Presidential lexicon vs the lexicon of diplomacy

As the countries which base themselves on the Rule of Law await what will happen in the “show trial” of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, there are a few things that I like the readers of this column to think about for at least the time that it takes to read this opinion over maybe at the water cooler with colleagues if possible. Some of these ideas have been reflected by others, such as Hryhoriy Buzenko writing for ORD, but these were not necessarily aimed an Anglophone audience, and it is due time that that audience begin to understand the fundamental difference between their world and a contemporary Ukraine.

From my piece entitled “A vindictive form of justice,” I would like to use my concluding words of that piece as a launch pad. I wrote: “How the regime must be rejoicing that they have nearly achieved victory in silencing their two strongest opponents, who once insulted, and investigated their questionable behavior and have a great deal of dirt on them all for certain. In their world, vengeance has always been more important than justice. In their world there are no civilized rules.”

It may not be as much civilized rules that are issue here, but two different civilizations and two different lexicons of those civilizations.

Firstly, I have known Yuriy Lutsenko personally since about mid-1993, and one thing I know for certain, he likes to joke. Unfortunately for him, jokes and being made fun of are not something that individuals with a questionable past, such as Ukraine’s incumbent President take very kindly to.

Secondly, over the centuries, the international diplomatic community has developed its very own lexicon and terminology in order to send signals to one another.

And while these always ring very clearly in the ears of the schooled and experienced diplomats or state delegates, it really does not seem to be the case for Yanukovych and Co. Many observers have noted that the lengthy, veiled statements and indirectly expressed implications by his European counterparts are simply not understood on his end, and the intended ‘warning’ messages lack any level of strength sufficient enough to exert the slightest form of political pressure. Diplomatic etiquette, just like intellectuality and politeness in general, is also something that his ilk of individuals does not take fondly to. To them it is all a demonstration of “weakness” and of an inability to do anything about whatever it is that the West is “deeply concerned about” in Ukraine.

Thirdly, for those who understand some Soviet history, it is no secret that after Stalin starved those in Ukraine to death, including in the Donbas region he carried out mass internal migration programs to turn Ukraine in a different type of land and to work in the mines of Donbas. A very large proportion of those sent to Donbas were simply criminals who had already developed their own cultural norms, their own lexicon and their own “ponyatiya” or notions between what is right and wrong. The significance of the impact of this criminal sub-culture on the social norms of the population of these regions should never be disregarded when doing any kind of analysis of Ukraine’s current ruling ‘elite’ and its actions.

As one Ukrainian observer noted, on one of the many sites I monitor regularly. The recent conflict between the authorities and a Kyiv-based company called ProstoPrint is based solely on the difference in lexical understanding, and the fact that most people from Donbas can’t take a joke, especially if they are the brunt of it. It was simply because of the lexicon and there its criminally twisted “notion” between what is right and wrong which caused major problems for ProstoPrint. Without going into lexical details for the Western reader, the problem with the ‘scandalous’ T-shirts that were sold on Kyiv square at a stand led to violent raid of the ProstoPrint offices on September 6, 2011 by special police forces, was not the content of what the T-shirts said, but rather how that content was interpreted by the authorities, who looked at it through their usual prism of convict sub-culture terminology, and saw in the harmless phrase too close of a rhyming potential to what is considered a major insult in criminal circles, which, if not ‘adequately’ retaliated against would be perceived as a blow to the reputation of the insulted individual, who in this case happened to be the President. Hard to grasp, really, but the owner of ProstoPrint, Denis Oleinikov has already left the country with his family out of concerns for their safety.

Finally, does all that mean now that in order for the EU to exert more pressure on Yanukovych, their statesmen/women need to start addressing the issues during his visits with an increased, almost gangster-like bluntness? Could be, yet while there has been a noticeable escalation in the EU’s rhetoric with regard to the Tymoshenko trial and the state of democracy in Ukraine in general, it is still far from enough for Yanukovych and Co. to even feel the slightest amount of political pressure. Actions always speak clearer than any words, be they blunt or veiled.

This Thursday in Warsaw, Volodymyr Ariev and Andriy Pawlowsky, members of Ukraine’s opposition have called upon the governing bodies of the European Union to switch from talks with Yanukovych, which he - quote - “does not understand” - to starting concrete action. Among the demands voiced were: the enforcement of a travel ban for key members of Yanukovych’s cohorts beyond the borders of Ukraine, including those who head institutions of the Government. The blocking of foreign accounts of all business owners, judges and administrators that support the incumbent regime, as well as a call for a general boycott of the Euro-2012 football championship, were amongst the methods suggested by the opposition’s representatives in Warsaw.

