Names: PACE, Pshonka and Khoroshkovsky

By Walter Derzko

This week, I was initially going to table our predictions for 2012 from the Strategic Foresight Institute, but that can wait. More significant events have appeared recently, that need wider media coverage.

Many people were concerned that Ukraine would fall off of the EU spotlight with the election of a new President of the Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe (PACE) on January 23. That’s not the case. Jean-Claude Mignon said at a press conference right after his election that he is concerned about the case of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and believes that Ukraine should follow European standards of democracy and the rule of law. He planned to discuss these issues with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko. “After the Foreign Minister arrives in Strasbourg, I intend to meet with him to say, in particular, that Ukraine is a great country. I respect Ukraine, but I do not understand how Yulia Tymoshenko was convicted,” he said. He also apologized for being so outspoken: “My duty is to sincerely express my point of view. I will maintain my friendship with Ukraine,” Mignon said.

Immediately afterwards, the EU issued PACE Resolution 1862 (2012) on “The functioning of democratic institutions in Ukraine”. The document hints at eventual sanctions against Ukraine in Resolution #18 saying: “The Assembly considers that the implementation of its recommendations, and especially those relating to the criminal prosecution of former government members, would signal the commitment of the [Ukrainian] authorities to the norms and values of the Council of Europe. Conversely, failing to do so, within a reasonable timeframe, would raise serious questions regarding the authorities’ commitment to the principles of democracy and the rule of law, which should lead to an appropriate response of the Assembly. The Assembly therefore invites the Monitoring Committee to follow the situation closely and to propose any further action to be taken by the Assembly as required by the situation, including with regard to the possible consideration of sanctions if the Assembly’s demands are not met.” (http://bit.ly/Aq1RrF). This appears to be a final warning shot to Ukraine before the elections. The Ukrainian Opposition hailed the PACE resolutions as a condemnation of the President’s “dictatorial regime”, while this regime in Ukraine sees the PACE resolutions as support for European integration aspirations.

On January 27, Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Pshonka said that over 5,000 Ukrainians will be exempt from criminal liability after the decriminalization of certain economic offences (http://bit.ly/zlQpcU).  Great! So that’s the game?  Is this blanket pardon part of an incredibly clever, elaborate political scheme?  Is this the real end goal or end run all along, or just an unintended consequence of the Tymoshenko case? If so, then Tymoshenko is a double pawn in a larger geo-strategic game…The Tymoshenko conviction was essential to shift the Russian-Ukrainian gas dispute to Strasbourg courts, and to force the EU into a corner to de-facto push for decriminalization of old Soviet laws. This is what Yanukovych wants all along to get himself and his band off the criminal hook. Well, you decide.  They sure knew all the numbers right away, of who gets off scot-free. But the funny thing is that none of these bandits and criminals ever got charged for “abuse of power” in the first place, like Tymoshenko or former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko did.

This is shaping up as the ideal scenario for Viktor Yanukovych. Consider… Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko die in prison (they hope), and any serious opposition is eliminated from the next election, all regime bandits in Ukraine are pardoned and can run for elections, and the EU gets off Ukraine’s back for not holding “fair elections”.  But it won’t be as easy as the Party of Regions assumes and many kinks (read the Opposition, the Ukrainian people and nation) will get in Yanukovych’s way.

Recently, the President of Ukraine appointed Valeriy Khoroshkovsky, the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), as the new Minister of Finance of Ukraine

Khoroshkovsky as head of the SBU has established himself as the individual who has done the most to suppress democracy in Ukraine; direct persecution of opposition leaders Yulia Tymoshenko, Yuriy Lutsenko and others. The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Group in its interim report for 2011 details about 100 cases of violations of human rights by law enforcement officers who reported to Mr. Khoroshkovsky.

Now this “criminal against humanity” as Finance Minister, planned his very first trip to Western countries to request financial assistance, although he is a billionaire and his government has stolen billions from the State and from the oil/gas sectors, and sent it offshore.

Any meetings between Khoroshkovsky and heads of any foreign financial institution, whether the IMF or World Bank, should be regarded as shameful and a tacit recognition of political repression and torture in Ukraine. I can safely predict that these discussions for financial aid will go no where.

Walter Derzko is the Executive Director of the Strategic Foresight Institute (SFI) in Toronto