Vasyl Rasevych, 23.02.2014
Euphoria mingled with deep sorrow are over the Maidan. Some people are rejoicing and celebrating the victory over the regime, career politicians with fat smiles and steely gleam in their eyes are calculating their future political and economic dividends. The parents of the fallen are burying their young children…
According to an old legend, the one who kills the dragon becomes the one. And now in falsetto exclamations of joy “Yulia!” the features of the old Dragon can be noticed. So again pathos and contempt appear in the ‘falsetto’ hero. He is just squirting with anger at those who dared to stop a motorcade of expensive limousines, carrying his precious body and the body of his situational patroness. Here a leather jacket of a newfound speaker has already covered with dragon scales; he believes that the Maidan has done its draft work and can easily go away not in order not to put experienced politicians of Yanukovych’s era out of step. Here they again have begun to distribute posts, not forgetting even for a moment who has been loyal and who has been critical of their dysfunctional political activity in recent months. They again have begun to appoint their proven people to main directions. They have clasped their ranks close to prevent strangers from entering into their system.
Career politicians, who have been brought out to the surface by the criminal system of Kuchma and Yanukovych and who are its flesh and blood, again have begun their cynical theatrical game aimed at self-preservation first, and then at its complete regeneration. Politicians from the old charger understand nothing of what has happened with the people of Ukraine in this short but very important time. They really believe that no one but them can lead the country further. They think that hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets and squares so that politicians could more comfortably settle down in government offices and continue to exploit the old proven system, left to them as a legacy by Yanukovych. They are cynically promoting themselves on the blood of the fallen, not forgetting for a moment about their self-seeking interests.
Clearly, for a short transitional period we cannot do without these “in-house” politicians. The state mechanism has no right to fail even for a moment. But all their actions have to be transparent and controllable from now on. From today there should be no backstage arrangements, no “divine beings” closed from the people. Young politicians – like Vitaly Klytschko – who due to lack of experience have made small mistakes, just do not have a right to step aside. Because they still have shame, still have a conscience. They must learn to confront their recent allies, because those have no shame. They will crawl and squeeze through all possible and impossible cracks. They will swear and repent, because for them it means nothing. The main thing for them is to stay in the system and preserve the system itself. Without it they are worthless.
Now we all have two extremely important objectives: to completely destroy the old criminal system of government in Ukraine and to fight corruption in society. There are no more important tasks today. If we do not destroy the old system and create a new transparent system of government, the Dragon will stay with us forever. It will only change its dragon heads and will bring to nothing all our good endeavors. And if corruption is not eliminated in society, these multi-row teeth of the Dragon each time will sprout with its army of many thousands, which will not leave us a chance for a decent and dignified future.
Not to lie and not to lower our eyes shyly if we see an outward and cynical lie from politicians! This must become our life credo forever. Frankly speaking, it is our strength and weapon again the criminal system. People of the system will use mimicry in every way possible, repent and ask for forgiveness. I will never
believe in Yefremov’s repentance, if it does not happen before a specific family who have lost their son or father. But even that will not be enough. Having asked for forgiveness, he has no right to return back to the Supreme Council but has to become a quiet anchorite, who will atone for his sins till the end of his days. And this concerns all active political figures of the times of Kuchma and Yanukovych. Repentance is not another political change of colours. It is not another purchase of an indulgence after which a person again stays in power or politics. We have to finally put an end to this constant running from camp to camp, this constant lying and hypocrisy.
We have to be afraid of wolves in sheepskins. Such persons like Iryna Farion have no right to talk to the citizens of Ukraine after the whole of their activity has been reduced to splitting the country. Her latest initiative to repeal the language laws at the time when Ukraine urgently needs solidarity action is a common crime against the future of our country. Now is not the time to realize their chronic psychological complexes and not the time for petty revenge.
Experienced politicians, virtuoso masters of compromise with the devil must repent and get ready to exit too, those who for 15-20 years have become so odious with their lies that their only presence can kill any sound endeavor. We must stop the constant cynical kaleidoscope of the same people in power and the opposition, because they are the system.
I will never believe in repentance of Berkut militiamen. From the very beginning, these formations were created to forcefully subdue people, make them slaves to the regime. They have to be disbanded and each officer and soldier must be investigated. The Berkut must be equated to the Nazi SS units during the Second World War. Excuses that they obeyed orders and that they did not shoot are not acceptable.
