Politicians should not gamble on the topic of martial law, Ukrainian MP Oleksandr Feldman considers.
During the last three years the question of imposition of martial law by the President was raised repeatedly. It should be noted that the wide discussion of this topic not always coincided with any crisis on a battlefield. Sometimes, these loud statements about the possibility or even the necessity to impose martial law appeared suddenly changing the agenda in the media space.
This happened in the middle of February. However, almost a month has passed after the aggravation of the situation in Avdiivka, when the statements about martial law were made by the politicians. First of all, the topic was brought up by the representatives of the opposition, who, perhaps, tried to enlist the support of the radical electors. Moreover, they apparently hoped that the Presidential Administration was not going to take this step at that moment and it would look like the demonstration of weakness, which deprives the authorities of the right to justify the economic situation with the war. In response, the authorities stated that they were ready to impose martial law as soon as possible if the situation requires.
It looks that both the opposition and the authorities understand negative consequences of martial law, but in public they are forced to maintain their reputation, so their loud statements make it more and more real. In fact, this populist decision will only aggravate the crisis in Ukraine.
In foreign policy, we immediately deprive ourselves of the support of the range of countries and international organizations, the laws and the statutes of which stipulate the restriction of the cooperation with countries at war. But this decision will be definitely welcomed in Moscow, Donetsk and Luhansk. Either our authorities continue the official rhetoric of the “war against Russia” and make it possible for the Kremlin to call Ukraine an aggressor in this war, or it appears that Ukraine recognizes the agency of the so-called ‘L/DNR.’
However, in addition to the external problems, there will be the internal ones as well. I think that not all citizens, who support the imposition of martial law, understand the consequences. A curfew, new waves of mobilization, intensified police control, impossibility of going abroad and many other various restrictions of human rights.
In the modern world, it is impossible for the country to be successful if there is no priority to the protection of private property in it. But this principle is undermined by martial law. In political area, the strict military dictatorship is established, which temporarily (or not?) controls mass media, abolishes the institute of elections and the right to peaceful protest.
The temptation of similar powers is big for any authorities, and especially for the authorities, which lose the support of electors. However, the risks for territorial integrity, statehood and the future of Ukraine outweigh any short-term profits.
Politicians should not gamble on the topic of martial law. It sounds even stranger when these statements are made by those who call themselves ‘democratic forces.’ Ukrainians have already paid a high price for their choice to be free, and the authorities have no right to doom the country to dictatorship three years later.
