Ukrainians do not trust the government or the media very much. This was true before the war and it didn’t change much through the war.
The deeply engrained mistrust of state institutions becomes particularly painful for families that have lost someone in the war but do not believe the state’s theory about their loss.
Take for example the case of Kovalchuk family (surname changed) from central Ukraine that mourns the loss of a man who was husband, father, and son to them. He was serving in a mechanized unit in the army but saw no combat in the war. He died of a gunshot wound to the head in his battalion’s quarters. The army’s investigation concluded that the man killed himself. The family doesn’t believe that.
Civil society organizations often act as an intermediary when it comes to straighten out strained relations between citizens and the state. During the ongoing war in Donbas they help documenting crimes committed by both warring parties. NGOs and volunteers enjoy much higher trust than the state and the media. They can, however, not take over the role of either of these two pillars of democracy. The state should be the one to investigate and punish crimes. NGOs can put pressure on the state to act, but they shouldn’t provide parallel structures to the state. Especially when people don’t trust the state’s findings about someone lost in the war, NGOs find themselves in a very awkward position.
The lack of detail in the description of the suspected suicide above is intentional. Such cases, when family members accuse state institutions of sloppy investigations or even of cover-up operations have to be dealt with carefully. Time and time again we meet people, who have lost someone during the war but do not believe the theory of death that is offered to them by the army, the police, the SBU, or the prosecutor’s office. This topic is hard to deal with for a number of reasons: Firstly, people, who mourn the death of a beloved one look for meaning in this loss. If the investigators conclude that the reasons of death were a banal accident, human error, or even suicide, this often leaves those behind bereft not only of a family member but also of trust in a meaningful connection between cause and effect. Their grief, and often their anger, are certainly understandable. NGOs can do more in helping build an inclusive commemorative culture that accommodates this grief, than paralleling the state as investigators.
Anyhow, cases, in which the family’s conclusion and the prosecutor’s conclusion diverge, are incredibly hard to verify. In cases where the circumstances of somebody’s death are open to doubt, the ones who could dispel this doubt are usually forensic experts. Such people are not only in short supply, they are also usually employed in an organ of law enforcement, the very institutions that often face mistrust. Bereaved families may express a feeling that something did not go quite right in the investigation, but often they can’t quite put their finger on what it was. Often, the real circumstances of someone’s death cannot be investigated quickly. Rumors start to spread, sometimes picked up by the media, so that indeed the reasons of death declared sometimes have to be revised, as has recently happened in the case of an infantry man from Odessa Oblast, who was killed in combat but had originally been declared dead of heart failure.
One more reason for which mistrust towards investigators is hard to discuss is that it often involves allegations that state organs themselves have broken the law. For human rights activists, who insist that war crimes must be prosecuted and perpetrators punished, allegations against investigators are always problematic. They suggest that authorities try to cover-up something but mostly lack the necessary evidence. To voice allegations without evidence would make human rights activists guilty of the crime they often accuse state organs of: to use rumor or circumstantial evidence in order to silence their opponents. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to make a solid case against the state without the long, in-depth research it takes to gather evidence that the state’s investigation was flawed. There are not many families or, for that matter NGOs, that can afford such investigations.
Suicides have been recognized as one of the armed forces’ chief problems and measures have been taken up recently. Suicides, especially when they occur in an environment full of weapons and violence, leave behind a great deal of uncertainty and doubt, as has been recently shown by the much-discussed death of celebrated fighter pilot Vladyslav Voloshyn. In his case too alternative theories of his death were investigated.
A lack of trust in the institutions involved in fighting a war is perhaps not surprising. There is a host of motives why a state would try to keep numbers of those killed in combat low. High losses not only make a war unpopular, they also make it costlier. The Ukrainian side in this war may sometimes come under suspicion of trying to avoid rent payments to the families of fallen soldiers. The other state involved in this war, Russia, not only outright denies its soldier’s involvement in the Donbas, if they get killed in combat, the state has to come up with its own theory why its soldiers die. Citizen groups representing the families of Russian soldiers have long drawn attention to the total lack of information about the circumstances of the death of Russian in Ukraine.
