Ukraine Parliament Votes to Disarm Paramilitary Groups

BALTIMORE, Maryland April 3, 2014 - There was a time when they were the darling of the ball. Now, however, they've worn out their welcome, and now, with some former Euromaidan revolutionaries involved in running the Ukrainian Government, the Ukrainian Parliament wants remaining paramilitary groups to disarm. Now, they've passed a law to make it mandatory.

Le Figaro, in Paris, reported Thursday that the catalyst for the vote was a shooting incident on Monday night, March 31. [Let me state first that Le Figaro is one of the oldest newspapers in the world. It was been publishing since 1828. It is also one of the most respected.] According to Le Figaro, a member of the radical group, Pravyi Sektor, was intoxicated on Monday night, but despite this he was out for a stroll and attempted to pass a barricade near Kiev's Independence Square. This specific piece of real estate is a landmark in Kiev and was where the Euromaidan Movement demonstrated for three months against former President Viktor Yanukovych. The demonstrators, many of them young, and of both sexes. They were livid with Yanukovych and his perceived sell-out to Russian Strong Man Vladimir Putin. Anyway, when the Pravyi Sektor guy tried to stroll past the barricade, an "altercation" broke out and the Pravyi Sektor man pulled out a gun, and it wasn't just any gun, it was a Makarov pistol. At first, the lads guarding the barricade tried to talk the man down, but because he had been drinking, they couldn't do it. At least that is what a Mr. Taras told Le Figaro. Mr. Taras was said to be in charge of the lads on the barricade. The next thing you know, Pravyi Sektor fired a shot. The paramilitary guys responded by firing tear gas at the Pravyi Sektor man. At this, the Pravyi Sektor man started firing in all directions, Mr. Taras said. This shooting spree left two men wounded. The Pravyi Sektor man then took refuge in a nearby hotel, the Hotel Dnipro, that is temporary headquarters of his paramilitary organization. The government sent police armed with machine guns, who surrounded the hotel and told the people inside they weren't leaving until the guy with the Makarov came out. Come morning, he came out. Everybody came out; that is, everybody that was a member of Pravyi Sektor. When the police went inside the abandoned Hotel Dnipro, they found a veritable arsenal. There were a variety of weapons and an assortment of explosives. Mr. Taras told Le Figaro that many of these weapons were the ones stolen from police and army depots in January, when the Euromaidan Movement started acting like a real Revolution. The demonstrators knew the police on the streets had guns. They needed guns. They went and got guns.

The Ukrainian Parliament was made very nervous by this finding. That is why they voted the very next day to disarm the paramilitary groups.

It won't be fun, officials told Le Figaro. Many of the demonstrators are young and are from areas that are not well off. The demonstrations, the entire Euromaidan Movement, was for many the first important thing they had done in their lives. To force them out of Kiev and the work they were doing will be very disillusioning. They may resist it with force, authorities fear.