An impressive and thoughtful performance...
On application of selective justice and the Tymoshenko issue she said: "We are very concerned about her..it is something Ukraine has to sort out, and we hope it will..." [About 42 minutes into the video]
Sometimes the most significant statements are spoken quietly..almost as a passing remark..
Adviser to president Yanukovych, Hanna Herman, a walking advert for the miracles of cosmetic surgery, [see previous blog] may have revealed Yanukovych's pitch to the EU. Sign the deal in Vilnius in return for a promise to sort out the Tymo prob at a later date... Like many of Ukraine's politicians, her champagne and diamonds lifestyle, I fear has caused her to lose touch with reality years ago..
The contrast between the eloquent, understated Ashton and 'mutton dressed as lamb' Herman is stark...
p.s. Meanwhile, according to some....'90% Chance Ukraine Signs EU Association at November Summit' ? But it will be a 'last minute deal'....More on this, in Russian, here
p.p.s. If Yanukovych is finally cornered and has to release Tymoshenko, it may be Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka and his No.2 Renat Kuzmin who pay the price...[This organisation does not tolerate failure....
Well, it seems Kuzmin has already paid the price. The PoR needed a scapegoat for the failure to convince the EU that Tymoshenko is a criminal who deserves to be in jail. Evan the Yanukovych spin-doctors had to realize the monumental fiasco of Kuzmin; traveling around Europe with expensive PR companies paid by PoR but only managing to gather a handful of people to listen to him, misuse of his visa to US which led to its withdawal, the pathetic letters to Obama and the congress, and not the least, his performance at Yalta last year: "he looked like crook, talked like a crook and behaved like a crook", as one prominent guest (Anders Åslund) commented
ReplyDeleteafterwards. Add to that the repulsive public procedures this spring which were meant to show that Tymoshenko had ordered a contract killing, where all kinds of bizarre criminal underworld figures were brought out to the daylight to sling mud on Tymoshenko solely based on hearsay, but which eventually only reinforced the image of Kuzmin
as a new Beria. The only one who will probably miss Kuzmin is Yanukovych himself, for whom Kuzmin was the obediant tool to carry out his persecution of political opponents and personal enemies. Hopefully this could mark the beginning of Yanukovychs downfall. If he continues to insist on prioritizing the imprisonment of Tymoshenko to the long-term national interests, there may really be a revolt against him even within PoR. On the other hand, if he is forced to release Tymoshenko, he will be weakened and now no longer having a Beria to rely on in cracking down on his opponents and enemies. The latest development, with Tymoshenkos acceptance to go to Germany for treatment, and the petition from Cox-Kwasniewski for Yanukovych to pardon Tymoshenko, seems to finally have cornered Yanukovych.