Are there any changes expected from the “front”?

Last week the political observers and attentive electors had quite a few questions to Arsenii Yatseniuk and his team. His radical statements like “those who are not with us are with Yanukovych,” Mykahilo Chechetov’s compliments to Yatseniuk like “the only constructive oppositionist,” the secret closed party congress last Sunday, and, finally, the fact that Mykola Martynenko, head of the parliamentary fraction Our Ukraine-People’s Self-Defense appeared in the party list…

The large stage, powerful sound-amplifying equipment, lot of people with brand new flags… and the mi-nimum number of police. If during the protest action near the Council Cabinet there were nearly 20 armed to the teeth “Berkut” fighters per one Chornobyl disaster fighter, there were only a couple of dozens policemen during the large action Yatseniuk held last Saturday… The questions arise.

However, Yatseniuk called upon the people to forget the word “power” concerning Yanukovych, Azarov, and the Party of Regions. He said that the power is given by God and this is just a regime. It seems, however, that “given by God” is quite a different matter either, since “democracy” is translated from Greek as “the power of people.”

“I want you to hear me – this president will leave and the new era expected by everyone will come to Ukraine. This action is not against specific people but against the principles. Our enemy is the lust for power, lust for money, terror and sorrow. All of this is concentrated in this regime, Yatseniuk claimed. “There will be struggle, losses and victories. Our task is the parliamentary campaign. The fact that our political partners are on this stage today proves that we are together! The opposition has made up a conclusion. We will come out in a united front in the majoritarian districts.”

After the meeting finished about 150 people headed by Arsenii Yatseniuk went to the Presidential Administration. There they installed a small stand and put on it three red carnations and the resolution of the meeting in which they asked Viktor Yanukovych to resign. “The people vote against President Yanukovych since the power he has been heading has exhausted people’s stock of patience. Mocking at ordinary people in the guise of reforms, pilfering the budget into their pockets, trading the national interests, outraging people’s rights and liberties and officials’ impunity are no longer bearable,” the do-cument reads.

However, the working weekend of the party Front of Changes did not finish with this. On Sunday they gathered for a closed convention that officially fixed the change in staff that happened in the party. The main purpose of the convention was to elect MP, head of the fraction NU-NS Mykola Martynenko to the party government (it should be recalled that he entered Front of Changes in September with other NU-NS members Ruslan Kniazevych, Lesia Orobets and Roman Tkach). Another decision they made was to read out of the party Yaroslav Demchenko and Andrii Martes. Why was the party congress closed? What does the minimum number of the police mean? We discussed these and other issues with member of the political council of the party Front of Changes Andrii Pyshny.

It has become a tradition in Ukraine to hold all the opposition actions accompanied by a large number of the-enforcement agencies’ representatives. Last Tuesday during the protest action held by the Chornobyl disaster fighters there were nearly 10 “Berkut” fighters per one rally participant. The Saturday meeting of the party Front of Changes was large but surprised with the minimum number of police. How can you explain it?

“In fact, we were promised Kalashnikovs, the police and everything the government could use to protect themselves, so we were prepared for this.

“Just before the meeting they broke a dirty campaign aimed at discrediting our meeting. By the way, Chechetov’s declarations and the notices about the paid meeting spread in the campus have the same origin.

“The use of force was possible, too: the evidence of this were thousands of ‘Berkut’ fighters and vans concentrated, according to the information we had, in the perimeter of the Mykhailivska Square and waiting for an order.

“However, the government drew back from its plans at the very last moment. I think, there were several reasons for this. First of all, the place we gathered at: the meeting was held in the Mykhailivska Square. The windows of two hotels, Hyatt and Intercontinental, look out on this square. The Day before the meeting the draw for Euro-2012 had been held in Kyiv and the high European guests were lodged in these two hotels. The government did not want to disgrace itself demonstrating the crude methods of fighting the opponents.

“Besides, the government did not believe that so many people could be gathered without paying them.

“Before the summit Ukraine-EU, considering the large number of the independent journalists present at the meeting the government did not dare to break up the meeting in front of the cameras. It could have put paid on the future agreement with the EU.”

The other day the Party of Regions called Yatseniuk “a constructive oppositionist” and Mykhailo Chechetov complimented him and even conceded that Yatseniuk can have the exclusive information from Bankova Street. What is this flirting? Could you explain it?

“I should ask Chechetov to explain it. I do not think that there are even a couple of sober-minded people that would take this person’s words serious. I think that he does not understand what he says. He was instructed to say something and he did it.”

As for the recent changes of staff in the party’s council: a lot of voters set their hopes on the Front of Changes because you positioned yourselves as a party of the new people. The fact that Mykola Martynenko has entered your party might change your image.

“If one looks through the list of party members they will see that such experienced politicians as Mykola Martynenko and Leonid Serhiiechko will contribute their experience to our team and will not change the matter of the point: we use the best staff we can find in our country. The party council includes 36 people. Most of them are heads of our regional offices and the party members responsible for the development of the specific party activities (education, defense, medicine, etc.) and the governing body.”

Last week Arsenii Yatseniuk’s declaration in which he said that the political forces that are not the members of the Dictatorship Resistance Committee “support Yanukovych” drew a wide response. It made indignant not only the leaders of the forces out of the Committee but your partners within it as well: they say that you should not radically “cut off” the prospect partners from cooperation. Probably, Yatseniuk was too sharp?

“We should clearly understand that the government is interested in splitting the opposition. The reason for this is obvious; the consolidated opposition will win the parliamentary elections in 2012 and will replace the Party of Regions. They count on breaking a campaign to discredit the idea of the consolidated opposition through separate insulted politicians whose rating is nearly equal to the minimum required. We can see that the pro-presidential media actively broadcast the hysterics of such politicians, showing them live and providing them with printing areas. Arsenii Yatseniuk called a spade a spade and even if somebody does not like it, it does not change the matter of the point: today the opposition has to sit down and agree about the reciprocal support, consolidated platform and list of candidates in the majoritarian districts and coordinated actions. Those who undermine this work for the government.

“Last week the Committee decided to participate in the elections as a large front. The working group has to decide how this cooperation will look like in details. Those who wanted to enter the Committee did it. We should move ahead.”

In view of the events that happened in Donetsk last week and other social protests the opposition leaders claimed that it is time for Azarov’s government to resign. Though the Party of Regions does not consider this question now let us assume that this question is being considered. What will it change? The new government will be formed by the President’s Administration…

“They are at least a year late to fire Azarov’s government. The party Front of Changes insisted on firing the government back in March. This government is absolutely unable to pursue a reasonable policy. The only thing they do is filling in the holes, mainly in their own pockets. There are no reformers there, so there are no reforms. Their reforms do not cost a thing; or rather they harm the country. That is why if he is fired something will automatically change and the government will assume at least a minimum responsibility. Besides, we are sure that a lot of interesting schemes will be revealed.

“However, it is important to realize today that Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is fully responsible for the situation in the country. The whole leverage: the dependant parliament, government and judicial authorities, military and policing branch, and local administrations are controlled by the President’s Administration. All the decisions are made there. The responsibility has to concentrate there, too. That is why it is high time to raise the question about firing not only the government but President Yanukovych as well.”