city:odesa

  • The Odesa Mafia’s Secret Flats in London

    In the 1990s, “Angert’s Gang” in Odesa, #Ukraine, was a powerhouse of crime. It diverted fuel sales from the reliably corrupt #Odesa_Refinery, extorted local businessmen, and even arranged the murders of local enemies and politicians.

    Then it disappeared, its only visible legacy the political career of #Gennadiy_Trukhanov, a former member and now Odesa’s mayor. Over time, the gang’s crimes have been forgotten and the money they stole was presumed to be long gone.

    Until now.

    Thanks to a leaked dataset known as the Paradise Papers, a new investigation by Slidstvo.info and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), reported alongside the BBC Panorama investigative program, reveals that the gang members and their families have parked their criminal profits in London real estate.

    Reporters found eight luxury apartments in elite areas of the city currently owned by these men, their associates, or their families, on which they spent tens of millions of dollars over the last 18 years. Four other apartments were also bought by the group, but have since been sold.

    The Ukrainians worked through a trusted relative in the city who set up offshore companies that hid their ownership of the apartments — and the source of their money.

    https://www.occrp.org/en/paradisepapers/the-odessa-mafias-secret-flats-in-london
    #Odessa #mafia #Londres #UK #Angleterre #Neftemafia

  • Kuwait arrest raises specter of Ukraine black market as source of arms for ISIS
    http://mashable.com/2015/11/20/kuwait-ukraine-isis-weapons

    The arrest in Kuwait of a Lebanese man with ties to the Islamic State has raised the specter that Ukraine’s notorious illicit arms market may be a source of weapons for the the militant group.

    One senior Ukrainian official with access to intelligence agency reports told Mashable on Friday that it is “plausible” the man, arrested by Kuwaiti authorities on Thursday, had obtained FN-6 surface-to-air missile systems he admitted to getting from a broker in Ukraine. Calling news of the arrest “interesting,” the official stopped short of giving a definitive answer to a question about whether Kiev had direct information about the arms sale in question.

    Pour les purs et durs, ça ne peut venir, évidemment, que des zones tenues par les séparatistes…

    FN-6 shoulder-fired missile systems, manufactured by China, have never been sold to Ukraine, nor has the government given permission for their transit through its territory, the Ukrainian defense ministry said in a statement on Friday. And there have been no documented reports of the the FN-6 shoulder-fired missile systems appearing in Ukraine since the war began in April 2014.

    But that doesn’t mean the weapons couldn’t have been transported into the country another way, the senior official admitted, adding that Kiev has monitored the illicit trafficking of weapons to and from separatist-controlled territories since the start of the war, and that it "really struggles" to stem the “heavy” flow.
    […]
    But on both sides of the battle lines, weapons have a way of disappearing in Ukraine, where corruption remains rampant, an Ukrainian security official told Mashable in June.

    Weapons can disappear all the time,” possibly falling into the hands of extremist groups, said the official. “We have seen the black arms market flourish since the start of the war in Donbass,” the official said, using the colloquial term for eastern Ukraine.


    (photo illustrant un article de mars 2013, lorsque la FSA avait abattu un hélicoptère d’origine russe avec ce type de missile)

    • échantillon de démentis,…

      Claim of Ukrainian weapons sale to ISIS prompts denials, alarm
      http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/claim-of-ukrainian-weapons-sale-to-isis-prompts-denials-alarm-402511.html

      l’officiel,

      Ukraine has not manufactured or carried out purchases of the FN-6 anti-aircraft missile systems mentioned in the statement, and also has not provided the transport for their shipment,” a statement on [Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s] website said.

      « impossibilités » diverses

      Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, said there would be “nothing surprising” about such Chinese-made systems winding up in the occupied territory of Donetsk, noting that separatists could easily transport weapons across the uncontrolled border with Russia.

      But it would be “practically impossible” to move such weapons across territories under control of the government, he said.

      Apart from the war-torn east, however, the city of Odesa also has a reputation for a smuggling hub.

      Nikolai Holmov, a writer and consultant based in Odesa, said corruption could have made it possible to have weapons smuggled out of the ports in Odesa, “but that does not mean it’s necessarily probable.

      et l’incontournable, c’est les Russes !

      Volodymyr Fesenko of the Penta political research center warned that the news about the weapons sold to ISIS could play into Russia’s hands.

      The likelihood that this news is nothing more than another Russian information attack on Ukraine is rather high. They already did this several times in 2002-2003, when the news that Ukraine sold ‘Kolchuga’ radar systems to Iraq appeared in the media. That was when (Leonid) Kuchma decided he needed closer ties with NATO,” Fesenko said.

      There is a chance that someone in Ukraine could have sold weapons to ISIS, he said, but Russia will exaggerate the news.

