Ukraine parliament to vote on Tymoshenko release bill today

Ukraine’s parliamentary majority will vote on a bill at today’s session that will set the conditions allowing for imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko to travel abroad for medical treatment, the Kommersant-Ukraine newspaper reported on October 24, citing an anonymous MP of the ruling Party of Regions. The bill to be approved – submitted by independent MP Serhiy Mishchenko – doesn’t nullify Tymoshenko’s conviction on abuse of authority charges, as demanded by Ukraine’s opposition and the EU.

Among its main provisions is a grace period in Tymoshenko’s prison sentence that enables undergoing medical treatment but doesn’t reduce the seven-year term. It requires a judge to rule on the conditions of Ms. Tymoshenko’s release rather than the president deciding. Opposition leaders said they won’t support the bill, which doesn’t involve a pardon for Tymoshenko.

Serhiy Vlasenko, Tymoshenko’s lead defense attorney, told Deutsche Welle on October 23 that the partial pardon proposal offered by the diplomatic mission led by former European Parliament Chair Pat Cox and former Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski is the “minimum compromise” that will enable Tymoshenko “to become a free person.” Moreover, even if a clause in the partial pardon precludes Tymoshenko from being involved in upcoming elections, Tymoshenko will still attempt to gain that right through the courts. “It will mean that that part of the verdict will remain legally formalized and she will continue to fight it in international and European institutions,” he said.

Arseniy Yatsenyuk, parliamentary faction chair of the Fatherland party, told the 5 Kanal television network on October 23 that he supports holding trilateral negotiations to resolve the conflict involving the administration of President Viktor Yanukovych, the parliamentary opposition and the Cox-Kwasniewski mission representing the EU. “That’s not supposed to be a cynical game of ‘who’s guilty,’ but work towards a result that foresees Tymoshenko’s release and signing of the Association Agreement,” he said.

The European Parliament voted on October 23 to recommend the signing of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement if the Ukrainian government meets all its requirements. The resolution called for parts of the agreement to be implemented immediately, after which the ratification process will begin. The resolution criticized the Ukrainian government for failing to resolve its case of selective justice involving Tymoshenko, as well as insufficient electoral, judicial and prosecutorial reforms.

Zenon Zawada: We expect this stalemate between the conflicting sides to drag until the very last minute, or November 18, when the EU Foreign Affairs Council has to decide on whether to sign the agreement. It’s significant that Vlasenko said that Tymoshenko’s open to the partial pardon proposal that would preclude her involvement in Ukrainian political life for three years. We are not placing our hopes on a pardon from the president, but we see his statement as hope for flexibility on all sides involved that will result in a legislative compromise being reached.

Yatsenyuk’s proposal for trilateral negotiations is reminiscent of the talks involving diplomats (including Kwasniewski) of December 2004 during the Orange revolts. Indeed that’s a good indication of how tense the situation is and how much is at stake.