With Ukraine’s leaders having systematically removed most controls and transparency with respect to vast amounts of taxpayers’ money, the mere suggestion that the NGO Center.UA should be accused of money laundering might seem comical. The background, unfortunately, is much more sinister

Interestingly while less and less people believe that demonstrations and rallies can help or that they personally can have impact on the authorities,, more are pinning their hopes on civic organizations.

With so many horrific tales of police lawlessness, an internal clean up would seem warranted. Instead it is civic activists who are facing scrutiny and bullyboy tactics. The aim seems ominously clear: silence those highlighting the assault on people’s rights.

Many well-known public figures, journalists and NGOs, including KHPG, the Centre for Civl Liberties and othersare concerned that a criminal investigation is being used solely to obstruct the civic activities of Maxim and Kostyantin Latsyba and to use them as an example to intimidate all activists

Activists from a Donetsk oblast civic movement accuse the authorities of cultivating puppet NGOs in order to imitate development of civil society

Civic organizations believe that those in power have orchestrated the effective hijacking of the Public Councils under the Foreign Ministry and Kyiv City State Administration in order to make them malleable as part of an assault on civic society

Oleh Rybachuk, leader of the civic movement CHESNO, believes that in the near future there may be a wide-scale campaign aimed at discrediting civic activists and journalists

It would appear that the law enforcement agencies have at least in the case of Ihor Koliushko manufactured a letter giving them an excuse for carrying out checks on business enterprises

Four major NGOs have received an extraordinary letter from the State Registration Service demanding their “explanation” after individuals complained that they were propagandizing “anti-Ukrainian anti-moral and anti-constitutional ideas”

The EU is continuing to seek levers of influence on Ukraine’s leaders, while in Brussels support is being increased for NGOs in the EU’s East European neighbours who can put pressure on the authorities, demanding democratic reforms

A “Wall of Lies” has been erected in the centre of Kyiv in the place of a scandal-filled construction site. It will now sport the portraits of officials who are believed to be responsible for unlawful construction work in the city and/or who have not kept their word

Cases where the sons of deputies, prosecutor’s and others in high places escape criminal liability in Ukraine are legion. The video footage showing Roman Landik, son of a Party of the Regions National Deputy trying to chat up a girl and then beating her badly when rebuffed did however elicit outrage

In the case of activist Vitaly Kichkiruk from the Foundation for Regional Initiatives, the Security Service was reminded of the law. Whether all activists exercising their constitutional rights withstand insistent requests for “conversations” is not clear

A study carried out by the Democratic Initiatives Foundation suggests that the public are being given less and less opportunity to have impact on decision-making by the authorities

The decision to create the committee was taken on Monday 30 May at a public rally “Stop political repression in Ukraine!” by former political prisoners, human rights activists, academics and others

The Soviet Union used to propagate the notion that dissidents were funded by Western intelligence agencies. Today, those same (now, post-Soviet) elites, push an updated version of this notion, by arguing that their opponents work with Western foundations and NGOs to foment democratic “revolutions.”

The draft law is aimed at simplifying registration and the activities of civic organizations which form the basis of civic society. The law now in place “On citizens’ associations” provides obstacles to civic activity

This was the key question at a press conference called in connection with recent proposals from the Party of the Regions to ban financing of NGOs from abroad, as well as with the possible consideration by parliament on 12 May of the draft Law on Civic Organizations (No. 7262-1).

While convinced that the Party of the Regions initiative to restrict the rights of civic organizations will not succeed, the Executive Director of the International Renaissance Foundation is concerned that the public could actually believe that it might

The Party of the Regions wants to draw up a draft bill aimed at imposing control over the funding of civic organizations in Ukraine. Analysts warn that such a law would put an end to any chance of Ukraine joining the EU