Congratulations to Viktor Yushchenko (1 Viewer)

[cnredd]

Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, whose fight for free and fair elections inspired millions in his country and around the world and led to the end of a corrupt government, was the recipient of the 2005 Philadelphia Liberty Medal today.

Established in 1988 on the two-hundredth anniversary of the U.S. Constitution and administered by the Philadelphia Foundation, the Liberty Medal honors an individual or organization from anywhere in the world that has "demonstrated leadership and vision in the pursuit of liberty of conscience or freedom from oppression, ignorance, or deprivation."

Past recipients of the Philadelphia Liberty Medal are:

2004 -- Hamid Karzai
2003 -- Sandra Day O'Connor
2002 -- Colin L. Powell
2001 -- Kofi Annan
2000 -- Dr. James Watson / Dr. Francis Crick (joint prize)
1999 -- Kim Dae Jung
1998 -- George J. Mitchell
1997 -- CNN International
1996 -- King Hussein I / Shimon Peres (joint prize)
1995 -- Sadako Ogata
1994 -- Vaclav Havel
1993 -- F.W. de Klerk / Nelson Mandela (joint prize)
1992 -- Thurgood Marshall
1991 -- Oscar Arias / Medecins sans Frontieres (joint prize)
1990 -- Jimmy Carter
1989 -- Lech Walesa

 

[Tashah]

I met Viktor Yushchenko in Kyiv about six months after his stunning Christmas Day election victory. It's a long story, but I found him to be warm, gracious, and determined to integrate Ukraine into Western ideology and society. Many Ukraine political pundits however, are of the opinion that he may well lose the next presidential election to his previous staunchest supporter, Julia Timochenko.

 

[Kelzie]

So you know it's looking like he could be impeached, right?

Some billionaire Russian guy payed for his campaign. The investigation's going on right now.

Here's a link to an article

 

[cnredd]

May I remind the dear people of this forum that the messenger is not to be harmed in any way!!!!!:3oops:

I'm only going by what I watched for the last hour, which was a fine and sometimes emotional presentation in my hometown.

 

[Kandahar]

It looks like the Philadelphia Liberty Medal people really know how to pick winners, given the other names on this list. However, I think it's a bit too early to tell with Viktor Yushchenko. All he's really done so far is won an election with the odds stacked against him. While that's certainly admirable, it isn't really that much of an accomplishment in itself. His heart may be in the right place, but the early signs are that he hasn't been that effective of a reformer. I won't presume to judge the future course of the Ukraine based on his first few months in office, but so far he's been more of a Mohammed Khatami than a Vaclav Havel.

 

[Bergslagstroll]

Yes alot of things was fishy then it comes to Yushchenko victory, because sadly many times is not about god and evil, but hopefully it was atleast between "evil" "and less evil". Also it is hopefully is it also can be start of something that leads to something good.

 

[cnredd]

Yes alot of things was fishy then it comes to Yushchenko victory, because sadly many times is not about god and evil, but hopefully it was atleast between "evil" "and less evil". Also it is hopefully is it also can be start of something that leads to something good.

He was the person responsible for the Orange Revolution, even though he may not be the right person to continue to lead it....

 

[Kelzie]

He was the person responsible for the Orange Revolution, even though he may not be the right person to continue to lead it....

Agreed. Just because he may be engaged in less than kosher politics, that doesn't make what the Ukraine accomplished any less important.

 

[GarzaUK]

I read in a paper that the Ukraine government is even more corrupt than before. That the Orange Revolution has lost its shine. It's very hard to get rid of corruption.