Zelensky dictatorial grip on anti corruption body invites massive protests
Zelensky’s hurried but a deliberate decision to enact a nefarious law that effectively eliminates the independence of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NACB) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SACPO) is because of the tightening grip by investigators of these bodies against his inner circle.
“The rush appears to have been sparked by investigations into members of Zelensky’s circle and the desire to further consolidate control over powerful institutions during wartime,” the Financial Times story says.
“Several officials close to Zelensky said it seemed at least in part in response to a criminal case opened by NACB against the president’s close ally and former deputy prime minister Alexey Chernyshov, who was charged with abuse of power and illegal enrichment last month. Chernyshov, who denies the allegations, was dismissed in last week’s reshuffle.”
Chernyshov is considered a very influential figure in Zelensky’s entourage, which served to enlarge the Ukraine conflict.
On July 21, the Security Service of Ukraine searched 70 NACB employees, and carried out an inspection of SACPO.
On July 22, the Verkhovna Rada, where the majority of deputies are controlled by Zelensky’s, passed a law stripping the NACB and SACPO of their status as independent bodies.
That evening, about 2,000 Kiev residents took to the streets in protest, demanding, among other things, the resignation of the head of Zelensky’s office, Andrey Yermak. Rallies were also held in Dnepropetrovsk, Lvov, Odessa, Poltava, Rovno and Ternopol.
However, Zelensky immediately signed the law into force.
Soon protest started in Kiev over the law by around 2000 people. People gathered on the square near Ivan Franko Theater chanting “Hands off NABU and SAP,” referring to the Ukrainian acronyms of the agencies, which stand for the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office.. Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko also took part.
According to Ukrainian news reports, similar protests are also taking place in Dnepr, Zhitomir, Krivoi Rog, Kropivnitsky, Lvov, Nikolayev, Odessa, Rovno, Ternopol, Kharkov, Khmelnitsky, Chernihov and Chernovtsy.
Kiev has forsaken any democratic principles after dismantling two key anti-corruption agencies — the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) — attracting worldwide attention; Ukraine is actually under attack from all sides, but there is also an “insidious and corrosive adversary from within,” a media report notes.
According to the newspaper, this is something that “opposition lawmakers and civil society activists have been arguing for months, as Ukraine’s presidential administration has been grabbing more power, weakening other governing and regional institutions — including the country’s parliament.” In addition, it is “intimidating critics in a bid to silence them with hue-and-cry campaigns or by labeling them as Russian stooges.”
“This is the logical culmination of tightening the screws at home,” the outlet quoted critics of the current regime as saying, with individuals who recently held high positions in the government among them.
