Posted on 12/31/2022 9:35:11 AM PST by Kazan
Zelensky chose the latter and followed the path of strengthening personal power. Today, the executive branch represented by the Office of the President is employing the NSDC (National Security and Defense Council) to control of all other branches of government in the country. The president’s party has an absolute majority in the Verkhovna Rada, which provides the president with control over the legislative branch of government. Since the parliament forms the government, it also controls the Cabinet of Ministers.
A certain problem for the president was the independence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine. But in the end, he solved it: Zelensky issued a decree that supervened his predecessor’s on the appointment of two judges of the Constitutional Court, and one of them was the Chairman of the Court. Ukrainian law does not provide for such a way of dismissing a judge. It is as though President Joe Biden overturned the decisions on the appointment of two U.S. Supreme Court justices nominated by Donald Trump to alter the balance of power in the Court in favor of liberal-minded judges. As a result, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine is stymied.
Similarly, Zelensky began to battle the political opposition. The decisions of the National Security and Defense Council—put into effect by presidential decrees—imposed sanctions against a number of Ukrainian individuals and legal entities. It was done ignoring the direct constitutional prohibition to impose sanctions against Ukrainian citizens. These sanctions involve the extrajudicial seizure of property without any evidence of illegal activities of the relevant individuals and legal entities. Three Ukrainian TV channels were among those sanctioned. The proof that we are talking about a politically motivated illegal decision is that when the journalists of these channels created a new one, it was disconnected from broadcasting just an hour after the start, this time without any presidential decrees.
The policy of Zelensky is destructive for the country not only because he is concentrating power in his hands ignoring the law—thereby destroying those very modest achievements in democratic development that once existed in Ukraine—but also because it undermines the foundations of civil harmony. Zelensky will likely need to rely increasingly on the forceful suppression of all resistance and dissidence.
The religious policy of the state is also divisive and aimed at providing benefits to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) created in 2018 by Poroshenko and Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople. At the same time, pressure is being exerted on on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—the largest of the Ukrainian confessions—to the extent of condoning the hostile takeover of churches and the beating of priests and church members.
I don’t give a damn about defending democracy. When Putin rolls over the Baltic states, Poland and Moldova as well as threatening Western Europe we may give a damn about that.
Your use of the word “banned” in this case is misleading. People who were openly supportive of Russian occupation have been killed. And no, the article is quite accurate and unlike your post is supported by numerous links. I am grateful that American Thinker is still able to post articles that contradict the hopelessly flawed narrative put out by Biden and the Democrats that you haplessly attempt to defend.
There will come a time when each of us will go online, and none of us will be able to find each other, amid all the AI chatbots they will flood around all of us to recite government propaganda at us over and over, to try and make everyone think they are alone in their beliefs.
O’Biden and Zelensky have no problem continuing this war until every Ukrainian has their life sucked out of them.....with a Comedian and a Dementia Patient leading what did people expect!
China’s notorious for those.
If Putin land locks Ukraine by doing that I’m all for it!
WhenZelensky took power in 2019, his office famously said it - “doesn’t need journalists.” - Since then the Ukraine president has sought to dismantle press freedoms en masse....he signed new laws limiting the freedom of the press and new media modeled on Russia’s censorship regulations.Thus giving Zelensky the power to fine media outlets, revoke licenses, block online media without court order, and censor big tech.
He ‘combined’ all national TV channels eliminating ALL privately owned Ukrainian media outlets - so there is only one source of news in Ukraine and that is controlled by Zelensky.
We are funding a Dictator plain and simple..... Zelensky will prove in time to be a greater threat than Russia or China.
I don’t give a damn about defending democracy. When Putin rolls over the Baltic states, Poland and Moldova as well as threatening Western Europe we may give a damn about that.
All of that could be said of Franklin Roosevelt during World War II.
Countries at war often become intolerant of serious political opposition.
MarMema: "A certain problem for the president was the independence of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine."
Franklin Roosevelt also waged war against the US Supreme Court, as does our Democrat Party to this very day.
Yes, FDR lost his battle against SCOTUS, but it was a close call, and Democrats today carry-on FDR's war against justice.
MarMema: "These sanctions involve the extrajudicial seizure of property without any evidence of illegal activities of the relevant individuals and legal entities.
