Old KGB Methods Are Back:

New Wave of Repressions Against Civil Society in Ukraine

In the recent two weeks dozens of NGOs all over Ukraine have been exposed to unprecedented pressure from the side of public prosecution bodies, law enforcers, security service of Ukraine, sanitary and epidemiological department, tax and ecological inspections as well as other regulatory authorities. Officially the inspections were triggered by anonymous complaints.
Following the instruction of the President’s Administration, the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine carries out mass inspections of NGOs threatening the heads of such organizations and seizing documents. Such inspections have already resulted in some social programs implemented by non-governmental sector in Ukraine being closed.
“After decades of democratic institutions development, Ukraine goes back to using KGB methods of Stalin’s era – “witch-hunt” among NGOs based on fabricated charges is no longer limited to general accusations addressed to the Soros Foundation, but leads to ongoing raids of law-enforcement and regulatory bodies across Ukraine”, – said Andrey Klepikov, Executive Director of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Ukraine.
Vladimir Zhovtyak, Head of the Coordination Council of the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS emphasized: “Today non-governmental organizations join together to protect their rights and defend the democratic freedoms. In contrast to many post-Soviet states, the third sector in Ukraine is well developed and quite professional. It represents the interests of millions of Ukrainians who have a strong civil position and are ready to defend it by joining together into a single movement”.
We, representatives of the civil society, appeal to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and heads of the states providing financial aid to Ukraine to bring their attention to the repressions arising in the country.
We urge the Administration of the President of Ukraine and the General Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine to put an end to the oppression of NGOs. Such actions undermine the democratic principles in the country and affect the reputation of government authorities and the reforms launched by the President of Ukraine both within the country and abroad.