Kharkiv civic groups call for a nationwide movement to support NATO membership for Ukraine

We, the undersigned leaders of civic organizations of Ukraine, appeal to our like-minded colleagues to join us in forming a new civic movement: Maidan for NATO. Its purpose is to speed up the implementation of NATO security standards in Ukraine and thus accelerate Ukraine’s accession to NATO.

We will describe the movement’s priorities in open letters addressed to the governments of NATO member states, starting with letters to friendly nations — the United Kingdom, Canada, Lithuania, Poland and the United States — and to NATO Headquarters.

We propose to hold the new civic movement’s first Maidan for NATO Forum in Kharkiv on September 20, 2014. We offer and are ready to organize the event.

Kharkiv, August 19, 2014

Signatories:

• Natalka Zubar, Chairman of the Board, Maidan Monitoring Information Center
• Vlada  Dumenko, IT-Sector
• Valentyn Bystrychenko, Kharkiv Civic Guard
• Gennady Laguta, SELF-DEFENSE Civic Formations for Public Order and State Border Protection
• Olexander Shevchenko, Kharkiv Maidan Self-defense
• T. Bortnik, Nationalist Youth Congress
• Vasyl Ryabko, Kharkiv Music League
• Olga Myroshnyk, Executive Director, Local Democracy Fund
• Hannah Churkina, Kharkiv Auto-Maidan
• A. Kostetsky, Good Will
• A. Fisun, The Alternative
• Serhy Petrov, civic activist
• Milena Kovalska
• Igor Solomadin, teacher, Educational Consultant of the School Champion Project
• Alla Yevdokimova, Tree of Life Human Rights Center

Below is a sample open letter to the government of the United Kingdom. Other letters are the same.

We appeal for your help on behalf of the civic society of Ukraine’s eastern region, represented by the newly formed Maidan for NATO movement, which aims to widely support the fastest possible integration of Ukraine into the global collective security system.

The Ukrainian society, which is still in a state of post-Soviet transformation, now faces the challenges and risks that may threaten potentially every human life. Those are riots, technological and humanitarian disasters and terrorist threats.

Actually, in our country, personal security is not supported by any standards, even for peacetime. For example, there is a lack of health care standards and standards for public information regarding basic life saving measures in emergency situations such as natural disasters, man-made disasters, accidents, fires, criminal threats, etc. How to behave in life risk situation? How to render first aid or call for a rescue team?

The Soviet security system, though being archaic technologically and weak in terms of human right protections, still provided a decent level of safety. But it is destroyed, along with the system of information and training.

Current threats force us to immediately develop a new system for the protecting of human life and health in a modern world.

Standards in this area are the highest in the countries of the Euro-Atlantic community. We need to seek advice and organizational help. This is not only (or even not primarily) about military security. It is about the security of everyone’s life.

Here are only some burning issues of our society:

• How should rescue services be organized?
• How should police or law enforcement agencies ensure citizens’ security?
• How should the modern system of emergency medical care work, both in terms of organizational structure and logistics?
• How should state and local communities share their responsibilities?
• What should the ordinary citizens know to protect their own lives and the lives of others?
• How should public information and training be delivered?
• How should institutional education be reformed? What additional educational procedures should be introduced?

Experience of NATO countries experts, especially from those countries which have managed to create very good life safety systems or those which recently transformed their life safety systems, can provide priceless benefits for Ukraine. These are life saving matters. Moreover, lives could be rescued in the nearest future.

NATO is an undisputed leader in the process of life safety system development. It also has the highest standards of life security. Therefore, we are writing to you to ask for maximum possible assistance, including first-hand consulting help on the range of issues outlined above.