Today president Yanukovych announced in a recorded interview to be broadcast tomorrow, that "Ukraine will fulfil all of the conditions required for the successful signing of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement."
Last December, the Council of the EU made it clear: "Ukraine’s performance will determine the pace of engagement [with the EU], and will be assessed on the basis of progress in three areas: the compliance of the 2012 parliamentary elections’ with international standards and follow-up actions, as well as Ukraine’s progress in addressing the issue of selective justice and preventing its recurrence, and in implementing the reforms defined in the jointly agreed Association Agenda. "
[Official document here]
In the nine months since this document was published, apart from the release of Yuriy Lutsenko, to date there has been no progress in 'the three areas' at all. On the contrary, opposition parliamentary deputies have been expelled from parliament on the most dubious of reasons. Opposition rallies and meetings have been disrupted. Parliamentary sittings have taken place with opposition deputies physically excluded. Journalists threatened and harried by thugs who co-operate with law officers. The list goes on and on...
Now everything has now been left until the last moment before November's Vilnius summit. EU leaders should therefore treat Yanukovych's words with scepticism.
The current situation in the Kyiv city hall should add to this scepticism, particularly as one of the conditions set before Ukraine concerned shortcomings in the 2012 parliamentary elections.
According to Article 141 of the Ukrainian constitution: "Village, settlement, city, rayon, oblast radas shall comprise deputies elected by the residents of village, settlement, city, rayon, oblasts on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage by secret ballot.
The term of powers of the village, settlement, city, rayon, oblasts radas, deputies of which are elected at regular elections, shall be five years. The termination of powers of the village, settlement, city, rayon, oblasts radas shall result in termination of the powers of the deputies of the respective rada."
The residents of Kyiv are being denied their constitutional right to elect their city council deputies at least once every five years. By remaining in office beyond a five year period the current city authorities have brazenly usurped power in the city - the city council rulings have no legitimacy.
The reason for this is that the results of last Autumn's parliamentary election strongly indicated Yanukovych's friends in the Kyiv city council would be wiped out in any fresh local election. Control of the city will be essential if he were to try to 'fiddle' the results of the 2015 presidential elections.
Even though the EU seem to be going soft on other issues, they should not remain silent. Now is the time for max pressure to be applied on Yanukovych, not for backing off - he cannot be allowed to get away with this. It should be made clear: if a date is not set imminently for fresh mayoral and city council elections in the capital, then no AA.
As for Ukraine's opposition parties', they have not responded resolutely on this issue. They seem happier just 'swanning about' in Brussels..
There are credible reports that Arseniy Yatseniuk's cousin Voldymyr is co-operating in tendering 'stitch-ups' via shady off-shore companies together with businesses close to 'The Family' in order to secure 1 Bn Hryvnya hospital-building contracts in Kyiv at the Amosov Cardiovascular Institute.
'Svoboda' are also allegedly involved in property machinations in Kyiv running into many millions of dollars...and are actively co-operating with the Communists....
Virtual politics or what?
Friday, August 30, 2013
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Ukraine - important hub for drugs...BBC documentary
Please watch this excellent BBC documentary on "Europe's Dirty Drugs Secret"..Ukraine..
Most BBC programmes are only available for viewing inside the UK, but it has been posted on Youtube here
"Europe's Dirty Drugs Secret: Stacey Dooley Investigates..
Stacey Dooley travels to Ukraine on Europe's far eastern edge to investigate the struggle to keep drugs out of the UK. Stacey reveals that drug cartels from South America have been using Ukraine as a transit hub to smuggle cocaine into western Europe. To uncover why cocaine shipments are taking this 2,000-mile detour, Stacey visits a new frontline in the war against international drug trafficking - the port of Odessa on Ukraine's Black Sea coast. Ukrainian officials show her the tricks traffickers use to hide drugs within cargoes - inside anything from industrial furnaces to excavated pineapples. But she soon learns from a port worker and a former drug trafficker that Ukrainian customs officials are notoriously open to bribes to get cargoes through"
Stacey also discovers that, because the drugs smuggled into Ukraine are too expensive for most local drug users, some are resorting to horrific homemade substitutes. Perhaps the worst is 'crocodile', so called because it rots the flesh of users and turns it scaly. Stacey meets some young addicts as they make a batch from bleach, petrol and tablets bought at the chemist."
Stacey Dooley's 'naif' journalistic style cleverly exposes the smug incompetence and disdainful attitude of many of Ukraine's customs and law enforcement services to their work. IMO a very revealing documentary..
Most BBC programmes are only available for viewing inside the UK, but it has been posted on Youtube here
"Europe's Dirty Drugs Secret: Stacey Dooley Investigates..
Stacey Dooley travels to Ukraine on Europe's far eastern edge to investigate the struggle to keep drugs out of the UK. Stacey reveals that drug cartels from South America have been using Ukraine as a transit hub to smuggle cocaine into western Europe. To uncover why cocaine shipments are taking this 2,000-mile detour, Stacey visits a new frontline in the war against international drug trafficking - the port of Odessa on Ukraine's Black Sea coast. Ukrainian officials show her the tricks traffickers use to hide drugs within cargoes - inside anything from industrial furnaces to excavated pineapples. But she soon learns from a port worker and a former drug trafficker that Ukrainian customs officials are notoriously open to bribes to get cargoes through"
Stacey also discovers that, because the drugs smuggled into Ukraine are too expensive for most local drug users, some are resorting to horrific homemade substitutes. Perhaps the worst is 'crocodile', so called because it rots the flesh of users and turns it scaly. Stacey meets some young addicts as they make a batch from bleach, petrol and tablets bought at the chemist."
Stacey Dooley's 'naif' journalistic style cleverly exposes the smug incompetence and disdainful attitude of many of Ukraine's customs and law enforcement services to their work. IMO a very revealing documentary..
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Gongs* for gangsters [updated]
President Yanukovych bestowed the traditional state honours on 'worthy' Ukrainian citizens today - the 22nd anniversary of Ukraine's declaration of independence.
The depths to which this man descends never fails to amaze.
One of the most hated politicians in Ukraine, minister of Education, 'Ukrainophobe' Dmytro Tabachnyk, received the Order of Yaroslav the Wise in the 4th degree.
Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, a PoR parliamentary deputy, perhaps one of Yanukovych's most trusted pals from the 'old days' in his home town of Yenakiyeve, was granted an 'Order of Merit' in the 3rd degree, even though he is almost never seen in parliament.
Minister of the Interior, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, received a similar award.
Ivanyuschenko, a.k.a. Yura Yenakiyivskyi or Yurets Maloyi, is one of the most mysterious and sinister characters in Ukrainian politics - he is certainly one of the richest. Until Yanukovych became president no-one even knew what he looked like. He had spent most of the previous decade in Monaco.
There is some evidence he may have led a criminal gang of hit men in the days of the 'wild east'. They were allegedly involved in more than 40 killings including that of Shakhtar Donetsk president Akhat Bragin.
On the rare occasions Ivanyushchenko is spotted in public, he is surrounded by a phalanx of armed bodyguards and armoured automobiles.
Ivanyushchenko had been denied a US visa for years. To resolve this problem in 2011 he hired, at huge expense, lobbying companies in the USA . Eventually they got him a special UN visa by putting him a UN official visitor list. Yuriy Y, humiliatingly had to give a detailed itinerary of his 3 day stay in the New York to enable US officials to locate him, if required, any time, day or night.
Yuriy Y, according to some sources is involved in shadow schemes in the coal industry that may be costing his country up to 1 Bn UAH annually.
[Detailed article about Yura Y's shady past and businesses, in English here]
As for the Donetskiite interior minister Zakharchenko, he is the guy who initiated the practice of supplementing lines of law enforcement officers with young thugs during opposition protest marches and rallies etc. They are now known as 'Titushky' after a certain Vadym Titushko figured in video footage assaulting journalists. Zakharchenko's almost two years in ministerial office has seen trust in the police decline to low single figures. Men under his control have raped and robbed with impunity... as in the small town of Vradiyivka....Physical assaults on Ukrainian journalist have become a daily occurrence despite appeals to the minister for protection by independent journalists' organisations .
Bandit land extortioner Artem Pshonka, son of the Prosecutor General, known as 'raider No.1 in Ukraine' also received an award from Yanukovych.
Pass me the sick bag....
Is the EU really going to sign an agreement of association with such people? Will the AA in any way change their behaviour for the better? Are you kidding?
Update: Another bandit receiving an award, that of Princess Olga, was Valentyna Arbuzova, mother of the deputy PM whose son Serhiy is close to president Yanukovych's son.
Arbuzova, is the chairman of the All-Ukrainian Bank for Development, [VBR].
"VBR is thought to be controlled by Oleksandr Yanukovych, the elder son of the president, who appears to have been expanding dramatically the family’s interests in the banking sector." [Source]
Arbuzova was allegedly involved in a major money laundering operation in the early nineties, and possibly even murder.
Excellent investigative article on these sinister people here
The depths to which this man descends never fails to amaze.
One of the most hated politicians in Ukraine, minister of Education, 'Ukrainophobe' Dmytro Tabachnyk, received the Order of Yaroslav the Wise in the 4th degree.
Yuriy Ivanyushchenko, a PoR parliamentary deputy, perhaps one of Yanukovych's most trusted pals from the 'old days' in his home town of Yenakiyeve, was granted an 'Order of Merit' in the 3rd degree, even though he is almost never seen in parliament.
Minister of the Interior, Vitaliy Zakharchenko, received a similar award.
