Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and his 19-year-old son Oleksandr spent half a day at a police station Monday after being detained for disorderly conduct at Frankfurt Airport, Ukrayinska Pravda reports, quoting Bild and DW.
It all began when airport authorities prevented them from boarding a flight to Seoul due to being intoxicated and thus posing a flight security risk. Upset by the move, the two hurled abuse at German police officers, fought them and threw cell phones at them.
Oleksandr, the more aggressive of the two, had to be cuffed. His alcohol test showed 3 per mil. (For comparison, 0.5 per mil or higher is against the law for German drivers.)
Interior Minister Lutsenko, the father — who had campaigned under the slogan of “one law for all” in 2007 — managed to avoid the test on the grounds of diplomatic immunity.
Except for the alcohol test results, Frankfurt police has confirmed the report to DW.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of the Interior has denied the report. Lutsenko arrived in Frankfurt for a stopover and couldn't board the flight to Seoul because he showed up late for it, the Ministry says.
President Viktor Yushchenko has called on PM Yulia Tymoshenko to investigate the incident and report within two days.
P.S. To every fun-loving “Ich bin ein Frankfurter” Ukrainian minister who can't drink Ukraine's “one law for all” out of their head:
Sources:
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/5/6/94273.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/5/6/94279.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/5/6/94275.htm
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2009/5/6/94285.htm
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4230304,00.html
http://www.bild.de/BILD/regional/frankfurt/aktuell/2009/05/06/juri-luzenko-zu-betrunken/lufthansa-kapitaen-nahm-ukrainischen-innenminister-nicht-mit.html
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Ukrainian Interior Minister Detained in Drunken Brawl in Germany
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What was his son, Alexander, doing there?
I am a fan of Lutsenko's, because he stoop up to a Gestapo-raid by then Interior Minister Sushko, and because he had the gumption to start National Self-Defense (Narodna Samooborona), and because he had the guts to answer questions directly on the Ukrainian Pravda forum - all among other reasons.
But this is disappointing.
Unfortunately, because of the instinctive Ukrainian habit of lying and denial, which I have seen time and time again, inherited from sovok times, I believe Deutsche Welle.
He should cowboy up, admit his mistake, and his son's mistake, and the both of them should apologize publicly.
This won't help in Ukraine's efforts to get visa-free travel throughout Europe.
It won't help at all.
If the story happens to be true — and, so far, I believe it does — it should be the end of his career.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, Lutsenko paid for his son’s airfare. Unfortunately, no public statements have been made by Lutsenko yet.
Lying and denying can be ascribed to just about any culture. But you do have a point insofar as the profile fits our elite.
We should keep in mind that Lutsenko’s father was the top Communist Party functionary in Rivne oblast. Royal habits die hard.
Of course, this incident won’t inspire Europe to treat lawful Ukrainians as humans and grant them the same visa-free regime that Ukraine grants to Europeans.
Likewise, the steady stream of sex offenders should not inspire Ukraine to preserve its one-way visa-free regime with Europe and North America.
Post a Comment