NOTE: PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION in UKRAINE ... OCTOBER 28th, 2012
HEADLINES (DETAILS to follow):
==== 1) September 21, 2012Ukrainian World Congress launches observer mission for parliamentary elections in Ukraine
==== 2) September 25, 2012
Last Days of Freedom of Speech
==== 3) September 29, 2012
VIDEO: Yulia Tymoshenko calls for the termination of the "mafia election" and calls on Ukraine to rise up against "mafia-rule"
==== 4) September 29, 2012
Andreas Gross: Ukraine needs another democratic revolution
==== 5) September 30, 2012
Tymoshenko blasts Ukraine leader from prison
==== 6) October 1, 2012
Black Banners and White Front Pages Against Libel Laws in Ukraine
==== 7) October 1, 2012
Yanukovych: PR firms and nice suits hide authoritarian intentions
==== 8) October 2, 2012
Canada Troubled by Irregularities in Ukrainian Electoral Campaign
==== 9) October 2, 2012
Freedom House Calls on Ukraine to Put Stop to Criminal Defamation Bill
==== 10) October 5, 2012
Open Democracy: Young hopefuls in Ukraine's parliamentary election
==== 11) October 8, 2012
International observers publish first interim report on preparations for elections in Ukraine
==== 12) October 8, 2012
The Post-Soviet Collapse
==== 13) October 8, 2012
Big-hitting Klitschko surges in polls before Ukraine election
==== 14) October 8, 2012
Poll: Ukrainians unwillingly agree to sell their votes at elections
==== 15) October 8, 2012
Ukraine’s parliamentary elections - Footballers and other candidates
DETAILS:
==== 1)The Ukrainian World Congress (UWC) is pleased to launch its short-term election observer mission for the October 28, 2012, parliamentary elections in Ukraine.
Mission Statement and Overview ... September 21 2012 - Toronto, Canada
The mission will include the Canada Ukraine Foundation/Ukrainian Canadian Congress (CUF/UCC) and the Ukrainian Congressional Congress Committee of American (UCCA) international election observation missions which have been merged under the auspices of the UWC.
The World Congress is calling for volunteer observers. An application package, application for accreditation, a code of conduct and an electoral calendar are attached to this package. The volunteer mission will deploy short-term observers from October 21 until after the conclusion of the election.
The Ukrainian World Congress does not cover costs (neither travel nor accommodation) of observers, but will provide coordination and training.
Observers may provide us top choices of where they wish to be deployed which we will try to accommodate but cannot guarantee. Please note that observers will be responsible for covering the cost of all their own expenses related to the mission, including travel, accommodations, meals and medical insurance. UWC will be responsible for training, providing accreditation and coordinating logistics as well as election monitoring.
Ukrainian World Congress - Свiтовий Конґрес Українців ...
UWC broadens election mission and calls for election observers
http://ukrainianworldcongress.org/news.php/news/744/lang/en
СКУ проголошує об’єднану місію та закликає спостерігачів на вибори
http://ukrainianworldcongress.org/news.php/news/744/lang/ua
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Last Days of Freedom of Speech
September 25, 2012 … Just a month before the upcoming parliamentary elections the Ukrainian parliament is making a new advancement against the freedom of speech. And it could be the final stage in reversing the Ukrainian democracy back to autocracy. In the light of the upcoming parliamentary elections, the overall political situation is becoming very dismal in Ukraine, the country of the Orange Revolution.
The parliament has recently passed the Law on Libel in the first reading. Mainly, three political parties voted to pass the infamous law: the Party of Regions (leader: President Yanukovych), the Communist Party (leader: Peter Symonenko), and the People's Party (Speaker of the Parliament Lytvyn). The Law on Libel considers any defamatory statement or published statement that cause a public contempt illegal. If you look for a source of inspiration behind the Law on Libel, it's the Stalinist constitution. The picture (titled: Don't Speak) that you see below shows how the Stalinist regime treated the freedom of speech. If you wonder why they pass it now, the answer is the upcoming parliamentary elections (end of October).
PHOTO … "DON'T SPEAK"
If the parliament passes the law, the freedom of speech as well as democratic election is over in Ukraine. Several newspapers and TV channels started a campaign against the Law on Libel. They posted the following ad:
PHOTO … "STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW. SAY NO TO THE LIBEL LAW."
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhastomhN6hLz05XKUfF-NHK6N5v6S-GY8fhJsBr1A1_CDhkYPMUd2fPng5GkSx8ErtakhCbhSUGLLPIjFefFWiyWTQBfOb8JvIrexyJd2pfLI26IlEzDQszWa0aWEAdj9emdDitzpk0Q_E/s400/Free+speech.png
One of TV channels that opposed the Law on Libel is TVi. If you follow events in Ukraine, you should know that all cable companies "voluntarily" cancelled their contracts with TVi. You cannot watch TVi on your TV anymore. You can watch it only online. Needless to say, a number of TVi viewers has already shrunk significantly. TVi follows the life story of Russia's NTV. And another one bites the dust. So what are the chances that this campaign will be successful given that some of supporters are under the government pressure?
http://ukrainewatch.blogspot.ca/2012/09/last-days-of-freedom-of-speech.html
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VIDEO: Yulia Tymoshenko calls for the termination of the "mafia election" ...
http://youtu.be/gPx6x-ZNEdo
Tymoshenko blasts Ukraine's leaders and calls on Ukraine to rise up against "mafia-rule"
September 29, 2012 ... By Richard Balmforth ... Jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko called on Ukrainians on Saturday to "rise up" at a parliamentary election next month and end President Viktor Yanukovich's "criminal rule".
In a shaky two-minute video filmed at the hospital where she is being held, the former prime minister said she was enduring "a hell", created by Yanukovich, as she serves a seven-year sentence for abuse of office.
Banned from running in the October 28 election due to her imprisonment, Tymoshenko's video showed the 51-year-old's determination to reach her supporters and rally her Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party, demoralised by the loss of her leadership.
Yanukovich's Party of the Regions and its allies are expected to retain a majority in the election, but they are closely trailed, according to some opinion polls, by a bloc that includes Tymoshenko's party.
In the video, posted on her party's website byut.com.ua/news.html, Tymoshenko, who has said the election results have already been rigged, accuses Yanukovich of building a corrupt state aimed at enriching a small group of people in a "single mafia criminal band".
"Today the whole country, sadly, is living under criminal authority. The more they allow this and the further it goes, the more every person will feel this criminal rule weighing on his life," she says, calling on Ukrainians to "rise up at these elections and throw out this criminal gang".
The shaky video shows a man, presumably a member of the prison staff, attempting to block the camera from filming Tymoshenko and asking for the recording to stop. A woman prison guard holds a hand over her face to prevent herself being identified.
With her hair in a single plaited tress across one shoulder rather than styled in the circular braid that became her trademark as the popular heroine of the 2004 Orange Revolution, a seated Tymoshenko complains about her living conditions.
"Every day, there is not just physical and psychological pressure. Every day here is simply transformed into a hell (for me) - completely consciously and intentionally. This is a direct plan by Yanukovich," she says.
TIES WITH WEST STRAINED ... Imprisoned since October 2011, Tymoshenko has been receiving hospital treatment in Kharkiv for back trouble which has prevented a second trial on charges of embezzlement and tax evasion going ahead.
She denies all charges and says they are part of a vendetta by Yanukovich who beat her narrowly for the presidency in a run-off vote in February 2010.
Her prosecution has seriously strained Ukraine's ties with the United States and the European Union which say it is politically motivated and smacks of "selective justice".
Shortly after her conviction, the EU shelved landmark agreements on political association and free trade with Ukraine, deals Yanukovich hopes will be unblocked once international monitors give the election a clean bill of health.
But EU and U.S. officials have cautioned that Tymoshenko's continued imprisonment and biased media coverage might weigh on any final judgment of the election by monitoring groups.
