The entire sector of law-enforcement bodies requires comprehensive
reforming. Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine claimed this during the
extended meeting of the collegium of the Internal Affairs Ministry of Ukraine,
where the concept of reforming this institution is being discussed.“Today we cannot speak of reforming exclusively the Ministry of Internal Affairs, since then reforming will end without starting,” he said, stressing that reforming should be viewed in the complex “of the entire security sector and all law-enforcement bodies.”
At the same time, Oleksandr Turchynov stressed that “a balanced approach to the entire security sector of Ukraine” is the main thing for successful holding of reforms.
“We cannot follow the experience of certain authoritarian countries where militia was merely renamed into “police”, and this was the end of reforming. This is not our way. It goes not about the name, though, the latter will also be changed,” he noted.
In this context, Chairperson of the Parliament reminded that several days ago he has signed the law on the prosecutor’s office “that was adopted in the Verkhovna Rada in a quite complicated manner, and I referred it for the signature to the President.”
Under this law, the prosecutor’s office is deprived of the function of general monitoring as well as investigatory functions, i.e. “the entire security sector is being changed.”
“All the law-enforcement bodies will be changed and we should go through this way in an organized manner and quite quickly,” added Oleksandr Turchynov.
He reminded that several new “extremely important law-enforcement bodies with extremely responsible functions” should be established in the nearest future, particularly, the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the National Investigation Bureau that will carry out the investigatory functions.
“It is essential that the theses, voiced out in the today’s report of the Internal Affairs Minister concerning reforming, were accepted as a basis for specific legislative acts,” said Chairperson of the Parliament, explaining that the first amendments to legislation, elaborated by MIA, “will be considered during the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in an hour.”
“These amendments pertain both to the law on militia and to the structure of the Internal Affairs Ministry, etc.,” he added, noting that these laws will be adopted by the new Verkhovna Rada already.
“I hope that the majority in this Verkhovna Rada will be democratic and patriotic, regarding with favour the responsibility before the Ukrainian people for carrying out non-populist reforms that will strengthen the defense system of the law and order in our country,” he added, expressing hope that the MIA team that has initiated these reforms will finish them.