Editor’s Note: As Ukraine gets set to inaugurate its sixth president by May 30, the Kyiv Post is asking Ukrainians and those with Ukrainian ancestry who live abroad to send in their pictures (mug shots) with answers to the following three questions for publication. Please keep responses brief — no more than 200 words for each answer or 600 words in all. Include contact details for verification as well as full name, occupation and country of residence. A selection of respondents will be published periodically before Volodymyr Zelenskiy is sworn in as president. Send responses/photos with the subject header “Ukrainian Voices From Abroad” to Kyiv Post chief editor Brian Bonner at [email protected]
Orest Pankiv is a history student at King’s College London University.
Kyiv Post: What do you hope for most from President Volodymyr Zelenskiy?
Orest Pankiv: To be a strong leader who keeps his mandate and promises to be the observer of the Constitution, to guarantee his citizens their human rights and freedoms. He must not be scared to challenge those who deny or disregard the laws of the Constitution of which he is obliged to protect and enforce. He must make sure no one is above the law, and by that – he should make sure that the judiciary operates within the frameworks of the law. As the president does not belong to any branch of government, but rather represents the country and government as a whole, he is obliged to make sure that every institution operates effectively and serves the need of the people rather than the elite. His main priority is to look after his people that have entrusted him to lead; and therefore, should use his legal sovereignty to make sure everyone else in government is working towards the greater good. Volodymyr Zelenskiy must become the president that the Constitution entrusts its powers to, and more importantly – the president the people see him to become: The Crusader.
Kyiv Post: What is the No. 1 priority facing Ukraine?
Orest Pankiv: What is causing the most significant instability is the war in the east of Ukraine. Along with the deep-rooted corruption, Ukraine is currently in an unpleasant state where it cannot make any improvements because it has no stable foundation to build upon. I would suggest President Zelenskiy to focus on ending the conflict in the east, and then turn his full attention on cleansing the system from corruption. This is because the process will not be easy, and therefore will take time; but we cannot afford to continue losing our men on the front. The president should make an international public statement, stating he is going to resolve the conflict through military action (because as we have seen with the Minsk agreements, negotiation was not successful) – and expect approval from the world leaders (including Russian President Vladimir Putin). Because Putin is denying Russia’s involvement with the separatists, the president will be in all his rights to order a stop to the internal uprisings in Luhansk and Donetsk, to restore peace and stability. The president should allow two weeks for the locals to move either west (past Ukraine’s war-zone border) or east to Russia. Subsequently, advance to take down the remaining separatists and restore our legal borders.
Kyiv Post: What is the biggest obstacle that the new president must overcome to achieve success?
Orest Pankiv: The current judiciary. It fails to bring all those who are guilty to justice. This branch of government is manipulated by the oligarchs and elite, and is not the independent and constitution-abiding institution it is meant to be. The President should remove corrupt officials and appoint righteous judicial members who are not hesitant to condemn those who break the law – regardless of who they are. As soon as verdicts start to be issued, then gradually corruption will start to diminish. If the upper echelons of the Judiciary will be reformed, then the lower branches will follow. This will allow people to finally feel protected by the law and discourage those who might want to disregard it. Law enforcement will no longer take bribes. Economically, monopolies will be banned; and this will allow competitive domestic business to thrive and open doors for foreign investment- resulting in economic progress. If the judiciary will work as it should, then the checks and balances in government will make the executive and legislative branches follow the Constitution. After 27 years of independence; there are many unresolved obstacles that have emerged, but to remove those hindrances – we must start by reviving the law.
