Every political opposition is seeking to gain more power. If it doesn't find sufficient support at home, it starts looking for allies abroad. Ukraine's current opposition has already exhausted its domestic toolbox of influence on the new authorities in Kyiv. However, the protest marches and pickets have not brought the desired results. The promise by former prime minister and now self-proclaimed opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych to establish
a shadow cabinet of ministers in order to produce a constructive alternative to the policies of the incumbent government was very soon forgotten. There was either a lack of alternatives proposed, or the opposition's human and financial resources were focused on more vital issues like the upcoming parliamentary election campaign.
Russian lobby or foreign intervention?
A couple of months ago, Ukraine's opposition was offered a friendly "paw" of support from its giant neighbor to the east. But the bear paw caused more confusion than help. On May 20th, 350 members of the Russian State Duma authorized the country's delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) to request that the issue of violations of democratic standards in Ukraine be put on its agenda.
A statement adopted by the Duma referred to several instances of persecution of the political opposition in Ukraine by the recently elected Yushchenko administration. "In Ukraine, not only state officials but prominent educators, scholars and artists who don't enjoy the favor of Kyiv are being dismissed on a large scale," read a quote by Russia's RIA Novosti new agency. Politicians and public activists who have spoken out against the new administration's policies are being arrested, the Russian lawmakers claimed. The new authorities are out to take political and ideological control of the mass media, including non-state media; journalists who dare to criticize the authorities are also pressured, the argument went. Russian MPs also expressed concern over steps undertaken by Ukraine's government to launch selective re-privatization of major industrial enterprises, some of which had received Russian investment. "Such actions as these make one doubt whether the Ukrainian authorities really mean it when they announce their intention to promote a law-based market economy. This increases risks greatly for foreign investors, including those from Russia". The Duma deputies summed up their grievances by underlining that current Ukrainian policy did not correspond to earlier declarations to build a democratic political system, protect human rights and create an effective market economy, RIA Novosti reported.
Little brother has a view of his own
The response from official Kyiv was immediate. Many perceived the Russian Duma statement as a hostile refusal by Russian politicians to accept the new political reality in Ukraine. The Foreign Ministry accused the Russian parliament of trying to diminish the scale of democratic transitions in Ukraine: "Not so long ago, some Russian MPs simply ignored the people's will with mass falsification by the former regime (of President Leonid Kuchma). (During last year's presidential elections) they openly took the side of those who resorted to anti-democratic practices in Ukraine as a standard form of public activity, the side of those who now call themselves the opposition. The statement made by the State Duma of the Russian Federation is nothing but a misinterpretation of the facts at its core and a demonstration of support for such political forces". Ukraine's Foreign Ministry also stressed the support the new authorities in Kyiv were getting from the international community, including the very same Council of Europe to which the Russian lawmakers were now appealing. "Their (Russian MPs) attempts to find support for their unusual brand of democracy from European institutions that have repeatedly expressed concern over the problems of Russia's democratic development look strange," reads another statement posted on the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's web site.
Strasbourg speaks out
European politicians were also taken aback by the statement from the Russian Duma. Dmitri Marchenkov, a spokesperson for the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, told The Ukrainian Observer that it wouldn't be so easy to get the issue included on PACE's agenda.
"If there is such a problem in Ukraine, it should be the Ukrainian opposition itself that talks about it, not a foreign country speaking on its behalf. If the opposition comes up with a request to examine this particular issue, they should file a corresponding document with the Council of Europe's Monitoring Committee. If the committee recognizes the issue as valid and supported by facts, it will appear on the agenda."
In the mean time, Secretary General of the Council of Europe Terry Davis doesn't see an increase in the violation of democratic processes or human rights in Ukraine. In an interview to The Ukrainian Observer, he emphasized that the Council of Europe is continuing to monitor the situation in Ukraine, despite visible progress from recent efforts to reform the state system.
"In terms of democracy, Ukraine has just had an election, and there will be other elections to come. We'll deploy a monitoring crew. That is quiet clear. Ukraine is not special in that respect. I usually say that all countries can make progress, can improve in terms of democracy, human rights and rule of law. However I am always pointing to the United Kingdom, where I come from. I look at all the cases that went from the United Kingdom to the European Court on Human Rights a couple of years ago. There were 25 cases, and the government of the UK lost 18. That shows that even the United Kingdom, which is one of the founding members of the Council of Europe, as well as other member countries, still has progress to make toward human rights and democracy. So Ukraine should not be concerned about that. I am very careful to make sure that I am not criticizing the countries of Eastern or Central Europe, or Western Europe," he said.
Mr. Davis also recalled that the rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe will continue to pay close attention to the political processes in Ukraine, especially with the parliamentary elections coming up in 2006. Ukraine will get all the assistance needed to develop civil liberties and democracy, he underlined.
And for now ...
This summer in Kyiv is going to be hot. It's already been heated up by the country's fuel shortage, a sudden change in foreign-currency rates and other noteworthy events ultimately related one way or another to the approaching election campaign. While the new government is still getting firmly on its feet, the opposition can occupy itself with pointing out its shortcomings. However, the real energy on both sides is being directed toward the future composition of the legislature. All the while, Ukraine's eastern neighbor, a bear awakened from it hibernation by a string of revolutions just outside its den, will not just grumble for long. According to recent reports in the Ukrainian media, Russia's pro-Putin party, Rodina, has announced that it is going to start up operations in Ukraine.
Although the legal foundation for the functioning of the Rodina party (translated as Fatherland) in Ukraine is quite doubtful, not to mention that the registration deadline for its participation in the 2006 poll has already passed, there can be no doubt that Russia is determined to rebuild the regional influence it has so unexpectedly lost over the last couple of years in its own back yard.
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