That is the only reasonable conclusion to be drawn from a recent interview in which Shokin said with a straight face that he would step down from his post “once the prosecutor’s office is reformed.”
Evidently, he was oblivious that he’s no longer welcome as the nation’s top law enforcer.
Indeed, the person who is stalling reforms and protecting corrupt officials believes he should stay put to make sure things go smoothly. Maybe in a language known only to Shokin, “reform” is actually code for “sabotage.”
Judging by Shokin’s comments, he will never step down, and the prosecutor’s office will be reformed only if he is forced out.
The presidential appointee has repeatedly been accused of shielding corrupt officials from prosecution and stalling reforms, depriving the Ukrainian people of the very things many of them died for during the EuroMaidan Revolution – a state free of corruption and closer ties to Europe. Nothing now can remedy the catastrophic loss of trust in him by both the public, government officials and Western diplomats.
Even if Shokin is not sabotaging reform, he has nothing to show – no prosecutions, no convictions – in the fight against big-time corruption.
Shokin has spoken out against the action plan set by the EU for rooting out corruption – a prerequisite for easing the visa regime – and recently threatened legal action against the Foreign Ministry after the ministry expressed disapproval of Shokin’s nominations for the selection board that will appoint the prosecutor who will work at the National Anti-Corruption Bureau.
One of the four individuals nominated by Shokin was Yury Hryshchenko – none other than the boss of one of the “diamond prosecutors,” Volodymyr Shapakin, busted in a sting operation in early July. If Shokin is nominating a man who failed to see the illicit activities of one of his subordinates taking place right under his nose, what does that say about Shokin’s attitude toward real change?
The Soviet dinosaur has singlehandedly declared war on all forms of progress that Ukraine so desperately needs, from solving the massacre of 100 protesters on EuroMaidan, recovering stolen state assets to European integration, and yet he is somehow deluded enough to think that he must stay in office. Get the man out as soon as possible.
