The games of the chosen

Hennadii Moskal, MP for NU-NS, has made a stellar career, from a humble police inspector to lieutenant general. During the off-year election of 2007, Moskal became an MP as a member of Yurii Lutsenko’s Narodna Samooborona, part of the half-dead bloc NU-NS. Today, in 2010, he condemns his colleagues for the shifts in their political orientation, the parliament for pretending to work, and citizens for letting those simulators usurp power.

Moskal is one of the most active legislators. In his interview to The Day he also explained why he stopped writing laws, revealed the details of bribing the BYuT and NU-NS MPs, and deplored the mutual lack of responsibility on the part of ordinary Ukrainian citizens and owners of MP seats.

The summer vacation in the Verkhovna Rada was preceded by a long series of individual defections of BYuT and NU-NS members to the ruling coalition’s camp. Some of your colleagues, like Oles Donii or even Yurii Lutsenko himself, say that the opposition is forced to change colors in the parliament. They maintain that the “regionals” use the “stick and carrot method” threatening to open criminal prosecution or offering pretty sums for joining the coalition. How much truth is behind this?

“I assure you, no one has ever been browbeaten in parliament. Besides, there was no need to browbeat anyone at all, because another, financial mechanism worked like a dream. Let’s call a spade a spade: neither Our Ukraine (NU) nor People’s Self-Defense (NS) have a chance to get into the parliament on their own. This became the main argument in the talks with the representatives of the NU-NS faction.

“The conversation looked roughly as follows: ‘Okay, you are going to sit in parliament till 2012, and what next? Where are you going then? Nowhere. So here is the money, give me the card, shut up and sit still.’ This is no exaggeration: you see, the defectors (derisively labeled ‘trunks.’ – Ed.) are not allowed to speak on TV or give interviews. They even needn’t come to the parliament building. What matters is the presence of their voting card. That’s where the story ends.”

No, it’s not the end of the story. That the Verkhovna Rada has turned into a flea market is a fact. But the history of the parliament’s degradation also has another side, just like any medal. In this case it is the relations between legislators and those who invested them with power, that is, the people, and responsibility (or rather its absence). NU-NS voters voted for a certain ideology, while the so-called “servants of the people” change their political orientation to the opposite, without as much as apologizing to their electorate.

In any European country, a “trunk” would become a political corpse overnight — but not here. It is the fact that violation (including that of moral principles) becomes a rule, rather than an exception, that inspires fear.

“Since we are on the subject... the situation suggests the well-known saying, ‘from rags to riches.’ I’ll be frank: I can save on anything, but I’ll never put on a suit from Troieshchyna market [a large market in Kyiv. – Ed.]. If you are a public person, make sure that you look neat. So, some of today’s ‘trunks,’ who only yesterday looked like Troieshchyna market-goers, are wearing Brioni suits today and carrying Dupont briefcases.

“Sometimes I could not refrain from asking, ‘Look here bro, has a rich uncle in Canada left you a fortune in his will?’ It would be okay if it were a lifestyle — but everyone saw what he looked like yesterday, and where his current wealth comes from.

“I remember when I came to work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and a colleague reprimanded me for wearing a Brioni suite. In such situations I always reply, ‘I came here in this costume, and that’s what I’ll be wearing when I leave this place. It would be bad if I had come here in a Bilshovychka [a Soviet-era clothes producers. – Ed.] suit and left the Ministry wearing a Brioni.’

“And the defectors? They don’t have meals in the parliamentary cafeteria — they eat at posh restaurants. There was a time when I often flew on business with many of those ‘trunks.’ They would ask me if I had a car, or if they should order one from the parliament’s garage. Now, you have to plead with them to get a ride.

“And popular will was also distorted. If you sum up the results of this election, you’ll see that ByuT and NUN had 228 seats [226 is enough to form a coalition. – Ed.]. Thus it is obvious that the people did not vote for the parties comprising today’s majority in the parliament.

