Post Staff Writer
 Mayonnaise fouls the jacket of American billionaire philanthropist George Soros shortly after his arrival for a pro-democracy event at the Rus Hotel on March 31. (UNIAN) |
Philanthropist George Soros spent the morning of March 31 talking about human rights and the law, but only after he cleaned off the mayonnaise thrown on him by protesters who want him out of Ukraine. At a human rights roundtable at the Rus Hotel, Soros was accosted by two young men who doused him with a viscous white substance that was later reported to be mayonnaise. The event had not yet started, and Soros and his entourage had just entered a conference room to take their seats, when this first disruption occurred. |
�Long live Bratstvo! Get out of Ukraine!� yelled a young man in Ukrainian after smearing the 73-year-old American citizen with a condom filled with the substance, fouling most of Soros�s upper body. Wearing black pants, a jean jacket and running shoes, he ran for the exit while brandishing his organization�s telltale black and red flag.
As photographers clicked away, the young man was tackled by security guards, punched, and dragged from the room with his hands behind his back. Soros removed his stained suit jacket, cleaned himself up, and seemed no worse for wear.
Ten minutes later, as stunned attendees retook their seats, a second young male yelling �Yankee go home!� in English managed to dump more of the creamy liquid on the billionaire philanthropist. He, too, was tackled and ushered out.
Bratsvo, which means �Brotherhood� in Ukrainian, is headed by 1+1 TV commentator Dmytro Korchynsky, who is fiercely critical of the Ukrainian opposition. His station is rumored to be controlled by Presidential Administration head Viktor Medvedchuk. Korchynsky later admitted his organization�s responsibility for the mayonnaise-filled condoms, as well to an egging that took place later that morning near the entrance to the Ukrainian House of Teachers on Volodymyrska. Soros, a pro-democracy advocate, had just entered the building for another roundtable when he was again assaulted.
Pressing on
Despite the disruptions, Soros finally spoke at the event, entitled �Human Rights During Elections,� where he said that the European Union is neglecting to develop the rule of law in Ukraine, which he called vital to Ukraine�s growth.
�I have been very actively advocating greater involvement [in Ukraine], especially from the EU,� Soros said.
Soros said he recently saw plans for Ukraine tabled by the European Union, and was surprised with its priorities.
�The rule of law is number five on priorities for the coming year, and it is not even mentioned the next year,� Soros continued. �Leaving it off is a very bad development, and I want to draw your attention to it. The rule of law should be higher in the rank of priorities.�
Soros, a critic of authoritarianism and the current Ukrainian administration, had been in Crimea to discuss problems faced by the peninsula�s ethnic Tatars prior to arriving in Kyiv. President Leonid Kuchma had to personally intervene with local authorities in order to allow him to speak at Yalta�s Livadia Palace, from which he had been blackballed by authorities.
Soros vs. Medvedchuk
Since his arrival Soros has blamed the Presidential Administration for blackballing him in Crimea and has accused Medvedchuk of attempting to discredit him through media outlets allegedly controlled by him. Ukrainian News quoted Soros as saying on March 30 that he was �surprised... because here a campaign was launched by the head of the Presidential Administration to discredit me.
�The attempt has failed because there are other forces in Ukraine besides Medvedchuk, and the [Livadia] Palace venue was finally provided,� he said, adding that he would discuss the matter during his meeting with President Kuchma scheduled for the afternoon of March 31.
Soros struck out at several mass media outlets in Ukraine, accusing them of attempting to discredit him.
�I would like to say that mass media obviously have received the �lists of topics� to depict me in a bad light. Izvestia and [1+1] told things about me that, in fact, are utter lies,� he added.
Late on March 31, Kuchma promised to ask Soros why he blamed Medvedchuk for leading a campaign against him.
�I will ask him: �What information are you using?� �Which intelligence you used?�� Ukrainian News quoted Kuchma as saying.
In the weeks prior to Soros�s visit, several media outlets allegedly controlled by Medvedchuk, including Inter TV, the weekly newspaper 2000 and several Internet news portals, published articles smearing him.
A report on Inter�s Pislazavtra analytical program, which was aired on March 22, intimated that Soros was an agent of a secret United States government organization that, the report went on, had organized revolutions in Georgia and the former Yugoslavia. The report went on to identify Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, favored by polls to win the fall presidential elections, as a Western agent operating in Ukraine.
Geopolitical struggle
The campaign against Soros comes amidst acrimony over Ukraine�s geopolitical role and debate abroad over whether Russia�s President Vladimir Putin intends to re-impose control over Russia�s former satellites.
In an article published in the London newspaper The Financial Times on March 31, Soros called upon the EU to strengthen relations with Ukraine and other former Soviet bloc countries.
�The EU should use incentives to promote the democratic development of bordering countries,� he wrote, stressing that Russia would be �only too happy� to drag its former satellites into a �reconstituted empire,� a development the EU needs to work against.
Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin also took shots at Soros before the financer�s visit. In an interview with Russia�s ITAR-TASS news agency on March 29, he accused the Hungarian-born Soros of interfering in regional politics and Ukraine�s internal affairs.
�When he turns up all over the place, gives assessments and characteristics of presidents and governments and teaches them to live, I don�t understand or approve this,� Chernomyrdin said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has closely observed obstructions Soros has faced during his visit to Ukraine.
�We are concerned to hear that Soros was physically attacked at the human rights and elections conference held in Kyiv [March 31]. The media and others have been portraying Soros and his visit here in a negative light, which could have encouraged this violent behavior against him,� U.S. Ambassador John Herbst told the Post late on March 31.