Three Ukrainian TV channels were among those sanctioned."
And Franklin Roosevelt famously interred hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians in American concentration camps.
Sh*t happens when countries are at war for their survival.
And while you're carping and complaining about Ukraine, what, exactly is going on inside Russia?
MarMema: "The policy of Zelensky is destructive for the country not only because he is concentrating power in his hands ignoring the law—thereby destroying those very modest achievements in democratic development that once existed in Ukraine—but also because it undermines the foundations of civil harmony.
Zelensky will likely need to rely increasingly on the forceful suppression of all resistance and dissidence."
But first and foremost, above all else, Zelensky must win his war or there will be no democracy or dissidence in Ukraine under Russian jack-boots!
How utterly insane do you have to be to think that Russian rule over Ukraine is better than Ukrainian self-government?
MarMema: "At the same time, pressure is being exerted on on the Ukrainian Orthodox Church—the largest of the Ukrainian confessions—to the extent of condoning the hostile takeover of churches and the beating of priests and church members."
My understanding is that Ukrainian actions are directed at alleged Russian agents in the Russian Orthodox church.
So, perhaps there are Russian agents also in the Ukrainian church?
Bottom line: I think it's fine for you to carp and complain about failures in Ukrainian democracy.
But only a stark raving lunatic -- or Vlad the Pute, but I repeat myself -- would wish a Russian victory and conquest of independent Ukraine.
Are you as luny as Putey?
I remember on Twitter when Ukraine handed out guns to everyone...one guy said he was going to shoot some nazis.
Just what do you think life under Ukraine was like?
Corruption everywhere, roving gangs of Nazis wrapping people up to telephone poles and taking down their pants, the homeless had tires put over their heads, Roma were tracked down and persecuted.
Pensions and salaries were not being paid. Ukraine was and still is daily shelling Donetsk and killing civilians.
The last 8 years were a civil war.
The problem with so many of you is how clueless you are.
Watch this.
https://thesaker.is/they-tell-you-that-we-are-nazis/
You are quite simply yet another brainwashed Bidenista.
You are a success for their marketing firm.
They went on an all out sell to convince people that Putin is evil, just like orange man bad.
Congratulations on supporting Biden, Romney, Pelosi and all those wonderful folk like you.
Very few cared that NATO under our lead took Kosovo away from Serbia.
Giving it to the KLA who had just the year before been labeled a terrorist group.
The new president was found to be guilty of black market organ theft of Serb pows, along with drug running and more.
But we had him as a guest at the WH.Now he is at the Hague awaiting trial I believe.
Its ok to create new annexations or countries as long as you are not Russia or China right?
Even then, why have we not freed Tibet but are stirring up Taiwan to become independent from China, even as Biden admits to One China?
Money laundering and Hunter Biden. Good stuff in the 3rd most corrupt country in the world.
This has nothing to do with the poor Ukrainians, whom we are standing in front of us so they can be butchered.
If any of that is even true, those are just the kinds of problems voters elect opposition parties to correct.
But in wartime, priorities shift to one thing and one thing only: how to defeat the invaders.
MarMewma: "The last 8 years were a civil war."
The war was launched by Russia in 2014. It was not a "civil war", it was a Russian invasion, and remains so today.
How stupid do you have to be not to see that?
I never saw any stories like that.
But, FRiend, Putin IS evil.
That is a simple, indisputable fact, as evidenced by his invasion of Ukraine.
NOTHING else matters -- since Putin invaded, HE is evil, and his troops become orcs the instant they cross the border into Ukraine.
You may remember that Hitler and Stalin were ALLIES for two years, carving up eastern Europe between them. As such, Americans had NO INTEREST in choosing Stalin over Hitler, or visa-versa.
But as soon as Hitler invaded Stalin's Soviet Empire, then our choice was clear -- we sided with Stalin because he had been invaded, unprovoked.
Only someone like yourself besotted with Russian propaganda could imagine Russians on the side of justice and Ukrainians deserving of subjugation under Russian jackboots.
The 1990s Yugoslav wars took around 140,000 lives and created 4 million refugees.
The result was at least six new countries with borders established by war and negotiations.
The Serbian population in Kosovo is only 4% and most countries recognize Kosovo as independent of Serbia.
That situation has nothing to do with Ukraine.
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