The Verkhovna Rada (Ukraines parliament) adopted a law on November 26, 2018, approving a presidential decree on the introduction of martial law in Ukraine. The law is imposed in Vinnytsia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Odesa, Kharkiv, Chernihiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson region as well as in the inland waters of Azov and Kerch waters from November 26 to December 26, 2018.
The Ukraine
Government decided to introduce martial law after Russia had captured two
Ukrainian artillery boats and a tugboat near the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea
on November 25, 2018. Addressing the nation, President Poroshenko alleged that
“Russia has been waging a hybrid war against our country for five years. But
with an attack on Ukrainian military boats, it moved to a new stage of
aggression. And this attack, of course, is not accidental.”1
Following
the logic and statement of Poroshenko, the Martial Law should have been
introduced in the year 2014 itself when the rebels seized parts of Donetsk and
Luhansk regions, and Crimea was integrated by Russia and which has cost
more than a thousand lives. The common people in the street of Ukraine asked
the questions that why the government did not impose martial law since then and
why now when only a few days remain before the start of Presidential elections.
The general
provisions of martial law in Ukraine have outlined in the law “On the legal
regime of martial law” which the parliament passed the bill in 2015. In a
nutshell, it states that in connection with the introduction of martial law in
Ukraine, constitutional human rights and freedoms stipulated by Articles 30-34,
38, 39, 41-44, 53 of the Constitution of Ukraine may be temporarily limited,
for the period of the legal regime of martial law.
For
instance, Article 1 of “On the Legal Regime of Martial Law” which define the
Martial Law clearly stipulate that “It also involves temporary (threat
determined) restrictions of human constitutional rights and freedoms as well as
the rights and legitimate interests of all legal persons with an indication of
the period of effectiveness for these restrictions.”2 It is also important to
clarify that in the period of martial law, the powers of the president cannot
be terminated. If the term of office of the head of state expires during
martial law, he continues his work until the expiration of martial law.3 This
indicates that President Poroshenko has finally succeeded to controls all most
all Ukrainian existing institutions including the law-enforcement agencies, the
executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government, and the media.
In the
meanwhile, three former Ukrainian presidents have joined their hands to oppose
the motion to impose martial law in the country. Former Presidents of Ukraine,
namely Leonid Kravchuk, Leonid Kuchma and Viktor Yushchenko, issued a joint
statement expressing doubts about the need for martial law in the country. In
their letter, they stated that “Martial law is, first and foremost a radical
restriction of the rights of Ukrainian citizens, including the total
prohibition of strikes, mass gatherings and rallies, the right to bans
political parties and public organizations.
There is
another unparalleled risk associated with martial law – it is a legal chaos in
the state.” The former presidents said martial law would pose a threat to
democracy because it will scrap the presidential vote scheduled for next year.
They further asserted that “A large part of society believes that in this way
democracy could be limited. These suspicions are extremely dangerous, they can
lead to a social conflict, the enemy will certainly use so they have to be
pacified.” 4
There have
been mixed reactions among the opposition parties in Verkhovna Rada as well as
in academic circles. His main opponent, Tymoshenko, was forced to support the
imposition of martial law.5 While speaking on the issue at the extraordinary
session of the Verkhovna Rada, Yulia Tymoshenko said that “From the first
days of the Russian Federation’s war against Ukraine, the Batkivshchyna faction
has demanded the introduction of martial law, and we are ready to support the
introduction of martial law in Ukraine today. But we are not ready to support the
destruction of the rights and freedoms of Ukrainians under the guise of martial
law.”
While,
voting against the imposition of martial law, Deputy Chairman of the Opposition
Bloc parliamentary faction, Oleksandr Vilkul, argued that “Over the past 4.5
years, more than 10 thousand people died only according to official data, the
situation was much worse but martial law was not enacted because they wanted to
come to power and hold presidential and parliamentary elections.”6
In the same
way, an analyst on international affairs, Georgiy Kuhaleyshvili, argued that
“The situation in the Sea of Azov and in the area of the Joint Forces Operation
in Donbas will not change even if the martial law is declared.” He further
noted that “Poroshenko needs martial law in order to take a pause, postpone the
elections, and get prepared for them. The president is trying to consolidate
the electorate around Russia’s aggression, he has stepped up international
actions as well.” 7Similarly, in an exclusive interview with Glavnovosti,
a military expert, Vlad Mulek, explained that the martial law, introduced in
ten regions of Ukraine, would allow taking funds from local budgets to finance
the army.8
The civil
societies, NGOs, opposition parties and many media publications alleged that
this was an attempt by the president with an extremely low rating to hold on to
power for some time. The popularity of Ukrainian President Poroshenko is
collapsing and former Ukrainian prime minister and Batkivshchyna (Fatherland)
party leader Yulia Tymoshenko continues to be the main beneficiary, according
to a survey conducted by Kiev-based pollster Rating Group.9 According to polls,
Poroshenko most likely to lose his presidential post if elections to take place
on the time. Therefore, the intensifying the armed conflict with Russia and
imposition of martial law on the country provided him “like a masterstroke”10
which may allow him to change the situation in his favour. The disappointment
is exacerbated further by the public’s high expectations based on his promises
made during his election campaign in 2014.
