CZYTAĆ LEONIÓR — Less than a week before the elections for the Venedic Sejm next Sunday, the campaigns are assuming an increasing aggressive character. Main focus of the tension are the Ruthenian National-Democratic Organisation RNDO and the organisation of Venedic patriots, Nostra Galicja, which allied itself to the Demokracja Noconała in these elections but is considered even more radical by many. Nostra Galicja is one of the smaller coalition partners in the Aldendorf government. Its only minister, nationalities minister Grażyna Jązierz, has been pursuing a fiercely anti-Ruthenian course ever since this government has been in office.
In various debates broadcast live by RRiTH, RNDO leader Darko Popczuk and NG leader Jędrzej Jekła-Sasiny have been calling each other names of the worst kind. Among other things, Jekła-Sasiny accuses Popczuk of being a traitor of the state and an “agent of socialist Ukraine”. “Don't try to fool the voters, Mr. Popczuk”, he said on Monday, ”everybody knows that the RNDO has a hidden agenda. Splitting off Galicia and Volhynia from Veneda and Lithuania first, and subsequently splitting off our beloved country from the Republic and give it to Ukraine for free. You ought to be charged with high treason for that.”
“It is not at all our intention to break away from the RTC”, Popczuk replied. “We merely want to give the Ruthenes of Galicia and Volhynia what they deserve: to be on equal terms with our brother nations, the Veneds and the Lithuanians. I cannot see who could possibly have anything against that.” He accused Jekła-Sasiny of the fabrication of facts, of spreading ethnic hatred, and even of secretly preparing a genocide. He also said that the Aldendorf government is trying to bring back the Middle Ages in the Republic.
Also on Monday, it came to a physical fight between members of the RNDO and members of the DN and Nostra Galicja in the building of the Galician High Council, of which Popczuk is chairman. Security guards had to intervene and restore order before the meeting could continue in the absence of the offenders.
During the last few days, an increasing number of violent acts have been reported. The police confirms that small groups of armed Venedic militia have been spotted in several Galician cities, notably Czytać Leoniór and Przemyśl. In the streets of Czytać Leoniór it came to a rally between RNDO and Nostra Galicja sympathisers. In Tarnopol, three Ukrainians were harassed by Venedic youth, and in Czytać Stanisławiana, a Ukrainian student was almost beaten to death by a group of Veneds armed with sticks. In Drohobycz, the houses of two Venedic inhabitants burnt down to the ground, allegdedly the work of Ruthenian nationalists. Lastly, a group of armed Nostra Galicja members stormed the RNDO headquarters yesterday evening and kept it occupied for several hours. The police convinced them to leave the building peacefully, but the damage they had done inside was enormous. No arrests were made.
Meanwhile, Popczuk remains optimistic as always. “We will win these elections. And even if we won't, that will not hamper our efforts for a third Crown. Frankly, I completely don't care who under me becomes the new prime minister.”