The elections context becomes more complex because of Melnychenko’s detention

Almost 12 years have passed since the disappearance and murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze. The main witness in the ex-president’s case Mykola Melnychenko was arrested in Italy, and this may become another defeat right before the anniversary of the tragedy. Despite the multiple statements made by Major Melnychenko about his complete eagerness to help the investigation and testify at Kuchma’s case trial, he had to flee the country because his life was in danger. At that time Kuchma’s supporters have shifted to the phase of active defense of the ex-president on all fronts: in court, mass media, the international scene. As a result, this summer Kuchma’s case, who is convicted of crimes against journalist Gongadze and public figure Oleksii Podolsky, was almost closed.

Currently the Ministry of Justice of Italy has to decide what to do with Melnychenko. The main witness categorically refused to be compulsory returned to Ukraine, saying that it would put his life in danger. If the Italian Ministry of Justice leaves Melnychenko’s request unsatisfied, the court of Naples will resume the session. But if the request is taken into consideration and satisfied, the court should release him from custody. Let us remind that the former Major is accused of committing crimes under three articles of the Criminal Code (revelation of the state secret which led to grave consequences, forgery, and abuse of power). “The Ukrainian Interpol buerau issued an arrest warrant for Melnychenko,” says the ex-Major’s lawyer Pavlo Sychov. “It is a mystery why they decided to comply with it right now. Melnychenko had freely moved around Europe before.”

It is true, there are a lot of questions, especially in the context of the parliamentary elections campaign in Ukraine. “I have made a conclusion that the closer the elections are, the more aggravated the situation around Melnychenko and his entourage becomes,” comments upon the situation the ex-Major’s second defense attorney Mykola Nedilko. “Melnychenko does have an influence on Ukrainian politics. Someone might have learned that Melnychenko was to take some steps in the Shcherban’s case. Melnychenko himself has repeatedly stated that he possessed some information and could give evidence that would influence the course of the investigation in this case. I suppose events might still unfold in many ways. At this moment Melnychenko is dangerous not only for Kuchma’s family. He also puts in danger the politicians who are in power now and intend to hold this power. Melnychenko has many enemies, but all of them are somehow related to Kuchma’s family.”

Kuchma’s people will definitely defend their segment in the future parliament. The presence of a good half of the deputies in the legislative body is a great opportunity to influence the politics and defend their own business interests. Previously, Kuchma himself said that he did not exclude the possibility of running for a parliamentary seat, but it seems there is no need of becoming a deputy anymore. Why bother, if this can be done indirectly through the lists of certain parties. It is not without reason that there are a lot of unknown names in the United Opposition lists, but people with more or less independent stand are removed.

According to our sources, the exclusion of one of the politicians took place because this person is a threat to the interests of Kuchma’s family. This politician’s personal contacts in Europe and views on many issues run counter to the attempts of ex-president’s son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk to create an “alternative MFA” in Ukraine. There are a lot of famous politicians, friends of Kuchma’s family in Europe. For our current government it is important what they tell about the Tymoshenko case in Europe, and for Kuchma’s family the fate of the Gongadze case, and most importantly, the case of ex-president, are of great significance.

Oles Donii, who is not included in the Fatherland party lists, suggests that today the word of the Tymoshenko herself is worth very little: “I am a nonpartisan person, so I cannot lay claim on the party. The decision whether to accept the person or not is made by the party. I do not know who has formed the party list. I was invited there by Tymoshenko. Obviously, her word is not worth much within the party right now.”

“The question is, who is the opposition today?” Says MP Taras Chornovil. “Because everyone is involved in so many things. We can say that two people, who are in jail right now due to various circumstances, would be in the opposition. And what about the rest? I am sorry, but I cannot say that Yatseniuk is opposition. They put a nice wrapping on it, as if they had the oppositionists in the lists. Although, we see Yatseniuk’s quota, and the people that are included in it. People, who could have been the real oppositionists, were removed from the list.

“Therefore, here are the two theses. The first one: it is extremely hard to say that the opposition lists are really representing the opposition. These are the lists of private party clan and family entities that were prepared for a peaceful time in a quiet country. Not for a country, which, to put it mildly, has problems with democracy. The second one is the non-transparency of the lists. In the US, for example, the lists are created by the parties’ electors, but not the party bosses who just send the lists from above. It cannot be said that our lists were created in a democratic way and would offer a healthy opposition to the government. But it is also not true that they were filled according to the government’s directions only. I think some certain quiet agreements on certain candidates have been made. Somebody asked for certain people to be missing from the lists, so they are not there. Somebody asked to detain people, whose absence would go unnoticed, so they were detained. Somebody just bought themselves seats in the opposition. I think that the financial factor and the nepotism have played a much larger role than the factor of direct connections with the government.”

If you look at the currently existing list, who do you think is taking the control over the party?

“I think that it is mostly controlled by Martynenko and his business partners. They are going to work for Yatseniuk’s image, play with Tymoshenko’s flag for a while, and then just forget about her. This party today is created to fit Yatseniuk and Martynenko.”

Do you think that Kuchma’s family had any influence on the process of lists creation?

“Perhaps, there are some connections, though they would not be exposed. I think they acted only when intended to remove people from the lists. Look, all main activists of the anti-Kuchmism and anti-Kuchma movement of 2001, all of them have been removed. Donii, Stetskiv, Lutsenko’s people are missing. However, there are people who fought against Melnychenko (I do not approve of him), for example Volodymyr Ariev will be an opposition candidate in a simple-majority constituency.”

By the way, how is Melnychenko’s case associated with the election?

“I do not think it is. Italy has one peculiarity: it values its bureaucratic procedures and rigidly sticks to them. They are hardly likely to be well acquainted with Melnychenko’s story. I think after a certain period he will be released. It will be same as with Avakov.”

We are informed that the lawyer, who defended Avakov in his time, is providing legal assistance to Melnychenko in the court of Naples. “I was in Naples,” writes Avakov on his Facebook page. “I saw Mykola, only to say hello. We exchanged a few words about what was going on. We could not have a normal conversation even in those few minutes: we were surrounded with the local Ukrainian consulate officials, each complete with four ears and two mobile phones, and they kept calling. The consulate men were constantly reporting to someone. What a fuss. What is our government working for?”

One can have mixed feelings about Melnychenko himself, but his today’s traveling problems are directly linked to Ukraine. “If Melnychenko is sent to Ukraine, nothing good awaits him here. It will be hard to help him, because the Melnychenko case is being treated outside the legal field. There is a political will to throw him behind bars, or even eliminate him physically.”

The scandalous Gongadze case still remains open. The men who had ordered his assassination were never convicted. The problem, due to which Melnychenko had to flee Ukraine, remains unsolved. So the ruling of the Italian court will be of key importance.