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Author Topic: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece  (Read 2740 times)

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Offline jone

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Many members have opined on what should happen next in Eastern Ukraine and in Russia.  I read this piece today by one of the members of the Ukrainian Rada and post it here, in its entirety (yes, I know that this typically infringes on copyright rules - but in this instance the author wants it repeated).  I am also aware that Lyovochkin is a former high ranking official in the Yanukovich government, but that he left for the United States when it became apparent that the government was going off the rails and using draconian measures to quell Maidan.

While I am not familiar enough with the ongoing debate within the Rada, the piece speaks to the heart of the Ukrainian problem; reforming the state so that true progress can be made.




The Right Peace for Ukraine
Posted by Sergei Lyovochkin on March 25, 2015


"There was never a bad peace nor a good war," Benjamin Franklin once said.  The Russian language version of this is somewhat more direct: Bad peace is always better than a good war. In Ukraine today, we have a bad peace. Although violations of the cease-fire occur daily, full-scale warfare has, for now, abated. But it could start again, and our situation is as precarious as ever. We as Ukrainians need to unify now, before it is too late. The next step to be taken is not on the battlefield - it is in Kiev.
 
The world has seen how unpredictable our adversary is. Yet our fate today depends as much as ever on ourselves, and on whether we learn from past events or repeat mistakes.
 
One year has passed since Russia annexed Crimea. Let us take stock of the current situation. Two well-armed groups tied to the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics challenge Ukrainian forces, and the zone of recent warfare is located in direct proximity to other regions, such as the Nikolaev and Zaporizhya oblasts, where the reactors of two of Ukraine's four nuclear power plants are located. Civilians are suffering, and residents of Donetsk and Luhansk, who have been deprived of social support from Kiev, have so far borne the brunt of that suffering.
 
The periodic shooting wears on, despite the Minsk agreements. As it does, the mood in Ukraine darkens. If full-scale warfare resumes in the area surrounding Mariupol - a key industrial center and a seaport - an escalation of the conflict is inevitable. Last week, USA Today reported a story out of Mariupol citing a poll in which more than half of respondents in the Southeast said that what they want most are "peace and pensions.'" Millions more throughout the country agree with them.
 
In parallel, consider what has been delivered against the promise of the "Revolution of Dignity" that preceded the conflict. Corruption has not receded in the last year, and real reforms are lagging. The state financial inspector recently reported to Ukraine's parliament that members of the current government may have defrauded the country of hundreds of millions of dollars.
 
Meanwhile, politically motivated persecution is on the rise: In the last two weeks, three former members of parliament from the former ruling party have committed suicide in the face of pressure from authorities. Inter, one of the Ukraine's top TV stations, whose news programs are sometimes critical of the government, has had its signal intermittently blocked during its news broadcasts. Now, the regulators threaten to revoke the channel's licenses on the specious basis that a popular holiday program included Russian showmen.   
 
Political imbalance also threatens a viable peace, as well as the development of the economy in Ukraine. Detached from our industrial heartland, it will be very difficult for our economy to regain its balance. Just as noxious as the separatists, economic devastation and worsening corruption threaten the health of our country. The most effective rebuke of Ukraine's aggressors would be for all sides of the political divide within the country to work together toward democratic stability. Instead of prosecuting the opposition and making examples of former officials, who for the most part have committed no crime, the current government could work with them to achieve reforms that work, aiming its guns against actual, persisting corruption.
 
Our goal today should be to impose a cease-fire that holds, and to end all fighting now, before the damage reaches epic scale. After Maidan, when we got annexation and war instead of EU accession, a deficit in trust widened. Today, when a deputy U.S. secretary of state stops in Kiev, it would be worth his time to visit with both sides of the internal political divide, rather than have it seem like the United States is taking sides. After all, the goal is a united, democratic, and prosperous Ukraine.This goal cannot be achieved if the rights of one group in society are favored over another, nor if the rule of law is applied selectively.
 
Several months ago, one of my colleagues suggested one of the best bridges to peace so far: the introduction of UN peacekeepers to the conflict zones. Finally, the idea is catching on. It will take the combined efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations, and other multilateral bodies speaking with one voice to achieve on the ground what the Minsk rounds alone have not yet done.
 
In the meantime, we need to focus on what Ukrainians can do for ourselves right now. The Second Minsk Agreement calls for constitutional reform, and this could be a way to reform the state, decentralize the government, create new incentives for development outside of Kiev, and develop mechanisms to root out corruption in our country. But if we abuse this opportunity, our past mistakes will only compound themselves. An amended Constitution could create a better system - one that would protect all Ukrainians and create a new system of checks and balances. It needs to do that.
 
What the war has obscured is the fact that the new government is operating in much the same way as the one it ousted. It decides which judges are loyal and which are not, which businesses are protected and which are not, and who should be seen in the media versus who shouldn't. A war-weary public senses this. Increasingly it looks at the current government and shrugs.
 
Bad peace is a bad deal for Ukraine, and "good" war is a fallacy. We should reject both. Instead, this is precisely the time to propose the kind of agreement that puts the interests of the Ukrainian people first, including our compatriots on the ground in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. By showing that we're in this together, that we are driving our own economic reform - as  opposed to hoping others will do it for us - we create the best chance to defend ourselves as a united Ukraine.

