Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006

This photo taken on November 6, 2006 in Feodosiya features protester's banners with pro-Russian and anti-NATO rhetoric. Banners proclaim the solidarity of Bakhchisaray, Kerch, Odessa, Kharkov (Kharkiv) with Feodosian protesters. Also: "The future of Ukraine is in the union with Russia", "Crimea and Russia: the strength lies in unity", "Russia - friend, NATO - enemy", "Shame to traitors"

The Crimean anti-NATO protests of 2006 were series of political protests in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Ukraine) against United States military maneuvers during NATO's Sea Breeze 2006 military exercise and in order to prevent Ukraine's possible bid to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Background

Crimea is an autonomous republic of Ukraine. According to the 2001 Ukrainian Census 58.5% of its population is ethnic-Russian. Crimea was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR in 1954 by Nikita Khrushchev. It is planned that Russia's Black Sea Fleet will be based in Sevastopol Crimea until 2042. Surveys indicate that currently the majority of Ukrainians oppose joining NATO.

In June 2006 Russia's State Duma voted 435 to 0 to warn Ukraine that its entry to NATO would lead to "very negative consequences for the whole complex of mutual relations between our two brother nations".

Events

In June 2006, 200 U.S. Marine Corps reservists arrived to the Crimean city of Feodosiya to take part in the Sea Breeze 2006 Ukraine-NATO military exercise involving troops from sixteen countries. However, the exercise, which have been held annually for several years, did not take place, as it was not approved by the Ukrainian parliament in part due to delays in forming a government after the parliamentary election of March 2006. Their aim was to "simulate the defence of a peninsula caught between a totalitarian state and a democratic one." "Totalitarian state" may be considered an allusion to Russia.

The U.S. marines were greeted by violent protests by the local population (between 100 and 300 protesters), with barricades and slogans "Occupiers go home!" thus forcing the Marines to remain in the barracks. Natalia Vitrenko, leader of the Vitrenko bloc, announced that the Crimea has been occupied by the U.S. forces. Several days later, the Crimean parliament declared Crimea a "NATO-free territory."

Diplomatic reaction

On June 5, 2006, Serhiy Yevtushenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and director of the Institute of Euro-Atlantic Cooperation, was stopped at the Moscow airport and sent back to Ukraine. The following day, Russian Duma vice-speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky and member Konstantin Zatulin were banned from entering Ukraine (were declared persona non grata) based on the Ukrainian law concerning foreigners’ status, "foreigners are prohibited to enter the country if they violated Ukrainian legislation during their previous stay." In the case of Zatulin, Ukrainian government accused him of trying to invoke ethnic violence and work against territorial integrity of the Ukrainian state. For example, Zhirinovskiy stated: “Ukraine does not exist. Russian governors must sit in Kiev and Minsk. True Russian borders are the borders of September 1917.” The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the ban as unfriendly.

(NATO) military maneuvers in Ukraine/Crimea since 2006

The 2006 Crimean anti-NATO protests did not impact foreign military units to participate in multinational military exercises in Ukraine. Various military exercises (including ones with NATO troops) where held in Crimea since 2006.

According to a poll by Razumkov Center in March 2011 some 51% of the Crimean residents considered NATO a threat, while across Ukraine this rate was 20.6% on average.

See also

• NATO-Ukrainian relations

External links

• Russia tells Ukraine to stay out of NATO - The Guardian
• Ukraine warned over Nato entry - Financial Times
• Tensions rise in Crimea over NATO - Euronews
• Anti-Nato protests threaten eastward expansion - The Times
• Stratfor