In many ways Ukraine is riding high at the moment. Despite the economic catastrophe in Russia, Ukraine has remained relatively unscathed and looks like avoiding the sort of meltdown that is wreaking havoc upon its neighbor.
Another important head of state – the president of France – has paid a visit to Ukraine and, like other leaders before him, has fulsomely applauded Ukraine and said it must assert its position in Europe. President Leonid Kuchma has expressed confidence that Ukraine will get a crucial International Monetary Fund loan.
So it is sad that the Ukrainian Government is launching a libel case against two of its prominent critics, former Justice Minister Serhy Holovaty and the head of the My think tank, Serhy Odarych, who was wounded in a shooting attack recently.
The libel case looks like a thinly-veiled device to prevent Holovaty and another anti-Kuchma candidate from being able to take part in elections to the Ukrainian Parliament. It is a bad move which smacks of Soviet despotism and cronyism and will damage Ukraine's attempts to portray itself as a democratic country.
Perhaps Holovaty, Odarych and the other parliamentary candidate, Yury Orobets, have been immoderate in some of the accusations they have leveled at the Kuchma administration. But repressing them will only add credence to their accusations and will needlessly harm Ukraine's international reputation.