“However, let us go back to the start. Who was the first to ruin the coalition? With the benediction of Messieurs Yushchenko and Baloha, the majority was defeated, and the NU-NS faction was split into groups. For instance, the EC (Single Center), for which people did not vote at all. In the NU-NS bloc there used to be nine party stockholders, and yet there was no such political force as the EC. How come they ended up in parliament without being legally elected by the people?

“Later, both Yushchenko and Baloga methodically destroyed Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense. When Yushchenko gathered NU-NS representatives, he accentuated his disrespect towards them. Moreover, he would explicitly say, ‘Don’t like it? Get the hell out.’ And that was exactly what the majority of NU-NS MPs (including me, Hrytsenko, Tarasiuk, and others) did.

“That is to say, everything was done to destroy and ruin unity. This is the first issue.

“Second. The Constitutional Court legitimized the coalition of the ‘trunks.’ The Court simply ignored the will of the people. And you put the correct accents in your question: indeed, if a person went into the election under the colors of Our Ukraine, People’s Self-Defence, Pora, the Ukrainian People’s Party, or BYuT, it means that they voted for their slogans. It is highly unlikely that the voters would agree to see their MPs representing another party and implementing its ideology.

“What shall they do, burn with shame? As a journalist with parliamentary accreditation you will know that they try to sneak to the basement avoiding any encounters with the media. Why is that so? Because journalists are certain to ask the same caustic questions... That is why the ‘trunks’ will hide and won’t explain anything — let alone apologize. Meanwhile, they realize perfectly well that no one will ever include them in their election lists. Who needs traitors?”

Let’s come back to the complexity of the situation. Agreed, no one needs traitors. In this context Lutsenko, leader of the “deceased” People’s Self-Defense, said in Shuster Live that it was great the PoR financed getting rid of traitors. But neither Lutsenko nor Tymoshenko would explain how come such people appeared in the top lines of the lists of those political forces. Is it possible that such experienced politicians could not see who is who?

“Let us still remember that Moskal is Moskal, and Lutsenko is Lutsenko. I have never been a shareholder in People’s Self-Defense. There were two of them (fifty-fifty), Mr. Zhvania and Mr. Lutsenko. I am an employee, so to speak, and I was invited to join the list. And I got on the list at the very last moment at that. Therefore, there is no personal fault of mine. I did not give any recommendations concerning the NS membership.”

I’ll formulate the questions in another way: why did the project People’s Self-Defense go bankrupt, who should be held responsible, and why did the recent members of the Self-Defense defect to the coalition or, like Mr. Kulykov, join the artificial project, the EC?

“As far as Kulykov goes, an old joke suggests itself. A happy young man comes home and says, ‘Mommy, I have just joined the party!’ To which his mother says, ‘Yes, if you can’t kill them, join them.’ The same is true of Kulykov.

“If the Single Center is a political force, then vodka is a soft drink. EC is a project made by three individuals, Baloha, Kryl, and Petiovka. EC was considered a party only due to the fact that Yushchenko yielded to Baloha, not only the president’s facsimile, but also administrative resources.

“Today, the situation is different. The rebellion in the EC is obvious. Kulykov said that he would lead the Kyiv chapter of the EC. However, it is an elective office. There has to be a raion conference, and then a local one, where the head of the organization is elected. But this scenario is for parties only. In Baloha’s authoritarian camp, any appointments of this type are possible. Yet a question arises, what can they count on in Kyiv?

“What were the strengths of the communist party? Its main principle: selection, manning, and cadre education. Unfortunately, there is not a single political party in this country that would do it. Hence the results. Do you really think that if Tymoshenko won, there would be no traitors in the Party of Regions and Lytvyn’s Bloc? Sure there would!”

So maybe it is the coalition as an institution, which brought on the degradation of the faulty Ukrainian parliament, that should be eventually eliminated?

“The thing is, there is no parliament in Ukraine today. Take my word, not only the ‘trunks,’ but also the veterans and enthusiasts of the Party of Regions have no influence in the parliament today. Why? Because 10 minutes before the start of the plenary meetings Chechetov fetches the printed copies of draft bills with a plus or minus beside each of them. In a word, parliament today is nothing but a yes-man, and MPs don’t influence any decisions. The parliamentarians only legitimize, with their presence, the decisions adopted in some masonic lodge. Even the faction leader Yefremov has no say in it, since the positive or negative decision on a draft bill is final and not to be contested.

