Sunday, September 17, 2006

Did politics kill Yerokhin?

An English translation of an original Russian language article on the 'Ostrov' website - 'Did politics kill Yerokhin?' gives a possible explanation why Roman Yerokhin, a Ministry of the Interior senior organized crime investigator was murdered, and why this crime may never be solved.

What a tangled story it is.. [the original Russian piece is just as bad].

Yerokhin was considered to be a 'Vladimir Malyshev man'. Malyshev is now a PoR deputy and security director of Akmetov's huge S.C.M., but was at one time head of the Donetsk oblast militia.

Yerokhin, before he was murdered, was trying to 'shake down' Sh., a BYuT VR deputy and the main suspect in this crime, while at the same time working for Minister of the Interior Yuriy Lutsenko.

Below is a bit from the article [which I've tidied up]

"Then Sh. makes the decision to ‘sort out' the militiaman [Yerokhin]. Additional arguments [that help Sh, to make the decision were] the discredited Yuri Lutsenko wouldn’t be long in his chair, and the Prosecutor-General [could be relied on] to close the case.

We see, in order for the [Donetsk] authorities to provide cover, or maybe because he had no organizational experience [in such matters], Sh. turned to an old acquaintance - a PoR deputy; and he helps to organize the 'business'. It's hardly likely that the latter acted without approval [from above] - in some groups in the Regional's fraction there is rigid discipline, and any such serious questions are referred to the leaders of the groups.
So, one can only a guess that the militiaman's execution was authorized [in order for it to be used] for political purposes...The Yerokin case enables attacks to be launched against both Tymoshenko and Lutsenko..."

Several days ago, PoR deputy Eduard Prutnik was elected head of of the State Committee on TV and Radio Broadcasting in a vote in the VR.

Prutnik is a 34 year old high-flier. He has served as the deputy head of the Donetsk oblast council, was an adviser to Yanukovych during his first spell as PM, and has served on the supervisory council of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine. Yanukovych 'regards him almost as a son.' He is linked in various capacities to well over a dozen large industrial, media, and financial enterprises.

He was allegedly deeply involved in the 2004 Presidential election falsifications, together with Klyuyev, Levenets, Medvedchuk, Lyovochkin, and Kivalov.

Such a overtly politically active person should not be in charge of the State Committee on TV and Radio Broadcasting - particularly after the crude manipulation of the media and 'shut out' of Presidential candidate Yushchenko during the last months of President Kuchma's administration, which many Ukrainians citizens found so sickening.

But what is most astonishing is that out of 416 deputies present in the Verkhovna Rada, of the 244 voted for Prutnik - 17 were from the supposed opposition, BYuT...

No moral fibre..

1 comment:

DLW said...

It sounds like it is going to take serious and sustained outsider money to foster real reforms, as elections are too infrequent and too easily manipulable.

dlw