President’s decree on dissolving the parliament published today. So now it is the law of the land. The current parliament is no more.
I did an informal poll of a few Ukrainians. And I checked in with a Russian who lives in the United States. None of them were concerned or worked up over Ukraine’s political unrest.
It wasn’t that they were indifferent. This power struggle has been going on for some time. And it is just manifesting in a different manner. The 2 Viktors have been fighting about Ukraine’s direction (Russia or EU) since 2004.
Some were cynical about the blue civilian tent camp moving into Kyiv. Are some of these folks being paid to move into tents? Or are those Ukrainians really passionate about politics?
Blue is the color for Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Today he is losing the political struggle. He is humiliated and glum. He was working the political system to increase the Party of Regions control over parliament. He convinced some members of parliament to switch their political affiliation to his party.
The fly in the ointment… It is against the law for Ukrainian politicians to switch political parties while in office.
Orange is the color for President Viktor Yushchenko. Over many months his power sharing arrangement with Blue Viktor has come apart. Parliament dismissed Ministers that were loyal to him. This includes the Minister of Family, Youth and Sports who was replaced back in December 2006. Adoptive families care about this Minister because he is in charge of adoptions.
Orange Viktor wasn’t going to stand still and let Blue Viktor increase his power base. So he dismissed parliament. This forces new elections for all representatives in May.
The question of the day remains.
How will this impact families adopting from Ukraine?
I wish that I could answer this question. For now, I am reading blogs to see what adoptive families are experiencing.
Paul and Renee adopted their teenage son Yuri on April 2, 2007. Yuri lived in Odessa Internat #4. You have to read their story about meeting Yuri’s babushka. And Paul’s pictures of Kyiv and Odessa are gorgeous.
The Schnitzel family returned from Ukraine without a child in December 2006. They are going to try again. Their appointment date is April 19. I am so happy for them.
The Abella Family’s dossier was submitted on March 26 2007. So now they need to wait 20 business days for approval. And then they get their appointment date.
The O’Haras almost have their dossier ready to submit.