IN THE PRESS: Ukraine's presidential election (11/14/04)

IN THE PRESS

Ukraine's presidential election

Excerpted below are several commentaries and editorials pertaining to Ukraine's presidential election that were recently published by major newspapers in the United States and beyond.

"Ukraine's Presidential Election: Second Time Lucky? The presidential election will be decided by a run-off. Probably," in the November 6-12 issue of The Economist:

"... For all their efforts, which allegedly included two assassination bids, Mr. Yushchenko's foes could not stop him advancing in a strong position to a second round, due on November 21st.

"His opponent will be Victor Yanukovich, the prime minister and choice of Leonid Kuchma, the outgoing president. Mr. Yushchenko, a former head of the central bank, was himself prime minister in 1999-2001, though he later turned against Mr. Kuchma. With the results of 98 percent of polling stations audited, Ukraine's central election commission said that each Victor had won just under 40% of the vote. The commission then suspended its count, perhaps because it was reluctant to acknowledge that Mr. Yushchenko might be ahead.

"Mr. Yushchenko's allies insist that he did far better than the official tally allows - and even that he may have secured the 50 percent needed for outright victory. According to the most reliable exit poll, he beat Mr. Yanukovich by six points. ..."

"Yearning to breathe free," by Radek Sikorski in the November 6 issue of The Spectator:

" ... a Yanukovych victory, particularly a stolen Yanukovych victory, will complete the drawing of a new line across Europe. No longer from Szczecin to Trieste, this time from the Barents to the Black Sea, a line will congeal with free-market democracy on the west of it, and with thugocracies to the east. Ukraine is pivotal. If 47 million Ukrainians manage to defend their fragile democracy, autocrats in Minsk and Moscow cannot be sure that their citizens too might not rebel one day. Or to put it in geopolitical terms, Russia plus Ukraine is the Russian empire. Russia as a nation state can in due course develop into a normal, rich and powerful country. But if Russia wastes its energies on regaining a territorial empire, it will have neither the tolerance for democracy at home, nor develop into the kind of successful modern society that can match the growing power of China to its east.

"Some people have become so blinded by anti-Americanism that they assume that whatever Uncle Sam backs must be a bad thing. In this twisted logic, if the U.S. Congress passes a 'Belarus Democracy Act' or helps the struggling Ukrainian independent media, that is interference, but when Russia pulls out the stops for Yanukovych, that's just good old Slavic solidarity. In fact we Slavs no more wish to live in kleptocracies, or be 'disappeared' by our governments, than people elsewhere. ...

"The real shame is that, by comparison with the muted but so far honorable U.S. stance, the EU has been uncharacteristically reticent. For an organization which likes to fire self-important broadsides on issues of democracy and human rights, the European Union takes surprisingly little interest in the fate of 47 million Europeans in Ukraine. The conduct of the election campaign has been criticized at the low level of EU ambassadors in Kiev [sic]. No doubt the fate of Ukrainians is not worth straining the precious friendships that Chancellor Schröder, President Chirac or Prime Ministers Blair and Berlusconi feel for that well-known democrat Vladimir Putin. Easier to bask in the splendor of the signing ceremony of the European constitution, with its lofty declarations on democracy, than lift a finger for the sake of an existing democracy that may be about to be extinguished. ..."

"Ukraine Makes a Crucial Choice," editorial in the November 4 issue of The Japan Times Online, Tokyo (as cited by The Action Ukraine Monitoring Service):

"... The stakes in this election are high and include considerably more than who controls the spoils in Ukraine. The country straddles the divide between Europe and the East; it borders seven countries, among them Russia, members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and three new members of the European Union. The Ukraine election matters greatly because the two candidates have very different visions of their country's orientation and future.

".. A victory for Mr. Yanukovich in Ukraine would help provide a powerful counter to the liberal, democratic model that Europe presents to the former Soviet states of Eastern and Central Europe. There is security in numbers, and a bloc of three Soviet-style leaders in the heart of Europe could provide an attraction for other budding autocrats."

"East or West? Ukraine will play host to this month's other watershed election," in the November 3 issue of The Wall Street Journal:

"... Ukraine's election, to put it kindly, hasn't been pretty or clean. Yet for all its faults, Sunday's poll at least produced an outcome that leading contenders can live with. The two Viktors - Yushchenko and Yakunovych - ended up with nearly identical results, around 40 percent, short of the majority needed to claim victory in the first round. Ukrainian voters were treated to a spirited and informative campaign that presented real choices - a privilege, alas, denied Russians and Belarusians, making this country a last hope for democracy in the ex-USSR. The next, tougher, test will be the November 21 run-off. ...

"Ahead of November 21, the powerful tycoons and Kuchma cronies - 'the party of power' - will be desperate to get Mr. Yanukovych into office. As is Vladimir Putin, making Moscow's preferences clear. On the other side, an awakened, younger electorate is ready to defend, even fight, for its recently won freedoms.

"To all appearances, the least risky, not to mention the most noble, path for Mr. Kuchma would be to ensure that the run-off will be a model election. America and Europe have a pressing interest in seeing Ukraine, a strategically located nation, stay in the democratic camp rather than in any particular candidate. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has proved it can handle democracy. In 1994, Mr. Kuchma won, fair and square, sending his predecessor to a happy retirement. Mr. Kuchma could do the same. But vote rigging in past polls, and their tactics in this, shows that his allies won't give up power easily. ..."

"Ukraine's Ballot Box Revolution Must Not Be Stifled," by Victor Yushchenko, in the November 3 issue of the Financial Times, London (as reprinted in Our Ukraine Update):

"Ukrainians voted solidly for change in the country's weekend presidential elections. Despite fears of government interference in the poll, voters showed determination to exercise their constitutional rights to choose a president in a peaceful and democratic way.