Ivanyuschenko, a.k.a. Yura Yenakiyivskyi or Yurets Maloyi, is one of the most mysterious and sinister characters in Ukrainian politics - he is certainly one of the richest. Until Yanukovych became president no-one even knew what he looked like. He had spent most of the previous decade in Monaco.
There is some evidence he may have led a criminal gang of hit men in the days of the 'wild east'. They were allegedly involved in more than 40 killings including that of Shakhtar Donetsk president Akhat Bragin.
On the rare occasions Ivanyushchenko is spotted in public, he is surrounded by a phalanx of armed bodyguards and armoured automobiles.
Ivanyushchenko had been denied a US visa for years. To resolve this problem in 2011 he hired, at huge expense, lobbying companies in the USA . Eventually they got him a special UN visa by putting him a UN official visitor list. Yuriy Y, humiliatingly had to give a detailed itinerary of his 3 day stay in the New York to enable US officials to locate him, if required, any time, day or night.
Yuriy Y, according to some sources is involved in shadow schemes in the coal industry that may be costing his country up to 1 Bn UAH annually.
As for the Donetskiite interior minister Zakharchenko, he is the guy who initiated the practice of supplementing lines of law enforcement officers with young thugs during opposition protest marches and rallies etc. They are now known as 'Titushky' after a certain Vadym Titushko figured in video footage assaulting journalists. Zakharchenko's almost two years in ministerial office has seen trust in the police decline to low single figures. Men under his control have raped and robbed with impunity... as in the small town of Vradiyivka....Physical assaults on Ukrainian journalist have become a daily occurrence despite appeals to the minister for protection by independent journalists' organisations .
Bandit land extortioner Artem Pshonka, son of the Prosecutor General, known as 'raider No.1 in Ukraine' also received an award from Yanukovych.
Pass me the sick bag....
Is the EU really going to sign an agreement of association with such people? Will the AA in any way change their behaviour for the better? Are you kidding?
Update: Another bandit receiving an award, that of Princess Olga, was Valentyna Arbuzova, mother of the deputy PM whose son Serhiy is close to president Yanukovych's son.
Arbuzova, is the chairman of the All-Ukrainian Bank for Development, [VBR].
"VBR is thought to be controlled by Oleksandr Yanukovych, the elder son of the president, who appears to have been expanding dramatically the family’s interests in the banking sector." [Source]
Arbuzova was allegedly involved in a major money laundering operation in the early nineties, and possibly even murder.
Excellent investigative article on these sinister people here
E.g. "According to media reports from the time, at a meeting in 1997, the Donetsk regional administration’s committee for combating organised crime, in the presence of top regional and national law enforcement officials, including two deputy heads of the SBU, singled out Valentina Arbuzova for her bank’s money laundering activities, in particular the creation of fictive companies, abuse of loro accounts and hard currency transactions. The regional prosecutor said that criminal cases had been opened against Privatbank officials for implementing money transfers, up to $200,000 dollars per day, on fictive contracts.
In 1998, in an article published in the government announcer, Golos Ukrainy, Ukraine’s then prosecutor general Mikhail Potrebenko singled out Valentina Arbuzova’s bank as having laundered funds for a major organised crime group, using eleven fictive companies with accounts at Donetsk’s Privatbank division."
*British Slang. a medal or military decoration.
*British Slang. a medal or military decoration.
Friday, August 23, 2013
EU must not go wobbly on Ukraine
FT reports Russia’s president Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine it would face protective measures from the Moscow-led customs union of former Soviet republics if it forged closer political and trade ties with the EU. According to the FT, the dispute between the two countries could escalate into a full-blown trade war, .
So now is the right time for the EU to get tough with Ukraine too, end the ambiguous statements and make it absolutely clear to Yanukovych that if his country does not meet the conditions that have been set [see previous blog], conditions dozens of countries in Europe and beyond have no problem adhering to, then it is 'no deal' in Vilnius in November - you're on your own with the wolves pal...
Scrapping the habit for postponing elections and setting a date for overdue Kyiv city council elections would be a start...
So now is the right time for the EU to get tough with Ukraine too, end the ambiguous statements and make it absolutely clear to Yanukovych that if his country does not meet the conditions that have been set [see previous blog], conditions dozens of countries in Europe and beyond have no problem adhering to, then it is 'no deal' in Vilnius in November - you're on your own with the wolves pal...
Scrapping the habit for postponing elections and setting a date for overdue Kyiv city council elections would be a start...
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Scrub the AA
In December 2012 the European Council made signature of the Association Agreement (concluded but not signed in December 2011) contingent upon Ukraine fulfilling three conditions:
The EU has already described the last Autumn's parliamentary elections as 'a step backward'.
And the EU Delegation to Ukraine was "deeply concerned" by the postponement until 2015 of the Kyiv city local elections after the city council's mandate expired several weeks ago. The previous elections had last been held in 2008.
The result of the 2012 parliamentary elections in Kyiv shows that the capital's electorate can no longer be easily manipulated or bought off with cheap bribes; pro-government forces in the city council are most aware they would be all but wiped out in any fresh local election.
Control of Kyiv, a city whose population is greater that that of some EU countries, will be vital for Yanukovych if he wants to win the 2015 presidential elections hence the cynical postponement of city council elections and the hijacking and violent scenes before yesterday's unscheduled Kyiv city council "session".
Many dozens of paid thuggish louts of 'sporting appearance' were again used by so called "law enforcement bodies" as a first line of defence. These are the same thugs who disrupted the count at many polling stations in last year's parliamentary elections and during 'Arise Ukraine' demonstrations organised by Ukraine's opposition parties. They have been seen actively taking part in regular corporate raids of property during which police usually turn a blind eye.
See disturbing video of these thugs in front of police lines yesterday here
This is just not acceptable in a country striving to meet European standards of behaviour.
Opposition deputies were targeted and assaulted when they wanted to take advantage of their constitutional right to enter Kyiv city hall, breaking an unwritten rule that elected deputies should never be beaten by police.
Head of the National Security and Defence Council and long-time close associate of Yanukovych, Andriy Kluyev was allegedly the organiser of these 'measures'.
If there is credible evidence of this the EU should ban him from entry into member countries and ensure his substantial financial interests in Austria are scrupulously vetted for legitimacy.
The Vilnius summit when the EU-Ukraine Association could be signed is exactly 100 days away. Two of the three conditions set by the EU are being totally disregarded. Since December 2011 Yanukovych has ignored any concern European bodies have expressed about the country's slide to authoritarianism.
Decent standards of electoral practice have not been adhered to. Selective justice continues to prevail. Opposition politicians are still being targeted, and Yulia Tymoshenko has not been released despite the European Court of Human Rights court ruling in her favour.
The Association Agreement should now be 'pulled' from the agenda of the November Vilnius summit.
- complying with international standards of electoral practice,
- ending selective justice,
- implementing the reforms defined in the jointly agreed Association Agenda’
The EU has already described the last Autumn's parliamentary elections as 'a step backward'.
And the EU Delegation to Ukraine was "deeply concerned" by the postponement until 2015 of the Kyiv city local elections after the city council's mandate expired several weeks ago. The previous elections had last been held in 2008.
The result of the 2012 parliamentary elections in Kyiv shows that the capital's electorate can no longer be easily manipulated or bought off with cheap bribes; pro-government forces in the city council are most aware they would be all but wiped out in any fresh local election.
Control of Kyiv, a city whose population is greater that that of some EU countries, will be vital for Yanukovych if he wants to win the 2015 presidential elections hence the cynical postponement of city council elections and the hijacking and violent scenes before yesterday's unscheduled Kyiv city council "session".
Many dozens of paid thuggish louts of 'sporting appearance' were again used by so called "law enforcement bodies" as a first line of defence. These are the same thugs who disrupted the count at many polling stations in last year's parliamentary elections and during 'Arise Ukraine' demonstrations organised by Ukraine's opposition parties. They have been seen actively taking part in regular corporate raids of property during which police usually turn a blind eye.
See disturbing video of these thugs in front of police lines yesterday here
This is just not acceptable in a country striving to meet European standards of behaviour.
Opposition deputies were targeted and assaulted when they wanted to take advantage of their constitutional right to enter Kyiv city hall, breaking an unwritten rule that elected deputies should never be beaten by police.
Head of the National Security and Defence Council and long-time close associate of Yanukovych, Andriy Kluyev was allegedly the organiser of these 'measures'.
If there is credible evidence of this the EU should ban him from entry into member countries and ensure his substantial financial interests in Austria are scrupulously vetted for legitimacy.
The Vilnius summit when the EU-Ukraine Association could be signed is exactly 100 days away. Two of the three conditions set by the EU are being totally disregarded. Since December 2011 Yanukovych has ignored any concern European bodies have expressed about the country's slide to authoritarianism.
Decent standards of electoral practice have not been adhered to. Selective justice continues to prevail. Opposition politicians are still being targeted, and Yulia Tymoshenko has not been released despite the European Court of Human Rights court ruling in her favour.
The Association Agreement should now be 'pulled' from the agenda of the November Vilnius summit.
Sunday, August 18, 2013
Putin's trade war; how will 'kham*' respond?
During his visit to Ukraine a few days ago, at a round table discussion with the odious Viktor Medvedchuk, president Putin declared that 'Ukraine's economic recovery is only possible with the help of Russia'.
The first shots of the current trade war against Ukraine indicate Putin intends to demonstrate this in practice.
Dmitriy Korneychuk in his 'Liga.net blog entited: "Putin's trade war: a demo-version of life without Russia", explains Putin's motives.
Putin wants to show everyone that Russia will not tolerate any public humiliation of his leadership; he will always assert Russia's interests; he will always provide 'an adequate response' to those he perceives as enemies.This message is intended for both for Ukraine and the West, and for the Russians themselves, including Putin's entourage, who may be thinking that the leader is getting old and showing weakening resolve.
