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4 No.47 SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 TOPIC OF THE DAY WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA By Ivan KAPSAMUN, photos by Mykola TYMCHENKO, The Day Areader recently came to our editorial office to express indignation at the failure of the authorities and the public to keep the grave of the murdered journalist Georgy Gongadze adequately maintained. She lives not far from St. Nicholas the Miracle-Worker’s Church on the Riverfront, where the journalist was buried in March 2016, and can see the grave’s condition. She says the Ukrainian and Georgian flags there have faded and nobody is going to replace them. “Otherwise, thanks to churchmen, the grave is more or less well-tended, flowers were planted, although was neither a photograph nor a plate for a long time – just as nameless grave with a big stone cross has also been there before,” the Kyivite says. “As far as I know, both the authorities and the journalist’s family are not taking enough care.” Yet, taking into account the course of the Gongadze-Podolsky case for many years, when we saw and still see inadequate attention, suppression of information, falsifications venality, and unwillingness to finish the investigation of crimes against Gongadze and public activist Oleksii Podolsky, there is nothing extraordinary in this. However, it does not mean we should keep silent. It will be recalled that the perpetrators of Gongadze’s murder are or were serving prison terms. They are former police officers Mykola Protasov (13 years, died in prison in 2016), Valerii Kostenko and Oleksandr Popovych (12 years each). Their sentences came into force in March 2008. In the case of Podolsky, who was abducted and savagely beaten on June 9, 2000, “uniformed turncoats” were also convicted – in 2007 the Appeals Court of Kyiv sentenced Colonel Mykola Naumets and Major Oleh Maryniak to three years in prison for abuse of power. Meanwhile, the epic of the main perpetrator (in both cases, Oleksii Pukach, chief of the Interior Ministry’s Outdoor Surveillance Department, commanded the police squads), is still on. Kyiv’s Pecherskyi District Court sentenced Pukach to life imprisonment and the Appeals Court of Kyiv upheld this ruling later. But the parties to the trial did not stop at this and filed cassation appeals. The High Specialized Court handed down the following ruling at its latest session on May 31, 2017: “Petition the Prosecutor General’s Office again to enter information about blackmail and threats into the National Register of Pretrial Investigations for further inquiry [it became known in August 2017 that the prosecuting office registered this crime at last – Author]; instruct chief justices of the Kyiv’s Pecherskyi District Court and the Appeals Court of Kyiv to declassify the audio and video recordings of the first- and appellate-level court sessions; debar Valentyna Telychenko from further participation in the Pukach case and offer the aggrieved party, Myroslava Gongadze, representation of her interests, if necessary, by a different representative.” Unfortunately, as years go by, there is no essential progress in this case. Presidents and prosecutors general have been changing, Maidans were held, European organizations passed resolutions long ago with a call to investigate the cases, but the question of crime organizers still remains open in juridical terms. Why is this occurring? Why do we have to raise this question over and over again? Here are just a few examples of the latest events. The Kuchma-Pinchuk family traditionally holds the annual Yalta European Strategy forum in these days of September (this year on the 13th-15th) on an anniversary of Gongadze’s murder. The very list of participants from Ukraine and abroad makes it easy to conclude why the case is not being investigated. The yesukraine.org website says this year’s forum will receive more than 600 leading politicians, diplomats, businesspeople,public activists, and experts from 28 countries. Among the Ukrainians, it is President Petro Poroshenko, Prime Minister Volodymyr Hroisman, Kyiv Mayor Vitali SEPTEMBER 15, 2017. AN ACTION IN MEMORY OF ALL THE UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS WHO DIED IN THE LINE OF DUTY WAS HELD IN DOWNTOWN KYIV ON THE EVE OF THE 17th ANNIVERSARY OF THE MURDER OF JOURNALIST GEORGY GONGADZE. THE POSTER READS: “GEORGY, WE HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN” Eighteen years of impunity Expert: “Ukraine needs a juridical and moral assessment of criminal actions, including the Gongadze-Podolsky case, as an antidote against Kuchmism” Klitschko, Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin, as well as Yuliia Tymoshenko, Sviatoslav Vakarchuk, Anatolii Hrytsenko, Andrii Kobolev, Svitlana Zalishchuk, Serhii Leshchenko, Mustafa Nayyem, and others. Among the foreigners are Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia; Kurt Volker, special representative of the US State Department for Ukraine negotiations; Alejandro Alvargonzalez, Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Security Policy, NATO; Norbert Roettgen, Chairman of the Bundestag Foreign Affairs Committee; Tony Blair, former Prime Minister of the UK; Anders Fogh