“The only positive thing today is that there is no constitutional majority in the parliament.”

Is the Verkhovna Rada hopelessly and terminally ill, or are there hopes of resuscitation?

“The situation is roughly like this: it is between life and death. It absolutely doesn’t matter if there is or there is no parliament, if the members attend or skip parliamentary sessions. Because, as I have already told, an MP does not influence anything.

“I used to be one of the ten MPs who were most active in the sphere of legislation. But I quit making drafts! What’s the point in it? To see the authors from the NU-NS or BYuT kill the bill without even considering it? Perhaps I might submit drafts signed with a pen-name. Maybe, in this case it would be lucky to get some attention, and twice as likely to be passed.

“And one more thing that astounded me. The president calls the Council on National Security and Defense and brings up the problem of drug addiction. Shortly before that, I introduced a draft based on European know-how, and on that of the DIA in the USA. But here, well aware of the urgency of the problem, they went and killed it, despite the positive recommendations from the cabinet. What is the point in writing drafts?”

Well, it all depends. For instance, your fellow faction member Yurii Karmazin writes not only draft bills, but also numerous amendments for the coalition’s legislative initiatives. Of course, they are rejected, but Karmazin can say in all honesty, that he suggested an alternative version, pointed out the drawbacks, etc. It is easiest to stand by doing nothing.

“And who do you suggest that I fight? With the ‘regionals’? But they were elected by the people. With the traitors, ‘trunks’ who represent a different ideology than the one they went into the elections with? But the people aren’t going to vote for them again. The Criminal Code presupposes the following: supposing two men are walking past an open window. One broke into, robbed the place, and ran away. The other did not react. But he will be held responsible as an accomplice in a crime, because he just looked on, thus approving of the burglary. I cannot say of myself that I just sit about with my head in the sand.”

Is there a chance for the situation (especially in parliament) to change after the elections? The opposition looks feeble today, the regime is being rather aggressive — trying to enforce its positions on levels of power.

“Yes, I agree, the regime can be perpetuated, but the question is, can a voter be perpetuated? That’s on the one hand. On the other, you know, I come from western Ukraine, and I often travel to the country and speak with people there. They always resent the regime. When I say that they elected them, they say that they were forced to do so. That’s nonsense. Who forces whom? You come to the polling station, take a ballot, draw the curtain, tick a name. There is no one in the box to terrorize you.

“People tend to resent, but I will often say this: soon independent Ukraine will mark its 20th birthday — becoming, so to speak, an able-bodied individual. So maybe it is not parliament but voters that have to change? Ours should be sent to Canada, and theirs to us. Then the voting will be clear, understandable, correct, and farsighted.

“It looks as if we like to wallow in dirt: first we elect an authority, and in a month we curse it. And the same year after year. What we lack today is first of all the voter responsibility. Now people are blaming the authorities. I say, ‘Stop cursing, show your civic stand at the October 31st elections. But they will again go and vote for the same lot.

“There is another peculiarity, however. With each new election, the financial incentives for voters become more and more important. Everyone expects to get money in exchange for their vote. I am often asked now how much this or that party is going to pay. People sit about waiting for someone to give them something — and you are talking about lofty matters.

“Where is the way out of the situation? I think the center should be shifted to the province. Neither the coalition, nor the opposition has anything to do in Kyiv. They have to go to the periphery and, starting with the tiniest villages, talk to people. If people do not understand their responsibility, we are doomed to stay stuck in the mud.

“I think that the only democratic election we had was in 1994, held by Kravchuk. That was when no one, from the authorities to the police to the SBU, interfered in the process of voting. I’m afraid we will not have another such election.

“We have what we have. Unfortunately, these words by Kravchuk have become an adage. Like voters, like parliamentarians, and vice versa. No one descended into the central or local legislative assembly from the sky. They were all elected by people. The question is, how they were elected... You, journalists, are the watchdogs of democracy, you should wake up the people. Unfortunately, today we are in deep, deep slumber...”