12points.tv

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There is the general prejudice that non-white artists don't get too many votes from eastern European countries. Recent examples are Norway's entry last year and the Netherlands in 2007. This year Ukraine almost seems to have made a statement against this prejudice, selecting Gaitana to represent the country in Baku. Gaitana is partly Congolese but she was born and raised in Ukraine. Apparently this now hasn't turned out to be accepted generally in the country anyway. In Ukrainian press Yuriy Syrotyuk, of the Svoboda party, said that "Gaitana is not an organic representative of the Ukrainian culture." "Eurovision is our chance to promote Ukraine," "We need to show our originality," he told Kyiv Post on Feb. 21. Such a pity!