Second, he want to give Ukraine a demo-version of what relations with Russia would be like after any possible signing of an Association Agreement with the EU. If the AA deal is not signed in November Putin will claim the biggest foreign policy victory for Russia since Ukraine's rejection of membership of NATO, or since the signing of the punitive 2009 gas agreements.
Third, the Kremlin's actions bolsters pro-Russian forces in Ukraine. Some even claim they intend to create a powerful pro-Russian political force in Ukraine and put forward their own candidate in the 2015 Ukrainian presidential elections.
Fourth, Moscow is pursuing its strategic gas interests. The 40% reduction on the purchase of gas by Ukraine, its biggest customer for gas, in the first six months of 2013 has seriously alarmed Gazprom. The creation of gas consortium to manage the Ukrainian gas transit system in exchange for cheaper gas has shown little sign of progress even though Russia claims all the documents are 'ready to go'.
But in these days of 'just-in-time' deliveries, such a trade war will very quickly impact Russian manufacturers who depend on Ukrainian suppliers, so Putin has to be selective on the imports he targets.
There are opinions all of this might be just a pseudo trade war, trumped up by the RosUkrEnergo group, their Russian associates and Dmitriy Firtash in their battle with the president's circle.
But Putin's latest manoeuvres will obviously not go unnoticed in Europe's capitals. It will strengthen the EU's resolve to ensure Yanukovych 'does his homework' and makes progress in satisfying the EU's conditions which were set in order for Ukraine to prove it be considered a suitable partner for the AA. There have been rumours recently that the EU had been going soft on these conditions, even no longer viewing Tymoshenko's release abroad as a 'sine qua non'..
So far, the Ukrainian authorities' response to this developing trade war has been unfocussed - they look disorientated even though it has been brewing slowly but steadily since February.
Since coming to power, Yanukovych has been more interested in destroying his greatest political rival, Yulia Tymoshenko than acting firmly and renegotiating from scratch the ruinous gas deal she was forced to make under great duress in 2009 with Putin. This may have been interpreted by the Kremlin as weakness on Yanukovych's part..
Yanukovych, particularly with his criminal gangland background, should instinctively know he now has to respond resolutely and cannot be seen to cower..He is also aware that if he concedes to Putin and joins the Eurasian Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, rather than clinching the AA deal, he will always have to give way to Putin in the future..And his political future becomes more unpredictable.
An interesting Autumn awaits...
*kham was Yanukovych's 'handle' when in prison. It means lout or boor..
Tuesday, August 06, 2013
Passing of a decent man
The website of the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group announced the tragic death of well-known human rights activist Dmytro Groysman thus:
In 2009, Groysman was on the "Korrespondent" magazine's list of "Top 100 most influential Ukrainians" as the protector and defender of prisoners and other victims of police lawlessness.
He saved hundreds, maybe even thousands of people from the clutches of sadists and torturers in prisons and police stations. In his eloquent television appearances he always appeared level-headed and most dignified - a man the authorities therefore hated and feared.
In recent years he had been pursued by prosecutors for alleged distribution of pornography. Groysman always said law enforcement officials were out to get him was in order to gain access to the Vinnytsya Human Rights Group files on refugees and asylum seekers. [As in video, in Ukrainian]. The trafficking of human beings from Africa and elsewhere has allegedly become a big business for some members of law enforcement and Interior Ministry agencies.
Groysman had been summoned by prosecutors and investigators to attend a mind-boggling 72 questioning sessions in connection with one supposedly pornographic image posted on his blog website [that of a small naked male doll in a state of arousal placed on a copy of the Ukrainian Constitution].
His next interrogation, the 73rd, was scheduled for August 7th. This constant police harassment, surely a major source of stress, may well have contributed to his death.
The absurd, fabricated case against him will most likely now be closed, but Groysman's friends are determined to clear his name.
In a decent country Groysman would have received awards for his humanitarian work. In Ukraine he was hounded, perhaps to his grave..
The only people to gain comfort from his passing are the thugs and sadists who run Ukraine's totally discredited and almost universally mistrusted law enforcement agencies, and the scum bags they serve.
For how long are Ukrainians going to tolerate such a situation?
"On 5 August our colleague, Dmytro (Dima) Groysman died of a heart attack. He was 41 and had suffered from a long-term heart condition.
Most prominent as Coordinator of the Vinnytsa Human Rights Group, Dima was by profession a doctor and lawyer. In 1993 he was one of the founders of the Ukrainian section of Amnesty International. From 1994-2000 he worked as coordinator of a national campaign for the abolition of the death penalty in Ukraine. In 2000 Ukraine’s Constitutional Court agreed that the death penalty was in breach of Ukraine’s Constitution.
In 1998 Dima founded and headed the Vinnytsa Human Rights Group which worked actively in defence of refugees, as well as on other issues.
The human rights community has lost one of its most prominent individuals, a person for whom there could be no restrictions or authorities when confronting injustice.
Dima will be much missed.
Our deepest sympathy to Dima’s wife, Svitlana Poberezhets, his son David, and those closest to him"
In 2009, Groysman was on the "Korrespondent" magazine's list of "Top 100 most influential Ukrainians" as the protector and defender of prisoners and other victims of police lawlessness.
He saved hundreds, maybe even thousands of people from the clutches of sadists and torturers in prisons and police stations. In his eloquent television appearances he always appeared level-headed and most dignified - a man the authorities therefore hated and feared.
In recent years he had been pursued by prosecutors for alleged distribution of pornography. Groysman always said law enforcement officials were out to get him was in order to gain access to the Vinnytsya Human Rights Group files on refugees and asylum seekers. [As in video, in Ukrainian]. The trafficking of human beings from Africa and elsewhere has allegedly become a big business for some members of law enforcement and Interior Ministry agencies.
Groysman had been summoned by prosecutors and investigators to attend a mind-boggling 72 questioning sessions in connection with one supposedly pornographic image posted on his blog website [that of a small naked male doll in a state of arousal placed on a copy of the Ukrainian Constitution].
His next interrogation, the 73rd, was scheduled for August 7th. This constant police harassment, surely a major source of stress, may well have contributed to his death.
The absurd, fabricated case against him will most likely now be closed, but Groysman's friends are determined to clear his name.
In a decent country Groysman would have received awards for his humanitarian work. In Ukraine he was hounded, perhaps to his grave..
The only people to gain comfort from his passing are the thugs and sadists who run Ukraine's totally discredited and almost universally mistrusted law enforcement agencies, and the scum bags they serve.
For how long are Ukrainians going to tolerate such a situation?
Friday, August 02, 2013
Ukraine much closer to CU than EU
Mr Bruce Rickerson in this UPI.com article entitled "Tymoshenko, Ukraine and the EU" is correct in his assertion that signing of the the EU/Ukraine Association Agreement is in the balance.
But the 'crime' for which former PM Yulia Tymoshenko was charged and sentenced did not involve personal corruption. She was charged under part 3. 365 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code - abuse of power and exceeding official authority, not "corruption and embezzlement" as is stated in this UPI article. In most democratic countries her cabinet's management of the 2008/2009 gas crisis would in no way be considered a crime.
The European Court of Human Rights have already ruled she was unjustly arrested on the order of trial judge, Rodion Kireyev, prior to her trial. The impartiality of the judge, and the entire trial procedure therefore, can be considered compromised. The ECHU are now determining whether her human rights were abused and the trial itself unjust. It is highly probable in months to come they will declare Tymoshenko was and is the victim of politically motivated persecution.
Evidence produced in preliminary hearings in case against the former prime minister for the 1996 killing of Member of Parliament Yevhen Shcherban, his wife, and two other people, has been risible. There is no case to answer - the case would have been thrown out of any reputable West European court.
Since president Yanukovych come to power in 2010, instead of making progress in bringing his country closer to European democratic standards, he has single-mindedly taken measures to seize ever more power and money for himself and his Donetsk cronies.
The point of no return on the country's road to authoritarian may well have already been passed.
Mistrust by Ukrainians by its citizens of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, degraded since 2010, has greatly increased and is now almost total.
Any Association Agreement should be postponed until such time Ukraine shows itself to be a country where democratic standards are at least comparable to those in the rest of Europe.
As one commentator said, Ukraine already resembles more strongly a Customs Union country than an EU country...apart from what it pays for gas.
But the 'crime' for which former PM Yulia Tymoshenko was charged and sentenced did not involve personal corruption. She was charged under part 3. 365 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code - abuse of power and exceeding official authority, not "corruption and embezzlement" as is stated in this UPI article. In most democratic countries her cabinet's management of the 2008/2009 gas crisis would in no way be considered a crime.
The European Court of Human Rights have already ruled she was unjustly arrested on the order of trial judge, Rodion Kireyev, prior to her trial. The impartiality of the judge, and the entire trial procedure therefore, can be considered compromised. The ECHU are now determining whether her human rights were abused and the trial itself unjust. It is highly probable in months to come they will declare Tymoshenko was and is the victim of politically motivated persecution.
Evidence produced in preliminary hearings in case against the former prime minister for the 1996 killing of Member of Parliament Yevhen Shcherban, his wife, and two other people, has been risible. There is no case to answer - the case would have been thrown out of any reputable West European court.
Since president Yanukovych come to power in 2010, instead of making progress in bringing his country closer to European democratic standards, he has single-mindedly taken measures to seize ever more power and money for himself and his Donetsk cronies.
The point of no return on the country's road to authoritarian may well have already been passed.
Mistrust by Ukrainians by its citizens of the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, degraded since 2010, has greatly increased and is now almost total.
