Sociologists under investigation
For what seems like the first time since independence, Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have taken a direct interest in science. The entire academic board of the Institute of Social Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine was invited to the Security Service (SBU) for interrogation in March this year.
According to Yevgeniy Golovakha, deputy director of the Institute, they were informed that attendance was mandatory and that those failing to attend without valid reasons could find themselves forced to do so.
The SBU reported that the reason for interrogation was an official investigation into one of the Institute’s sociology projects. Questioning, however, has reportedly dealt solely with financial activity rather than scientific. The scholars fell that they have been intimidated and persecuted by the governing authorities. Sociologists stated that an investigation of a whole academic board is very rare, practically without global precedent.
The SBU has explained that the scholars are under investigation for a case involving misuse of budget funds.
At the same time Maryna Ostapenko, press secretary of the SBU, mentioned that the scholars had been invited due to a mistake by a young investigator.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said that the summoning of a group of scientists from the Institute of Sociology Studies for interrogation by the SBU was "unprofessional". The President’s press office reported that human rights and freedom should be "cornerstones in the activity of law enforcement agencies.” We can only hope that this not a mistake that becomes a common phenomena.
People First Comment: Are we really expected to believe that the SBU, one of the most efficient security organizations in Europe, invited a whole department’s academic board in for compulsory questioning by accident? Are we also expected to believe that a whole department was somehow complicit in the misuse of budget funds? Obviously, the PR department of the SBU is not in the same league as its officers.
Next, one has to ask why the SBU would be investigating the misuse of budget finance at a relatively small department of the National Academy of Sciences requiring the whole of the academic board at the same time when, according to a Presidential announcement, failings in the budget control system of the regime have enable the theft of budget resources worth $7.5 billion in 2011 alone. Is the Institute of Social Studies really so crucial to the national budget?
This institute is important not for its ability to drain the national budget but for its power to influence public opinion in the forthcoming election. Most certainly such pressure on the scientific community is at least unprofessional and at worst a deliberate ploy to ensure that the work of the institute is supportive of the regime at the next election. However, such intimidation has already backfired as from now on no matter how scientifically accurate these scientists are, few will believe them as their reputation is now under question.
Is militia really protecting people?
According to a report on human rights prepared collectively by 30 Ukrainian human rights organizations, the level of protection provided to the population by law enforcement agencies in Ukraine is getting worse. According to the latest statistics, in 2011 980,000 Ukrainians suffered from unlawful violence at the hands of local militia; the statistics for 2010 were somewhat lower at 790,000 people.
According to Arkadiy Bushchenko from Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union protection of the right to life has considerably deteriorated over the past two years. There has been no positive changes in the way law enforcement agencies treat people, which often involves torture and inhuman cruelty.
Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko agrees that the reserve of popular trust in the Ukrainian police is almost depleted. He has called for law enforcers to assure that they will work hard to win back the people’s trust.
According to Zakharchenko, it can be accomplished through implementation of the fundamental changes in the system of internal affairs, as supported by 80 percent of the population.
The minister also plans to introduce a retraining of militia officers in order to increase their professional qualifications.
He mentioned that 150 senior officers of the Interior Ministry have already been fired for various malpractices over past three months). President Viktor Yanukovych believes that the performance of the Ukrainian police can be improved only through advanced training and a growth in living standards.
According to the president, law enforcement agencies must increase their efforts in fighting corruption, which acts to block the implementation of reforms in Ukraine. Until the government’s statements are backed by structural action Ukrainian law enforcement agencies will continue to constitute an internal security treat for the people of Ukraine, with all the ensuing consequences.
People First Comment: Sometimes issues can come down to simple definitions. According to a dictionary definition a militia is: a military force raised from the civilian population to supplement the regular army in an emergency. By definition, they are not a police force. A police force on the other hand is: a civil force of the state responsible for maintaining law and order. The militia in Ukraine are organized like a military force, they act like a military force and they think like a military force in that their role is to protect the state as opposed to protecting the citizens of the state. They are, in fact, an outdated throwback to the Soviet era when the security of the state was considered to be more important than the people who were merely actors within it.
Times have changed and so should the militia. The difference is fundamental and deeply psychological in that the principle role of the police in any modern democracy is to protect the vulnerable and to ensure that the law is enforced evenly and without prejudice. The police are there to give the public confidence and support as trusted and impartial servants of society and not as a corrupt instrument of the state.
In Russia the Militia has been disbanded and replaced by a civilian police force; unfortunately, many former militia officers have simply changed uniform so in reality little will change. In Georgia they took a very different approach in that they sacked the entire militia and only rehired around 10 precent replacing the rest with new recruits who were trained in public service and given transparent police stations. Within a year most of the former militia officers had been fired as their old habits were just too hard to resist. As a result, Tbilisi was recently voted the safest city in the world and the police have business cards so that the people know how to contact them. It can happen in Ukraine but only when those in power turn away from the past and embrace real democracy.
Euro 2012: economic risks for Ukraine
When applying for the right to host Euro-2012, Ukraine estimated preparation costs at $16 billion dollars, with the majority to be covered at the expense of private investors.
