The unpleasant incident with beating of journalists during the opposition rally held on May 18 is “gaining momentum.” What actually happened there? What results of the investigation do the police have? Interior Minister Vitalii ZAKHARCHENKO answered these questions on May 21 in the parliament.
The first question is how military vehicle could get to the downtown Kyiv? The same question was asked in the parliament hall by the member of UDAR Party, former head of the SBU Valentyn Nalyvaichenko. Here is what he thinks of the minister’s answer. “He gave no professional answer to this question,” Nalyvaichenko told The Day. “There is a sufficient number of security units that must stop APCs, extremists at any public events. And what we saw during the rallies was exactly opposite to that. Armored carrier and the militants not just slipped to the rally, but posed a serious threat. Professional question is who allowed it and why the operational units were withdrawn? Who kept Alpha units back? In situations where police doubts or is afraid to act, the special units, who fear nobody, always are put into action.”
Second question is whether the authorities and the opposition took enough responsibility during the preparations for the rallies? This time it all ended with “little blood shed” (with no casualties) but it is unknown how events might unfold next time if the same things happen again. “Police should be held responsible for what happened in the first place,” said political analyst Viktor Nebozhenko. “Their job is not to collect ‘tribute,’ not to engage in corruption, but to catch criminals, and ensure order. That’s it. What kind of neutral position can we talk about if the police guarded armored carrier and escorted it to the center of the city? What if something worse had happened, what if people started shooting? That’s why police is the first to blame, and not the opposition or political analysts who organized the so-called anti-fascist rally.”
The expert might be right about the responsibility of the police, but this does not remove the responsibility from the organizers of the rally.
The third question shows more the social issue. Why young people, including athletes cannot find use for their skills, where does all this aggression come from? What can be a solution? “When young people don’t find a way to use their skills it’s a common problem,” sociologist Iryna Bekeshkina commented for The Day. “It’s just that these young people solve it in such a way and do the only thing they have been trained to do. And they’ve been trained to fight. However, it is obvious that any power units outside the state official security system are illegal and that’s why those responsible for such organizations must be held accountable. People must know that if they instigate fights, they will be held accountable according to the laws and nobody will shield them. This should turn them against trying to earn money this way. Secondly, if you look at these guys, it is obvious that most of them are at the age when young people study at universities, colleges, and higher schools. But the system of vocational training that would allow young people receive some professional training is practically destroyed in our country. Another fact is that they all come from small cities. There are very few jobs there. But this is no excuse, because with such facts you can easily justify nearly anything.”
By the way, recently representatives of NGOs from Dnipropetrovsk region appealed to the International Olympic Committee with a complaint that the Ukrainian government uses athletes to disperse peaceful rallies, marches, and meetings, as well as for achieving their own political goals. The situation when young athletic men attacked peaceful rally in Dnipropetrovsk that was held on May 8 to commemorate the victims of the World War II caused resentment in the society.
The fourth question is what is the way out in this situation? The minister spoke, what’s next? “The parliament did not hear the truth,” said Nalyvaichenko. “Specialists in matters of safety first answer the questions about what they did in order to prevent a crime, an explosion, a terrorist attack, or an extremist attack against journalists. Minister did not give such answer. That’s why we have to raise the question to the higher level – the Council of National Security and Defense.”
“Zakharchenko has changed a lot, he became quite self-confident,” Nebozhenko shared his impressions. “This is a classic position of a minister who protects his own people. But I think that he is smart enough to act in line with the law. I think that we are yet to see him act to protect the law. How can this situation end? You see, the people on the side of the opposition were the activists, while those who came on the side of the authorities were driven there by administrative resources. Therefore, for the government it was a complete failure on the night of May 18, whereas for the opposition this only means that they have to continue the struggle.”
