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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

KEEPING TRUE TO CHARACTER

17 March, 1998 - 00:00

Without doubt, Mykhailo Brodsky's arrest was the most disgusting event of the week. Among the circumstances and commentaries, Volodymyr Horbulin noted, with his innate straightforwardness, that Brodsky was arrested because the immunity of the deputies of local councils had been invalidated. I think it would be hard to come up with a better "antipublici-ty" for the idea of stripping deputies of their immunity, which seems the watchword these days. As for the allegation about bandits trying to get into Parliament to have this immunity, it is just another excuse for the militia's inactivity and inaptitude, as well as the best proof that they usually side with the underworld. If they know about bandits, why don't they go and haul them in? It is as though they are waiting for some underworld don to be elected to Verkho-v-na Rada to heave a sigh of relief: "That's it, now we'll never get him, for it would be against the law."

The week's most pompous, even grotesque event was the Person of the Year show. Of course, some of the nominations were perfectly in order, but there were quite a few snags, particularly the President's victory. He could be considered Person of the Year if one totally disregarded his current endeavors, by the modulus principle, so to speak. Also, when the President is named Man of the Year, head of the National Bank the Top Banker (although absolutely correct in this case), and so on in the same vein, it means that this country is not prepared for such contests, because our mentality is still poisoned by the totalitarian worship of rank and position.

President Kuchma remained true to himself throughout the week, as evidenced by his veto on the capital city law. Remarkably, he did not suggest any changes that could lift the veto. He just did not like it. Of course, formally he refers to a discrepancy between it and the Constitution. In this sense to would seem logical to suggest that future deputies pass an amendment to Article 147, namely that "no decision-maker shall refer to the Constitution in any of his decisions." Otherwise we will be ruled by force, not law.

 

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