Court Strips Bandera of Hero of Ukraine Title
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INSIDE: • Part II of “2010: The Year in Review” – pages 5-22 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal Wnon-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXIX No. 4 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2011 $1/$2 in Ukraine “Freedom in the World 2011”: Court strips Bandera Authoritarian challenge to democracy of Hero of Ukraine title WASHINGTON – Global freedom PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Ukraine’s Kremlin allies attacked the award, and even suffered its fifth consecutive year of “Ukraine had pre- Presidential Administration on January 12 as a presidential candidate Mr. Yanukovych decline in 2010, according to “Freedom said Stepan Bandera, a leader of the indicated that he would annul the award. in the World 2011,” Freedom House’s viously been the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, was The order went through the courts, instead annual assessment of political rights and stripped of the title “Hero of Ukraine.” of by presidential decree, which Mr. civil liberties around the world. only country in the Bandera, who was assassinated by KGB Yanukovych thought would be too provoca- This represents the longest continuous agent Bohdan Stashynsky on October 15, tive. Observers said the court ruling demon- period of decline in the nearly 40-year non-Baltic former 1959, in Munich, is a divisive figure strates the lack of independence in the judi- history of the survey. The year featured between the largely Russian-speaking east- cial system in Ukraine, as in much of the drops in the number of free countries and Soviet Union to ern Ukraine and the patriotic western por- former Soviet Union. the number of electoral democracies, as earn a free desig- tion of the country. The Our Ukraine party denounced the well as an overall deterioration for free- In western Ukraine, Bandera is revered “attempt to rewrite the history of Ukraine dom in the Middle East and North Africa nation, and its de- as a national hero who fought for Ukraine’s and to belittle – in order to please Moscow – region. independence from the Soviet Union and the heroes of the Ukrainian people,” as A total of 25 countries showed signifi- cline [to party free] Poland, while Russia regards him as a fas- reported by The New York Times. cant declines in 2010 – more than double cist and Poland considers him a mass mur- Viacheslav Kyrylenko, a deputy from the the 11 countries exhibiting noteworthy represents a major derer of Poles. Our Ukraine – People’s Self-Defense bloc, gains. The number of countries designat- The Donetsk District Administrative told the Kyiv Post, “I don’t know anymore ed as free fell from 89 to 87, and the setback for democ- Court in April 2010 declared the January 20, if the country’s legal system is Ukrainian. number of electoral democracies dropped racy in the region.” 2010, decree by President Viktor The court decision, motivated by political to 115, far below the 2005 figure of 123. Yushchenko, which posthumously awarded concerns, will widen the split in society and In addition, authoritarian regimes like Bandera the title “Hero of Ukraine,” unlaw- increase political tension.” those in China, Egypt, Iran, Russia and – Arch Puddington, ful. The plaintiff in the case, attorney In related news, the High Administrative Volodymyr Olentsevych, said that Venezuela continued to step up repressive Freedom House Court of Ukraine postponed until February measures with little significant resistance Ukrainian legislation states the title could 16 the consideration of a lawsuit by Mr. from the democratic world. only be conferred on a citizen of Ukraine Olentsevych, filed in the Donetsk “This should be a wake-up call for all and Bandera died in 1959 before Ukraine Administrative Court in 2009, seeking to of the world’s democracies,” said David an regimes acted with increased brazen- gained independence in 1991. Mr. overturn Mr. Yushchenko’s 2007 decree J. Kramer, executive director of Freedom ness in 2010. Yushchenko appealed the decision, and the awarding Roman Shukhevych, the com- House. “Our adversaries are not just China pressured foreign governments Constitutional Court refused to start pro- mander of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, ceedings to determine the constitutionality engaging in widespread repression, they to boycott the Nobel Peace Prize award the title Hero of Ukraine. The Dontesk of his decree. court invalidated the decree on April 21, are doing so with unprecedented aggres- ceremony honoring jailed democracy Mr. Yushchenko said the court’s decision 2010, saying that Shukhevych had died in siveness and self-confidence, and the advocate Liu Xiaobo, and Venezuelan was a “gross error” by a presidency that 1950 and was not a citizen of Ukraine. The democratic community is not rising to the President Hugo Chávez pushed through “should be working for uniting society not High Court proceedings were halted challenge.” legislation that allowed him to rule