The Best Of The Sunday Show 2016
365 days of fight for and against democracy, transparency and equality.
How did Eastern Europe and The World spend their 2016 politically and culturally-wise? In this article you’ll find a compilation of everything that made 2016 memorable and groundbreaking year: Hromadske International selected stories, interviews and dispatches in Democracy, Armed conflicts, Human rights sectors for you to rewatch.
What is the humanitarian situation like in Eastern Ukraine, and is the Minsk agreement failing to protect civilians?
What’s life in Russian-occupied Crimea like? What is happening with the investigation into the Maidan massacre? What do we know? What is happening to the offshores of Ukraine’s President Poroshenko? Are there reforms succeeding? What can the role of NATO be in Europe with a Trump presidency in America? Growing populism in Eastern Europe? How does the turbulence in the EU impact its eastern neighbors? What are the secrets of the Putin Power Structure? How is Kremlin propaganda developing?
During the entire year, the Hromadske International team followed these key issues and spoke to decision makers and analysts. We traveled to Donetsk and Crimea to show the life of the people affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. We went to the Netherlands to cover the referendum on the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement– the first populist vote of the year. We went to Russia and raised awareness on the persecution of political prisoners who are giving a voice to the voiceless.
We showed inspiring stories about war veterans starting a new life and paralympic athletes winning championships.
George Bush’s ex- speechwriter David Frum, Chatham House fellow James Sherr, Russian author Michail Zygar, British producer Peter Pomerantsev, Yale historian Timothy Snyder and many others.
Dispatches from Donbas and Crimea. Human stories, which inspire and show the real face of the fight for human rights in Eastern Europe.
Our documentaries on the investigation of the Maidan massacre and the beginning of the Russian invasion in Eastern Ukraine.
Armed conflicts
- Eastern Ukraine-Russia conflict in Donbas region sees no ceasefire.
- Grey zone in eastern Ukraine.
- Ukrainian military + OSCE cooperation.
- Donetsk Spring.
Avdiivka
Despite the Minsk agreements, shelling in Donbas continues. In the industrial zone of Avdiivka, fighting takes place every night. The floor covered with the aggressor’s shell casings is a direct evidence of cease-fire violations.
OSCE in Ukraine
Major General Borys Kremenetsky, head of the Ukrainian side of the Joint Coordination Center for Ceasefire Monitoring describes the ceasefire situation in Ukraine’s East as “stable and under control”.
Donetsk Spring
“Donetsk Spring” is Hromadske’s documentary telling a story of a pro-Ukrainian movement in Eastern Ukraine of pre-war days and why did it fail.
This story consists of flashbacks of participants and organizers of rallies for Ukraine’s Unity, which took a place during crucial time between March and April 2014 in Donetsk, as a response to the radicalization of pro-Russian forces in Donbas.
Democracy
In 2016 we saw nations choose their leaders and whistle their leaders.
- Ukraine’s reforms.
- Polish civil society crisis.
- Transnistria Presidential elections and ongoing crisis.
- The impact of Presidential elections in the USA on NATO.
- Panama papers revealed officials’ offshore deals.
Rise of authoritarianism
“Part of the authoritarian rise that you see in the last 2–3 years is the result of the backlash of some of the protest movements,” explains Ivan Krastev, political scientist. With a rise in anti-institutional thinking and protest movements around the world, Krastev argues that leaders of various countries have managed to mobilize and polarize society.
The Polish crisis & protests against Sejm in Poland
For the first time since 1989, one party now holds the absolute majority in the Polish parliament. Since the Law and Justice Party (PiS) gained control, weekly demonstrations have been happening in Warsaw, Poland’s capital, throughout the year of 2016 organized by those who are “concerned about the state of democracy.”
Thousands of people rallied against a plan by the Law and Justice conservative ruling party to limit journalists’ access to Sejm. Only five selected Polish TV stations will be allowed to record or broadcast parliamentary sessions.
Transnistria: self-proclaimed state’s elections and ongoing economic crisis.
Transnistria — a thin strip of land between Ukraine and the Dniester River in eastern Moldova where the Soviet legacy remains strong today. Since declaring itself an independent in 1990, the region has operated with its own president, parliament, rules and even currency. Not a single U.N. member has acknowledged its independence — even Russia, a large military and financial contributor to the territory.
Winds of change in US felt by europeans.
Hromadske was granted a special interview with Craig Kennedy, the former president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States. The organization is a leading global think-tank focusing on ‘bridging U.S.–European differences on foreign policy, economics, immigration, and the environment.’
Read the full interview.Residents inspect damage after airstrikes by pro-Syrian government forces in Anadan city, about 10 kilometers away from the towns of Nubul and Zahraa, Northern Aleppo countryside, Syria February 3, 2016.Abdalrhman Ismail/Reuters
Panama Papers.
The OCCRP-led international effort of exposing corruption that has ties to twelve current and former head of states let Hromadske’s investigative unit Slidstvo.Info publish a groundbreaking story revealing the truth behind business empire of the Ukrainian president — Petro Poroshenko.
Traces Of The Maidan Revolution
48 activists killed, 4 government forces fighters killed. 173 people from both the activist and police sides received gunshot wounds. Two years of investigations have passed.
What mysteries remain in the shootings of February 20th, 2014?
This episode, of an exclusive series of investigations by Hromadske titled “The Traces of the Revolution”, shows the events of a day which has become the bloodiest in the history of Ukrainian protests. Why did government forces begin to retreat from the square after exhausting confrontations and efforts to take the Maidan by storm?
Human rights
- Russian political prisoners Savchenko, Pavlensky, Ilmi Umarov
- ‘Invisible’ a short documentary about Ukraine’s paralympic medalists.
- Ukraine, Odessa LGBTQ pride march held despite court cancellation.
- Using hashtag #IAmNotAfraidToSayIt people from Ukraine, Poland and other countries started to speak up against sexual harassment and abuse.
Russia political prisoners set free: Savchenko & Pavlenko.
She is a regular officer. He is an artist from St. Petersburg. Nadiya Savchenko, who was accused by Russian authorities for the death of Russian journalists, was released from prison on May 25th. Russian artist Petr Pavlensky, who burned the doors of the Chief Directorate Of The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation was released on June 8th.
Catch up with the full interview here.
Ongoing and strengthening Crimean Tatar persecution
In 2016 we investigated “Illegal and politically motivated” case against deputy head of Crimean Mejlis
‘Invisible’ — a film about people with disabilities and the Ukrainian Paralympic team.
The U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities came into force in Ukraine in 2010. Three million ‘invisible’ people got the chance to start a new life. But something went wrong, not only in rural towns and villages but also even the capital of Ukraine. Disabled people in Kyiv face a daily struggle with the lack of accessibility and facilities. Some local authorities have failed to make reasonable adjustments in hospitals and on public transport. Meanwhile, the huge success of the Ukrainian Paralympic team at Rio 2016 highlighted the amazing potential of the country’s disabled athletes.
Human rights of LGBTI ukrainians: bigger and louder.
Kyiv’s third ever LGBT Pride March, sent out a clear message, according to one of the event’s participants. “Human rights is about all people, not for just some group of people,” says Olena Shevchenko, Director of the LGBT group ‘Insight”. With an estimated 2,000 participants, the crowd included people of different ages, and from various social groups and not everyone belonged to the LGBT community, including MPs and international officials.
#IAmNotAfraidToSayIt
#ЯНеБоюсьСказати is an initiative launched by Ukrainian activist and journalist Nastya Melnychenko. She published a post encouraging people to speak out about domestic violence or sexual assault. The movement has not been disappointing: both men and women, Ukrainians, Russians, Americans, and people from other countries have shared their stories in public.
Jamala
The Crimean Tatar-Ukrainian singer fascinated Europe with her emotional performance and gained first place. While many argued song “1944” to be a political statement, Jamala insisted the song is based off of her family history and is very personal.