Lyovochkin is a member of Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada, or parliament, where he is a leader of the Opposition Bloc.
Kissing girls is a goodness.  It beats the hell out of card games.  - Robert Heinlein

Offline JayH

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #1 on: March 26, 2015, 03:02:02 PM »
WHAT A LOT OF CRAP.Straight from his Kremlin masters.
SLAVA UKRAYINI  ! HEROYAM SLAVA!!!!
Слава Украине! Слава героям слава!Слава Україні! Слава героям!
 translated as: Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the heroes!!!  is a Ukrainian greeting slogan being used now all over Ukraine to signify support for a free independent Ukraine

Offline Anotherkiwi

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #2 on: March 26, 2015, 04:55:08 PM »
The Right Peace for Ukraine
Posted by Sergei Lyovochkin on March 25, 2015


...

Several months ago, one of my colleagues suggested one of the best bridges to peace so far: the introduction of UN peacekeepers to the conflict zones. Finally, the idea is catching on. It will take the combined efforts of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the United Nations, and other multilateral bodies speaking with one voice to achieve on the ground what the Minsk rounds alone have not yet done.

Is this guy for real?  This was one of the first things suggested on this forum (not just by me), and it went to the United Nations - where Russia vetoed it!  This is the perfect example to back up my post from a couple of days ago, where I suggested that the power of veto by the five permanent members of the Security Council should be abolished.

Offline SANDRO43

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #3 on: March 26, 2015, 05:03:01 PM »
Quote from: Anotherkiwi link=topic=the Security Counci#msg399460 date=1427414108
where I suggested that the power of veto by the five permanent members of the Security Council should be abolished.
Which probably requires the the Security Council's approval :-\.
Milan's "Duomo"

Offline Anotherkiwi

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2015, 03:52:43 AM »
Which probably requires the Security Council's approval :-\.

...and any one of the five permanent members can probably veto THAT as well!  :cluebat:

Offline msmobyone

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2015, 06:56:52 AM »
WHAT A LOT OF CRAP.Straight from his Kremlin masters.

How so?

I am no fan of many of Putin's policies - but I want to see a Politically active opposition in Ukraine. Please note the author refers to a United Ukraine.

In Ukraine it is should be possible to wish for greater local control, without leaving the nation.

I well understood why Kyiv doesn't want armed rebels receiving central govt funds /controlling banks - but folks  need their pensions.

Please excuse the Curmudgeon in my posts ..he will be cured by being reunited with his loved one ;)

Offline Boethius

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #6 on: March 29, 2015, 01:05:35 PM »
Much of what he wrote is accurate.  There is still significant corruption in Ukraine.  The suicides of several politicians are evidence of the war for money that is occurring.  A few of those suicides, I am convinced, were murders.  But in each case, there was pressure put on those "victims" to give up assets.


There is an attempt by those who missed out on past distributions of assets to make up for lost time.  That is why they wanted power, and that is partly why those in the East did not accept their rule. 


Right after Euromaidan, one of the first ministries to be taken was the Ministry of Agriculture.  It was one of the few cash cows, with immediate access to foreign funds.  The EU allowed Ukraine to sell agricultural products to buy military equipment, but closed that window within six months, when they realized all of the money was not being used to buy military equipment, but rather, was going straight into the pockets of Euromaidan politicians.


The notion that corruption has disappeared in Ukraine, and that all Ukraine's troubles can be laid at the feet of Putin is naive, at best, plays into the hands of Ukraine's corrupt politicians, and is not in the interests of the average Ukrainian.  While Russia certainly fomented war in Ukraine, and in fact, started it via their agents, for their own purposes, let us not forget that most Ukrainian politicians are not there to improve the country but rather, to enrich themselves, even to the extent of allowing Ukrainian soldiers to die while they steal cash meant to supply those soldiers with weaponry.  These are not honourable individuals.
« Last Edit: March 29, 2015, 03:08:36 PM by Boethius »
After the fall of communism, the biggest mistake Boris Yeltsin's regime made was not to disband the KGB altogether. Instead it changed its name to the FSB and, to many observers, morphed into a gangster organisation, eventually headed by master criminal Vladimir Putin. - Gerard Batten

Offline Boethius

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #7 on: March 29, 2015, 01:30:39 PM »
Here is another interesting piece, on Russia's disdain for Ukraine.  We have one member here whose Russian wife insisted that Ukrainian is a dialect of Russian, so yes, this obscurity does still exist -


 http://www.kyivpost.com/opinion/op-ed/alexei-bayer-the-roots-of-russias-disdain-for-ukraine-384783.html
After the fall of communism, the biggest mistake Boris Yeltsin's regime made was not to disband the KGB altogether. Instead it changed its name to the FSB and, to many observers, morphed into a gangster organisation, eventually headed by master criminal Vladimir Putin. - Gerard Batten

Offline jone

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #8 on: March 29, 2015, 02:42:14 PM »
I had read this article earlier and was sympathetic with the idea that the Ukrainian language evolved separately but similarly to Russian.  But I found the idea that Russia could ever start with a clean slate to be laughable.

It would take a revolution on the order of the Bolsheviks to cleanse the current oligarchs.  I don't see that happening in our lifetime or the next.
Kissing girls is a goodness.  It beats the hell out of card games.  - Robert Heinlein

lordtiberius

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Re: Member of Ukrainian Rada Opposition - Point of View Opinion Piece
« Reply #9 on: March 29, 2015, 07:13:20 PM »
WHAT A LOT OF CRAP.Straight from his Kremlin masters.

Agree.

 

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