Rasmussen, NATO Secretary General in 2009-14; Condoleezza Rice, 66th US Secretary of State (2005-09); Ksenia Sobchak, Russian public activist. It looks like the Manafort case teaches no lessons. It will be recalled that Rick Gates, a former business partner of the American political consultant Paul Manafort, said in a court that Ukrainian businessman Viktor Pinchuk was one of Manafort’s clients. “Gates revealed that Pinchuk paid Manafort through a company called Plymouth Consultants Ltd. for what he described as a legal project. He did not provide details about how much was paid or when,” The New York Times reports. Another negative signal in the past few days was the news on Kuchma GEORGY GONGADZE’S GRAVE ON THE TERRITORY OF ST. NICHOLAS THE MIRACLE-WORKER’S CHURCH ON THE RIVERFRONT. KYIV, SEPTEMBER 2018 Ukraine Foundation’s website that Kuchma had received an Order of Saint Andrew the First-Called, 2nd class, the highest award of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (of Kyiv, not Moscow, Patriarchate). What for? “For merits in reviving spirituality in Ukraine, efforts in establishing the Local Ukrainian Orthodox Church, and on the occasion of his 80th birthday.” Moreover, Leonid Kuchma and Patriarch Filaret discussed the granting of the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. In short, it is a disgrace! What do The Day’s experts think of the never-ending Gongadze-Podolsky case? ● “NOBODY HAS EVEN BEGUN TO FULFILL THE HIGH COURT’S DECISION TO DECLASSIFY AUDIO RECORDINGS” Tetiana KOSTINA, Oleksii Podolsky’s lawyer: “The situation with the high-profile Gongadze-Podolsky case, undoubtedly a crucial and particularly important criminal case in the history of this country, is arousing deep concern and indignation. “Firstly, nobody has even begun to fulfill the high court’s decision to declassify the audio recordings of Pecherskyi District Court sessions since May last year. The command to so, in a ‘mayhem style,’ must have come from Ukraine’s top leadership. Pecherskyi District Court judges are unlikely to have risked breaking the law so brazenly and cynically without an instruction from above. “Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has attempted, contrary to the procedure, to replace the reporting judge in this case. This know-how of a reincarnated cassation court will be the object of a serious discussion about the state of justice in the near future – as well as the premeditated, deliberate, and systematic alteration of the procedural law for the only purpose to protect Kuchma and other high-profile individuals from testifying in court even as witnesses. “As for the criminal case against crime organizers, Prosecutor General Yurii Lutsenko still refuses, absolutely unlawfully, to recognize Oleksii Podolsky as an aggrieved party, which means that he finally and irreversibly flouted all the rules of decency and transgressed law, morality, and international commitments of Ukraine. I am sure the Prosecutor General Office headed by the leader of the ‘Ukraine without Kuchma’ campaign does not recognize Podolsky as an aggrieved party in the organizers case in order not to disturb the luxurious wellbeing of Kuchma and his Family. “Providing impunity to the organizers, Mr. Lutsenko as Prosecutor General is already planning his future political career and is not even recalling his longtime hypocritical oaths to bring the organizers of crimes against Gongadze and Podolsky to justice.” ● “NO RULE-OF-LAW SYSTEM HAS BEEN CREATED IN UKRAINE SO FAR” Bohdan TSIUPIN, Ukrainian journalist, London: “In my view, the Gongadze case is still unfinished because no rule-of-law system has been created in Ukraine so far. This is why top officials, influential politicians, and people in the money can easily manipulate legal proceedings. Ukrainian courts can punish perpetrators, smalltime criminals, or even men of straw. But as soon as a crime’s trail leads to influential circles, Ukrainian justice founders. “The entire Ukrainian society is responsible for this state of affairs because the situation will not change if there is no prevailing opinion. Ukraine needs a very broad-based education and massscale awareness. Many Ukrainians cannot influence processes in the country due to being poorly educated and passive. For example, an enormous number of people cannot even express their opinion in the official language or adequately form a document. “In the West, those who keep track of events like this may know about the Gongadze case. Such things cannot remain etched on popular mentality for a long time because Westerners are also concerned first of all about urgent problems in their countries. Do many people in Ukraine know or will they remember for a long time about the recent mafia murder of journalist Caruana Galizia in Malta or any other similar cases?” ● “PROSECUTORS RECEIVED NO COMMAND FROM LUTSENKO OR POROSHENKO TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT KUCHMA” Ihor LUTSENKO, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament: “The cause of Kuchma’s impunity is that his family is one of Ukraine’s biggest media moguls. They own large enterprises, financial resources, and, accordingly, still exert influence on the foreign and domestic policies of Ukraine. In the past