On Tuesday morning a motion of the resignation of the Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin was made in the Verkhovna Rada. In the end, Shokin was sacked by 289 votes.
The story of Shokin’s dismissal from his post – when the president personally asked him to leave, and he did, by taking a sick leave – turned into a farce long ago. “Farce” is the word most frequently used in social media whenever a new round of “Shokin’s dismissal and sick-leave” is discussed. And if Poroshenko (who will feel uncomfortable without Shokin) personally asked the prosecutor general to retire, the question now most probably is who will be appointed to this key post, to let the dust settle (for many, Shokin’s dismissal provided an excellent opportunity to promote themselves as fighters for justice), but at the same time to keep intact the prosecutor general’s the traditional power structure, which dutifully works in the president’s interests. Without going back into history we can only remind that our country has known the times of mafia bosses, later, the time of corrupt cops, and then came the time of prosecutors. It is thus hard to overestimate the importance and clout that this institute has.
So Deputy Prosecutor General Yurii Stoliarchuk is said to be a likely successor to Shokin. According to MP Mustafa Nayyem, Stoliarchuk has already started reshuffling the staff, even before an official appointment. The information background that triggered the discussion of Stoliarchuk as a candidate was the painful topic of the Gongadze case. By the way, the body of the murdered journalist was buried after 16 years following the death, and exactly on the day when the information about the eventual new prosecutor general popped up. Moreover, this information was dedicated to nothing other than Stoliarchuk’s “exceptional merits” in the investigation of Oleksii Pukach’s involvement in the murder. We would like to remind that on January 6 the latter heard was sentenced for life. Remarkably, neither Kuchma nor Lytvyn appeared in the trial, while Oleksii Podolsky – another victim of Pukach – directly implicated both as the masterminds behind the mentioned crimes.
And now, quite traditionally, Stoliarchuk promises to punish the masterminds, starting with statements about prosecuting the famous Major Melnychenko, who recorded conversations of Kuchma and Lytvyn. What can we expect further? It is obvious that in the conditions of Russian aggression against Ukraine it would be very convenient to accuse the Kremlin, which allegedly framed Kuchma by means of the recordings, and denounce Melnychenko as Russia’s agent. At least, the latter stands accused of crimes related to high treason. We doubt that the new prosecutor will care to denounce the former president Leonid Kuchma, who, ironically, represents Ukraine’s interests in Minsk, visits festivities in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and whose son-in-law organizes visits of world politicians to Kyiv. It is most likely that the source of all evil will be assigned to the “Russian traces,” quite conveniently in today’s realities.
It is ridiculous to speak of reforming the Prosecutor General’s Office while the new names are just a facade for the actual directors of that theatre. That is why even Shokin’s high profile dismissal will only become another information event to trigger the urgency of such a “reform,” and just another thespian will be put on stage before the public, to the applause of the spectators exhausted by everyday problems. It is up to the new prosecutor general to use the slightest chance and disprove these forebodings. For an umpteenth time, the case of recently buried Georgy Gongadze will become a test for him.
COMMENTARIES
“A COMPETITION AMONG CANDIDATES WILL CHANGE NOTHING”
Vitalii KUPRII, MP:
“Statements from the Prosecutor General’s Office claiming that the masterminds of Gongadze’s assassination will be soon identified are an insinuation, because a criminal procedure is being opened against Mr. Melnychenko, who revealed Leonid Kuchma’s criminal activity and virtually let society see what had been hidden before. There cannot be any high treason in this. It means that the Prosecutor General’s Office is taking another path, declaring its good intentions, and I am convinced that no one is going to name Kuchma and Lytvyn. Maybe they will use the late Kravchenko, which would be a very convenient way of burying the facts.
“I think that the dismissal of Prosecutor General Shokin will result in nothing, although it was necessary. Now a question arises: who will be the acting prosecutor? If it is Yurii Stoliarchuk or Yurii Sevruk, both are dependent on Shokin and on the president of Ukraine. So they will just keep following orders from above, and nothing will change in Ukraine. But if we get a new, trustworthy prosecutor general, then we can hope to get the changes off the ground. Personally I do not have this hope. In fact, this is Poroshenko’s attempt to blow off steam with Shokin’s dismissal, but it is not going to change anything in Ukraine.
“As far as Stoliarchuk is concerned, I have initiated several criminal proceedings against him, because he was involved in pressurizing the court in the Korban case. Anatolii Matios, deputy prosecutor general, opened the proceedings and was supposed to interrogate Stoliarchuk. I am very curious to know, firstly, what has happened to this proceeding, and secondly, who is going to be appointed as the next prosecutor general. Will it be a man suspected of a crime?
“The president does not want to appoint an independent prosecutor general, because in that case he would lose his power: his decisions are unpopular, and his promises remained empty. In my opinion, until now the coalition was cemented by the prosecutor general who could open criminal proceedings against anyone. In the Verkhovna Rada there are a lot of business owners who could be pressurized via their business, even if it would involve making false cases. The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine still remains the president’s tool to stay in power, and any president needs it. That is why we in UKROP support the parliamentary republic and the constitutional process which would enable it. However, until this issue is solved, it will be hanging over our heads like the sword of Damocles.
“A competition among candidates will change nothing either, because it will be held in such a way as to exclude the appointment of any candidate that is not controlled by the President’s Staff. We have seen this in the NABU [the National Anticorruption Bureau of Ukraine. – Ed.], and I said the same about its head, Artem Sytnyk: this man is not going to change anything. A year has passed, yet not a single criminal case has been sent to court.”
“PROSECUTOR GENERAL’S OFFICE IS NOW PURGING ALL THOSE WHO COULD JEOPARDIZE THE SYSTEM”
Viktor CHUMAK, MP:
“The situation will remain somewhat ‘frozen’ after the sacking of Shokin, and the office will be led by an acting prosecutor general. This issue will not be resumed until the political tension in the country is released and all the government has been appointed. This is convenient for Petro Poroshenko, saving his face before a visit to the US (which would be awkward with Shokin still in office). Sakvarelidze was fired ‘for the balance.’ I believe that Prosecutor General’s Office is now purging all those who could jeopardize the system: the members of Sakvarelidze’s team.
“Now the restoration of the old system is underway, and this is fraught with great dangers. An early election in this situation would not be the worst way out. Otherwise, everything could end up in a revolution.”
