02’01

VO:

Euro 2012 will kick off in six weeks' time. But should the Ukraine be co-hosting the event?

00:02:10:14 00:02:12:04 01:15

No camera, please.

Theme song Reporter

Title Ukraine: European Championship Corruption

2’30

VO:

The first match of Euro 2012 between Poland and Greece will kick off on 8th June in this stadium.

The pitch is getting plenty of TLC

and the dressing rooms are ready.

There's a new whiteboard for the coach.

And special washbasins for cleaning the teams’ football boots.

No expense has been spared.

00:02:50:08 00:02:52:16 02:08

Van Persie, flick-on header.

00:02:52:19 00:02:54:17 01:23

Robben is past the defender.

00:02:54:20 00:02:57:04 02:09

Robben, now.

00:02:57:07 00:03:00:02 02:20

And again Robben is stopped by Casillas.

3’00

VO:

Two years ago it all went south

when we did not become world champion.

00:03:06:00 00:03:07:23 01:23

The match goes on.

3’10

VO:

This year the Ukraine is set to co-host the European Championships with Poland.

Many of the championship matches are to be held in

Kharkov, Ukraine's second biggest city.

Lenin shows the way, but someone else is boss here now.

Billionaire Oleksandr Yaroslavsky...

...also known as the King of Kharkov.

Yaroslavsky owns the airport, the five-star hotel, the football club...

...and the stadium where the teams will play.

We can't interview Yaroslavsky...

...but we get a guided tour by his spokesman, Sergey.

JV & Sergey

-         “So this is where the team walks when the game starts?”

-         “Yes through this tunnel here.”

-         “So how big is the stadium?”

-         “It’s very big stadium, but not big in the stadium of Ukraine.”

JV & Sergey

-          “For the Dutch team the grass has to be short.”

-         “Yes, I know, I know!”

4’08

VO:

Sergey also takes us to his boss' skybox.

 “You see, this is VIP area, this is President’s skybox, only President.”

Q: “This is all for the President?”

“Yes, this skybox is only for Presidents; for Oleksander Yaroslavsky, Michel Platini, Mr Yanukovuch, / …. Lezen...”

4’30

VO:

This skybox is only open to the biggest

dignitaries, like UEFA boss Michel Platini.

And the most powerful man of all.

00:04:39:20 00:04:42:12 02:17

I, Viktor Yanukovych...

00:04:42:15 00:04:47:16 05:01

...chosen by the Ukrainian people as president of Ukraine.

4’50

VO:

The Ukrainian president will be attending several of the matches.

30:      00:04:54:16 00:04:58:04 03:13

And this president is a controversial figure.

5’12

The president's biggest political opponent

is held in this prison...

...after being convicted in a show trial.

The prison is located in Kharkov,

just a ten-minute ride from the stadium.

Europe's biggest political prisoner

is behind these walls:

Opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

Demonstraters:

“We are supporting Julia Tymoshenko, our leader of Ukraine.”

“She not guilty, she is innocent.”

“If she is innocent, then why is she in prison?”

“Because she is real opponent of power; we believe our ruler is a criminal.”

Serhiy Vlasenko:

Advocate for Tymoshenko

-         “When is the last time you saw her?”

-         “Yesterday.”

-         “How was she?”

-         “Most of the day she is lying in the bed, having no ability to stand up without any help, so the lady who sits with her in the cell just helps her to move around inside the room. Today she also had the walking aids and so she had the possibility to walk with the walking aid.”

6’31

VO:

Her lawyer says Tymoshenko

suffers from back pain...

...and does not receive

the required medical help.

Serhiy Vlasenko:

A: “The state doesn’t want to treat Ms Tymoshenko.”

Q: “Why not?”

A: “Because she is personal, political enemy of the president Yanukovych.”

6’49

VO:

The trial against Tymoshenko started in June last year.

00:06:52:19 00:06:55:07 02:13

It was a rowdy spectacle.

Vlasenko:

“We had no time to prepare; they gave me nine days for revising 24 volumes of the case, which are three hundred pages each, so that's nothing.”

7’20

VO:

The trial is about a deal that Tymoshenko made with Russia in 2009. At the time she was prime-minister of Ukraine...

...and she imported large amounts of Russian gas.

