The World Today for October 03, 2023

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NEED TO KNOW

Roots and Branches

UKRAINE

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov resigned in early September.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that, while Reznikov had succeeded in obtaining sophisticated weaponry from the West for Ukraine’s war against Russia, he had presided over “chaos and disorder” in the Ministry of Defense in regard to its corruption scandals, the Associated Press reported.

Two weeks later, after naming a new defense minister, Zelenskyy fired seven ministers, according to United Press International. Notably, the purge came shortly before Zelenskyy traveled to the United States to meet with American leaders and ask for more financial, military, and humanitarian support.

At around the same time, Ukrainian lawmakers voted to reinstate an anti-corruption rule requiring them to disclose their assets – but delayed it taking effect for a year. The International Monetary Fund had made the disclosures a precondition to disburse $15.6 billion in economic assistance to the war-torn country. But the delay raised “new questions about the country’s commitment to fighting graft at the highest levels of government,” wrote the Washington Post.

That’s because Ukraine is extremely corrupt, like many former Soviet republics, including Russia.

Many important members of Zelenskyy’s administration stand accused of graft, for example. The Ukrainian president’s senior adviser, Oleh Tatarov, was allegedly the bagman for Oleh Maiboroda, an oligarch who ran one of Ukraine’s largest construction companies, Reuters revealed. Maiboroda would allegedly give cash to Tatarov to bribe officials for public building projects. Tatarov denied the claims.

US officials – whose support is essential to Ukraine’s success on the battlefield – have demanded Zelenskyy make progress in rooting out corruption in the Ministry of Defense, the notoriously corrupt and inefficient courts, and state-owned enterprises that are often like piggy banks for criminals with political connections, El País reported. These demands came, moreover, as many Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed reservations about helping Ukraine indefinitely.

Still, the recent arrest of Israeli-Ukrainian oligarch and businessman Ihor Kolomoisky on corruption charges was also likely a signal that the Ukrainian government was serious about cracking down on graft, added Ynet, an Israeli news website. Kolomoisky allegedly embezzled $14 million from banks under his control. He had been under American sanctions, the Atlantic Council explained.

Zelenskyy is trying to demonstrate that he won’t tolerate graft that draws resources away from the front. “Now more than ever, Ukrainians understand that corruption can kill,” Daria Kaleniuk, executive director of the Kyiv-based Anti-Corruption Action Centre, told the Guardian. “The war changed Ukrainian society and now everyone in government understands that people want a new social agreement with authorities.”

If the Ukrainian state can stop the Russian army in its tracks, criminals should beware.

THE WORLD, BRIEFLY

The Terror Within

TURKEY

Turkish authorities arrested scores of individuals suspected of having connections to the Kurdish militant organization responsible for Sunday’s suicide bombing attack on a government facility in the capital Ankara, the Financial Times reported.

Two suicide bombers attacked the country’s interior ministry, with one attacker blowing himself up while another was shot dead by police. Two officers were injured in the bombing.

A unit of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has conducted a violent insurgency in Turkey for decades, claimed responsibility for the attack.

In response, Turkish armed forces launched air raids on 20 PKK targets in northern Iraq, where the group is based. Turkish officials confirmed that the arrested individuals include a provincial spokesperson and district presidents for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

By early Tuesday raids were carried out in 16 provinces across Turkey with at least 67 people arrested, of whom 55 were alleged by Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya as being part of the PKK’s “intelligence structure”, the Associated Press wrote.

Although the HDP has denied any links with the PKK, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused the party of being the political wing of the Kurdish militant group.

Sunday’s attack coincided with the reconvening of parliament from its summer recess. It followed Turkey’s closely watched general elections in May, where security played a significant role in the campaigns, and where Erdogan’s rallies frequently highlighted his efforts against the PKK, the terror group Islamic State and the religious Gülen movement, which authorities say was behind the attempted coup of 2016.

The suicide attack also comes less than a year after a bombing in an Istanbul commercial district killed six people and injured dozens more. The Turkish government blamed Kurdish groups affiliated with the PKK for the explosion.

