MoldovAnn

While all my NPR and BBC podcasts are focused on Iran, we are in the midst of our own little political mess in Ukraine. Prime Minister Yanukovych has been wooing Parliamentarians to leave their coalition with the President’s party and join his own in an attempt to get a kind of “super majority” that would allow his coalition to override any Presidential vetoes. It is widely rumored that he has actually been paying people to join his coalition, and figures like $10 million (yes, that’s ten million U.S. dollars) have been bandied about as the going price. This is very clearly an unconstitutional maneuver, as the constitution requires a Parliamentarian to remain with his/her party with which he/she was elected throughout his/her term in office.

There were big rallies over the weekend by both camps, with some Yulia Timoshenko thrown into to really get folks riled up. Thousands of people have been bussed into the city, and most seem to be living in Markinsky Park, next to the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council). It is rumored that the PM’s party, called the Party of Regions, is paying people to demonstrate and “show their support” for the PM.

Monday night, President Yushenko dissolved Parliament on the grounds that the PM’s actions are unconstitutional. My colleagues tell me the constitution spells a few very specific cases when the President can actually dissolve Parliament, and the current situation doesn’t seem to fall under any of those categories. The Prime Minister has refused to acknowledge the dissolution, and Parliament claims to be going about its usual merry business of not doing much at all. However, it will be interesting to see how the Constitutional Court decides this case, given the unconstitutional actions of the PM.

On Sunday Igor and I walked by Marinskiy Park, where tents were set up and hundreds (maybe even thousands) of people were milling about. My office is about 1 block from Marinsky Park, 2 blocks from the Verkhovna Rada (Supreme Council), 3 blocks from the President’s office, and a 7-minute walk from Independence Square. We’ve been watching the crowds, listening to the rallies, and getting stuck in the traffic jams. Monday afternoon I went for a walk through the expansive park, mostly because I wanted to enjoy the wonderful weather, but also to do some rubber-necking and see what’s going on. People looked tired. Many were setting up picnics. Lots of police were milling about, and at the back of the park were parked lots of buses – some full of sleeping soldiers and policemen. They are working ’round the clock. In my typical pragmatic fashion, I was wondering where all those people were, well, you know, going. Then I saw 2 rows of Port-o-Potties behind a building. Actually, I smelled them, and then I saw them.

I had a chuckle when a friend of mine working in Afghanistan IM’d me on Monday to check if I am OK. I had to chuckle at the irony. The worst thing that seems to have happened so far is that all the shops around here are completely sold out of everything. These are Ukrainians, I told her, generally pretty nice people. Except for in stores, or the post office, or in any kind of service job. Besides, why get violent on the streets when you can just take someone out, in front of the courthouse, in broad daylight.