Majority of Ukraine's citizens against U.S.-led war in Iraq (03/30/03)

Majority of Ukraine's citizens against U.S.-led war in Iraq

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Not only are Ukrainians overwhelmingly against war in Iraq, but large numbers of them also see no reason for having sent a Ukrainian army decontamination battalion to provide support should Saddam Hussein order a chemical or biological attack against U.S. or British troops in the region.

These conclusions were revealed by several sociological surveys done in Ukraine in response to the onset of hostilities by a U.S. led coalition against Iraq and its president.

A study conducted by the polling firm Taylor, Nelson, Sofrez-Ukraine and funded by the non-governmental organization Democratic Initiatives showed that an astonishing 82 percent of Ukrainians hold the view that "the military operations in Iraq are not acceptable under any circumstances."

Another 10 percent said the operations would be acceptable only if weapons of mass destruction were found on Iraqi territory. Only 2.5 percent agreed that there is no good reason to invade Iraq. The poll was conducted prior to the onset of the Iraqi conflict, between February 27 and March 9, and included 1,200 respondents from all the regions of Ukraine, with a sampling error of 3 percent.

Equally interesting were responses given to a survey conducted by the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Research which asked Ukrainians whether they support the deployment of the Ukrainian Army's 19th Battalion to the Persian Gulf to support chemical and bacteriological clean-up should such weapons of mass destruction be used. The Verkhovna Rada authorized the deployment of the 531 members of the battalion to Kuwait on March 20.

More than 77 percent of those surveyed said they did not see such a need, while only 8.8 percent said Ukraine should provide the humanitarian assistance. That survey, taken at about the same time as the one funded by Democratic Initiatives, questioned 2,000 Ukrainians in 118 residential areas located in all of Ukraine's regions, and had a sampling error of 2.3 percent.

The report further found that 94 percent of the respondents did not see any need for Ukrainian involvement whatsoever in the conflict surrounding Iraq. Only 2.4 percent took the opposite stance.

Perhaps most interesting, however, were comments made by just over a dozen Kyivans questioned in a very non-scientific poll conducted by The Weekly regarding the need for a war in Iraq and support for the U.S. invasion of the country. Not one of the 14 Kyivans asked gave so much as an inkling of support or a nod of understanding for the Washington - led war against Mr. Hussein.

In answering the questions: "Do you support the war in Iraq?" and "Do you back the U.S. or Iraqi side in the conflict?" - some respondents took the opportunity to comment on U.S. failure to work with the United Nations toward peaceful disarmament of Iraq. Others spoke philosophically of the horror and savagery of war, while still others chose to criticize Ukrainian humanitarian involvement via its 19th Battalion.

Interestingly, six of the respondents did not want to be identified.

A person who would only say that she is a 58-year-old pensioner replied that she disagrees with the U.S. position in the conflict. "I support Iraq, and my acquaintances think the same way. How can you disarm a country and then attack it," queried the woman, who was strolling along the Khreschatyk.

A 23-year-old student of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute, who also did not want his name used, said he could not support the U.S. side in the conflict because it was the aggressor. He explained that Washington should have waited for a U.N. resolution in support of its current actions.

A person who did give his name, Leonid Yarosh, 40, said he was for neither Iraq nor the U.S. He said that while he was against the U.S. action, he could not support "a Muslim country."

"The worst possible scenario would be if the war engulfed a wider region," added Mr. Yarosh. "That would be the most dangerous thing."

Laryssa Bruniva, 54, wanted to comment on Ukraine's agreement to send the contamination cleanup battalion to Kuwait. "I was a medic, I know these chemicals and their afteraffects. These children will return [from Kuwait] sick and will bring these sicknesses to their families, that is certain," she explained.

"Our Parliament sent our children there without thinking the matter through. But not one of their sons went. I would support the matter if the lawmakers' kids also went," Ms. Bruniva added.

Finally, Irina Plokhotnikova, 40, underscored that as a mother she could not support the conflict. "I am against the war in Iraq. Can any war bring forth positive emotions? I am a mother myself. I have a son and would not want for him to fight, even as part of our force that went there, even if [President Leonid] Kuchma were in charge," she explained.

Liudmyla Liulko of The Weekly's Kyiv Bureau helped compile this story.

FOR THE RECORD: Television address by Kuchma on battalion's deployment

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