Longtime Yushchenko ally Mykola Tomenko has been appointed deputy prime minister for humanitarian policy. In the following interview Mr. Tomenko discusses his vision of this policy and the humanitarian lessons of the recent election campaign.
“What are the lessons of the Orange Revolution?”
“I am glad that one of the motive forces behind the revolution was small and medium business. I’m certain that small and medium business owners are beginning to think in different terms. Surviving or paying off debts is no longer their only concern. They are thinking in terms of influencing government policies, including humanitarian ones. I hope that now the development of a new, contemporary Ukrainian culture and mass culture will depend not only on those whom we call oligarchs and representatives of big business, but also on representatives of small and medium businesses. After all, they were the key participants of the Orange Revolution, and these people are perfectly aware that they must influence the situation in the country and its culture. This is one of the advantages of the situation in which the new government is beginning its work. These new players won’t be investing millions, but the very fact that they are interested in Ukrainian culture is important. When I meet with representatives of this business niche, I am glad that most of them tell me the same things. They were expected to be the first to rush to the government’s rescue, give it money with promises of continued support as long as it didn’t harass them. Meanwhile, they are saying that during the revolution they became true patriots, learned Ukraine’s anthem, and now can sing it together with the president and the Ukrainian people. They understood that this country can change for the better, and they are willing to do this. Before, they were total pessimists; now they have changed. “I was alarmed by the role played by teachers and priests. While business people, who had something to lose, managed to rise above their own interests, the behavior of teachers was a sign of what I call unbelievable economic and social dependence on the local authorities. This was especially true of village teachers. I read their letters and petitions in support of the government. They contained a horrible philosophy that I want to change: ‘Let’s leave everything as it is, so that things don’t get any worse.’ This sounds like a continuation of the Soviet philosophy ‘As long as there’s no war,’ a philosophy of eternal support for an eternal government until it decides to leave all by itself. I was shocked when people started offering toasts and wishes for ‘money, health, and for things not to get worse.’ I consider this a terrible philosophy that we have just now started to change.
“So if we speak about a worldview that was formed during the Orange Revolution, it is the worldview of a person who has come to believe that s/he can live in a society that respects human dignity, freedom, and individuality regardless of position and status. I think these are the most important conclusions. I usually add a very important geopolitical aspect to them: the myth that the Ukrainian president was elected in Moscow or elsewhere has been buried. Everybody has realized that now we have to make decisions within our country’s borders. Unless there is consensus in Ukraine, we will not be able to make any decisions.”
“President Viktor Yushchenko has promised to bolster freedom of speech in Ukraine. What is the quintessence of the future reforms in the Ukrainian mass media space? How and when will they begin?”
“I have mentioned the mandatory editorial charters that we will be introducing into the law on television and radio broadcasts and the law on the print media. I am referring to the clause on editorial boards, which we are proposing to form according to the fifty-fifty principle: half of board members will be nominated by owners and top managers and the other half by staff journalists. These boards will resolve all issues, beginning with editorial policy and funding, and ending with social and professional safeguards. The nature of editorial policy and professional relations will be jointly decided by owners, top managers, and staff.”
“Are there any guarantees that the new government will change the old approaches to the press?”
“I will put it this way. There are meaningful relations, and there are strategic and tactical relations. Strategic relations determine if we have freedom of speech, access to information, etc. Tactical relations refer to everything that relates to our daily work. I don’t think that, in selecting journalists who will fly on the same plane with the president, the presidential press service is encroaching on somebody’s freedom of speech. So far there are many organizational glitches and problems, as was the case during the inauguration. This is happening because the mess that characterized the relationship between the new government and the remnants of the old one has resulted in a lack of coordination. As soon as all status-related questions are resolved, it will become clear in what cases the president, the state secretary, or the presidential press secretary should be dealing with the press. But this doesn’t mean that all this should not be written about by the press. On the contrary, I consider it a positive thing that problems in the government are not a taboo topic but a subject of public discussion.”
“There have been calls to dismiss individuals who allegedly did not rise up against the ‘criminal regime’.”
“We have experienced such a tumultuous time that, despite my revolutionary personality, I get the impression that there may be only a few ideal people in this country who have never had any problems in life. But when I hear that some politicians are talking about removing other politicians... All it takes is a look at these politicians to understand that this issue is irrelevant. The same goes for the journalistic milieu. In reality, everything has become so confused that every politician or journalist has his good and bad sides to a certain extent. I would not single out as ideal people those who fought for Yushchenko or against him, or those who preferred to maneuver. I realize that there are many people on Yushchenko’s team who have the same attitude toward the mass media as the previous team. It will probably take a long time for these people, and for journalists, to change their attitude and forget about politicians and political directions for a while, and think about the people who read newspapers or watch television. Journalists must idolize their readers and viewers, not the new president and the presidential administration. But they should idolize them to the extent that is allowed, because there are things that have to remain free of public scrutiny. The mass media must also differentiate between what can be discussed at the kitchen table and what they can write.”
