A LETTER TO MY FRIEND IN DONBAS

Dear Crash:

It was a great pleasure to receive your letter.

First I’d like to make a few statements:

1) I have never been to the Donbas. All I know comes from what I have read.
2) For the sake of our discussions, I am willing to concede that I may have been misinformed by the opposition and the western press.
3) Although I feel I am relatively well informed regarding the current situation, I know I would be a fool to think I have a perfect understanding, as a result, I am trying to have an open mind.

Next, I would like to tell you how I judge the candidates. These are the questions that I use for my evaluation:

1) Will he be fair to all Ukrainians, whether they voted for him or not?
2) Will he increase personal freedoms and build a stronger democracy?
3) Will he wage war against organized crime and corruption?
4) Will he create an environment where business can thrive, benefiting the many, not just the few.
And, most importantly:
5) When my daughter grows up, which candidate will have left a better Ukraine for her to grow up in?

By the way, I don’t believe that Yushchenko is necessarily the best man to be president, just the better of the two. To me it’s a choice of which road to take and where that road will lead you.

Also, you should know that I don’t like politicians in general. To get to the top you have to bend so many rules and make so many deals that no one is clean in politics. So I can only go for the better choice of what is offered.

FALSIFICATIONS:
I have friends here in Kiev who have experienced falsifications directly. This knowledge has influenced me. What about the one to three million falsifications in favor of Yanukovich? I have heard convincing information regarding this, but how am I to really know? There may be falsifications for Yushchenko, I understand they are minor, but how am I to really know? What I can say with confidence is that the elections here were conducted in a manner to embarrass all Ukrainians.

REVOTE versus NEW ELECTIONS
I think how you feel about this depends upon who you support.

Yushchenko supporters favor a REVOTE because they think they will win if there are no falsifications.
Yanukovich supporters favor NEW ELECTIONS with new candidates because they feel that they can field a stronger candidate and that they could use the extra time this option would provide.

SECRET BALLOT
You say that everybody can vote for their own candidates in secret. Unfortunately this was not the case. Many employees of large businesses and state agencies were given ballots that were already prepared with a vote for Yanukovich. They were then required to return the blank ballot from the polling station to their boss to prove that they had cast the prepared ballot.

WHY ARE PEOPLE AT MAIDAN?
This is one of the few topics about which I can report to you directly. I have first hand knowledge in this area, so I will share my experience with you, my friend, as honestly as I know how.

1) ENTERTAINMENT. Yes, there has been entertainment. And I am sure that some people come for that reason, but believe me, the entertainment is not good enough to keep people out in the cold day after day. None of my friends go for that reason, and I certainly do not.
2) FREE VODKA, FREE CLOTHES, FREE FOOD
There is no free vodka. Alcohol is forbidden inside the tent city.
Free clothes are available to the protesters sleeping overnight. They have been donated by the citizens of Kiev, I have seen this myself.
Free food is also available only to protesters sleeping there. This food is being donated by individual citizens. Everyone else buys their food at Maidan.
3) PEOPLE COME TO MAIDAN TO RELAX NOT TO SUPPORT THE OPPOSITION
I am sorry my friend, you are just plain wrong on this point.

TIMOSHENKO
I am sorry, I don’t know enough about her to make a comment.

CONCLUSION
I would like to return to my five questions that I used to evaluate which candidate will be better for Ukraine. I honestly believe that Yushchenko will lead Ukraine down the road toward a liberal, democratic Ukraine with a booming economy. I just as strongly believe that a Yanukovich presidency will mean a continuation of gangster capitalism, a strengthening of authoritarian rule, and an economy benefiting the few to the detriment of the many.

I can only make a choice based upon what I know. So, for the future of my daughter, I choose for her to grow up in the Ukraine that will be left by a Victor Yushchenko presidency.

Best wishes,
Raul

To read crash's letter click this link: http://raulkyyvpoetry.blogspot.com/