EDITORIAL: Enough already (02/04/01)

EDITORIAL

Enough already

The scandal in Ukraine surrounding the apparent murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze and the audiotapes released by former presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko that allegedly prove President Leonid Kuchma's complicity in Mr. Gongadze's disappearance has escalated and, as these lines are being written, the end is nowhere in sight - judging by the behavior of the president and his colleagues.

President Kuchma has never explicitly denied that the voice on the Melnychenko tapes is his. The best response he has thus far mustered has been that the accusations are slander and that the affair is a foreign-inspired provocation and a well-planned political campaign aimed at presenting Ukraine as an uncivilized state. As for Mr. Melnychenko, the president said he is "mentally ill" and refused to discuss the allegations he made. Nor has Mr. Kuchma dealt with the very serious transgressions of his subordinates at the Security Service of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Customs Service - all of whom have mishandled the case (to say the least) since day one. They provided false information in the Gongadze case, delayed DNA testing and identification of the body, and harassed deputies arriving from abroad with a videotaped interview with Mr. Melnychenko. The Procurator General's Office, for all practical purposes, has been AWOL.

And then there are the authorities' clumsy actions to disband tent protests in Kyiv and elsewhere organized by the "Ukraine Without Kuchma" movement. Suddenly, it seems, Kyiv is getting ready to prepare the protest site for 10th anniversary celebrations of Ukraine's independence; just as suddenly the administration in Dnipropetrovsk has expressed paternal concern about the health of protesters who might get cold and have no sanitary facilities. Authorities in other cities were not as gentle. Meanwhile the administration has stage-managed public actions in support of the president. So much for freedom of speech and public assembly.

Oh, and let's not forget about freedom of the press. Not much of that these days in Ukraine. The Paris-based human rights group Reporters Without Borders and the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists have been speaking out on the Gongadze case, but pressure on the media continues - even on the independent foreign media. Most recently it was announced that Kontinent radio's FM frequency, which broadcasts the Voice of America, BBC and Deutsche Welle, is up for sale. Do we smell a rat? You bet! The British ambassador and the German charge d'affaires expressed concern, and U.S. Ambassador Carlos Pascual stressed that such actions "will impact on people's understanding of whether a free press can actually operate."

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has now adopted a resolution expressing its deep concern about "intimidation, repeated aggressions and murders" committed against journalists in Ukraine. Most significantly, PACE voted to assume responsibility for an independent analysis of the Melnychenko audiotapes, as well as to conduct an independent analysis of the mystery corpse. But, it must first receive an official request from the Verkhovna Rada to do so.

As a result of this sordid affair, President Kuchma has been weakened at home, where he cannot influence the majority coalition as he once could, and abroad, where he is close to being treated as a pariah. Shunned by the West, President Kuchma may have nowhere to go but into the waiting arms of Russian President Vladimir Putin (and there already are signs that this is happening).

Meanwhile, the editor of the respected newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli, Yulia Mostova, went so far as to state that it is time to ask whether President Kuchma has the moral right to remain in his post. The people of Ukraine have lost faith in their government, while the diaspora finds itself in a quandary: How does one defend the good name of Ukraine in this incredible situation? Surely, the guideline can't be "my country, right or wrong."

On December 6, soon after the Melnychenko tapes were revealed, President Kuchma stated in a nationally televised address that he "will continue to act in line with the law and consistently strengthen democracy in Ukraine." We'd like to see him live up to his words.

A complete and transparent investigation into the entire affair is a necessity - and the only way for Ukraine to save its reputation and guarantee the country's further democratic development. The Verkhovna Rada must take up the PACE's offer to conduct an independent analysis of the Melnychenko tapes and the Tarascha corpse. Then, the guilty - whoever they are - must be found and punished.

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