Baltimore, USA, Dec 8, 2015
Back in the homeland, I've been pondering what to say about what I found in Ukraine to be very disturbing - the failure of the government to deal with corruption.
Corruption is Ukraine's biggest problem with the other big problem, Russia, now a lesser one. At least currently with Russia's attention now focused in the Middle East together, one hopes, with Russia's possibly realizing that its activities in Ukraine have not been to its benefit.
Corruption is Ukraine's biggest problem with the other big problem, Russia, now a lesser one. At least currently with Russia's attention now focused in the Middle East together, one hopes, with Russia's possibly realizing that its activities in Ukraine have not been to its benefit.
Ukraine's “Maidan” (Independence Square) revolution was an extraordinary demonstration of a people's resolve to achieve freedom and independence from corruption and foreign domination. The other night I watched “Winter on Fire” the highly acclaimed documentary where film makers risked their lives to produce a riveting account of this important historical event.
The movie is on Netflix where you can watch it for free with a 30 day trial. I urge you to do so. Here's the trailer.
The Maidan revolution led to elections in which one of Ukraine's oligarchs became the new President of Ukraine. His name is Petro Poroshenko. I believe the reason he gained the voters' support for a first ballot victory was twofold. First - he had sided with the demonstrators against the corrupt government and Second - as a very rich man he could not be bought and could, therefore, be expected to do “the right thing”.
The Maidan revolution led to elections in which one of Ukraine's oligarchs became the new President of Ukraine. His name is Petro Poroshenko. I believe the reason he gained the voters' support for a first ballot victory was twofold. First - he had sided with the demonstrators against the corrupt government and Second - as a very rich man he could not be bought and could, therefore, be expected to do “the right thing”.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that President Poroshenk has the ambition to seize the unique opportunity that has been handed to him.
No one I talked to in my recent visit to Ukraine nor anything I have read indicates to me that he has demonstrated
by his actions as opposed to words that he has this ambition to any great degree. At least not yet. In fact there are indications that he may be more part of the problem than its solution.
Why is this so? Of course one can speculate. But, I don't really know.
It would seem to me that it must weigh heavily on President Poroshenko to realize that the “Heavenly Hundred” died so that he would be given the opportunity to make such a contribution to his country. I don't believe you can see the pictures of the Heavenly Hundred as I did in the Maidan, or the movie“Winter on Fire” as I hope you do without being deeply moved.
Of course President Poroshenko is not the only one responsible for the lack of progress in fighting corruption. The other key government figure is the Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk. In the two years since the revolution his popularity has plummeted. This Friday he and his government face a no confidence vote. The predictions are the vote could go either way.
Everyone is concerned. Should the government survive a no-confidence vote it could mean “business as usual” and no accountability for its failure to deal with corruption. Alternatively, should the government fail the no-confidence vote it could usher in a period of political and economic turmoil and uncertainty
And now, at this critical moment, U.S. Vice President, Joe Biden, decided to come to Ukraine to give a most extraordinary speech. He addressed the Ukrainian Parliament and urged with great passion that its members deal with the problem of corruption that will either make or break their country. It's at the bottom of this blog post and I urge you to watch it.
1 comment:
Hugh, I always enjoy your blog and this was a good one. However, it seems to me you must have listened to few speeches if this was one of the best you've heard. Joe Biden is a person I've often thought would be a good neighbor. Nice family man, etc. I was therefore appalled to hear all this jingoistic rubbish from him. At present, much of the country is agast at the racist rantings of Donald Trump. Frankly, I found this worse. Trump's routine is clearly just a crude attempt to remain in the headlines. Hypocrisy abounds in the world but Biden broke records for it.
1. He warned of corruption. This from the VP of a country where bribery has been legalized by the Supreme Court.
2. He railed at Russian aggression. This from a country with military bases in 3/4 of the nations of the world and special forces activities in many or most of them.
3. He advised market principles, not sweetheart deals, this from a govt promoting the TPP, the granddaddy of all sweetheart deals.
4. He lauded the Maidan protesters, but his administration jails more citizens than any other country and prosecutes whistle blowers mercilessly.
5. He continues to denounce Putin and urge the Ukrainians to war, only a few days after participation at the dedication of a new marble bust in the US Senate of the world's number one unindicted war criminal, with nothing but kind words for his predecessor, Dick Cheney. I guess it's just as well he'll never be my neighbor. I'd be almost as reluctant to drink with him as I would be with Shrub.
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