by dividing it.” because one member of the panel of judges Published annually since 1972, decree and further restricted nongovern- President Viktor Yanukovych and his was absent. “Freedom in the World” examines the mental organizations and the media. ability of individuals to exercise their Russia’s leadership showed blatant dis- political and civil rights in 194 countries regard for judicial independence in its and 14 territories around the world. The handling of, among other cases, the sen- latest edition, released on January 13, tencing of regime critic and former oil Spanish court wants to try analyzes developments that occurred in magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky after a 2010 and assigns each country a freedom trial that was widely considered fraudu- status – free, partly free, or not free – lent. Demjanjuk for war crimes And both Egypt and Belarus conduct- based on a scoring of performance on key Germany concludes. ed sham elections with little hint of trans- democracy indicators. Trial in Germany Meanwhile, in Germany, Mr. parency. In the case of Belarus, the elec- Four countries received status tion was followed by massive violence by Demjanjuk’s attorney, Ulrich Busch, on declines, including Ukraine and Mexico, security forces against peaceful demon- enters 13th month January 18 said the Munich court is act- which both fell from free to partly free. ing on the assumption his client is guilty. strators. PARSIPPANY, N.J. – As John Mexico’s downgrade was a result of Dr. Busch made the charge after the court “It is often observed that a government Demjanjuk’s German trial on Nazi war the government’s inability to stem the decided to reject a series of motions made that mistreats its people also fears its peo- crimes charges entered its 13th month, tide of violence by drug-trafficking by the defense. ple,” said Arch Puddington, director of the high court of Spain requested an groups, while Ukraine suffered from According to the Associated Press, the research at Freedom House. “But authori- international arrest warrant for the former deteriorating levels of press freedom, judges rejected a motion that they recuse tarian regimes will have a much freer U.S. citizen. instances of election fraud and growing themselves from the trial because, hand to silence their domestic critics if According to January 14 wire service politicization of the judiciary. according to the defense, they hadn’t there is no resistance from the outside reports, the high court wants to try the Djibouti and Ethiopia were downgrad- properly considered whether Sobibor was world. Indeed, if the world’s democracies 90-year-old Mr. Demjanjuk on accusa- ed from partly free to not free. Other part of an earlier trial in Israel. They also fail to unite and speak out in defense of tions that he was responsible for the countries showing declines included refused defense requests for more files their own values, despots will continue to deaths of Spaniards at the Flossenberg Bahrain, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, and to hear more witnesses. gain momentum.” concentration camp, where he allegedly Sri Lanka and Venezuela. Immigration policies were a topic of Mr. Demjanjuk is standing trial on served as a guard during World War II. The Middle East and North Africa concern this year in many countries, charges of being an accessory to the mur- The court’s January 7 ruling, which remained the region with the lowest level including those in Western Europe and der of nearly 27,900 people at the Nazi was made public a week later, said that of freedom in 2010, continuing its multi- the United States. France saw a decline in death camp at Sobibor, Poland. year decline from an already-low demo- its civil liberties score due to its treatment 150 Spaniards were imprisoned in Dr. Busch has argued on several occa- cratic baseline. Flossenberg, Germany. Spain apparently The world’s most powerful authoritari- (Continued on page 3) will seek his extradition once his trial in (Continued on page 30) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 23, 2011 No. 4 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFS Are continued arrests of Ukraine’s Kravchuk on opposition arrests hold a protest rally to defend rights and freedoms in Ukraine. (Ukrinform) KYIV – The first president of indepen- former top officials politically motivated? dent Ukraine, Leonid Kravchuk, a former Opposition reacts to minister’s remarks by Pavel Korduban partner in the company (Zerkalo Nedeli, confidant of Yulia Tymoshenko in the KYIV – Andriy Shevchenko, chairman Eurasia Daily Monitor December 22, 2010). Mr. Korniychuk presidential election of 2010, said on happens to be the leader of the Social January 17 that he doubts there are sub- of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Several former top officials who Democratic Party, which is allied with stantial grounds for prosecution and Freedom of Expression and Information, served in the 2008-2009 government of Ms. Tymoshenko’s bloc. Mr. Korniychuk detention of opposition politicians.