This year’s song contest “Eurovision” will be a political Thriller!
For months insiders see signs that the final song contest “Eurovision” on may 13 in Kiev can be overshadowed by the Ukrainian-Russian conflict.
Indeed, more and more inflames debate around competition, which singer Jamal with his song “1944”, beating Australia and Russia, has led to Kiev.
If a few days ago Russia did not show, whether she wants to participate in the Eurovision song contest in Ukraine, or “for security reasons” it would be better to boycott it. Now state TV, Putin made a particularly bold chess move and has thus in Ukraine a lot of pressure.
On Sunday evening the First Russian TV channel just one day before the deadline for submission of applications for participation in the Eurovision song contest called the name of the Russian entry this year: Julia Samoylova.
27-year-old singer from his childhood confined to a wheelchair, she performed at the opening of the Paralympic games in 2014 in Sochi and a year later was awarded second prize in the competition, which is a Russian version of the talent show X Factor.
A young woman on Sunday sincerely rejoiced in his part, which was taken by the jury. Samoilov said that she was “in shock” joy. According to her, the song contest is “what’s it all my life, since childhood, with parents watching on television.”
But the joy was short-lived.
The singer performed in 2015 in the Crimea
Late at night, Internet users pointed out that after June 2015, spoke in the Ukrainian city of Kerch. Kerch in the Crimea, which Russia in March 2014 annexed in violation of international law.
And here begins the political Thriller: according to Ukrainian law it is prohibited to enter the Crimea without permission of the Ukrainian authorities and not from the Ukrainian territory.
Bild asked the Ministry of internal Affairs of Ukraine. The answer was unequivocal: “Ms. Samoilova came to the temporarily occupied territory of the Crimea Peninsula with the state of the territory of Russia, not from Ukraine. Therefore, the case will be considered by the security Service of Ukraine (Ukrainian secret service)”.
Also, the SBU expressed Facebook. Press Secretary Yelena Gitlyanskaya said that “the decision will be based solely on Ukrainian laws and national security concerns”.
One insider said in an interview with Bild that he believes that this will entail a ban on entry for Russian contestants. Julia Samoylova is violated “at least the decree of the Ukrainian government, namely No. 367 of 4 June 2015. Thus, it may be barred from entering Ukraine for a period of three years. It is normal practice”.
Plain text: if you follow Ukrainian laws, the country has no other choice, she will have to ban Russian contestant entry to Ukraine and thereby to suspend her participation in the song contest “Eurovision 2017”. Russia knows it too.
Whether Putin is counting on the failure?
Already on Monday morning — even before all the official Ukrainian statements! — The Kremlin spoke about the planned participation of Yulia Samoilova in the Eurovision song contest in Kiev.
Putin’s spokesman Peskov told journalists that “everyone had been in the Crimea, there is almost no one who would not go there”.
In addition, he stressed: “I would not began to use such words as a provocation, because it is the choice of the channel. I don’t see any provocation.”
What Sands said, is that the choice made state-controlled TV channel under the leadership of “Putin’s master of ceremonies” Konstantin Ernst. He’s since 1995, is one of the most important Kremlin leaders in the field of media.
However, Ukraine does not believe in coincidence.
One Ukrainian MP said in an interview with Bild: “while Russia until the very end was considering a boycott of the song contest, Moscow has decided to politicize the process by selecting the singer who has already performed in the Crimea. Her candidacy is clearly a provocation, an attempt to force Ukraine to act.”
Taras Berezovets of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future in Kyiv, told Bild: “In my experience of contacts with the Russian propaganda and Konstantin Ernst, who is engaged in the contest for the First Russian TV channel, this was done intentionally. Want to show that if Yulia Samoilova will be denied entry, it means that Ukraine does not recognize even the disabled.”
Thus, Ukraine was in a difficult position.
Or Kiev admits at the last second, chosen by the Kremlin, the Russian singer and thus a little retreat from the Crimea. Julia Samoylova or expelled for violation of the law and make themselves the target of much criticism regarding the discrimination of persons with disabilities. The goal of this nefarious game of the Kremlin — to make a song contest “Eurovision 2017 a” political pledge.