Tymoshenko became Yanukovich's nemesis when she helped lead the "Orange Revolution" protests which derailed his first bid for the presidency. She went on to serve twice as prime minister before losing the 2010 presidential vote.
Because of her imprisonment, her party has formed a bloc with another opposition movement, Front Zmin (The Front of Change), led by pro-Western liberal politician Arseny Yatsenyuk, to contest the election.
(Writing By Richard Balmforth; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/09/29/uk-ukraine-election-tymoshenko-idUKBRE88S08T20120929
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[ UAN4ENM: ==== EXCERPT …
Question from Oleksandr Pahiria of The Ukrainian Week, International Edition:
"How does PACE evaluate the government’s planned crackdown on independent media over the past few months?"
Answer from Andreas Gross, head of the PACE observers delegation to Ukraine and Chairman of the PACE Social Democratic Group:
"The media situation is a disaster in Ukraine. It is a symbol of all that is wrong in the country. I’ve heard that one can even buy news on TV. All the big TV channels, other than TVi (which is now losing its audience because it has been removed from the lists of channels provided by operators) are owned by oligarchs who thus determine the state of democracy in the media. Ukrainian TV and radio has no pluralism. This undermines the essence of professional journalism and is essentially the end of journalism. At the same time, the government dominates the courts. With all this on your plate, you might think that you need another democratic revolution. But to do this, you have to wait 25 years for another generation to make it happen, because you cannot make a revolution every ten years." ==== AD ]
Andreas Gross: Ukraine needs another democratic revolution
September 29, 2012 ... Interviewed by: Oleksandr Pahiria
*** Andreas Gross, head of the PACE observers delegation to Ukraine and Chairman of the PACE Social Democratic Group told The Ukrainian Week about PACE’s evaluation of the election situation in Ukraine. On September 20-21, a delegation of observers from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) visited Kyiv to conduct pre-election monitoring and evaluate the election campaign in Ukraine. After meeting with top Ukrainian officials, diplomats, members of major political parties, NGOs and reporters, they called on the Ukrainian government to take a number of steps to ensure free elections and pluralism in the media, and stop the abuse of administrative influence. The Ukrainian Week talks to Andreas Gross, head of the delegation and Chairman of the PACE Social Democratic Group, about PACE’s evaluation of the election situation in Ukraine. (Interviewed by: Oleksandr Pahiria)
UW: Can you share your observations about the pre-election process in Ukraine?
I’m very concerned about the political situation in Ukraine. I’m particularly referring to those who see no real political alternative. Many citizens feel helpless, confronted with the fact that politics is totally dominated by money. The people who made the Orange Revolution, especially its many thousands of young supporters, are totally disappointed today, have turned their backs on politics and are lost for Ukraine’s future and nobody is trying to get them back. Only an open and pluralistic system would attract them. Instead, it is closed and dominated by big money and oligarch interests. These people are fed up with this situation and would prefer to leave the country. I have been observing elections in Ukraine since 1990 and I’ve visited the country 30 times since then. My impression is that the parties are fighting for power for themselves only, not for the general social interest. I’ve lost many of the illusions I still had the last time I came here. There is no constructive public dialogue. Political forces do not listen to each other. The government denies any positive element about the opposition, and the opposition does the same about the government. Everything is black and white, but real society and real politics are much more subtle and diverse than that.
UW: How does PACE evaluate the government’s planned crackdown on independent media over the past few months?
The media situation is a disaster in Ukraine. It is a symbol of all that is wrong in the country. I’ve heard that one can even buy news on TV. All the big TV channels, other than TVi (which is now losing its audience because it has been removed from the lists of channels provided by operators) are owned by oligarchs who thus determine the state of democracy in the media. Ukrainian TV and radio has no pluralism. This undermines the essence of professional journalism and is essentially the end of journalism. At the same time, the government dominates the courts. With all this on your plate, you might think that you need another democratic revolution. But to do this, you have to wait 25 years for another generation to make it happen, because you cannot make a revolution every ten years.
UW: Does the procedure to set up election commissions implemented by the Ukrainian government meet Council of Europe standards?
This looks like farce to me. The composition of nearly all election commissions will be one-sided. The main task of election commissions at all levels – from local to central – is to choose people who will act as referees, not players. In Ukraine, there are too many players on the commissions. Therefore, many citizens have lost their trust in the election process because there are no conditions for a transparent and fair process, no pluralism in the media, and no reliable sources of information. People feel helpless. This is the reason why so many of them have turned their back on the system, resulting in the degeneration of the political process. That is why you have so much cynicism and no power alternative to that of money in politics. The power of money can only be balanced with the power of citizens, but Ukrainian citizens are now losing their faith in themselves and their future. I find it so disappointing, even depressing.
UW: Yanukovych’s government is trying to persuade the international community that it can control the election using Putin’s video observation system at the polling stations. What is your opinion on the effectiveness of this technology?
The web cameras in Russia were counterproductive for the Kremlin because they helped the opposition prove what had really happened in the March election. And at the end of the day, the web cams documented the vote counting process. In Ukraine, we’ve just heard from the Central Election Commission Chairman that the law was prepared so badly that he does not know whether the cameras will be turned off after 8 p.m. before the counting, or whether the counting will also be recorded – and if so, will this be for the Central Election Commission only, or for the overall public too? This proves that the parliament is not functioning properly because such laws should be clear. A good discussion is a necessary condition for making the right decision – this is one of the essential roles of any parliament. Good laws cannot be made without good discussions. Now, there is a law that is difficult to implement. We pointed at that in our meeting with the Central Election Commission Chairman. There is no way that every polling station will use web cameras as it wishes. This is also an expression of the total failure of democratic institutions in Ukraine because you have a law that does not help to organize fair and good elections. On the contrary, it is a source of confusion and conflict, and may contribute to the election’s lack of legitimacy. A legitimate election process requires transparency and clarity. It is organized so badly in Ukraine, with so many flaws and deficiencies, that the outcome will be very questionable. The webcam law is just a typical example of this.
UW: Has the Ukrainian government failed its free election and democracy test?
It’s too early to say this. My personal opinion is very pessimistic when I see what has been happening over these past weeks in Ukraine. The worst thing is when big money has the power which dominates and breaks a party’s promises after the elections and people no longer trust them. This is a disaster for the development of a democratic society. That’s why I’m very pessimistic at this point. But I still hope that some things will happen that will change the situation.
UW: What is your opinion on the draft law to restore criminal liability for slander that the parliament passed in the first reading?
Now is the worst moment to do such a thing even if it were well done. But this is a very bad draft law. Doing it in this way shows that its aim is to intimidate society further and restrict open debates in the media. Slander is a very sensitive issue, so you should be very careful with it and follow the experience of democratic countries and the standards of the Council of Europe, the EU and the UN. However, the current draft law denies them.
UW: The government’s attempts to impose elements of a police state based on the Russian practice have recently crystallized in Ukraine. Does this mean that Yanukovych’s regime is primarily following Russia’s lead?
Ukraine is in some ways worse than Russia today because you don’t have big demonstrations and mobilized civil society here, which are the assets of Russia. Since last December, demonstrations have been the sign of a growing and strengthening civil society and there have been many positive developments in Russia. Ukraine hasn’t had any. Eight years ago, Ukraine had a revolution. Since then, millions of Ukrainians have become disillusioned and turned their backs on politics. Today, I see many similarities with the times of Kuchma again, especially in the lack of free speech, open media and fair laws. Everybody thought after the Orange Revolution that pluralism and freedom of speech could never ever be destroyed again. Now, they are almost ruined. Ukraine’s democracy is regressing, Russia’s is progressing. My impression is that Yanukovych is not following Putin. Instead, he is organizing his own clan and trying to “clanify” Ukrainian politics. This is even worse.
