I kept my expectations very low. But I was still
shocked with the extent of cronyism and illegitimacy of government. The
executive branch of power usurped other two branches of power. The Constitution
does not mean anything anymore.
The Party of Regions and their puppets, including the
Socialists, the Communists, and 25 other parties make amendments to the Constitution
without calling for a national referendum. The number of politically-motivated
prosecutions is skyrocketing reaching its peak with a physical abuse of the former Prime Minister
Yulia Tymoshenko.
What has happened to Tymoshenko must send shivers down the spine of everyone
who is a firm believer in human rights. The physical abuse of political inmate
# 1, the unmasked violence against the queen of the political opposition, and
the blatant use of the prison guards’ knuckles against the body of the
Ukrainian woman draws a line between two stages of political life in Ukraine:
one, with weak human rights and, two, without human rights. The second stage
started on the same day when the pictures of Tymoshenko’s bruised body were
revealed.
Look I am not even mentioning the D word (i.e. democracy). I doubt that anyone
has ever understood what the D words means in Ukraine. Democracy needs
protection of individual rights, respect for the rule of law, trust in
government, accountability of government, and respect for tolerance and
pluralism in civil society. None of these democratic values exist in Ukraine.
Moreover, people are very confused about how democracy and rule of law must
work. Everyone understands that you must report any kind of crime. But if you
do it, you are a snitch. How can I tell on someone if I don’t want to be a
snitch? It’s very confusing. So what do people do?
They hide behind their smart phones, YouTube videos,
and Twitter accounts. Who gets these messages? Does anyone really trust a
virtual social network in Ukraine?
In Europe and USA people talk smack about government
on Facebook. In Ukraine a similar social network Odnoklassniki gives you
impression that people do not care about what’s happening with their democracy
or they prefer to distance themselves from political events. Are people
apolitical in Ukraine? I do not think so because they talk about politics in
private all the time. Once again, it’s confusing. Civil society is either very
weak or inexperienced. It could also be that President Viktor Yanukovych
government’s thuggish aggressiveness sent the whole nation in a very deep
knockout. People are talking about the return of the Stalinist repressions to
Ukraine.
But it’s not 1937 anymore. It’s 2012. But it feels a
lot like 1937.
Leo A. Kraznozhon is an assistant professor of economics at Loyola University New Orleans.
