Although the Ukrainian peacekeeping force in Iraq is showing what true professionalism is, this does not mean, however, that Ukraine should not seek a political settlement of the situation in Iraq. This idea was expressed in an interview with The Day by Serhiy BYCHKOV, Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Foreign Affairs Committee.
“After terrorist acts in Spain, when the wrongdoers managed to really bend public opinion on whether that country’s contingent should further stay in Iraq, withdrawal of peacekeepers became the point of a broad debate in the countries that take part in the coalition stabilization force. Ukraine is no exception in this regard: the Communists recently tried to moot a withdrawal resolution in parliament, but the proposal fell short of the required number of votes. As the situation in Iraq is still tense, further attempts by various political forces to broach this subject are not ruled out. What do you think of the situation?”
“Like most of my parliamentary colleagues, I am convinced there no grounds to raise the question of withdrawing our contingent from Iraq right now. As a country that is part of the civilized world, we have no right to bow to the terrorists’ demands. Of course, the situation is extremely difficult there. As it is clear to all, it is the result of an increasingly acute political struggle in Iraq on the eve of power transfer — from the provisional military administration to the local population. There is rivalry for power. I hope that when power is transferred to a civilian administration, there will be prospects for some kind of stabilization. Should the peacekeepers abandon Iraq, this could touch off a civil war and a humanitarian catastrophe of unprecedented scale. The current aggravation of situation has touched upon Ukraine in no uncertain terms — our soldier Ruslan Androshchuk was killed in a firefight. The number of gunmen on the territory controlled by the Ukrainian peacekeepers has risen. The gunmen set themselves the goal to seize large administrative centers. As is known, Ruslan Androshchuk and his comrades came under fire of a Soviet- made RPG grenade launcher when they were on patrol. This and other similar facts make it difficult to believe that the interim administration made a wise decision to allow every Iraqi household to keep a firearm for self-defense purposes — the result is that guns are being used against the peacekeepers. What reveals the true chivalrous spirit of our boys is the fact that none of the wounded chose to continue medical treatment in a German hospital, preferring to get back to their unit as soon as possible. Forcing its away through the battle-stricken area, our communications unit showed its top class in message encoding. So it is very strange to read some foreign media reports that the Ukrainians allegedly abandoned their sector of responsibility without permission. We have every right to expect the UN to make more clear-cut and timely decisions, for it is by this organization’s resolution that our peacekeepers are stationed in Iraq. There are so far no grounds to claim that Ukrainian presence in the Iraq coalition force has fanned aggressive feelings towards us on the part of radical Islamic groupings or increased the probability of terrorist acts in Ukraine. Still, we must insist that the UN take a more active stance by passing a resolution which would respond to the latest challenges of the situation in Iraq.”
“What do you think this resolution should contain?”
“It must clearly state the dates and ways of transferring power from the interim administration to a democratic civilian government. Hostage-takings have triggered heated debates in the parliaments of many countries on whether it is worth keeping their contingents in Iraq. Yet, withdrawing troops is no way out of the situation. We must think about creating safe conditions for our compatriots who are helping to restore Iraq’s shattered economy. Incidentally, the fact that taking our citizens hostage has not assumed a massive scale is not a lucky chance but, rather, the result of the measures effectively taken by the Ukrainian side in order to avert such things.”
“Oddly enough, the allegations that our peacekeepers abandoned the Iraqi city of Al-Qut without permission appeared in a respected British newspaper rather than on the Arab TV channels, such as Al-Jazeerah or Al-Arabiya. Does this mean it is to the benefit of somebody in the West to show Ukraine and its soldiers in such a negative light?”
“Representatives of dictatorial regimes and terrorist organizations have always tried to lobby their interests by manipulating the public opinion of Western countries. So these reports in the European media might have just been contracted by those against whom the Europeans themselves are waging a fierce struggle. The Verkhovna Rada Foreign Affairs Committee has discussed — in a literally chronological order — all the actions the Ukrainian contingent took in this situation. Our committee, as well as the one for national security and defense, has experts who hold the rank of general and have ample experience of work in many international organizations. We came to the conclusion that the actions of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent’s commanders and units were correct. There was not a single official complaint from the coalition command that the Ukrainian military had not accomplished or inadequately accomplished their missions. On the contrary, numerous comments of foreign generals allows us to say that our peacekeepers are considered among the most reliable and best-trained — both in the operational and the psychological aspects. It’s a proven fact that the Ukrainian contingent has so far been winning nothing but recognition of its professionalism by the coalition command.
“On the other hand, it should be noted that our country’s image is the object of fierce struggle. Some consider Ukraine — seriously and not without reason — as their economic and political rival not only on the European but also on the world scale. We must learn to distinguish between the publications that undeservedly humiliate Ukraine and those which show the true state of affairs.”
“It is an open secret that many politicians linked — overtly or covertly — sending the Ukrainian contingent to Iraq with certain economic prospects...”
“No matter what one can hope for, the chief mission of the Ukrainians is to help establish a civilized society. The main reason why the Ukrainian military contingent is stationed there is our feeling of responsibility for the destiny of worldwide democracy. Naturally, we are eligible for taking part in economic projects, but this is just a part of the benefit our country may derive.”
“In what way is Verkhovna Rada monitoring what is going on in Iraq? Do the deputies get sufficient information?”
“We have access to all the required information, including topographic maps and other classified documents. We can only thank the minister of defense, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Security Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — our committee largely receives first-hand information about all developments in Iraq and other hot spots. Which, of course, helps us take a balanced and responsible position.”