few years Kuchma has also been one of the active Ukrainian negotiators in Minsk, and this role gives him sufficient protection. Kuchma’s son-in-law Pinchuk is also trying, less successfully, to play the role of a link with the US elite. They are allegedly respected for the international clout they have gained for many years. This is why prosecutors received no command from Lutsenko or Poroshenko to do anything about Kuchma even if they know about his role in the crimes. “Conformism still prevails in Ukrainian society, and some of its members are full of love for money, glory, and influence which the Kuchma family can provide with the help of its resources. Having no personal interest in the Gongadze issue, most politicians think it is better not to quarrel with Pinchuk – it is more beneficial to appear on his TV channels and not to recall the annoying Gongadze story. Besides, most of the institutions that allegedly deal with the freedom of speech, analysis of the Ukrainian media, and protection of journalists’ rights, especially the ones that are closer to international donors, are lobbyist organizations. This is another instrument of influence rather than a way to protect journalists and the freedom of speech. “In the final analysis, we cannot help but recall such an objective factor as the course of time and personnel turnover in journalism. For example, the new generation on television consists of journalists for whom the Gongadze story is something as archaic as the Pereiaslav Rada or World War Two. They did not witness 18-year-old events, so this story is very far from them. But those who want to be a true journalist must, of course, know the tragic story of Gongadze.” Read more on our website
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA CLOSE UP No.47 SEPTEMBER 20, 2018 5 By Ivan KAPSAMUN, Valentyn TORBA, The Day Photos from Serhii POPKO’s Facebook page Sea of Azov Controversy Expert says that unless the Ukraine-Russia Friendship Treaty is renewed, the agreement on the Sea of Azov may become null and void Colonel General Serhii Popko, commander of the Ground Forces, wrote on Facebook recently that Ukraine has deployed additional troops and equipment in the direction of the Sea of Azov: “In response to Russia’s aggressive activities in the Sea of Azov, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has ordered reinforcements for the group of the Armed Forces, including Ground Forces in the direction of the Sea of Azov. Measures are being taken to keep the situation fully under control, secure support of the naval group and a reliable defense of the coast. The region is being placed under constant control by joint brigades and territorial defense by missile, artillery, and military aviation units. I had the honor of presenting government decorations to officers and the men of one such brigade on combat duty in the region bordering the Sea of Azov.” The day before, it became known that the Lubny and Kremenchuk armored artillery boats were deployed on the Sea of Azov to enhance Ukrainian naval presence there. These measures actually point to the implementation of a complex of measures earlier adopted by the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO), aimed at defending Ukraine’s national interests in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov, and the Kerch Strait where Russia is hindering maritime transit. Since April 2018, Russian warships have been detaining foreign ships headed for the seaports of Berdiansk and Mariupol as they passed through the Kerch Strait. Russia’s actions contravene an international treaty under which the Sea of Azov is an internal sea for Ukraine and Russia and thus open for the free navigation of both countries. Fortunately, the Ukrainian administration has started responding to a critical situation that developed a long time ago and which has for the past six months been lamented by expert Andrii Klymenko and Admiral Ihor Kabanenko. Back in 2014, the Ukrainian Navy lost some 70 percent of vessels and at long last, now into the fifth year of war, the President “instructed to work out the Maritime Doctrine of Ukraine” after a recent RNBO meeting. It’s a shame it took so long and such belated measures can only encourage Russia to continue its aggression against Ukraine. The Ukraine-Russia agreement on cooperation in the use the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait, signed in 2003, is still effective. It has five articles that read: — The Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait are historically internal waters of the Russian Federation and Ukraine. — The Sea of Azov must be delimited by the state border in accordance with the Agreement signed by both Parties. — Mercantile vessels and other state non-commercial vessels flying the flags of the Russian Federation and Ukraine have free navigation in the Sea of Azov and the Kerch Strait. Mercantile vessels flying the flags of third countries can enter the Sea of Azov and pass through the Kerch Strait provided they are headed for a Russian and Ukrainian port or are on the way back. — Military and other vessels of third countries that are used for non-commercial purposes can enter the Sea of Azov and pass through the Kerch Strait provided they are on a