On June 17, a demonstration at the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s office – organized by Right Sector and what’s left of security and defense units of the EuroMaidan Revolution – stole the spotlight from the state attorney, who had to cancel a scheduled press conference on the government’s corruption-fighting efforts.
Absence
of systemic change in the wake of the 100-day popular uprising that ousted the
corrupt regime of fugitive ex-President Viktor Yanukovych, close to 100 activists
affiliated with the history-changing movement came to the rally. A spokesman
for the demonstrators said that the lack of reform over the past two months
highlights the need to rid the prosecutorial body of old-regime officials.
“The
prosecutor’s office is one of the most conservative state institutions today in
Ukraine,” said Ihor Mazur, spokesman for the demonstrations. Mazur singled out
the Kyiv Prosectuor’s office in particular, which he says has remained
unchanged since the Yanukovych administration.
Although
the group was aware of the anti-corruption briefing, the protesters said it did
not directly relate to the content of the postponed announcement. A Justice
Ministry spokesman said the briefing would likely be rescheduled.
The
protests were coordinated with a similar action in front of the Verkhovna Rada,
Ukraine’s legislature. There, demonstrators called for pre-term parliamentary
elections.
William
Schreiber is a Coca-Cola World Fund Fellow at Yale University. He can be reached at [email protected].