      Russia is fighting against terrorism together with the West. And now it can show the West, “Look at this little nasty Ukraine! You protect them, and you confront us because of them! And they sell weapons to ISIS!” said Fesenko.

  • European diplomat claims world will condemn Ukraine if it does not investigate murders on Maidan, in Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine-abroad/european-diplomat-claims-world-will-condemn-ukraine-if-it-does-not-investi

    Ukraine will face international condemnation if Kyiv ignores the remarks of the Council of Europe experts concerning the investigation into the events on Maidan, the tragedy in Odesa in 2014, Director of Human Rights, Special Advisor to the Council of Europe’s Secretary General for Ukraine Christos Giakoumopoulos has stated.

    (brève)

  • Competition agency lets China’s CNBM to buy solar power plants affiliated with Andriy Kliuyev
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/competition-agency-lets-chinas-cnbm-to-buy-solar-power-plants-affiliated-w

    The Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine has approved the acquisition of shares in the solar power plants Voskhod Solar, Neptun Solar (both in Mykolaiv region), Danube Solar Power Plant One, Danube Solar Power Plant Two, Franco Solar, Franco PV, Pryozerna One, Pryozerna Two, Lymanska Energy One, Lymanska Energy Two (all based in Odesa region) by China’s CNBM International Corporation.

  • Council Of Europe Blasts Ukraine’s Investigations Into Odesa Violence
    http://www.rferl.org/content/ukraine-odesa-fire-council-europe-report/27345601.html

    The Council of Europe says the Ukrainian government’s investigations into violence that killed 48 people amid separatist tensions in the southern city of Odesa in May 2014 have fallen short of European standards.

    Presenting its findings in Kyiv on November 4, the council said the official probes into last year’s street clashes and the deadly fire in Odesa’s Trade Union Building “failed to comply with the requirements of the European Human Rights Convention.

    Its report also concludes that substantial progress “has not been made” in investigating the violent events and the deficiency has undermined authorities’ ability to bring to justice those responsible.
    […]
    However, the International Advisory Panel does fault the subsequent official investigations into the events for failing to fully establish what happened because “certain forensic examinations were not diligently carried out.

    It notes that the first forensic report on the fire was prepared in July 2014 without any on-site inspection of the Trade Union Building. Nine months later, the panel says, an interagency complex forensic examination was ordered in April 2015 and, at the end of August 2015, was still under way.

    More generally, the panel says it considers the official investigations into the Odesa events “ineffective,” in part because of the authorities “failing to show sufficient thoroughness and diligence in initiating and pursuing” the inquiries.

    The Council of Europe panel cites as “the most striking example of a lack of diligence” the fact that “the first real efforts to investigate an unexplained delay of over 40 minutes in the arrival of firefighters to the Trade Union Building were not made until December 2014.

    • Remarque, avec des exigences comme celle-ci, certaines enquêtes françaises (#Sivens, pour ne pas la nommer) sont loin de respecter les normes du Conseil de l’Europe.

      The report of the International Advisory Panel also finds that the government’s investigation into the street violence and fire, plus a separate inquiry into the conduct of emergency services staff during the fire, “lacked institutional and practical independence.

      The panel says that the inquiries carried out by the interior minister and the State Emergency Services should have been carried out by organs entirely independent from the police and fire services, since those agencies were themselves key players in the events.

  • The International Advisory Panel says Ukraine’s investigations into May 2014 violence in Odesa are inefficient
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/the-international-advisory-panel-says-ukraines-investigations-into-may-201

    The International Advisory Panel overseeing the investigations into the tragic events in Odesa on May 2, 2014 has said that the investigations being carried out by the Ukrainian authorities have so far been insufficient.

    Pour ne pas changer, hélas !

    • Le rapport du Groupe consultatif du Conseil de l’Europe était présenté aujourd’hui à Kiev à 10h et le sera demain (5/11) à Odessa.

      International Advisory Panel to present its review of the Odesa violence investigations on Wednesday in Kyiv, on Thursday in Odesa - Council of Europe Office in Ukraine - Council of Europe
      http://www.coe.int/en/web/kyiv/home/-/asset_publisher/Pur4r4szNjUn/content/international-advisory-panel-to-present-its-review-of-the-odesa-violence-invest

      The report of the International Advisory Panel on its review of the investigations into the violent incidents in Odesa in May 2014 will be presented at press conferences in Kyiv on Wednesday, 4 November 2015, and in Odesa on Thursday, 5 November 2015.

      The report will be presented by Sir Nicolas Bratza, Chair of the International Advisory Panel (IAP), former President of the European Court of Human Rights; Volodymyr Butkevych, IAP Member, former Judge of the European Court of Human Rights, and Oleg Anpilogov, IAP Member, a former prosecutor of Ukraine.