visit or invited or allowed to enter a port of either of the Parties with the knowledge and consent of the other Party. — Disputes between the Parties in conjunction with the interpretation and application of this Agreement shall be settled by consultations, negotiations, and by using other peaceful means as chosen by the Parties. There are two controversial statements which will decide whether this treaty will remain effective. Olena Zerkal, Deputy Minister of Justice of Ukraine, declared that Kyiv does not intend to terminate the treaty with Russia. Borys Babin, the President’s Permanent Representative to Crimea, said his office is preparing documents for the possibility of abrogating the agreement. At this it is worth to recall the circumstances in which Ukraine agreed to sign the agreement in 2003. In an interview with Channel Ukrlife.TV, Ihor Smeshko, head of SBU in 2003-05, said: “The Kremlin realized that Ukraine would offer resistance [e.g., the Tuzla conflict in 2003 – Ed.]. The signing of the Sea of Azov Agreement was a compromise of sorts. It was a political compromise meant to calm Moscow that was worried at the time about access to the Sea of Azov, especially for NATO warships. In 2003, the Verkhovna Rada passed the bill on the Concept of National Security and Defense. For the first time Ukraine’s fullfledged participation in the Euro-Atlantic security structures – NATO and EU – was legislatively confirmed as a strategic objective. It is also true that Russia was then actively knocking on NATO doors. In his well-known speech in Rome, Putin paid THE GENERAL STAFF OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE HAS ORDERED REINFORCEMENTS FOR THE GROUP OF THE ARMED FORCES, INCLUDING GROUND FORCES IN THE DIRECTION OF THE SEA OF AZOV, AS PART OF A COMPLEX OF MEASURES TO DEFEND THE NATIONAL INTERESTS IN THE REGION compliments to NATO. He also actively worked on Russia’s EU membership. Therefore, Ukraine’s tactic served its national interests under the circumstances. After Russia’s calculated maneuvers failed, an agreement on the Sea of Azov was quickly drafted. It was done in order to assure the Kremlin that no NATO vessels would be in the Sea of Azov, acting as a possible threat to Russia, as under the agreement, entry of foreign ships was possible only with the knowledge and consent of the signatories. In other words, Russia now had the right to veto such entry to the Sea of Azov. It was a compromise at the time.” What about now? According to Ihor Smeshko, “to an extent, we are free of our obligations after the start of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and its annexation of Crimea. The way I see it, this agreement makes no sense. Under it, we cannot adequately defend our national interests in the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait; it denies us the influence of international law under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). Over 172 countries joined this convention, among them Russia. If we terminated this agreement with Russia – and we have every moral, legislative, and political right to do so – we’d be under the jurisdiction of international law under the Convention on the Law of the Sea. We would automatically receive tangible privileges, including 20 miles of territorial waters and 24 miles of the exclusive economic zone. Besides, the convention contains all the procedures for settling disputes on the sea, involving international institutions and envisaging sanctions.” Why hasn’t Ukrainian diplomacy considered this effective mechanism of returning this country to the protection offered under international law? Andrii Klymenko, editor-in-chief, https://www.blackseanews.net, told The Day: “The Foreign Affairs Maidan Group has long been reiterating that the agreement on the Sea of Azov between Russia and Ukraine should be either terminated or suspended. Lawyers would know what to suspend and what to abrogate. We need a frontier on the Sea of Azov. We have none. As a result of this inappropriate agreement, the frontier is set along the line of the surf on the beach, that is, along the coast where the land ends. This is absolutely understandable, but there is the curious stand taken by the deputy foreign minister. It boils down to the allegation that everything is OK on the Sea of Azov and that the media are making a mountain out of a molehill – a finger pointed in our direction, considering that the Foreign Affairs Maidan has been carrying regular reports on the situation in the Sea of Azov. Only the military and Borys Babin, the President’s representative to Crimea, an expert on the law of the sea, have taken a stand similar to ours. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has reacted to the contrary. Russia, in turn, objected to the dominance of the Law of the Sea in regard to the Sea of Azov, referring to that agreement with Ukraine. Indeed, back in 2003, the signatories somehow left the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait out of the jurisdiction of the Law of the Sea. The preamble reads that the agreement is based on the Ukraine-Russia Friendship Treaty. In other words, if the Friendship Treaty is not renewed, the agreement on the Sea of Azov may become null and void.” By Vladyslava SHEVCHENKO Today one can instantly immerse oneself in past or current realities. All it takes is a special headgear or a pair of glasses, and then one is off on an exciting trip and in for strong emotions. Sounds simple, but trips to the past also take courage when reliving especially tragic events. A team of young Ukrainian IT enthusiasts founded New Cave Media (newcavemedia.com) [an immersive storytelling studio that delivers 360°/VR solutions to commercial clients worldwide – Ed.]