"We will challenge Sunday's poll results, which put me - the opposition's presidential candidate - neck and neck with Viktor Yanukovich, the incumbent prime minister and presidential candidate. Already, however, government officials are in shock that their man did not achieve an outright victory. For the second time in as many years, voters reminded the incumbent regime of its tenuous claim on legitimacy. ...

"Ukrainian voters must once again go to the polls, this time in a presidential run-off on November 21. The choice for voters is clear: on one hand, a vibrant opposition demanding a system of democratic values and economic initiatives to jump-start Ukraine's integration into Europe; on the other, a candidate who represents an incumbent regime that values autocracy and crony capitalism more than freedom and the rule of law. ..."

"Ukraine Vote Lets Russia Flex Its Emerging Political Muscle; Moscow Puts Spin on Election Seen as Test of Its Influence," by Peter Finn, in the October 31 issue of the Washington Post:

"... Many political analysts depicted Sunday's election as critical to the strategic direction of Ukraine, which lies between Russia and the European Union. But it is also showcasing Russia's emerging ability to use campaign consultants, electioneering and political spin beyond its borders to pursue its long-term objective of retaining influence in former Soviet republics.

" 'Look at what the U.S. is doing here - supporting foundations, analytical centers, roundtables," said Sergei Markov, a Kremlin political consultant and head of the Russian Club's Information Center. 'It's how contemporary foreign policy is pursued. And it's exactly what we're doing.'

"... 'For the Kremlin, this is a very, very important election,' said Markov. 'We don't want to dominate Ukraine. We want to develop together. But [Viktor] Yushchenko is very dangerous. He is surrounded by these crazy people with a Cold War mentality who hate Russia.'

"The Russian Club was opened in August by Viktor Yanukovych, Russia's favored candidate for the presidency, and Dmitry Medvedev, chief of staff to Russian President Vladimir Putin. At first, officials said the club's opening had nothing to do with the election, but lately it has been involved in little else.

"On Friday, the club held a roundtable with deputies from the lower house of Russia's Parliament who had come to observe the election. On Saturday, the club planned to discuss exit polls, including one it had commissioned for Sunday's elections. On election day itself, a team of 'experts' is to be available for the press to discuss the day's events. ..."

"Ukraine's Crucial Election," editorial, in the October 31 issue of The Washington Post:

"... Many Eurasian countries have held problematic elections, but Ukraine's has been distinguished by massive external intervention from Russia. According to reliable sources, Mr. Putin has channeled hundreds of millions of dollars into the campaign of Mr. Yanukovych. Russian political advisers have flocked to Ukraine, and Mr. Putin himself spent three days in Kiev [sic] this past week, during which he appeared on all three of Ukraine's national television channels to praise the official candidate and presided with him over a Soviet-style military parade. Mr. Yanukovych has pledged to end Ukraine's bid for NATO membership, make Russian an official language, allow for dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship and integrate Ukraine into a Moscow-dominated 'single economic space.'

"The Bush administration's reaction to these events has been weak. Officials have expressed concern: Deputy Secretary of State Richard L. Armitage said in an article published Friday that 'there are signs of trouble' with the elections and that the United States has 'an overriding interest in a democratic Ukraine.' Yet no U.S. official has publicly noted, much less criticized, Mr. Putin's heavy-handed attempt to install an autocratic client as the president of a country that historically has been the starting point for Russian imperialism. Such silence will only encourage Mr. Putin and his Ukrainian allies to press forward with a project that begins with the disenfranchisement of Ukrainians - and could end with the redivision of Europe."

"The Other Big Election: Watch Ukraine. Its presidential election, too, could change the world," editorial in the October 30 issue of The Economist:

"... The West should therefore not be shy about pushing for a clean election in Ukraine. Russia supports Mr. Yanukovich [sic] both overtly and covertly. Europe and America should kick and scream about electoral irregularities and encourage Ukrainians to defend their own democracy.

"And whoever wins, the West should offer Ukraine the incentives that Russia cannot, and support its ambitions to join NATO, the WTO and the EU. The EU, in particular, could do more to help Ukraine take the first steps towards that distant goal, for instance by lending advisers to help with the reforms that Ukraine would need to implement EU rules and open the door to more EU funding; it could even start discussing what until now has been off the agenda, a timetable and pathway to membership. Showing that Ukraine can escape the Soviet legacy will be a powerful argument against those who believe that Russia and its neighbors are condemned to it."

"The Empire Sneaks Back," op-ed article by Nina Khrushcheva, in the October 30 issue of the International Herald Tribune:

"...Ukraine's presidential election on Sunday could determine whether Russia remains a national state or begins to resurrect its empire. Should President Vladimir Putin succeed in his heavy-handed intervention in favor of his preferred candidate, Viktor Yanukovich [sic], Ukraine's current prime minister, Ukraine's fragile democracy is likely to suffer and its efforts to join the West will be set back. ...

"Putin has allowed hundreds of millions of dollars to be funneled through Russian state companies, most prominently Gazprom, to fund the Yanukovich campaign. He has sent his political technologists to Kiev [sic] to assist Ukraine's government. This week, he went himself to Kiev to embrace Yanukovich on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Kiev from the Nazis. ...

"Let us be clear about the meaning of that embrace. A Russia determined to be an empire cannot be a democracy. To absorb Ukraine, Russia will inevitably have to become a remilitarized state. This transformation won't be noticeable. Just as Putin's creeping authoritarianism has gone largely uncriticized by a President Bush keen to have the Russian leader onboard for his war on terror, Russia's revived empire will sneak up on us."

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