No one can question the true nature of this regime. According to Freedom House reports, some time between 2010 to 2011, Ukraine moved from being ‘free’ to just ‘partly free’. The Economist Intelligence Unit registered a slide from ‘flawed democracy’ (2010) to ‘hybrid regime’ (2011-2012).
Open Democracy: Out of harm’s way
Former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for abusing her power while in office. The EU has asked that she be released before signing Association and Free Trade agreements with Ukraine.
Those European leaders who connect the EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement with the fate of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko are doing Ukrainian’s democrats a huge disservice. No doubt, their subtle hints and explicit statements are driven by good intentions. Tymoshenko’s seven year sentence for abuse of power was clearly politically-motivated; and the reopening of the long-dormant murder case, in which Tymoshenko now appears to be one of the main suspects, vividly demonstrates the growing paranoia of Viktor Yanukovych’s regime.