If the bodies of killed soldiers are hard to identify, only sophisticated technologies, such as DNA analysis or forensic dentistry can help identify a body. These technologies are not intuitively understandable to non-experts, which makes it harder to accept their findings. Also, the army is often very reticent with releasing data from such analyses. They frequently contain classified information. In two of the cases documented by the “Coalition”, relatives of deceased soldiers have also reported that their inquiry for more information was met with unfriendliness and bureaucratic hurdles.
There are civil society groups that try to offer relief to those, whose close ones have disappeared, such as Black Tulip, an organization that identifies bodies and matches the results with data about disappeared soldiers. But for soldiers, who are officially declared dead, it is a very long bureaucratic procedure to change the official theory of their death. If the state’s theory and the family’s theory do not match, the family often does not only have to deal with their loss but also with the deepening of mistrust in the state they live in.
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On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders presented the publication "City, where the war had started" about...
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders presented the publication "City, where the war had started" about human rights violations that took place during the occupation of Sloviansk from April 12, 2014 to July 5, 2014. The presentation was attended by former detainees and victims of the war in the Donbas, IDPs, media and representatives of the cultural sphere.
The speakers of the presentation were:
The seizure of Sloviansk by illegal armed formations was possible due to the inaction of local authorities and local law enforcement agencies. “Our task as human rights defenders is to remind the public about the crimes and the persons responsible for them. We cannot but say that the local authorities were not responsible for the events of 2014 in the city. Unfortunately, we do not see any progress in the investigations. Moreover, some of the politicians, who participated in the events of the "Russian spring", are aiming for the positions in local power," - stressed Anton Udovenko.
Andrii Moskalenko spoke about the functioning of illegal prisons and human trafficking during the occupation of the city. "Civilians were very often transferred between illegal groups that forced detainees to dig trenches during shelling. In fact, people turned into some kind of goods," - said the lawyer. "We also worked on the part about mining and, I must note, the illegal formations mined virtually everything in Sloviansk: schools, the city council, the building of the SBU, thereby endangering the lives of innocent people."
Hanna Kurovska worked on a section about children and adolescents and their experience during the occupation of the city. She also mentioned the cases of involving minors in illegal armed groups. "Therefore, the upbringing of children needs special attention. Unfortunately, many respondents noted the intensified militarization of young people, which took place during the occupation of the city and is ongoing in the self-proclaimed republics."
"Everyone`s story is special, and our task is to preserve it and present to the public in order to rethink the traumatic experience that innocent people went through in 2014," - said Maria Biliakova. "In the process of documenting, we saw several ways how people can work on reconciliation. The basis for it is the ability to listen to the opinion of another, grassroots initiatives and respect for human life and dignity. That is why the volunteers had a high level of trust right after the release of the city".
Former prisoner of the "DPR" Iryna Boiko testified during the presentation about what she saw while being held in one of the illegal prisons. "The locals were thrown into the basement for 15 days. They said either you pay a huge "fine", or you join us, or we will kill you. And, of course, many went to illegal formations in order to survive. And I have to say that these people deserve to be forgiven ", - said Iryna Boiko. "I also saw many children, these were teenagers of 14-17 years old, who settled at the prosecutor's office. I heard how they were brainwashed. It was a very strong pressure on the child's psyche".
Facebook translation of the event: https://www.facebook.com/jfp.org/videos/1030542370717977/
The publication "City, where the war had started" was prepared by the Eastern Ukrainian Center of Civic Initiatives, the CF "Vostok SOS", the Human Rights Center for Public Research, Moloda Prosvita Prykarpattya, the Public Committee for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Citizens, which are members of the Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbass ”, supported by Kurve Wustrow - Center for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action within the framework of the Civil Peace Service program funded by the German Federal Government.
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders will present the publication "City, where the war had started" ab...
On October 2 at 16:00 in Poltava Art Museum human rights defenders will present the publication "City, where the war had started" about human rights violations that took place during the occupation of Sloviansk from April 12, 2014 to July 5, 2014.
Sloviansk became not just a city where the war in the East of Ukraine had begun - the events in the city became a role model for seizure of other cities of Donbas. During the presentation, human rights defenders will discuss civilians survived and adapted to life under occupation, the activities of illegal armed formations controlled by the Russian Federation, and the direct commander Igor Girkin; persecution of residents for their religious beliefs; involvement of minors in illegal armed groups; problems of shelling and mining of civilian infrastructure. Also, the authors of the publication will highlight the issue of pro-Russian propaganda in the city and the problem of finding ways of reconciliation in society after the restoration of government control over Sloviansk.