Any Association Agreement should be postponed until such time Ukraine shows itself to be a country where democratic standards are at least comparable to those in the rest of Europe.
As one commentator said, Ukraine already resembles more strongly a Customs Union country than an EU country...apart from what it pays for gas.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Heaven and Hell [part 2]
In my previous blog I wrote about Saturday's celebration at the St Volodymyr monument. to mark the 1025th anniversary of the conversion to Christianity of Kyivan-Rus The monument is a famous landmark in the city which looks out over the Dnipro River.
On Saturday only a few hundred specially selected and vetted people could join presidents Putin and Yanukovych, and the presidents of Serbia and Moldova, at the service which was conducted by the Patriarch of Moscow, Alexei.
Security was unprecedentedly, absurdly tight - thousands of security goons were out in force lining routes etc. The VIPs were constantly enveloped by swarms of bodyguards.
Today the Pariarch of Kyiv, Filaret, led a procession of many thousands of the faithful to the same place for a service. In marked contrast, there were virtually no security personnel present, only a few dozen policemen along the route, despite the large numbers. [photos here]
Yesterday was about posture and power games played out by arrogant politicians/thugs*...today was a proper religious celebration in which all believers could participate...
*In the last few days several members of the controversial feminist group Femen have been severely beaten up by unknown assailants. Femen not unreasonably allege that the timing is not a coincidence, and that Putin and Yanukovych are behind these brutal attacks in revenge for Femen's heckling and dissing of Patriarch Kirill at Kyiv airport last year and Putin in Hannover, Germany a few months ago. It is probable that Ukrainian authorities did not want a messy and embarrassing Pussy Riot-type trial on their hands before the Vilnius summit in November. Much simpler to revert to their preferred M.O. - sent in the goons and crack a few skulls...knock out a few teeth....
On Saturday only a few hundred specially selected and vetted people could join presidents Putin and Yanukovych, and the presidents of Serbia and Moldova, at the service which was conducted by the Patriarch of Moscow, Alexei.
Security was unprecedentedly, absurdly tight - thousands of security goons were out in force lining routes etc. The VIPs were constantly enveloped by swarms of bodyguards.
Today the Pariarch of Kyiv, Filaret, led a procession of many thousands of the faithful to the same place for a service. In marked contrast, there were virtually no security personnel present, only a few dozen policemen along the route, despite the large numbers. [photos here]
Yesterday was about posture and power games played out by arrogant politicians/thugs*...today was a proper religious celebration in which all believers could participate...
*In the last few days several members of the controversial feminist group Femen have been severely beaten up by unknown assailants. Femen not unreasonably allege that the timing is not a coincidence, and that Putin and Yanukovych are behind these brutal attacks in revenge for Femen's heckling and dissing of Patriarch Kirill at Kyiv airport last year and Putin in Hannover, Germany a few months ago. It is probable that Ukrainian authorities did not want a messy and embarrassing Pussy Riot-type trial on their hands before the Vilnius summit in November. Much simpler to revert to their preferred M.O. - sent in the goons and crack a few skulls...knock out a few teeth....
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Heaven and hell
From one report on Pope Francis' recent visit to Brazil:
"Pope Francis' decision to shun a major security detail for his visit to Brazil exemplifies his view of what the Roman Catholic Church should be doing: Go out into the streets. Spread the faith. Recapture the dynamism that other denominations have been using to snap up souls.
Upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro this week, that philosophy helped produce a defining vignette of his young papacy: The pope rolling down the window to touch the adoring crowds who surrounded his Fiat as his driver and bodyguards struggled to get him on his way."
From another report on the same visit:
".. the 76-year-old shunned the bullet-proof Pope-mobile normally used for pontifical visits, instead walking around the Varginha favela, a poverty-stricken community in an area of Rio nicknamed the "Gaza Strip" for its drug crime, violence and gang warfare..."
Compare with reports on Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia's current visit to Ukraine which 'Voice of Russia' describes thus :
"Ceremonial prayer marking 1025th anniversary of Kievan Rus' Christianization
A ceremonial prayer celebrating the 1025th anniversary of Kievan Rus' Christianization is under way on St. Volodymyr's Hill in Kiev. The celebration is broadcast live on Ukrainian television.
Taking part in the prayer are Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and nine heads of local Orthodox churches. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic are also taking part in the event."
But the dominant characteristic of this event has been the unprecented absolutely, absurdly OTT security arrangements.
Those wishing to attend the outdoor service had to pass through four [!] security screening lines where bottles of water, and even holy communion bread and traditional 'paska' bread were taken away and dumped on the ground from those passing through the cordons .
Lesser VIPs and dignitaries were also subjection to humiliation. Mobile telephone communication was jammed.
Patriach Kirill was constantly surrounded by a massive security detail who remained between him and fenced-off well-wishers. Security men constantly scrupulously filmed the crowds with video cameras.
Naturally, all of the 'top bananas' arrived wearing black suits and rode in huge black armoured Merc limos....
Lots of photos and video clips of the event here.
The whole visit is one big 'pokazukha' for the benefit of Yanukovych and Putin who don't give a fig for the ordinary guys in the street. They who can be treated as saps [lokhy] by their rulers...but for how long..
"Pope Francis' decision to shun a major security detail for his visit to Brazil exemplifies his view of what the Roman Catholic Church should be doing: Go out into the streets. Spread the faith. Recapture the dynamism that other denominations have been using to snap up souls.
Upon his arrival in Rio de Janeiro this week, that philosophy helped produce a defining vignette of his young papacy: The pope rolling down the window to touch the adoring crowds who surrounded his Fiat as his driver and bodyguards struggled to get him on his way."
From another report on the same visit:
".. the 76-year-old shunned the bullet-proof Pope-mobile normally used for pontifical visits, instead walking around the Varginha favela, a poverty-stricken community in an area of Rio nicknamed the "Gaza Strip" for its drug crime, violence and gang warfare..."
Compare with reports on Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia's current visit to Ukraine which 'Voice of Russia' describes thus :
"Ceremonial prayer marking 1025th anniversary of Kievan Rus' Christianization
A ceremonial prayer celebrating the 1025th anniversary of Kievan Rus' Christianization is under way on St. Volodymyr's Hill in Kiev. The celebration is broadcast live on Ukrainian television.
Taking part in the prayer are Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate, and nine heads of local Orthodox churches. Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Moldovan President Nicolae Timofti, and Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic are also taking part in the event."
But the dominant characteristic of this event has been the unprecented absolutely, absurdly OTT security arrangements.
Those wishing to attend the outdoor service had to pass through four [!] security screening lines where bottles of water, and even holy communion bread and traditional 'paska' bread were taken away and dumped on the ground from those passing through the cordons .
Lesser VIPs and dignitaries were also subjection to humiliation. Mobile telephone communication was jammed.
Patriach Kirill was constantly surrounded by a massive security detail who remained between him and fenced-off well-wishers. Security men constantly scrupulously filmed the crowds with video cameras.
Naturally, all of the 'top bananas' arrived wearing black suits and rode in huge black armoured Merc limos....
Lots of photos and video clips of the event here.
The whole visit is one big 'pokazukha' for the benefit of Yanukovych and Putin who don't give a fig for the ordinary guys in the street. They who can be treated as saps [lokhy] by their rulers...but for how long..
Sunday, July 21, 2013
New Constitutional Court head will entrench Yanukovych in power after 2015
Several days ago Vyacheslav Ovcharenko was elected as a chairman of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine.
Ovcharenko is a 100% Yanukovych loyalist promoted to provide a 'belt and braces' guarantee Yanukovych remains president after 2015, whatever the results of elections to be held in that year.
This is what Liga.net have to say about this man:
The 56-year-old Ovcharenko was born in Yenakievo, which is also Yanukovych's home town. From 1983 to 1984 he worked as a legal advisor at the Yenakievo auto repair department of the "Ordzhonikidzeugol" plant. Then head of the plant auto transport depot at that time was Viktor Yanukovych.
Ovcharenko was appointed head of the Yenakievo city court in December 2002 - a month after Yanukovych was appointed prime minister for the first time.
In 2006 he was promoted to the Constitutional Court in Kyiv when Yanukovych headed the new parliamentary coalition [PoR-Communists-Socialists]. After this Yanukovych became PM for a second time.
Following the Orange Revolution there were strong suspicions that in December 2002, during the first premiership of Viktor Yanukovych, Ovcharenko had been involved in the disappearance of documents confirming the criminal convictions of the current president in 1967 and 1969. Yanukovych spent three and a half years in prison for crimes of violence as a result of these convictions. Ovcharenko had claimed the court premises were 'poorly guarded' in the late '80's.
As a high-ranking judge his salary would currently be rather less than $50K p.a. Despite this his has somehow managed to become a very wealthy man. According to his official declarations he owns two homes, a large plot of land, three nearly new automobiles, seven expensive motorcycles including a fancy Harley Davidson, and a tractor.
In February 2013 a photographer snapped photos of Ovcharenko wearing a $27K Breguet Marine Chronograph wristwatch.
According to 'Ukrainska Pravda': Ovcharenko's primary function will be to manage the Constitutional Court in the turbulent months before and after the presidential election. Bearing in mind in 2010 the Constitutional Court gave back Viktor Yanukovych much greater powers than those held by his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, nothing will stop it legitimising any other whims of Yanukovych. These could include election of the president by the parliament; or election of the president in just one round [as opposed to the current two round system]. Or the setting up of a bicameral parliament and depriving deputies of the immunity which they now possess. Or the setting up an entirely new Constitution.
