Feb. 15, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet forces from Afghanistan. On February 12 a gala concert in honor of Afghan veterans who had to fight in that senseless war took place at the Ukraine Palace of Culture. The ceremony was opened by Serhii Chervonopysky, head of the Ukrainian Union of Afghan Veterans, and guests from Russia, among them the well-known ex-commander of the 40th Army Boris Gromov and Hero of the Soviet Union Ruslan Aushev.
Among those who took the floor to greet the war veterans were former and current politicians, including Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, Ukraine’s second President Leonid Kuchma, and MP Valerii Konovaliuk (Party of Regions). The festive atmosphere was disrupted after the Ukrainian Minister of Defense Yurii Yekhanurov read a message from President Viktor Yushchenko. On hearing his name, the audience erupted in catcalls and whistling. That same night Savik Shuster, after a long deliberation, included the scene in his talk show Shuster Live on the Ukraina Channel.
An analysis of this incident leads to two inferences. One has to do with the lack of culture and respect for the institution of presidency and the second — with the disillusionment with and lack of respect for Viktor Yushchenko as an individual. These two aspects are absolutely incompatible. Everyone has a right to disagree with and condemn Yushchenko’s conduct and statements, but such attitude to the head of state, the Supreme Commander in Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, is a disgrace to the army officer’s honor and dignity — even more so to officers and men who had gone through the hell of the Afghan war — in the presence of guests, in this case from Russia.
Can you picture anything like that in Russia? Consider the fact that the US film Charlie Wilson’s War (a biographical drama based on George Crile’s bestselling documentary book under the same title, directed by Mike Nichols, about a Texas congressman who lobbied for supplies of US weapons to the Mujahedins fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan) was never screened in Russia because of its “certain orientation.” In contrast to this, this film was screened in Ukraine, and anyone could pass judgment on whether it had a “certain orientation.”
Simply put, there a tightening of the screws in Russia and democracy going rampant in Ukraine. It is true that far from everything is being done in this country to secure the Afghan veterans an adequate living, yet this is inappropriate as an example for young Ukrainian officers. Everyone has a right to voice his/her dissatisfaction, but not in this case or place. What happened was a demonstration of disrespect for an institution of power and the entire Ukrainian state. Yushchenko is not a government agency — rather, he is merely its representative, and his performance will be duly assessed in the next election, and eventually by history, although many Ukrainians have felt humiliated even today.
The Day asked its experts to comment on the incident and express their opinion on how the war in Afghanistan should be viewed by Ukrainian society today.
Serhii CHERVONOPYSKY, head of the Ukrainian Union of Afghan Veterans:
“I was very displeased with what happened in the audience as Yekhanurov was reading the president’s message. It is hard to say what triggered this reaction, but I don’t think that it was organized. One possibility is that the Afghan veterans were irked by the president’s absence, whereas Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn was there on stage, and that someone else read his message. For my part I did all I could to quite them down and I think I succeeded in doing so. Once again, he is our popularly elected president, so a thing like that shouldn’t have happened, whatever our feelings about him.
“I would also like to note that on February 15, at the ceremony of laying flowers [at the memorial], and during earlier ceremonies practically all political forces were present except Yulia Tymoshenko’s bloc. Among those present were Yushchenko, Yanukovych, Lytvyn, and the Communists. Tymoshenko’s absence remains strange and inexplicable, considering that we have no conflicts with the BYuT.
“How should we view the war in Afghanistan? I think that Ukrainian society should be proud of our young men who fulfilled their duty as ordered by what was their government at the time and displayed courage and performed acts of heroism. Such qualities should be the foundation for the raising of our younger generation. We must nurture patriotism and love for our Mother-Ukraine. Whatever mistakes were made by politicians, the soldiers aren’t to blame. They are among us, so we must honor and remember them as we do to all the heroes of our wars.”
Viacheslav BILOUS, head of the Union of Officers of Ukraine:
“I think that what happened at the Ukraine Palace indicates a lack of individual culture. Military servicemen must be cultured individuals and must uphold honor and dignity. If you feel no respect for the Supreme Commander in Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces or the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, you have no respect for yourself. This was an official event rather than a political rally. You don’t like your President? That’s a different matter. The next elections will come, and you will have the liberty of voting for someone else, but for the time being you must respect the choice made by the nation, especially if you are an army officer.
“They ought to have whistled and stamped their feet when they were being sent to Afghanistan. They never did because they were afraid of the severe punishment. Now they see that others are treating them like fellow humans, so they have chosen that way to show their aversion to a political force.
“In general, I believe that such dates should not be celebrated by singing, dancing, and drinking, but be marked quietly, by paying homage to those that died in the war. The head of the Union of Afghan Veterans, the defense minister, or the president should take the floor and deliver a progress report for the year: how many invalids, widows, and orphans of the Afghan war have been provided with homes, jobs, daycare accommodations, and so on. As it is, everything in this country has turned into a show, all of politics, including NSDC meetings, and even the ceremony of honoring the soldiers killed in Afghanistan.
“My assessment of that war is that it was a blunder made by the Soviet Union and that it was one of the reasons for its collapse. Gromov, who was at the palace, offered a legal assessment of the war, saying that no Soviet troops should have been sent to Afghanistan. I sympathize with the Afghan veterans; they are not to blame because they were fulfilling orders. Today we tend to forget about these people, just as we tend to forget that a war continues until the last fallen soldier has been dug up or otherwise found.
