Lutsenko goes on trial - The Ukrainian Weekly

More documents

Recommendations

Info

22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 29, 2011No. 22(Continued from page 1)“The Party of Regions is clearing thefield of potential centers of opposition andinfluence that could stand against them,”said Ivan Lozowy, president of the Instituteof Statehood and Democracy in Kyiv.Ms. Tymoshenko is currently the mostpopular opposition politician with 12 percentelectoral support, according to a pollreleased on May 25 by the Sotsis Centerfor Social and Marketing Research.The highest ranking official incarceratedso far is former Internal AffairsMinister Yurii <strong>Lutsenko</strong>, who’s been in jailsince December 26, 2010, and launched afive-week hunger strike in protest.Prosecutors accuse him also of corruption.A special report produced by formerDanish Prosecutor General MikaelLyngbo, chair of the Danish HelsinkiCommittee for Human Rights, confirmedthat Ukrainian prosecutors selectivelyapplied the law against Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong>, whohas been targeted for political reasons.Mr. Lyngbo presented his conclusions,published in an April 28 report, to a meetingof leading Western diplomats in Kyivon May 23.“In the <strong>Lutsenko</strong> case, the court onlystates that ‘the case materials have datathat indicate a possibility by <strong>Lutsenko</strong> per-Demjanjuk(Continued from page 6)of law, but based on evidence and allegationsquite likely fabricated by the KGB.’“… What important national interestwas served by proceeding with this casebased on evidence that the FBI knew wassuspect more than a quarter century ago?Yulia Tymoshenko...sonally and through others in the future tohamper the exercise of procedural decisionsin the case and the effect on witnesses,”Mr. Lyngbo stated.“This clearly is not an individual justificationfor the legality of the use of detentionwith regard to the specific facts of thecase, as required by the European Courton Human Rights,” he said.The report pointed out that ProcuratorGeneral Viktor Pshonka himself admittedthat he considers himself to be a memberof the president’s team and will fulfill hisorders.“One would rather expect him toexpress his loyalty to the law and his independencefrom political life,” the reportsaid. “This corresponds to many statementsabout a history of political influenceon the prosecution and the courts.Reportedly one of the main reasons forlaunching the case against Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong> isto pay back his actions as Minister ofInterior [Internal Affairs] against some ofthe persons who have come to power.”Reliable sources told The UkrainianWeekly it was the procurator general whoinitiated a meeting on the day of Ms.Tymoshenko’s arrest that was attended byU.S. Ambassador John Tefft, GermanAmbassador Dr. Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth,and European Commission Representativeto Ukraine José Manuel Pinto Teixeira.During the meeting, Mr. Pshonkareportedly told the diplomats that Ms.None that we can think of. …“… Not only Demjanjuk, but allAmericans, are entitled to know if andhow the fundamentals of American justicewere so completely perverted.“…if Demjanjuk was purposelyuprooted and subjected to 30 years ofemotional torture based on evidencebelieved to be fabricated – then someoneshould go to jail. For a very long time.”Tymoshenko was released after sheagreed to cooperate with investigators,the Kommersant-Ukrayina newspaperreported.But Ms. Tymoshenko offered a differentspin on the day’s events. “If the globalcommunity and Ukrainian civil society– journalists and deputies – didn’t standup for me, I would have been arrested,”Ms. Tymoshenko told the Channel 5 TVnetwork on May 24.“At the budget’s expense, a repressivemachine has been built which can takeany person in Ukraine and do whatever itwants. A person doesn’t know where togo to defend himself. There are no judges.The procurator general is working forthe mafia. The Security Service ofUkraine is working for the mafia.”Ms. Tymoshenko’s brief arrest drewimmediate criticism from the EuropeanUnion, particularly among leaders of theEuropean People’s Party, which signed acooperation agreement with the<strong>Lutsenko</strong>...