Tkachenko takes his message of "Slavic unity" to Belarus (02/07/99)

Tkachenko takes his message of "Slavic unity" to Belarus

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - More comments made by Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko - this time in Belarus on January 28 - that Ukraine needs to join the Belarus-Russia union have caused another stir among political leaders in Kyiv. Even a leading member of the Communist Party expressed doubt about the need for such a move.

While addressing a general session of the Belarusian Parliament on January 28, the Ukrainian Parliament leader said Ukraine should follow the path of Belarusian-Russian integration. "The strength of the Slavic fraternity has been tested on many occasions," said Mr. Tkachenko, according to Interfax-Ukraine. "We suffered defeats when we concentrated on individual national interests, so let us do everything possible to ensure that our people steadily advance toward a greater goal."

Mr. Tkachenko had previously referred to a "great Slavic brotherhood" and a union of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine during a December visit to Moscow and at Independence Day celebrations in Kyiv last year.

In Miensk, the capital of Belarus, Mr. Tkachenko held out hope that Ukraine would soon join the union of its two northern neighbors, which was signed last year between Belarusian President Alyaksander Lukashenka and Russian President Boris Yeltsin. In the meantime, he called for the development of a common economic and customs system.

Mr. Tkachenko also called for initiating the process via the creation of commercial missions and the development of increased economic and trade relations through the establishment of most-favored-nation trade agreement.

At a meeting with President Lukashenka, who also has repeatedly called for merging Ukraine with Belarus and Russia, Mr. Tkachenko praised the controversial leader who rules Belarus with a strong hand. "Belarus serves as an example of how to preserve the best of what was previously present," he said in an obtuse reference to the long-defunct Soviet Union.

Although, Mr. Tkachenko softened his remarks upon his return to Kyiv's Boryspil Airport, where he explained that he was referring merely to closer economic relations and a customs union, his words were criticized by his colleagues in the Verkhovna Rada.

National Deputy Roman Besmertnyi, who is President Leonid Kuchma's official representative in Ukraine's Parliament, said of Mr. Tkachenko's actions as the leader of the Verkhovna Rada: "It is a clear breach of the Constitution, as I said when Mr. Tkachenko did the same in Moscow."

At a February 2 plenary session of the Verkhovna Rada, National Deputy Ihor Ostash also questioned the constitutionality of Mr. Tkachenko's statements. In addition, the Green Party member criticized the legitimacy of the delegation, which consisted mostly of Left-Center and Communist faction members and traveled to Belarus without official Verkhovna Rada authorization. He pointed out that besides Ukraine, only Russia has legitimized the Belarusian Parliament, which was mostly appointed by President Lukashenka, through contacts with national deputies.

Another Green faction member, National Deputy Serhii Kurykin, in a sarcastic quip addressed the nearsightedness of Mr. Tkachenko's vision. "I am amazed at the leftist position. From the point of view of proletarian internationalism and class solidarity, they would be better advised to think about the unity of the working people of the whole world," he said.

Even Borys Oliynyk, a prominent Communist who was once a member of the Supreme Soviet in Moscow and today is a Ukrainian national deputy and chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Foreign Affairs, said he could not agree with Mr. Tkachenko's statements. He said he believes that the three countries "would be well-advised to strengthen Slavic mutual assistance, yet not at the expense of sovereignty, but as equals among equals and dignified partners."

Upon his return from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, President Kuchma, refrained from commenting on Mr. Tkachenko's statements. He stated only that he could not foresee the creation of a customs union, unless a free-trade zone was first created among the three countries. He called such a union "the supreme stage of international relations" and explained that it took the European Union 50 years to reach such a level.

At a press conference in Kyiv on February 2 Mr. Tkachenko again defended his statements and his meeting with Belarusian President Lukashenka, and attacked the press as responsible for blowing his remarks out of proportion. "I stated from the outset: we were to meet as the leaders of two independent and sovereign countries," explained Mr. Tkachenko. "That should have made everything clear. There was no need to twist things."

This was not the first time, however, that Mr. Tkachenko has advocated a "Slavic brotherhood" - as he often refers to the union with Russia and Belarus - whether political or economic.

He first made such remarks on August 24 of last year at a commemorative government session during Independence Day celebrations when he called for closer ties with Russia and the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the CIS and for the revival of the "great Slavic brotherhood."

Then, during an official visit by a Verkhovna Rada delegation to Moscow in mid-December, he called a Russia-Ukraine-Belarus merger "a necessity." After his return from that trip also he downplayed his remarks and explained that he was referring merely to economic union.

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