To give progress to corruption cases, not to buy votes. Why the US sharply tightened the rhetoric against Poroshenko
Last night, David Gale, the US Assistant Secretary of State for Political Affairs, flew to Ukraine.
The title of the post speaks for itself. The main political issue on the Ukrainian agenda is the presidential election. In this regard, the visit of Gale looks like the last “bride” of candidates from Washington.
It is not known for certain whether an American will meet with each of them. But lately, interest from the West to the aspirants is increasing. This is due to the real possibility of losing Poroshenko.
So, foreign diplomats and journalists have already met with Vladimir Zelensky, who a couple of months ago no one took seriously as No. 1 contender. Yulia Tymoshenko, who sees Poroshenko almost as often as Americans, is not far behind.
By the way, for him, Gale’s visit may not be a “bride,” but a “revision.” State Department official arrives under the rumblings of several scandals involving Poroshenko. This is the # Grid for buying up votes in favor of the president, and the robbery of the defense industry under the “roof” of his colleague Oleg Gladkovsky, and the abolition of the criminal article for illegal enrichment, which ruined the work of the United States NABU and SAP.
At the same time, the US Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch made critical statements about the authorities. Similar publications began to appear in the Western press.
Strana figured out what they thought about the Ukrainian elections in the West, taking into account the latest events.
Transparent hints from Jovanovic
Yesterday, March 5, the US ambassador to Ukraine spoke at a meeting of the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center. There she summed up the results of five years after Euromaidan and named the main problems of Ukraine.
Somehow it happened that all these problems are related to President Poroshenko.
The failure of the reform of the courts. First, Jovanovic criticized the abolition of the criminal article for illegally enrichment. This, as already told “Country”, was done with the filing of Bank.
“The decision of the Constitutional Court, in our opinion, is a serious digression in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. It weakens the anti-corruption architecture of Ukraine, including the Supreme Anti-Corruption Court now being created and the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine,” said Jovanovic.
She suggested that the Ukrainian authorities return the article back to the Criminal Code, and the constitutional judges to cancel the mandatory declaration of income of anti-corruption activists.
The Ambassador concludes that the reformed judicial system is generally ineffective. According to the ambassador, the High Qualification Commission (controlled, as already mentioned by Strana, to the president) introduces 30 judges with an “imperfect professional ethics” to the Supreme Court.
According to Jovanovic, this is done for “to block the reforms and elements of progress that Ukraine has achieved.”
Scandal with Gladkovsky. She mentioned the ambassador and the scandal in “Ukroboronprom”, which is connected in another Poroshenko Oleg Gladkovsky. “Investigative journalists, last week and last night, found suspicions of corruption in the defense sector,” the diplomat recalled.
According to her, “turning a blind eye to corruption in the defense sector means pulling food, medical aid and weapons out of the hands of the brave warriors of Ukraine. And the government should investigate and trigger corruption cases in Ukroboronprom and in other places,” Marie Yovanovic said quite sharply .
“Make a move” is a particularly significant expression of the ambassador. She almost directly says that they do not give a move. True, without naming names – but Bankova perfectly knows how to read between the lines.
Yovanovitch also said that it was necessary to conduct a “full audit of the Ukroboronprom and declassify the defense order to the maximum extent possible.” This is also the area of responsibility of Poroshenko, whose plants directly earn military orders and have already become involved in the affairs of the NABU.
In general, here the addressee of the words Mari Yovanovic is understandable.
Elections and # Grid. Here, the US ambassador did almost openly dragging the president out.
“People who buy votes should be punished. The same goes for those
who pays them for their votes. Teams of candidates who resort to attempts to falsify votes should be brought to criminal responsibility. State resources should not be directed against political opponents, “said Jovanovic.
Recently, the team of Petro Poroshenko is blamed for these sins in Ukraine. It was she who unfolded a large-scale # Grid for buying up votes at state expense across the country. What Poroshenko openly blamed all its competitors. In addition, the existence of this scheme was confirmed by Interior Minister Arsen Avakov.
If you figure out who directs the administrative resource against political opponents, then Poroshenko is also under criticism. The Security Service of Ukraine has already “burned” in pursuit of the same Zelensky and the organization of rallies against Tymoshenko with the hands of radicals.
Jovanovic also mentioned the latter. And in fact, she gave the police a blank check on the use of force against the titus.
“Civil society observers and campaign workers should not be harassed or intimidated. Official, politically neutral guards should ensure that titushki or other armed groups do not prevent voters from expressing their will,” the US ambassador said.
Given that the place of the classic “titushki” in Ukraine has long been taken by street nationalists, the Washington hint here also plays against Bankova. The SBU under its control is already using the radicals from C14 and the Brotherhood against Poroshenko’s opponents.
Pressure on the media. Yovanovic also noted problems with freedom of speech in Ukraine.
Again, this pressure is carried out either by the radicals, who are fed by the SBU, or by the Poroshenko-controlled prosecutors and courts (as in the case of fabrication of criminal cases against the editor-in-chief of the Country, Igor Guzhva and other journalists of our publication).
“We are concerned about reports of pressure on independent journalists. Intimidation and harassment should not take place in modern democracy. Threats to independent journalism undermine the struggle of the Ukrainian people against corruption,” the ambassador said.