Another important point - the President of the Constitutional Court is responsible for conducting the swearing in of a newly elected president. In other words, in case of defeat for Yanukovych in 2015 Ovcharenko could block the inauguration of any other possible winner on a technicality.
[Click to enlarge]
Ovcharenko is a 100% Yanukovych loyalist promoted to provide a 'belt and braces' guarantee Yanukovych remains president after 2015, whatever the results of elections to be held in that year.
This is what Liga.net have to say about this man:
Vyacheslav Ovcharenko worked as a mechanic and was involved in a scandal surrounding the disappearance of criminal case file against Yanukovych
The 56-year-old Ovcharenko was born in Yenakievo, which is also Yanukovych's home town. From 1983 to 1984 he worked as a legal advisor at the Yenakievo auto repair department of the "Ordzhonikidzeugol" plant. Then head of the plant auto transport depot at that time was Viktor Yanukovych.
Ovcharenko was appointed head of the Yenakievo city court in December 2002 - a month after Yanukovych was appointed prime minister for the first time.
In 2006 he was promoted to the Constitutional Court in Kyiv when Yanukovych headed the new parliamentary coalition [PoR-Communists-Socialists]. After this Yanukovych became PM for a second time.
Following the Orange Revolution there were strong suspicions that in December 2002, during the first premiership of Viktor Yanukovych, Ovcharenko had been involved in the disappearance of documents confirming the criminal convictions of the current president in 1967 and 1969. Yanukovych spent three and a half years in prison for crimes of violence as a result of these convictions. Ovcharenko had claimed the court premises were 'poorly guarded' in the late '80's.
As a high-ranking judge his salary would currently be rather less than $50K p.a. Despite this his has somehow managed to become a very wealthy man. According to his official declarations he owns two homes, a large plot of land, three nearly new automobiles, seven expensive motorcycles including a fancy Harley Davidson, and a tractor.
In February 2013 a photographer snapped photos of Ovcharenko wearing a $27K Breguet Marine Chronograph wristwatch.
According to 'Ukrainska Pravda': Ovcharenko's primary function will be to manage the Constitutional Court in the turbulent months before and after the presidential election. Bearing in mind in 2010 the Constitutional Court gave back Viktor Yanukovych much greater powers than those held by his predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, nothing will stop it legitimising any other whims of Yanukovych. These could include election of the president by the parliament; or election of the president in just one round [as opposed to the current two round system]. Or the setting up of a bicameral parliament and depriving deputies of the immunity which they now possess. Or the setting up an entirely new Constitution.
Another important point - the President of the Constitutional Court is responsible for conducting the swearing in of a newly elected president. In other words, in case of defeat for Yanukovych in 2015 Ovcharenko could block the inauguration of any other possible winner on a technicality.
Friday, July 19, 2013
Overkill
Last night about 1000 'Berkut' special forces personnel in full riot gear were sent to clear 200 or so peaceful, tired, lightly dressed protesters from the central Maidan or Independence Square in Kyiv, even though there was no threat of civil disobedience. [videos here also here ]. Several television journalists were assaulted and their equipment damaged in the melee, even though they claim their press ID was clearly presented to the riot police.
The protesters had marched for many days from the small town of Vradiyivka where local police had allegedly been systematically stealing, extorting, raping and even murdering its residents for many years.
The situation came to a head when a local girl was raped and left for dead, resulting in the attempted storming of the local police headquarters. The story hit a nerve and the story was widely reported. There are many subsequent reports of similar situations existing right across the country.
Many Ukrainians now truly fear law enforcement agencies because they are out of control - not accountable to citizen watchdog committees as they are in many countries. Police approval ratings are in low single digits.
Opposition politicians claim law enforcement agencies, police, prosecutors and the judiciary now primarily serve only two purposes: to provide cover for the massive enrichment of President Yanukovych, his 'Family' and their associates, and to crush any possible protest movements, including reasonable, well organised peaceful ones such as the Vradiyivka march.
Policing should have been particularly tactful and sensitive in Independence Square last night, bearing in mind the reason why the demonstrators had gathered and what their demands were. Intimidating peaceful demonstrators with such a large number of special forces troops, the largest number collectively assembled for several years in the capital, was complete overkill...
There is mounting evidence, e.g. as in this video, that passers-by, even those not known to one another are willing to physically challenge police on a day-to-day basis.
The protesters had marched for many days from the small town of Vradiyivka where local police had allegedly been systematically stealing, extorting, raping and even murdering its residents for many years.
The situation came to a head when a local girl was raped and left for dead, resulting in the attempted storming of the local police headquarters. The story hit a nerve and the story was widely reported. There are many subsequent reports of similar situations existing right across the country.
Many Ukrainians now truly fear law enforcement agencies because they are out of control - not accountable to citizen watchdog committees as they are in many countries. Police approval ratings are in low single digits.
Opposition politicians claim law enforcement agencies, police, prosecutors and the judiciary now primarily serve only two purposes: to provide cover for the massive enrichment of President Yanukovych, his 'Family' and their associates, and to crush any possible protest movements, including reasonable, well organised peaceful ones such as the Vradiyivka march.
Policing should have been particularly tactful and sensitive in Independence Square last night, bearing in mind the reason why the demonstrators had gathered and what their demands were. Intimidating peaceful demonstrators with such a large number of special forces troops, the largest number collectively assembled for several years in the capital, was complete overkill...
There is mounting evidence, e.g. as in this video, that passers-by, even those not known to one another are willing to physically challenge police on a day-to-day basis.
Monday, July 15, 2013
European Court looks into the criminal proceedings against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko
European Court looks into the criminal proceedings against former Ukrainian Prime Minister Tymoshenko [Source]
The European Court of Human Rights has communicated to the Ukrainian Government the application Tymoshenko v. Ukraine no. 2 (no. 65656/12) and requested it to submit its observations on the complaints.
The case is the second application brought by the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko. It mainly concerns the criminal proceedings brought against her relating to contracts for the supply of gas.
Yuliya Tymoshenko, born in 1960, is the leader of Batkivshchyna, one of the strongest opposition parties in Ukraine, and of Yuliya Tymoshenko’s Bloc. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005 and between December 2007 and March 2010. In April 2011, criminal proceedings were brought against her for allegedly making an illegal order for the signing of a contract concerning gas imports. On 11 October 2011, she was convicted on all charges, including that of exceeding authority or official powers, and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and a three-year ban on holding public office.
On 29 August 2012, the conviction and sentence were upheld in a final judgment. Ms Tymoshenko’s first application before the European Court of Human Rights (no. 49872/11) concerned complaints related to her detention.
In its Chamber judgment of 30 April 2013, which is not final, the Court held in particular: that Ms Tymoshenko’s pre-trial detention had been arbitrary; that the lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed; and, that she had had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty, in violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court also found that, in breach of Article 18 of the Convention (limitation on use of restrictions on rights), her right to liberty had been restricted for reasons other than those permitted under Article 5.
The second application, brought on 10 August 2011, concerns the fairness of the criminal proceedings. In particular, relying on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) and (c) (right to a fair trial), Ms Tymoshenko complains of difficulties in defending her case before the national courts and questions their independence and impartiality. She also questions the quality of the provisions of the Criminal Code which were applied in her case, alleging a breach of Article 7 (no punishment without law).
She further claims that the criminal case against her was politically inspired and constituted an abuse of the criminal system of justice, relying on Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights). Ms Tymoshenko makes a number of complaints under Articles 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) and/or Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life): she alleges that a video tape recorded in the hospital where she has been treated since 9 May 2012, showing her in her room and during medical procedures, was published on the Internet and was also broadcast on the majority of regional TV channels. She further complains that at least three other video recordings ware available on the official website of the State Penitentiary Service, and that an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Ms Tymoshenko and her husband was published on the Internet.
She also alleges that she faces difficulties in making any telephone calls from the hospital. Finally, she complains that she has been deprived of any possibility of communicating with the media and the outside world since 5 August 2011, which has had a negative impact on her political life.
The European Court of Human Rights has communicated to the Ukrainian Government the application Tymoshenko v. Ukraine no. 2 (no. 65656/12) and requested it to submit its observations on the complaints.
The case is the second application brought by the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko. It mainly concerns the criminal proceedings brought against her relating to contracts for the supply of gas.
Yuliya Tymoshenko, born in 1960, is the leader of Batkivshchyna, one of the strongest opposition parties in Ukraine, and of Yuliya Tymoshenko’s Bloc. She was the Prime Minister of Ukraine in 2005 and between December 2007 and March 2010. In April 2011, criminal proceedings were brought against her for allegedly making an illegal order for the signing of a contract concerning gas imports. On 11 October 2011, she was convicted on all charges, including that of exceeding authority or official powers, and sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment and a three-year ban on holding public office.
On 29 August 2012, the conviction and sentence were upheld in a final judgment. Ms Tymoshenko’s first application before the European Court of Human Rights (no. 49872/11) concerned complaints related to her detention.
In its Chamber judgment of 30 April 2013, which is not final, the Court held in particular: that Ms Tymoshenko’s pre-trial detention had been arbitrary; that the lawfulness of her detention had not been properly reviewed; and, that she had had no possibility to seek compensation for her unlawful deprivation of liberty, in violation of Article 5 (right to liberty and security) of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Court also found that, in breach of Article 18 of the Convention (limitation on use of restrictions on rights), her right to liberty had been restricted for reasons other than those permitted under Article 5.
The second application, brought on 10 August 2011, concerns the fairness of the criminal proceedings. In particular, relying on Article 6 §§ 1 and 3 (b) and (c) (right to a fair trial), Ms Tymoshenko complains of difficulties in defending her case before the national courts and questions their independence and impartiality. She also questions the quality of the provisions of the Criminal Code which were applied in her case, alleging a breach of Article 7 (no punishment without law).