It seems to me that the powers that be in Ukraine need some tough love and to have their ears boxed by the international community. The pussy footing around and diplomatic language is clearly something they don’t understand and are unlikely to understand for the reasons outlined above. We all know that the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but it is time for those who care, both in Ukraine and beyond its borders, to start setting up some roadblocks on that road.


Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant

September 23, 2011 - My Letter to Bryan Adams

Mr. Bryan Adams, O.C., O.B.C.
c/o Mr. Bruce Allen
Suite 520 - 425 Carrall Street
Vancouver, BC
V6B 6E3
Canada


Dear Mr. Adams,

I am writing to you with regard to your planned performance on October 28, 2011 in the city of Lviv, Ukraine at the opening ceremony for the Lviv football stadium for the Euro-2012 football championship, alongside the event’s reported attendance of Ukraine’s current President Viktor Yanukovych.

While you have been to Ukraine to perform in the past, there are a few things I am certain you stand for as a Canadian and as a member of the Order’s of Canada and British Columbia and that you should be made aware of. These are matters which not only disturbing to me as a fellow Canadian, and should be to you, but also to Members of Canada’s Parliament, as well as the close to 1.25 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent.

Mr. Bernard Trottier (Riding of Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Conservative Party of Canada) made the following statement to our Parliament earlier this week:

"Mr. Speaker, recently we have seen some very troubling events take place in Ukraine. The persecution, arrest and continued detention of Yulia Tymoshenko, along with many others, are cause for great concern both in Canada as well as in the international community….These apparently politically-motivated actions undermine the rule of law and human rights, which are at the core of all democracies. The Ukrainian people, having long lived under the rule of regressive and undemocratic Soviet policies, will not accept a return to darker times. Ukrainians deserve to live in a peaceful and prosperous society, where they can enjoy the same freedoms and safeties seen across other western nations.”

Now, while it can be understood that political rivalries within a country may not be of direct concern to you as a musician asked to perform in that country, and despite the fact that the handling of Ukraine’s two opposition leaders’ (Ms. Tymoshenko’s and Mr. Lutsenko’s) “trials” as well as the conditions of their imprisonment could all be reason enough to reconsider any dealings with Ukraine’s current regime by any Western activist or institution, given the political nature of these particular cases, I shall focus instead on just a few examples amongst the plethora of other examples of serious ethical, political, administrative and humanitarian wrongdoings in Ukraine directly related to Mr. Yanukovych’s regime as well as to the preparations of the Euro 2012 football championship in Ukraine, and in the City of Lviv in particular.

The first example is the completely corrupt tender process that the municipal officials in Lviv ran for the building of the stadium, where they announced a financial tender which was to be awarded to the company that could finance building the new stadium and its infrastructure without burdening the local economy and population. The tender was awarded to a company that had no financing and was eventually given to a Ukraine based company to be fully financed at the tax payer’s expense. When the rest of the world is trying to be frugal, the powers that be in Ukraine continue to try to squeeze the most out of their populace, only exacerbating the country’s deepening economic and societal crisis.

Regarding the building of the stadium, workers who were hired to do so were not paid for four months, and then the company that they were employed for was folded, and they were left without four months of wages. To this day they have not seen compensation for their labor. A lavish opening ceremony of this stadium will be just another blow to the dignity of these workers and their families.

What you will be paid for your performance, is not clean money. It is money that has been stolen from the population and the municipal and national budgets through deep-rooted schemes of endemic corruption, by officials who from day one of the tournament’s announcement have done everything possible to reap personal advantage of this landmark event in every imaginable way. Improvements to the quality of life of the people in the host-cities of the Euro 2012, i.e. creation of job opportunities, economic growth and capital inflow are all a fairy tale that even pre-school kids will not believe anymore.

However, the problems in Ukraine are much deeper than a systematically corrupted and economically ruinous mismanagement of the preparations to the Euro-2012 football championship. There is a constantly growing opposition in all spheres of society to the current regime - a regime that cannot be labeled as anything else but criminal. This opposition is being answered to with increasingly worrisome methods. Among many other unnamed instances, this year’s Amnesty International Report on Ukraine is filled with unaddressed cases of unlawful detainment, torture and ill-treatment of protesters and students that stood up on various occasions to voice their opinion against the current regime represented by Mr. Yanukovych.

Back in July, Sting canceled a concert in Kazakhstan over claims of human rights violations on oil workers in that country. I believe that the current situation in Ukraine gives many more reasons for the same kind of action.

As a fellow Canadian, I would very much like you to reconsider whether you will play in Lviv or not. I know that there are plenty of other performing artists out there who would support you in your stand. A stand which would be just, regarding the current state of affairs in a country with an extremely fragile democracy, and which is turning into a police state run by a few who care very little about those they were elected to represent. I call on you and anyone who believes in democracy to boycott all events related to the Euro-2012 Football Championships in Ukraine.