UW: Will you discuss Ukraine at PACE’s October session?
I don’t think that we will discuss Ukraine in October because of the election. Russia will be discussed at the plenary session and a resolution will be made. We will discuss Ukraine in January 2013 after the election. Our delegation will monitor the election process in Ukraine and prepare the relevant report on the election.
UW: In one of his latest interviews for Die Presse, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kostiantyn Hryshchenko claimed that the Ukrainian government would not release Tymoshenko to sign the Association Agreement and the FTA Agreement. It looks like no efforts by the European community to call on and persuade the Ukrainian government will have the desirable effect…
As far as I understand, he is sacrificing the interests of the majority of Ukrainians to the personal failures of the ruling class, if not the president. I believe that the interest of 45 million Ukrainians is much more significant than the personality of Ms. Tymoshenko. She should be punished politically through elections by the voters who know that she has made bad political mistakes, not through the criminalization of bad government decisions. If the Association Agreement is not signed within the next five years, the living standards and the economy will not improve the way they would together with the EU. Ukraine’s citizens will pay a high price for not signing the agreement. I think that the Ukrainian government should not allow this to happen and has to do everything possible to ensure that it is signed.
UW: The US Senate Committee for International Affairs recently passed a draft resolution proposing sanctions against top Ukrainian officials unless they fulfill demands to release Tymoshenko and other imprisoned opposition leaders. Does the Council of Europe have sufficient grounds to exert pressure on the Ukrainian government?
I’m not a fan of “black pedagogy”. The US and the EU have a lot of political, economic and military power. The Council of Europe has the power of values, respect for principles, and the power to convince as its tool of international influence. We do not apply sanctions. This is not our currency. We can convince others, but not press them with sanctions or restrictions into doing something that is against their will and principle.
UW: Over the years of Yanukovych’s rule in Ukraine, oligarchs have gained much more influence over the country’s economy and politics. How does this affect democracy in Ukraine?
This is the question I asked many people in Ukraine and could never get a clear answer. No other country in Europe has such influential and powerful oligarchs. This shows the legacy of totalitarianism and a specific weakness of Ukrainian society. You don’t have many forces that unite the country but many who divide it. After the suffering caused by totalitarianism and the imposed Famine of 1932-1933 organized by Stalin that killed millions, many people are even more afraid of politics. Some grave mistakes were made after independence. With weak rule of law and a lack of understanding of the market liberalization needed, the oligarch system had a chance to establish itself firmly. We need a basic common reflection on why this happened and what has to be done to change this.
http://ukrainianweek.com/Politics/61148
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Tymoshenko blasts Ukraine leader from prison
September 30, 2012 ... By Alex Felton, CNN ... Ukraine's imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko accuses the country's president of running a "mafia" government in a video smuggled out of her prison by her lawyer, the lawyer told CNN Sunday.
The video, shot on lawyer Sergiy Vlasenko's cell phone, is the first time Tymoshenko has been seen since December of last year.
It shows a clearly agitated Tymoshenko berating the government as a prison guard tries to put his hand over the lens of the lawyer's cell phone.
"Today, unfortunately, the whole country lives under a criminal authority," Tymoshenko says in the two-minute clip posted on YouTube and her own website.
"Every person can feel that the law is being trampled, that people are completely destitute. And here I feel all this on my own fate, my own life," she says.
She goes on to attack President Viktor Yanukovych ahead of parliamentary elections due on October 28.
"Everything that is written in the laws regarding human rights means nothing to Yanukovych's mafia. The only things that mean anything to them are enrichment, corruption and everything else that they made for themselves in Ukraine," she charges.
The video was filmed on Friday in a hospital in Kharkiv, Vlasenko said.
"I was in the corridor and just had the chance to take it with my mobile phone," he told CNN. "It is the first video made of her this year. Yanukovych is trying to limit her contact with the outside world. All other inmates in Ukraine are allowed phone calls to their family members, but Yulia Tymoshenko is severely restricted."
The last video of the opposition leader showed her bed-ridden in Kharkiv prison during a hunger strike in December 2011.
The former prime minister was found guilty in October 2011 of criminally "abusing her office" over a 2009 gas deal with Gazprom, in what the United States and European Union have both called a politically motivated show trial.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also criticized the sentence handed down to the former leader of Ukraine's short-lived pro-democracy Orange Revolution.
She is barred by her sentence from running in the parliamentary elections next month.
After the video surfaced on Friday, the Ukrainian Prison Service quickly posted their own video of the country's former leader.
Posted on its official YouTube site, the video shows her beating the inside of a cell with her shoe and her fists. In the video Tymoshenko seems frail and only able to stand with the assistance of a medical supportive chair.
At the United Nations General Assemby in New York last week, President Viktor Yanukovych did not make any mention of Tymoshenko's imprisonment.
The Ukrainian government did not immediately respond Sunday to CNN requests for comment.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/30/world/europe/ukraine-tymoshenko-video/index.html?hpt=ieu_c1
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[ UAN4ENM: ==== KEY EXCERPT …
*** The Ukrainian authorities are accustomed to playing “good cop, bad cop” on matters concerning media freedom. In the summer, local prosecutors closed proceedings against Mykola Knyazhytsky, director of the opposition channel TVi, who had been suspected of tax evasion. They also dropped the case against the website lb.ua for revealing the content of private text messages of a member of parliament from the ruling party. The prosecutors said the cases against both media outlets were closed after interference from Yanukovych, who ordered the Prosecutor-General’s Office to oversee the cases. It is obviously very important for Yanukovych to convince the West that media freedom is not under threat ahead of the October 28 elections, especially since the imprisonment in 2011 of several opposition politicians, including former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, made him almost an international pariah.
However, the temptation to muzzle the opposition media is apparently very strong. TVi in particular continues to experience problems. This past summer, TVi was excluded from the Triolan cable networks in several Ukrainian cities while another nationwide cable operator, Volya, moved TVi to a more expensive package in an apparent attempt to limit its audience. Interestingly, Triolan suggested that TVi itself or the opposition could have organized a technical sabotage of TVi’s broadcasts for political purposes. On September 12, a court in Kyiv charged TVi with tax evasion and the government temporarily froze its bank accounts. Yanukovych intervened again, expressing his concern with “the attempts to hinder broadcasts and commercial activities of the TV channel”. *** ==== AD ]
Black Banners and White Front Pages Against Libel Laws in Ukraine
October 1, 2012 … By: Oleg Varfolomeyev
Eurasia Daily Monitor … Volume: 13, Issue: 19
http://goo.gl/XFqSw
[==== PHOTO: Ukrainian opposition parties protest the PRU's efforts to toughen up libel laws … Source: Kyiv Post …
http://www.jamestown.org/typo3temp/pics/663cea18f8.jpg ====]
An intention by the ruling Party of Regions (PRU) to toughen up libel laws has triggered protests from local journalists. Many suspect that the proposed amendments could be used to stifle dissent ahead of the October 28 parliamentary election and the presidential election scheduled for 2015. Sensing scandal and afraid of negative reaction by the West, the ruling elite started to play “good cop.” President Viktor Yanukovych was quick to say the bill was a mistake; there are also indications that the parliament may not approve the bill on second reading. However, PRU representatives made it clear that their party would try to tighten up libel legislation again in the future (Ukrainska Pravda, September 26).
On September 18, the 450-seat Ukrainian parliament passed by 244 votes in favor the first reading of a bill to amend the criminal and criminal procedure codes. Provisions in the bill stipulate that journalists, policemen and judges could face from two to five years imprisonment for libel (Interfax-Ukraine, September 18). The bill comes eleven years after Ukraine abandoned its Soviet laws that sanctioned prison terms for libel. The author of the law is PRU’s Member of Parliament Vitaly Zhuravsky, who has served as staff adviser to Yanukovych for the past several years (obozrevatel.com, April 19; file.liga.net, May 25).
