Comments on: Approaching the Orange Anniversary: Part 2

By: elmer

elmer — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 04:57:20 +0000

dlw, Ukraine is not the US, and vice versa. There is no point in trying to make the comparison.

Ukraine, or actually its “political elite,” need a slap in the face and a good dose of cold water in the face to finally come to their senses. I understand and applaud a positive attitude. But Ukraine does NOT have a positive attitude. Its “political elite” consists of thugs who are only intent on prolonging their thievery and their power. Obama’s pap is very nice in a society that already has its democratic norms established, with close public scrutiny and – representation of the people. In Ukraine, the Parliament represents only the oligarchs that are in it. The people have learned to get AROUND the government. And they are severely disappointed with the failure of Yushchenko to carry out the promises of the Orange Revolution.

Those are the facts. Obama has nothing to do with it. Unless he can step into Ukraine and help somehow.

By: dlw

dlw — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 18:32:17 +0000

with all due respect, Elmer, on a 4th anniversary of the start of the OR, it may be wise for Taras Kuzio to focus on the promises/hopes of the past, rather than the many recent disappointments.

There’s good psychology behind that, as illustrated by Obama’s promised approach to help unify the US across its cultural gap.
dlw

By: elmer

elmer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:24:15 +0000

With all due respect, it seems to me that the people in Ukraine remember very well what Yushchenko promised – and what he failed to deliver. It’s reflected in current opinion polls, which reflect a staggering negative rating of more than 80%. Ukrainian Pravda, the Kyiv Post, Zerkalo Nedeli and other newspapers openly discuss Yushchenko’s failure to deal with corruption, his reliance on a thug like Baloha as head of the presidential secratariat, and his SUPPORT of corruption, although they don’t characterize it as support, when it comes to people like Firtash and RosUkrEnergo and Akhmetov and the Vanco Prykerchenska Black Sea offshore drilling episode.

Why should journalists bother asking a question to which everyone already knows the answer? Instead of carrying out the platforms that were promised in the Orange Revolution, Yushchenko made a deal with the Party of Regions, which sought to prolong the Kuchma-like oligarch system.

There was huge disillusionment back then, when he sacked Tymoshenko – and then made the deal with the Party of Regions.

People’s disillusionment only increased after that.