Poroshenko
promised that one of his main objectives during his presidency would
be to end corruption and turn Ukrainian into a functioning modern country
closely associated with the European Union and assured that Ukrainians would
not need visas to travel in the EU.
Another
of Poroshenko’s promises was to immediately end the military
operation in Donbass. During the last four and half years of his rule,
Poroshenko has yet again failed to keep his promise and has unsuccessful
completely in every aspect of the life of Ukrainian people. His expectations
and dependent on Western allies could not yield any positive results rather
complicated the situations. Ukraine nowadays, facing a very peculiar condition,
somewhat resembling the one that evolved in Russia on the 1990s. Recognising
his own failure in addressing the people’s concern on various issues, President
Poroshenko has imposed martial law in Ukraine which is seen as the only option
to silence oppositions and postpone the upcoming elections, which is supposed
be held on March 31, 2019.
There is no
doubt that the United States and its European allies will continue to back
Ukraine government in every platforms but unfortunately, they can’t change the
situations besides condemning and imposing more sanctions on Russia.
****About
the author: Manabhanjan
Meher, Research Analyst in Europe and Eurasia Centre, Institute for
Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), New Delhi.
****Notes:
- “Statement by the President of
Ukraine on the approval of the Decree on the introduction of martial law
in Ukraine”, November 26, 2018,
at https://www.president.gov.ua/en/news/zayava-prezidenta-ukrayini-shodo-zatverdzhennya-ukazu-pro-vv-51362
- Law of Ukraine “On the Legal
Regime of Martial Law” (Bulletin of the Verkhovna Rada, 2015, No 28, p.
250), in Oleksandr Lytvynenko, Philipp Fluri and Valentyn Badrack (eds.)
The Security Sector Legislation Of Ukraine, Geneva Centre for the
Democratic Control of Armed Forces and Сenter for Аrmy, Сonversion and Disarmament Studies, Geneva
– Kyiv, 2017, pp. 76, at
https://www.dcaf.ch/sites/default/files/publications/documents/Security%20Sector%20Legislation%20Ukraine%202017_eng.pdf
- “What Will Change In Ukraine If
Martial Law is Imposed: A List of Restrictions and Prohibitions”, November
26, 2018,
https://newsone.ua/articles/politics/chto-izmenitsja-v-ukraine-esli-vvedut-voennoe-polozhenie-spisok-ohranichenij-i-zapretov.html
- “Three former Presidents of
Ukraine address Parliament over martial law”, November 26, 2018, at
https://112.international/article/three-former-presidents-of-ukraine-address-parliament-over-martial-law-34551.html
- “Destruction of rights and
freedoms under martial law is unacceptable!”, November 26, 2018, at
https://www.tymoshenko.ua/en/news-en/destruction-of-rights-and-freedoms-under-martial-law-is-unacceptable
- “Statement of the Deputy
Chairman of the Opposition Bloc parliamentary faction, Oleksandr Vilkul,
about trying to enact martial law”, November 26, 2018, at
http://opposition.org.ua/en/news/zayava-oleksandra-vilkula-pro-sprobu-vvedennya-voennogo-stanu.html
- Georgiy Kuhaleyshvili (2018),
“Is there any point in declaring martial law in Ukraine?”, November 27,
2018, https://112.international/opinion/is-there-any-point-in-declaring-martial-law-in-ukrain-34597.html
- “Ukrainian Military Expert Vlad
Mulyk: Martial Law will Allow Kiev to Take Away Money from Local Budgets
to Finance the Army”, November 29, 2018,
http://www.stalkerzone.org/ukrainian-military-expert-vlad-mulyk-martial-law-will-allow-kiev-to-take-away-money-from-local-budgets-to-finance-the-army/
- Roman Olearchyk (2018),
“Ukraine voters struggle to see change ahead of presidential poll”,
September 12, 2018, https://www.ft.com/content/1de24cc4-91b4-11e8-9609-3d3b945e78cf
- Leonid Bershidsky (2018),
“Martial Law Won’t Help Ukraine’s President”, November 27, 2018,
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2018-11-27/martial-law-won-t-help-ukraine-s-petro-poroshenko-in-russia-clash