Another hearing in the high-profile Gongadze case will attract the nation’s attention on February 12.
COMMENTARIES
Ihor LUTSENKO, Fatherland:
“The court case situation is very difficult. The resumption of the case and confession of Pukach provides a chance, but there is no clear-cut and logical chain to those who ordered the murder of Gongadze, for Pukach was not personally in contact with Lytvyn. I hope there is a great deal of evidence that will help this chain to be closed. However, Pukach alone may not be enough to solve this case and punish its organizers. In my opinion, Kuchma is a co-organizer in this case and punishing him alone would also be an incomplete result of investigation.
“But in these circumstances, Kuchma’s participation in international negotiations is difficult to grasp. The president is unaware of certain moral imperatives. For example, he has never met the relatives of either Oleh Sentsov or Nadia Savchenko. He does not seem to have ever raised the question of freeing our hostages in Russia. On the contrary, we can see the Ukrainian side asking for the deferral of some sanctions. And I am sure the participation of Kuchma was his decision.”
Serhii SOBOLIEV, Fatherland:
“We need to separate the wheat from the chaff in this case. Oleksii Pukach realizes that he faces the maximum prison term allowed by the law, so we need to distinguish between statements of truth and attempts to shift responsibility. It is necessary to look separately into the facts of the murder where three murderers have been identified and the person who gave direct instructions has been identified as well, Pukach being that person. We need then to go on to analyze the information he provides and establish what parts of it are evidence on the facts of his crime, and what is said just to shield himself. We must evaluate it and check against different sources within a broad analytic effort, which has been finally opened to the public. Blindly trusting Pukach’s words can derail the case again, making for a dead-end or sending the investigation the wrong way.
“For me, it is not just a matter of normal civic interest. Myroslava Gongadze was the press secretary of the Reforms and Order Party at the time, and all these events were our common tragedy. We can recall in detail a lot of developments that took place then, but only on our side. It has become possible now to establish what occurred in the high places at the time.
“I believe that this trial allows the court, witnesses, and victims to demand that everyone involved be thoroughly questioned. Either way, we will see all the people mentioned in this case brought to court. The trial will not wrap up before it is done. It is important and high-profile because it shows that there are no prohibitions and taboos, no names that must be kept away from it. The entire nation will see all officials of the time, including Leonid Kuchma and Volodymyr Lytvyn, brought to the court to testify under oath.
“As for Kuchma’s current participation in international negotiations, they are held with the participation of people whom the other party trusts. Neither the EU, nor any other party has objected to it. Still, the Pukach trial has to cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s of this case.
“We have an additional factor in this case now, I mean the person of Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin. I remember very well that time and understand how hard it was for Shokin, who was a high-ranking official of the Prosecutor General’s Office, to order arrest of a serving security service general who had contacts in the high places, including Yurii Kravchenko, then minister of internal affairs. Shokin made an unprecedented step, similar to the decision of Judge Yurii Vasylenko who opened a criminal case against the incumbent president. We call that time an era of total diktat, but Shokin still decided to arrest Pukach. They had the prosecutor removed from office then, Pukach was released and ran free for a few years until he got arrested again. Therefore, Shokin’s appointment to the office of Prosecutor General, bringing to that department the man who also sees this case as a matter of honor, allows me to state that a large number of factors have come together now, letting us to gradually discover the most terrible secret of the previous century and this terrible tragedy. However, I do not believe that this case will move too fast.”
