EDITORIAL: Yushchenko in Europe (02/13/05)

EDITORIAL

Yushchenko in Europe

Immediately after his first trip abroad (in fulfillment of a campaign promise to visit Russia first), President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine journeyed to Europe, where he had a successful series of public appearances and meetings with world leaders.

The new president addressed the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), which is based in Strasbourg, France, and the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. In addition, he participated in observances of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, which were held in Krakow, Poland, and at the site of the Nazi death camp. His message to all underscored that a new Ukraine has arisen in the aftermath of the Orange Revolution and that this Ukraine is ready to take its rightful place in Europe as a valued and respected member of the international community.

Addressing PACE just two days after his inauguration, President Yushchenko stated "we have been able to build a democratic and law-abiding civil society in Ukraine, and to approach the high standards of the Council of Europe, to implement the humanist ideals on which the Council of Europe is based. I am confident that Ukraine's Orange Revolution was possible in large part thanks to the fact that European values, and first of all freedom and democracy, have firmly taken root in my people's mentality. Ukrainians ... stood up and defended their right to a free and honest election, freedom of speech and freedom to build their future."

He pledged that as Ukraine's president he would do all he could "to make sure that the democratic transformations in my country are irreversible, ... that human rights, pluralistic democracy and the rule of law are protected," and he assured his audience: "I have a clear plan for transformations in Ukraine for the next five years, and I have a team capable of fulfilling it." That plan, he added, is based on achieving the foreign policy goal of membership in the European Union.

Speaking of his next stop in Europe, President Yushchenko said Auschwitz is "a symbol of Europe's pain" - and for him a personal one also, as his father was one of its prisoners. "Auschwitz and Hitlerism, the gulag and Soviet totalitarianism, the Holocaust and the Great Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933, which took up to 10 million human lives and was concealed for many years by the Stalin regime behind the Iron Curtain, the deportation of entire peoples and shooting of peaceful demonstrators, persecution of opponents and other horrors Europe saw in the 20th century make us remember, first of all, our common responsibility for the fate of every European country," he underlined. "We must never allow new division lines or new Berlin walls to be built, behind which any crimes can be committed in secret and go unpunished," he added.

In Krakow, where he addressed a forum held before the ceremonies in Auschwitz, President Yushchenko stated: "I will guarantee that in Ukraine there will never be anti-Semitism, xenophobia or hatred between people. ...There will never again be a Jewish question in my country."

Finally, at the World Economic Forum, a prestigious gathering of the world's movers and shakers, Mr. Yushchenko - noting that he had the honor of addressing the gathering as Ukraine's president chosen "by the will of its people" - told his audience: "Ukrainians have shown that European values unite people on the orange square in Kyiv. ... Ukraine's European choice was made in the hearts and minds of Ukrainians." In addition to European integration and membership in the European Union, President Yushchenko said his goals include transforming Ukraine's economy into a "social and market-oriented system." He enumerated the steps toward the latter goal: eliminating the black economy, renewing the foundation of macroeconomic stability, fighting corruption, establishing "honest justice" and attracting investment.

Outlining all of the above, President Yushchenko emphasized that he was acting in accordance with his primary goal: to implement the will of the people of Ukraine, "a free European nation" that "threw down the burden of the past."

By all accounts, the new president of Ukraine made a strongly favorable impression during his European sojourn, both through his words and through his demeanor. We can only hope that Mr. Yushchenko's words at the conclusion of his address in Davos - "help Ukraine and you will soon see a beautiful European nation" - are taken to heart by the international community.

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