The decision by the University of Kansas’ Dole Institute of Politics to award ex-President Viktor Yushchenko with its 2011 “Leadership Prize” is puzzling.
In his citation for the $25,000 prize, institute director William Lacy notes that Yushchenko is “a great cultural and revolutionary icon,” adding that “Yushchenko and the Orange Revolution ignited a fire for the people of Ukraine.”
Missing from the text posted on the institute’s website last week is that Yushchenko was voted out of office with a miserable 5 percent of the vote in January 2010 after spending his presidency fighting to destroy political rivals rather than fixing the nation.
Where was his leadership on fighting corruption, which flourished under his tenure? Did he improve governance, put Ukraine on a sustained path toward democracy and rule of law?
He failed to drive through fundamental changes to improve citizens’ lives. The 2010 comeback of current President Viktor Yanukovych, who was thwarted by the Orange protests in 2004, may be the ultimate condemnation of this failure.
In a telephone conversation with the Kyiv Post, institute director Lacy emphasized that the award, in this case, was not given for lifetime achievement, but for Yushchenko’s leadership during the Orange Revolution against the attempt to fix the presidential election for Yanukovuch.
Even if Yushchenko deserves to be saluted for his role during those tense weeks, his miserable record in office cannot be ignored.
The Orange Revolution was not Yushchenko’s achievement, but that of the Ukrainians who stood on the streets against corruption and for free and fair elections. He betrayed the revolution and those people. To reward him for that failure is a grave error.
