Sunday, January 20, 2008

I originally posted the following as comments to the previous post - but now, in the morning, Mishah says it's too long and would probably look better in a post of its own, so here goes.

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Thanks, Sasha, for posting these Svoboda Slova clips:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

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Henadiy Moskal is unbelievable.

When a high-ranking official responsible for fighting corruption publicly accuses another high-ranking official of some pretty outrageous crimes, but then does nothing to prosecute him and instead announces that he's not scared of any slander lawsuits that Chernovetsky may file against him - that's crazy. No wonder the country's such a mess.

It's also very amusing to hear Moskal call those who run the country "amoral" - as if he's forgotten what year it is now and that he's a member of the government-forming parliamentary majority.

Oh, and calling the Lutsenko-Chernovetsky fight no big deal - "dva muzhyka povzdorili" - is brilliant, too.

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I wrote the previous comment after watching the first clip, and now I've seen all three.

The second one isn't interesting, except for Teryokhin's rather dignified comment.

The third one's got Lutsenko in it - and I think Lutsenko should get himself an image coach, the way Yanukovych did after 2004, perhaps.

Someone who'd explain to him that it's wrong to interpret the "People's Self-Defense" thing so literally. Someone who'd explain to him that it's silly to allude to the "Sicilian Mafia" the way he does when he's talking about Chernovetsky's son and his alleged involvement in the housing construction scam:

I said, "Mr. Chernovetsky, I don't fight with children, that's my principle. This is inappropriate." I ordered Kyiv police to interrogate Mr. Stepan Chernovetsky, the son of today's mayor, after the election, so that it couldn't be used to further political confrontation. And when he today brutally used it against me, turned white into black, I was shocked. I said it was a lie. [Twenty minutes later, when the meeting of the National Security Council was over and the President thanked everyone and left], I approached Mr. Chernovetsky and told him that he was a liar, that he was mean ["brekhun" and "padlyuka"], and that normal people don't act like this. I had acted as a human being, knowing that even the Sicilian Mafia wouldn't fight with children, let alone the Ukrainian government. And for this, I got stabbed in the back [...]."


At the beginning of his explanation, Lutsenko mentions a few times that when he was telling the president of those outrageously illegal land deals, he didn't name any names, never pointed at Chernovetsky directly. And then he tells us how kind he was to Chernovetsky's son. And the general impression is that Lutsenko has been working so hard to protect Chernovetsky and his family - and now Chernovetsky has betrayed him.

It's disgusting to listen to Bogoslovskaya and Dovhyi, but it's as disgusting to realize that once again Yushchenko's team is doing everything to help their opponents to discredit them.

3 comments:

  1. Moskal obviously didn’t realize the weakness of his line of defense/offense. And yes, you’re right: An intimate knowledge of Lutsenko-Chernovetsky relations would give us a higher degree of certainty as to who’s who in this story. (Polygraph tests would be fine.)

    Until then, however — and based on the best public information available — I tend to believe Lutsenko’s side of the story a lot more. Maybe it’s just another way of saying how badly I want Chernovetsky to go.

    I have no blind faith in any one camp, but as the new wave of pre-election handouts mobilizes “vermicelli voters,” I find myself in the Lutsenko camp.

    A person who sells his or her vote for a vermicelli pack sends three other people to the bottom of the food chains. We must stop this evil campaign practice.

    And finally, I can't wait to watch the video of Chernovetsky's side of the story. From what I’ve already heard, it’s worth watching.

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  2. I think we are on the opposite edges of the same page, Taras.

    I also want Chernovetsky out, badly. But somehow I already feel he's done for.

    Maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I really can't forget that one anti-tariff rally that I saw back in late 2006. Something's telling me his "vermicelli voters" (love the term!) are gonna take the food and vote for someone else this time. Maybe not, but who the hell knows at this point.

    By the way, is there a date for the new election yet? I've only the vaguest idea of how it all works - could you please explain the process briefly when you have a minute to spare? Thanks!

    Anyway, since Lutsenko is still running our law enforcement - and is not officially running for mayor yet, right? - and since I take it for granted that Chernovetsky is almost kaput - I do not feel like cutting Lutsenko/Moskal some slack - and it's only natural that I get upset when they underperform or overreact.

    They are the ones who have the power to make things better, it's not their first attempt, they've got experience, they should know how to avoid past mistakes, they should know better than to arm their opponents by acting like kids. They are not some pro-opposition human rights activists, they are the law enforcement, and if they claim to have stuff on Chernovetsky, they should use it to prosecute him. Getting his ass kicked physically is beautiful but counterproductive.

    As for "Lutsenko-Chernovetsky relations" and "the best public information available" - my point is that he should think before he begins to speak. Because the way NUNS voted in that city council's land distribution session on the day following the general election is also public knowledge - and Lutsenko is part of the gang.

    I'll vote for him, too, if he runs (and if I'm in town then, of course), but I'd rather do it with clear conscience, not because he's "the lesser evil."

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  3. We're not too far apart, are we?:)

    The funny thing is, everybody talks about early elections, but nobody talks of any particulars. I guess the green light should come from the Verkhovna Rada. Beyond that, my guess is only as good as yours.

    It was amid this all-talk-and-no-action that Lutsenko's stunt impressed me.

    When I think of all the votes I've cast in this country, they all look like the "lesser evil" to me, even if I thought otherwise when I cast them.

    But still I haven't missed a single vote. I guess, like Mulder, "I want to believe." And I believe that my not voting would only make things worse.

    So if you happen to be in town the day we vote Chernoco out, please join me:)

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