The Coalition members are going to explain why the experience of Sloviansk is so important for understanding the war and reconciliation processes in the East of Ukraine:
The presentation will be broadcasted on the page of Coalition "Justice for Peace in Donbas".
For any questions regarding organization, please contact Iryna Boiko: +380503051284.
The event will be organized in compliance with all anti-epidemic recommendations of the Public Health Center of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.
The publication "City, where the war had started" was prepared by the Eastern Ukrainian Center of Civic Initiatives, the CF "Vostok SOS", the Human Rights Center for Public Research, Moloda Prosvita Prykarpattya, the Public Committee for the Protection of Constitutional Rights and Freedoms of Citizens, which are members of the Coalition Justice for Peace in Donbass ”, supported by Kurve Wustrow - Center for Training and Networking in Nonviolent Action within the framework of the Civil Peace Service program funded by the German Federal Government.
Interactive exhibition of testimonies "On the Rift" about the violation of rights of civilians during the war in Donbas was presente...
Interactive exhibition of testimonies "On the Rift" about the violation of rights of civilians during the war in Donbas was presented to public on September 17 at 15:00 in the Regional Universal Scientific Library in Khmelnytsky. It is the 12th city where the exhibition is being shown. Among the guests of the presentation were representatives of public organizations, former detainess and witnesses of the war from Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, volunteers, and representatives of culture and media.
"On the Rift" reveals the essence of the changes that the civilian population faced in 2014 on 14 stands, and 5 of the are interactive. The last stand "What do we have in common?" works also as an interactive review book, where the viewer has the opportunity to leave a comment about the exhibition.
"We chose the name "On the Rift" because it clearly shows the irreversibility of changes that have taken place in people's lives because of the chaos created by "L / DPR" illegal formations. Key themes are human fear, family separation, atomization of society, uncertainty, despair, horror experienced by prisoners, sexual and gender-based violence in illegal prisons in Donbas. We demonstrate thorough research the answers to the questions: “When have the war started?”, “What is restoration of justice for you?", - noted Anton Udovenko, project manager of the Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives.
The exhibition "On the Rift" was also created as a discussion platform for discussing the problems of war victims. “We can once again be convinced that art can serve as a tool for change when there is strong polarization in society. Thanks to the testimonies of these people who are mentioned in the exhibition, we can feel their stories and understand the severity of the challenges they have faced because of war. This is an exhibition of empathy. It shows that it is worth learning to understand each other in order to prevent events like in 2014," - said Olga Bauer, head of the NGO "Eco-Culture," local co-organizer of the exhibition.
Former prisoners and witnesses of hostilities in the East of Ukraine also had the opportunity to speak: Halyna Haiova, who was a prisoner of the illegal prison "Izolyatsia" for 16 months, and Kateryna Kramskova, an IDP and the wife of a militaryman who witnessed the seizure of Luhansk.
During the presentation, between the participants arose a discussion regarding the vision of reintegration of the occupied territories. Some of those present underlines impossibility of reintagration in the future.
"How could you say that we need to clear that territory? People live there, it is devoid of respect for them", - noted Ivan, a former resident of Luhansk.
"There are still people in Luhansk, who support Ukraine. They hung yellow and blue T-shirts alongside on Flag Day to show their position. Don't forget about it", - noted Anastasia, also a former resident of Luhansk, head of the local Center for Tolerance.
Facebook translation of the event: https://www.facebook.com/jfp.org/videos/338672117469868
The presentation and creation of the exhibition "On the Rift" was possible within the framework of the project "Empowering Civil Society to Transform the Culture of Memory - Nonviolent Ways to Resolve the Cruel Past of Donbas", implemented by public organizations Kurve Wustrow (Germany) and Eastern Ukrainian Center for Civic Initiatives (Ukraine) together with NGO "Eco-Culture" and partners supported by the German Federal Government.
The Secretariat of the Coalition «Justice for Peace in Donbas»
04060, Kyiv, Ryzhska str., 73 G
