{"id":95366,"date":"2019-07-12T13:02:48","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T13:02:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=72652"},"modified":"2019-07-12T13:05:50","modified_gmt":"2019-07-12T10:05:50","slug":"72652-zelenskyi-s-lustration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/72652-zelenskyi-s-lustration","title":{"rendered":"Zelenskyi\u2019s lustration draft: pre-election populism or a step towards political repressions?"},"content":{"rendered":"

On July 11, 2019 President Zelenskyi made a sharp and vociferous statement that started a massive discussion in the Ukrainian society. He thus revealed his plans to amend the Law on cleansing of authorities and to include all public office holders between 2014 and 2019 into the list of officials subject to lustration. UCMC takes a look at what exactly Zelenskyi is suggesting, whether this scenario is realistic and what it tells us. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Zelenskyi\u2019s statement reads: a populist call to revenge<\/strong><\/p>\n

Volodymyr Zelenskyi released a video statement\u00a0on Facebook<\/a>: \u201cI would like to share my pain. In less than two months in office, especially after my latest trips within the country, the only feeling I have is \u2013 I just lack descent words,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

According to Zelenskyi every day he talks to officials at different levels and gets to understand that it is a \u201chopeless diagnosis\u201d. \u201cWhite-and-blue, red-and-white, orange, burgundy or pink. They are actually all of the same kind. They don\u2019t bother,\u201d the President said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat for do we need the MPs who keep immunity, make illicit enrichment legal and simply skip work. What for do we need the ministers who say that Ukrainians eat too much, build roads on their Facebook and give birth to children in America; (the ministers) who put the last nail in the coffin of their nation\u2019s health and talk about the harm of cherry stones,\u201d he proceeded.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyi said he is racking his brains every day trying to think of what to do with them: exchange for the prisoners or make them wear defective bulletproof vests that they procured and send them to the frontline. \u201cI guess, the least we can now do is to take away from them the possibility of governing the state once and for all,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are being accused of wanting to cancel lustration. For everyone to understand, we are not going to cancel lustration, we suggest to reinforce it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The President said that his team had drafted a law expanding provisions of the Law on cleansing of authorities.<\/p>\n

Who will be subject to lustration as per Zelenskyi\u2019s draft law and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI suggest adding to the list of positions \u2013 subject to lustration that of the President of Ukraine, all MPs, the Head of the Parliament, government members, the Prosecutor General, the Head of the Security Service, heads of the Antimonopoly Committee and of the State Property Fund, heads of the State Fiscal Service and of the Customs Service, the Head of the National Security and Defense Council, top managers of defense companies in office between February 23, 2014 and May 19, 2019,\u201d Zelenskyi revealed.<\/p>\n

In other words, all high level officials active between 2014 and 2019 can be potentially removed from office.<\/p>\n

Zelenskyi\u2019s video does not give an answer to the question \u201cWhy?\u201d Instead he appeals to \u201cpeople\u2019s assessment of actions by old officials\u201d and hopes that in future actions of the above persons \u201cwill be justly assessed legally\u201d.<\/p>\n

In unison: lustration draft by Yanukovych\u2019s ex-ally Andriy Portnov<\/strong><\/p>\n

Exactly one week ago, on July 4, 2019 the initiative to lustrate all officials in office during Poroshenko\u2019s presidency was voiced by the ex-head of President Yanukovych\u2019s Administration Andriy Portnov. He said he had already drafted<\/a>\u00a0a respective law and will submit it to the Parliament of the next convocation.<\/p>\n

To remind, after ex-President Yanukovych fled, Andriy Portnov left Ukraine. He came back when President Zelenskyi assumed office. In June 2019 the Rector of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv signed a decree appointing Portnov a professor to the department of constitutional law at the law faculty from September 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020. Massive student protests made him annul the appointment.<\/p>\n

Portnov also succeeded to have the sanctions against him lifted. On March 5, 2014 the European Union froze for one year the assets of 18 former Ukrainian high-level officials suspected in illegal appropriation of public property. Portnov was among the sanctioned. A year after the EU excluded four persons including Portnov from the list of persons subject to restrictive measures.<\/p>\n

