2w ago

Ukraine's parliament passes bill destroying independence of key anti-corruption bodies

UPDATE: Zelensky signs law destroying independence of Ukraine's key anti-corruption bodies

The Ukrainian parliament on July 22 approved amendments that effectively destroy the independence of Ukraine's two key anti-corruption institutions, according to opposition lawmakers and watchdogs.

The legislation grants the prosecutor general new powers over investigations led by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and cases led by the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAPO).

The step comes as Ukrainian authorities ramp up pressure against the two agencies established as part of the anti-graft reforms after the EuroMaidan Revolution.

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It's good that this kind of news is being shared sometimes.
Ukraine has the right to defend itself, but it still is a corrupt state and not a democracy. Even since before the invasion, they've banned political organisations and parties and heavily interfered with any anti-corruption efforts.
- Ukraine's status as a new democracy and the country's obvious path toward democratic freedom was exactly the major reason why Russia started the invasion of Ukraine in 2014. The Kremlin doesn't want Russians to see that there is an alternative, freer system than Moscow's autocratic government.
  [Edit typo.]
  
  That is not reality.
  2014 did not turn Ukraine into any more of a democracy. Ukraine has as previously switched between pro-Russian and pro-Western leaders. The 2014 revolution was simply an end to that with a pro-Western win (for now).
  Russia invaded Crime and annexed it in 2014 without military conflict between the sides. The actual war between Russia and Ukraine started only 2022.
  The reason for Russia's invasion had nothing to do with democracy and internal politics in Russia. The reasons were first maintaining their naval bases on Crime and with that possible domination of the Black Sea. Then not wanting a pro-Western government ruling in Ukraine, preferring a pro-Russian one. After the war started another goal of directly annexing eastern parts of Ukraine became a reason. Ukraine gave them a simple pre-text for this invasion and annexation of territories by militarily cracking down on protests that continued in Eastern Ukraine after the Maiden revolution.
  The conflict has nothing to do with political systems or ideological. It's a conflict of spheres of influence and control over neighbouring countries.
- Ukraine is still a democracy. There are varying degrees of freedom and stability obviously but the underlying system is there.
  
  The revolution didn't magically wipe out oligarchs and corruption. Ukraine is still an oligarchy, not a democracy. Do we not remember that before Zelenskyy, there was Poroshenko, a literal oligarch?
  We shouldn't whitewash history as it's happening, just because someone is on the right side.
European countries have to stop this. Corruption will certainly hamper Ukraine's ability to defend itself, and likely end up with corrupt officials pocketing Europeans aid money.
- from what I've read, the issue with corruption is EXACTLY the reason why this law was set in place.
  masses of cases against all kinds of politicians, police and the latter, cases that remain open and unresolved for years - that's not really efficient. Plus it seemed the "independent" agency was heavily influenced by russian agents themselves.
  However another change/alteration is already being proposed. To me, it looks like an attempt to get rid of these inside jobs and russian influence. A clumsy attempt, but as long as people are able and allowed to protest, are being heard and talked to, we're on a good path for a free democracy. Anything even remotely similar to that would be unthinkable in russia or even hungary...
  
  I can't see your optimism as anything but wholly unfounded. An anti-corruption agency that's not independent cannot do its job, full stop.
  A clumsy attempt, but as long as people are able and allowed to protest, are being heard and talked to, we're on a good path for a free democracy.
  And how do you think free democracies devolve into authoritarianism if not for corruption?
Last year, the Journal of Nonprofit Innovation published an analysis on Russian corruption and how it's spreading a to its neighbours:
As corruption runs rampant within the Russian government, neighboring countries are also recipients of corrupt efforts to destabilize their governments, erode their democracy and jeopardize the support these neighboring countries can give to the security of Europe as a whole [...] There is an increasing need for the international community to take proactive measures to combat the corruption of Russia that creeps into their own lands and support the Russian people in securing a free land of their own [...]
- really, do you want to say these anti-anti-corruption efforts in Ukraine are actually spreading from Russia, of all places?
  
  @bungalowtill@lemmy.dbzer0.com
  FYI, there is a lot of research and evidence of "strategic corruption", meaning that a a government weaponizes corrupt practices as a tenet of its foreign policy, ranging from Germany's far-right politician Petr Bystron who has been accused of receiving money from Russia in return for influence to Russian links to corruption in Moldova (pdf) and Russia’s corruption-themed propaganda war against Ukraine that said, for example:
  Russian state-sponsored strategic corruption campaign is almost certainly Ukraine. For the two decades preceding Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Russia employed a wide variety of corrupt measures to influence Ukrainian politics, including the sale of vast quantities of discounted fossil fuels to bribe pro-Russian Ukrainian oligarchs and create a political class aligned with Kremlin interests [...]
  You'll find much more. There is really a lot of evidence.

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