5. Did the decision of Viktor Yanukovych to prosecute the former president Leonid Kuchma for the murder of a journalist add credibility to the current government and improve its image in the West? What are your expectations about how this case should be resolved?
"Kuchma Gate" is a farce. Yanukovych just initiated the case because he wants the Gongdase Case to end. I think it will end with a verdict of "not guilty" for Kuchma. After that, the Yanukovych administration will say: "Look, we put Kuchma in court and the judges said, he isn't guilty." By now, almost everybody in the West realized, that the judges and the courts are not free, independent and transparent in Ukraine .
If Yanukovych manages to taint the reputation of Kuchma's son in law, Victor Pinchuk (what I think was another reason to bring Kuchma to court), this will also undermine the reputation of the current Ukrainian government.
6. Do you think Ukraine will ever enter the EU, and, if so, under which conditions and when approximately?
Ukraine missed the latest opportunity to enter the EU. After the Orange Revolution 2004/2005, there was a real chance for the country, but the elites did not use it! These days it seems, Russia will take over Ukraine rather than the EU will. If Ukraine does not get a new government with a real interest in Europe and a serious effort to reform, the country will not become a member of the EU. for the next 25 years.
It is similar to Turkey, but the situation of Turkey is much more comfortable, because the country has a strong common identity, no problems with demography and a strong economy. Turkey does not need to become a member of the EU anymore, for Ukraine it is the only realistic chance to become a modern and sovereign nation. Without a partnership with Europe, Ukraine will end up as an appendix of Russia.
I hope Ukraine will become a member of EU some day. After the Orange Revolution 2004/2005, there was a real chance for the country, but the elites did not use it.
These days it seems as if Russia will take over Ukraine rather than the EU will incoroparate Ukraine . If Ukraine does not manage to implement reforms and guarantee genuine democracy, the country will not become a member of the EU in the next 25 years.
The problem is that without a closer partnership with Europe, Ukraine could simply end up as an appendix to Russia.
7. Do you think Tymoshenko's arrest will affect the
signing of an association agreement between Ukraine and the EU?
The arrest of Tymoshenko is the clear proof that her opponents are seeking
revenge. Yanukovych has never accepted the Orange Revolution and the owner of
RosUkrEnergo Dmytro Firtash has never accepted that he was out of the gas
business. Prosecuting Tymoshenko and other opposition members is against EU
democratic values.
Olena Tregub is a GMAP student at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Medford, Mass., and works as a freelance journalist, in Washington, DC, and Kyiv, Ukraine.
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