Initial reactions showed that the government camp was divided on the amendments. First Deputy Prime Minister Valery Khoroshkovsky, whose family owns one of Ukraine’s most popular TV channels, Inter, opined that it was not expedient to toughen up libel laws (Ukrainska Pravda, September 19). Yanukovych’s media adviser Hanna Herman, who used to work for RFE/RL, said on a talk show that the president definitely would not sign the amendments into law (UT1, September 21).
The local media reaction to Zhuravsky’s bill was predictably indignant. At the end of September, several leading opposition web sites and news agencies displayed black banners with links to contact information of parliamentarians, who voted in favor of the amendments, calling on readers to ask them directly why they did so. Several daily and weekly newspapers ran blank front pages on September 27 and 28 in protest against the bill.
The European Commission suggested that Kyiv should not hurry with the adoption of the controversial bill, saying that it contradicted Ukraine’s obligations to the Council of Europe, the European human rights watchdog (Interfax-Ukraine, September 20). Addressing a recent international forum in Yalta, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia criticized restrictions on access to the media in Ukraine (Interfax-Ukraine, September 15). US Assistant Secretary of State Philip Gordon expressed concern over reports about harassment of independent and opposition media by local authorities, tax inspectors and prosecutors (Ukrainska Pravda, September 21).
Finally Yanukovych, forced to express his opinion on the bill during his visit to New York, said that it was Zhuravsky’s personal mistake (Interfax-Ukraine, September 26). On the same day, Zhuravsky indicated he wanted to recall his bill. But judging by the wording of his statement, Zhuravsky does not seem to think he committed a mistake. He suggested that society “feared and distrusted” his “initiative” only because it coincided with the election campaign. Further, Zhuravsky declared he would not change his opinion that it was high time for Ukraine to toughen up libel laws (Ukrainska Pravda, September 25). There are indications that the parliament might pass Zhuravsky’s or a similar bill after the parliamentary elections, if the PRU continues to dominate the legislature. PRU senior MP Serhy Kivalov has already stated that parliament would return to the issue (Ukrainska Pravda, September 26). Several hundred opposition activists and journalists afraid of this prospect picketed parliament on October 1 and called for a strike (Ukrainska Pravda, October 1).
The Ukrainian authorities are accustomed to playing “good cop, bad cop” on matters concerning media freedom. In the summer, local prosecutors closed proceedings against Mykola Knyazhytsky, director of the opposition channel TVi, who had been suspected of tax evasion. They also dropped the case against the website lb.ua for revealing the content of private text messages of a member of parliament from the ruling party. The prosecutors said the cases against both media outlets were closed after interference from Yanukovych, who ordered the Prosecutor-General’s Office to oversee the cases (UNIAN, July 27; lb.ua, August 3). It is obviously very important for Yanukovych to convince the West that media freedom is not under threat ahead of the October 28 elections, especially since the imprisonment in 2011 of several opposition politicians, including former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, made him almost an international pariah.
However, the temptation to muzzle the opposition media is apparently very strong. TVi in particular continues to experience problems. This past summer, TVi was excluded from the Triolan cable networks in several Ukrainian cities while another nationwide cable operator, Volya, moved TVi to a more expensive package in an apparent attempt to limit its audience. Interestingly, Triolan suggested that TVi itself or the opposition could have organized a technical sabotage of TVi’s broadcasts for political purposes (Interfax-Ukraine, September 5). On September 12, a court in Kyiv charged TVi with tax evasion and the government temporarily froze its bank accounts (UNIAN, Kommersant-Ukraine, September 13). Yanukovych intervened again, expressing his concern with “the attempts to hinder broadcasts and commercial activities of the TV channel” (president.gov.ua, September 17).
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Yanukovych: PR firms and nice suits hide authoritarian intentions
Today, Stalin would be wearing Hugo Boss or Brooks Brothers, his mustache would be shaved off and he, like Yanukovych, would look like any chief executive flying business class.
October 1, 2012 … By David Horsey, Los Angeles Times
http://latimes.com/news/politics/topoftheticket/lat-na-tt-yanukovych-20120930,0,4412852.story
[==== PHOTO: by David Horsey
http://www.trbimg.com/img-506911c9/turbine/lat-na-tt-yanukovych-20120930-001/600 ====]
KYIV, Ukraine – Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is the model of a new kind of power-grabbing authoritarian. Gone is the preening, bullying fascist in a comical military costume, like Hitler or Mussolini. Mao’s jacket and Fidel Castro’s combat fatigues are out of fashion. Today, it is all business. Today, Stalin would be wearing Hugo Boss or Brooks Brothers, his mustache would be shaved off and he, like Yanukovych, would look like any chief executive flying business class.
The pogrom and the putsch have given way to PR. Yanukovych has hired lobbyists and public relations teams to help him project a progressive image while he quietly squeezes the press and rejiggers election laws to guarantee his party permanent rule.
An example of this is the Podesta Group’s $200,000 contract with an entity called the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine. Podesta Group is an American lobbying firm run by Tony Podesta. And the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine? That just happens to be an operation controlled by Yanukovych, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
When he is in Washington or Paris or London or Berlin, Yanukovych talks as if he is a champion of a free press, as he knows he needs to if he wants to be welcomed into the club of prosperous democracies. But a libel and defamation law favored by his party in the parliament would threaten journalists with prison terms, fines and ruined careers.
The good news is that protests in the Ukrainian media and diplomatic pressure from the United States and Europe have gotten Yanukovych to put the defamation law on ice. The not-so-good reality is that, like a cancer in temporary remission, the legislation could easily come back after parliamentary elections are over at the end of October.
In recent days, Ukraine’s independent media outlets put black banners across their websites and blank spaces on their front pages to dramatize what passage of the defamation law would mean. That helped publicize the issue at an awkward time for Yanukovych. He was in New York last week for the United Nations General Assembly, eager to cozy up to Europeans and Americans and hoping to take home a photo of himself smiling alongside Barack and Michelle Obama.
Yanukovych made it known he was the one who stopped the defamation bill and said members of his party must not have understood what they were voting for when they passed it on first reading. Perhaps, but if his pals in parliament did not understand the contents of the legislation, they surely understood that it had the president’s approval. And American leaders – especially President Obama, who chose to pose with the grinning Ukrainian strongman at the UN – should understand what kind of person they are dealing with.
If 21st century dictators are all going to look like smiling businessmen and all have their messages smoothed and sold by American and European PR firms, it means the United States will need a lot more than a robust military to defend democracy and human rights. We will need a smart and effective diplomatic corps. Luckily, despite the efforts of shortsighted budget cutters in Congress who think 2% is too large a share of the federal budget to devote to our entire foreign policy effort, American diplomats are on the job.
Like U.S. embassies around the world, the embassy here in Kyiv takes an active role in supporting pro-democracy groups, independent media and cultural programs that promote an open, just society.
Americans have learned to honor the men and women in the military who put themselves in harm’s way. It would be good to also give full credit to the men and women in our diplomatic corps who fight little battles for freedom every day. As we know from the murder of a U.S. ambassador in Libya last month, their work is not lacking in danger.
In confrontations with tomorrow’s smooth-talking tyrants in sleek business suits, American diplomats will be more necessary than Navy Seals.
[For the record, 12:07 p.m., Oct. 2: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the Podesta Group was run by John Podesta, for chief of staff for President Bill Clinton. It is run by Tony Podesta.]