Tymoshenko is not accused of having kept the money for herself.

But the price Tymoshenko agreed on is far too high, according to the Public Prosecutor.

Vlasenko:

 A: She was convicted for a political decision. The same is now being done by prime minister Azarov, who is negotiating with Russia about gas issues. That's a normal political task for the prime minister - to negotiate. She never abused her powers.”

8’04

VO:

According to Amnesty International...

...Tymoshenko should never have been

indicted.

Tanya Mazur:

A:  “She made some decisions as a politician, not because she killed somebody or she did something, you know, committed some other crimes, so that's why we think she should be punished by voters, not by judges. And she shouldn't be in a prison, she should be released immediately. And so we are calling on her release.”

8’37

VO:

The trial against Tymoshenko is politically motivated...

...aiming to silence the opposition.

Or so says Nico Lange,

Head of a German think tank in Kiev.

Nico has lived in the Ukraine for years and knows Tymoshenko personally.

Lange:

 “when we took that Photo I had to wait for her because she was at the General’s Prosecutor’s Office. This was the time when she was being summoned everyday to the general  prosecutor to give some statements or to familiarize with the files of the case.”

A:.”The aim is to make the most important opponent disappear and so to give a warning to those who have any illusions against Yanukovych.“

Fragment, vertaling:

“The chairman of the Constitutional Court

presents the decoration....

...of the presidency to Viktor

Yanukovych, as president of Ukraine.”

Lange:

“..Judges are appointed in Ukraine, and the mechanism of appointing judges is a very interesting one, because it's done by the High Council of Justice. And the High Council of Justice is appointed by the president. ...”

”judges are not independent. This special judge in the Tymoshenko trail is very interesting, because he has been appointed just before this trial. He was a judge who was still on probation, on his trial period. It's like having an intern trying the former prime minister in the most important case the country has ever seen.”

10’18

VO:

In October 2011 Yulia Tymoshenko

was sentenced to seven years in jail.

The former Ukrainian prime minister disappeared in a police van.

The conviction was strongly condemned

by the EU and the US.

Other members of the opposition were also arrested for 'corruption'.

In recent weeks Tymoshenko has gone on a hunger strike...

...in protest over her treatment.

While her condition deteriorates new charges are being prepared...

...including even incitement to murder.

Vlasenko:

“with the situation as it is in Ukraine at the moment, the prosecutor could take an absolutely blank piece of paper and write on it that she killed president Kennedy and present it to the court and she will be convicted for that. And there will be two, or three people who will say: we are the witnesses, we saw that.”

Platini – Euro 2012.

11’26

The hosting of Euro 2012...

...has been awarded to...

...Poland and Ukraine.

VO:

UEFA boss Michael Platini announced his choice in 2007.

Five years later he refuses to speak out

publicly about Yulia Tymoshenko...

...and the other opposition members

who have been convicted.

The UEFA is a football association,

says Platini...

...not a political organisation.

Lange:

“If UEFA has values such as fairness for example, and sticking to the rules of the game, then they should speak up if in the country there is no fairness and the rules of the game are not followed.

Q: Mr Platini says we're about football not about politics.

A: Yes but as I said even in football there are some basic values, without those basic values it is not possible to play the game.”

CUT FROM START OF THE SEQUENCE PANNING ALONG THE DUTCH TEAM SINGING ANTHEM

Vlasenko:

Q: “Is there anything the Dutch team can do to help your client Ms Tymoshenko who is being detained in Kharkov?

A: If they will participate with a small eh you know the red heart is just the symbol of ... party, if they participate in the games with the small hearts on their uniform that will absolutely be very helpful.”

13’47

VO:

We're in the Kiev underground

on our way to the Ukrainian parliament.

We're meeting this man:

Roman Zabzaliuk.

Zabzaliuk is a member of parliament

for Tymoshenko's party.

His speciality: corrupt politicians.

Zabzaliuk:

00:14:12:01 00:14:17:16 05:15

I know there is corruption in the world.

In Europe too, among politicians.

But not to such an extent that it cripples everything.

14’21

VO:

His own party also contains some rotten apples.

Several colleagues have defected to the president's party.

The party leaders asked Zabzaliuk to investigate.

Zabzaliuk:

My task was to investigate

political corruption...