      The Special Advisor of the Council of Europe Secretary General for Ukraine, Christos Giakoumopoulos, will also take part in the press conference in Kyiv.

      The press conference in Kyiv will take place at 10:00 local time on Wednesday, 4 November, at the Ukrinform Press Centre (8/16 Bohdana Khmelnytskoho Street, Kyiv).

      The press conference in Odesa will take place the next day, on Thursday, 5 November, at 10:00 local time, at the Londonskaya Hotel (11 Prymorskyi Blvd, Odesa).

    • Ukraine Failing to Probe Pro-Russia Protester Deaths, Panel Says - Bloomberg Business
      http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-04/ukraine-failing-to-probe-pro-russia-protester-deaths-panel-says

      Ukrainian authorities are failing to adequately investigate 48 deaths, including of 42 pro-Russian protesters, in the Black Sea port of Odessa in May 2014, according to an international panel set up by the Council of Europe.
      The demonstrators clashed with football fans and participants in a pro-government rally as the military conflict in Ukraine’s easternmost regions erupted following Russia’s annexation of nearby Crimea. Most of the deaths occurred after a building in which the protesters had barricaded themselves was set on fire.
      Despite the lapse of some 18 months after the events, not a single charge has been brought in respect of the deaths,” the panel said Wednesday in an e-mailed report. The body is tracking the investigation to check it meets the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights and the European Court of Human Rights.

  • Incumbent Odesa Mayor Trukhanov declared winner in Oct. 25 mayoral election
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/incumbent-odesa-mayor-trukhanov-declared-winner-in-oct-25-mayoral-election

    The Odesa city elections commission has declared incumbent Mayor Hennadiy Trukhanov the winner in the mayoral elections, even though Odesa regional administration chief Mikheil Saakashvili had suggested earlier that Trukhanov and his main rival should run in the second round.

    The city elections commission head announced on Oct. 27 evening that Trukhanov had garnered nearly 139,000 votes, or 52.9 percent of all those who cast their ballots in the elections, so securing his victory in the first round.

    Oleksandr Borovyk (Sasha Borovyk), an adviser to the Odesa regional administration head, came in second with 66,500 votes, or 25.7 percent of the vote. Former Odesa Mayor Eduard Hurvits came in third, having garnered 22,500 votes, or 8.5 percent of the vote.

    H. Trukhanov était membre du Parti des Régions de Ianoukovytch.

    • Saakachvili et son candidat contestent le résultat.

      Recount urged in Odesa mayoral vote as Saakashvili’s aide disputes results
      http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/recount-likely-in-odesa-mayoral-vote-as-saakashvilis-aide-disputes-results

      Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili and his aide Sasha Borovik, a candidate in Odesa’s Oct. 25 mayoral election, are disputing the results of the vote.

      They allege incumbent Mayor Hennady Trukhanov’s preliminary victory in the first round - meaning more than 50 percent of the vote - could be due to voting fraud. They have presented evidence of alleged violations and said a runoff must take place.

      Trukhanov’s spokeswoman Natalia Malsteva defended the incumbent mayor by telling the Kyiv Post that election watchdogs had not observed large-scale vote rigging.

    • Ex-Georgian president’s Ukraine ambitions suffer blow | GlobalPost [AFP]
      http://www.globalpost.com/article/6676929/2015/10/28/ex-georgian-presidents-ukraine-ambitions-suffer-blow

      But Odessa’s mayoral election commission said Wednesday that incumbant mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov — allegedly tied to the vast business interests of Saakashvili’s foe Igor Kolomoyskiy — was re-elected with 52.9 percent of Sunday’s vote.
      Saakashvili-backed candidate Sasha Borovik placed a distant second by picking up just 25.7 percent of the ballots cast.
      The former Georgian leader denounced the vote as grossly mismanaged and marred by violations.
      […]
      Trukhanov was a member of the now-disbanded Regions Party that brought Russian-backed president Viktor Yanukovych to power in a tightly fought 2010 race.
      He also supported pro-Kremlin protests in the ethnically mixed city after Yanukovych’s fall from power and subsequent flight for safety to Russia.

  • #Fact-checking #Saakashvili: Claims true – up to a point
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/fact-checking-saakashvili-claims-true-up-to-a-point-397654.html

    Odesa Oblast Governor Mikheil Saakashvili on Sept. 3 lashed out at Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and the government he leads in an interview with Channel 5, owned by President Petro Poroshenko.

    The former Georgian president accused the Cabinet of Ministers and Yatsenyuk personally of sabotaging reforms and lobbying for oligarchs’ interests.

