EU-Ukraine relations
Yulia Tymoshenko
Euro crisis
Verkhovna Rada
Chornobyl
Georgiy Gongadze
Libel law
Oct. 28 parliamentary election
Ukrainian vs. Russian language
Vote Tymoshenko
Feb. 4, 2010, 9:56 p.m. |
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The current prime minister is the only one capable of the two to carry Ukraine’s democratic torch.
In the three weeks that have passed since the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election on Jan. 17, frontrunner Victor Yanukovych has provided voters with ample justification for rejecting his candidacy. Despite her many faults, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, Yanukovych’s opponent in the runoff scheduled for Feb. 7, is clearly the better choice for the nation.
The campaign of Yanukovych, leader of the eastern-looking Party of Regions, has proven to be an exercise in contempt for democracy. Additionally, the candidate’s actions show that he will not be his own man as president. He remains subservient to powerful oligarchs, who have groomed him in his career path from petty ex-con to governor of Donetsk and finally the villain of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange revolution. His team of Soviet apologists and industrial robber barons has shown nothing but hostility to Ukraine’s infant democracy and nascent middle class.
Yanukovych is in essence an empty suit, as was so aptly demonstrated by his refusal to debate Tymoshenko before a live television audience. Lacking articulation, integrity, and courage, he has stuck to sound-bite scripts written for him by his political consultants. When Yanukovych does stray from prepared texts, he reveals astonishing ignorance and even sexism – such as his retort about keeping Tymoshenko in the kitchen.
His Party of Regions has assailed democracy to the very end by adopting last-minute changes to the election law. This should be enough to revive memories of Yanukovych’s involvement in the 2004 attempts to rig the presidential election in his favor – a crime which he still says never occurred.
Yanukovych’s background, which includes two jail sentences during his youth, suggests poor character in many ways. Both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. are suspect, to say the least, as the Kyiv Post’s John Marone reported weeks ago.
Tymoshenko, on the other hand, has articulated a hopeful vision for Ukraine. While her credibility has never been high, her past performance, current plan and future promise suggest that Ukraine would be in better hands with her.
Ukrainians have already broken up the troika of leaders who have dominated the nation’s politics for the last five years or more. Voters did so by defeating President Victor Yushchenko’s re-election bid. Now voters have a chance to get rid of Yanukovych, a second member of the trio. They should seize the moment. Tymoshenko deserves the chance to govern without enduring the relentless, destructive attacks of Yushchenko and Yanukovych.
The campaign of Yanukovych, leader of the eastern-looking Party of Regions, has proven to be an exercise in contempt for democracy. Additionally, the candidate’s actions show that he will not be his own man as president. He remains subservient to powerful oligarchs, who have groomed him in his career path from petty ex-con to governor of Donetsk and finally the villain of Ukraine’s 2004 Orange revolution. His team of Soviet apologists and industrial robber barons has shown nothing but hostility to Ukraine’s infant democracy and nascent middle class.
Yanukovych is in essence an empty suit, as was so aptly demonstrated by his refusal to debate Tymoshenko before a live television audience. Lacking articulation, integrity, and courage, he has stuck to sound-bite scripts written for him by his political consultants. When Yanukovych does stray from prepared texts, he reveals astonishing ignorance and even sexism – such as his retort about keeping Tymoshenko in the kitchen.
His Party of Regions has assailed democracy to the very end by adopting last-minute changes to the election law. This should be enough to revive memories of Yanukovych’s involvement in the 2004 attempts to rig the presidential election in his favor – a crime which he still says never occurred.
Yanukovych’s background, which includes two jail sentences during his youth, suggests poor character in many ways. Both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. are suspect, to say the least, as the Kyiv Post’s John Marone reported weeks ago.
Tymoshenko, on the other hand, has articulated a hopeful vision for Ukraine. While her credibility has never been high, her past performance, current plan and future promise suggest that Ukraine would be in better hands with her.
