In the Epicenter of Conflicts
The saga of Justice Minister Roman Zvarych, who had suddenly tendered his resignation, had hardly abated when an investigative article appeared in the press, revealing a number of inaccuracies in his biography, particularly in regard to his studies at Columbia University: faculty, academic degrees, etc. In this connection Premier Yuliya Tymoshenko suggested during a press conference that all members of the government should display their diplomas at the cabinet’s press club to avoid further such embarrassment: “It would be great to see the diplomas and other official documentation, including graduation marks, of all the ministers displayed at the press club... as well as California diplomas and certificates from faculties of physics and mathematics (an allusion to Transport Minister Yevhen Chervonenko — Ed.), so that everybody can see who works in this government and what qualifications he has.”
On April 21 the “Pora” Party demanded a public debate from Roman Zvarych to discuss his refusal to register it before April 25, 2005. Pora’s press release reads that the party demands a “public meeting with Zvarych because it considers the minister’s actions mendacious and immoral, and it is prepared to prove this in the presence of the press and the general public...In the course of this debate Pora is prepared to cite 17 irrefutable examples of the incompetence, abuse of office, and manipulation of public opinion on the part of the Minister of Justice of Ukraine...Pora further declared that unless Roman Zvarych “musters the courage to disclose the actual reasons for his biased attitude to Pora before the said date in the presence of party members, media people, and members of the public, Pora will resort to active measures aimed at retiring the minister...Pora also demands that the Office of the General Prosecutor of Ukraine investigate the procedures of verifying citizens’ signatures as practiced by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, as of February 1, 2005, in regard to all political parties, and to substantiate in Minister Zvarych’s actions the presence of a crime as per Article 363 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (e.g., abuse of office).”
A few days ago the justice ministry’s press service, citing Minister Zvarych’s statement during a meeting with US Ambassador John Herbst, announced that the ministry, having investigated the matter a second time, sees no legal grounds for registering Pora. The justice minister stated that in the course of the repeated verification, a total of 1,314 signatures collected by Pora were examined and that only 797 were found to be genuine. Roman Zvarych recalled the arrangement with Pora, according to which both sides would alert the General Prosecutor’s Office to the possibility of a criminal falsification should two-thirds of the signatures fail to pass muster.
Meanwhile, Pora’s merits during the Orange Revolution were officially recognized when President Yushchenko signed an edict on April 19, appointing Vladyslav Kaskiv, one of the unregistered party’s leaders, as his staff adviser.
