The strength of the human spirit!

Many of have probably heard about the Ukrainian Government making a sudden flip-flop on its pro-European aspirations, and has decided it will not be signing the Association Agreement at a summit in Vilnus next week. Many of the people of Ukraine feel betrayed by the government and have decided to take to the central squares of all the major cities in Ukraine in protest.

This happened on the eve of the ninth anniversary of the beginning of the Orange (R)evolution a day which had become know as Freedom Day. There is plenty material out there in the English Language his recent bit of civil protest that has just started and should be growing, but if you want to know more n the background of what this is all about you can search Twitter for the hashtag #450UA you will be able to find links to English language materials on Ukraine and then search for Association Agreement or Europe and Ukraine together. There is a good deal of material on what has happened, though what I want to share with you is about the strength of the human spirit.

The following is something a journalist acquaintance of mine, Marichka Padalko, posted on her Facebook wall a short while ago in Ukrainian. I will translate it for my English speaking friends below, but this is worth knowing about and really tells you something about the human spirit.

"З вражень дня... Переходжу Хрещатик в бік Монумента через підземний перехід близько шостої вечора. Переді мною сходами підіймається невисокий хлопець, він тримається за перила, і кожен крок йому дається дуже важко, ноги ікс-ом, плутаються, схоже, ДЦП. Перша думка - допомогти, бо прямо боляче на нього дивитися. Друга - звичайно, не чіпати, хлопець дає собі раду сам і, напевно, цим пишається. Він таки підіймається нагору, а на вулиці ......дістає з кишені свого чорного плаща синьо-жовтий прапор і загортає в нього свої розправлені плечі. Хлопець йшов на Майда..."

"Impressions of the day... I was crossing Khreschatyk towards the Monument via the pedestrian underpass at about six in the evening. In front of me was a young man of small stature, he is holding the hand rail, and it seems to me that every step is extremely difficult for him, his legs are crossed, kind of mixed up, it seemed that he was afflicted by something like cerebral palsy. My first thought - was to help him, because it pained me to watch him. My second - of course was, to leave him alone, as he seemed to be coping just fine, and his probably very proud of himself. He continues upward and makes his way up to the street... he reaches into the pocket of his black jacket and pulls out an azure-yellow flag and drapes it over his straigtened shoulders. This guy was heading to Maydan..."

If that one person with his physical difficulties could do it, why can't any other Ukrainian who has the aspiration in being part of Europe where the rule of law exists. Ukraine has a lot of work to do, but the robber barons seem to want to just plunder more of the nation's wealth while they are in power. While they look down at the people they are supposed to be serving. The current government of Azarov has to go, and they should be tried by a tribunal of unbribable judges in the European Court of Human Rights for everything they had done since usurping power.


Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant

EURO-2012: Ukraine, why bother?

Back in September of 2011 I wrote up my “Travel Advisory Euro-2012”. It seems to me, all joking aside, that someone has heeded this message. However, I highly doubt it! Clearly the powers that be in Ukraine have not been able to convince the world that they actually deserve hosting the European football championships this year. Somehow it comes as no surprise to me that 13 of the 16 teams involved in a glorious sporting event have actually decided to set up their team home-bases not in Ukraine but in Poland! So why is this?

It seems to me, that the national football federations of the countries involved clearly understand that the facilities available in Ukraine are minimal. Why on earth would they want to subjugate their top players to Third World conditions? Yes, Third World conditions!

Ukraine's own Euro-2012 has in fact become one of the sore points for many Ukrainians, and only an idiot could not see this happening over the last 18 months. It is not a secret to anyone that government financed sporting facilities benefit no one, other than those who build them. This is currently a debate in Canada, regarding one hockey arena that certain individuals want to build in Quebec City, in order to try to draw an NHL franchise back to the city. It will not work on public funds, and most in the West know this, however, there were and still are politicos in Canada and Ukraine that always try to manage to obfuscate the truth when dealing with the public.

In Ukraine we know that the public was never involved, to build or reconstruct stadiums in Kyiv and Lviv. Decisions were made in the personal interests, and not in the public's interest. So how much of the public purse was stolen on these ventures by public officials? I'm not keeping an official record now, but I am sure we are not far from possibly a couple of billion dollars! No, not hryvnia but cold hard green backs. The results, in fact, are not very commendable, from many different points of view: be they architectural, engineering, or even more importantly a return on investment and plans to further exploit these apparent architectural wonders! Or should I say eye-sores?

A number of months ago I wrote a letter to Bryan Adams to not participate in the opening of the Lviv Arena. Why he did not participate, the world will never know, but we all know that Ukraine's own top man backed out. Why? We still don't have an answer! I think he feared for his own safety regarding the shoddy workmanship that had taken place at the “Lviv Arena”. Or maybe he just didn't want to be heckled. We know how these criminal types can't handle any type of criticism.

As times goes on, everything becomes very clear, at least for those who have some common sense and understand how public officials abuse their office in Ukraine.

I sent a letter off to Bryan Adams on September 23, 2011; shortly after this I made contact with some leaders in the Ukrainian Diaspora regarding the possibility of a boycott of Euro-2012. The feedback by those who are leaders in the Ukrainian community appalled me; many of them seem to think they actually know what is going on in Ukraine. For the most part they haven't a clue!

“What, boycott EURO-2012, there will be all kinds of small business that will suffer if we do this!” This was one comment I received during my series of phone calls. What small business? Who is this person trying to fool?

The small business this individual spoke about will gain nothing from EURO-2012 except headaches and harassment.

Of all the small businesses that are not under the control of the Yanukovych Regime the following will take place. It happened before under Azarov, when he was chief Tax Man and it will happen again. They will have at least weekly raids, and will be extorting any earnings that are made by small businesses during the EURO-2012 Championships. Has any person from the Diaspora been involved in such raids? I've known many business people in Ukraine who have lived through such a matter and have in fact been present when all service stopped as Tax Police shut down a register as they verbally assaulted and in one case physically assaulted an employee of a restaurant. Have, they ever had to deal with Ukraine's tax police at all? Do you want to put people under such pressure? That is what I have to ask those who are against boycotting EURO-2012? How about you go up against those thugs? Do any of you have the balls for it, in a land where the Rule of Law doesn't exist? Sorry folks, this isn't just IRS psychological play or pressure, the thugs from the Tax Police in Ukraine have no qualms about hitting you or a co-worker over the head with a night stick! Or even better they won't hit you over the head they will hit you in the kidneys in such a manner that there will be no bruises to show anyone, and it will be your word against theirs in a system that will not side with you but with the authorities.

The current regime is a criminal one; I think that this was long ago established. Those in power completely neglect the Rule of Law, and we all know that there are plenty of the nation's lawmakers sheltering themselves from being judged by whatever kind of judicial system exists in Ukraine by hiding behind their immunity as People's Deputies of Ukraine.

While the average tourists who visit Ukraine on their own gives a decent indication of what is available if one is on a budget, which most football fans are clearly aware of. For their money they will receive substandard service for anything less than 200 euro a night. This shows just how far Ukraine has come in the area of tourism. In 2001 on the outskirts of Vienna I spent 20 Euros a night with breakfast. And within the last six months the same friend who arranged that stay, told me that now it would cost me about 30 euros a night, and this includes a sumptuous breakfast. If someone can point out such places in Ukraine I would be glad to promote them, but I fear if they exist many of them can only deal in two languages: Ukrainian and Russian. But even still what the average tourist expects and what can be provided for elite athletes are worlds apart. Yes, footballers are elite athletes, and their needs are a great deal different than the average individual.

Regardless, it is now very clear that Ukraine, buy the decision of professionals will not be able to host the most of the athletes participating in the EURO-2012 Championships, and this I am certain my dear readers not based on politics whatsoever, but on concrete facts. If anyone, in the tourism industry that truly understands the capabilities of Ukraine would speak up, and not just in a way that carries the official line of the government, then we would learn that Ukraine is not only unprepared for EURO-2012, but that it will in fact probably create a much more negative image of the country. The peace and love of EURO-CAMP in 2005 on Trukhaniv Island during the Eurovision Song Contest after the euphoria of the Orange (R)evolution is not what football fans are expecting, and they surely most are not expecting to pay € 55 a night in a two person tent. This is what is being proposed by one Kyiv-based booking agency.

So who will benefit at all from tourism during an event that is meant to celebrate sport? Clearly it won't be the average individual in Ukraine, nor will it be the average small business owner. The decision by 13 of the 16 national football teams who have decided to set up their home base camps in Poland sends a very clear message. Stay away from Ukraine. The money you spend there will not help the common people but only a few who already have more money than they know what to do with.

Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant

The commentary of this was first published on the Ukraine Business Online site.

Bravo "Le Figaro"! Not so fast!

When a government official from any country gives an interview to an international publication one would expect that they maintain certain standards or normalcy. However, as I have mentioned before, the current regime in Ukraine are nothing but bandits who play by their own set of rules, because for them the only thing that is important is to win the game. How they win is not important to them. Fair play doesn't exist in their rule book. They have no qualms about paying off a referee, putting their opponents on the sidelines by physically injuring them, or bad mouthing them without substantiated facts. Team Donetsk now is putting their best striker forward in order to try to score some goals in the international media arena, where they are very well aware that the audience is the diplomatic corps and movers and shakers in the countries of the Francophone world.

When I read the interview with Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov in Le Figaro I felt that not only was the normalcy lacking but that Azarov, was following in the footsteps of likes of Romanian footballer Adrian Mutu and former President Aziz Yildirim of the Fenerbahce Football Club and decided to play according to his own set of rules in dealing with Yulia Tymoshenko, the Ukrainian people and the international media. In short he told a number of lies with the intention of obfuscating the facts.

The first thing that struck me was the title of the interview drawn from the interview by the author or editor to catch their readers' attention – bravo Le Figaro you did your job; I'm certain you caught the attention of many! The title read: Azarov: “Tymoshenko is a woman of the past!”

If Ms. Tymoshenko is a woman of the past, then striker Azarov must be from somewhere in the middle ages, where lawlessness and the absolute power of those who were ruling was quite common.

Has the world forgotten how he, striker Azarov, as Ukraine's head tax man from 1996 through to 2002 used his position of power to curb press freedom in Ukraine? He may have very little influence over the foreign media to the level he did over media during his eight year reign as Ukraine's version of the Sheriff of Nottingham; though, what stops a man with not even an iota of moral fabric, from telling outright lies to the foreign media. Clearly, nothing at all!

His first lie to Le Figaro, destined to a foreign audience was that “In 2009, Yulia Tymoshenko signed a one on one agreement with Russian Prime Minister Valdimir Putin...and to do so she falsified do so she falsified documents. This agreement did not receive approval of the cabinet of the government nor of the national gas company Naftogaz.” While those at Le Figaro did a great job at catching their audience's attention, and got a “bravo” Monsieur Pierre Avril, and his editor score low, regarding maintaining integrity of their publication by not verifying facts presented to them by a man representing a government that has done nothing positive regarding press freedom.

On January 11, 2009 Naftogaz was given signatory powers regarding the purchasing of gas from Gazprom and on January 21, 2009 Ihor Didenko, Deputy Director of Naftogaz stated that he agreed with Prime Minister Tymoshenko regarding the price of gas and that he considered the agreement between Naftogaz and Gazprom “to be a victory for Ukraine and common sense thinking in Ukraine.”

Further in the interview, striker Azarov with great skill, once again using his head, deflects a second ball coming his way. That ball was in the form of the following statement by Monsieur Avril: “You yourself accuse Tymoshenko before she has finally been judged. You may be criticized for wanting to influence the course of justice ...” However, when someone of a ministerial level even utters an answer that starts with the phrase: “In this case, everyone has the right to violate laws.” I begin to think where this man is coming from.

I don't believe there is any civilized democracy where civil or human rights that allow one to violate laws. One may be a dissenter of laws, and have the right to gather and to protest things one may not be in agreement with, but we have all seen how the current regime deals with dissent.

If Mutu was ordered to pay €17,173,990 to his former club Chelsea by FIFA for breach of contract and Yildirim was arrested on charges of match fixing in the world of football, then it is high time that the world community start to issue suspensions aimed at the on pitch hooligans of Ukraine's fragile democracy.

Vasyl Pawlowsky
Independent Consultant