Business Central Europe: Cornered
03/01/2001 | Broker
Business Central Europe
http://www.bcemag.com/servlets/bce.application.issuepost?cid=1473&aid=616&__action=display
Ukrainians are protesting on the streets against their president, Leonid Kuchma
Cornered
Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma, is battling for survival as the country endures its greatest political upheavals since independence in 1991. He's implicated in the murder of an opposition journalist, and he's wilting beneath the growing weight of popular protests against him.
Several thousand Ukrainians have rallied in the capital's centre demanding his resignation. A protest movement called "Ukraine without Kuchma" has set up a tent city on Kiev's main street. Leading opposition figures in Ukraine's notoriously fractious political scene have united on an anti-Kuchma platform. And worryingly, there are increasing signs that not just the president but the whole government might resort to force to quell the demonstrations.
The unrest was sparked by tapes allegedly linking Mr Kuchma to the murder late last year of Georgiy Gongadze, a journalist critical of the president and his entourage. The tapes apparently record Mr Kuchma ordering his top aides to "get rid" of Mr Gongadze and, while the president has consistently denied any involvement in the crime, state prosecutors have finally admitted that the voices on the tape are genuine.
The president claims the tapes were doctored to implicate him. But the prosecutors' foot-dragging on the case fuelled widespread suspicion of a cover up and protests from the US and the Council of Europe, who both called for a swift and open investigation.
Suspicions were fuelled further last month, when Mr Kuchma sacked the head of the state security service, whose voice was also heard on the tape. But for all the stink, it's too early to write off the beleaguered president. Mr Kuchma is now fighting back against both domestic and Western critics. And he has regained ground quickly.
He's getting his own back on the West by apparently forging closer ties with Russia. He staged a high-profile meeting with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, at an old missile plant in Dnipropetrovsk. There, the two signed a number of co-operation deals and agreed to reunite the countries' electricity grids.
At home, Mr Kuchma seems to be laying the foundations for a crackdown against the opposition. Together with his prime minister and parliamentary speaker, he issued a statement on February 13 accusing protestors of trying to establish mob rule in the country. That, the statement said, left the government little choice but to use force.
The popular, and reformist, premier Viktor Yushchenko had kept a neutral stance on the scandal until then, and his decision to side with the president was a blow to the opposition. A further blow came when state prosecutors announced that the National Salvation Forum, an alliance of opposition politicians and public figures opposed to the president, was unconstitutional.
The move has led to fears that the state might resort to repression to get the situation back under control. Some say that it already has. A Ukrainian doctor involved in investigating Mr Gongadze's disappearance has fled to London, claiming that he received death threats from the state security service.
Certainly, Mr Kuchma is being less than gentle with dissenters. In February, the prosecutor general's office, which reports directly to the president, arrested former deputy premier Yulia Tymoshenko. The move came less than a month after she was sacked from government for alleged corruption, and joined the opposition protests.
The charges relate to her business career before she joined the government. But many think she was really sacked because of her efforts to root out corruption in the energy sector.
As for media freedom, the issue that sparked off the whole mess, if anything the situation has got worse since the scandal erupted. Most major media outlets are already owned by businessmen close to Mr Kuchma. Since the scandal, the few remaining independent television stations have been bullied into toning down their coverage of the case. By such means is Mr Kuchma holding on to power. For now, at least.
Vitaly Sych
http://www.bcemag.com/servlets/bce.application.issuepost?cid=1473&aid=616&__action=display
Ukrainians are protesting on the streets against their president, Leonid Kuchma
Cornered
Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma, is battling for survival as the country endures its greatest political upheavals since independence in 1991. He's implicated in the murder of an opposition journalist, and he's wilting beneath the growing weight of popular protests against him.
Several thousand Ukrainians have rallied in the capital's centre demanding his resignation. A protest movement called "Ukraine without Kuchma" has set up a tent city on Kiev's main street. Leading opposition figures in Ukraine's notoriously fractious political scene have united on an anti-Kuchma platform. And worryingly, there are increasing signs that not just the president but the whole government might resort to force to quell the demonstrations.
The unrest was sparked by tapes allegedly linking Mr Kuchma to the murder late last year of Georgiy Gongadze, a journalist critical of the president and his entourage. The tapes apparently record Mr Kuchma ordering his top aides to "get rid" of Mr Gongadze and, while the president has consistently denied any involvement in the crime, state prosecutors have finally admitted that the voices on the tape are genuine.
The president claims the tapes were doctored to implicate him. But the prosecutors' foot-dragging on the case fuelled widespread suspicion of a cover up and protests from the US and the Council of Europe, who both called for a swift and open investigation.
Suspicions were fuelled further last month, when Mr Kuchma sacked the head of the state security service, whose voice was also heard on the tape. But for all the stink, it's too early to write off the beleaguered president. Mr Kuchma is now fighting back against both domestic and Western critics. And he has regained ground quickly.
He's getting his own back on the West by apparently forging closer ties with Russia. He staged a high-profile meeting with Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, at an old missile plant in Dnipropetrovsk. There, the two signed a number of co-operation deals and agreed to reunite the countries' electricity grids.
At home, Mr Kuchma seems to be laying the foundations for a crackdown against the opposition. Together with his prime minister and parliamentary speaker, he issued a statement on February 13 accusing protestors of trying to establish mob rule in the country. That, the statement said, left the government little choice but to use force.
The popular, and reformist, premier Viktor Yushchenko had kept a neutral stance on the scandal until then, and his decision to side with the president was a blow to the opposition. A further blow came when state prosecutors announced that the National Salvation Forum, an alliance of opposition politicians and public figures opposed to the president, was unconstitutional.
The move has led to fears that the state might resort to repression to get the situation back under control. Some say that it already has. A Ukrainian doctor involved in investigating Mr Gongadze's disappearance has fled to London, claiming that he received death threats from the state security service.
Certainly, Mr Kuchma is being less than gentle with dissenters. In February, the prosecutor general's office, which reports directly to the president, arrested former deputy premier Yulia Tymoshenko. The move came less than a month after she was sacked from government for alleged corruption, and joined the opposition protests.
The charges relate to her business career before she joined the government. But many think she was really sacked because of her efforts to root out corruption in the energy sector.
As for media freedom, the issue that sparked off the whole mess, if anything the situation has got worse since the scandal erupted. Most major media outlets are already owned by businessmen close to Mr Kuchma. Since the scandal, the few remaining independent television stations have been bullied into toning down their coverage of the case. By such means is Mr Kuchma holding on to power. For now, at least.
Vitaly Sych