She further claims that the criminal case against her was politically inspired and constituted an abuse of the criminal system of justice, relying on Article 18 (limitation on use of restrictions on rights). Ms Tymoshenko makes a number of complaints under Articles 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment) and/or Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life): she alleges that a video tape recorded in the hospital where she has been treated since 9 May 2012, showing her in her room and during medical procedures, was published on the Internet and was also broadcast on the majority of regional TV channels. She further complains that at least three other video recordings ware available on the official website of the State Penitentiary Service, and that an audio recording of a telephone conversation between Ms Tymoshenko and her husband was published on the Internet.
She also alleges that she faces difficulties in making any telephone calls from the hospital. Finally, she complains that she has been deprived of any possibility of communicating with the media and the outside world since 5 August 2011, which has had a negative impact on her political life.
Thursday, July 04, 2013
More cheap promises from Yanuk
Following today's Visegrad Group heads of state meeting in Poland which was also attended by president Yanukovych, the Polish president's official site reports:
"We are pleased to note that President Yanukovych mentioned efforts to find a resolution to this problem [of Tymoshenko imprisonment] in keeping with Ukrainian laws, in other words either under current laws or by way of an amendment of Ukrainian law by parliament. We connect very far-reaching hopes [i.e. for success of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius] with this statement", declared the Polish head of state.
Yanukovych assured that his country intended to meet all the conditions and announced the introduction of all necessary legislation at latest by September."
F.N.'s comment: Yanukovych will delay any possible release of Tymoshenko for just as long as he can. Some of his advisers think there is a chance the Association Agreement will be signed even if she is still in prison, as long they made undertakings 'to release her just as soon as Ukrainian legislation permits..'
Others warn the president that if he lets Tymoshenko out of prison for medical treatment abroad right now, the Europeans will then immediately press for further concessions, e.g. greater reform of election law. Currently, Yanukovych can fix the election rules in such a way as to provide the greatest chance of success in the 2015 presidential elections. [Note: Manipulation of electoral rules - change to a 50-50 constituency-party list system gave PoR a ruling majority together with their Communist allies, even though the three remaining opposition parties gained a greater percentage share of votes cast.]
But most importantly, In Yanuk's eyes, the release of Tymoshenko will harm the chances of him remaining in power after 2015...this is why she was locked up in the first place. The logic remains unchanged.
Yanuk has been making cheap promises to European heads of state for the best part of two years now.... he does not negotiate in good faith...how can he be taken seriously? He cannot..
Professor David Marples is quite correct - "there is no reason to question the belief that the detention of Tymoshenko is contrived and politically motivated.... her release should be made the sine qua non for the signing of the association agreement in November."
"We are pleased to note that President Yanukovych mentioned efforts to find a resolution to this problem [of Tymoshenko imprisonment] in keeping with Ukrainian laws, in other words either under current laws or by way of an amendment of Ukrainian law by parliament. We connect very far-reaching hopes [i.e. for success of the Eastern Partnership summit in Vilnius] with this statement", declared the Polish head of state.
Yanukovych assured that his country intended to meet all the conditions and announced the introduction of all necessary legislation at latest by September."
F.N.'s comment: Yanukovych will delay any possible release of Tymoshenko for just as long as he can. Some of his advisers think there is a chance the Association Agreement will be signed even if she is still in prison, as long they made undertakings 'to release her just as soon as Ukrainian legislation permits..'
Others warn the president that if he lets Tymoshenko out of prison for medical treatment abroad right now, the Europeans will then immediately press for further concessions, e.g. greater reform of election law. Currently, Yanukovych can fix the election rules in such a way as to provide the greatest chance of success in the 2015 presidential elections. [Note: Manipulation of electoral rules - change to a 50-50 constituency-party list system gave PoR a ruling majority together with their Communist allies, even though the three remaining opposition parties gained a greater percentage share of votes cast.]
But most importantly, In Yanuk's eyes, the release of Tymoshenko will harm the chances of him remaining in power after 2015...this is why she was locked up in the first place. The logic remains unchanged.
Yanuk has been making cheap promises to European heads of state for the best part of two years now.... he does not negotiate in good faith...how can he be taken seriously? He cannot..
Professor David Marples is quite correct - "there is no reason to question the belief that the detention of Tymoshenko is contrived and politically motivated.... her release should be made the sine qua non for the signing of the association agreement in November."
Tuesday, July 02, 2013
Will the march of protest reach Ukraine?
One June 27 in the village of Vradiyivka [pop 8,500], near Pervomaysk, Mykolayiv oblast, a young woman was severely assaulted and gang raped by three men, two of which she alleges were policemen, one allegedly the nephew of the local prosecutor. She is very poorly, but stable, in hospital suffering from a broken skull.
The authorities hastily arranged a late-night session in order to 'whitewash' the alleged perpetrators; their family members and 'krysha' arrived in the usual SUV's to 'sort it all out'. However, word soon got around and outraged villagers armed with shovels and pitchforks surrounded the court. Mobile networks in the surrounding area were cut, as was internet communication.
Tonight over a 1000 villagers have again attacked the the regional centre police headquarters in Vradiyivka demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice and punished. According to some reports all of the windows have been smashed and tear gas and even live ammunition has been discharged. The situation could turn very ugly indeed....
Vradiyivka is just a few miles away from to Chausove -2 and the Kornatsky farm about which I have blogged recently.....
p.s. The gang rape and murder of an Indian medical student in Delhi last December triggered major violent public protests in India.Two police officers may have been involved. Security forces within India are frequent perpetrators of violence against women, according to a report by an UH-affiliated human rights group.
This week's 'Economist' lead story?
"The march of protest: A wave of anger is sweeping the cities of the world. Politicians beware.."
No-one can predict what can trigger protests. In Brazil it was a steep increases in bus fares....
In Turkey it was the demolishing of a city park to erect a shopping centre....
Ukrainian authorities can be thankful that Vradiyivka is not near an heavily populated urban centre..
The authorities hastily arranged a late-night session in order to 'whitewash' the alleged perpetrators; their family members and 'krysha' arrived in the usual SUV's to 'sort it all out'. However, word soon got around and outraged villagers armed with shovels and pitchforks surrounded the court. Mobile networks in the surrounding area were cut, as was internet communication.
Tonight over a 1000 villagers have again attacked the the regional centre police headquarters in Vradiyivka demanding the perpetrators be brought to justice and punished. According to some reports all of the windows have been smashed and tear gas and even live ammunition has been discharged. The situation could turn very ugly indeed....
Vradiyivka is just a few miles away from to Chausove -2 and the Kornatsky farm about which I have blogged recently.....
p.s. The gang rape and murder of an Indian medical student in Delhi last December triggered major violent public protests in India.Two police officers may have been involved. Security forces within India are frequent perpetrators of violence against women, according to a report by an UH-affiliated human rights group.
This week's 'Economist' lead story?
"The march of protest: A wave of anger is sweeping the cities of the world. Politicians beware.."
No-one can predict what can trigger protests. In Brazil it was a steep increases in bus fares....
In Turkey it was the demolishing of a city park to erect a shopping centre....
Ukrainian authorities can be thankful that Vradiyivka is not near an heavily populated urban centre..
Friday, June 28, 2013
The young always win in the end...
'Segodnya' publishes the results of an opinion poll whether Ukrainians support entry into the European Union, or favour entry into a Customs Union with Russia and other former Soviet countries.
According to a poll 42% of respondents support entry into the EU, whilst 31% support accession to the Customs Union.
13.5% of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine should join neither the EU or the CU.
However if the results are broken down by age, 54% of 18-29 year olds lean in the European direction, and only 19% support entry into the CU.
Among people aged 60 and over, 45% support joining the CU with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and 30% favour the EU.
The result is very clear - Ukraine has only one way to go..
['Segodna' is owned by Rinat Akhmetov...Ukraine's oligarchs are strongly in favour of Euro-integration and are fearful of their businesses being gobbled up by Russian magnates..]
According to a poll 42% of respondents support entry into the EU, whilst 31% support accession to the Customs Union.
13.5% of Ukrainians believe that Ukraine should join neither the EU or the CU.
However if the results are broken down by age, 54% of 18-29 year olds lean in the European direction, and only 19% support entry into the CU.
Among people aged 60 and over, 45% support joining the CU with Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and 30% favour the EU.
The result is very clear - Ukraine has only one way to go..
['Segodna' is owned by Rinat Akhmetov...Ukraine's oligarchs are strongly in favour of Euro-integration and are fearful of their businesses being gobbled up by Russian magnates..]
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Why events in Chausove are so significant
Prominent journalist Serhiy Vysotsky on the Liga.net site explains why the events in Chausove-2, [about which I have been blogging several times recently], are so significant.
Below is a summary of his article:
The use of skinhead thugs in political conflicts is fraught with unpredictable consequences. Non interference by security forces leaves citizens with no choice but to rely on themselves for self-protection.
The money that a businessman Arkady Kornatsky invested in 'Batkivshchyna' for his nomination in last year's parliamentary election was not in vain.
It is rather baffling why in their attempt to extort Kornatsky's business, local competitors affiliated to top government figures have not utilised the normal power and law enforcement agencies. Most likely, this was not approved by Kyiv.
To press a candidate from the opposition so openly using the prosecutor's office, the police and the courts, months before an important Euro summit was risky. Therefore, given the greed and determination to 'break' the obstinate landowner, a "gangster scenario" was chosen.
At first glance nothing new happened. Property rights in Ukraine are often opaque, land registers suspect, and flexible judges can be bought off.
