Ukraine needs to redraw its map and so does Russia. In the coming days the Crimea peninsular may no longer be a part of the Ukraine and become part of the Russian Federation. This action was not due to Putin and the takeover of Crimea by the Russian military, which increased its military presence recently and has a military base there.
Actually, it was democracy of the people through their members of parliament who have voted to join Russia and hope in the coming days after a referendum to become one with Russia. This was a democratic deed.
The people of Crimea, of which more than half comprise ethnic Russians, welcomed the good news. However, despite this democratic process by the autonomous region within Ukraine to vote on a decision, sanctions by countries such as the United States who champion democracy, moreso Ukrainian democracy, have threatened action, specifically against Russia.
Despite these threats, there appears to be no issue with Scotland setting a referendum this year to gain independence from the United Kingdom. Why should one region be allowed to choose democratically how they wish to be governed, while another doing the same is threatened?
Certainly this turn of events was not expected when the peaceful protest in Ukraine occurred last November against the proposal of the government to abandon agreements with Europe and instead to strengthen closer ties with Russia. This did not augur well with the Government and the protests escalated into violence and a revolution resulting in the ousting of President Yanukovych.
To the people, they were simply exercising their democratic rights against proposals by the government that were not considered beneficial to Ukrainians. Now, Ukraine itself is no stranger to revolutions and protest but this time it appears to be much different.
Unfortunately for Ukrainians, exercising their views to protest started a revolution that led to unforeseeable actions. Russia made its presence in Crimea felt and people chose to support Russia, leading to the successful parliamentary vote of joining Russia and next Sunday's referendum.
If we were to look back at the initial actions last year, we can see events were more than just the issue of the European agreement and issue with Russia. It was more about how the country was governed and the people wanting better governance from their leader.However, with all this talk of democracy, is Ukraine better off now than it was a few months ago?
The country has witnessed violence, increased foreign military presence in the south region and now the loss of a part of Ukraine. Parliament under the opposition which gained a majority through the President fleeing, has restored the previous constitution and hope to have elections in May.
These actions have brought some relief and appear to be as a result of the voice of the people. Though, it is yet to be seen that if the elections do occur, what will be the outcome, and whether it brings the results that most Ukrainians want through the democratic process.
While the democratic process is believed to be beneficial and the best approach as the "big brothers" of the world hope for all nations, historical and external factors tend to be overlooked. Influence and external factors can affect the direction of the democratic process.Ukraine is a democratic state and the people choose who they want to govern. But, how long will it take for the people to disagree with those they democratically elected and oust them again?
At present, it appears more harm has occurred with democracy in Ukraine than anyone had imagined. The future of Ukraine no longer resides within the Ukraine alone. It will be left up to democracy, the influence of Russia and the European Union and possibly the world.
Karon Harripaul
Student, MSc Government, UWI