Today in Wroclaw president Yanukovych gave no hint that Yulia Tymoshenko would be freed from custody and allowed to continue her political activities, as demanded by the EuroParliament recently.
As another snub to the Europeans the Verkhovna Rada gave Yanukovych a present - they refused to decriminalise laws that would have enabled the former PM to be released. All sides know that even if Association and Free Trade Agreements are initialled in December, unless democratic standards are improved in Ukraine, the chances of ratification, particularly in the parliaments of Europe's big beasts, are slim.
If this is the case why continue the pretence? As the EU economic crisis deepens and if the Euro monetary zone crumbles into pieces, as now seems likely, Ukraine's Euro-prospects will be 'off radar' for years. Maybe the Eurocommissioners will come to the same conclusion too.
****
As one observer explains, as his ratings rapidly decline the paranoid president will be telling himself: I cannot risk releasing the charismatic Tymoshenko now - quite impossible. She would be a catalyst for potentially explosive ferment in the current situation of growing unrest and increasing social tension.
Several months ago I wrote:
In mafia circles the capo di tutti capi is usually the wealthiest of the bunch. Yanukovych looks down on his cabinet of ministers, on his close business associates and sponsors, and thinks: "These guys, whom I have known for decades, are so much wealthier than me...they owe so much to me...surely in my position I deserve to be up there with them too, no?" Hence the Mezhyhirya's with gold sanitary fittings in the bathrooms, the helicopters, executive jets, hunting lodges...etc."Because I'm worth it?"
In this excellent brief video on how 'The Family' are increasing their hold on the country, journalist Konstyantyn Usov attributes the following statement to Yanukovich: "If Akhmetov can leave 5 billion dollars cash to his successors, why can't I?"
"The talent for self-justification is surely the finest flower of human evolution, the greatest achievement of the human brain." [From 'The age of absurdity' by Michael Foley]
p.s. newly appointed Ukrainian tax supremo Oleksandr Klimenko wears a 12,400 Euro wristwatch...
What do you think about this possibility?
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that the vast majority of Ukrainians want to go in the EU direction.
So The Pineapple is damned if he does, and damned if he doesn't.
If Tymoshenko is let out - then she runs for office against The Pineapple, whose ratings are dropping.
If Tymoshenko is not let out - then people get really pissed, enough to do more than just knock down the fence in front of Parliament.
Right now, as you know, there are hush-hush secret negotiations going own with Putler as to the price of gas.
The Ukrainian sovok mafia, which is stuck with a huge debt load (35% of GDP), and no ability to borrow cheaply from the IMF or the World Bank, needs money.
The question is - how much will they have to give up to get a cheaper gas price from Putler?
The Ukrainian sovok mafia very clearly thought that they could get into the EU by bluffing - without implementing democratic reforms.
They clearly don't want democratic reforms.
So about 300 people (The Pineapple and his sovok mafia buddies in government and in Parliament and in business) are willing to destroy the lives of millions of Ukrainians just so The Pineapple can have a gold toilet in Mezhihirya.
I think that the Pineapple and his mafia will be facing much more than just fences being knocked down.