(Continued from page 1)admitted to the courtroom, but most journalistsseeking to cover the proceedingswere turned away.Some 100 activists and supportersgathered in front of the court building onKyiv’s central Khreschatyk Street, holdin g O U - P S D a n d o p p o s i t i o nBatkivschyna party banners and placardssaying “Liberty for <strong>Lutsenko</strong>!” and “Theprosecutor is democracy’s gravedigger!”* * *Reporting on the opening of the criminalcase, the Ukrinform news servicequoted Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong> as saying: “I haveevery reason to believe in the bias of thePechersky and the appeals courts of Kyiv.Therefore, I declare that I choose andBatkivschyna party that she founded.“The Ukrainian government shouldstop its politically motivated pressureagainst the opposition leader,” said LucaVolonte, chairman of the EuropeanPeople’s Party faction and member of theItalian Parliament. “The government’sanger against the opposition is a horriblestart to Ukraine’s chairmanship of theCommittee of Ministers of the Council ofEurope.”(Ukraine began its six-monthterm leading the Council of Europe twoweeks ago.)The Yanukovych administration’s goalis to convict Ms. Tymoshenko on criminalcharges to prevent her from running forpolitical office, Mr. Lozowy commented.The Party of Regions is also interested inimprisoning her, which would shut downher opposition activity, he said.“If she’s imprisoned, she won’t’ bereleased anytime soon,” Mr. Lozowy said.“This is part of their work towards the goalof eliminating her as a political opponent.”demand the consideration of my case byjury trial.”On April 22, Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong>, who wasin the Lukianivka remand prison of Kyiv,went on an indefinite hunger strike afterthe Kyiv Court of Appeals on April 21extended his arrest until May 26.The opposition factions Our Ukraine –People’s Self-Defense (OU-PSD) and theYulia Tymoshenko Bloc – Batkivschyna,walked out of the Verkhovna Rada sessionhall last week to protest the prosecutionof Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong>.Earlier, OU-PSD faction chairmanMykola Martynenko said that the factionis demanding the immediate release fromcustody of Mr. <strong>Lutsenko</strong>, who has beenin jail since late December 2010. He saidthat more than 100 national deputies hadsigned an appeal asking that Mr.<strong>Lutsenko</strong> be released on bail.
No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 29, 201123NEWSBRIEFS...(Continued from page 16)according to an April 20 release from theMinistry of Defense of Ukraine. Mr.Serdyukov said that as of 2015-2016, theRussian Defense Ministry plans to startpurchasing new serial military transportshort takeoff and landing aircraft (AN-70)and modernized heavy transport aircraft(AN-124-100, Ruslan). “The AN-70 programis already included in the state militaryprogram of the Russian Federationthrough 2020,” Mr. Serdyukov added. TheAN-70 is a new-generation medium militarytransport designed for short takeoffsand landings. “We really like and needthis plane,” emphasized Mr. Serdyukov.(Ukrinform)Dzhemilev to get Light of Justice prizeKYIV – The head of the Mejlis of theCrimean Tatar people, MustafaDzhemilev, has been awarded the Light ofJustice prize, which, according to itsfounder, a Canadian woman of Ukrainiandescent, Anastasia Shkilnyk, is presented“for moral, spiritual and moral leadershipin Ukraine.” According to jury memberMyroslav Marynovych, vice-rector of theUkrainian Catholic University, Mr.Dzhemilev was chosen to receive theaward as an “outstanding politician of ourtime, who defends the rights of his peopleexclusively in a non-violent way. Theaward will be presented in Lviv on July 8.In 2010, the Light of Justice prize wasawarded to Ukrainian writer, dissident,human rights activist and journalistYevhen Sverstiuk. (Ukrinform)German experts on Ukraine’s populationKYIV – Ukraine’s population couldshrink by 5 million people by 2030,experts from the Berlin Institute forPopulation and Development predicted intheir study of the demographic situation inthe countries of the former Soviet Union,an Ukrinform correspondent in Germanyreported on May 1. According to experts’projections, Ukraine’s population in 2030will be 40.19 million people. According tothe institute, 45.43 million people lived inUkraine as of early 2010. Since 1991, thecountry’s population has been shrinkingby almost 300,000 per year as a result ofits high mortality rate. The population ineastern Ukraine is shrinking