25 June 2014

Kommersant Daily, Moskau

We have to stop all kind of violence
from which side ever it comes
and we have to find a new reality


Questions: Maria Efimova

In your report you express concern with regard of money and oligarchies in politics in Ukraine. It is quite obvious that the new Ukrainian president is directly connected to such tendencies. What negative impact it could have on politics in his country?

This remarks takes up our important analysis of the parliamentary elections in October 2012 in Ukraine, where I said and showed how the Ukrainian parliament represents more and better the different oligarchs and their interests and less the people and that in fact Ukraine would need another revolution, but regretted that you cannot make revolutions every other year.

During the revolution and the transformations of different parties in this process the parliament came closer to the people and distanced himself more from interests against the people. Nevertheless to conclude the transformation initiated with the revolution we also need as soon as possible fair and free parliamentary elections in the whole country in order to have also a real legitimated parliament which represents the people as we have now a really legitimated president.

Of course the new president is a rich person, who some also call an oligarch. But at least he is a very special oligarch who already co-financed and supported the first Ukrainian revolution of 2004 and delivered since then many proves of his commitment against corruption, against a political class who occupies governmental and parliamentarian posts in order to steel money for themselves. He belongs to those, who want to serve the people's interest and not want to misuse state powers to serve his privates interests.

Do you plan to draw attention of the parliamentarians to the problems with Russian journalists in Ukraine? None of PACE members didn't want to include this topic to the agenda.

I made this in my report and my Danish college developed this remark and said even more. We know, that in different regions of the country, in the southeast as well as in the center and in the west some candidates have been harassed as well as citizens and journalists threatened; we criticized all kind of such violence from which side ever it came.

How do you assess the ongoing crisis in the eastern regions of the country? Do you believe in the so called Poroshenko peace plan?

I do hope that the president’s propositions get a chance to fly and I was very happy that President Putin gave them a positive response. Now we have to try to contribute that also all the different rebels groups listen and follow these propositions and suggestions. I stated already on the day after the election that I appreciate the insight of the new president that he is aware that there will be no military solution to the crises in the southeastern regions. You have to try to overcome the conflicts by dialogue and negotiations and compromises. One of them will also be the regionalization processes Ukraine is facing and to decentralize power in order to increase the self-determination - not to questions the integrity of the country but on the contrary to strengthen the unity by respecting some diversity, the essence of federalism ...

The killing of ordinary people have to stop, otherwise we will never find a new reality which serves best the Ukrainian and the Russian citizens of the region.


Kontakt mit Andreas Gross