Sincerely,


William (Vasyl) Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant
B.A.; M.A.; M.L.I.S.

Cc: were a slew of individuals, organizations and media which you can see here in the first published version of my letter.

Second in Command – to whom?

Without a doubt many will probably agree that Ukraine's democracy is extremely fragile, and while the world observes the young nation and its apparent political persecution of the opposition by the current regime there is plenty more going on in the country. Many events slip under the radar of most, though an event which transpired last week, while not as resonant as the absurd trials of former Ministry of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, there is an event and how it is being handled and why it ever even happened that deserves some reflection.

On the evening of September 7, 2011 Volodymyr Mozharovsky after work returned home to his residence at 26b Dehtyarivska Street in Kyiv, like he had countless times before. This building is not a simple apartment building. It serves as the residence for senior and higher ranking officials of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Like any other evening, he used his magnetic key to enter the building. A short time later he was found in a pool of his own blood on the landing between the second and third floors by another officer who had entered shortly after General Mozharovsky, Deputy Minister of Ukraine's Ministry of Defense entered the building.

The General suffered an open head wound, has a concussion and is expected to remain in hospital for up to two weeks according to reports.

Now just imagine if General Sir John Nicholas Reynolds Houghton of the UK, Admiral Michael Mullen of the United States or General Walter J. Natynczyk of Canada were bopped over the head by unknown assailants. What would the reaction to such an incident be by their respective ministries or departments? You would imagine that there would be a full investigation and the law enforcement officials would be on top of such an incident, if it were ever allowed to happen in the first place? Would you not?

Clearly Ukraine operates under some very different rules of conduct, and those who have been following my commentary are probably becoming aware of this if they were not already aware of it.

But what did Ukraine experience? Not much. The current Minister of Defense Mykhaylo Yezhel held a press conference where the typical double-speak was employed, though to this day nothing in terms of the attack on General Mozharovsky has been published on the Ministry of Defense news portal. As one of the commentators of the event, a military reservist, who brought my attention to this matter, reserve Colonel Viktor Tymoshenko, reported in UNIAN, Yezhel did very little except in the words of Tymoshenko: “We found out that the state of mind of the first person of the nation responsible for military affairs was to save his own backside.”

It seems that the most important thing that Yezhel said was, “There were no working documents in his satchel.”

Tymoshenko goes on further to question the same things that anyone else would question, particularly anyone with some degree of professionalism. Why on earth has nothing been publicly undertaken?

The answer is very simple. The level of professionalism that exists at all levels of Ukrainian government at this time is laughable. Those in positions of power are a bunch of kids playing in a sandbox, and to add they are bandits with no understanding between “right and wrong”.

As Tymoshenko states in his report in UNIAN, the army as a political institution is losing its' voice. So who controls the Ukrainian army now? Is it the people who they are supposed to serve or the bandits that who have come into power? If they are for the people, those in control as well as all who have taken an oath to serving the country should get to the bottom of this incident as quickly as possible.

If the army is really serving the interests of the nation, then why do his fellow officers and individual soldiers allow such as this to happen. Clearly, if one has a general who may be carrying “secrets in the interest of the nation” then such an individual should be appointed the appropriate security.

Once again, Ukraine, or at least its officials show that they are nothing but two-bit crooks trying to run a nation, a nation and people that are not just geographically located in Europe.

A vindictive form of justice

The lack of an independent judiciary in Ukraine prevents it from becoming part of the civilized world, undermines the principles of Ukraine’s Constitution, and the most basic rights and freedoms which it is supposed to guarantee. The lawlessness of the current regime is nothing more than a vendetta against those who were trying to bring some law and order to what is still a fledgling and now very fragile democracy.

In the spring of 2007 Ukraine together with Poland were awarded to host the Euro-2012 Football Championships, which seemed like a great victory at the time; however, anyone who has been following things since then understands very well that things are far from as smooth as “officials” are making them out to be.


European sources have stated that the reconstruction of the “Olympic” stadium in Kyiv is probably one of the most expensive construction projects in Europe at the given time. On more than one occasion workers on the Lviv Stadium, have gone without receiving their pay. In fact, in one case the company KomfortBud was restructured and renamed and workers not paid four months of salaries, which to this day they still have not received. Just one of the ways of a few pocketing money for themselves. Not to mention the clearly falsified tender for the building of the new L’viv stadium has probably cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is no secret that Deputy Prime Minister Borys Kolesnikov who is responsible for infrastructure projects was somehow tied into matters of the reconstruction of the Olympic Stadium, and clearly in conflict of interest. While he conveniently extricated himself from the company involved, it would be naïve for anyone to think he is still not personally benefiting from that business project.