Ukrainians have already broken up the troika of leaders who have dominated the nation’s politics for the last five years or more. Voters did so by defeating President Victor Yushchenko’s re-election bid. Now voters have a chance to get rid of Yanukovych, a second member of the trio. They should seize the moment. Tymoshenko deserves the chance to govern without enduring the relentless, destructive attacks of Yushchenko and Yanukovych.
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"His team of Soviet apologists" includes Cherkasy5
He's nothing of the sort. Just some badly needed balance to this myth propagated by the Kiev Post that Yulia is some kind of of western leaning democrat. She's nothing of the sort.
It is refreshing to see that the author of this article has finally seen the light. I can only hope that the electorate experiences the same epiphany.
Thank you Kyiv Post for stating what is obvious to all but the cynical PR (read kremlin) trolls who spam the comments section with their nonsensical justifications of PR's odious attempt at stealing the elections. It falls to the press to shine a bright light on all of the voting stations where a quorum is not met, and to expose the reasons for that condition. One thing is for certain, should PR be allowed to pilfer this election, independent journalists will start showing up up in the morgues of Ukriane just like they do in Moscow.
PoR doesn't need to pilfer the election. They are going to win it outright, because they have run the better campaign and treated the Ukrainian electorate with far more respect than Tymoshenko and her harem (pardon the expression) of yes-men.
Kyiv Post has been slamming Tymoshenko all year long and rightly so, noting her egregiously authoritarian tendencies. Why they turn around and start saying she is such a great hope for democracy is a mystery to me.
They have been holding power accountable, which is what the press does in a free society. Should PR succeed in rigging the election, don't expect much in the way of critical journalism from that point forward. It'll be back to "temniki" and the occasional headless corpse.
Are you for real?
Yulia's "tyomnik" Taras Kuzio has already taken care of the Kyiv Post with this ridiculous endorsement. I even suspect that it was Kuzio who wrote it!
I'll be the first one to admit that it's terrible that PoR and Kirilenko's faction changed the election law less than a week before the vote.
However, everybody should understand that had the law not been changed, Tymoshenko would have withdrawn her election commission members from hundreds of polling stations in East and South Ukraine. This would have been not just falsification, but actual disruption of the voting process.
Further, the Tymoshenko campaign was fully aware that by forcing PoR to change the election law, Tymo would be able to score some pity points with international organizations who would declare the move a strike against the electoral process. But the truth is that Regions, with the help of Kirilenko and Yuschenko, did the only thing it could to defend the rights of their supporters to vote.
Faced with defeat, Tymoshenko's strategy has now been reduced to slash-and-burn, and it just puts Ukraine in a deeper hole after the election. It's not good for anybody.
So tell us Kyiv Post, how much did Kuzio and Yulia pay you for this endorsement?
I for one don't think they were paid. KP has been pretty impartial over the last year (or at least since Sunden left), you cant say they haven't done their job. Whose opinion the ringing Tymo endorsement reflects, i don't know, but i doubt it is Zahoor's who has said a lot of times he won't back any politicians.
I'm sure that all sensible Ukrainians will vote against going back to the soviet system that has plagued, plundered and raped Ukraine from way back that Yanukovych is offering. I hope & pray that Ukrainians will vote to go forwards and make Ukraine a better democratic country than it is. Tymoshenko seems to offer this better than the unpatriotic Yanukovych. Ukraine wake up and make your vote count before it is too late.
I hope that ukrainian people watch to west
tymoshenko is'nt the best but is better than Yanukovich
angela
I disagree with the Kyiv Post endorsement.
Yulia Tymoshenko is a lying, cheating, witch. The fact that she's "our witch" meaning democratic minded people, does not excuse her for the ruins she's left in the Ukrainian economy. It doesn't excuse 25% inflation. It doesn't excuse the 1/3 devaluation of the hryvnia. It doesn't excuse that she went against the democratic coalition agreement and when Yatsenyuk resigned, she was to resign too.