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[ UAN4ENM: ==== Michael Bociurkiw of Canada took part in a press conference in Ukraine today on behalf of the Canadian observer mission ... Michael posted on Facebook: "Report released today outlines a range of concerns with the present campaign, including....restrictions on media freedom, procedural irregularities, incidents of vote-buying and undue pressure on candidates and campaign staff." He linked to this press release from the Canadian Government ... ==== AD ]
Canada Troubled by Irregularities in Ukrainian Electoral Campaign
October 2, 2012 - Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of International Cooperation, today issued the following statement in response to the first interim report of the Mission Canada–Ukraine Elections 2012 electoral observation mission:
“The Canadian election observation mission’s initial findings regarding the parliamentary election campaign under way in Ukraine are troubling.
“Free and fair elections that represent the will of the Ukrainian people are still possible. It is not too late. We call on Ukrainian officials to address all irregularities in the electoral process thoroughly and as a matter of immediate priority.
“Canada stands strong as a supporter of the Ukrainian people as they seek to build a nation based on democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of law. We will continue to closely monitor further reporting from electoral observers on the ground as the Ukrainian parliamentary elections approach, and will continue to raise these issues with the government of Ukraine.”
The report released today outlines a range of concerns with the present campaign, including allegations of restrictions on media freedom, procedural irregularities, incidents of vote-buying and undue pressure on candidates and campaign staff.
Mission Canada–Ukraine Elections 2012 is deploying 65 long-term and 365 short-term observers to monitor the October 28 parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The project is organized by CANADEM with the financial support of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada and the Canadian International Development Agency.
- 30 -
For further information, media representatives may contact:
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Follow us on Twitter: @DFAIT_MAECI
Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency
819-953-6534
media@acdi-cida.gc.ca
Twitter: @CIDA_CA
http://www.international.gc.ca/media/aff/news-communiques/2012/10/02a.aspx?lang=eng&view=d
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[ UAN4ENM: ==== Now that cooler heads have prevailed in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada and the Libel Law has been shelved, at least for the time being and hopefully forever, it is nice to read about the rational and authoritative voices that helped stop the madness of the Pantry of Lesions and the Yanukstan Klan in the Ukrainian legislature ... ==== AD ]
Freedom House Calls on Ukraine to Put Stop to Criminal Defamation Bill
October 2, 2012 … Washington … Freedom House condemns the initiative to recriminalize defamation in Ukraine and calls on the Ukrainian Rada (parliament) to remove the bill from consideration. On September 18, a majority of parliament deputies voted in favor of the law, which its sponsor said was an effort to rein in journalists in the lead-up to Ukraine’s October 28 parliamentary elections and could lead to jail time, fines, and other restrictions.
“With this newest initiative to recriminalize defamation, we’re seeing a clear and concerted effort to restrict free expression and free coverage of the electoral campaign in Ukraine,” said David J. Kramer, president of Freedom House. “What is more, the judiciary’s dependence on the government and the recent spate of politically charged prosecutions raises serious questions about whether journalists will receive fair treatment.”
If adopted, the defamation law would roll back reforms that were passed in 2001. Persons who are convicted could face up to five years in prison and a fine of up to approximately $18,000, and could be banned from working as a journalist for several years. Journalists, bloggers, and others have expressed concern that the law is vague, could be easily abused, and would discourage full reporting on public policy issues, business, and the government. While the law’s author, Rada member Vitaly Zhuravsky, announced that he would seek to recall the proposal following public outcry, it was not clear if it would actually be recalled. Zhuravsky also said that increasing penalties for defamation remained a priority for him, and he indicated that his proposal to recriminalize defamation would be reconsidered after the election.
The past several months have seen a number of worrying developments for press freedom and the freedom of expression in Ukraine. TVi, a station prominent for its coverage of the political opposition, has seen its viewership erode after private cable companies were pressured to limit its distribution. The magazine Tizhden (Ukrainian Week) reports that it is facing similar pressure as print outlets across the country stopped carrying it, and in some cases entire print runs of the magazine were mysteriously purchased.
“Ukraine’s European partners should be asking Ukraine hard questions about these worrying developments and should make it clear that there’s no place in Europe for intimidation and persecution of the media,” Kramer said.
Freedom House recently conducted an assessment of the democratic and human rights situation in Ukraine, which highlighted concerns that space for freedom of the press is shrinking and that the independence of media from political and business influence was seriously under threat.
Ukraine was rated Partly Free in Freedom of the World 2012, Freedom House’s annual global assessment of political rights and civil liberties, is ranked Partly Free in Freedom of the Press 2012, and Free in Freedom on the Net 2012.
http://www.freedomhouse.org/article/freedom-house-calls-ukraine-put-stop-criminal-defamation-bill
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Open Democracy: Young hopefuls in Ukraine's parliamentary election
October 5, 2012 … (Op-ed — by Roman Kabachiy for the Kyiv Post) … Young people from the civic resistance movement are trying to get elected to parliament. If they succeed, it could be the beginning of the end for the Yanukovych regime, thinks Roman Kabachiy.
Ihor Lutsenko is a public activist and the founder of the initiative ‘Save Old Kiev!’ which has taken up the cudgels against illegal construction in the historic part of the 1500-year old city on the Dnieper. It opposes the destruction of parks, squares and old buildings.
Tetyana Montyan is a lawyer, who has set up an alternative organisation called Condominium Owners Association or The Association of Owners of Apartment Blocks, which has effectively achieved a revolution in Ukrainian local authority housing.
Kostyantyn Usov is a TV journalist for the opposition channel TVi who made a documentary about the living conditions for prisoners in Kiev’s most hated gaol, Lukyanivka.
Vasyl Hatsko comes from the depressed Donbass area. He set up the party ‘Democratic Alliance’, a completely new form of political actor in Ukraine, which unites young progressive Ukraino-centric people across the whole country.
The journalist Tetyana Chornovil crawled through a 5-metre fence at the presidential estate, Mezhyhirya, and sent some photos to the internet revealing the inexcusable luxury in which Viktor Yanukovych lives.
What unites these people?
All of them have all decided to try their luck in single-mandate constituencies at the forthcoming parliamentary elections. The mixed [majority-proportional] electoral system was reinstated a year ago; the last elections of this kind were held in 2002, but after that general elections were run on a PR system with closed electoral lists.
'Ukrainians have become so used to the image of the politicians as corrupt fat cat oligarchs, who buy up everything in sight, that the idea of a politician as an honest man has practically disappeared in the past few years.'
The other thing these people have in common is that, apart from Vasyl Hatsko, they have never had anything to do with politics, but have felt compelled by circumstances to become involved. Ukrainians have become so used to the image of the politicians as corrupt fat cat oligarchs, who buy up everything in sight, that the idea of a politician as an honest man has practically disappeared in the past few years. Paradoxically, it was only the nationalist Freedom Party [Svoboda] which could have represented the new people on the political scene at the last local elections in 2010, but it was unable to put forward enough experienced candidates and was accused of trying to bring uneducated people to power. Vitaly Klychko’s ‘UDAR’ Party [Ukraine Democratic Alliance for Reform, Eng. strike] also represents new people in one sense, but the party campaign is one way or another rooted in big business. Our heroes work individually.
Montyan, Lutsenko and Hatsko are standing in Kiev. The Facebook opinion about this trio is that if just one of them gets elected to the Upper Rada, then the chances of something useful happening in parliament (by comparison with the last session) will increase tenfold. A Facebook user from Lviv regrets, for the first time, that she doesn’t live in the capital, as she hasn’t found in her city a majority candidate for whom she could campaign and vote with confidence.
Why are they standing?
Why are people so sure that these singletons could do something? The answer is probably related to Ukrainian society’s longing for real people and reforms, rather than pale imitations.
Ihor Lutsenko explains that he is standing for just that reason, because he realised that it wasn’t enough to be a journalist (he worked in the economics department of the iconic portal ‘Ukrainian Pravda’). He became involved in public life: ‘In Ukraine words mean nothing: we can proclaim the most appalling truth, but it will change nothing. So I started looking for other ways of making a difference. We invited active and committed people to our protests, and took up legal work – bringing cases and writing appeals etc – but then that too ceased to be enough and I realised that we needed new ways of influencing events i.e. representation in various government bodies.’