And a little about Kolomoisky. True, it sounded in the speech of Jovanovic and something related to another oligarch – Igor Kolomoisky.
“In many cases, the courts have canceled successful efforts aimed at cleansing the banking system, and the recent submission to the court, aimed at abolishing the nationalization of Privatbank and returning it to the hands of those who plundered it,” is particularly disturbing, the ambassador said.
From these words, we can conclude that in the United States they will at least be wary of Zelensky, a candidate who is linked to Kolomoisky by a long-term business partnership. Although the showman himself in every way denies the influence of the oligarch on his decisions, and even promised not to close the case of embezzlement in Privat if he comes to power.
“Poroshenko is on the way to the EU.” Article “Atlantic Council”
In diplomatic language, what sounded from Jovanovic is the uniform spacing of Bankova. With all the necessary equivalents and so far – without mentioning the names.
But it sounds from the United States and a more outspoken critic Poroshenko. True, from the camp of the Democratic Party (the current president, Donald Trump is a Republican) – more precisely, of its wing, which supports the Ukrainian “Euro-optimists”.
However, Democrats are an influential force in the United States. And their opinion is worth listening to.
“The latest scandal associated with accusations of mass speculation in the war with Russia, backed by Ukrainians with great connections, proves the need for a new leader in the upcoming presidential election,” wrote the American think-tank Atlantic Council on March 1.
The publication reminded the plot of the scandal with Gladkovsky. But it is unlikely that the detectives will complete it before the elections, and, even if they ultimately bring charges, prosecutors and judges are basically corrupt, according to the Atlantic Council.
The charges seem convincing and, being backed up with documents and contracts, led to the fact that high-ranking parliamentarians from the Poroshenko faction – Mustafa Nayem, Sergey Leshchenko and Svetlana Zalischuk – left the party. Leshchenko, a former investigative journalist, said Gladkovsky was one of the president’s “closest associates” in politics, and they bought rest homes not far from each other in Marbella, Spain. “This is not the first time that the president is involved in corruption,” Leshchenko said, “but what gives the revelation more weight is the fact that they come a month before the elections, relate to corruption in the military sphere and affect Russia.”
It is clear that the chances of Poroshenko’s re-election were undermined, but his supporters believe that voters will vote for him, because they consider him the best option for continuing the country’s course to the West. But this assumption is wrong. Ukraine will never become part of the European Union until it corrects its laws, and Poroshenko stands in the way of this process.
According to the “Council”, Poroshenko must leave, because:
- despite the almost five-year mandate, he did not eradicate the corrupt system of government in Ukraine and did not overcome the oligarchy;
- did not support the rule of law, leaving corrupt judges, police officers and prosecutors. There was not a single loud accused convicted in Ukraine, with the exception of the charges against the odious ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and his henchmen;
- did not protect ministers and reformer officials from persecution by oligarchs, corrupt government officials, thieving politicians and organized crime.
- His former ministers of finance, infrastructure, and economic development were thrown into despair or under attack, as Minister of Health Uliana Suprun;
- I could not create and defend a free press: I did not force oligarchs and criminals to abandon their media assets;
- I could not provoke or support the abolition of immunity for members of parliament who “sell” their seats and votes, which is the basis of political corruption in the country.
Why the West worsens attitude to Poroshenko
In general, it is obvious that the West rethink attitudes towards Poroshenko.
If earlier, as “Country” wrote, he was perceived as “his son of a bitch”, to whom certain corruption sins can be forgiven in exchange for geopolitical loyalty. But now, against the background of recent scandals with the Grid and the theft of funds in the defense industry (which Americans spend a lot of money to support), the assessments have become tougher.
According to sources, “Countries” in diplomatic circles of the West, this is due to two points.
The first is the weak prospects for Poroshenko’s victory in the elections, which forces the US and the EU to distance themselves from the current president, so that his defeat does not look like the defeat of the West. Secondly, the Americans and Europeans will still try to play their game in the parliamentary elections in order to get a large pro-Western faction in the parliament. The first step to this has been taken – the mayor of Lviv and the leader of the Self-Help Party, Andrei Sadovoy, announced an alliance with Anatoly Gritsenko and withdrew in favor of the latter from the elections.
And this opens the way for the creation of a large purely pro-Western political force. And since Poroshenko and BPP are direct competitors, Washington’s attitude began to deteriorate.
What do Western media write about candidates
Strana has already cited the opinion of foreign media about Zelensky, who has begun to be seriously considered as the winner of the presidential race.
Although for the United States and Europe the most acceptable candidate is the current president as a fighter with Russia, and what to expect from Zelensky is unknown, opinion polls prompted the United States and the EU to change their position somewhat. Yes, and Trump’s victory in 2016 warns against the thought that “everything is under control.”
And just yesterday, March 5, the American edition of Politico held its “casting” of Ukrainian candidates. It stated that each has its own tramp of dirt. And the main role in this was assigned to President Poroshenko, recalling the arms scandal and stating that it was a “blood business”.
As for Tymoshenko, the publication questioned the origin of the campaign money, and Zelensky was reminded of his unclosed business in Russia since 2014. However, a darkened photo of Poroshenko was put on the cover.
Information taken from: https://strana.ua/news/189358-pochemu-ssha-kritikujut-poroshenko-pered-vyborami-2019.html