During the Open Data Hackathon I spoke with Dmytro Gnap, a leading member of the journalist team behind www.yanukovychleaks.com; and Vadym Hudyma, a team member of the EuroMaydan Facebook page which currently lists nearly 300,000 followers.  On the eve of the controversial Crimean referendum they offered the following thoughts.

Vadym had a slightly different take about the meaning of the referendum in relation to the development future of Ukraine.

Regardless of the referendum’s outcome, security across the region has been challenged by the Crimean crisis in which a political party that failed to win 3% of the last election has played a hyper-nationalist card and opened the doors to a silent invasion.  The situation has raised questions about the health of NATO, the arrogance of leaders and their willingness to launch into war which would at minimum re-ignite the Cold War; and one that some fear could quickly spiral into a regional, if not global, conflict.  March 16 will be a long day out here in Eastern Europe.

More to follow… Read another perspective from fellow Personal Democracy Forum-goer, Elena Calistru here.