Euroasian Jewish News

EAJC GC Member Vyacheslav Likhachev

Xenophobia Report Presented in Ukraine

EAJC General Council member Vyacheslav Likhachev prepared and presented the “Xenophobia in Ukraine – 2009” report as part of the coordinating meeting of “Initiatives of Variety,” a network of international and non-governmental organizations interested in counteracting racism and xenophobia in Ukraine, which took place at the premises of the International Organization for Migration. Among those who took part in the meeting were representatives of government bodies, international and Ukranian human rights organizations, experts, representatives of national minorities, organizations of refugees, and international students from different regions of Ukraine.

According to the researcher, there was a decline in the amount of racist attacks in 2009, including those directed at Jews. 35 victims of racist violence were registered, and not a single confirmed murder, as opposed to 2007, when there were 88 victims and 6 dead, and 2008, with 85 victims and 4 dead. Also, the trend for reduction of the number of anti-Semitic publications that began in 2007 continued in 2009. However, anti-Semitic vandalism has begun to rise. The other worrying tendency of 2009 was a sharp increase in homophobic crimes. At the end of his report, Vyacheslav Likhachev noted a relatively new class of events – targeted arson through bottles with an incediary fuel, and attempts at terroristic acts. The researcher devoted a separate topic to the use of xenophobia and anti-Semitism in the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election campaign.