After 15.5 years’ wait, the body of journalist Georgy Gongadze was finally buried in Kyiv. Despite the fact that the public was informed about the funeral just the night before (probably to keep the event as low-key as possible), hundreds of people, including relatives, colleagues, friends, and ordinary Kyivites came to bid farewell to the journalist at the church of St. Nicholas-in-the-Riverbank (administered by the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church) on March 22.
Perhaps the reader will say that we should not retell political points of this tragic story on the occasion of this sad procession. However, the journalist’s murder and the Gongadze case in general were part of Ukrainian political life from the beginning. To see it, one should look into the Melnychenko tapes at least, which reveal all the inner workings of the country’s highest office during the Kuchma era.
Of course, it is important that the journalist’s body finally got proper Christian burial (it should have been done long ago), after being interred two times by his murderers previously.
GEORGY GONGADZE’S WIDOW MYROSLAVA
Almost simultaneously with the news of Gongadze’s burial, we heard reports that Petro Poroshenko presented to Myroslava Gongadze, the widow of the murdered journalist, the Gold Star medal. It happened only now even though the decree conferring the title of Hero of Ukraine on Georgy Gongadze (posthumously) was issued by President Viktor Yushchenko on August 23, 2005. Poroshenko had a lot of meetings with Myroslava Gongadze in the meantime. It seems that Yushchenko conferred the title as a token of gratitude for becoming president (by the way, he promised to Maidan protesters during the Orange Revolution to solve the case), while Poroshenko presented the medal pay off the deceased. There is no need to kneel in front of the Gongadze memorial plaque, it would be better to make every effort to solve the case.
And now to the main thing. It seems that the long overdue and necessary funeral procession of Gongadze’s body is employed by the current government as yet another targeted maneuver. Political combinations take precedence over the search for the truth, because, in the meantime, Kuchma has been made by Poroshenko the chief negotiator in Minsk and a member of the Constitutional Commission. The Gongadze-Podolsky case and the burial story are clear indicators of the moral and political catastrophe which engulfed our politics, journalism, and society.
THE INVESTIGATION HAS NOT REACHED THE INSTIGATORS OF THE MURDER IN 16 YEARS AND JOURNALISTS ARE PARTIALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR IT
Maybe some people will not like it, but cynicism and hypocrisy were abundantly present at the funeral. People’s faces exhibited real grief as well as an artificial grimace of pain. All participants could be divided into two camps: his family and friends and supporters of those who had ordered his death. The first were in minority. Public figure Oleksii Podolsky could not stand the atmosphere and left the church to mentally relax outside. He said: “For some reason, I have not seen all these people in courtrooms, but today they came here to make themselves appear grieved fellow fighters. I am sick of this behavior.” The second group made up the majority of those present. They included politicians, journalists (including those of Ukrainska Pravda, founded by Gongadze himself) and public figures. All of them can be seen attending the annual Yalta Forums organized by Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Pinchuk, other events of this pair, and speaking at their TV channels.
HAS THE CASE BEEN BURIED?
During the funeral service in the church, when Myroslava Gongadze was making her way through the crowd, a man pulled her coat and asked: “Myroslava, when will Kuchma be punished?” The question was left unanswered. And while it will remain unanswered, our country will be unable to get out of the swamp of accumulated problems. They will only multiply.
COMMENTARIES
“WE NEED TO STIMULATE AND AWAKEN OUR SOCIETY”
Olha HERASYMIUK, journalist:
“This tragedy is personal, family and societal. Murdered Gongadze’s soul could not find peace for 16 years. His mother did not accept the fact of his death. Thousands of mothers just cannot believe the deaths of their children now. To my knowledge, it was decided to bury him soon after the death of his mother, but vertiginous developments started in Ukraine at the time, and the family did not want to politicize this event.
“Do not forget that journalists were killed both before Gongadze’s death and after it. More and more journalists and activists have joined this terrible martyrology, which can be seen as our unread textbook. I emphasize it is exactly textbook which has much to teach us. Eventually, we came to see hundreds, and now thousands of such deaths in this country. There is a persistent perception that we have not learned lessons and it seems that few people will learn them any time soon. Many deaths have not been investigated, many investigations have not even identified killers themselves, not to mention those who ordered these killings. These people are rarely remembered also because such deaths are now reported daily. People get used to losses, and the public has become less sensitive.
“On the other hand, corruption and dark links between clans are eroding trails of witnesses and those who ordered these killings. So, when they say that sooner or later these latter will be held accountable, it sounds too optimistic to me. Gongadze’s story has become a textbook case. The documents of the Council of Europe which address the dangers for journalists mention this terrible example and will mention it forever.
“I would like to turn special attention to the state of the journalist community. I believe that during this time, we saw a regression taking place instead of learning. There are few devoted professionals. Journalists are very easy to pit against each other, because they all serve their masters. These masters themselves sometimes happen to order murders and other crimes. Therefore, we urgently need to improve journalist education as well. Journalists should be aware of their purpose in life, must be conscious and not blind working hands. We see a lot of cameras recording this funeral procession, but it is clear that many cameramen simply mechanically perform their work. Some do not even know what is going on here, as they understand neither the significance of this event nor its history, to say nothing of taking interest in those who ordered the murder of Gongadze. Therefore, we need to stimulate and awaken our society. Today’s funeral is a significant reason to think about it.”
