A sad and sorry chapter closed

It was eight years ago, as of this coming September, that the Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Ruslanovich Gongadze, disappeared in Kyiv, Ukraine; two months later, his headless body was found buried in a wooded area outside of the capital city. The protests that stemmed from the scandal that came to quickly be known as 'Kuchmagate,' named after the-then President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, and his suspect involvement in the affair, evolved into the same energy that culminated in the country's 2004-2005 Orange Revolution.

Indeed, President Viktor Yushchenko promised that one of the keys to his mandate would be a resolution to the Gongadze murder. Some key personalities, as this BBC report states, fled abroad, while others, like former Interior Ministry chief Yuri Kravchenko, killed themselves a few years after the affair. The true masterminds may never be unearthed, but the three convictions for the actual killers -- former policemen Mykola Protasov, Valeriy Kostenko and Oleksandr Popovych -- have broken the state of immobility and stasis in the case.

Given events in Ukraine since his death, Gongadze's passing may not have totally been in vain, as his dream of press freedom in the country have been significantly boosted since the 2004-2005 events -- themselves spurred not insignificantly by his own online paper, Ukrayinska Pravda. While political crises appear to be blighting the new government of reformists, the changes that evolved from the protests surrounding 'Kuchmagate' are a small step towards progress and change.

Call me naive and overly optimistic, but I hope and believe that time is Ukraine's ally. As for the deceased journalist, who should be an inspiration for all who share in such a profession, may he rest in peace.