UPDATE: Saakashvili allies Marushevska, Dekanoidze resign

By Oleg Sukhov

Ex-National Police Chief Khatia Dekanoidze (L) and Yulia Marushevska, ex-head of Odesa Oblast's customs. Photo by Kostyantyn Chernichkin

Yulia Marushevska, the head of Odesa Oblast’s customs, and National Police Chief Khatia Dekanoidze resigned on Nov. 14 just days after their ally, Mikheil Saakashvili,  the former governor of Odesa Oblast, stepped down.

Marushevska, a EuroMaidan Revolution activist, has headed the region’s customs since last October.

She attributed her resignation to what she sees as sabotage by President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman of her efforts to make customs clearance in Odesa more transparent and graft-free.

Spokespeople for Groysman and Poroshenko did not respond to requests for comment.

“We have exhausted all tools for carrying out reforms, and that’s why I’m resigning,” Marushevska said at a news briefing.

Marushevska told the Kyiv Post on Nov. 14 that continuing to be the chief of Odesa Oblast’s customs “doesn’t make any sense.”

“The current government doesn’t want anything to be done,” she said. “Pressure (on reformers) continues, and there is no hope whatsoever that we will be able to continue this (customs) project.”

She said that “making a choice between (State Fiscal Service head Roman) Nasirov and the customs reform we are proposing, the prime minister and the president are opting for Nasirov and the preservation of corruption schemes.”

Nasirov, who has clashed with Marushevska and threatened to fire her, previously denied accusations of sabotage.

Marushevska told the Kyiv Post on Nov. 7 that her team had held a transparent competition for jobs at a new customs terminal and drafted legislation to launch it. However, Nasirov and Groysman have failed to pass a necessary Cabinet decree, authorize changes to customs software and build the terminal’s building, she said.

Khatia Dekanoidze, who also resigned on Nov. 14, has been head of National Police since last November and was in charge of police reform. Dekanoidze worked under Saakashvili in Georgia as head of the country’s Police Academy.

Dekanoidze listed her achievements in terms of police reform at a news briefing and said she had laid the foundation of a Western-style police force. But she added that she had not had enough powers to carry out a more radical reform.

“I’ll be frank and say that we have failed to root out corruption in our (law enforcement) bodies,” she said. “…Unfortunately my authority and will were not enough for radical change. My function has been accomplished, and that’s why I’m resigning.”

She also said that the police reform would only work if the courts and prosecution service were reformed and urged all politicians to stop interfering with the National Police.

“Appointments in law enforcement agencies must not be negotiated with politicians,” she said.

Dekanoidze’s exit was preceded by that of other Georgian-born police reformers. These include ex-Deputy Interior Minister Ekaterina Zguladze-Glucksmann, as well as Grigory Grigalashvili, ex-head of the National Police’s internal security department, and Odesa Oblast Police Chief Giorgi Lortkipanidze.

The moves come as Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is accused of derailing the vetting of the police by protecting controversial officials accused of corruption and ousting civil society representatives from the vetting process. He denies the accusations.

“Today, when Khatia Dekanoidze resigned, the last hope for continuation of police reforms died,” the AutoMaidan car-based protest group said in a statement calling for Avakov’s dismissal. “Avakov, who is the longest-serving minister, not only completely failed in his main task – reforming his ministry and cleansing it from corruption – but also did his best to block this reform and preserve the old corrupt system… Keeping Avakov in his job is dangerous for the country and, unless further cleansed and reformed, Avakov’s National Police will turn into a Yanukovych-style monster.”

Dekanoidze’s ally Saakashvili last week announced plans to create a new political party and come to power.

Marushevska said that she supported Saakashvili’s plans to set up a new party and that she wanted to be “useful” for his drive to replace the current political elite. She did not specify, however, whether she would join the party.

Earlier this year about 20 top reformers quit government jobs. These include ex-Deputy Prosecutor General Davit Sakvarelidze, a Saakashvili ally, as well as Sasha Borovik and Maria Gaidar, who resigned as deputies of Saakashvili in May.

Though Borovik and Gaidar said then they would stay on as aides, Marushevska said they had effectively not worked in the region since May.

Original