“Our goal is to promote the consolidation of freedom of speech in Ukraine and ensure democratic parliamentary elections in 2006.” This is the gist of a recent speech by PACE co-rapporteurs Hanne Severinsen and Renate Wohlwend (photo) in Kyiv. This was a total dОjИ vu: the same rapporteurs of the PACE monitoring committee said the same words before the 2004 elections. The times and leaders have changed, but not PACE’s requirements. Does this mean that PACE is not convinced that the new Ukrainian government is better than the old leadership in terms of its commitment to democracy?
Severinsen and Wohlwend avoided giving a direct answer to this question from The Day’s correspondent last week. They stressed, however, that the Ukrainian leadership should already start preparing for the 2006 parliamentary elections and ensure that these elections are fair and democratic. According to Ms. Severinsen, they should start by eliminating numerous technical problems, such as mistakes in voter rolls and legislative shortcomings. Ms. Severinsen believes that first and foremost the problem of absentee ballots has to be resolved.
Speaking about democratic standards in general, Hanne Severinsen and Renate Wohlwend pointed to many positive factors. In their view, as a result of the Orange Revolution Ukraine has taken a big step toward the consolidation of democratic standards. The PACE co-rapporteurs said that in the few days that they were in Kyiv they managed to meet with many representatives of the country’s leadership, including the Prime Minister, the president’s Secretary of State, and the Prosecutor General. Their conclusion is that the new leaders of Ukraine realize the need for a transition from democratic rhetoric to specific actions aimed at establishing democracy. Ms. Severinsen pointed out that there is no longer such a phenomenon as temnyky [secret programming instructions sent out by the government to television channels], adding that after watching different Ukrainian channels, she noticed that news reports have become more multifaceted.
At the same time, the co-rapporteurs pointed out that the list of Ukraine’s commitments before the Council of Europe is still quite long, and PACE will be keeping a close watch on how Ukraine fulfills them. Ukraine has undertaken, among other things, to adopt a series of laws and staunchly uphold democratic norms in daily social and political life. Europe expects Ukraine to make progress on the Gongadze case, Hanne Severinsen said, expressing the hope that those who ordered the murder will be brought to account along with the executors and organizers of this crime. She recalled that the Council of Europe has formed an ad hoc commission to investigate this case. Its representatives will soon be coming to Ukraine to find out about the progress of the investigation. Answering questions from journalists, the PACE co-rapporteurs spoke about the need to punish the Ukrainian officials who were involved in election fraud, but cautioned against persecuting citizens “who voted for the wrong candidate.”
The main focus of PACE is on the forthcoming parliamentary elections. According to its representatives, the 2006 parliamentary elections will be a test for the new Ukrainian government and an indicator of its commitment to democracy. If the elections are held at an adequate level, the monitoring of Ukraine, which has lasted for 9 years, may be stopped, Hanne Severinsen said. In simple terms, the Council of Europe is approaching the new Ukrainian government according to the principle of “trust but verify.” The leadership itself, and its intentions and initial steps, have been well received by the Council of Europe. At the same time, the Europeans are not inclined to trust only words and would like to see the new Ukrainian leadership in action.
