Dear Editor:
The letter of Bohdan Shandor (“In defense of Poroshenko” February 23) betrays a lack of consistency and logic. While implying that Tsar Vladimir Putin seeks to destabilize Ukraine and cause dissension, he engages in the same tactic that Mr. Putin uses in blaming Western agents for both recent revolutions in Ukraine, relegating the people of Ukraine to the status of automatons who can easily be swayed by foreign interests. Ukrainians are perfectly capable of perceiving the cause of corruption in Ukraine. Their concerns are justified and not fomented by Mr. Putin.
President Poroshenko speaks out against corruption when outside of Ukraine and to foreign leaders, but he subverts reform efforts by attacking critics of his minimal efforts to fight corruption and institute rule of law in Ukraine by neglecting to eliminate corrupt judges and bureaucrats. Mr. Shandor is wrong in refusing to assess any blame for corruption to Mr. Poroshenko.
Truth be told, Tsar Putin likes to hypocritically criticize corruption in Ukraine, while secretly hoping corruption continues as it provides grist for his propaganda mill and keeps Ukraine from evolving towards a more democratic system of rule of law and social justice.
While there have been some positive developments in Ukraine, Mr. Shandor wrongly credits Mr. Poroshenko with actions by the U.S. Congress to maintain and expand sanctions against Russian cohorts of Mr. Putin. He notably ignores the fact that President Donald Trump ignored laws passed by Congress and refused on January 29 to fully implement these laws.
Mr. Shandor states that because Ukraine is at war and its survival is at stake, now is not the right time to fight corruption. Nonetheless, he credits Mr. Poroshenko with a list of 10 accomplishments that all happened during the time Ukraine has been at war. If the time was right for these alleged accomplishments, then surely the time was also right for greater reforms and actions to combat corruption. Mr. Poroshenko and his oligarch allies like to blame the war for their failures. Mr. Putin smiles, because his kleptocracy also benefits from the continuing war with Ukraine.
President Poroshenko has broken his promises to divest himself of his business interests and has continued on the path of self-enrichment and enrichment of his friends and associates. While soldiers fight and die for a better Ukraine for their children, Mr. Poroshenko lacks the courage to defeat the oligarchs.
Mr. Poroshenko initially came across as a promising leader but has not lived up to expectations. He would make an excellent minister of foreign affairs, as he has gravitas among foreign leaders, but the people of Ukraine deserve and need a better president, who will fight against corrosive corruption and for the welfare of the common people.
Mr. Shandor stretches logic to the maximum by suggesting there is no alternative to Mr. Poroshenko. This is the same tactic that Mr. Putin uses to convince Russians that they have no alternative to him.
Edmonton, Alberta