Former vice prime minister called in for questioning

The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc reported that former Vice Prime Minister Oleksandr Turchynov had been called in for questioning yesterday by the Security Service of Ukraine. Brad Wells:  Turchynov’s summons follow former Economy Minister Bogdan Danylyshyn being placed on Interpol’s wanted list on August 28 and the arrests of the former head of Ukraine’s customs service and a deputy head of Naftogaz of Ukraine this summer. The crackdown has so far targeted only officials that served in Tymoshenko’s government in 2007-2010. With the opposition leaders as unable to rally around a single point, much as they failed to do while in power, popular support for the government’s heavy handed policies is subsiding. An estimated 6,000 opposition supporters protested outside of Ukraine’s parliament as it opened its fall session on Tuesday, riled by repressive measures against the media, the rewriting of Ukrainian textbooks to de-emphasize the Orange Revolution, controversial government appointments and the government’s rapprochement with Russia. A recent public opinion poll by the Razumkov Center (Aug. 10-14) showed that only 22.5% of Ukrainians supported President Yanukovych in August, down from 39.7% in May, and 27.0% supported the pro-presidential Party of Regions, down from 41.0% in May.