Democratic opposition groups harassed in Sumy (11/16/03)

Democratic opposition groups harassed in Sumy

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Ukrainian opposition forces claimed they were again subjected to harassment and intimidation tactics as law enforcement officials idly stood by, this time in the northeast city of Sumy, where they held a forum of democratic forces on November 9.

In their most serious charge, forum participants, which included members of the Our Ukraine and Yulia Tymoshenko Blocs and the Socialist Party, said that individuals threw firecrackers into a crowd of several thousand people who were attending a rally, to which state militia workers were slow to react.

State militia said that 24 individuals were arrested as a result of civil disobedience.

The renewed charges came a little over a week after widespread demonstrations and harassment in Donetsk effectively prevented Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine coalition from holding a congress in the city. Our Ukraine has claimed that local officials organized the protests on orders from government leaders in Kyiv.

"We are troubled most by the use of firecrackers, which we had not experienced previously in any city," explained Mykola Tomenko, a leading member of the Our Ukraine coalition, who was present in Sumy. "It is scary to think that next time something more serious could explode."

In addition to firecrackers, organizers and participants of the forum were pelted with eggs as militia officers watched. Our Ukraine also noted that organized groups of vandals slashed the tires of dozens of buses - they counted 81 tires in all - and pelted others with rocks. The buses were used to bring Our Ukraine supporters to Sumy for the forum.

In one case, according to Ukraina Moloda, National Deputy Taras Stetskiv held several teenagers who had broken the windows of a bus, while two state militia officers - a lieutenant and a major, who had passively watched the events unfold from a distance - turned and ran from the scene.

Our Ukraine leaders also charged that organized bands of students roamed the streets around the area where the events of the forum took place, distributing bogus leaflets inciting citizens to "bury Yushchenko alive" and handing out 10-hrv notes to people who agreed to demonstrate against Mr. Yushchenko.

They said the political bloc was denied access to the airwaves of the local television station Vsesvit when the electricity at its studio was unexpectedly shut off. An interview at the Sumy newspaper, Panorama, also had to be canceled after electricity at its offices mysteriously was cut off.

The Our Ukraine bloc, which had by far the largest representation at the forum, stated that the actions in Sumy, similar to the harassment that occurred in Donetsk on October 31 and in Lviv earlier in the month, was part of an organized campaign set up by the authorities in Kyiv to split Ukraine and turn the presidential elections slated for next year into an east-west debate. The goal, Our Ukraine supporters have stated, is to develop an impression that Mr. Yushchenko, currently Ukraine's most popular politician, was not welcome in the eastern oblasts, Ukraine's most populous region.

President Leonid Kuchma addressed the charges against government officials during a monthly briefing on November 12 by emphasizing that the Donetsk and Sumy events organized by Our Ukraine were in effect illegal campaign appearances by Mr. Yushchenko because the campaign season does not begin for several more months.

Mr. Kuchma, speaking as "an average citizen," as he noted, also underscored that the eastern cities were largely Russified and these people had heard the anti-Russian remarks made by Mr. Yushchenko in Lviv (in response to the Tuzla crisis) and had responded in kind when he visited Donetsk and Sumy.

"I repeat, every political entity has the ability to hold events wherever they would like as long as it is done within the framework of the law," explained Mr. Kuchma.

The president did not, however, address why the public relations office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs issued an erroneous statement in which it said that drunk Our Ukraine politicians - lawmakers Mykola Katerynchuk, Yevhen Chervonenko Pavlo Kachur and Petro Yushchenko (Viktor's brother) - had broken into the office of the local Communist Party in Sumy to destroy anti-Yushchenko placards.

Mr. Katerynchuk stated on November 12 that in reality local workers at the site had invited the lawmakers into the offices of the Communist Party after they arrived. The lawmakers had called the local militia themselves after finding the signs, to officially document their discovery. He also said that Mr. Yushchenko had not arrived until later.

Mr. Katerynchuk showed a video one of Our Ukraine's supporters had shot at the scene, which showed individuals he identified as Communist Party workers moving around the office in a drunken state and hiding bottles of vodka. He said that militia officers who arrived on the scene refused to file a report until they received direction from their superiors, which is not the usual method of operation for law enforcement workers.

"I believe that the statements were not developed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs Public Relations Office. They were far too unprofessionally written," explained Mr. Katerynchuk, who noted that such a press release would contain legal jargon, such as the correct term for illegal entry and not the commonly used form. He added that the Ministry of Internal Affairs work "has become far too political."

Commenting on the events in Sumy, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said on November 10 that should it turn out that what occurred there was similar to what had happened in Donetsk a week earlier, "then the world community will respond in an appropriate way," reported Interfax-Ukraine.

| Home Page |