    In three more specific claims, Saakashvili accused the Cabinet of protecting the head of the State Aviation Service, whom he said had taken decisions in favor of billionaire Igor Kolomoisky’s Ukraine International Airlines. He then accused the government of blocking Economic Development and Trade Minister Aivaras Abromavicius’ attempts to dismiss the heads of two state enterprises. And last, he alleged the Cabinet had foiled his plans to reform Odesa’s notoriously corrupt customs service.

    Yatsenyuk countered on Sept. 4 that Saakashvili’s accusations were unfounded and claimed that the Cabinet had approved the governor’s requests.

    We are all in one team here. I understand his emotions because he bears all the responsibility for Odesa Oblast,” Yatsenyuk said. “But it is inappropriate for an ex-president to bring unfounded charges against the government.

    The Kyiv Post decided to dig deeper into four of Saakashvili’s claims, and see if there was any substance to them.

    Claim 1: The Yatsenyuk Cabinet has protected the head of the State Aviation Service.
    […]
    The Verdict: True

    Claim 2: The Cabinet is blocking attempts to dismiss the heads of some state enterprises.
    […]
    The Verdict: True – technically. But while the head of at least one enterprise is indeed still in his job, the Kyiv Post couldn’t find proof that the reason was because of cronyism among Yatsenyuk’s political allies.

    Claim 3: The Yatsenyuk Cabinet is foiling Saakashvili’s plans to reform Odesa’s customs service.
    […]
    The Verdict: Somewhat true. While not sabotaging the plan per se, the Cabinet appears to be meddling by moving the goalposts, making it more difficult for the reform to achieve its aims.

    Claim 4: Yatsenyuk is in the thrall of the nation’s biggest oligarchs.
    […]
    The Verdict: Not proven. Direct ties between Ukraine’s oligarchs and politicians are hard to pin down.

  • S​aakashvili says Yatsenyuk’s Cabinet thwarts reforms, serves oligarchs
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/s-aakashvili-says-yatsenyuks-cabinet-thwarts-reforms-serves-oligarchs-3972

    Mikheil Saakashvili has lashed out at Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and his Cabinet, saying that they are sabotaging economic, customs and other reforms and serve oligarchs’ interests.

    Saakashvili, the ex-Georgian President who became Odesa Oblast governor in May, has launched sweeping changes.

    He has cracked down on corruption at the customs office and is planning to introduce faster registration procedures, cut government staff, increase their wages and replace them with new people.

    Yet now all these changes, as well as reforms nationwide, are being scuttled by the Cabinet, he argues.
    […]
    Now the government is paralyzed,” Saakashvili said. “There must be a total reset of the Ukrainian government on all levels.

    Bien sûr tout cela est totalement désintéressé et pour le bien de son pays d’adoption. Il n’y a que quelques esprits chagrins pour faire remarquer que, simultanément…

    A petition has been filed on the president’s site for appointing Saakashvili as prime minister, although he said he was not planning to become head of the government.

    • « Yats » : c’est rien que des menteries, mais je l’aime quand même, pask’il a du mal en ce moment.

      Yatsenyuk dismisses Saakashvili’s accusations regarding oligarchs’ control of government
      http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/ukrainian-prime-minister-dismisses-saakashvilis-accusations-regarding-olig

      Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk dismissed Odesa regional administration chief and former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili’s claims that Ukrainian oligarchs control the executive branch.

      I would like to address the head of the Odesa regional state administration: I understand all his emotionality, and I understand what hard times he is having now. It’s hard for everyone. We all are united here, and therefore emotions and groundless accusations play only into the hands of those who are against reforms and against real changes in Ukraine. It is even more unseemly for a former president to resort to lying accusations. But I am his first ally,’ Yatseniuk said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Friday.

  • Apartment block in Odesa set on fire
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/apartment-block-in-odesa-set-on-fire-396802.html

    Ukraine – A 22-storey building in the district of Arkadia in Odesa set on fire, an Interfax-Ukraine correspondent reported on Aug. 29.

    Tentatively upper floors set on fire, and fire quickly spread one of the upper side of the building.

    According to the constructor of the building, it has been commissioned, but it was not inhabited. Eyewitness say that workers could stay in the building.

    A total of 13 rescue teams are extinguishing fire. Rescuers do not have equipment to reach upper floors.

    La légende de l’illustration précise :

    A 22-story unfinished house burns in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Aug. 29. The building is not yet equipped with a sprinkler system, while the stairs for the firefighters take up only to the seventh floor.

    Et donc : un immeuble mis en service (commissioned) sans que son équipement de sécurité soit opérationnel (not yet equipped with a sprinkler system)

  • Odesa is frontier for Ukraine reform drive
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/odesa-is-frontier-for-ukraine-reform-drive-2-396221.html

    The moment of truth may come in September, when the team will introduce in parliament the Odesa reform package. The legislation includes deregulation, cutting the number of designated land uses to two-three from 10, making customs clearance faster and more transparent, abolishing licenses in some industries and lifting the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land.
    […]
    The regional government has hired Western-educated Ukrainians and members of Saakashvili’s Georgian team of reformers. It also employs experts and volunteers, including ones from Odesa Oblast, Russia and the team recruited by Borovik during his work at the Economy Ministry. Borovik was slated to become first deputy economy minister in March but quit after disagreements with Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, whom he accused of stalling reforms.