. They weren’t afraid of the challenge and selected February 20, currently known as Euromaidan. ● IMMERSION IN REALITY As usual, one puts on a headgear – VR helmet – and finds oneself back in 2014, on the 20th day of February (tagged by media as Black Thursday). However, this is not the usual kind of computer-generated reality. This is what really happened in Ukraine. Winter. Maidan. Instytutska St. Scared people around. As back then, one is hard put to figure out what’s happening. Emotions are hard to hold in check. Pain and anxiety. One can remember what happened then, every minute of it, and the ever-present fear. Hard to endure but very important. Forgetting important pages in our history eventually leads to tragic consequences, like the ones that occurred almost five years ago. This virtual reality project is especially significant now that Instytutska St. is to be revamped. In other words, our WhathappenedonBlackThursday,February20,2014? Virtual reality Project “Aftermath VR: Euromaidan” launched in Kyiv children and grandchildren won’t see the place where one of the most hair-raising tragedies in Ukraine’s latter day history took place. When you visit it, you can’t help but feel the tears and the pain in your heart. You realize that the heroes of the Heavenly Hundred sacrificed their lives for a better future for you and your posterity. What happened on that Black Thursday in downtown Kyiv remains a heartrending memory, but it is part of our history. The reconstruction of those events, using the latest IT developments, offers a chance to leave these memories alive for future generations. Each visitor spends 15-20 min. with the VR glasses/helmet on – and relives that day. This is truly a unique project in our world which is teeming with visual data. People feel that they are amidst the events, that everything is real, rather than watch- Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day ing a movie or TV serial. This provides a considerably higher degree of empathy. ● REFUTING MYTHS IT team members say they were outraged by the campaign of disinformation launched in the aftermath of events in February. Project co-founder Serhii POLE- ZHAKA: “This wasn’t the first or last instance of the Russian propaganda machine coming up with thousands of versions of what had actually happened. Every effort was made to discourage people to learn the truth. We were present there, so we held our view on the situation. We wanted to help the activists and eyewitnesses share the truth about what had taken place on that street.” Project “Aftermath VR: Euromaidan” allows every viewer to follow the protesters step by step and the narrator explains about the mass shootings on February 20. There are documentary footages, 360° interviews with eyewitness, and a Euromaidan exhibit. Some of these artifacts are courtesy of the Revolution of Dignity Museum’s Heavenly Hundred Memorial. The photos are perhaps the most visceral. You see yourself standing on an ordinary Kyiv street, in front of a photo display, but once you aim the “pointer” at a photo, you can see what took place here only several years ago. Pitched street battles, blood-covered protesters, sheer violence. A number of photo artists from across Ukraine contributed to the project, among them Project Coordinator Oleksii FUR- MAN, a veteran contributor to Den/The Day. Back in 2010, he was the first to vie in and win the Editors’ International Photo Contest in the children’s classification. Several years later, he won the contest in the adult standing with his series of photos “Life After [War] Wounds.” In 2017, Den’s Summer School of Journalism students were among the first to learn about this large scale project from the author. ● PROJECT SPECIFICS The video was made using photogrammetry, a 3D technique that uses photography in surveying and mapping to ascertain measurements between numerous objects. In Ukraine, this scope is reflected in virtual reality for the first time in history. This technique allows the viewer to “feel” the cobblestones on virtual Instytutska St. under his/her feet, and “walk” up and down the street. The IT team faced difficulties, of course. Oleksii Furman: “We chose a very complicated site for scanning. There were many structures topped with glass. Also, this was a downtown street, with many people and cars on weekdays. On weekends, the situation was a little better, but there were frequent public events. We had to work in the morning and on weekends, when most people were at home. We worked in September, October, and November. There was no scanning when there was snow – or when the greenery was abundant, as it is now. Back on February 20, Instytutska St. was bare of leaves and grass.” Read more on our website
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