A young man in Odesa campaigning for independent candidate Kostya Usov. In a country where large, luxurious limousines abound as status symbols for the successful, using bicycles for electoral campaigning is already a sign of change in generation and style (photo: facebook).
Kostyantyn Usov is a young man of medium-height, who wears his education lightly. He decided to take up the struggle in Odessa, where his opponent is the former head of the Regional Council and the Odessa State Administration, Serhiy Hryvnevetskyy. He also supports the decision of other active citizens to stand for parliament. ‘Renewal is a principle of life, but the Ukrainian parliament has seen no renewal during the past 20 years.’
Montyan emphasises that as Ukraine lived for 10 years with no majority constituencies, a non-professional politician has no chance whatever of getting into parliament, other than ‘licking the …boots [euphemism, ed] of the party bosses’ (she is one of the more flamboyant ladies in Ukrainian public life – RK).
'Montyan, Lutsenko and Hatsko are standing in Kiev. The Facebook opinion about this trio is that if just one of them gets elected to the Upper Rada, then the chances of something useful happening in parliament (by comparison with the last session) will increase tenfold.'
The exaggerated post-Soviet image of the politician has resulted in ordinary Ukrainians considering the job of the politician as help for the poor, greeting war veterans on public holidays, seeing to the construction of bus stops and organising the landscaping of public places; out of his own pocket. Usov, for instance, encountered in his constituency a voter who promised him his vote if he could ensure a children’s playground would be built near his home. Usov told the man that he had no money for this, that he was not engaged in any kind of commodity swaps and that his intention was to ‘serve society and compel the government to work, rather than looking for resources to buy people’s votes.’
Aims and objectives
Those same voters who believe in more global change, and more profoundly than just improving the here and now, are hoping that candidates with initiative will be elected. To ensure that there are more optimists, Usov has proposed an unusual relationship between the candidate for parliament and his voter: more than 13,000 people in the Malinovsky district of Odessa have already signed a 5-year employment agreement with Usov. ‘These agreements are signed with each citizen individually,’ Usov tells me. ‘In that way I have legally certified each of my responsibilities, not in general, but individually to each resident of Odessa.’ Usov believes that this is the first step towards compelling each deputy to answer for his promises.
Ihor Lutsenko is not signing agreements, but he is also making direct contact with the electorate: he is travelling around the constituency on a bicycle with a ‘Save Old Kiev’ flag, handing out his campaign literature.
It is highly likely that not all our heroes will be elected to parliament, but they will at least be able to make their presence very much felt by making statements about what they do, what they would like to do and how they might do it.
Tetyana Chernovil gave an interview to the media-portal Telekritika, in which she said that her energy could serve as a focus of attraction for men – ‘As a woman, I have considerable potential!’ She also promised that she would continue working as a journalist – ‘Please do not refer to me as an ex-journalist’ – a field in which she is well-known for her high-profile investigations of corruption. In her opinion corruption has been the main threat for the country since 2005. ‘Now the main threat is dictatorship and the loss for Ukraine of her statehood,’ she says. ‘When I started writing about corruption in 2005 we were talking about millions, now it’s billions.’
'It is highly likely that not all our heroes will be elected to parliament, but they will at least be able to make their presence very much felt by making statements about what they do, what they would like to do and how they might do it.'
Kostyantyn Usov also intends to carry on his professional work. He says he regards politics simply as a way of fighting hard for what he was promoting before, as both a journalist and a lawyer. ‘I have achieved considerable victories in fighting for human rights, the restoration of justice, the bringing to court of those who are guilty and initiating reforms. I shall carry on doing what I am doing now, but on a scale that will be more difficult for the state to ignore.’
Lutsenko considers that ‘People feel they can put their faith in the power and energy of a politician, believing that he can do more than an ordinary person.’ When asked if he doesn’t feel out on a limb, Ihor answers that he may be breaking new ground, but he hopes that his experience can be passed on to others. ‘I don’t feel alone, because so many people are following what’s happening to me. Nominally I am going into politics, but I am part of the group (following the line of the ‘Save Old Kiev’ campaign)’, he says.
Tetyana Chernovil is a succesful investigative journalist and candidate in the elections. She says she wants to win to defend her country against dictatorship and loss of statehood. She is popular and confident of her victory. (photo: facebook).
Tetyana Montyan is sure of victory (‘I have the support of so many more people than those party monsters…’). Her view of her colleague Ihor’s chances is that, even if he doesn’t get elected to parliament, he can be sure of a place in the Kiev City Council at the next local elections.
Loyalties
Can one be sure that Usov, Montyan and Lutsenko will not betray their ideals and their voters? Until now the situation in Ukrainian politics has been that when the political climate changed, deputies who had been elected from lists of one particular party, changed sides and went over to another because they had been bribed or pressurised in some other way. These people are called ‘carcasses’ – headless bodies unable to take decisions for themselves. Thanks to these carcassesViktor Yanukovych has a docile majority in parliament, but there are still many opposition deputies who remain loyal to their parties. It proved quite difficult to keep people in the parliamentary Fatherland party [Ukr. Batkivshchina], whose leader Yuliya Tymoshenko was sent to prison a year ago. The opposition ranks are more likely to be swelled with members of Vitaly Klychko’s party.
People like the 5 we have named have not engaged in such a bitter struggle with corruption and post-Soviet boorishness only to go over to the opponent. Usov has ensured for himself the support of Fatherland and will probably join the ranks of its parliamentary party. Hatsko has his own party, but it’s still not strong enough to get past the 5% barrier. For the remaining three, principles are more important than millions….
'Every year there are more right-thinking people who want civilised change in Ukraine.'
Usov’s view of the new generation of politicians in the Ukrainian parliament is that ‘all our country’s problems could be solved with sustained systematic work, if that work were to be entrusted to people of a different breed, a new model….who have never robbed their country, had no connections with big business, the mafia and officials. People who are ready to serve society honestly and devotedly.’ If one is to believe Vasyl Hatsko’s motto on his Facebook page (Це буде перший прецедент, коли не олігархи спонсорують політичні партії, а звичайні люди: if political parties are sponsored by ordinary people, rather than oligarchs, this will be a first!), then Usov’s words will not seem banal either. Every year there are more right-thinking people who want civilised change in Ukraine.
As the Chilean Eduardo Frei said ‘If I had to choose between bread and freedom, I would choose freedom. Then I could fight for the bread…’
(Roman Kabachiy is an Ukrainian journalist based in Kyiv. He is an expert of the Ukrainian Institute of Mass Information.)
http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/open-democracy-ukrainian-election-the-young-hopefuls-313977.html
[==== PHOTO: A young man in Odesa campaigning for independent candidate Kostya Usov. In a country where large, luxurious limousines abound as status symbols for the successful, using bicycles for electoral campaigning is already a sign of change in generation and style …
http://www.kyivpost.com/media/images/2012/10/05/p178ofekbm12eh1fss1te918p5jb4/big.jpg ====]
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Editor's Note: The following op-ed was written by Roman Kabachiy for Open Democracy, originally published here …
http://www.opendemocracy.net/od-russia/roman-kabachiy/ukrainian-election-young-hopefuls
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International observers publish first interim report on preparations for elections in Ukraine
October 8, 2012 ... KYIV ... UKRINFORM ... Preparations for parliamentary elections in Ukraine are being held without delay and significant problems.
However, observers are concerned about the procedure for the selection of members of district election commissions and the situation with the pressure on some media, according to the first interim report of the international civil society observation mission, which was organized by the Stefan Batory Foundation (Poland), European Exchange (Europaischer Austausch, Germany) and the Center for Eastern European Studies (Lithuania), which was obtained by UKRINFORM.
"In the observed DECs [district election commissions], election preparations are on track, without delays or major problems," reads the report.