Instead, the country has spent much more from the state budget than had originally been suggested. The president of Ukraine has reported that so far the state has spent Hr 35 billion ($4.4 billion) on projects ahead of Euro 2012.
According to the National Agency on Hosting and Preparing for Euro 2012, the country has invested $5.23 billion. Ukrainian media have illustrated this by showing that every Ukrainian citizen has paid $76 on preparations for Euro 2012. At the same time the majority of government officials, including the president himself, admitted that the investments are unlikely to pay off.
Whilst Ukraine’s investments in Euro 2012 are less than the $30 billion spent by Poland, this may be due to the fact that Poland has mobilized private funds to cover 40 percent of their costs. Combined, the expenses of Ukraine and Poland have topped record levels. Euro-2012 is costing Ukraine and Poland 40 times more than Euro 2008 cost Austria and Switzerland and 7-8 times more than Euro 2004 held in Portugal.
The return on investments has been a subject of unwavering interest as everyone questions how the country will recoup its outgoings. Euro 2004 and Euro 2008 have proved that the profit is usually between 400 and 500 million euros. The government of Ukraine hopes that 1 million foreign tourists will bring in 1 billion euros. Thus the stability of Ukrainian national economy rests upon the dubious profitability of Euro 2012.
People First Comment: The tourists are not coming. They are going to Poland but at present ticket sales particularly in Donetsk and Kharkiv are worryingly low. A simple glance at the Euro 2012 Ukraine headlines says it all. The lack of hotels and the exorbitant costs, lack of transport, lack of facilities, threats from right wing extremists, HIV and prostitution, the political climate, corruption and lack of effective counter PR have all contributed to a ‘YES’ to Poland but what is currently looking like a resounding ‘NO’ to Ukraine.
The recent assault of Yulia Tymoshenko in her Kharkiv prison cell is leading many European governments to question whether Euro 2012 should even be held in Ukraine or whether it should be boycotted just as the Moscow Olympics were boycotted in 1980.
But would the regime really mind if Euro 2012 was a resounding disaster? Probably not… After all, are we really expected to believe that the refurbishment of the national stadium, the building of the Lviv stadium and the unfinished refurbishment of a few key roads and buildings has cost $5.3 billion when for the 2010 World Cup South Africa built six new stadiums, refurbished four more, built a new airport and hundreds of kilometers of new road at a cost of only $3.5 billion.
Comparisons with Poland are a diversion; after all, the Polish government has used the opportunity and a considerable amount of EU grant money to virtually rebuild whole sections of their participating cities, they have ample hotels and a highly developed tourist and transport infrastructure and the Poles are not out to bleed every tourist dry. If the Ukrainian half of Euro 2012 is the anticipated fiasco then the finger of blame is going to be pointed squarely in one direction.
Ukrainian society: stifled by criminality
The people of Ukraine are increasingly suffering criminality which has all but taken over the nation. Bank robberies happen in broad daylight. Military units are attacked with the purpose of stealing weapons. People are crushed to death by the cars of senior state officials and deputies who avoid punishment. Blatant rape attacks have caused a public outcry in Ukraine: in early March 19-year old Oksana Makar was raped by three young men, strangled and burned alive. She died afterwards of her injuries in a specialist hospital. During March similar crimes were recorded in Dnipropetrovsk and Simferopol. In many cases the police was so passive in the detention of criminals that the people could not help but doubt the objectiveness of their local law enforcement agencies. In January and February alone law enforcers registered 156 rape attacks in Ukraine).
Sociological research demonstrates that 20 percent of Ukrainians are extremely concerned over the crime wave and believe that it is a direct threat to their lives.
Interior Minister Vitaliy Zakharchenko however, reports that it only looks like the crime level has increased: because the Ministry has been more open in providing information.
If law enforcement agencies fail in their responsibility to combat criminality, which seems to be spinning out of control, and favour ‘punishment for personal profit’ the people will seek to defend themselves.
First the people will create initiative groups similar to ‘Community against lawlessness,’ which was established in Mykolaiv, who took to the streets to demand transparent investigation into the case of Oksana Makar, and serious punishment for those that are guilty. If a government cannot protect its people then it cannot presume govern its people – once people take protection into their own hands, they will soon take away labour and loyalty as well.
People First Comment: For the past 150 years, since the launch of the Peelers in London and the Marshals in the USA, the police have been seen as a force for good. They are the reason why we can feel secure in our homes, walk the streets at night and do not have to carry defensive weapons. They are, or should be the guardians and protectors of society… but not in Ukraine. We should be able to sympathise with the ,ilitia because they do an often dangerous job, during highly unsocial hours for very little money. They should have our trust, respect and support… but not in Ukraine.
Ask yourself, how anybody can trust the militia when such cases of abuse happen almost every day. It is time to adopt the Georgian solution and sack them all replacing them with new officers who are prepared to serve society and not their self interest or that of their seniors.
Viktor Tkachuk is chief executive officer of the People First Foundation, which seeks to strengthen Ukrainian democracy. The organization’s website is: www.peoplefirst.org.ua and the e-mail address is: [email protected]
