According to Nayem, the EU could help, introducing more stringent requirements, because now Ukrainian civil society alone is waging a struggle against the old elite.
“When most of those who really makes decisions in the country are still associated with the old system, the government — with the old elite, which emerged after the collapse of the Soviet Union, of course, that there is resistance to reform and their goals.”
The main objective of reforms is to get rid of corruption, reminiscent of Mustafa Nayem, who used to do investigative journalism and was a leading activist of the Maidan.
Nye said that the work of reform goes on continuously, whether it concerns the modernization of the authorities or the replacement of corruption with transparency.
But it also means that weakens the influence of vested interest businessmen, the oligarchs, politics and Economics.
“And those who now ruled the country, mostly associated with the old corrupt system. The most important reason why reforms are so slow — is the resistance of the old elite.”
The last stages are not implemented
This resistance means that the final stage often does not occur or is very slow. Nye cites as example the fight against corruption.
In Ukraine today there are independent authorities that investigate and prosecute cases concerning major cases of corruption, these bodies have earned international praise for his work.
© RIA Novosti, Alexey Vovk | go to fotobanka with the word “Oligarch Poroshenko – President of corruption and lawlessness”
But there is still no special anti-corruption court to function independently from the rest of the judicial system and political pressure.
Therefore, the case reaches the court, but there are played or they are not allowed go further, especially if it involved the interests of the oligarchs.
However, Nye believes that Ukraine still has made a big step forward if you compare it to the situation just three years ago.
The most important advancement, in his opinion, were the changes in the attitude of people towards corruption. She is no longer considered an integral part of the system and more people don’t accept it.
The problem is that, according to Nayem, the political work behind people.
“The question is not whether there is the political will to carry out all the reforms. We saw that when necessary, decisions are made quickly. We also see that the political system is now strong enough to actually lead the legislative process in action. The problem is that leaders often don’t want to muster the political will unless they are forced to do, says Nye. And, of course, there are policies, which is a big personal responsibility, including President Poroshenko. Because they are slow, although they were able to quickly make radical changes.”
To reform the shadow of war
The aim of the popular uprising at the Maidan was to get rid of the old system with its powerful oligarchs and corruption.
Why is re-elected so many politicians associated with the old system, including oligarch Petro Poroshenko, who became President?
The reasons for this, according to Nayem, the war in the East and the Russian annexation of the Crimea.
“Immediately after the independence war broke out, and people were scared and confused. The young had no experience of governing the country, especially in time of war, and those who have such experience was, saw this as his chance and offered themselves as leaders, says Nye. — Mostly all, of course, due to the fact that people were shocked and voted, thinking not so much about reforms, but about how to protect the country.”
That is what the government did, as pointed out by Nye, and, according to him, achieving a remarkable success, given the state of the Ukrainian army at the beginning of the conflict.
“I’m not saying that this government is the worst in history. On the contrary, it may well be that President Poroshenko is the best of all our presidents. But we want to compare with those who were before, not with the leaders of the old system, and with what we expect from the new leaders,” says Nye.
The development is driven by people, not politicians
According to Nayem, the success of Ukraine, primarily against corruption, was achieved thanks to civil society.
“We keep moving forward, but the development of — merit is not so much the government as civil society. Formally, the process is controlled by the political elite, but in reality most of the positive decisions taken due to pressure from the people, from the civil society.”
Although the Ukrainian civil society after the Maidan has become a very active, confident, there are plenty of competent people, but a little external support can’t hurt.
© RIA Novosti, Aleksandr Maksimenko | go to photosangelina the beginning of the events on the Kiev Maidan
According to Nayem, the EU, which supported the construction of democracy in Ukraine large amounts of money, could also help to expedite the implementation of reforms.
Nye is waiting not for more money, and more stringent requirements.
“We are very grateful for the support, including from the EU and the USA. Without you we would not have coped with this difficult period of our history,” says Nye.
“But sometimes the authorities of the EU should put forward more stringent requirements on the result. Now there are requirements, but no penalty for missing additional reforms not covered”.
The carrot is, now you need a whip
The criticism concerns not only the EU but also the International monetary Fund and others who supported the democratization of the country after the Maidan.
Concerns that too harsh criticism may lead to the collapse suggests that in fact there is no need to fulfill the requirements.
The most ordinary EU citizens could demand such measures from their powers, says Nye.
In the end, it is these people are in favor of those three billion, which Ukraine received as support.
“The message that I’d like to get people from EU countries have written to our government, goes something like this: “We understand that you are in a dangerous situation, we see that you are struggling and we will help you. But present the result,” says Nye.
“Need a whip. Now we have the carrot but no stick. This whip may be to adopt more rigid positions, bringing higher standards to those in power and more stringent conditions in respect of all reforms,” he concludes.
