KIEV, Ukraine -- Roman Kupchinsky says Yushchenko apparently needs a spectacular show to regain his lost popularity and the arrest of Pukach could be the answer to his prayers on Hoverla Mountain in the Carpathian Mountains.
The Ukrainian justice system has many ways of pulling the wool over your eyes. At first glance, everything seems to be in perfect order. Prosecutors, according to the law, refrain from discussing the details of ongoing cases, which are later dropped due to a mysterious lack of evidence. Judges remain clean and untouchable, until they are selectively exposed for taking graft, and no high-profile cases are ever brought to trial.In many ways it is a carbon copy of the Russian justice system, a system manipulated by those in power to protect those who promulgate the rampant corruption that has overwhelmed Russia.Is the Ukrainian justice system willing to prosecute Oleksiy Pukach, the former head of the Interior Ministry’s investigation department, who was recently apprehended by the State Security Service (SBU) in an obscure village in Zhytomyr Oblast? He is alleged to be the murderer of Internet journalist Georgiy Gongadze in 2000. Will the prosecutor’s office have the will to learn from Pukach who ordered the murder of Gongadze and tell Ukrainians the truth? Will President Victor Yushchenko allow them to do so?The bitter truth is hard to swallow.For years, the current president of Ukraine has promised to solve the Gongadze murder and, for various undisclosed reasons, has not been able to fulfill his multiple promises. Now that the January 2010 election campaign has begun, Pukach was suddenly arrested and has allegedly told the prosecutor’s office who ordered the killing and where Gongadze’s severed head is hidden. But, as always, the prosecutor’s office sticks to legal procedures and refuses to disclose who Pukach named. Everything appears to be consistent with the law of the land. Yet… and there always seems to be a yet.Ukrainians have learned the hard way not to trust their leaders or their criminal justice system. Many continue to believe that it was former President Leonid Kuchma who ordered, or suggested, that Gongadze “be removed.” Yushchenko is still widely suspected of giving Kuchma immunity from prosecution in exchange for allowing the third run-off vote in the contested 2004 elections. The alleged pledge to Kuchma might not be operable today. Some suspect that Yushchenko is finally willing to throw the old, discredited former president, to whom he once pledged total loyalty, to the dogs.While I have no love for Kuchma and his gang, I am beginning to have less love for Yushchenko and his gang.Yushchenko is not known to keep his word on many issues. So why should he change his moral standards now?Today, Yushchenko apparently needs a spectacular show to regain his lost popularity and the arrest of Pukach could be the answer to his prayers on Hoverla Mountain in the Carpathian Mountains, where he recently announced his bid to run for re-election.But it is not only Yushchenko who is interested in the final outcome of the Pukach affair. Rada speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, whose voice was allegedly recorded on the Mykola Melnychenko tapes as urging Kuchma to deal forcibly with Gongadze, is also scared of what Pukach might reveal. Lytvyn has also announced his presidential bid. Any revelations by Pukach that he was an active co-conspirator in the Gongadze murder would destroy his chances forever and make him liable to criminal charges.The SBU appears to be a willing tool in the hands of Yushchenko. And while many rank and file SBU officers are decent men and women, the leadership is beholden to the president of the country. The deputy head of the SBU, Yushchenko appointee, Valery Khoroskovsky, appears to understand intelligence and criminal investigation as much as a wolf understands astronomy.This blend of political intrigue, self interest and convenient image building could be another disastrous last straw attempt by Yushchenko to remain in power. It can also extract a heavy price on Ukraine’s credibility around the world
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