...and the nature of the 'traitors',

people who defected to another party...

...and also tried to tarnish

our leader Yulia Tymoshenko.

14’59

VO:

Zabzaliuk goes undercover.

He pretends to defect

and the government falls for it.

It leads to secret talks in backrooms.

Zabzaliuk is promised

a large sum of money if he defects.

Zabzaliuk says he secretly recorded

the conversations.

Fragment 2 (SUBTITLE)

If I'm not happy

about his voting behaviour...

88:      00:15:23:04 00:15:25:19 02:15

...he won't get any money.

89:      00:15:25:22 00:15:29:11 03:14

So I will say the same to you:

90:      00:15:29:14 00:15:35:16 06:02

You must work for your money.

- Don't worry.

15’36

VO:

Zabzaliuk could make a lot of money

if he defects to a ruling party.

29.22

00:15:42:04 00:15:44:10 02:06

An advance of 450,000 dollars.

00:15:44:13 00:15:48:19 04:06

And after that a monthly payment of 25,000 dollars

for participating...

00:15:48:22 00:15:53:06 04:09

...in the work of that group.

00:15:53:09 00:15:58:07 04:23

And at the end of

the legislative session...

00:15:58:10 00:16:02:09 03:24

...a premium of 500,000 dollars.

00:16:02:12 00:16:07:22 05:10

In return for Yanukovych's money

I had to do what they are also doing:

00:16:08:00 00:16:13:22 05:22

Think of different stories,

lies in effect...

00:16:14:00 00:16:17:24 03:24

...and contra-propaganda

against Yulia Tymoshenko.

16’18

VO:

Zabzaliuk has to persuade other

opposition members to also defect.

Fragment 3 (SUBTITLE)

00:16:25:20 00:16:29:23 04:03

Can I tell them that they will get

500,000 straightaway?

102:     00:16:30:01 00:16:36:24 06:23

Yes, you can. 500,000 dollars.

They'll get that straightaway.

103:     00:16:37:02 00:16:40:02 03:00

And the rest will come later.

16’41

VO:

The sums of money involved

are enormous, says Zabzaliuk.

But where does all that money come

from?

Lange:

“The money is to a large extent extracted from the Ukrainian state budget; there are a lot of schemes to extract money from the state. The money is extracted from the energy business, from intermediary positions in gas trading for example.”

17’11

VO:

Support for the government is bought

with big money.

Does president Yanukovych know

about these bribery practices?

(president says oath…)

He has been silent,

but the recordings, if genuine, are clear.

Fragment van bestand nummer 2 (SUBTITLE)

00:17:30:15 00:17:35:19 05:04

The president asked me personally:

110:     00:17:35:22 00:17:39:23 04:01

Give me as many votes as possible.

111:     00:17:40:01 00:17:43:00 02:24

I make sure politics can function.

112:     00:17:43:03 00:17:47:16 04:13

We work for the president.

Zabzaliuk:

00:17:47:19 00:17:53:03 05:09

Does Yanukovych know

what is happening, about those bribes?

114:     00:17:53:06 00:17:55:22 02:16

Personally, as a member of parliament...

115:     00:17:56:00 00:17:59:13 03:13

...I believe Yanukovych not only knows...

116:     00:17:59:16 00:18:02:19 03:03

...but also directly makes it possible.

117:     00:18:02:22 00:18:06:12 03:15

One of the ways

to destroy a democracy...

118:     00:18:06:15 00:18:09:16 03:01

...is to expand corruption

and bribery...

119:     00:18:09:19 00:18:13:11 03:17

...to create the myth

in parliament and society...

120:     00:18:13:14 00:18:15:21 02:07

...that everything can be bought.

Lange:

” under Yanukovych the parliament has been rendered completely without political influence, the parliament now is a rubber stamp institution, that does what the president wants.”

18’27

VO:

Zabzaliuk published his recordings

earlier this year.

The government says they're fake.

What happened next? Nothing.

Zabzaliuk:

00:18:38:23 00:18:43:16 04:18

If such a scandal occurred in any other European country...

125:     00:18:43:19 00:18:48:05 04:11

...the government and president

would resign. Here everyone is silent.

