SBU continues its “talks” with civic activists

The Security Service [SBU] is continuing to hold “prophylactic” talks with activists from the NGO Democratic Alliance. Such an unofficial meeting with an SBU officer took place on 5 November in Kharkiv.

The SBU officer asked about the activities of the regional branch of the organization and in detail about its leadership.  According to the head of the Democratic Alliance, Vasyl Hatsko,  this is the fourth meeting between SBU officers and activists of the organization in a short space of time. The meetings, he says, took place in different regions. 

“This gives us grounds for saying that the Ukrainian security service is rapidly mastering Soviet methods for working with civic and politically active members of the public”.

“Everything that the SBU officers ask our activists can be easily discovered from the site of the organization. If we view the meetings as about gaining information, then they are absolutely senseless. We therefore see the SBU attention to members of the Democratic Alliance as being solely about pressure, the attempt to intimidate and influence how we function”.

As reported, Iin a letter to the NGO Democratic Alliance, the Security Service [SBU] has claimed that all meetings took place “solely on the basis, within the framework of their powers and in a manner envisaged by the Constitution and laws of Ukraine”.

From June to September SBU officers held meetings with the Head of the Mykolaiv branch, the Cherkasy branch and had a telephone conversation with the Chernihiv branch of the Alliance.