When Yuri Lutsenko was the country’s “top cop”, Kolesnikov, who had openly called for the separation of the Donbas from Ukraine, as well as former Kharkiv Governor, Yevhen Kushnaryov, had been detained during ongoing investigations; Kushnaryov was the only non-Donetsk politician who also held high office in the Party of Regions, and died on January 17, 2007 under suspect conditions in a hunting accident. Some analysts have openly stated that Kushnaryov was an expendable body in the Party of Regions. In addition under the instigation of Lutsenko investigations were carried out on many Donetsk-based businesses and politicians, including Rinat Akhmetov’s SCM.

In Lviv the administration is also not as squeaky clean as its Mayor Andriy Sadovy so often likes to portray to the media and the city’s citizens.

In June of 2010, a criminal case was opened against Deputy Mayor of Lviv, Oleh Synyutka, who is responsible for infrastructure development in the city, for the inappropriate use of the municipal budget to the tune of UAH 8,681,617, just over one million USD. In comparison the arrest of Lutsenko and charges brought against him are sadly comical; like a beach bully kicking sand in the faces of those he disrespects.

The numbers speak for themselves and with Donetsk interests continuously growing in Lviv, due to the bedfellows that the city’s leadership keeps, the most corrupt will go unpunished. Lutsenko if not released for treatment could die, and Tymoshenko will be meted out a sentence, by a politically appointed “judge”, decided long before proceedings were started against her.

How the regime must be rejoicing that they have nearly achieved victory in silencing their two strongest opponents, who once insulted, and investigated their questionable behavior and have a great deal of dirt on them all for certain. In their world, vengeance has always been more important than justice. In their world there are no civilized rules.

Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant

This opinion was published earlier on Ukraine Business Online.

In Defense of the Ukrainian People

The kangaroo courts which are trying both former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and former Minister of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko, not to mention many other Ukrainians, from students to pensioners is clearly in criminal defiance of the Rule of Law.

At the current time there is no doubt in my mind that the regime in power has no interest in the benefit of the nation it "rules with an iron fist" or its people.

Today it became clearer than the light of day that the current regime is trying to physically destroy both Yuriy Lutsentko and Yulia Tymoshenko – in short to kill them.

Yuriy Lutsenko's health is rapidly deteriorating and has been on a rapid decline since the month of May, he has been diagnosed with sclerosis of the liver, for which he requires immediate treatment. This recommended treatment by officials of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine has been denied by “judge” Boyko.

This in itself shows the criminality and disrespect for the Rule of Law by the current regime, and it is clear to me that the current regime understands that it is much simpler if Yuri Lutsenko dies while in custody, than to actually pass any type of judgment on him. Its analysts are counting on the economic problems globally, and even more so in Europe, and the passive stupor that the Ukrainian people have been put into, due to their many foul tactics to ensure that day comes as soon as possible.

Why are they treating him this way? Simple, they operate “beyond the boundaries of any written or unwritten laws.” For them, it is probably simply payback for any of the cases which Lutsenko as Minister of the Interior had interfered with their business. Their disrespect for human life and their attitudes towards “law abiding” and “normal” Ukrainians is clear. It is an “US vs THEM” mentality.

Yulia Tymoshenko, while not in such a dire state of health is being driven down that same road.

At the current time the only option that exists in terms of leadership in the country is Yulia Tymoshenko. She has taken the burden of standing up for what is right and what is wrong in the country, and the case against her. There are few individuals in Ukraine, who can, and will at this point, stand up for the country and all of its people, their dignity and their rights.

The clan and bandit mentality of the current regime with its own personal business interests in mind, which come before those of the country are evident. While political capture has long been an issue amongst political analysts of Ukraine, and countries strongly rooted in democratic principles who have tried to assist Ukraine over the last twenty years; it must be understood that the hunt to capture Ukraine started even before its independence twenty short years ago. It came to its culmination with the inauguration of the country's fourth President.

Ukrainians both in Ukraine and in the Diaspora must get it through their heads that Yulia Tymoshenko, at this point, is the only capable individual in the country with the skills, intellect and testes to do what is necessary and bring some order to the current state of affairs in Ukraine, and the riffraff which governs by the rules which only THEY understand.

Those who are now in power very well understood the maxim of “divide and conquer”. It is time for the people of Ukraine to take back what is rightfully and morally theirs. They have to bury their differences and unite behind someone capable and who has shown in many instances she is willing to bare the burden against her current political foes that morally stand on a different side of the fence than US good people.

Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant