You're reading: Western warnings pile up for Yanukovych

Ukraine’s European partners issued multiple, unambiguous warnings this week: If Ukraine wants to sign an Association Agreement in November for closer political and trade ties with the European Union, it needs to shape up fast.

On the eve of the Feb. 25 summit with Europe in Brussels, Ukraine’s closest friends seemed to be pushing the hardest.

“We cannot wait. The window of opportunity is open right now,” said EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Fuele in Kyiv on Feb. 7.

Former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski echoed his comment, as did former European Parliament President Pat Cox, who also came this week as a part of their ongoing mission to find a solution to the gridlock involving Ukraine’s political prisoners. The continued imprisonment of ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and ex-Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, for reasons deemed political, are the biggest headache of bilateral relations, and one that Ukraine’s top officials haven’t adequately addressed.

In Vilnius, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite told Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 6 that signing of the agreement dangles on the release of the same two notable political prisoners.

“Europe will not dictate to Ukraine how to settle the issue,” she told Yanukovych. “The imprisonment of opposition leaders is not a worthy decision, and further delay in a decision on these politically motivated cases might result in the further protraction of the signing of the (association) agreement.”

In response, Yanukovych said he couldn’t ignore the criticism, but needs time to make a decision. “This is a very painful issue for us. We need some time to find answers to all of the questions. The political component is very important and we should think and decide how to solve the problem together with our partners,” Interfax news agency quoted him.

And time is a luxury Ukraine doesn’t have.

Ukraine initialed the 1,000-page agreement with the 27-nation bloc in 2011. Called unprecedented for its scale and degree of integration for a non-EU nation, it includes a deep and comprehensive free trade agreement, which would give Ukraine access to a market of 500 million people and bring the nation’s business and trade legislation in-line with the EU’s.

The agreement has been dangled like a carrot in front of Ukraine’s leadership for years, in an attempt to entice them to move forward on combating selective persecutions of political opponents, as well as improving human rights and democracy.

Valeriy Chaliy, an analyst at Razumkov Center, a Kyiv-based think tank, said that the decision on whether to sign an agreement with Ukraine this year will effectively be taken at the end of May or in early summer.

“This year will be critical in determining not just cooperation, but the model of integration for Ukraine,” Chaliy said.

The decision also comes at a time when Ukraine is being pressured to join a Russia-led Customs Union with Kazakhstan and Belarus. Participation in the union requires that nations delegate part of their sovereign powers, a clause that currently conflicts with Ukraine’s Constitution.

Ukraine has thus far resisted, including Russia’s promise to reduce gas prices in exchange for membership. Russia has scoffed at any counterproposal that falls short of full-fledged membership.

Yanukovych, during his visit to Lithuania, once again said that closer ties with Europe remain a goal for Ukraine. But Fuele said Ukraine has to make “tangible progress” in three areas to achieve this.

“The main concerns remain the same,” said Fuele on Feb. 7. “Action needs to be taken to redress the effects of selective justice, the shortcomings of the October parliamentary elections need to be properly addressed, and the overall reform agenda needs to be pursued with more vigor.”

Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who met with Fuele on the same day, said changes in electoral legislation and the nation’s reform agenda are being discussed.

Meanwhile, January was a painful month for both Tymoshenko and Lutsenko. Prosecutors notified Tymoshenko that she is the main suspect in the 1996 brutal murder of Yevhen Shcherban, a prominent businessman and lawmaker.

Yet Tymoshenko’s health continues to deteriorate. She suffers from spinal hernia, which is aggravated by her living in the shower room of her hospital cell in Kharkiv Oblast to protest round-the-clock video surveillance of her. The Penitentiary Service maintains that surveillance of Tymoshenko is not unique. Its representative this week said 120 other prisoners are under video surveillance in Ukraine.

Cox and Kwasniewski visited Tymoshenko in her shower room on Feb. 6, stated her daughter Eugenia Tymoshenko. “They were shocked by the conditions … they saw the presence of male personnel, the guards, they saw the cameras, they felt and understood it all,” she said. “They realized that it’s impossible to get cured in these conditions.”

The State Penitentiary Service released a different account of the same events. In its statement, it said Cox and Kwasniewski had an opportunity to visit all the rooms where Tymoshenko is kept and spoke to her and the guards for two hours. “There were no commentaries, claims, complaints or remarks from the visitors for the management of the [colony] or the medical establishment,” the statement said.

Lutsenko had surgery in a Kyiv hospital on Jan. 23 and was transferred back to prison in northern Ukraine a week later. The move was seen as retaliation by authorities for his refusal to ask Yanukovych to pardon him.

Lutsenko’s wife Iryna had said she was approached by a person close the president who offered a pardon if the nation’s ex-top cop asks for it. He refused the offer because he, like Tymoshenko, says they are innocent of the abuse of office charges for which they have been convicted.

Kyiv Post editor Katya Gorchinskaya can be reached at [email protected].