Ukraine’s Security Service, known as the SBU, has launched criminal proceedings in connection with the illegal taping of phone calls of former opposition leaders, in particular Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, SBU Chief Oleksandr Turchynov told his first news conference last week. “As we expected, there is every reason to say that the taping was illegal and conducted on a grand scale,” Turchynov said, adding that he meant the taping of opposition leaders’ phone calls during the last election campaign. According to Turchynov, the decision to tape phone calls “was made at the highest level by the leadership of the uniformed services.” He declined to name specific individuals who were directly involved in taping the calls, stressing that “there are very many names.” The SBU chief promised that his service will “never become involved in politics” and does not intend to spy on the opposition: “The SBU should not conduct surveillance of the opposition forces if they act within the limits of the Constitution.”
The SBU chief believes that the idea of lustration is “more a publicity stunt,” whereas real cleansing is possible only if the laws are observed. “Lustration can take place when everybody is equal before the law. All those who broke the law, whether from the former or current government, must be brought to legal account. This will be real lustration,” Turchynov said.
Speaking about the reform of the Security Service, Turchynov stressed that so far there is no “final concept,” but “analysts and experts” are developing it. He believes that his overriding goal is to return legitimacy to the service and “remove KGB elements.”
Turchynov also commented on the progress of investigations into the most notorious cases. He said that so far it is too early to speak about Russian involvement in the poisoning of Ukraine’s President Viktor Yushchenko. According to him, the only thing that can be said with 100 percent certainty is that “he was poisoned.” “The question of who did it is for the investigators to answer,” the SBU chief stressed, adding that he can provide few comments on the investigation into this case.
According to Turchynov, there are no political implications in the case of the bombings in Kyiv’s Troyeshchyna market: “It was a struggle for the redistribution of the market.” He said that “more people have been detained in connection with this case than have been found guilty,” adding that the case will soon be heard in court.
Turchynov also said that President Yushchenko instructed the SBU to join the investigation into the murder of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. The SBU chief believes that his agency’s involvement will help solve this crime as soon as possible.
