It showed that the authorities would like to seem transparent, but their consistent actions show the exact opposite.
Mustafa Naiem, a reporter from Ukrainska Pravda online newspaper, asked Yanukovych when he was going to keep his promise and give the journalists a tour of his 140-hectare property that was obtained through a murky scheme. Yanukovych immediately retorted: “Get ready, we’re going now!”
But Yanukovych quickly started to retract on his emotional invitation. Right after the press conference, he said the invitation was for a limited number of people. “I can take only four people, as I have a table only for four,” he said. “So, pick four people among yourselves whom you trust the most and we are off.”
As more journalists wanted to join in the fun, he asked Hanna Herman, deputy head of his administration, to organize five buses for the trip. “I don’t mind if all of you come along,” said the president, and walked out of the room, leaving his subordinates to deal with the rest.
Ukrainian journalists wear t-shirts that read “Stop Censorship!” during President Viktor Yanukovych’s press conference in Kyiv on June 4, devoted to his first 100 days in office. They protested against curbs on democratic liberties and freedom of the press since the president took power on Feb. 25 (AFP)
“One can’t say ‘no’ to the president,” said Herman in her typical pre-emptory style, and asked the journalists to gather in a half hour by the president’s administration, where buses would pick them up. The journalists, of course, rushed to the rendezvous, hoping for a glimpse of the property that has never even been closely photographed.
The president’s press secretary, Denys Ivanesko, made a list of all those wishing to go, and was negotiating buses over the phone. “By now I have enough people to fill two buses. But they sent an extra two, as I think more people will show up,” he said to someone on the phone.
It all looked too good to be true, and indeed it was. Just a few minutes later, Herman came out and said the trip was not to happen that day. “First, there are no buses available. Second, the president has an important international meeting in 15 minutes,” she said, adding that “it is not nice to visit someone’s home without its owner.”
She could not say who the president was meeting, however. Later, journalists could not verify that the president had any appointments in his schedule on that day. Besides, Herman’s account of events was in sharp contrast to what Ivanesko was saying earlier.
Obviously, the journalists were not prepared to drop the president’s “Let’s go!” without a fight. Besides triple-checking and cross-checking the presidential agenda for that day, plenty of speculation arose why the trip never took place.
It seems that Yanukovych’s aides explained to him some possible consequences of such exposure. Mezhyhirya, located about 15 kilometers north of Kyiv, has been subject of multiple journalistic investigations and deputies’ inquiries for information about the series of transactions transferring the state property to Yanukovych’s ownership.
The president promised to give the public a full account about Mezhyhirya, and some revelations followed in his 2009 financial declaration published on June 2. The president claimed that he earned Hr 235,371 (around $29,000) last year, and paid Hr 6,685 ($835) for rent. According to a document issued by the State Committee for Land Resources, he rents 1.7688 hectares of land, which makes his rent phenomenally cheap by Kyiv standards. According to the declaration, he owns a house that is 619.6 square meters in area.
Undoubtedly, if Yanukovych gave a guided tour of his home, more revelations would follow. So, he changed his mind. Luckily, the current staff of the president’s administration is very good at finding excuses. So, don’t be surprised if the president’s reforms that he promised at the same press conference on June 4, will never materialize. The excuse might be that the nation is not ready.
It’s already obvious that the elite is not ready for anything, especially if it’s to do with coming out of the shadow and being more transparent. The Ukrainian ‘leaders’ are both fearful of showing their luxurious lifestyle while the rest of the country is scrapping every penny, and don’t really care about their own public legitimacy.
Herman promised that the press trip to Mezhyhirya will be organized sometime in the future – just like Yanukovych had done some months ago. Even if it does ever take place, there is little doubt that the pool of journalists will be limited to the most loyal pro-presidential media, and only the most modest parts of the residence will be open to public.
The rest will be fenced out and guarded from the prying eye.
Kyiv Post staff writer Yuriy Onyshkiv can be reached at [email protected].