faster than inthe country’s western regions, accordingto the report. German experts believe thereasons for this are the outflow of residentsfrom the country’s eastern regions tothe center and the west, as well as betterbirth rate figures in the west than in theeast. In addition, the question of agingwill be urgent for Ukraine in the comingyears, as the number of elderly people isexpected to increase every year. Germanexperts advised Ukraine to take steps tostop or reduce the flow of labor abroadand to focus on increasing the country’sattractiveness to migrants. To this end,Ukrainian leaders must undertake crucialreforms that will bring the country toEuropean Union standards, experts said.As previously reported, Ukraine’s popula-tion was 45.745 million as of March 1.(Ukrinform)Shevchenko monument in Ivano-FrankivskKYIV – In Ivano-Frankivsk, on the150th anniversary of Taras Shevchenko’sreburial on Chernecha Hora, a monumentto the great poet, presented to the city bythe well-known Ukrainian Canadiansculptor Leo Mol was unveiled and consecrated.The monument was erected in theculture park named after him with participationof regional and local authorities,parties and public organizations, anUkrinform correspondent reported onMay 23. According to Ivano-FrankivskMayor Viktor Anushkevichus, a place forunveiling the monument to Shevchenkowas proposed by a working commissionthat included writers, artists, architects,regional ethnographers and historians.The three-meter high monument toShevchenko was presented three yearsago to the Ivano-Frankivsk community byMr. Mol, who died in 2009. In 2011, Ivano-Frankivsk city council has allocated UAH300,000 for its unveiling. (Ukrinform)Population declines by 21,000 in MarchKYIV – In March, Ukraine’s populationdeclined by 0.05 percent or by 21,000 peoplewhen compared with February. As ofApril 1, Ukraine’s population was 45.724million, the State Statistics Service reportedon May 17. The country’s urban populationdeclined by 0.04 percent or by13,200 to 31.411 million, rural – by 0.05percent or by 7,800 to 14.312 million. Aspreviously reported, the number ofUkrainians declined by 14,900 inFebruary, and by 18,400 in January. In2010, Ukraine’s population declined by0.4 percent or by 184,400 persons.According to the nationwide census ofDecember 2001, Ukraine’s population was48.415 million, including an urban populationof 32.538 million and a rural populationof 15.877 million. The next census hasbeen postponed due to lack of funds fromthe current year to 2012. (Ukrinform)“Mother Hero” titled conferred on 2,000KYIV – On the eve of Mother’s Day,May 8, President Victor Yanukovychsigned a decree conferring the honorarytitle of “Mother Hero” on over 2,000mothers with many children, the presidentialpress service reported. Since thebeginning of 2011, this honorary title hasbeen conferred on over 10,000 womenwho gave birth and brought up five ormore children to the age of 8, includingchildren adopted in accordance with proceduresestablished by the law. The celebrationof Mother’s Day in Ukraine wasintroduced in 1999 by presidential decree.(Ukrinform)Forty-seven hotels open in 2010KYIV – The number of hotels operatingin Ukraine in 2010 was 1,731, whichwas 47 (3 percent) more than in 2009, theState Statistics Service reported on May13. According to the service, the numberof hotel rooms rose by 3,800 last year,whereas the area of hotels expanded by76,000 square meters. (Ukrinform)TO ALL MEMBERS OF UNA BRANCH 94As of June 1, 2011 the secretary’s duties of Branch 94, will beassumed by Mr. Wsewolod Hnatczuk.We ask all members of this Branch to direct all correspondenceregarding membership and insurance to the address listed below:Mr. Wsewolod Hnatczuk33616 Sunrise DriveFrazer, MI 48026(586) 294-8157
Page 2: 2THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 2
Page 5 and 6: No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY,
Page 7: No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY,
Page 12: 12THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY
Page 17 and 18: No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY,
Page 19: No. 22Groundbreaking conference...(
Page 24 and 25: 24THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY
Page 27: No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY,

Lutsenko goes on trial - The Ukrainian Weekly

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?