My TexT CrItIqUe!!!

Ukraine torn by broken promises
(An article about the first year of the victory of Orange Revolution and the Presidence of Viktor Yuschenko)

Viktor Andreevich Yuschenko worked his way through the banking industry and into politics, culminating in his election in December 2004 as President of Ukraine. He attained the presidency after a brutal election campaign in 2004 including hospitalization for dioxin poisoning (under suspicious circumstances), the Orange Revolution, and three rounds of voting. Stephen Mulvey, the author of the article “Ukraine torn by broken promises” published on BBC News on 31 October 2005, mades the analysis and the criticize about the first year of Yuschenko as president of Ukraine. The essential point of the author has of writing this article was to describe how disappointed feel the Ukrainians respect Yuschenko politics after the `honey moon´ that Orange Revolution seems to be and the promises that slowly have been forgotten and begun to dispel the illusion of the Ukrainian town. It’s opportune to remember that after leading this revolution Yuschenko became president. This article is especially targeted to the people who live in Ukraine to realize what has their president done since he was positioned in aim to conclude their predecessor's corrupt government and start a “real democracy” for Ukraine.

The article begins making a description about how people deposited their hopes with the change that Yuschenko’s government assured. They believed that corruption will be eliminated with his ascent to the power, but the promises were unfulfilled and they felt unsatisfied and betrayed by the man that one day promised them to change the irregularities, seems now to become that against what he strongly fought, he even risked his life for a cause that after a year of command, begins to get lost among labyrinths: “I am disappointed. All governments are the same, everyone just wants power” says one person consulted by Mulvey. The author emphasizes the close relations of the president and the tycoons- one of them is godparent of his son- to buy influences, specifically by providing his son expensive gifts like BMW and luxury flats. Besides, the article shows how the key Yuschenko - Tymoschenko (the ex-prime minister), slowly got broken and the financial problems that force she to left the charge in September 2005.

Ukraine torn by broken promises accentuates and calls the attention not only that despite a pledge to separate business from politics, Mr Yushchenko's first administration included prominent business tycoons, but also accusations against members of his family, like his nephew, who became deputy of Kharkiv at a very young age, also his son-in-law who took over a corrugated iron factory when its previous boss - a friend of the family - was appointed minister of industry. Although this scandals and accusations are serious and relevant indeed, there are lots of reasons to Ukrainians feels disappointed during the Yuschenko’s administration, especially the messes of business and politics; but these are the specific weaknesses of this government: Price rises and slowing economic growth ,the increasing size of bribes demanded by middle-ranking officials, a justice minister (now replaced) who exaggerated his qualifications, continued failure to find the killers of a beheaded journalist found decapitated in 2000, the granting of immunity from prosecution to local councillors and reports of campaign funding from a Russian oligarch.

In general, Stephen Mulvey does a good job, because he doesn’t just give his opinion, but he supports it with examples and the most important: with the points of view of the Ukrainian citizens, who finally, are the principal affected with Yuschenko’s politics. He lets them express their feelings, frustrations and commentaries, and he questions the change of the president's attitude towards their enemies and allies.

The only failing through the book is that the author adds precipitate trials of value, because although it is certain that Yuschenko doesn't have a leaf of very clean life, we cannot make sure that its government has not changed some things for well and it is just based on irregularities, those things will be known only with the time and the investigations.

In my opinion, if Mulvey focus a little bit on gather more proofs and to expose more arguments like the ones he exposed with more opinions but not just to one side, he will convince, because the article in some way looks tendentious, so I think he has to consult official and reliable sources to make a worth and well-built article.

Stephen Mulvey provides a very good article about the irregularities and the effects that the power is exerting on Yuschenko, the unknown future of an incipient Republic as Ukraine, and the demands to hear the people’s voice, because, after all, without them the Orange Revolution would never succeed.