It looks like the opposition fell into a trap again. The trap they constructed themselves. MPs started speculating about the privilege of parliament. “This document will be put to the vote on Thursday for the Verkhovna Rada to make its decision. I hope that there will be a meeting of the Committee for Legal Policy on Wednesday and this document will be endorsed,” Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said during the conciliation meeting.
This is the same old story. The Verkhovna Rada has used this scenario many times. The bill is not new; back in 2009 it was registered by the then MPs Viktor Yanukovych and Oleksandr Lavrynovych. The document stipulated that by decision of a court not only MPs could be imprisoned but the president as well (the only detail that he could not be arrested on suspicion unless the Verkhovna Rada agrees).
On April 1, 2010 the Constitutional Court ruled that the regulations of the bill concerning the president were illegal (since he has presidential immunity for all his presidential term). Now the parliament can adopt only the shortened bill. In other words, if now an MP can be arrested, tried and imprisoned only with their colleagues’ agreement, when the bill is adopted MPs will be arrested with consent of the parliament.
Political experts opine that the bill on the privilege of parliament will not receive enough votes in the second reading. Since it amends the Constitution, it will have to receive 300 votes of the MPs. The opposition has already declared that it will not support the bill. According to Serhii Soboliev, it has to be adopted in full: not only the privilege of parliament but the presidential immunity and immunity for prosecution need to be relieved. The leader of the party Front of Changes Arsenii Yatseniuk opines that they want to relieve the privilege of parliament to be able to arrest MPs. “The authorities want to imprison the opposition MPs just like they imprisoned Yulia Tymoshenko and Yurii Lutsenko,” he declared the other day in Poltava.
However, didn’t Yatseniuk and his forerunners lead the last campaign with the slogan “No to the privilege!”?
It is true that the bill is dangerous for the opposition. Many are already trying on the prison uniform. Andrii Parubii is among them, threatened with the “smoke bomb case.” However, the MP assured The Day that he would support the bill.
“I will vote for this bill as I have always voted for any bills on the privilege of parliament. These were our election promises. Finally, the privilege leads to criminals in the parliament and dirty money which perverts the idea of the parliamentarianism. That is why I think that this caste of the untouchables should not exist. The opposition is going to motion their bill providing that this norm should be applied to the president and judges. Certainly, I like the opposition bill more but I will support the other bill too since I think that this issue should be resolved. Will they do it? To be honest, I do not believe it much.”
So, maybe it is good if they do not resolve this question since you are threatened with a criminal case for smoke bombs?
“All cases put together, I might be imprisoned for 12 years. I am accused for organizing a criminal gang. It is absurd and ridiculous that the Party of Regions accuses me of this. I am also accused for blocking the work of the Verkhovna Rada. This case is against me personally. The prosecution considers my guilt to be proved and they are only restrained by my privilege of parliament. The investigator told me that as soon as the privilege is relieved, I will be accused and the case will be taken to the court. Obviously, I will be imprisoned as a preventive measure. I realize it. But I will vote for the bill despite any personal risks.”
If I am not mistaken, you are going to a district. You are not in the party list.
“Yes, I am ready to go to the majoritarian district and communicate with the society.”
However, it was not your decision…
“It was not but I really hope that the consolidated opposition will support me. I think that the formula of single candidate is extremely important. If my colleagues in the opposition trust me, I will run for parliament in Lviv where I was born. I also realized that if I do not enter the parliament, it will be equally risky for me as the removal of the privilege of parliament.”
The opposition has recently held its forum and presented its program. Many experts consider it to be utopian and to have a lot of unrealistic issues. You are blamed for populism.
“I remind you that it was not a program but a program plan. It will be discussed for two months. Personally I will suggest certain changes and specifications. This document outlines the directions of reforms the opposition can see, and the finalized program will be presented before the election after a large expert discussion.”
Has the list been already formed? When does it have to be presented?
“There’s nothing I can say about this. Now we are negotiating and agreeing. The question is not about the list but about majoritarian districts. This discussion is quite complicated. We are negotiating with Klitschko and Hrytsenko. The best solution is to have one opposition candidate per district.”
What do you think about the fact the Europe is actually boycotting the Ukrainian authorities? Hardly any European leader, except for the Poles who just do not have any choice, is going to come to the championship. Do you think it is efficient? Will it influence the Ukrainian authorities?
“I understand the European politicians. They are doing it because of being hopeless. They have been actively negotiating with Yanukovych for two years now. Europe has emphasized the problems it sees in Ukraine. It emphasized that EU is not only about the economic cooperation but a community based on certain values. However, the Ukrainian authorities have not heard this message and have used the repressive machine yet more intensively. Obviously, the European community can not put up with the fact that Ukraine is gradually turning into Belarus. Probably, the authorities are giving the last signal to come to their senses. In this case their indignation coincides with the one of the Ukrainian society.”
