President Viktor Yushchenko did what the West and some sincere supporters of the revolution had long been pushing him to do – he dismissed Sviatoslav Piskun from the post of prosecutor general. \n \nYushchenko signed the decree on Friday at around 11 o'clock on Friday, said the head of the presidential secretariat, Oleh Rybachuk. He did not name the reasons for the dismissal, leaving that prerogative to the head of state. But he added on his own behalf that "there are more than enough reasons for dismissing the prosecutor general." \n \n"Sviatoslav Mykhailovych has been so agitated in recent days, opening so many cases... We probably saved Piskun from opening a case against himself, not investigating it for a day, and locking himself up." \n \nRybachuk called Piskun's dismissal "a normal timely step." Also, according to the head of the presidential secretariat, Yushchenko did everything to protect himself from Piskun's return to the post through court. \n \nRybachuk noted that he had held consultations with well-known and professional lawyers regarding the possibility or impossibility of the president dismissing the prosecutor general. According to him, the lawyers said that such a dismissal was possible, and even "signed under the document." \n \nWhen journalists asked about the fact that Piskun had promised to go to court in the event of his dismissal, Rybachuk noted that the prosecutor general had also "promised to solve the Gongadze case." \n\nAccording to him, Piskun as a citizen of Ukraine has the right to go to court. "We can even guess which one exactly," Rybachuk emphasized, obviously referring to Ms. Bernatska from the Pechersk district court – who reinstated him in the post in a ve-e-ery dubious manner at the end of 2004. In conclusion, Rybachuk wished Piskun "success in this difficult matter." \n \nLawful or unlawful \n \nPiskun as prosecutor during Kuchma's time\t \nMeanwhile, the president's legal adviser Mykola Poludonny believes that Viktor Yushchenko could dismiss Sviatoslav Piskun without explaining the reasons in the decree, the presidential adviser is convinced. \n \n"Under the Constitution, the president can dismiss the prosecutor general without explaining the reasons," Poludonny said in an interview with "Ukrainska Pravda." \n \nPoludonny referred to Article 122 of the Constitution: "Read carefully, it says: the prosecutor general is appointed to the post with the consent of the Verkhovna Rada and dismissed from the post by the president." \n \nPoludonny emphasized that the law "On the Prosecutor's Office" contains additional conditions for dismissal beyond those provided for by the Constitution. \n \n"Note that the law contains the word 'also.' It says that the prosecutor general is dismissed from the post also in the event of: expiration of the term of office; state of health; violation of incompatibility requirements; a guilty verdict; termination of citizenship; submission of an application for dismissal of one's own accord," the lawyer said. \n \n"That is, part 1 of Article 2 of the law 'On the Prosecutor's Office' reproduces the constitutional provision (according to which the president can dismiss the prosecutor general without explanation). And part 2 of Article 2 of the law 'On the Prosecutor's Office' establishes additional grounds for dismissing the prosecutor general beyond the constitutional ones," Poludonny said. \n \n"The effect of the law 'On the Prosecutor's Office' as an act of lower hierarchy cannot restrict the effect of the Constitution as an act of higher instance," Poludonny added. \n\nTo the question that Piskun was also dismissed by Kuchma without explanation of reasons, and then was reinstated through court, Poludonny said: "At that time, no one appealed that decision of the Pechersk court." \n\n"If Piskun now decides to go to court, one can predict that the trial will not be like it was then. At least, there will be legal support from the Ministry of Justice," Poludonny said. \n \nPiskun's reaction \n \nThe news of the dismissal caught Piskun at a meeting at the prosecutor's office on the protection of minors' rights. Sviatoslav Mykhailovych was just exposing Dniprodzerzhynsk police officers who supplied underage prostitutes to Moscow and demanding that Yuriy Lutsenko hold Deputy Minister Hennadiy Moskal accountable. \n \nIt does not appear that he did not know about his own dismissal. Already leaving the meeting, when asked by journalists, Piskun showed no surprise and merely shrugged \n \n"Well, that's normal. He signed, so he signed," was Piskun's entire comment. \n \nOn the eve, Piskun had stated that in the event of his dismissal he would challenge the president's decision in court. As is known, Piskun was dismissed from the post in 2003 by Leonid Kuchma and reinstated in the post in 2004 by the Pechersk court. \n \nBut now, it seems, Piskun is hesitating about what to do. \n \n"Happy" Piskun with his wife\t \n"I am happy, guys, I swear to you," Piskun said on Friday, commenting on the decree on his dismissal. \n\nTo the question of whether he would challenge his dismissal in court, Piskun said: "I'll see, I need to take a look here." \n\nHe noted that he had not yet seen the decree on his dismissal and had learned about it through the media. "I say: what happened? They say you've been removed. I say: probably good," Piskun said. \n\nTo the question of whether he knew the reason for his dismissal, Piskun replied: "Why? Ten years of life have been added. I'm simply happy. Honestly." \n\nTo the question of whether he was truly glad about his resignation, Piskun said: "Don't you see what situation I worked in for these 9 months? It's complete schizophrenia." \n \nHe also added that he intends to engage in politics in the future. "Politics, I want to be a politician," he said, Interfax-Ukraine reports. \n \nAs is known, rumors have recently appeared that Piskun's relations with ex-Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko have significantly improved and he has even been promised a place in the bloc. He also attended the famous gathering at Tymoshenko's place on the night before her resignation. And although Piskun says he left immediately from there, the visit itself is already significant. \n \nThe second dismissal \n \nOctober is an unlucky month for Piskun. Two years ago he was sent into retirement by President Kuchma. \n \nIn Kuchma's decree on Piskun's dismissal, no wording was specified. At the same time, the coordination committee on combating organized crime and corruption recommended that Kuchma dismiss Piskun "For serious violations of the requirements of current legislation and for dishonest acts, propose to the president in accordance with Article 106 of the Constitution." \n\nIt was also stated there that Piskun "resorted to excessive politicization of the body as a whole and the creation of his own political image; a number of violations were committed that damage the authority of the prosecutor's office and the state as a whole." \n\nIn reality, it was believed that then-head of the presidential administration Viktor Medvedchuk managed to convince Kuchma that Piskun would not be able to handle the operational tasks of fighting the opposition and cope with the super-task of putting Tymoshenko behind bars. \n \nNow Piskun can tell people that he was instead dismissed for his active desire to cleanse the president's entourage of corrupt officials. \n \nAs last time, toward the end of his activity Piskun gave birth to a storm of opened cases: ports of Petro Poroshenko, his adviser's rafts, against employees of Kuchma's administration for his own dismissal; he told about a secret plan to expose the masterminds of Gongadze's murder and even wanted to claim the laurels of catching former Sumy region governor Volodymyr Shcherban. \n \nPiskun talked a lot and recalled the memorable milestones of his activity, meanwhile not a single one of the great election falsifiers has yet been jailed, no one has been punished for plundering the country or outright separatism and encroachment on Ukraine's integrity. Piskun, despite numerous promises, never brought the Gongadze case to completion, even in the part concerning the masterminds.