FACES AND PLACES: Is Ukraine constitutional? (01/05/97)

FACES AND PLACES

by Myron B. Kuropas

Is Ukraine constitutional?

From the moment the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine approved the Constitution on June 28, 1996, the Ukrainian state became "unconstitutional." Following are a few examples by way of explanation.

Article 11 of the Constitution stipulates that "the state shall facilitate the consolidation and development of the Ukrainian nation, its historical consciousness, traditions and culture as well as the development of the ethnic, cultural, linguistic and religious attributes of all indigenous peoples and national minorities of Ukraine."

Sounds wonderful, right? The reality, however, is quite different. Today, teachers haven't been paid for months, Ukrainian history textbooks aren't being published, and schools are shutting down for the winter because of a shortage of fuel. How does one "consolidate and develop historical consciousness, tradition and culture" under those circumstances?

How can the Ukrainian Catholic consciousness be consolidated and developed when Ukraine's president folds under Orthodox pressure urging him not to invite Pope John Paul II for a visit?

Jews have a similar problem. According to The Canadian Jewish News of October 24, 1996, about 2,000 Jews flee Ukraine every month. "Anti-Semitism no longer plays role in the decision to leave," according to Joseph Traupinsky, head of the Jewish Agency in Ukraine. The main reason is economic and social chaos. The agency operates in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk and employs a staff of 26 to teach Hebrew, Jewish culture and traditions, and run youth programs. It's not a good sign that Jews, traditionally among Ukraine's most creative entrepreneurs, are leaving.

Article 27 of the Constitution declares that "every person has the inalienable right to life." If that's the law, then why have some 89 people been executed in Ukraine during the last six months? Why is the rate of abortions increasing?

Article 42 states that the "entrepreneurial activities of deputies, officials and civil servants in organs of state authority and organs of local self-government are restricted by law." If that's true, then why do some government officials still carry around two cards, one describing their government position, the other denoting their private business enterprises?

Article 43 states that "every person has the right to work, including the right to the opportunity to earn one's living by work which he chooses or agrees to freely ... The right to timely payment for work is protected by law." The key phrase here is "earn one's living." Younger people in Ukraine have jobs, but they hardly earn a living. Nor, as was the case during Soviet times, do many of them really work. Older people have neither jobs nor work. Timely work payments, of course, are the exception, not the rule.

Article 46 declares that "citizens have the right to social security which includes their right of provision, in case of illness, partial or complete disability, loss of the provider, unemployment under circumstances unrelated to their fault, and in old age, and other instances foreseen by law." According to a report by the World Bank, 29.5 percent of the Ukraine's citizens live in poverty; 41 percent of the poorest people are age 65 or older. So much for constitutional guarantees for the elderly.

Article 68 reads: "Every person is obligated to unswervingly comply with the Constitution of Ukraine and laws of Ukraine, not to infringe upon the rights and freedoms, honor and dignity of other persons." Unfortunately, many federal officials behave as if the Constitution applies to everyone but them.

I could go on, but you get my point. The Ukrainian government is not fulfilling its constitutional responsibilities. Like the Soviets, Ukraine has a wonderful Constitution but if it's not being implemented, it's meaningless. How can anyone have faith in a government that ignores its own laws?

Many, both here and in Ukraine, will argue that too little time has passed for Ukraine to become fully "constitutional." How much time is needed? Another five years? Ten years? How long did it take a devastated Germany to recover after World War II?

I used to believe that every day Ukraine is independent makes Ukraine one day stronger, one day closer to stability, one day further from Moscow's imperialistic net. Today I believe that every day Ukraine continues in its present state brings it closer to collapse and takeover.

According to an article by Dr. Marc Faber in the November 1996 issue of Strategic Investment, the Ukrainian economy has performed worse than most Eastern European countries since independence. "Its GDP contracted on average about 15 percent per annum between 1990 and 1995, while industrial production fell by more than 50 percent over the same period ... since 1990, Ukraine's grain harvest has been cut in half (farm reforms have been delayed and farmers lack access to credits for seeds and fertilizers, and suffer from fuel shortages), while the port of Odesa, which handled 85 million metric tons of cargo in 1990, handled just 51 million in 1995." Ukraine's "agricultural sector is unproductive," continues Mr. Faber, "its nuclear reactors hazardous, the once-efficient steel mills are technologically outdated, and its resources (principally coal and iron ore) are of no great value."

The Ukrainian government is making it almost impossible for foreign investors to consider Ukraine over other regions of the world. Mr. Faber mentions China, Russia, Vietnam and Myanmar as preferred alternatives. Ukraine's "economy is in shambles, its foreign investment and tax laws are still murky ... and it only attracts very modest foreign direct investment (approximately $900,000 since 1990) - tiny in comparison to the northeastern Chinese port city Dalian, which attracted $1.9 billion worth of foreign investments in 1993, $2.4 billion in 1994, and $2.5 billion in 1995 - principally from Japan."

Amazingly, despite all of these negatives, Mr. Faber believes foreign investors should take another look at Ukraine. Ukraine's official economy may be lagging, he writes, but "the free spirit and individualism of the Cossacks [sic] is alive and well in Ukraine and, therefore, quite a thriving unofficial economy has emerged. The rise of the unofficial economy will ... inevitably force the archaic Rada toward wide-ranging reforms." Mr. Faber expects a fairly strong economic recovery in Ukraine over the next three years.

I hope he's right. But for the Kozak spirit to truly blossom, the Ukrainian people need to believe in the Constitution, in their government and in themselves. Only then will Ukraine become "constitutional."

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