There is no easy road to long-lasting peace. And sadly, that was a lesson hard learnt by the security forces and protesters alike in Kiev on Monday. Violence flared outside the national parliament as lawmakers inside were debating and voting on a proposal to grant greater powers to the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. Since March of last year, when the government in Ukraine was initially overthrown by an administration more sympathetic to the West, those in the east of Ukraine felt as if they had been cheated of a government that they had elected and supported. That the new government in Kiev then moved to make Ukrainian the national language further undermined ethnic Russian sentiments. For those in the east, who had traditionally looked to Moscow, losing the official status of their mother tongue was simply too much.
In the past year, more than 4,000 lives have been lost in separatist violence as a result of pro-Russian movements taking control of the administrative and regional centres of Donetsk and Lugansk. A ceasefire between Moscow-backed separatists and the Kiev government has been shaky at best, with the violence threatening to become the worst conflict between east and west since the end of the Cold War. Monday’s vote on granting more powers to Donetsk and Lugansk was a necessary step in guaranteeing a longer-lasting peace deal — a condition determined by Moscow. Yes, it is a bitter pill to swallow — but a necessary one for meaningful peace.
