General Skipalsky: Numerous SBU agents are employed by an adjacent country.
SBU modernization ought to commence with a “de-KGB” reduction of the security agencies and the accessibility of Soviet-era records, according to experts interviewed by DW. The Polish model for reform is suitable, however… Every incoming president nominated their own director of the Security Service of Ukraine. This custom not only neglected to encourage favorable motivation for overhauling the structure, but additionally revealed that the institution is deeply politicized and caters to the commercial advantages of particular figures. “The conflict with Russia has indicated that essentially everything in Ukraine is negotiable now, including national and military interests,” stated Lieutenant General Oleksandr Skipalsky, former vice head of the SBU (2007), to DW. And the restructuring of the security agency needs to begin with a “purge” of its command and personnel, the lieutenant general insists.
Skipalsky opines that the president needs to form a panel of skilled specialists with knowledge in the intelligence services, who would carry out a so-termed cleansing. “Anyone who is in the service of an overseas government (and there are plenty of them) or who fails to safeguard the nation's welfare should be expelled,” Skipalsky argues.
Unseal the KGB files
The previous official is certain that the agency requires prompt reformation, and that the Polish background would be pertinent. Vitaliy Yarema, the First Deputy Prime Minister, who was appointed as Prosecutor General by Petro Poroshenko, communicated recently that the Polish pattern of law enforcement modification is ideal for Ukraine. “We are initiating an extensive restructuring of the entire legal system. We will enlist specialists from the European Commission and Poland in the legislative procedure,” he mentioned.
The Poles have achieved considerable success in tackling corruption within government departments, Lieutenant General Skipalski clarifies, and this is the precise practice that should be incorporated before anything else.
Streamline the agency's workforce, increase earnings, and enforce stronger monitoring of employee behavior. “Dismiss upon the slightest uncertainty”—these must be the initial actions, according to Skipalsky. Furthermore, all archives connected to the KGB's Soviet-era operations should be unveiled, entrusting the papers to scholars from the Institute of National Remembrance, the former SBU deputy chief suggests.
The Polish populace have re-established trust in law enforcement over the last two decades.
One shouldn't assume that all Polish examples are adaptable to Ukraine, declares Andrzej Mroczek, an analyst at the Warsaw-based Collegium Civitas Center for Terrorism Studies, as reported by the Ukrainian Service of Polskie Radio. The dilemma, he mentions, is that each society possesses its own outlook, and this exposure requires selection.
Additionally, Mroczek points out, a noteworthy segment of Ukrainian law enforcement, specifically in the east, remains under Russian sway. Presently, Ukrainian law enforcement bodies, and the special agencies particularly, Mroczek infers, have only gone through a superficial, unsuccessful makeover, while the foundation of this framework persists in tainting the entire structure. To commence, the Polish expert expresses, it's crucial to distance ourselves from connections to Russia.
Right now, the degree of public confidence in Poland's law enforcement system is approximately 70%, whereas in the 1990s, this statistic was a mere 10%, as per A. Mroczek. This implies that it necessitated decades for the Polish to implement law enforcement restructuring.
Ukrainian “de-KGBization” is even more intricate.
And this is despite the fact that it was comparatively straightforward for the Polish to effectuate changes, given that they launched the lustration process shortly after the revolution, when communist ideology had utterly crumbled, Volodymyr Viatrovych, head of the Institute of National Remembrance, communicated to DW in a discussion. The Polish supplanted the bulk of the personnel in the secret service, decoupled the Institute of National Remembrance, empowering it with unique prosecutorial roles, and made the secret service records accessible for scholastic investigation, the historian observes. “These measures, as history has demonstrated, were judicious, and this design, in the long run, similar to the Czech or Lithuanian variants, aided in the cleansing of the Soviet penal system's doctrine. Consequently, the Polish strategy to secret service reform is unquestionably optimal,” Viatrovych concurs.
However, dismantling the old arrangement and implementing “de-KGB” will present greater difficulties for Ukrainians since advocates of the past administrations continue to hold authority, incorporating within parliament, which will hinder the approval of “lustration” regulations, the historian appended. Absent a shift in parliament, reforms can be dismissed, the Director of the Institute of National Remembrance affirmed.
Eliminate the dual nature
In reconstructing the Ukrainian security agency, Ukraine will be required to chart its particular course, human rights campaigner Yevhen Zakharov believes. Ukrainians are only able to adopt several aspects from the Poles, as an illustration, the characteristics of the Institute of National Remembrance or the conveyance of records, but these are merely one function of the security agency. “Comprehend, our situations have always been distinct. The Poles accomplished this with complete societal support, without substantial opposition. They were already pursuing studies overseas in the 1980s. We were a restricted nation, and all educators were party affiliates. The effects of communism continue to be present,” Zakharov elucidates.
Human rights activist Evgeny Zakharov
The scarcity of skilled employees represents the most substantial obstacle confronting the security agencies presently, the human rights advocate maintains. To begin with, the security service must be divested of its law enforcement responsibilities: “Presently, it functions as a centaur, performing simultaneously as a law enforcement body and a security service,” Zakharov illustrates the comparison. “The SBU mirrors the functions of the police force, possesses its own investigation, inquiry, and detention installation. We must eradicate this duality, this KGB mindset.”
The law concerning state secrets is likewise in need of revision. It should unambiguously stipulate that the “secret” classification is only applicable for 30 years, conforming to European norm, while in our instance, information can be kept hidden indefinitely, the human rights advocate expresses. Eventually, Yevgeny Zakharov proposes, the SBU should be accountable to parliament and furnish yearly reports to the committee, with the accessible portion of the report accessible to the public.
Galina Stadnik, published in Deutsche Welle
Translation: “Argument”