It is now unclear whether Portnov\u2019s draft law is concordant with that of Zelenskyi or whether the draft in question is one and the same that would mean that Zelenskyi\u2019s team cooperates with an actor of Yanukovych regime.<\/p>\n

Which lustration law is in force and why doesn\u2019t it sit well with Zelenskyi\u2019s team?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The actual Law \u201cOn cleansing of authorities\u201d was adopted on September 16, 2014. It introduced the ban from public office for 10 years imposed on persons who were holding public office for over one year between February 25, 2010 and February 22, 2014. Same ban applies to the persons \u2013 public office holders for less than one year between November 21, 2013 and February 22, 2014 (during Maidan) who did not resign at their own will.<\/p>\n

Subject to lustration were also earlier convicted civil servants and law enforcement personnel who cooperated with foreign security agencies, called for violation of Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity or allowed for violation of human rights and freedoms as defined by the European Court of Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Apparently the actual lustration law does not appeal to Zelenskyi\u2019s team. On May 21, 2019 President Zelenskyi appointed to the post of the Presidential Administration Head Andriy Bohdan, legal advisor and lawyer of oligarch Ihor Kolomoyskyi. By law Bohdan is subject to the Law on cleansing of authorities, while Zelenskyi\u2019s team took the path of revising the law instead of revising the scandalous appointment.<\/p>\n

Thus, on May 14 the Constitutional Court started considering<\/a>\u00a0if certain provisions of the lustration law are in line with the Constitution. One of the arguments of Zelenskyi\u2019s team was the critical assessment of the actual Law on cleansing of authorities by the Venice Commission.<\/p>\n

Will Zelenskyi\u2019s team lustrate itself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massive lustration of public office holders during Petro Poroshenko\u2019s presidency may also touch Volodymyr Zelenskyi\u2019s team.<\/p>\n

On July 11 in the parliamentary session hall while discussing the resignation of Foreign Affairs Minister Pavlo Klimkin and the appointment of Vadym Prystaiko to the post, MP Volodymyr Ariyev noted that Prystaiko used to be an efficient deputy Foreign Affairs Minister until 2017. So, following the President\u2019s logic, his candidate, Mr. Prystaiko should be banned from office.<\/p>\n

President\u2019s Envoy to the Parliament Ruslan Stefanchuk responded that it is to be discussed after the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine\u2019s Parliament) will get the draft law in question. \u201cI am deeply convinced that in case we get the support, we will absolutely comply with all the provisions of the law in force,\u201d Stefanchuk added.<\/p>\n

Deputy Head of Parliament Iryna Gerashchenko asked if it means that Zelenskyi\u2019s team members Oleksandr Danylyuk and Aivaras Abromavicius will also become subject to lustration.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t concern ourselves with whether they are in the President\u2019s team or not. In case the law is passed, it will apply to all who are subject to the provisions of the law,\u201d President\u2019s envoy said.<\/p>\n

Ten days ahead of the parliamentary elections it is unclear whether Zelenskyi\u2019s draft law has chances of being voted in by the future Parliament. Latest opinion polls say 48 per cent of voters are ready to cast their votes for Zelenskyi\u2019s \u201cSluha Narodu\u201d (Servant of People) party. Most likely the President\u2019s party will require a coalition with other political forces that would support the idea of total lustration.<\/p>\n

Among the parties that have chances to enter the next Parliament, the idea can be only supported by the \u201cOpposition Platform \u2013 For Life\u201d (Opozytsiyna Platforma \u2013 Za Zhyttia).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On July 11, 2019 President Zelenskyi made a sharp and vociferous statement that started a massive discussion in the Ukrainian society. He thus revealed his plans to amend the Law on cleansing of authorities and to include all public office holders between 2014 and 2019 into the list of officials subject to lustration. UCMC takes […] More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":95367,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[705,748],"tags":[],"section":[743],"form":[],"yoast_head":"\nZelenskyi\u2019s lustration draft: pre-election populism or a step towards political repressions? | UACRISIS.ORG<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On July 11, 2019 President Zelenskyi made a sharp and vociferous statement that started a massive discussion in the Ukrainian society. 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