201cNationalists have died on the streets of Kiev,\u201d he recounted. \u201cAnd I was able to help them. That is more important than my personal well-being.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skillt is 37 years old and has been involved in various Swedish nationalist groups for more than a decade. Between 2002 and 2010 he was active in the National Socialist organization Svenska motst\u00e5ndsr\u00f6relsen (Swedish Resistance Movement). Today, he is a member of a small, nationalist political party, Svenskarnas parti (Party of the Swedes), but holds no official position within it. He says he is no longer a National Socialist and describes himself as an \u201cethnic nationalist.\u201d \u201cYou are born Swedish,\u201d he explained. \u201cIt\u2019s not something you can become.\u201d<\/p>\n

After arriving in Ukraine, Skillt joined the organization C14, also known as Sich, which is closely affiliated with the nationalist party Svoboda. In an interview with the BBC, C14\u2032s leader, Yevhen Karas, says that his organization has approximately 200 members and that its main objective is to sever all ties between Ukraine and Russia. Some have called him a Nazi, but he firmly denies that accusation. \u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019m a Nazi, I\u2019m a Ukrainian nationalist,\u201d Karas told the BBC. \u201cThe main confrontation is about that some ethnic groups have control of many business structures, some economical and political forces.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked which ethnic groups he was referring to, Karas clarified, \u201cRussians and Jews. Some non-Ukrainian groups control a huge percent of the economic and political power. And of course, in this situation you have some tension with the Ukrainian people.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Skillt, C14 has been in existence for quite some time. Prior to the revolution, C14 often intervened to protect tenants threatened by illegal eviction. \u201cUkrainian landlords, similar to so-called \u2018slum lords\u2019 in America, have often evicted tenants illegally in order to tear down an existing building and put up something newer and more profitable in its place. They often do that by bribing corrupt politicians. In many cases, C14 has occupied such buildings and chased away the police when they arrive to evict the tenants.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the protests against Yanukovych\u2019s government began last autumn, C14 was one of the groups that fought the riot police, Berkut, as they tried to drive the protesters off the Maidan Square. \u201cMost of the members of C14 have been very active in the Maidan riots. If you sit down and talk to these guys, I can give you ten names right off the bat of people who have lost a friend in the fighting. So, they\u2019ve been on the front lines,\u201d Skillt said. \u201cI have never heard anyone here call himself a National Socialist. They fight for a Ukraine based on ethnic unity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Today, C14 is a force to be reckoned with. Together with the so-called Right Sector, C14 patrols the streets of Kiev, fights crime and guards public buildings. Skillt and several other Swedish volunteers participate in the patrols. \u201cThe police force still exists, but isn\u2019t seen much,\u201d he said. \u201cMost of the police officers you see on the streets are only traffic police. Maintaining order is primarily being done by C14 and the Right Sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

The reason why there is a power vacuum that is currently being filled by these groups is that the special police force, Berkut, was disbanded following the overthrow of Yanukovych, and many officers of the regular police force were also sacked. \u201cCorruption among the police has been massive and many have been dismissed,\u201d Skillt explained. \u201cSome have fled for their lives because they were guilty of corruption, or otherwise behaved like bastards. The officers that remain are pro-Ukrainian and not corrupt. But because of their low-life former comrades, people don\u2019t have much confidence in them either.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBerkut was really disgusting,\u201d he continued. \u201cI have met some people who were arrested by them. They were tortured, sometimes even maimed. People had toes and fingers cut off. Some were doused in gasoline, while police officers stood next to them, smoking. Others had water poured over them and were then thrown out into -10 degrees C temperatures.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nationalist groups, rather than the police, enjoy a great deal of confidence among the public, Skillt told us. \u201cThey have acted in an exemplary manner, as far as the people are concerned. They have stood up to armed police officers, in many cases while unarmed, and at great risk to their own lives. This won the confidence of the people.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the Ukrainian parliament convened on March 17 to discuss the situation in Crimea, C14 and the Right Sector provided security. Skillt was part of the group that C14 sent to guard the parliament. A photo showed him wearing a uniform, a bulletproof vest, a ski mask and sunglasses. He carried a gun case on his back, but he didn\u2019t want to tell us what it contained. \u201cA fishing pole,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Other photographs from the parliament, however, show uniformed, masked men openly carrying automatic rifles. Skillt confirms that both C14 and the Right Sector possess firearms, even though guns are not part of their standard equipment. The ability to handle guns safely varies widely from person to person. \u201cSome of the guys in the Right Sector are like monkeys with guns,\u201d he said. \u201cYou put your life at risk just by being near them, when they\u2019re armed. It\u2019s pure slapstick, they have guns but handle them carelessly, as if they were wooden sticks. In C14, safety routines are much better. It\u2019s almost up to the standard of the Swedish military.\u201d<\/p>\n

Skillt described C14 as a more professional and disciplined unit than the Right Sector. Before Skillt was approved for service in C14 his physical fitness and marksmanship were tested. Candidates are expected to be able to run five kilometers in under 25 minutes while wearing a full uniform, a bulletproof vest and carrying other personal equipment. \u201cIt\u2019s not as easy as it sounds,\u201d Skillt said. \u201cPart of the course is a steep uphill slope. I made it in 24 minutes and a few seconds.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Right Sector was formed last autumn, when the protests began. It first functioned as an umbrella organization for various nationalist groups that wanted to stop the police from driving the protesters from their encampments on the Maidan in central Kiev. Its members range from soldiers with combat experience from Afghanistan and Chechnya, to students and soccer hooligans.<\/p>\n

According to Skillt, the different groups within the Right Sector have now coalesced into one organization with a common leadership. Its leader, Dmytro Yarosh, has announced his candidacy in the upcoming presidential election in May. He opposes integration with the European Union, which he described as a \u201cmonster\u201d that imposes \u201canti-Christian and anti-national laws\u201d upon its members. In a widely-distributed promotional video, the Right Sector has claimed to fight against \u201ctotalitarian liberalism\u201d and for the \u201crebirth of Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

One incident from last week illustrates the influence of these paramilitary, Right-wing groups in post-revolutionary Ukraine. Skillt told us that he was one of approximately 20 activists from C14 who went to the office of the Ukrainian prison authorities in Kiev. The purpose of the visit was to secure the release of one of the organization\u2019s members, who had been jailed for participating in the street-fighting with the police while Yanukovych was still in power.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were four guards there,\u201d Skillt said. \u201cThey locked themselves in a sentry booth as soon as we got there. We told the head of the prison authority that if he wouldn\u2019t come outside and talk to us, we would come inside and talk to him. He actually did come outside and, after a brief discussion, promised the C14 activists that he would do what was necessary to have their comrade released.\u201d<\/p>\n

Source: friatider.se<\/p>\n

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Three weeks ago Mikael Skillt worked for a construction company in Stockholm, Sweden. Today, he is a volunteer in a nationalist organization in Kiev. In an interview with Fria Tider, Skillt tells the story of a Ukraine where the role of the police has been assumed by paramilitary Right-wing groups. At the end of February, … Continue reading “Swede helps nationalists in Ukraine”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13606,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[782,1295],"tags":[8747,70,7637,8746,8749,3133,8750,8748,185,7484],"class_list":["post-13605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-in-depth-coverage","tag-c14","tag-eu","tag-kiev","tag-mikael-skillt","tag-paramilitary-groups","tag-right-wing","tag-svenska-motstandsrorelsen-swedish-resistance-movement","tag-svoboda","tag-sweden","tag-ukraine"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Mikael-Skillt.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13605"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13607,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13605\/revisions\/13607"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}