    Most of the new people at the administration, including Borovik, Marushevska and Maria Gaidar, formerly a Russian opposition activist, are currently working free of charge.

    The regional administration has also fired most of the 27 district heads in Odesa Oblast and is selecting new ones based on professional qualifications. One of the requirements for choosing district heads was fluent English for working with foreign investors.

    We spoke to people in English during telephone interviews,” Borovik said. “We started speaking in English, and if a person didn’t respond, this meant he lied on his resume.

    They were also required to have a good education. “We’re looking for people with a global outlook and people who know the advantages of the region and can promote it,” Marushevska said.

    People with lots of experience in the Ukrainian government were rejected. “It’s more of a downside for us than an upside,” Marushevska said. She also rejected candidates who were lobbyists of specific political clans and people with major business interests in a specific district.

    De bien belles et bonnes réformes à venir. Si les petits cochons ne mangent pas Saakachvili.

    lifting the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land
    ping @odilon

  • Students hand professor over to security service for making pro-separatist statements
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/students-hand-professor-over-to-security-service-for-making-pro-separatist

    The peculiar nature of the conflict in Ukraine, which has not officially been declared a war but has now killed nearly 7,000 people, has produced a strange result: an air of suspicion along the front line so strong it prompts ordinary residents to hunt for “separatists” among their own neighbors and friends.

    On Aug. 13, the Security Service of Ukraine announced it had issued an official warning to a university professor in the western city of Zhytomyr after his own students ratted him out for expressing support for Russia’s actions in eastern Ukraine.

    SBU spokeswoman Irina Martynyuk said in a statement that “if (the professor) repeats these actions he will be detained and his actions will be prosecuted under the Criminal Code.
    […]
    Alexander Demchenko, the head of the “Stop Separatism” volunteer group, has taken the initiative a step further and begun serving as a go-between for ordinary residents and the SBU.

    People living near the front are often afraid to call the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) or just can’t get through, and some don’t even know where to send such information. My partner and I have been collecting complaints (about separatists) for a year now and passing them on to the SBU,” Demchenko said.

    When he first started, he said, most of the calls came from Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, with several tips a day, whereas now most calls come from Kyiv.

    In one case, he said, a man had called to complain about his mother-in-law defending Russia’s actions over dinner.
    […]
    Not everyone is supportive of the widespread initiative to track down separatist collaborators, however.

    In an editorial published by Inforesist.org on Aug. 14, Semyon Gluzman, a former Soviet dissident and the head of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, warned that people could abuse the hotline to settle personal scores.

    With us, separatism is starting to be rooted out and persecuted using the recipe of Yozhov and Beria. (Nikolai Yozhov and Lavrentiy Beria, two heads of the Soviet secret police under dictator Josef Stalin). Publicly calling for the population to spot those who are not content (with the current situation). I would like to ask one question: what percentage of people living in shelled, starving and socially deprived villages in Donbas are content? And what percentage of the so-called content people wouldn’t use the opportunity to tattle on “separatists” to settle scores with their previous enemies, their annoying neighbor or ex-husband who doesn’t want to pay alimony?

  • Government’s duel with oligarchs switches to Odesa beach
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/business/governments-duel-with-oligarchs-switches-to-odesa-beach-394260.html


    Multi-millionaire property developer Vasyl Khmelnytsky said the “populist” methods of Odesa Governor Mikheil Saakashvili threaten investment after the former Georgian president ordered thick blocks of concrete removed on July 20 to give the public access to a city beach near property that Khmelnytsky owns on land he leases from the city.
    © Courtesy

    The public battle between Ukraine’s rich and powerful oligarchs and the government has shifted to the Black Sea port city of Odesa, and the current battleground – appropriately for a seaside city – is a beach.

    Citing a broadly defined law in the Water Code that allows the public unimpeded access to shorelines, Odesa Governor Mikheil Saakashvili on July 20 ordered a fence to be removed made of concrete blocks and shattered glass that had prevented public access to a city beach.

    The seashore area is part of a private residence that sits on land leased from the city government. The residence belongs to multi-millionaire property developer and former Party of Regions lawmaker Vasyl Khmelnytsky.

    Khmelnytsky, in an emailed statement on July 24, said that on the day the concrete fence was removed, the city government had given him notice either to provide within 10 days permits for the leased land and other related documents, or to remove the barrier.

    But immediately after this (receiving the notice) the fence was demolished without any judicial ruling, without court executors and without even waiting for July 30, (the date) set by the city council,” Khmelnytsky said.

    The Prosecutor General’s Office has cited legal hurdles and Interpol’s reluctance to put suspects on its wanted list as reasons for the slow pace of the investigations.

    • Pendant ce temps-là, un peu plus à l’ouest…

      La plage de Vallauris officiellement fermée avant l’arrivée du roi Salmane
      http://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2015/07/25/la-plage-de-vallauris-officiellement-fermee-avant-l-arrivee-du-roi-salmane_4

      Les quelque cent mille signatures recueillies en une semaine sur la pétition en ligne n’auront pas infléchi la position des autorités : la plage de la Mirandole, qui jouxte la villa du roi d’Arabie saoudite, à Vallauris Golfe-Juan, est interdite au public depuis samedi 25 juillet à 8 heures.

      La préfecture des Alpes-Maritimes a confirmé avoir signé vendredi soir un arrêté d’interdiction d’accès du public à la bande littorale qui longe la demeure où le monarque saoudien a prévu une visite privée pour ses vacances, accompagné d’un millier de Saoudiens, dont sept cents de sa suite. A défaut de grillage, dont la mise en place a été interdite, des policiers en faction sont désormais chargés de bloquer l’accès au rivage.

      Cet arrêté ne devait initialement entrer en vigueur qu’à l’arrivée de Salmane Ben Abdelaziz Al-Saoud, prévue samedi après-midi, mais des risques d’occupation de la plage de la part de personnes contestant la fermeture de cet espace public ont précipité la décision des autorités. Par ailleurs, un arrêté du préfet maritime doit entrer en vigueur ce samedi midi, interdisant toute navigation en mer dans une bande littorale de 300 mètres au droit de la propriété saoudienne.

      Des policiers mobilisés

      Ce contournement exceptionnel de la loi littoral, qui interdit en principe toute privatisation des plages, a été justifié par des motifs de sécurité par la préfecture de Grasse. « Dans le contexte actuel, il est impossible de faire coexister un chef d’Etat en exercice, qui plus est engagé sur des terrains de guerre, avec des riverains, a expliqué au Monde le sous-préfet. La France a le devoir de protéger les chefs d’Etat des pays alliés qui la visite, et l’Arabie saoudite en fait partie. »

      Ça fait toujours ça de moins pour NDDL (et ailleurs…)

  • Saakashvili signs reforms deal with US on regional support for Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/saakashvili-signs-reforms-deal-with-us-on-regional-support-for-odesa-39393

    Odesa Governor Mikheil Saakashvili has signed a memorandum with the United States, assuring American support in reforming the region. The memorandum was counter-signed by William R. Brownfield, assistant secretary of state for drugs and law enforcement. It marks the first agreement between the U.S. and a regional Ukrainian government.

    Posting pictures of the ceremony on his Facebook page, the former Georgian president said that the U.S. will assist in “reforming customs, administrative services and the provision of free legal services to volunteers.” Police officers from California, who are training Odesa’s new police patrol, were also present during the signing ceremony.

    The U.S. State Department announced the forthcoming agreement Brownfield’s visit via a website update on July 6, stating that it “strongly supports” Odesa’s anti-corruption initiative.

    We are funding an anti-corruption action team of Ukrainian and international experts in the governor’s office, and launching a new anti-corruption grants program to broaden and deepen our cooperation with civil society partners,” according to the State Department announcement.
    […]
    Speaking to reporters at a press briefing held on July 17 at the U.S. embassy in Budapest, Brownfield stated that he was “proud of the newly-trained police” in Odesa, but asked that “you not hold us to a standard of seeing nirvana and paradise arrive in 24 hours.

    He continued: “Any new police institution requires time to understand their communities and their people.

  • Hundred U.S. Humvees arrive in Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/hundred-us-humvees-arrive-in-odesa-393777.html

    A batch of 100 HMMWV military vehicles have arrived on July 18 from the United States to Odesa, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt has reported.

    One hundred HMMWV military vehicles arrived from the United States to Odesa in the morning of July 18, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt says.
    © Volodymyr Petrov

    Véhicule non létal, j’imagine…

  • Saakashvili supports legalization of gambling in Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/saakashvili-supports-legalization-of-gambling-in-odesa-393622.html

    Chairman of Odesa Regional State Administration Mikheil Saakashvili has spoken out in favor of the legalization of gambling in Odesa.

    Souhaitons la réalisation prochaine de ce grand pas en avant pour la lutte pour la transparence et contre la corruption…

  • Minister: #Saakashvili will go from Georgian president to Odesa governor
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/kyiv-post-plus/minister-saakashvili-will-go-from-georgian-president-to-odesa-governor-389

    In another move to curtail the influence of billionaire oligarch Igor Kolomoisky, President Petro Poroshenko is expected to name ex-Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili as governor of Odesa Oblast.

    Ecology and Natural Resources Minister Ihor Shevchenko said in a Facebook post on May 29 that the Cabinet of Ministers recommended the appointment of Saakashvili to the strategic oblast. Saakashvili has been a top adviser to Poroshenko.

    The final decision is up to the president of Ukraine, as stipulated by the Constitution,” Shevchenko wrote. There was no official announcement from the president’s website late on May 29.

    Shevchenko told the Kyiv Post that Saakashvili would be a good appointment “in any place, because he is a meritocrat” and that the change is in the best interests of Ukraine.

    Odesa Oblast is one of Ukraine’s most difficult regions because of its history of corruption as well as its strategic location as the top Black Sea port, no doubt coveted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

    #Odessa

    • Il se dit qu’ils l’ont choisi exprès parce qu’il n’a pas de « réseau » dans le secteur et donc pourra plus facilement échapper aux presions, et ne sera pas tenté de tomber dans le cycle de la « coruption » (c’est-à-dire soigner ses amis).

      Mais il va sans doute très vite avoir beaucoup de nouveaux amis". Il faudra qu’il choisisent bien !

  • People mourn victims on anniversary of fire killing dozens in Trade Union House in Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/multimedia/photo/anniversary-of-the-deadly-fire-at-the-trade-union-house-in-odessa-387682.h


    People take pictures of a memorial for the victims of a fire that erupted at the Trade Union House (background) a year ago as they mark the one-year anniversary in Odesa, southern Ukraine, on May 2.
    © AFP

    Les quelques articles reprennent pour l’essentiel le contenu de celui du Guardian en rapportant la présentation faite par le « Groupe du 2 mai », l’inefficacité absolue de l’enquête officielle sans trop insister (en général) sur l’absence totale de volonté d’aboutir.
    Guardian http://seenthis.net/messages/366453
    Le Monde http://seenthis.net/messages/366675

    Même le rapport de la commission du Conseil de l’Europe est plus affirmatif sur cette inertie gouvernementale. Bien que paru il y a 15 jours, sans avoir été vraiment repris, il n’est absolument jamais cité dans aucun de ces articles — http://seenthis.net/messages/361481

  • PGO suspects ex-chief of Odesa region police of criminal negligence during May 2 events (UPDATED)
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/pgo-suspects-ex-chief-of-odesa-region-police-of-criminal-negligence-during

    The Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has notified former head of the Interior Ministry’s branch in Odesa region Petro Lutsiuk of suspicion of negligence of duties during the tragic events in Odesa on May 2, 2014.

  • Almost 20 people held in Odesa for involvement in Bessarabia separatist project - SBU
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/almost-20-people-held-in-odesa-for-involvement-in-bessarabia-separatist-pr

    The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has neutralized a criminal group whose aim was to proclaim an illegal state entity in Odesa region, advisor to the SBU chief Markiyan Lubkivsky said.

    Visiblement, le SBU et le ministère de ll’Intérieur sont nerveux à Odessa.
    Rendez-vous samedi.

  • Poroshenko calls for more transparency in Odesa fire inquiry
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/poroshenko-calls-for-more-transparency-in-odesa-fire-inquiry-385924.html

    Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has everyone reassured that the Ukrainian government and law enforcement authorities are doing all they can to prevent provocations and acts of sabotage in Odesa during the upcoming May holidays.

    (intégralité de la brève)

    C’est l’assemblage du titre et de la brève qui permet de comprendre que le pouvoir ukrainien craint la commémoration du massacre du 2 mai l’année dernière à Odessa. D’où cette annonce de « plus de transparence » sur l’enquête.

    Ce ne devrait pas être trop compliqué puisqu’il semble bien que du côté de l’enquête, il ne se passe rigoureusement rien ! Il continuera à ne rien se passer au vu et au su de tout le monde.

    Que demande le peuple ?

    De tout cela l’Ouest se tape copieusement, au moins autant, il faut bien le dire, qu’il se tape copieusement de l’enquête sur Maïdan.

  • ENP 2014 report recommends Ukraine investigates violent acts in Kyiv and Odesa
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/enp-2014-report-recommends-ukraine-investigates-violent-acts-in-kyiv-and-o

    The European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) in Ukraine Progress Report 2014, which was approved on March 25, has recommended that an investigation into the events which happened on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in Kyiv and in Odesa last year be initiated.