Brace, Brace

SLOVAKIA

The pro-Russian party, Direction – Slovak Social Democracy (SMER-SSD, or Smer), won Slovakia’s parliamentary elections over the weekend, a victory that could pose a challenge to NATO and European Union unity over Ukraine, CNN reported.

Results showed that the populist left-wing party led the polls with nearly 23 percent of the vote, while the pro-Ukraine Progressive Slovakia (PS) secured almost 18 percent.

Meanwhile, the moderate-left Hlas party, led by former Smer member Peter Pellegrini, came third with 14.7 percent of the vote and could play kingmaker.

Smer’s victory could see the return of former Prime Minister Robert Fico, who has voiced strong opposition to Slovakia’s military aid to Ukraine. Until now, Slovakia has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

But this is likely to change under Fico, who has accused “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” of provoking Russia’s invasion last year – a false narrative that the Kremlin has used to justify the invasion.

Even so, Smer will have to form a coalition with other parties in order to secure a majority to form a government. PS leader Michal Šimečka said his party will do “everything it can” to prevent Fico from governing.

It’s unclear if Hlas will join a Smer-led government, with Pellegrini remaining ambivalent about Slovakia’s support of Ukraine: He previously suggested Slovakia “had nothing left to donate” to Ukraine, but also said that the EU should continue to provide weapons to Kyiv.

Meanwhile, there are concerns that a Smer-led government could impact EU and NATO policy. Fico has become a close ally of Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, especially when it comes to criticism of the EU.

Fico, Slovakia’s former prime minister for over a decade in two separate terms, resigned in March 2018 amid mass protests triggered by the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak’s reporting exposed corruption within the country’s elite, including individuals linked to Fico and his Smer party.

A Troubled House

VANUATU

The Vanuatu government boycotted parliament Monday, a move that comes as the opposition attempts to pass a motion of no-confidence against Prime Minister Sato Kilman less than a month after he came to power, Radio New Zealand reported.

Last week, opposition lawmakers filed a no-confidence motion against Kilman for multiple reasons, including the government’s failure to attend regional and international meetings, and his appointment of a minister who was found to have misappropriated $8 million during a previous administration, according to the Pacific News Service.

The opposition said it had the support of 27 legislators, versus the government’s 24. Observers noted that by boycotting the session, the government would gain additional time to lobby for support.

The boycott comes shortly after the country’s supreme court upheld the recent removal of government lawmaker Bruno Leingkone from parliament. Leingkone’s exclusion was based on his repeated absences from parliamentary sessions without seeking the speaker’s permission.

The opposition has also filed a motion to suspend another government legislator, Gracia Shadrack, following an outburst in parliament in which he reportedly threatened to set the house on fire.

Meanwhile, Kilman came to power after a court upheld a vote of no-confidence against his predecessor, Ishmael Kalsakau.

Kalsakau had sought closer ties with the United States and its allies, amid an ongoing rivalry between the US and China over the Pacific region, Reuters noted.

Late last year, he signed a security pact with Australia, which critics said compromised Vanuatu’s “neutral” status and could jeopardize development assistance from China, its biggest external creditor.

Shortly after taking office, Kilman said he would “revisit” the agreement with Australia.

DISCOVERIES

Celebrating Laziness

Montenegro is about to honor its “laziest citizen,” Balkan Insight reported.

Last month, 21 participants joined the annual “Laziest Citizen” contest in the hope of winning a prize of more than $1,000.

Contestants have one simple task: Lie in bed for as long as they can. Standing or sitting will lead to immediate disqualification.

Participants are staying at a holiday resort in Brezna village, where they are provided with three meals per day and have their health monitored. They can only go to the bathroom every eight hours, for 15 minutes.

It may seem simple, but slothfulness is actually hard work: Since the contest began on Aug. 19, only five contestants remain.

“It is a very psychological competition, and the participants are interesting personalities,” said contest organizer Radonja Blagojevic.

The contest originally began in Brezna in 2001 to make fun of a widespread regional stereotype that Montenegrins are lazy.

Most competitors are Montenegrin, but there are also contestants from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, and Ukraine.

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