She wants power -- naked and without any pretense. And that is the scariest thing in this election -- someone who wants absolute power. That is not what democratic minded people stand for.
Say no to absolute power and vote against Yulia -- either for Yanuk or against all.
Absolutely right! Good for Kyiv Post. Kick out both Yanukovich and Yuschenko!! They are both traitors of Ukraine. GO YULIA. Ukrainians in Canada are for you.
Please elect me. I have a job to finish. In my times of being PM Ukraine enjoyed worst child alcoholism, prostitution, corruption and economy slump.
I promise during my first turn as a presidente to turn every Ukraine kid into alcoholic, every Ukraine female into a whore.
Viktor Yanukovych Won the 2010 Presidential Election!
Reasons Why Viktor Yanukovych Won the 2010 Presidential Election:
Reason 1 - Empathy and Genuine Help for Ukrainians.
Reason 2 - Steady Leadership and Calm Temperament.
There's a very simple, clear reason why Viktor Yanukovych won the 2010 Presidential Election.
The majority of Ukraine voted for him!
Very simple, right?
Well, although that's the reason why he ran, you should also ask yourself why the majority of Ukrainians voted for him.
But back to the main question, why Viktor Yanukovych won... Could it have been because Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko ruined the reputation of Ukraine?
Ukraine has been destroyed for the past five years.
Ukraine trading relationship with Russia is worth $40bn. Russia is very important.
Also a Russian free trade zone is very important for Ukraine.
A bridge between Russia and the West is very important.
Ukraine = A bridge between Russia and Europe!
Ukraine = A bridge between East and West!
Ukraine = The Switzerland of Eastern Europe!
Ukraine = The Best Friend of Russia!
Ukraine = The Best Friend of Europe!
Ukraine = Independent!
"YANKI" Yanukovych:
If democracy fails in Ukraine, rest assured there will be a new, more deadly Cold War, more devastating than anything imaginable.
If Ukraine is tricked into voting for a Communist Criminal Dictator who rigged the elections previously and has already committed fraud in these elections, then Ukraine's independence and democracy shall cease to exist. This world shall not tolerate this loss.
I call for immediate sanctions against Ukraine if "YANKI" wins this election.
Make NO mistake about the initial results, "YANKI" has already committed fraud in these elections. Supporters and pollers that speak favorably of Tymoshenko and scheduled to be singled out, fined and possibly imprisoned.
How can this ever produce fair elections?
To all Ukrainians: You must hand write in "Yulia Tymoshenko".
This is the only way that "YANKI's" fraudulent voter schemes will be identified. By writing "Yulia Tymoshenko", Yanki's numbers of ballots will not add up and he will not be able to explain the differences.
Regardless of your thoughts of Yulia Tymoshenko, she will provide a free and independent nation. A nation that can build upon democratic principles and become a great leader in the free world.
"YANKI" is prepared to take your independence and give it back to Russia. If you lose independence, you will never regain it again.
It is your choice but if you choose to give away your independence, do not expect to world to come to your aid. You will all be lost forever.
2 candidates in a country full of criminals and corruption:
Candidate #1 stands to clean up the criminal activity and corruption;
Candidate #2 joins forces with these criminals and is about to be elected President.
I only know a few Ukrainian citizens and they are good honest hard working citizens.
Are there really that many criminals in Ukraine or are Ukrainians afraid of being prosecuted by these criminals.
Well guess what, if you are afraid now, wait until you see what happens after one is elected. If Yanukovych is elected, criminal activity will hit an all-time high and prosecutions will be severe for anyone that questions this new Dictator.
You (Ukrainians) only have 1 more chance at freedom, this is today.
If you fail today, you will lose your freedom. In the United States, we call this “SLAVERY”.
If you elect Yanukovych, all Ukrainians will become slaves. Are you sure you want this for future generations?????
YOUR CHOICE – LAST CHANCE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
bye bye tymo time to spend your 2bn