Lange:

 “there are many scandals where people just react. They shrug, okay, one more of them. I mean in Ukraine you had a minister of justice where you found out that his alleged Harvard diploma was not real, he has never been to Harvard at all. But he continued to be minister..”

19’12

VO:

If you, as fan of the Dutch National Football team want to help

the opposition, you can.

Zabzaliuk points out there's a song

about Yanukovych's native region:

The Donbas region.

Zabzaliuk:

I advice Dutch supporters to do

what supporters of Donetsk do...

130:     00:19:30:16 00:19:37:10 06:19

...namely comment on politics

through football chants.

131:     00:19:37:13 00:19:41:08 03:20

Thank you, residents of Donbas

for our president... And three dots.

Fragment

00:19:41:11 00:19:46:10 04:24

Thank you, residents of Donbas

for our gay president.

133:     00:19:46:13 00:19:51:09 04:21

Thank you, residents of Donbas

for our gay president.

Zabzaliuk:

In Donetsk and Kiev

during football matches...

135:     00:19:54:22 00:20:01:03 06:06

...supporters show their contempt and

dissatisfaction with this regime in chants:

136:     00:20:01:06 00:20:05:24 04:18

Thank you, residents of Donbas

for, basically, such a bad president.

137:     00:20:06:02 00:20:08:08 02:06

Those three dots.

- Exactly.

Spokesperson - “This building provides media facilities...”

20’44

VO:

The championship matches

will be viewed live worldwide.

And if you go to Kharkov you can watch

the repeat in your hotel room.

But there's one thing

you won't be able to see.

21’04

VO:

This is the editorial office of ATN.

The reports these journalists make

can only be seen online.

ATN used to be a TV station,

but was taken off the air last year...

...following an unusual complaint,

says general editor Oleg Yukht.

Yukht:

The Public Health Service

of this country...

146:     00:21:25:15 00:21:30:04 04:14

...banned us from putting out a signal

from our editorial office...

147:     00:21:30:07 00:21:34:24 04:17

...to the TV tower where

the broadcasting equipment is located...

148:     00:21:35:02 00:21:37:11 02:09

...that broadcasts our signal

into the ether.

149:     00:21:37:14 00:21:41:02 03:13

Nika Kharkovchanka,

leader of the youth branch...

150:     00:21:41:05 00:21:44:18 03:13

...of the ruling party in our region,

has complained that ...

151:     00:21:44:21 00:21:50:02 05:06

...because we broadcast our signal

through radio relay channels...

152:     00:21:50:05 00:21:51:17 01:12

...she has a headache.

153:     00:21:51:20 00:21:56:16 04:21

That's why we can't broadcast that signal.

21’57

VO:

Banned from TV,

ATN decided to move to the internet.

Initially, they were again thwarted.

Yukht:

We'd signed contracts with providers...

157:     00:22:10:11 00:22:13:23 03:12

...who would supply our internet services.

158:     00:22:14:01 00:22:17:23 03:22

We anticipated problems and asked them:

159:     00:22:18:01 00:22:22:03 04:02

Can you put our signal through?

Yes, they said.

160:     00:22:22:06 00:22:24:14 02:08

We signed a contract.

Then the provider called to cancel.

162:     00:22:28:11 00:22:32:02 03:16

He was pressured by the authorities.

22’33

VO:

In this case,

the authorities are in the city hall.

The mayor of Kharkov is involved:

Gennady Kernes.

He's a member of the same party

as president Yanukovych.

In 2010 he won the mayoral election

in Kharkov.

But critics say he did so

in 'the Ukrainian way'.

With fraud.

Nico Lange:

Q: “So the wrong guy is mayor right now?”

A:” Well, it's not the guy who won the elections! It's somebody who stole the elections and it's well documented, it's public and there is no doubt about it.”

Oleg Yukht:

According to our data

and that of all exit-polls...

170:     00:23:15:11 00:23:19:15 04:04

...the current mayor

would lose the elections.

171:     00:23:19:18 00:23:25:02 05:09

According to exit-polls

he was five to seven points...

172:     00:23:25:05 00:23:29:06 04:01

...behind his biggest rival.

173:     00:23:29:09 00:23:32:23 03:14

After the votes had been counted

he had supposedly won.

174:     00:23:33:01 00:23:38:09 05:08

That's why they didn't like what we did,

that we reported everything.