However, virtually all property raids until now have been given a veneer of legal legitimacy. Raiders always enlist the help of judges and make sure 'Berkut' special forces are on hand to assist. And the fact that in the case of Kornatsky the authorities (even thought they were local) did not resort to the normal raiding procedure but rather resorted to banal thuggery, suggests that we are beginning to deal with an unprecedented situation for the country.
It is believed that the power of states is inversely proportional to the level of corruption, crime rates and levels of illegitimate violence. An authoritarian regime as a rule, builds a strong state. Heavy regulation of the economy and suppression of crime are the classic characteristics of a monolithic repressive dictatorship apparatus. E.g. it is difficult to imagine that the Belarus authorities would use gangsters to solve their problems. Internal security forces do this on their own.
The current system of government in Ukraine is unique. It is a kind of mock state - an outwardly attractive stage set in which it is possible to stumble upon a secret door. An attractive painted backdrop encourages investors to invest in a promising country that has bright prospects in the European Union. But in reality behind the secret door lies 'obschak' [an organised criminal network], black accounting procedures, and hidden arsenals of weapons.
The state in this case is just a cover for organised criminal gangs - a huge shell company. Shell companies have their own accountants, managers, a pretty girl at the reception desk, as well as their own funds. But real purpose they serve for their shareholders is not true development (albeit by authoritarian or dictatorial methods), but rather the laundering of shady profits and transfer of money to secure hidden accounts. In such a state, everything gets turned upside down to the extent that the right of legitimate use of force is handed over by the police to thugs.
What happened on the Kornatsky farmland was a testing of the technology that will be used in 2015 during the presidential elections. The recipe is simple - the police do not intervene and do not interfere, as during the protest action on May 18 in Kyiv. On the contrary, people were dispersed on that day by unidentified "anti-fascists".
Observers during last autumn's parliamentary election were not ejected by 'Berkut' special forces but by muscular "journalists." Protocols of the election results were destroyed not by officials but by thieves who broke in through the window.
Security forces seem to cast a blind eye to all of these events. [Your blogger has been told by witnesses on the spot that this was indeed the case at disputed electoral constituency #223 in Kyiv.]
This technology is not new. In local elections in Mukacheve in 2004, bandit resources were employed by the Social Democratic Party when they clashed with supporters of the Baloha clan.
Use of skinheads and thugs in political conflicts is fraught with unpredictable consequences. When you are being attacked not the police but by a pack of thugs you are entitled to defend yourself and save your life by any means necessary. In this war is difficult to predict a winner. The opposition needs to be concerned not just about how to resist administrative pressure, but also bandit violence.
Below is a summary of his article:
The use of skinhead thugs in political conflicts is fraught with unpredictable consequences. Non interference by security forces leaves citizens with no choice but to rely on themselves for self-protection.
The money that a businessman Arkady Kornatsky invested in 'Batkivshchyna' for his nomination in last year's parliamentary election was not in vain.
It is rather baffling why in their attempt to extort Kornatsky's business, local competitors affiliated to top government figures have not utilised the normal power and law enforcement agencies. Most likely, this was not approved by Kyiv.
To press a candidate from the opposition so openly using the prosecutor's office, the police and the courts, months before an important Euro summit was risky. Therefore, given the greed and determination to 'break' the obstinate landowner, a "gangster scenario" was chosen.
At first glance nothing new happened. Property rights in Ukraine are often opaque, land registers suspect, and flexible judges can be bought off.
However, virtually all property raids until now have been given a veneer of legal legitimacy. Raiders always enlist the help of judges and make sure 'Berkut' special forces are on hand to assist. And the fact that in the case of Kornatsky the authorities (even thought they were local) did not resort to the normal raiding procedure but rather resorted to banal thuggery, suggests that we are beginning to deal with an unprecedented situation for the country.
It is believed that the power of states is inversely proportional to the level of corruption, crime rates and levels of illegitimate violence. An authoritarian regime as a rule, builds a strong state. Heavy regulation of the economy and suppression of crime are the classic characteristics of a monolithic repressive dictatorship apparatus. E.g. it is difficult to imagine that the Belarus authorities would use gangsters to solve their problems. Internal security forces do this on their own.
The current system of government in Ukraine is unique. It is a kind of mock state - an outwardly attractive stage set in which it is possible to stumble upon a secret door. An attractive painted backdrop encourages investors to invest in a promising country that has bright prospects in the European Union. But in reality behind the secret door lies 'obschak' [an organised criminal network], black accounting procedures, and hidden arsenals of weapons.
The state in this case is just a cover for organised criminal gangs - a huge shell company. Shell companies have their own accountants, managers, a pretty girl at the reception desk, as well as their own funds. But real purpose they serve for their shareholders is not true development (albeit by authoritarian or dictatorial methods), but rather the laundering of shady profits and transfer of money to secure hidden accounts. In such a state, everything gets turned upside down to the extent that the right of legitimate use of force is handed over by the police to thugs.
What happened on the Kornatsky farmland was a testing of the technology that will be used in 2015 during the presidential elections. The recipe is simple - the police do not intervene and do not interfere, as during the protest action on May 18 in Kyiv. On the contrary, people were dispersed on that day by unidentified "anti-fascists".
Observers during last autumn's parliamentary election were not ejected by 'Berkut' special forces but by muscular "journalists." Protocols of the election results were destroyed not by officials but by thieves who broke in through the window.
Security forces seem to cast a blind eye to all of these events. [Your blogger has been told by witnesses on the spot that this was indeed the case at disputed electoral constituency #223 in Kyiv.]
This technology is not new. In local elections in Mukacheve in 2004, bandit resources were employed by the Social Democratic Party when they clashed with supporters of the Baloha clan.
Use of skinheads and thugs in political conflicts is fraught with unpredictable consequences. When you are being attacked not the police but by a pack of thugs you are entitled to defend yourself and save your life by any means necessary. In this war is difficult to predict a winner. The opposition needs to be concerned not just about how to resist administrative pressure, but also bandit violence.
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Police again assembling thugs in Pervomaysk
Today's 'ord-ua' website runs another post by Volodymyr Boyko on latest developments in Chausove-2, where an agro-company linked to the son of the current presecutor-general of Ukraine, Artem Pshonka, and a close associate of president Yanukovych, Mykola Kruglov, have been waging a war with local farmers to seize their lands together with this summer's harvest.
[See my previous post on how 80 armed thugs were repelled by farmers and their families several days ago here ]
Below is a summary of Boyko's piece:
On June 22 2013 head of the Mykolaiv Oblast State Administration Mykola Kruglov held a broad-based meeting with representatives of the regional prosecutor's office, SBU and the MVD. The meeting was convened following the June 18 attack by an armed gang on the inhabitants of the village of Chausovo-2. The criminal gang was led by Oksana Valeshynska, a solicitor from Nikolaev, who, by these means tried to seize the fields of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" and gather the harvest of barley grown by its farmers.
During the meeting Kruglov harshly criticized the deeds of Valeshynska and the head of Ukrainian Internal Affairs Administration in the Mykolaiv region, Valentina Persenyuk, who failed to accomplish their set task and rob the peasants.
A man of approximately 40 years of age who Kruglov called Ihor and introduced as a Kyiv authority [criminal authority] responsible for supplying the band of thugs, was particularly angry. In the words of Igor, Parsenyuk failed to organise a "Berkut" special forces unit to support the attackers in Pervomaysk. This allowed the farmers to resist the gangsters and call journalists and MPs for support. Because of this news agencies were able to quickly broadcast details of what was going on, and social networking site users were able to instantly identify the assailants.
Kruglov ordered the audience to take immediate decisive action to halt the activities of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" next week - to commit armed attacks on other departments of the company, to rob stores, to stop trucks and to take away the grain which they are transporting. According Kruglov, all looted property should by convey to Vradiyivskiy elevator, whose managers have already received appropriate instructions.
Kruglov also presented a businessman, Yuriy Karapetovych Khahanyana, who will sell the stolen grain instead of Valeshynska because the latter did not inspire much confidence. The governor stressed that the proceeds will be divided "50-50": half for Yuriy Karapyetovich and half for us. Obviously, under the pronoun "us" Kruglov was referring to himself and the son of Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Artem Pshonka who the media regularly call organisers of the attempted seizure of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh."
Under the plan, which Kruglov plans to execute between 25 and 28 June, depending on weather, police are supposed to surround the area of the inevitable fighting, and not allow journalists and MPs into the fields.
According Kruglov, the plan, agreed with the Administration of the President, includes provision of "correct" media coverage by the "Inter" tv channel. Stooges have also been prepared to appear in broadcast material.
"The main thing, said Kruglov - do not let Kornatsky gather the harvest."
F.N. comment: The events in Chausove, Pervomaysk oblast have certainly been approved by the highest authorities in the land. Kruglov was appointed Mykolayiv governor by Yanukovych in March 2010, a few days after he become president; he was PM Azarov's deputy when the latter ran the State Tax Administration.
This is becoming a trial of strength which the authorities have decided they cannot lose...even though "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" employs over 15,000 loyal farmers who provided its boss Arkadiy Kornatsky with nearly 30,000 votes in last year's parliamentary elections. His victory was stolen from him.... In the eyes of the authorities he has dared to resist...he must be destroyed.
p.s. 15 minute news report with videos of the violent events that took place in Chausove on June 18 here . It is most apparent that numerous completely demoralised? law enforcement officers watched and did nothing as innocent victims were being assaulted by armed thugs...certainly aware that their police chiefs were co-organisers of this lawlessness.
Is this the picture of Ukraine Yanukovych and co. want to portray to possible outside investors?