The report says that trainings organized for members of district election commissions by the Central Election Commission of Ukraine jointly with the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) were "professional and informative."
However, the document notes that "the decision to organize a single draw for membership in all of the 225 DECs affected the balanced composition of these election bodies."
"Some prominent nationwide parties are either scarcely represented in DECs or not represented at all," reads the report.
The report says that "the recent attacks on independent media such as TVi and Levyi Bereg internet newspaper both critical towards the authorities have further affected the impartiality of the Ukrainian media."
The international civil society observation mission will work in Ukraine from September 17 to November 7. It consists of 15 long-term and 150 short-term observers who will work across the country. The next interim report by the observation mission is to be published on October 22.
http://www.ukrinform.ua/eng/news/international_observers_publish_first_interim_report_on_preparations_for_elections_in_ukraine_290154
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The Post-Soviet Collapse
2012-10-08 ... New Eastern Europe ... The post-Soviet world, so painfully built, is now collapsing. Along with its collapse, the fate of Ukraine lies in the balance. President Yanukovych is not a politician suited for his times and will himself soon realise that his authoritarian tendencies are a decade too late.
Many representatives of Ukraine’s political, media and business elite are gearing up for a long life in the underground. What else can they do? For over two years of being in power, President Viktor Yanukovych has gathered almost all of the power in the country up into his hands. What he has done, together with other politicians from the Party of Regions, cannot be called anything else than a simple coup d’etat. By changing the constitution he has brought back old privileges to the institution of president, which, incidentally, he currently holds. He has marginalised the role of the government, parliament, and the judiciary, subordinated the defence sector, and switched off the voice of the people and the opposition.
Right now in Ukraine something is being born which resembles Alexander Lukashenko’s regime in Belarus. There is only one difference: Lukashenko took several years to become a dictator, while Yanukovych has become one by exploiting the rights he enjoys as president, something which has happened with the complete indifference of Ukrainian society. All this, once again, confirms the thesis of the analysts who are not driven by romantic ideals but by realistic views of politics. And these analysts openly say that the Orange Revolution of 2004 was not Ukrainian society’s aspiration for democracy, but for wealth. An irresponsible populist during the “revolution”, Viktor Yushchenko became, for a short time, the idol of millions of Ukrainians.
But his reputation of being the country’s “messiah” was not the result of his pro-democracy slogans or promises to imprison those who made fortunes out of bribes and kick-backs. Viktor Yushchenko became a “messiah” because of his competence, when he was still prime minister, to make sure that salaries and pensions were paid on time in the public service sector – something unprecedented in the history of independent Ukraine. This is when the real revolution took place.
Thus, a person who voted for Yushchenko wasn’t expressing his or her support towards freedom, but to prosperity. The mindset of such a voter was simple: since Yushchenko can pay us on time, he can also provide prosperity to Ukraine. Today, the same disappointment, felt a few years ago by those who originally voted for Yushchenko, is now being felt by the poor, marginalised and deprived Yanukovych electorate.
The consumerist state
Why would one compare Yanukovych to the president of Belarus? The analogies are there, but the conclusions will be different. Lukashenko has been ruling Belarus for 18 years now, whereas his “Ukrainian” twin-brother is not likely to stay in power that long. First of all, the Belarusian dictatorship has a very consumerist nature, meaning the regime doesn’t understand what economic reforms are.
The Soviet understanding of entrepreneurship and development clearly still prevails in Belarus, as well as the social policy model based on the assumption that it is the state that protects the citizen. The majority of goods are, of course, funded with Russian money. Moscow has been subsidising Belarus in many different ways: cheap oil and preferential loans. This consumerist financing of the Belarusian regime has been taking place for the last two years.
But once the Kremlin decides to stop financing its younger brother, Belarusian society will experience real poverty. And poverty will lead to the collapse of the system. This collapse will not be accompanied with spectacular social protest but will be rather quiet and led by internal problems: collusions and fights within the power elite, and mistakes being made by the ruling elite. On the other hand, should Russia start having economic problems, which is most certainly going to happen, Moscow will no longer be able to continue sponsoring the Belarusian regime and it will collapse in less than a few months.
Lukashenko will either get eliminated by those in his closest circles or delivered, by them, to justice. Ukraine is different to Belarus as it has always supported itself. It is true that we have been getting cheap natural gas, something which was arranged by Leonid Kuchma through reaching an agreement with the former Russian leader, Boris Yeltsin. Th is gas helped the unreformed branches of Ukraine’s enterprises to survive. But this policy has ended for good. Moscow won’t help Kyiv in the way it has been helping Minsk. It cannot and does not want to.
At the present stage of the collapse of the post-Soviet world, pains are being felt by Kyiv, but the same pains are being felt by all post-Soviet states. These countries can be called consumerist but only in a sense that their elites and societies together still use Soviet resources and means. There are, of course, countries – such as Georgia – where these resources have reached their end; the government in Tbilisi has been forced to give some freedom to small businesses as well as combating corruption.
But there are also countries where the natural resources are more bountiful. Among them is Ukraine and Russia. Their end, however, is also near and will be tragic. It was foreseen in the aftermath of the collapse of the USSR when voices could be heard that without economic reforms, the natural resources that he post-Soviet countries would run out in 20 or 25 years. And today, that collapse of the post-Soviet space is starting to take place.
Time is up
Yanukovych is simply late. Had he been Ukraine’s president in 1994 (like Kuchma), he would still be governing Ukraine today and we would be wondering when the end of this 18-year old nightmare might be; just as we are wondering: when Lukashenko’s dictatorship will end? Even if Yanukovych had become president a little bit later, perhaps in 2004, he would also have been able to enjoy a few years of leading an unlimited authoritarian regime; all until the arrival of the economic crisis.
And yet oddly enough, it was this economic crisis that brought Yanukovych to power. And that is why his regime is protected. However, the age of collapse, which is now fast approaching, requires dialogue and trust, not repression and theft of all that is still left in the country. Yanukovych clearly does not fit into the former category.
Another issue will emerge on the day when Yanukovych’s time is up. This is the most interesting question and one for which there is still no single clear answer. Ukrainian society is wrapped up in the jacket of paternalism and hasn’t grown up to face its serious challenges. It lacks a sense of civic obligation. And for that reason alone, Ukraine will not be Georgia. It will be more like a Georgia if it were governed by an opposition who doesn’t want to take up any reforms. We are awaiting a time of terrible populism.
The face of this era could be Yulia Tymoshenko or somebody like her, although this person may perhaps create a political climate in which the debate about reforms will start. These reforms will be taken up by new generations of politicians and economists, although none of them will happen particularly quickly.
Between the collapse of the authoritarian regime and the first reforms, we should expect to wait, at least, between four to seven years. And the reforms themselves will need between three to five years to be implemented. The maths is simple: in about fifteen, or perhaps even as little as eight years time, Ukraine will be a relatively normal country. Only then will it start resembling today’s Poland.
(Vitaly Portnikov is a Ukrainian journalist with Radio Svoboda and the independent television channel TVi … Translated by Iwona Reichardt)
http://www.neweasterneurope.eu/node/458
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[ UAN4ENM: ==== BREAKING NEWS ... New poll shows PofR and Batkivshcyna support drops, while UDAR surges into second place!
Party of Regions = 23.3%
UDAR = 16.0%
Batkivshchyna = 15.1%
Commies = 10.1%
Svoboda = 5.1%
No other party broke the 5% barrier necessary to be represented in the Verkhovna Rada
Undecided = 19% ==== AD ]
Big-hitting Klitschko surges in polls before Ukraine election
Oct. 8, 2012 ... 10:17 AM EDT ... By Richard Balmforth
KYIV (Reuters) - The Western-style liberal party of heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko has surged in popularity to second place behind President Viktor Yanukovich's party ahead of Ukraine's October 28 parliamentary election, polls showed on Monday.
