EDITORIAL: Freedom of assembly under attack (11/23/03)

EDITORIAL

Freedom of assembly under attack

While President Leonid Kuchma has distanced himself from the blatant and at times even reckless recent attempts by local and regional officials in Sumy and Donetsk to disrupt political proceedings of the oppositionist Our Ukraine political bloc, the events nonetheless, bring into question just how committed the Ukrainian leadership is to free and open democratic elections.

Some political analysts said recently that the newest methods to suppress the political effectiveness of the opposition - the recruitment of student protesters to harass members of the Our Ukraine bloc, the appearance of the figure of the Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko on billboards in Nazi regalia - were simply more overt measures using the same "administrative (government) resources," to manipulate opinion. These people said the disruptions and violence in Donetsk and Sumy carried the trademark signature of the pro-presidential forces and differed little in essence from what had been done to stifle the opposition in the past.

Others, however, have stated that this could well have been a canny move by Viktor Medvedchuk, Mr. Kuchma's chief of staff, a person with unmistakable presidential aspirations hampered by a poor public image and low opinion ratings. The pundits state that the possibility exists that Mr. Medvedchuk, in orchestrating such scenarios as occurred in Donetsk and Sumy - where Our Ukraine and Mr. Yushchenko, the country's most popular politician, were physically and vocally harassed and not allowed to peacefully hold political events - could benefit by making Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych an unannounced presidential candidate, look bad. Mr. Yanukovych's power base is the eastern region. Mr. Medvedchuk would also be able to hand Mr. Yushchenko, another unannounced candidate, a psychological blow by underscoring the belief that he is not electable, inasmuch as he cannot establish even a foothold of support in the eastern region. In doing this, some analysts have held, Mr. Medvedchuk would give his own political ambitions a nice boost.

While either version of these events cannot be rejected, President Kuchma let it be known that he was not shocked by what had happened in the eastern cities, which makes one wonder to what extent he supported what occurred. He told journalists during his regular monthly press conference on November 12 that he viewed the attacks against Mr. Yushchenko and his followers as their own fault, which, by the way, is the party line espoused by Mr. Yanukovych's Party of the Regions. Mr. Kuchma said he put the blame on the Our Ukraine bloc for prematurely and illegally beginning the presidential campaign of its leader by way of the congress it had planned to hold in the city. He called it a political "blitzkrieg" and said it was unacceptable given the resentment in the city towards Mr. Yushchenko for what some perceive as his anti-Russian views.

Mr. Kuchma did not address the matter of the lawlessness that swirled around the Our Ukraine members as they moved around the city or the fact that state militia officers stood idly by, observing the events as they headed out of control, only to step in at the last minute. He also did not express dissatisfaction or place the blame on local government officials in either Sumy or Donetsk for a failure to properly plan security and organize crowd control. The leader of the country did not refer to the need to maintain the rule of law or call for adherence to the democratic principle of freedom of speech and assembly as the election season approaches.

Quite the contrary, in President Kuchma's remarks, one found contempt for Our Ukraine and unspoken support for what happened. He defended the actions of authorities and made a hardly believable statement that "every political entity, no matter who, has the ability to assemble where they want as long as they do not break the law."

Fortunately, at least a dozen international diplomats witnessed the events that took place in Donetsk, including the German ambassador, an official of the U.S. Embassy and the head of the Konrad Adenauer Fund, an international non-governmental organization that focuses on democracy development. All harshly criticized the way anti-Yushchenko demonstrators blocked roadways to the site where the congress was to be held, commandeered the hall and assaulted Our Ukraine members and guests.

Several days after the incidents in Donetsk, U.S. Ambassador John Herbst said that should the series of events occur once again, Ukrainian officials would have to answer to the world community. Well events did - a week later in Sumy - and Ukrainian officials have yet to explain how and why the series of incidents could be "spontaneously repeated." It must be stated for the record here that President Kuchma has organized a commission to investigate the incidents.

We have said it before, and repeat once again, the European community will not allow Ukraine to enter its institutions until such time as Ukraine has proven it has accepted the rudiments of democracy. Freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, free and unfettered elections and campaign are at the core of democratic principles. Tragically, Ukraine has answered with the debacles in Donetsk and Sumy. We fear some leaders still have not grasped these fundamental concepts.

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