EuroMaidan, the anti-government protests launched on Nov. 21, has put the spotlight on Ukraine’s worsening record regarding human rights, police brutality and media freedom under President Viktor Yanukovych.
In its second
month, EuroMaidan activists have suffered physical assaults and say they are facing politically motivated criminal investigations.
In December
alone, according to Kharkiv Human Rights Group director Yevhen Zakharov, more
than 50 journalists were assaulted – mainly by police – including 40 on Dec. 1
alone, when a large rally erupted in central Kyiv in response to a violent
police crackdown on Independence Square the day before.
The most high-profile
case involves the Dec. 25 beating of Tetyana Chornovol. Despite presidential
orders to bring those guilty to justice, police have yet to announce who
ordered the attack or why it took place. Activists believe investigators are
stalling and fear a cover-up. Chornovol specialized in exposes on the lavish properties
owned by Yanukovych as well as other members of the political elite. On Jan. 7,
she identified Yanukovych as the prime suspect in ordering the attack on her,
prompting a presidential denial on Jan. 9.
Despite an
amnesty law in force concerning EuroMaidan protesters, four activists remain in custody for taking part in rallies, according to Kharkiv Human Rights group member Halya Coynash. She identifed the four as Yaroslav Prytulenko, Andriy Dzyndzya, Viktor Smaliy and Volodymyr Kadura.
As of Jan. 3,
police pressure in the form of home visits and requests for statements has been
applied to 70 activists who have taken part in a roving automobile rally to
hold demonstrations at residences of the nation’s leadership, says the group’s
leader Dmytro Bulatov. Police say there is no political motive behind their
actions.
Two members of a
police traffic watchdog also remain in custody, while other members of the
group have been assaulted.
Members of
parliament are not immune. Svoboda lawmaker Andriy Ilyenko was beaten not far
from a Kyiv police station on Jan. 4 together with his lawyer. Police denied
any involvement in the matter.
Seven vehicles
belonging to EuroMaidan activists in Kharkiv, the nation’s second largest city,
have been set on fire. Two of them belong to local politicians from the
opposition Batkivshchyna and Svoboda parties.
Other reports of
violence being used against EuroMaidan activists in the regions have taken
place in Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Rivne.
Although
authorities say they are just doing their jobs, their actions are seen as
heavy-handed attempts to intimidate activists.
“Each time the government uses force, it only provokes resentment from
the other side…I believe EuroMaidan can be radical but peaceful,” said
Zakharov.
While some call
it a continuous campaign of creeping authoritarianism, political analyst Serhiy
Taran characterized law enforcement’s actions as “selective repression.”
“For a
government to be absolutely authoritarian, it needs to either have a strong
ideology, a strategic resource like oil and gas, a charismatic leader or a
dynamic economy — all of which Ukraine lacks,” said Taran, who heads
International Democracy Institute think tank.
He thinks that the
targeted repression “is futile.”
“If (the
authorities) believe that they could scare 100,000 people into going home, then
this is a sign that it doesn’t understand people because the more pressure that
is applied, the more it will mobilize the populace. It illustrates that the
government doesn’t understand how Ukrainian society works,” continued Taran.
If the
repressions intensify, so will the anti-government rallies, said Zakharov.
Zahharov,
however, is considered that far-right radicals, including some in the
opposition Svoboda Party, will overreact to government-incited provocations or
use of force.
Taran just
wonders how long all of this will last, including “whether the people of
EuroMaidan have enough energy and creativity to endure until the 2015
presidential elections.”
Polls show that Yanukovych would lose a second bid for president to one of his main challengers, including imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and opposition leaders Petro Poroshenko, Arseniy Yatseniuk and Vitali Klitschko.
Kyiv Post editor Mark Rachkevych can be reached
at [email protected] or
at [email protected].