[See my previous post on how 80 armed thugs were repelled by farmers and their families several days ago here ]
Below is a summary of Boyko's piece:
On June 22 2013 head of the Mykolaiv Oblast State Administration Mykola Kruglov held a broad-based meeting with representatives of the regional prosecutor's office, SBU and the MVD. The meeting was convened following the June 18 attack by an armed gang on the inhabitants of the village of Chausovo-2. The criminal gang was led by Oksana Valeshynska, a solicitor from Nikolaev, who, by these means tried to seize the fields of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" and gather the harvest of barley grown by its farmers.
During the meeting Kruglov harshly criticized the deeds of Valeshynska and the head of Ukrainian Internal Affairs Administration in the Mykolaiv region, Valentina Persenyuk, who failed to accomplish their set task and rob the peasants.
A man of approximately 40 years of age who Kruglov called Ihor and introduced as a Kyiv authority [criminal authority] responsible for supplying the band of thugs, was particularly angry. In the words of Igor, Parsenyuk failed to organise a "Berkut" special forces unit to support the attackers in Pervomaysk. This allowed the farmers to resist the gangsters and call journalists and MPs for support. Because of this news agencies were able to quickly broadcast details of what was going on, and social networking site users were able to instantly identify the assailants.
Kruglov ordered the audience to take immediate decisive action to halt the activities of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" next week - to commit armed attacks on other departments of the company, to rob stores, to stop trucks and to take away the grain which they are transporting. According Kruglov, all looted property should by convey to Vradiyivskiy elevator, whose managers have already received appropriate instructions.
Kruglov also presented a businessman, Yuriy Karapetovych Khahanyana, who will sell the stolen grain instead of Valeshynska because the latter did not inspire much confidence. The governor stressed that the proceeds will be divided "50-50": half for Yuriy Karapyetovich and half for us. Obviously, under the pronoun "us" Kruglov was referring to himself and the son of Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Artem Pshonka who the media regularly call organisers of the attempted seizure of "Agrofirma Kornatskykh."
Under the plan, which Kruglov plans to execute between 25 and 28 June, depending on weather, police are supposed to surround the area of the inevitable fighting, and not allow journalists and MPs into the fields.
According Kruglov, the plan, agreed with the Administration of the President, includes provision of "correct" media coverage by the "Inter" tv channel. Stooges have also been prepared to appear in broadcast material.
"The main thing, said Kruglov - do not let Kornatsky gather the harvest."
F.N. comment: The events in Chausove, Pervomaysk oblast have certainly been approved by the highest authorities in the land. Kruglov was appointed Mykolayiv governor by Yanukovych in March 2010, a few days after he become president; he was PM Azarov's deputy when the latter ran the State Tax Administration.
This is becoming a trial of strength which the authorities have decided they cannot lose...even though "Agrofirma Kornatskykh" employs over 15,000 loyal farmers who provided its boss Arkadiy Kornatsky with nearly 30,000 votes in last year's parliamentary elections. His victory was stolen from him.... In the eyes of the authorities he has dared to resist...he must be destroyed.
p.s. 15 minute news report with videos of the violent events that took place in Chausove on June 18 here . It is most apparent that numerous completely demoralised? law enforcement officers watched and did nothing as innocent victims were being assaulted by armed thugs...certainly aware that their police chiefs were co-organisers of this lawlessness.
Is this the picture of Ukraine Yanukovych and co. want to portray to possible outside investors?
Monday, June 24, 2013
Yats at Brookings - Leshchenko in London
Yatsenkyuk at the Brookings Institute - 1 Hour 20 Minute podcast here [Recommended - well worth listening to..]
=================================================================
Several months ago The London Ukrainian Institute offered a hearty welcome [lots of brown-nosing etc.] to ex president Viktor Yushchenko,
Yushchenko is the man who, as a prosecution witness, gave highly dubious testimony at Yulia Tymoshenko's 2010 trial. Yet without Tymoshenko's unqualified support during the Orange Revolution it is most unlikely Yushchenko would ever have become president.
One of the reasons why many of Ukraine's leaders are held in such low esteem is because of their blatant, widely recognised, politically motivated persecution of political opposition leaders like Tymoshenko ....aided and abetted, of course, by Yushchenko himself..
In a few day's time "Ukraine’s leading investigative journalist" Serhiy Leshchenko is to present his new book "The American saga of Pavlo Lazarenko" at the London Ukrainian Institute.
According to the London Ukrainian Institute's website:
"Sergii [sic.] Leshchenko is a leading Ukrainian investigative journalist and Civil Society activist. He specialises in anti-corruption investigations and political issues, and is renowned for his articles published in Ukraine’s most popular online publication Ukrainska Pravda. He has carried out journalistic investigations into the incumbent Ukrainian President’s lifestyle and financial interests of the ‘new Ukrainian elite’. "
A few years ago, during a press conference, Leshchenko asked the-then pres. Yushchenko a question about his son's spoilt brat Andriy's frequent boorish, antisocial behaviour. The president gave Leshchenko a humiliating public dressing down and called him "a killer".
I hope somebody at the London Ukrainian Institute asks prize-winning journalist Leshchenko what he thinks of Yushchenko....
=================================================================
Several months ago The London Ukrainian Institute offered a hearty welcome [lots of brown-nosing etc.] to ex president Viktor Yushchenko,
Yushchenko is the man who, as a prosecution witness, gave highly dubious testimony at Yulia Tymoshenko's 2010 trial. Yet without Tymoshenko's unqualified support during the Orange Revolution it is most unlikely Yushchenko would ever have become president.
One of the reasons why many of Ukraine's leaders are held in such low esteem is because of their blatant, widely recognised, politically motivated persecution of political opposition leaders like Tymoshenko ....aided and abetted, of course, by Yushchenko himself..
In a few day's time "Ukraine’s leading investigative journalist" Serhiy Leshchenko is to present his new book "The American saga of Pavlo Lazarenko" at the London Ukrainian Institute.
According to the London Ukrainian Institute's website:
"Sergii [sic.] Leshchenko is a leading Ukrainian investigative journalist and Civil Society activist. He specialises in anti-corruption investigations and political issues, and is renowned for his articles published in Ukraine’s most popular online publication Ukrainska Pravda. He has carried out journalistic investigations into the incumbent Ukrainian President’s lifestyle and financial interests of the ‘new Ukrainian elite’. "
A few years ago, during a press conference, Leshchenko asked the-then pres. Yushchenko a question about his son's spoilt brat Andriy's frequent boorish, antisocial behaviour. The president gave Leshchenko a humiliating public dressing down and called him "a killer".
I hope somebody at the London Ukrainian Institute asks prize-winning journalist Leshchenko what he thinks of Yushchenko....
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Yulka's choice,,,and Yanukovych's choice
Vitaliy Pornikov, in an interesting newsru.ua comment, ponders over the recent visit of German Foreign Minister Westerwelle to Ukraine.
Until now the German government's position on the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko has been most firm - in their eyes it is a clear case of selective justice which hinders Ukraine's efforts for closer Euro-integration.
Westerwelle's visit could be an indication that Yanukovych may be reconsidering his position on Tymoshenko, and may even possibly agree to allow his mortal foe to be released for medical treatment in Germany.
In order for all participants to save face, (Germany having already agreed to take Tymoshenko), the optimum option would be for Yanukovych to agree to her relocation, and for Tymoshenko herself to agree to go along with this.
She has a big decision to make - only she really knows how bad her medical condition is - how desperately she needs treatment; whether she will have greater influence on Ukrainian politics locked up in a closed hospital ward or prison cell in Ukraine, or from abroad.
If she refuses to go in spite of a possible humanitarian gesture from Yanukovych, faces will still be saved - the Ukrainian president would be more than happy if he makes the gesture but Tymoshenko refused to go. As Portnikov says, he will still have the bird in the cage, and the Association Agreement in his locker.
But Yanukovych is beginning to realise that if he refuses, it could be political suicide. If this were not the case Guido Westerwelle would not have been visiting Kyiv.
F.N. thinks releasing Tymoshenko would grate every instinct of a man with the criminal background of Yanukovych..never...ever give your enemy a second chance...An unshackled Tymoshenko becomes master of her own fate again...no longer under his control...she has already brought down the last two Ukrainian presidents to their knees...
Until now the German government's position on the imprisonment of Yulia Tymoshenko has been most firm - in their eyes it is a clear case of selective justice which hinders Ukraine's efforts for closer Euro-integration.
Westerwelle's visit could be an indication that Yanukovych may be reconsidering his position on Tymoshenko, and may even possibly agree to allow his mortal foe to be released for medical treatment in Germany.
In order for all participants to save face, (Germany having already agreed to take Tymoshenko), the optimum option would be for Yanukovych to agree to her relocation, and for Tymoshenko herself to agree to go along with this.
She has a big decision to make - only she really knows how bad her medical condition is - how desperately she needs treatment; whether she will have greater influence on Ukrainian politics locked up in a closed hospital ward or prison cell in Ukraine, or from abroad.
If she refuses to go in spite of a possible humanitarian gesture from Yanukovych, faces will still be saved - the Ukrainian president would be more than happy if he makes the gesture but Tymoshenko refused to go. As Portnikov says, he will still have the bird in the cage, and the Association Agreement in his locker.
But Yanukovych is beginning to realise that if he refuses, it could be political suicide. If this were not the case Guido Westerwelle would not have been visiting Kyiv.
F.N. thinks releasing Tymoshenko would grate every instinct of a man with the criminal background of Yanukovych..never...ever give your enemy a second chance...An unshackled Tymoshenko becomes master of her own fate again...no longer under his control...she has already brought down the last two Ukrainian presidents to their knees...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)