Klitschko, a relative political novice, has been highly critical of Yanukovich's leadership and is focusing his party's campaign on fighting high-level corruption in the former Soviet republic of 46 million people.
Yanukovich's Party of the Regions and its allies are seeking to retain a majority in Ukraine's 450-seat parliament to cement his leadership and the interests of industrialists and big business who support him.
They are opposed by Klitschko's UDAR (Punch) and a combined bloc which includes the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party of jailed former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
A survey published by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation on Monday indicated that UDAR had the support of 16.0 percent of the voters, while the Regions stood at 23.3 percent. It showed UDAR had overtaken the United Opposition bloc, which includes Batkivshchyna, whose support had slipped to 15.1 percent.
The poll seemed to confirm the towering 41-year-old Klitschko as a powerful newcomer to Ukraine's political scene with his UDAR an emerging force to challenge the establishment Regions and the Batkivshchyna opposition.
The two-meter-tall, reigning heavyweight champion, nearing the end of his boxing career and running for parliament for the first time, said on Monday that ratings of 16 percent for UDAR could mean a parliament split of 50-50.
"It would not be telling the truth if I said I was not satisfied with this. I am satisfied that the curve of our support is being maintained and, with three weeks left, that we will be able to increase our electoral support even more," he told Reuters in an interview.
DR. IRONFIST
Klitschko, who won 41 of his 45 victories on knockouts and is known as Dr. Ironfist because he also holds a doctorate in sports science, has accused the Regions of representing only the interests of the "financial-industrial" elite.
He ruled out any coalition with the Regions after the election. "The Party of the Regions has lost its reputation and we consider any links with this party impossible," he said.
A previous survey by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation published on September 27 had put support for the Regions at 28.1 percent, United Opposition at 25.6 percent and UDAR 11.5 percent.
But another pollster, marketing firm GfK, last week flagged a sudden rise in UDAR's popularity, putting it at 17 percent against 25 percent for the Regions and 15 percent for the United Opposition.
In the interview on Monday, Klitschko, who trained in Germany for much of his professional boxing career, said UDAR remained committed to "open politics" in Ukraine based on European democratic standards.
"The ratings show that people believe us ... It means that more people from our political force will be represented in the Ukraine parliament," said Klitschko.
His party would now concentrate efforts on securing the nod of the 18-20 percent undecided voters.
Under election rules reintroduced by the Regions, half of the mandates in the 450-seat assembly will be decided by voting for party lists and the other 225 will be conducted by individual constituency races. Voting in the latter is widely regarded as favoring the Regions Party.
The ratings of the Yanukovich government have been hard hit because of unpopular tax and pension policies.
But the Regions have made big efforts to claw back lost ground in traditional bases in the east and south by raising public sector salaries, pushing through legislation on Russian-language rights and returning to people a part of savings lost with the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.
The October 28 election has already come under fire from foreign observers, who cite issues such as biased media coverage and the fact that Tymoshenko, Yanukovich's main opponent, remains in jail and unable to campaign.
In what the European Union and the United States called an example of selective justice, the 51-year-old Tymoshenko was sentenced a year ago to seven years in prison for abusing her power as prime minister when pushing through a 2009 gas deal with Russia, a charge she denied.
Tymoshenko was a leader of the 2004 "Orange Revolution" protests that derailed Yanukovich's first bid for the presidency.
(Reporting by Olzhas Auyezov and Pavel Polityuk)
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSBRE8970MR20121008?irpc=932
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Poll: Ukrainians unwillingly agree to sell their votes at elections
Oct. 8, 2012 ... by Interfax-Ukraine vis Kyiv Post
About 83% of Ukrainians would not be prepared to sell their votes at the elections, according to the results of a study conducted by Democratic Initiatives Fund together with Kyiv International Institute of Sociology.
According to the results of the poll presented at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday, 82.9% of the respondents would not sell their votes at the parliamentary elections.
However, 1.5% of those polled expressed complete readiness to sell their vote for any candidate for any amount of money; 5.2% said that they are ready to sell their votes for a good price; 4.6% of people are ready to give their votes if they are offered to vote for the candidate they sympathize with; and 5.8% found it difficult to answer the question.
At the same time, 53.2% stressed that they definitely condemn the sale of votes for money, as you cannot sell your opinion. Moreover, 31.8% of respondents said that they have a negative attitude to the purchase of the votes of electors, but understand it, as people have different situations. Only 10.3% of those polled said that they have a positive attitude regarding purchase of votes at the elections, as it gives people a chance to gain money.
The poll was conducted from Sept. 18 to Oct. 4 this year. The poll was held in 111 residential areas in all regions of Ukraine and Crimea. 2,043 respondents participated in the poll. The poll's margin of error is 2.2%.
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/poll-ukrainians-unwillingly-agree-to-sell-their-votes-at-elections-314087.html
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Ukraine’s parliamentary elections - Footballers and other candidates
Oct 8th 2012 … The Economist … CHERNIVTSI and MYKULYCHYN … One evening in late September, people filed into the Philharmonia building in Chernivtsi, a town near Ukraine’s border with Romania, that was known as Czernowitz under the Austro-Hungarian Empire They had not come to hear a string quartet. The night’s star was Andriy Shevchenko, a hero of Ukrainian football, who has announced during the summer that he was leaving football for politics. He is now on the party list of “Ukraine – Forward”, second only to Natalia Korolevska, the party’s leader.
Mr Shevchenko and Ms Korolevska were in this tucked-away province to campaign for the parliamentary elections on October 28th. Once Mr Shevchenko had warmed up the audience, Ms Korolevska took over. Not yet forty years old and with a background in business, she represents a new generation of Ukrainian politicians. Yet Ms Korolevska’s smooth speeches, delivered in Russian, are rather vague. Her recent television advert was a feeble echo of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, and left many uninspired. The real crowd-puller in Chernivtsti was Mr Shevchenko, rather than the party’s two local candidates who are both new to national-level politics. “I didn’t get his autograph!”, wailed a small boy as his father led him out of the building.
With the elections just a few weeks away, Ukraine is dotted with campaign tents and plastered with posters and billboards. The ruling Party of Regions’ billboards promise “From Stability to Abundance”, implying that their government has already achieved the former. The united opposition – grouped around Yulia Tymoshenko’s “Fatherland” party – has replied with the nifty “We will stop them”. Meanwhile, Ms Korolevska’s latest slogan claims that “an average wage of 1,000 euros and a pension of 500 euros” is realistic for Ukraine. The monthly average wage is €300 ($389).
A few hours’ drive north, in the mountain village of Mykulychyn, the blue Party of Regions tent is something of an attraction. A group of village youths poses for photographs with it in the rain. “Viktor Yanukovych’s party, you know”, explains the young woman in the tent uncertainly, handing our correspondent a bunch of fliers and a large “Partiya Regioniv 2012” umbrella. By the afternoon, the tent was gone. The villagers were busy celebrating the village’s 600th birthday in a soggy field, warmed by live pop music and honey vodka.
This part of the Carpathian Mountains is at once touristy and run-down. Ksenia, who owns a small chalet, which she rents out to tourists, is preparing a traditional meal involving mushrooms for her guests—the first guests in two months. She pours fruit compote into an old earthenware jug, adding that authentic artisan objects are hard to come by these days. “The Chinese have learnt to make things that look just like our Hutsul ones," she says.
An average Ukrainian is ready to sell his or her vote for 2650 hryvnia (€250), says Kostyantyn Dykan, an expert at the Razumkov Centre in Kyiv, commenting on recent statistical data. With just a few weeks to go, the campaign is in full swing. But how far is each party willing to go?
http://www.economist.com/blogs/easternapproaches/2012/10/ukraine%E2%80%99s-parliamentary-elections
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