BY
Following almost seamlessly from yesterday’s
entry,
the issues surrounding Mrs Deeva and more to the point, the broader issues
behind that incident that were raised, the resignation of Khatia
Dekanoidze as head of the National Police on 14th November brings with it yet
more flux within the Ministry of Interior.
Khatia
Dekanoidze has been a stalwart of reform within the Ministry of Interior since
her appointment, attempting to maintain police independence from political
interference and implementing best practice. The national police, as it
currently stands and is currently perceived by the public, will notice her
absence for it is not an institution yet strong enough to insure its own
independence.
In a democratic
society of course, political parties, rule of law and State institutions are
robust enough, have the institutional memory and culture that survives the
change of any leader. It has to be said that at the current stage of
development for the National Police that is simply not the position it finds
itself in.
Hotly tipped as
the new head of the National Police is Vadim Troyan, a former Azov Battalion
deputy commander, one time member of the far right “Patriots of Ukraine”
movement, appointed head of Kyiv police by Arsen Avakov in November 2014, and
currently Deputy Head of the National Police.
There will
naturally be those particularly cautious regarding his possible leadership of
the National Police. It may well be that he can successfully
compartmentalise his personal far right politics and fully separate them from
how he would run the National Police. There is little in the public realm
that would suggest he cannot – although what occurs privately and what has been
mitigated by the influence of Khatia Dekanoidze is unknown. It is
perhaps a matter of self-discipline for Mr Troyan of which he may be fully
capable of meeting.
Whatever the
case, no more can a genuinely independent national police serve a political
ideology than it can serve the whims of a particular politician or biases of a
police chief. Police independence is required to serve the public, and
not simply parts of the public that may share a certain ideology or vote a
certain way.
In short the police exist to consistently and
impartially uphold the rule of law – and this is best done as a police service acting with the consent of the
public, rather than as a police force imposed upon the
public.
Clearly the
police cannot be independent if it is overtly or covertly loyal to a particular
politician, yet Mr Troyan is considered exceptionally close to Interior
Minister Avakov.
Both are Kharkiv natives and have had interaction there
on and off since 2005.
Clearly that interaction has been far more “on”
than “off” in recent years after Minister Avakov plucked Mr Troyan from the
Azov senior ranks and placed him in a top policing role.
Thus there are
grounds for concern regarding the political neutrality of the National Police
should he assume the role. Indeed the out-going Khatia Dekanoidze does
not consider Mr Troyan a suitable replacement and publicly stated she
considered him not to be a politically independent person. (The inference
being he is a willful instrument of Minister Avakov.)
Is a reader then
to look closely at the political empire of Arsen Avakov in a dramatically new
light considering his disregard for law and procedures in appointing Mrs Deeva
per yesterday’s entry and his maneuvering of those closely associated to him to
the highest and most powerful positions within the ministry which he oversees?
Well perhaps –
but should a reader’s view be so restricted to the obvious empire building and
consolidation around Arsen Avakov?
If the aperture
is widened to ideology, how many more Vadim Troyan’s are there across the
“power ministries” quietly being placed within and rising up the ranks?
And to where does it lead?
Should a reader
be mindful of the subtle creation of foundations for a “Kemalism/Ataturkism UA
style” future State? Or at least the possibility thereof? If so who
among the Ukrainian constituency understands the nuances of Kemalism and the six
pillars therein?
There is then
the question of just how it would manifest.
Something to
mull over perhaps.
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