Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko – 7 Years Gaol …
- October 12th, 2011
- Posted by EUEditor
Old habits die hard in Ukraine; the former Prime Minister defeated at elections last year, Yulia Tymoshenko, has been gaoled on charges of abuse of power while in office.
“This is an authoritarian regime!â€, she called out in the court room as the guilty verdict and seven-year sentence were pronounced.
Ms Tymoshenko was a leader of the “Orange Revolution†that displaced the regime of the former Soviet leader, Viktor Yanukovyeh, in 2004; a movement that later began to fragment under the stress of holding office.
Her most prominent accuser ha been Viktor Yanukovyeh, back in power as the head of government.
As Prime Minister she made an agreement with Russia on the purchase of natural gas and its transit through Ukraine to the European Union, ending a chain of paralysing stoppages – and the machinations involved in that deal became the subject of the charges laid against her, once driven into opposition.
A major player in Ukrainian affairs, the Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, commented that he had no sympathy for Ms Tymoshenko’s efforts to integrate Ukraine with the West, but he was concerned about possible damage to the agreement that she made on the gas issue.
Observers in Western Europe were calling the gaol sentence a political move and protestors were immediately out on the streets in Kiev.
See EUAustralia Online: “Putin returning to top-dog spotâ€, 26.9.11; “New law to protect Winter gas flowâ€, 26.9.10; “Change in Ukraineâ€, 10.2.10; “EU sour about gas crisisâ€, 26.1.09.
Reference
Reuters, London, “Jailing of Ukraine ex-PM ‘dangerous’: Putinâ€, 11.10.11. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/11/us-ukraine-putin-idUSTRE79A3LI20111011, (12.10.11).
Ellen Barry, “Ukraine’s Tymoshenko Jailed for Seven Yearsâ€, NYT, NY, 11.10.11. NYT NY http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/12/world/europe/yulia-tymoshenko-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-prison.html, (12.10.11).
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