Ukraine Crisis: Preparations for Referendum Underway

World Today

In Mariupol, residents are on edge, a day after deadly clashes between anti-government militia and Ukrainian troops. In Slavyansk, the self-proclaimed mayor says the surrounding eastern regions are united in their decision to vote.Ukraine’s interim president Olexander Turchynov warns that a vote on self-rule would mean “self-destruction.” 

Ukraine Crisis: Preparations for Referendum Underway

In Mariupol, residents are on edge, a day after deadly clashes between anti-government militia and Ukrainian troops. In Slavyansk, the self-proclaimed mayor says the surrounding eastern regions are united in their decision to vote.Ukraine's interim president Olexander Turchynov warns that a vote on self-rule would mean "self-destruction."

In eastern Ukraine’s most heavily fortified town, preparations are underway for Sunday’s referendum. A vote that could plunge Ukraine into civil war. As they load up the ballot boxes to be sent out to polling stations, organizers admit that the referendum has been hastily arranged and is fraught with problems.

Kiev says it will do everything it can to block the vote. But the self-proclaimed mayor of Slavyansk warned the interim authorities to back off, and stand their troops down. At polling stations like this on Sunday people across the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk will be asked if they support the act of self-rule for the Donetsk People’s Republic.

The question is vague  perhaps deliberately so it appeals to people here who want decentralization, those who want a federal state and the hardliners who see their future only in Russia. A Yes’ vote would potentially open the door to all three.

Which way will this referendum go ? Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at The Independent Institute shares his prediction.

Ukraine Crisis: What could Happen with Referendum Vote?

Ivan Eland, Senior Fellow and Director of the Center on Peace and Liberty at The Independent Institute shares his prediction.