• Українська
  • Русский
  • English
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

Regime Gives Nod to "Right" Rukh

6 July, 1999 - 00:00

By Tetiana KOROBOVA, The Day

The Supreme Court made its final decision on June 30 about which part of
Rukh, Udovenko's or Kostenko's, is legitimate. The ruling was made in favor
of the Rukh headed by Hennady Udovenko. The wing led by Yuri Kostenko can
no longer use the name and logo of NRU (Rukh), which will undoubtedly play
a major role during the presidential election. In the course of the whole
conflict, which began when Vyacheslav Chornovil was still alive and in
fact was provoked by his policies, observers noted that the regime did
not want NRU to have a clear-cut and consistent political position.

Also surprising was the fast national democratic career of Mr. Udovenko
who, according to eyewitnesses, did not display any noticeable national
awareness while working in the Ukrainian SSR diplomatic service. Now it
seems possible to answer the question if the "no-go" presidential candidate
Udovenko has been hyped up on purpose in order to rob the "go" candidates
of votes.

The Day's Tetiana KOROBOVA asked the immediate participants
to comment on this.

Hennady UDOVENKO, leader of Rukh:

"I told my colleagues immediately after the decision that we should
not shout about a victory or a gain. What amounts to a loss is the fact
that our internal party affairs are the subject of court proceedings. Yes,
the quashing of Mr. Kostenko's suit by the Supreme Court at last gives
us a chance to work in a somewhat quieter situation. I believe this ruling
is in favor of NRU, the one called Chornovil's. However, Rukh has, of course,
received a serious blow from forces that do not want to reconcile with
the existence of a political entity which assumed the positions of Ukrainian
statehood and independence."

Ivan ZAYETS, former member of NRU:

"I think this is another political decision, one of the series of all
the political decisions made hitherto. The task to bury Rukh by means of
splitting it is being fulfilled, and, unfortunately, the main role here
has been played by the Ministry of Justice which is supposed to safeguard
the law. A decision like this shows that the judicial system still exists
in Ukraine only on paper and requires a major overhaul. This is the narrowest
bottleneck in the whole system of power.

"Rukh is being besieged from two sides. On the one hand, the Left, on
the other hand, the Mafia-type clans, that is, the part of the executive
branch that does not need Rukh. I think the President is also against Rukh.
No doubt, this ruling is aimed at weakening the positions of our presidential
contender Yuri Kostenko. He has been registered as nominated by a meeting
of citizens, with a note that he is an NRU member. But, as is known, he,
as well as we founders of the party were expelled from Udovenko's Rukh.
Now Kostenko is sure to face problems, when being registered as a presidential
candidate."

PS: Yuri Kostenko told The Day that he will continue his
legal struggle for Rukh. In particular, the party's "unrecognized" activists
plan to approach the Speaker, because he is entitled, by way of procedural
supervision, to handle the Rukh case at a plenary meeting of Verkhovna
Rada. And if this does not work, the former Rukh members will turn to the
European Court of Human Rights Court for a legal expert examination of
the situation that has developed.

 

 

Rubric: