Ukraine-Forum von Ukraine-Nachrichten.de

The Heinrich Böll Foundation in cooperation with Gazeta Wyborcza and
Nasze Slowo invite you to an open debate:

Ukraine five years after the revolution - a success or a failure?

December 10th 2009, 6.00 p.m.

Venue: Agora, ul. Czerska 8/10 (Entrance from ul. Czerniakowska)

The Orange Revolution is often dubbed "Ukraine's European revival".
To defend democratic principles, the hero of the Revolution, Viktor
Yushchenko, mobilised millions of Ukrainian men and women to take to
the streets. The flare-up in Maidan heralded new hope that Ukraine
will yet become a free and democratic state. Five years on, Ukraine
is disappointing. The objective of bringing Ukraine closer to the
European Union and NATO has not been accomplished. The political rift
pitting President Yushchenko, Prime Minister Tymoshenko and the
opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych against one another has laid bare
the falsehood of the alleged friendship between the revolutionary
heroes and bogged down the necessary reform. Divisions in Ukraine
still run deep and a debate about the ruptures in the country is ever
ongoing.

Ukraine is mired by constant political difficulties, compounded with
annual gas crises and the recent economic meltdown.

The Ukrainian political elite is the one to blame for the current
situation - having squandered the social capital of the Orange
Revolution it has also lost the public trust, both internationally
and within the country itself. Unlike the general public, the
political elite has failed the test in democracy. Today, with Ukraine
heading for another election, the question as to whether Ukrainian
citizens stand a chance of breaking the deadlock and continuing the
democratic process is more topical than ever.

During the debate,

- Professor Jaroslav Hrycak - publicist and historian of the
University of Lviv,

- Professor Miroslav Popovych - Director of Institute of
Philosophy of National Academy of Science of Ukraine, Kiev, and

- Andrew Wilson - European Council on Foreign Relations, London

will discuss the following questions:

§ Five years on, what has the Orange Revolution changed in Ukraine?
Will the revolutionary values of democracy and freedom survive? How
much of the great change is still left in the society?

§ Will the upcoming election put an end to political disputes and
lead to national reforms? Are democratic transformations possible
with the current political elite or must it be deposed if the effort
of the Orange Revolution to achieve Ukrainian democracy is not to be
wasted?

§ Is a change of the elite possible in the Ukraine? What conditions
would have to be met for the change to be possible? Is it possible
through an evolution of the current elite or is another revolution
necessary?

The meeting will be chaired by Marcin Wojciechowski from Gazeta
Wyborcza.

The discussion will be held in Polish and English with simultaneous
interpretation available. After the debate, you will be invited for a
glass of wine and picture show from the orange Ukraine.

Please confirm your participation by phone: 022 59 42 333, or e-mail:
hbs(at)boell.pl