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Opinion
October 5, 2018 www.intellinews.com I Page 23
perpetrators have faced justice. Police also failed to provide protection for activists and prevent fur- ther attacks, like in the case of Sternenko who has been attacked three times in just the last year.
The chain of attacks in Odesa make Ukrainians especially nervous. Ukrainian MP Mustafa Nayem even wrote on his Facebook page that “we are los- ing Odesa”. Even if his comment might seem too emotional, there are real grounds to fear for the activists working in Odesa. Back in spring 2014 Odesa and the region saw attempt by pro-Russian sympathisers to play out a Donbas scenario by agitating for violent secession from the rest of the country.
Human rights advocate Oleksandra Matviychuk says there can be several explanations for the outbreak of violence in the region. Since most
of victims were investigating cases of illegal construction and illegally repurposed land use, the attacks could be the personal revenge of Odesa’s mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov on the activ- ists. Trukhanov is believed to have close ties with the regional mafia. NABU and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO) have serious grounds to suspect him of looting state- owned property and running corrupt schemes.
But personal revenge is not the only possible explanation. The most worrying version is that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies aren’t able to provide lasting security in the region that was so vulnerable just a few years ago — especially since all the victims also have a pro-Ukrainian position. This sends a very troubling signal for the activist community, but can also influence the general mood in the region. Luckily, it seems Kyiv
has understood that. On September 25, the Na- tional Police and National Guard announced they will intensify patrols on Odesa streets to prevent further assaults.
On September 27 a protest “Silence kills” took place outside the presidential administration
in Kyiv. Although President Petro Poroshenko himself was in the US at the UN meeting, it didn’t stop many people from joining the demonstration. Among those who took part in this protest were also some victims of the previous attacks. They claim that the responsibility for the outbreak
of violence against activists lies also with
the authorities and the impotence of the law enforcement system. In general, both police and the prosecutor’s office have reacted to certain events only if public opinion was pressing them to do so. As long as there is pressure, the authorities work fast and try to show quick results. But this is the case with only a few high profile attacks. The rest that happened this year went unnoticed and with very modest investigation results.
Protesters are demanding the prompt and effective investigation of criminal cases of physical attacks on activists and a public
report on the progress at every stage of the investigation. They also hope that the president will finally admit there is indeed a problem and take it under his personal control. 55 attacks on activists in one year is a lot. Whether those were cases of revenge, attempts to prevent their work or a planned wave of violence, the Ukrainian authorities should address those issues and not let Ukraine become a state where being an active citizen means your life is in danger.