Kyiv, November 5, 2014. The Minister of Health, Oleg Musiy, is demanding that his suspension be ruled illegal by the Ukrainian legal system. Musiy was suspended on October 1 as a result of a decision of the Council of Ministers. However, the minister says that he made a decision to follow proper procedure under Ukrainian law, and he is seeking redress in the court system. This was stated at Ukraine Crisis Media Center by Oleg Musiy, and his lawyers Oleg Spizhenko and Oleg Osadchyi.
Musiy claims that Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk felt that the Ministry of Health was being run improperly, and called for his dismissal during a meeting of the Council of Ministers. Without allowing speakers for or against the motion, Yatsenyuk called for a vote on his suspension. “This was done without giving the floor to me or any other minister to comment on his decision; he just put to vote the decision on removing me.” Only 5 out of a total of 22 ministers voted in favor of the motion. Despite this, according to Musiy, he was illegally removed from his office. “This is a political action of Mr. Yatsenyuk and his political force, and is a punishment against Maidan.”
“This is a brutal violation of the procedure of the rules of the Cabinet of Ministers,” claimed Musiy. The former health minister says that the Ukrainian prime minister falsified documents and violated legal procedure to remove him. “If Ukraine is going to the EU and we have the rule of law, we need to act according to the norms of the current legislation,” Musiy said. The Prime Minister is depriving the parliament of the right to remove or retain one of the government’s ministers. “Yatsenyuk declares that he is European premier, but really he adheres to eastern values of dictatorship,” he added.
Musiy and his lawyers fully expect that the prime minister’s decision will be overturned and invalidated by a court. The Maidan revolution aimed to make Ukraine a country that abides by rule of law under a fair court system. “Within 20 years of independence both the lawyers and judges are tired of living in a country where such a high number of legislative acts are ignored,” stated Spizhenko. Musiy and his lawyers are bringing the complaint to court because they want to ensure that rule of law in the country is protected following the events of Maidan and the demands of the Ukrainian people. “Having two elections behind us and having the unified position of the lawyers to issue the claim, then legally the court should pass a resolution about who is right and who is wrong,” said Spirzhenko.
Musiy warns that if the courts fail to rectify the situation then this will demonstrate that rule of law is not being effectively established. “It could be a precedent for those officials who think that they can do anything they want in Ukraine,” stated Musiy. For now, Musiy plans to continue his work as a people’s deputy in the Ukrainian parliament and will not be a member of Yatsenyuk’s government. “It is impossible to work honestly under the government of Mr. Yatsenyuk,” Musiy concluded.