Yuri Lutsenko to Help the Opposition

Last Sunday in Ukraine was nothing short of eventful. In the morning it was announced that the President released the former Interior Minister and ardent opposition leader Yuri Lutsenko, who was serving a sentence for abuse of power and embezzlement of funds. The same day, a meeting of the united opposition against a "coup attempt" was held in Kiev.

The forced act of good heartedness, the release of Yuri Lutsenko, was somewhat expected. President Viktor Yanukovych has previously hinted at the possibility, and after the address (hardly spontaneous) of the Ombudsman Valerie Lutkovskaya regarding the release of the disgraced ex-minister, he was promptly tasked with "examining the issue." On Sunday, a message appeared on the presidential website: Lutsenko has been pardoned. In addition to the ex-Minister of Interior, the decree mentioned five more names, including former Minister of Environment Georgy Filipchuk (the latter asked the President for a pardon, while Lutsenko has not).

The opposition members took the release of Lutsenko as victory and a sign that the regime was scared and "cracked under pressure." The leader of the parliamentary faction "Bat'kovschina" Yatsenyuk remembered to mention the victory of the "Western partners" of the opposition. One of Lutsenko's lawyers called the decree "a manifestation of mercy." But Ukrainian experts offer a more pragmatic explanation. Head of the Center for Political Analysis "Penta" Volodymyr Fesenko said that the decree on pardoning the political opponent can be considered an important step towards the signing of the Association Agreement with the EU. Indeed, European officials and politicians, demanding from Kiev to abandon the "selective justice," welcomed the move of the Ukrainian authorities on the same day (without mentioning Yulia Tymoshenko whom the President is unlikely to pardon).

Vladimir Fesenko does not believe that Yanukovych got scared. The fact that Lutsenko was released on the same day when a previously announced mass rally of the opposition forces was held in Kiev shows a complete lack of fear. A few hours after the announcement of the decree, the former Interior Minister walked through the gates of the correctional facility and announced that he would return to politics after getting some treatment. Lutsenko addressed the rally in Kiev via a mobile phone held against a microphone, and reminded the crowd about the Maidan.

According to the pardoned opposition leader, politics is not done in the president's administration, but in the streets. "We have to win and we will win," he said. It is hard to tell at this time what will be Lutsenko's place in the opposition camp. He said he did not plan to participate in the presidential campaign (this would be impossible because convictions do not go away with pardoning), but would support someone who has a chance. Yatsenyuk said that Lutsenko's release would strengthen the opposition.

"I am convinced that after Yuri's release the opposition has added strength, we have a serious leg-up," he told reporters. "I am sure that Yuri will return to political life shortly." At the same time, we cannot rule out strengthening of the competition in the opposition ranks.

"Ukraine above all!" A rally of the united opposition in Kiev went without incidents and was relatively crowded. According to the estimates of the organizers, over 15 thousand people participated in the rally (police counted 3,000 to 5,000). It was obvious that there were many people in Shevchenko Park. The rally began with a traditional chant of the nationalists yelling "Glory to 'heroes," "Death to the enemies," "Ukraine above all."

The leaders of three oppositional political forces, Arseniy Yatsenyuk ("Bat'kovschina"), Oleg Tyagnibok ("Svoboda") and Vitali Klitschko (UDAR) congratulated colleagues on winning  (Yuri Lutsenko's release from prison), and promised to seek the release of Yulia Tymoshenko. They also urged the audience to fight for their three demands: the election of the mayor of Kiev, cancellation of the pension reform and resignation of the government of Mykola Azarov. The opposition has been blocking the work of the Parliament, ensuring the implementation of precisely these three requirements.

However, in an interview with journalists Oleg Tyagnibok presented a more complete program. "The first [task is] to overturn the Yanukovych regime. The second [task is] to eliminate all negative effects of the three-year reign of the regime. The third task is] to prevent revenge of the dictatorship, as it happened once in the Ukrainian history. And the fourth [one is] to start the process of inclusive, radical changes in Ukraine, the Ukrainian society," he said. Yatsenyuk said that the opposition believed that the best "protection from dictatorship" was a signed agreement with the EU on political association and free trade zone.

 "This is precisely why we will demand in the Parliament from the government, from Yanukovych, the immediate adoption and signing of all laws relating to Ukraine's accession to the EU,"   he said, adding that "in the event that President Yanukovych is against the will of Ukrainian people, the opposition would take more radical measures."
  
Andrey Lubensky