Crimeans vote in referendum to become part of Russia

newscastmedia.com breaking news and current affairs

[HOME ] [ABOUT] [PHOTOS] [VIDEO] [BLOG] [HOUSTON] [TEXAS] [U.S. NEWS] [WORLD NEWS] [SPORTS] [POP CULTURE] [CONTACT]

Crimeans vote in referendum to become part of Russia

crimean vote

Crimean supporters of referendum vote to join Russia--Courtesy photo by RIA Novosti, Andrey Stenin

by Joseph Earnest March 16, 2014

Newscast Media MOSCOW—The people have spoken. Crimeans have voted in a referendum to join Russia after a coup in Ukraine forced its President Viktor Yanukovych to seek refuge in Russia. With over half the votes in, election officials say that over 95 percent of Crimeans have voted in favor of joining Russia.

Russia could absorb Crimea in a matter of weeks, the head of the region's parliament told RIA Novosti in an exclusive interview.

Barack Obama called and spoke to Putin, rejecting the results because of an alleged violation of the Ukrainian Constitution.

"The Crimean "referendum," which violates the Ukrainian constitution and occurred under duress of Russian military intervention, would never be recognized by the United States and the international community, " Obama said. "There remains a clear path for resolving this crisis diplomatically, in a way that addresses the interests of both Russia and the people of Ukraine," he added.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government that violated its own Constitution and illegally seized power went into a panic. The Ukrainian parliament voted on March 15 to dissolve the Crimean Supreme Council, to prevent annexation of Crimea by Russia.

Dissolving the regional parliament in Crimea, they believe, could strengthen Kyiv's argument that Crimean secession violates international law because it violates Ukraine's constitution, according to Radio Free Europe.

The only problem with such a faulty argument is that the current government of Ukraine itself is illegitimate, therefore it cannot assert that annexation by Russia is not legitimate because only a democratically-elected parliament can do so. The last ditch effort by the current self-appointed officials in Ukraine to hold on to Crimea is therefore irrelevant, hence no international law will have been broken, the Russians believe.

Besides, the March 15, vote comes four days late, since on Tuesday March 11, the Crimean parliament voted and declared independence from Ukraine, so any action by Ukraine thereafter is moot. (pop-up)

The standard has to be applied to both sides. They (the thugs) cannot violate the Constitution and say it is okay for them to do so, then point fingers at Crimea and say their vote is null and void because it violates the Ukrainian Constitution.

Bottom line, people who live in glass houses should not throw rocks.

After the referendum, Russia's lower and upper houses of parliament will hold a formal vote on whether to approve annexation, before Russian President Vladimir Putin gives his final backing, according to RIA Novosti.

"We believe here in Crimea that these three actions will take a maximum of two weeks, and by the end of this period we should have a constitution. We will send it for approval to the Russian Parliament," said Volodymyr Konstantinov, the speaker of Crimea's parliament.

Now that the popular vote has passed the independent country of Crimea will immediately request annexation by Moscow.

On Thursday, Secretary of State John Kerry gave Russia a deadline of Monday, to change its course in its support of Crimea or else sanctions would be imposed on it.

Russia shot back and said it too would impose symmetrical sanctions on the West. "We hope that there will only be targeted political sanctions, and not a broad package affecting economic trade," Deputy Economic Development Minister Alexei Likhachev told RIA.

"Our sanctions will be, of course, symmetrical," he added.

Russia has in the past responded to such targeted sanctions in a proportional manner. A 2012 US blacklist of Russian officials blamed for the death of whistleblowing lawyer Sergei Magnitsky in 2009 spurred the country last year to retaliate with a similar list of US officials banned from entering the country.

The West and the Ukrainians are simply acting like the jealous boyfriend or husband who has been dumped by his lady, and is acting clingy and needy instead of letting her go on with her life. Add Comments>>

Massive drill held by Russia as Crimean vote nears

Obama's approval rating drops while Putin's is on the rise

Obama implies that legitimate Crimean decision is illegitimate

Putin's revenge--The game is on with Russian boots in Crimea

Join the Newscast Media social networks

for current events and multimedia content.

Search