Council of Europe Could Run Out of Patience

The No. 1 item in the list of Ukraine's obligations is, of course, the abolition of capital punishment. The Onopriyenko case did not impress him: horrible as it is, in his words, a civilized society cannot stoop to revenge. The Assembly will in any case insist on the de jure abolition of capital punishment in Ukraine, along with a moratorium on its application having been in force de facto (which has been acknowledged by the Council of Europe) since March 11, 1997. Verkhovna Rada Speaker Oleksandr Tkachenko was, as always, blunt: Onopriyenko has no right to be called human, so the moratorium has nothing to do with him. But according to the PACE chairman, there can be no exceptions, and thus we have a problem in the making. And this is not all. Back in November 1995, when entering the Council of Europe, Ukraine pledged to draw up a legislative basis for human rights, pass new Criminal and Criminal Procedural Codes, and a new law on political parties. This still has not been done. The CE will soon discuss freedom of the press in Ukraine. Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee for International Affairs Borys Oliynyk commented on this to The Day, "We are being intimidated, but we are not frightened." Chairman of the Supreme Court Vitaly Boiko, who thinks Ukraine has problems in its relationship between the judiciary and executive powers, asked Lord Russell-Johnston to offer CE recommendations about how to achieve an independent judiciary. Right-wing parliamentarians asked him to send CE observers to Ukraine during the presidential elections and not to call them back immediately thereafter. He promised to consider this, possible assistance in resettling the Crimean Tatars, and help in decommissioning the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.