“AS LONG AS KUCHMA AND PINCHUK INFLUENCE THE MEDIA AND OFFICIALS, IT WOULD BE HARD TO ACHIEVE A FAIR TRIAL”
Ihor LUTSENKO, MP:
“The burial of Gongadze should not reduce interest in the case of his murder. We need to work further on it. But, unfortunately, as long as people like Pinchuk (and thus Kuchma) hold influence, investigation into this case will be hampered. But this has to incite society to exert more pressure. In particular, Pinchuk has great media resources, and we can see the media selectively approach the topic of Gongadze’s murder. Furthermore, Pinchuk has influence with politicians and officials.
“I am convinced that as long as there are people who understand this, the pressure on this clan will be kept up. The burial of the body of Gongadze will not stop some people from taking interest in the case. In fact, the struggle to ensure that those who ordered this crime are punished has rested on a few dedicated people. Most Ukrainians did not even know whether Gongadze was buried or not. Meanwhile, younger generations know nothing about Gongadze and the circumstances of his death. This is dangerous precisely for younger generations, because unpunished evil tends to spread. Leonid Kuchma and Volodymyr Lytvyn should not be where they are now, but rather behind the bars. The public has enough information to make the necessary conclusions, but few people stimulate it to this end. The whole world heard the Melnychenko tapes, but somehow, these obvious things have not resulted in specific sentences for those who ordered this crime yet.”
“THE ONGOING WAR WITH ITS THOUSANDS OF VICTIMS HAS CAUSES REACHING BACK INTO THE LATE 1990s”
Ihor MOSIICHUK, former MP:
“As for explaining why those who ordered Gongadze’s murder have not been officially identified and therefore have not been held accountable, it is up to the serving prosecutor general, I mean Viktor Shokin. I think that everyone knows about his impact on the Gongadze case. I think that a lot of evidence in this case has been already destroyed. But I believe that justice will be restored, including in regard to those who ordered Gongadze’s murder.
“Firstly, we see who and how conducts negotiations in Minsk, we see who really influences politicians and media in Ukraine. Our country is reaping what has been sown in the late 1990s. That is why dozens of victims have turned to thousands. There can be no hope for justice brought by law-enforcement bodies, because law enforcement was turned into law breaking back in the 1990s, and has stayed that way. It was then that crime bosses were replaced by people in uniform, and oligarchs took possession of the country. Secondly, I see representatives of all Ukrainian TV channels at this funeral. I want to seize this opportunity to appeal to them all: Gongadze made the wonderful film Shadows of War about the Georgians’ war with Russia. No Ukrainian TV channel has shown this film. So, let them finally show it, since the film is very, very relevant now. I think this film showing would be an appropriate way to commemorate Gongadze.”
“THIS FUNERAL IS AN OCCASIONAL MEETING OF JOURNALISTS, BUT WE NEED TO DO A TARGETED JOB”
Leonid FROSEVYCH, journalist:
“Of course, Gongadze ought to be buried long ago. His family and the government have come to an understanding, the specifics of which are unknown. But by a strange coincidence, the burial occurred simultaneously with high-profile developments. In particular, these are the case of Nadia Savchenko being tried in Russia, Borys Lozhkin’s scandalous book, an impasse in the Minsk process. These are just assumptions, though. We must remember that the court never evaluated Kuchma’s statements recorded in the Melnychenko tapes as well as actions of many falsifiers of the Gongadze-Podolsky case, such as prosecutors and police who falsified evidence and misled the public. So, there is a sense that someone wants to put an end to the Gongadze-Podolsky case, but to do it so as not to bring to justice the real instigators of the crime. The public reaction to this case is unsystematic. This funeral is an occasional meeting of journalists, but we need to do a targeted job.”
“THE GOVERNMENT PRESSURED THE COURT TO PREVENT IT FROM CALLING KUCHMA OR LYTVYN TO TESTIFY”
Viktor SHYSHKIN, Judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine (2006-15):
“I cannot say what the public can do in the Gongadze-Podolsky case because I do not see this public wanting to do anything. I share the concern that the government is trying to block search for and bringing to justice of the instigators of the murder of Gongadze. They are helped by the public lethargy. Were these court hearings well-attended? No, they were not. Why they did not listen to Podolsky’s statements in court, the statements of his representatives, and the statements of Oleksii Pukach, who wanted to tell what he knew about the instigators? Remember the words of the former head of the Court of Appeal Anton Chernushenko that clearly said that he was pressured by the Presidential Administration and even named Oleksii Filatov as one exerting this pressure. The pressure worked to prevent the court from calling Kuchma or Lytvyn to testify, and thus make it to ignore Pukach’s statement.”
“AUTHORITIES TRY TO BURY THE MEMORY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF GONGADZE’S DEATH”
Oleksandr MOROZ, former Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada:
“Memory does not depend on the body having been buried or not. Authorities have been trying to bury this memory for 16 years, and it is still not buried, because there are things you just cannot hide. Until we see the legal end to this case, until instigators and organizers of the murder appear in court, there will be no respect for the state, and all talk about democracy and human rights will remain empty chatter. As to who I personally believe to be the instigators, there is absolutely conclusive evidence in the case. There are also statements made by Pukach. I have no right to call a particular person the instigator or murderer. This is up to the court. But if Yurii Kravchenko said in Kuchma’s office that he had ‘fighting eagles,’ that is, a squadron of thugs at his disposal, why did not the court ask Kuchma what his minister referred to? If you cannot ask Kuchma, ask Podolsky, who was a victim of these ‘eagles.’ They abducted him and beat him up, and set on fire his door, which made Kuchma to giggle.”
