Ukraine: Is “Death Squadron” Hunting for Yuschenko?

The case of murdered journalist Gongadze causes new scandals in Ukraine. Opposition journalist Tatyana Korobova known through her criticism of President Kuchma and his surrounding has published in the newspaper Grani Plus an extract of the Ukrainian Internal Ministry letter. The authors of the letter had forecasted some appointments in their institution, which were later realized. The letter practically points at Georgy Gongadze’s killers “wanted” by Ukrainian Public Prosecutor General’s Office.

According to the letter, the mastermind of the murder is ex-internal minister Yury Kravchenko, who was appointed the head of Ukrainian State Tax Administration. While investigator of the Gongadze case Potebenko, who had not discovered the case, got to the parliament. The Internal Ministry workers were puzzled why the chief of main forensic expert group, Shupik had not been arrested, while that was him, who ordered to drag out the post-mortern examination.

Though, the authors of the letter also blame today’s Internal Ministry head Yury Smirnov with masterminding the murder of deputy Vyacheslav Chernovol and attempt at the life of Natalia Vitrenko, the leader of progressive socialists in the city of Krivoy Rog. By the moment Gongadze was missing, Yury Smirnov headed Kiev police. The authors of the letter estimated their chief not very highly. According to them, if he was locked somewhere for three days without vodka, he would tell everything.

The policemen also point at the dislocation place of Kravchenko’s “eagles”: the killers serve (or served) in the elite sub-unit Sokol (“falcon” in Russian). According to the letter, journalist Gongadze was killed by that same people, who kidnapped deputy Golovaty’s aid, Alexei Podolsky.

The policemen suppose the journalist was kidnapped not to be killed, but just to “be frightened a little.” Though Gongadze menaced his kidnappers with imprisonment, while somebody of them turned out to be too nervous. What happened afterwards (several murders more), was just “wiping out tracks.”

The letter contains one more sensation: the new target of the Kravchenko “eagles” (or Death Squadron) is Viktor Yuschenko, who is the most probable pretender for presidential chair. His victory would signify death of today’s Kuchma surrounding. This was the main reason why Kravchenko occupied his current post, while his probable deputy, Anatoly Podolyaka, who was Yuschenko’s guard, will assist the tax minister.

This sounds fearfully, though nobody in Ukraine seems to be surprised with it. And this is probably the most fearful result of Kuchma’s government.

Today, Supreme Rada supported the initiative of deputy Grigory Omelchenko, the Anti-Mafia Association head, to objectively check up the information about masterminding Gongadze’s murder by ex-internal minister, Yury Kravchenko.

At the same time, in London, ex-major of the presidential guard, Nikolay Melnichenko, political refuge Alexandr Yelyashkevich and famous dissident Vladimir Bukovsky plan, along with Gongadze’s mother Miroslava, to bring a suit in the US against above-mentioned persons, who are guilty of the Gongadze death. Yelyashkevich also intends to bring a suit against Kuchma in US court, accusing the Ukrainian President of attempt at his life in February 2000 (this fact is reflected in the cassettes recorded by major Melnichenko in the Kuchma office). According to Yelyashkevich, Ukrainian force-ministries leaders, like Leonid Derkach, Yury Kravchenko, and today’s Supreme Rada speaker Vladimir Litvin also must be tried.

The aim of this group is to keep power at any price, Alexandr Yelyashkevich supposes. This is why his case consideration could help in discovering the Gongadze death reasons.

Andrei Lubensky PRAVDA.Ru Ukraine

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: https://www.pravda.ru/world/36581-korobova/