Respected political analysts once seriously argued that the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) Valentyn Nalyvaichenko could head Our Ukraine party. But Nalyvaichenko went another way: in May this year he became the coordinator of the Initiative Renovation of the Country. The civic movement members approved their program in the Business Center Parus.
About 150 people gathered in a small conference room. Besides Nalyvaichenko himself, The Day’s correspondent noted only one other public figure: the political scientist Viktor Nebozhenko. However, it turned out that he was just a guest who came to listen.
“I even don’t have Nalyvaichenko’s phone number,” he confessed in a conversation with The Day. “I just called it. It is good that I do not see anyone from the people with whom I worked since 1989. That is great.”
Meanwhile, a video presentation began. But here technology let the organizers down: the sound often disappeared and the picture was distorted.
“Our strength is that we are a civic movement, and do not have powerful equipment,” Nalyvaichenko apologized for the technical problems before the speech.
He called the situation in the country dangerous. “What we see now in every region, every village, is reminiscent of a post-war landscape. The state of hopelessness and despair… That is why we now draw up the program and encourage everyone to act. This is not a cabinet document, this is a program written with the participation of citizens. We have toured many regions of Ukraine, we spoke with labor groups, community organizations, local initiatives, and trade unions,” said Nalyvaichenko while presenting the project.
He outlined four program priorities. The first is a return of democracy. Then comes reforming the economy. Third is “Ukraine is a European State. We want to live free, as European nations live.” Finally, the fourth priority is to unite with all patriotic democratic forces.
Although the Renovation of the Country is not a party, it will participate in the elections. “We will support individuals not engaged in party projects, but who have respect and authority in their communities,” noted Nalyvaichenko.
At the end of the meeting, the forum participants unanimously approved the resolution. The principal message is that patriots should unite. “The Civic Initiative The Renovation of the Country deliberately doesn’t follow the way of creating our own party project. We will not deepen the fractures in Ukrainian society. We are open to a dialog with all patriotic forces for unity and Ukrainian victory,” the resolution states.
After the forum, journalists could speak with Valentyn Nalyvaichenko. As it turned out, he was not going to join all democratic forces.
What about Yatseniuk or Hrytsenko?
“These are normal, democratic forces. Why not? Cooperating? Consolidating efforts for a Ukrainian victory? Undoubtedly, yes!”
Who is funding you?
“We do not accept money and do not hold costly activities. For example, participants came to the forum at their own expense. The equipment rental cost us 2,000, the hall rental — 4,000 hryvnias. Frankly, we wanted to rent a cheaper venue in a state institution. But now in all state institutions there is the following situation: if you are not a representative of the government, rooms are not rented even with a rental contract. So this is a question for the heads of these institutions, which are now empty.”
You have repeatedly said that you will not establish a party. But you set yourself such serious goals as, for instance, invalidating the Kharkiv Agreements. How can this be done without a party?
“It can and should be achieved through consolidation with civil organizations, with parties that have the same platform and the same ideas as we do. Share our views.”
Do you think Yanukovych will obey?
“We’ll inform him (smiling). Seriously, there is a grave challenge to sovereignty. Look, nobody knows whether elections in Sevastopol will ever happen. We are provided with a given fact that the Black Sea Fleet will be re-equipped with new equipment and weapons. I have a specific question: who will the new weapons in the Ukrainian city of Sevastopol be used against? If there is no answer, why ask? Why will missiles be brought into a peaceful city? For what purpose? Our worst predictions may come true. This is a gradual loss of sovereignty over the Ukrainian territory.”
