The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly's Legal and Human Rights
Committee says sanctions may be levied on Ukraine and Russia due to their
leaders' statements about the need to administer capital punishment in
their countries. The Committee at its sitting in Paris resolved that the
nonfulfilment by Ukraine and Russia of their commitments voluntarily undertaken
when being admitted to the Council of Europe "may cause sanctions against
them," UNIAN was informed by the PARE Press Service. As for Ukraine, the
reason is apparently President Kuchma's recent statement concerning Anatoly
Onopriyenko charged with serial murders in Ukraine. "Such monsters in human
form must not be allowed to exist in our land," he declared. The man was
overwhelmed by emotion which is quite understandable. But there are things
the man in the street can say and the Chief Executive cannot. Incidentally,
The Day was the only Ukrainian periodical to point to the illogic
and legal inefficiency of the President's conduct, considering that he
had promised to put an end to the capital punishment within three years
after Ukraine had become a CE member. Moreover, the President's statement
could well be interpreted as pressuring the court handling the Onopriyenko
case. His words did not pass unnoticed by Amnesty International. The prestigious
international body's response was prompt and to the point. Now the whole
situation looks on the verge of an international scandal. The President's
Press Secretary Oleksandr Martynenko hastened to whitewash his superior
before the European public: "One must not interpret the President's words
as any kind of pressure on the judiciary. The President has always considered
- and still does - that the judicial system of Ukraine must be independent."
However, the Committee must have found this interpretation less convincing
than the statement itself. What will the President's emotional outburst
cost Ukraine? The range of possible sanctions is quite extensive, from
freezing and folding up financial aid programs to expulsion from the Council
of Europe. The latter looks very likely if the Ukrainian Parliament does
not approve the draft new Criminal Code annulling the capital punishment.
Legal Nihilism Could Cost Ukraine Dear
15 December, 1998 - 00:00
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