https://m.youtube/watch?v=w9KxeGGPAb8 Channel 24 An opposition with a position. Volodymyr Parasiuk television Interview In this interview Volodymyr Parasiuk responds to questions about his voting record in the early days of the new session of the Verkhovna Rada. For example, he says that he voted for the candidates nominated by President Poroshenko for certain positions, because it is the president who will bear responsibility for them. He didn’t vote in favor of the slate proposed for the Cabinet of Ministers because of the process by which they were brought forward. Parasiuk spoke about efforts to form an opposition, UKROP, as a tangible opposition to the government: a “constructive opposition,” or as he calls it, “an opposition with a position.” The goal would be to prevent the government majority from usurping the limits of its own powers; in other words to have a check and balance in place to avoid a repeat situation to how the practical functioning of government a year ago made the January 16th laws possible and the Madian a necessity. He thinks such opposition politicians would serve a valuable function on the executives of parliamentary committees. There are currently a few deputies in UKROP with talk of others joining them, which originated in a “spontaneous” process, “united around an idea” and not around some oligarch’s money. Describing some of the procedures in the Verkhovna Rada as “very archaic”, he indicated that many of the existing factions are not as unified as they might appear, and some current members will become disgruntled because other fraction members don’t have Ukraine’s best interest at heart. Parasiuk spoke about the budget deliberations for the 2015 budget, expecting the funds “to go where there is the greatest need, namely the military and military reform.” As for the Minister of Defence, he describes his ideal candidate as someone “who knows what war is and how to win this war.” He gave the example of Minister of Internal Affairs , Arsen Avakov: his reforms were handed to him ready made, he said. What works in Kyiv won’t necessarily work in the oblasts, because they have their own particular issues. Parasiuk suggests that Avakov’s first reforms should be to dismiss all those people around him responsible for the corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Volodymyr Parasiuk concluded the interview by stating that he is not scared to take upon himself the responsibilities of governance, or to fulfil his obligations. “This is my country. I am ready to do this, and that’s why I came to the Verkhovna Rada.” It’s time, he said, for the established politicians to do more than merely repeat the rhetoric about how younger politicians must be encouraged to come forward. “Those who voted for us are expecting concrete results” he said.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 22:04:03 +0000