Ukraine rejects concerns of West over trial of former PM

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT Viktor Yanukovich has rejected western concerns that the trial of opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko is politically motivated, amid fears that the case could damage Kiev’s bid for closer ties with the European Union.

French officials summoned Ukraine’s ambassador to Paris yesterday to express their worries over the trial of Ms Tymoshenko for alleged abuse of power when she was prime minister, echoing concerns raised by Washington, several EU states and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

“I cannot and will not interfere in the work of the courts,” Mr Yanukovich said in a statement yesterday. “The Ukrainian judicial system is independent and without prejudice and is guided solely by the constitution and laws of Ukraine. Political or any kind of interference in the work of the court is unacceptable.”

Mr Yanukovich has been at loggerheads with Ms Tymoshenko since she helped to lead the 2004 Orange Revolution, which annulled his fraudulent election “victory” and swept her into power as prime minister alongside President Viktor Yushchenko and a staunchly pro-western administration.

Constant squabbling between the supposed allies stymied reform and undermined Ukraine’s push for greater integration with the West, however, allowing the more Moscow-friendly Mr Yanukovich to mount a comeback and beat Ms Tymoshenko in a presidential election last year.

Several former officials in Ms Tymoshenko’s government have been charged with crimes since Mr Yanukovich and his party came to power, and she is accused of exceeding her authority by signing an allegedly damaging gas deal with Russia in 2009.

She denies the charges.

“Not one of the current judicial processes involving former officials is, and cannot be, politically motivated,” Mr Yanukovich insisted. “I am responsible for this personally, as guarantor of the Ukrainian constitution.”

Many Ukrainians, as well foreign officials, wonder why Ms Tymoshenko and her allies are being prosecuted while Ukraine’s murky oligarchs – many of whom are allegedly close to Mr Yanukovich – continue to do business and wield huge influence without any legal difficulties.

“We urge that Ms Tymoshenko’s incarceration be reviewed and consideration be given to her immediate release,” a US state department spokesman said this week.

Crowds gather daily outside the Kiev courthouse where she is being tried to protest against the case, which is deepening a national split between her stronghold in western Ukraine and Mr Yanukovich’s power base in the east.