As this so-called “referendum” was unconstitutional as per the Constitution of Ukraine and in direct violation of international law, there can be no consideration of alleged “results”.

Considering the massive presence of foreign military and paramilitary forces, it must be acknowledged that individuals were made to participate in the polling under duress after the invasion of Ukraine’s territory by the armed forces of the Russian Federation.

The farce that is being called a “referendum” cannot even be considered a scientific sociological poll.  There is evidence of non-citizens casting ballots, individuals casting more than one ballot and an alleged participant rate of 123% in the city of Sevastopol; acts reminiscent of the Soviet era.

The UCCA welcomes President Obama’s Executive Order imposing sanctions on the Russian Federation, his support for international condemnation of the so called “referendum” in Crimea and the readiness of the Government of the United States to “help our Ukrainian friends achieve their universal rights and the security, prosperity and dignity that they deserve”.

As Russian forces continue to amass on the Eastern border of Ukraine, while internal propaganda through official Russian media outlets heightens the call for “protection” of ethnic Russians in Ukraine to fever pitch, the UCCA calls on the United States and the international community to:

• Designate Ukraine as Major Non-NATO Ally (MNNA);
• Extend an immediate NATO Membership Action Plan (MAP) to Ukraine, Georgia and other countries in the region to solidify Euro-Atlantic structures;
• Move up planned July bi-annual joint NATO-Ukraine exercises;
• Stand up NATO Crisis Centers to full manning and bring the NATO Response Force to a higher state of alert;
• Deploy international monitors from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to eastern and southern Ukraine to prevent further destabilization;
• Assist Ukraine’s military with technical assistance and provide military experts to strengthen its forces from further Russian aggressive measures;
• Re-institute the Missile Defense Shield in Central Europe to provide a first level of protection for our allies from imposing threats;
• Expel Russia from the G-8 G and convene the G-7 in an allied location, or symbolically in Ukraine;
• Suspend the Russian Federation from multilateral organizations such as the WTO, OSCE, and the like if it does not heed all the legitimate calls to comply with the international obligations of said organizations;
• Freeze Russia's membership applications to OECD and other international organizations;
• Sail the United States Sixth Fleet into the Black Sea;

The United States must stand strong in defense of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. Vladimir Putin's continued recalcitrance, and blatant occupation of a sovereign country – if not countered – will undermine the very foundation of international law, as well as regional and global peace and security.

 

For additional information please visit: http://ucca.org