Lately President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko again issued four decrees stamped “no publishing” (№ 225/2005, № 226/2005, № 227/2005, № 228/2005).

As it is known, on 28 of January the President of Ukraine already signed two decrees marked “no publishing” continuing by this, in the opinion of law-defenders, infamous tradition of the former power to illegally restrict its decisions.

The usage of this stamp, as well as the “no publishing” stamp is not presupposed in any legal document, though was actively used by the power.  

Already after the first issued decrees law-defenders addressed Viktor Yushchenko with the request to stop illegal actions in the light of declarations about the human rights strengthening and power’s openness.

In their letter to the President signed by the co-chairman of the Kharkiv Law-defending Group, president of the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for human rights and trustee of the “Memorial” international society Yevhen Zakharov they requested canceling these decrees or their publishing.

In the viewpoint of law-defenders, behind the illegal restrictive stamps the former power concealed from the society its corrupt activity, lobby’s agreements and unexampled sizes of social benefits for higher nomenclature.

That’s why today’s power declaring a severe struggle with corruption, maximal openness of taking decisions is to take corresponding measures to reveal the mentioned decrees in order to show its readiness to open cooperation, and not to continue infamous practice of illegal cryptment that was recently so harshly condemned by the new President and government.

According to the Ukrayinska Pravda information dated 15 of Febraury, the state secretary Olexandr Zinchenko states that it’s impossible to refuse from the practice of signing secret decrees stamped “no publishing”.

“The decrees “no publishing” will take place. If there are no such decrees, it will mean that there is no state secret”, – Zinchenko said at the press-conference at the presidential secretariat.

From RUPOR : “Let’s forgive this statement to Mr. Zinchenko, he’s just begun working in the Administration, pardon – Secretariat of the President. Though he could listen to his assistants or even community and learn the very different things – about the state secret guarded by law and about different stamps invented by officials. It seems though that Mr. Zinchenko has a chance to learn about the difference anyway since law-defenders are not going to give up or close their eyes to it. May we all discern in time!”