    #Odessa

    Politique européenne de voisinage — Wikipédia
    https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politique_européenne_de_voisinage

    La Politique européenne de voisinage (PEV) est une politique de l’Union européenne (UE) visant à améliorer ses relations avec ses voisins n’entrant pas dans le projet d’adhésion. Cette politique favorise les relations avec l’UE sur des thèmes tels que la sécurité, la stabilité et l’économie avec ses nouveaux pays voisins.
    (…)
    Le partenariat oriental a ainsi été inauguré au Sommet de Prague en mai 2009, visant à rapprocher l’UE de 6 pays : l’Arménie, l’Azerbaïdjan, la Géorgie, la Moldavie, l’Ukraine et la Biélorussie. Il représente la dimension orientale de la PEV et renforce les relations bilatérales entre l’UE et ses partenaires.

    • Based on the assessment of its progress in 2014 on implementing the ENP, Ukraine should focus its work in the coming year on:
      (…)
      • continue to investigate independently the violent acts which occurred during civil protests in November 2013 – February 2014, as well as the tragic events in Odessa in May 2014, with the support of the International Advisory Panel proposed by the Council of Europe;
      (…)

      Ukraine Progress Report
      http://eeas.europa.eu/enp/pdf/2015/ukraine-enp-report-2015_en.pdf

      La page des rapports adoptés le 25 mars 2015
      http://eeas.europa.eu/enp/documents/progress-reports/index_en.htm

    • Compte-rendu par RFE/RL. Pas un mot sur la nécessité d’enquêtes indépendantes sur les événements de Maïdan et Odessa…

      EU Criticizes Azerbaijan, Notes Ukraine’s Challenges
      http://www.rferl.org/content/eu-azerbaijan-ukraine-rights/26920111.html

      UKRAINE

      The European Commission says reforms in Ukraine were carried out in “a very difficult political, economic, social and military/security context of armed conflicts.

      The paper notes that civil society in the country has been developing quickly and that the decentralization process has been launched.

      It also points out that the human rights situation both in the annexed Crimea and in eastern Ukraine has “_worsened drastically.”

      Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in March 2014 and a conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 6,000 people since April.

      Brussels suggests the implementation of a comprehensive anticorruption package in Ukraine, harmonization of all electoral legislation, comprehensive reform of the public administration, and ensuring that the lustration processes in the executive and the judiciary are in line with relevant international standards.

    • Un peu plus de détail, ici [uk]
      http://naspravdi.com.ua/news/v-odesi-pobilisja-prihilniki-majdanu-i-antimajdanu

      В Одесі побилися прихильники Майдану і Антимайдану
      http://naspravdi.com.ua/news/v-odesi-pobilisja-prihilniki-majdanu-i-antimajdanu

      «Майданівці» вирішили заспівати в суді гімн України, опоненти відповіли їм «Священною війною», зав’язалася бійка, яку довелося рознімати міліціонерам. Також зазначимо, що «Самооборона Майдану» з нецензурною лайкою зчепилася з адвокатами підсудних, звинувачуючи їх в захисті «сепаратистів» та нетрадиційній сексуальній орієнтації. Після цього «самооборонівці» вирішили штурмувати залу судових засідань, люди їм скандували «вбивці».

      Врешті-решт, міліція була вимушена стягувати додаткові сили. Тільки завдяки цим діям правоохоронці зробили коридор, завдяки чому до судової зали провели звинувачених, захисників та інших учасників процесу. Тільки після цього засідання суду змогли почати.

      Les pro-Maïdan chantent l’hymne national dans la salle d’audience déclenchant des bagarres, puis (si je comprends bien la traduction auto) prennent d’assaut la salle, avant de se faire évacuer et que le procès puisse commencer.

      Une première audience n’avait pu se tenir le 27 novembre du fait de l’absence de la défense.

  • Right Sector roughs up Shufrych in Odesa, promises new attacks
    http://www.kyivpost.com/content/politics/right-sector-brutalizes-shufrych-in-odesa-promises-new-attacks-366467.html

    Opposition lawmaker Nestor Shufrych, seeking re-election in the Oct. 26 parliament, ended his campaign tour to Odesa on Sept. 30 in a hospital bed, after several dozen local activists of militant Right Sector attacked him and roughed him up. They blame him for crimes committed by the regime of ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.

    Shufrych, who was elected to the current parliament as part of Yanukovych’s Party of Regions party list, is now going to parliament as No. 7 from the Opposition Bloc, a group formed predominantly from former Yanukovych’s allies.

    Shufrych said he was planning to conduct a short press conference in the building of the Odesa regional government administration. Learning of his plans, members of the militantly nationalist Right Sector found him and threw him into a trash bin and marked him with green paint.

    Mykola Skoryk, deputy of Odesa Oblast council and a former oblast governor was also been beaten up along with Shufrych.

    I’m surprised to put it mildly by what happened today in the building of regional administration,” Shufrych said, lying in a hospital bed with a red nose and bandaged right eye. “It is a demonstration of what the authority in Ukraine and Odesa, in particular, look like,” he added.