We need complete lustration of police, prosecutors, judges, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and all law enforcement system. Experienced lawyers have to radically change the legislation for the law enforcement system, to completely change their functions. We do not need such an army of many thousands of spongers from SBU if it grew straight out of the Soviet KGB, and since the independence it has also become criminal. What is the efficiency of the service, if it “did not notice” that power moved into the hands of criminals? What were they doing? Collecting discrediting information on those out of favour and supplying it to the authorities to help eliminate them physically and morally? Covering criminal smuggling and conversion schemes, gaining incredible wealth on it? Have they ever given a fitting rebuff to external threats to our country? No. They have been looking for saboteurs, terrorists among mushroom gatherers, climbing into beds of renowned journalists, making lists of all the scholars who contacted with their Western colleagues and having “conversations” with rectors of rebellious universities. Where has people’s money been going to?
Police and traffic police switched to feeding from their positions long time ago. They were not designed to control law and order in the country and ensure road safety. They have been feeding from destroying criminal cases for money, preparing criminal cases to order for competitors and have gotten involved in street robbery. The main thing in this system has been to control all lucrative areas: support for contraband transportations to their destinations, coordination of the activities of drug trafficking and drug dealers, protection of illegal racket game parlors and brothels.
Things went as far as ordinary citizens began avoiding people in uniform. Spontaneous uprisings broke out across the country. And everybody knew that the established system was working from the bottom up. In provinces, monthly money quotas were set that were required to pass further up. And from the regional centers these criminal money in suitcases were delivered to ministerial and administrative offices. Rumor has it that this practice did not stop even during the “orange” days. Positions of police and traffic police were bought and sold, therefore we need to look especially carefully at those who will squeeze in to try to lustrate others.
The prosecutor’s office, having acquiring special powers in the times of Yanukovych, turned into a battle “vanguard” of the criminal system. Prosecutors became the main chain dogs but not on the guard of law in the state but as Cerberuses of the criminal clique in power. The principle of cash suitcases also worked there, yet probably better organized than in police. Because the prosecutor’s office is known to oversee the entire law enforcement system. Lately, I have always wondered at a very young age of Ukrainian prosecutors. And it turns out that everything is much more simple: not experience, good qualifications and track record, no – 20 thousand dollars in the pockets of the parents of these young “talents” proved to be the most important factor. Thus, the entire prosecution system must go through total and comprehensive lustration, followed by a major reform of the branch.
One of the biggest problems in Ukraine became the lack of independent courts. Judging in our country has been brought to the caricature level of Rodion Kireyev. Corruption of Ukrainian justice has been permeating. Under such a system the institute of advocateship appears simply unnecessary. That who has paid more to judges owns the truth. Lawyers have become intermediaries between judges and criminals, because one could safely take a bribe for the desired solution only from reliable people. The professional level of individual judges has been so low that they asked the same lawyers to write for them even a court decision. Therefore, in this area simple lustration will not suffice. It is necessary to change the principle of appointing judges to being elected, and in no case for life.
The tax service has evolved into the service of illegal levies. Its activities and Ukrainian tax legislation have driven into the shadows almost one more economy of the country. What seems to be the benefit? The benefit is that tax officials usually control all converting firms, which brings literally billions of hryvnias. And not only that. Double-entry bookkeeping in almost each and every company was another lever of pressure on those out of favour by the authorities and law enforcement agencies. Everybody’s hands are not clean, everybody is under the hood of the regime.
Customs, Border Guard, the military, medicine, secondary schools and universities are corrupt in Ukraine. Municipal services and state officers are corrupt. Ukrainians become participants of corrupt acts right after their birth. For, in order to avoid risks to women in childbirth, families stock funds in advance for bribes to doctors, nurses, hospital attendants. Then they pay to directors of kindergartens, buy gifts to teachers of their children, arrange graduation parties. And then goes school with its voracious school principals and teachers, tutors (the same teachers who taught nothing in the classroom), and then university.
Higher education in Ukraine is extremely bad and unfortunately corrupt. There are colleges where students do not come to examination sessions. All they need to do is to give to a certain person their record book and an appropriate amount of money, and after five years they get a diploma which means nothing, which does not prove knowledge and qualifications. Ukraine has prepared hundreds of thousands of such “experts”. And time inevitably brings us to the point when we will be judged by such lawyers, will be treated by doctors who do not know where exactly organs are located in the body.
The conclusion is not just disappointing – it is tragic. If we do not come to our senses and if we get satisfied with our temporary victory over Yanukovych’s regime, the system will simply kill us. Currently, the only positive thing is that in these tumultuous times Ukrainians have managed to organize themselves and to show to themselves and to the world that they are fair and honest, brave and fearless, good and kind. Let the blood of the fallen guard us throughout this long journey of transformation of society. We have no right any more to let the Dragon’s teeth sprout again among us.
Translator: Olena Feshovets from zahid.net
