"Ukraine is threatened by civil war and split"

This week promises to be hot in Ukraine. Today, supporters of the coalition and the government are resuming demonstrations on the Maidan, demanding the cancellation of President Viktor Yushchenko’s decree on the dissolution of the Rada and holding early elections on May 27. And ten meters from the “blue and white”, on European Square, on April 11, the “orange” will begin an open-ended protest under the slogan “Down with Radu!”

Yesterday, at an emergency meeting, parliament called on the president to cancel the dissolution decree in order to prevent civil conflict. Otherwise, deputies will initiate early presidential elections and a referendum on the country’s accession to NATO. The Rada also condemned the president’s visits to the constitutional court, which is supposed to render a verdict on the legality of the presidential decree, calling it “shameless pressure on the court in front of the entire society.” In an interview with Vremya Novostei, deputy Vasily KHARA, deputy leader of the Party of Regions faction, spoke about the situation in Ukraine and gave his forecast.

-- The President considers his decree mandatory for execution by all government bodies. What are the motives of parliament and government that refused to obey the decree?

--Articles 19 and 60 of the constitution prohibit the execution of criminal orders or decrees under threat of criminal and administrative penalties. The presidential decree was adopted in violation of the constitution and is criminal because it leads to a change in the political system, to a coup. The president does not even refer to Article 90 of the constitution, which provides only three reasons for the dissolution of parliament: within a month after the elections, the parliament did not form a coalition, it could not meet for 30 days, and two months after the resignation of the old government, the coalition did not form a new one. There is not a single reason for the dissolution of the Rada.

The president, violating the constitution, is trying to return the “orange” to power in order to then expand his powers. In March, Yulia Tymoshenko introduced a bill calling for the repeal of the constitutional reform that limited the power of the president. For this carrot, the president promises her the position of prime minister after the re-elections.

-- Parliament refuses to implement the presidential decree until a decision on its legality is made by the Constitutional Court (CC). Are you sure that the decision will be in your favor?

- If the Constitutional Court is guided by the rules of law, then even with ardent love for the president it will not be able to confirm the legality of his decree. The very fact that the head of the Constitutional Court recently submitted his resignation due to pressure from the president and intimidation of judges speaks of his decency. The President understands what kind of adventure he has gotten himself into, so he demands that the judges, for political reasons, recognize his decree as valid. But the court must be out of politics.

- Yushchenko recently said that this government is putting pressure on the Constitutional Court...

“We don’t need to put pressure on anything, since we don’t even doubt the criminality of the decree even by half a percent!” We are confident that the Constitutional Court will cancel the unconstitutional decree, with which the president will be forced to agree. If the verdict of the Constitutional Court is sewn with “white threads”, we, as law-abiding citizens, will sit down at the negotiating table with the president. The final decision regarding our participation in early elections will be made after negotiations.

— If the president suspends his decree until the Constitutional Court’s verdict is delivered, are you ready to negotiate to postpone early elections?

- We have a parliamentary-presidential republic, and one person cannot dictate his will to the population of an entire country. We are ready to revise laws with which the president is dissatisfied, but within the limits of his powers after the constitutional reform, so that he does not become a dictator. As for early elections, we will not agree to that! At the last meeting of the political council of the Party of Regions, in the presence of 95% of the leaders of regional party organizations, it was once again confirmed that we will not take part in this adventure! Political scoundrels want to drag us into early elections, but we will not succumb to provocations. In accordance with Articles 81 and 90 of the constitution, the powers of deputies are suspended on the day of the first meeting of the parliament of the new convocation. So the current parliament is legitimate, although the presidential secretariat claims the opposite.

-- The President, under threat of criminal liability, demanded that Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych comply with the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) on financing early elections. The prime minister refused. What if the president fires the prime minister?

-- The President and the National Security and Defense Council cannot command the Cabinet of Ministers or dismiss it, since in accordance with the constitution the government is subordinate to parliament. Parliament prohibited the government from financing elections.

But who is breaking the law is the Presidential Secretariat, a structure usually similar to the office for preparing documents. But in Ukraine, this secretariat illegally expands its powers, trying to speed up early elections and issuing illegal commands to judges, regional police departments, and the Central Election Commission. On the eve of the last meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, the president was offered to dismiss the government as well, appointing an acting Prime Minister Yuri Yekhanurov instead of Viktor Yanukovych. At the last minute, the president abandoned this so as not to cause a storm of popular indignation.

-- In Russia, the confrontation between the parliament and the president in 1993 ended in the use of force. Is this likely in Kyiv?

— Ukraine is not Russia, as former President Leonid Kuchma said. And it’s not 1993. But I do not rule out that a state of emergency will be introduced, and the special forces of the Security Council of Ukraine and the troops will be given the order to seize the Rada and the government. In the event of the use of force and bloodshed, Ukraine faces a civil war and a split along the Dnieper - into the Right Bank and Left Bank parts. Western Ukraine will remain with President Yushchenko, the rest will live with the current Rada until 2011. We don't hold on to Galicia - we feed them. After all, Donbass provides 25% of GDP, and they call us bandits and Muscovites.

Both Tymoshenko and Yushchenko are instruments of US interests, which want to drag Ukraine into NATO even at the cost of the “Yugoslav” option! South-eastern Ukraine will not allow such a scenario. Neither we nor our children will go under NATO! Donbass not only treats Russians well, but considers them brothers!

-- The Rada and the coalition control part of the security forces of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Prosecutor General's Office. Is forceful action possible on the part of the coalition?

-- The Prosecutor General does not have the authority to evaluate presidential decrees. Theoretically, if the president allows himself lawlessness such as the use of force, there should be some political expediency to protect the country from lawlessness. I would suggest that the Rada, at the suggestion of the Prosecutor General, deprive the immunity of deputies who call for the overthrow of the constitutional order, placing them under house arrest. Although the law does not provide for such measures against the president, the impeachment procedure is also not prescribed.

Interviewed by Svetlana STEPANENKO, Kyiv