Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine addresses Action Ukraine Coalition (05/02/04)

Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine addresses Action Ukraine Coalition

by Natalka Gawdiak

WASHINGTON - According to the deputy assistant secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs in the U.S. State Department and the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Steven Pifer, the U.S. vision for Ukraine continues to be one of "a stable, independent, democratic country with an increasingly strong market economy and with increasingly strong ties to Europe and Euro-Atlantic institutions."

Mr. Pifer expressed this view at an April 15 briefing on U.S.-Ukraine relations at the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs in Washington. The meeting was the fourth in a series of such meetings on Ukrainian issues organized by the Action Ukraine Coalition that comprises the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, the Ukrainian Federation of America, and the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation.

Invited participants included heads or representatives of Ukrainian American organizations, U.S. government agencies, senior congressional assistants, as well as members of the U.S. business community, think-tanks and the media. Ihor Gawdiak, president of the Ukrainian American Coordinating Council, served as the briefing's moderator. Meeting arrangements were made by Morgan Williams, editor of AUC's Action Ukraine Report.

Both in his opening remarks and in answer to subsequent questions, Ambassador Pifer emphatically rejected the notion that U.S.-Ukraine relations are determined primarily by Ukraine's contribution to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. He insisted that democracy in Ukraine remains the most important consideration for U.S. policy and that no other issue is going to have more impact on U.S.-Ukraine relations than what happens during the campaign period before the October presidential elections. He reminded his audience that this was the message Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage delivered during his recent visit to Ukraine both publicly and in private talks with President Leonid Kuchma.

Referring to the Ukraine-Iraq issue mentioned in the previous AUC meeting by Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada member Borys Tarasyuk, Mr. Pifer asserted that the United States very much appreciates Ukraine's decision to contribute a "significant number of troops to the stabilization force in Iraq." As this is a very high U.S. national security interest. "It has had a positive impact on the broader relationship, but as the deputy secretary said when he was in Kyiv, it is not going to cause us to turn our eye away from the democracy question. Democracy still remains the No. 1 issue for us in our relationship with Ukraine looking out toward the election."

U.S. concerns

Ambassador Pifer listed a number of U.S. concerns connected with the presidential election campaign in Ukraine: increasing pressure on the independent media, with specific reference to the shutdown of broadcast outlets for Radio Liberty; increased pressure from such state agencies as the State Tax Administration on opposition candidates or businesses that support the opposition; and the manipulation of local elections. He said the U.S. believes that the proposed constitutional amendments, especially their timing - "a major shift in the Constitution against the backdrop of an election year" - is not advisable. Such a major change ought to be the subject of previous discussion by a broad segment of Ukrainian society and not just a determination made within the Verkhovna Rada, he pointed out.

Inasmuch as Ukraine wants to eventually join NATO, Mr. Pifer said the United States has continually stressed that while "NATO is a defensive alliance, it is also a community of values, and democracy is a big element of that." If Ukraine wants to draw closer to NATO and the European Union, "it has to develop a democratic system which is seen as compatible with those that are the norm in Western Europe," he added.

Recent positive developments

The U.S. welcomes President Kuchma's announced moratorium on tax inspections and audits on media outlets, continued Mr. Pifer. The U.S., however, wants to see the same moratorium for business enterprises supporting opposition candidates.

Dropping the idea of having the president elected directly by the Verkhovna Rada instead of by the people was also a positive step, he added. Polls in Ukraine have shown that 90 percent of the population prefer direct election of the president.

Democratic, fair, transparent elections

Ambassador Pifer ended by stating that the U.S. is "not concerned with who wins the election, our focus is on the process ... a process that is free, fair and meets the standards that Ukraine is committed to as a member of the OSCE... We want to see a level playing field... We want opposition candidates to be able to speak freely and independently, and we want to see a situation in which the media is able to cover what issues it chooses, how it chooses, when it chooses."

"We are looking at ways to get Radio Liberty back on the air because it has a well earned reputation for objective broadcasting, and we think that would be a real asset to Ukraine in the campaign," Ambassador Pifer explained.

Vigorous questioning

Although a variety of issues was raised in the lively question-and-answer period, the overriding concern of the participants was the lack of forcefulness in the Bush administration's communication to the Kuchma government on how much the future of U.S.-Ukraine relations depends on a "free and fair" presidential campaign and election.

Recalling National Deputy Tarasyuk's emphasis at the previous AUC meeting on having a high-level U.S. administration representative go to Ukraine, one questioner asked whether any U.S. Cabinet-level person might soon visit Ukraine. Mr. Pifer said that no decisions on others had yet been made.

Some participants, not satisfied by the U.S. reaction to negative developments in Ukraine, pressed the ambassador for specifics on anticipated U.S. reaction to these developments. For example, are we just merely going to say "we hope" that Radio Liberty can get back on the air? - "Words don't seem to be working," one participant asserted.

"We have told the Ukrainian government some things that we see will be possible if the election goes well and others that will not happen if the process does not go well. If the election process goes badly, you will see much less energy devoted to Ukraine. It is not proper to lay out all the specifics in public, however," Mr. Pifer replied.

Pressed further on the need to ratchet up the U.S. government's involvement in fostering democracy in Ukraine, the ambassador again referred to the Armitage message and the statements of others who have visited Ukraine. "We had a problem with selective reporting of Armitage's message in Ukraine, but we are 'making the message,' " he said, both publicly and privately and also putting in resources. About 30 percent of the Freedom Support Act going to Ukraine is for democracy programs - monitoring, support for independent media.

"We are pretty comfortable that we have targeted as much as we can in resource terms," the ambassador noted. "We can debate about whether or not there are gaps...Ultimately, however, it is going to be a Ukrainian decision...we donít have a magic way to make that election happen democratically."

Mr. Pifer stressed that the decisions that are made now in Ukraine will affect the country 10 years down the road. "The economy is moving in the right direction; it needs to move faster. But the question is can Ukraine get it right democratically," the ambassador concluded.

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