Kuchma once again a target of public demonstrations (10/20/02)

Kuchma once again a target of public demonstrations

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Three days after nearly 25,000 demonstrators gathered in central Kyiv for a third round of anti-presidential demonstrations in what was dubbed a "national tribunal," a Ukrainian appellate court judge announced on October 15 that he had ordered an inquiry into corruption charges against President Leonid Kuchma.

The unexpected declaration, if heeded by the Procurator General's Office, which is unlikely because it is controlled by the president, would be the first step in a process to remove Mr. Kuchma from office.

Yurii Vasylenko, longtime judge of the Kyiv District Appellate Court, told a packed room of reporters during an unexpected appearance at a press conference organized by leading opposition members, that it is time for law enforcement bodies to investigate the criminal allegations that for some time now have been leveled at Mr. Kuchma.

He explained that he has authority as a sitting appellate judge to order a criminal investigation and that there is sufficient evidence contained in the materials opposition members had presented him to do so.

"An investigation must take place and the evidence examined to determine whether Mr. Kuchma, first as prime minister and then as president, systematically violated laws and abused his powers of office," explained Judge Vasylenko.

The judge cited 11 charges against Mr. Kuchma, including accusations that he was involved in the murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze and the alleged sale of Kolchuha anti-aircraft radar systems to Iraq; accepted bribes from former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko; and ordered other criminal acts, including intimidation and persecution of politicians and members of the press, and the slander of lawmakers.

Judge Vasylenko, who did not hide his pro-opposition leanings, appeared at the press conference at the behest of National Deputy Yulia Tymoshenko of the eponymous parliamentary faction and Petro Symonenko of the Communist Party. Also present were leading representatives of the Socialist Party. The three political organizations, with limited participation by National Deputy Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Bloc, comprise the political opposition to the Kuchma administration.

Communist Party Chairman Symonenko, who called the leveling of charges "a democratic breakthrough," said that President Kuchma should refrain from carrying out his duties until the charges are reviewed.

"We demand that he leave office until the inquiry is complete," stated Mr. Symonenko.

In Warsaw, where he was attending a special conference on Ukraine and NATO/European Union relations, President Kuchma's chief of staff, Viktor Medvedchuk, quickly rebuffed the charges brought by Judge Vasylenko. Mr. Medvedchuk explained that it was an inappropriate juridical response because the president can only be removed through an impeachment process initiated and controlled by the Ukrainian Parliament, reported Holos Ukrainy.

In Kyiv, Minister of Justice Oleksander Lavrynovych agreed that because the president holds immunity from criminal prosecution, like that enjoyed by lawmakers, the judicial avenue pursued by the judge is problematic.

"In this case the manner by which the charges were brought is highly debatable and from a legal point of view do not hold up to scrutiny," explained Mr. Lavrynovych. "The fact that the process for bringing charges (against people who carry criminal immunity) has not been clarified is not a basis for an individual decision on how to proceed in this matter."

The Procurator General's Office filed a brief with the Supreme Court of Ukraine on October 16 in which it appealed the action by Judge Vasylenko. Ukraine's highest court remanded the matter to the Kyiv Court of Appeal, on whose bench Judge Vasylenko sits.

The series of events came after a reinvigorated opposition movement managed to draw nearly 25,000 demonstrators to a rally on European Square in Kyiv on October 12. The movement, which had not been gaining steam as leaders had hoped, was re-energized by allegations by the United States that Ukrainian state leaders may have illegally transferred an air defense system to Iraq in contravention of a United Nations sanctions regime.

About 10,000 Communists and 7,000 each from the Tymoshenko Bloc and Socialist Party camps, along with a smattering of Our Ukraine supporters, converged on a square in the heart of Kyiv after marching on different streets to get there. They waved the protest banners that have become common at their demonstrations and again chanted, "Kuchma Out."

Our Ukraine did not take part in the latest demonstrations, although some of its supporters were present. National Deputy Borys Tarasyuk, a leading member of the center-right political bloc, said that while Our Ukraine remains an alternative political force, it continues to assert that street protests will not provide the desired change.

"We have said all along that our tactics will be different," explained Mr. Tarasyuk. "We do not believe the street will resolve our nation's problems. We need to sit down and negotiate."

The rally and marches occurred despite another court ban on the holding of such actions in Kyiv's city center. As in previous demonstrations, law enforcement officials did little to help the protesters or to clear and redirect traffic. Yet, unlike earlier actions, they did not confront the marchers either.

Similar demonstrations took place in Lviv, Symferopol, Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk, with turnouts not exceeding more than 1,000 people in any city.

A new twist to this third demonstration in a month was to make the rally in European Square a "national tribunal," during which some leaders read out the various crimes the opposition charges President Kuchma has committed, while others performed roles as prosecutors and witnesses.

Afterwards the protesters marched to the Procurator General's Office, where First Assistant Procurator General Serhii Vinokurov accepted various documents and proclamations from the national deputies demanding that charges be brought against Mr. Kuchma. Procurator General Sviatoslav Piskun was in Washington discussing the case of former Prime Minister Lazarenko with U.S. Justice Department officials.

The demonstrations may be having some effect on softening the presidential administration's hard stance towards the opposition. Presidential Chief of Staff Medvedchuk said in Warsaw that he believes negotiations with the opposition force are possible "if the other side is capable and willing."

Meanwhile, President Kuchma, also in Warsaw, said he could take part in such negotiations if they were a dialogue. "I am for dialogue, but will not listen to ultimatums," explained Mr. Kuchma.

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