Intermediate Debate Competition R3: The Crimean Referendum was was not legitimate or democratic

This debate is part of the Second Official DDO Tournament, hosted by TUF:http://www.debate.org...And part of the Intermediate Tier of the tournament: https://www.debate.org...*** Although the information was mentioned in the title, I have to mention here that this debate is de facto no longer accepted by TUF as legitimate entry in the tournament. This debate was started on March 27, 2014, one day after the deadline TUF gave. Due to a lack of communication by me and sickness of Pro, the resolution was not set until April 2. As a result, TUF has declared Oromagi the winner of the tournament. I cannot contest that; HOWEVER, if Oromagi and TUF agree, I would like for this to count. ***Thanks to Pro for accepting the proposed terms and presenting an excellent first round. In the first round, I will present evidence on why the Crimean Referendum did in fact reflect the will of the people, and why the results were just.==========I. The Ukrainian people were cheated out of a fair election.Former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich was a democratically elected president. He was voted into office in 2010 with a 48.95%-45.47% vote to Tymoshenko (with a 70% majority in Crimea) [1], with multiple opinion polls showing that was in clear lead to the next candidate, with a 31%-19% lead [2].After Yanukovich took office, the 2004 constitutional amendment was declared unconsititutional by the Ukraine Supreme Court. This effective meant the president of Ukraine gained the power to nominate several Ministers, but more importantly, he lost the power to dissolve Parliament [3]. In 2013, Yanukovich opted to sign an agreement with Russia to provide aide and economic partnership with Ukraine rather than the EU [4]. This was in the interest of the Ukrainian people, since 70% of Ukrainians approved of closer relations with Russia [5], while only 39% approve of closer ties with the EU [6]. Similarly, 45% of Ukrainians support Euromaidan, while 50% do not [7].However, because of this treaty with Russia, “Euromaidan” supporters, who occupy a majority og Kiev, used violence to oust the Yanukovich. Even after Yanukovich had signed the Euromaidan treaty, the rioters continued with ousting him [4]. The new interim government in Crimea is now unelected, without any constitutional authority, and only stays in power because they are West-backed.II. The history of the Crimea does not lie with Ukraine.Crimea was a part of the USSR after the White army was defeated from there. Throughout the 20th century, the Russian population in Crimea increased at the expense of the local Tatars. [8]After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a referendum was held which declared Ukrainian independence. The referendum was phrased “Do you support the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine?” without giving consideration to Crimean independence. 54% of Crimeans with 58% voter turnout, compared to 92% and 90+% voter turnout of the rest of Ukraine [9], approved of the referendum. Crimea was given the status of Autonomous Republic in the referendum. Autonomous is the key word here, because it means Crimea is not necessarily under the rule of the Ukrainean government.III. The decision was made with popular sovereignty. The poll had two choices: Unite with Russia, or return to the June 1992 constitution of Crimea, which declares Crimea as part of Ukraine and was recognized by Ukraine.Exit polls of the referendum found that an overwhelming 96.8% of the 83% voters who voted wanted to cede Ukraine and join the Russian Federation [10].A 2008 poll found that 63.8% of Crimeans would like to cede Ukraine and join Russia [11], and this no doubt has increased in 2014.IV. Sanctioning the Referendum is hypocritical. Clearly, even if the Referendum was completely fraud like any power would want to declare if it did not go there way, it is obvious that a vast majority of Crimeans would like to join Russia. Countries have been separated before on much more ambiguous grounds, and those decisions have been supported by the West.Forcing Crimea to remain as a part of Ukraine would be a humanitarian disservice, and would tarnish the “pro-democratic” tone that the West likes to tout. If the West does not recognize Crimea as independent, the world will see the West as a hypocritical power who only recognized “democratic” decisions in their favor. Disrespect for the West from the rising developing and undeveloped nations would cause discontent and damage Western interests.==========Thank you.Sources:[1] http://www.britannica.com...[2] http://www.kyivpost.com...[3] http://tinyurl.com...[4] http://en.wikipedia.org...[5] http://www.kyivpost.com...[6] http://www.kyivpost.com...[7] http://en.interfax.com.ua...[8] http://en.wikipedia.org...[9] http://en.wikipedia.org...[10] http://en.wikipedia.org...[11] http://www.razumkov.org.ua...