Saturday, May 19, 2012

Why pressure on Ukraine's rulers must be maximised


Vitaliy Portnikov in LB.ua  says, this week's visits of both PM Azarov to Brussels, and president Yanukovych to Moscow, achieved absolutely nothing.

He concludes:

"That's why right now, [with both Western and Russian leaders complaining about Tymoshenko's imprisonment] paradoxically, we have a historic opportunity.

The ruling authorities, who have decided to shut out Tymoshenko - Yanukovych's biggest rival, using prosecutors [and politically motivated trial], are [now] under total international pressure. Ukrainian society also does not accept it.

The release of Tymoshenko could become the beginning of the end - not even of Yanukovych, but rather the end of Ukrainian authoritarianism in general. The pressure could turn out to be so strong, and the consequences so severe that none of Ukraine's susequent presidents would dare to play the dictator [ever again]. And we can finally change this country.

But for this to happen, Ukrainian society must also be on the same side as the West and Russia. Then Yanukovych will remain on the other side - alone."

KyivPost provides some ideas...                          

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The real pressure needs to be in the form of removing Presidential authority and establishing a full Parliamentary system of governance as recommended by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the Venice Commission.

Ukraine needs to take collective responsibility for its won governance and stop replying in the good will and benevolence of one person.

As long as it remains beholden to presidential rule it will NEVER be a free independent democratic state.

If Ukraine wants to be a part of Europe then it should look to Europe for it's models of governance not the USA.

The spviet/US presidential system has and will always fail Ukraine.