EDITORIAL: Ukraine's future holds promise (02/16/97)

EDITORIAL

Ukraine's future holds promise

The front page of last week's edition of The Ukrainian Weekly was the classic good news/bad news scenario. On the top left of the page we carried a story about the U.S. Department of State praising Ukraine for significant progress on human rights. On the top right we published a story about the Council of Europe condemning Ukraine for continuing to implement the death penalty.

The State Department's annual human rights report generally gave Ukraine good marks for its "significant progress toward building a law-based civil society" and stated that "reports of human rights violations remained at the same low level as last year." It paid special attention to the newly adopted Constitution of Ukraine, which "provides safeguards for human rights" and establishes the principle of judicial review. As well, the report noted that Ukraine's new fundamental law "provides for a human rights ombudsman, who is to be responsible for assisting citizens in defending their rights." The report cautioned, "The efficacy of the new Constitution, however, depends on enabling legislation."

On the negative side, the State Department report noted that there are problems in the legal and prison systems, which it described as "unreformed." Prison conditions are poor, detainees and prisoners are beaten by police and prison officials; the judiciary is overburdened and long trial delays present a problem. All of which, the report pointed out, is exacerbated by Ukraine's economic crisis.

As regards press freedom, this is enshrined in the Constitution of Ukraine, but the government "occasionally attempts to control the press" and it "largely controls the broadcast media" as these remain largely under state ownership.

The report also noted some restrictions in the realm of freedom of religion (as non-native religious organizations' activity is somewhat restricted and there has been a lag in restitution of religious community property) and freedom of association (as the government's registration requirements circumscribe activity).

"Jews, the second largest religious minority in the country, have expanded opportunities to pursue their religious and cultural activities, but anti-Semitic incidents continue to occur" (e.g., anti-Semitic tracts circulated by extremist groups or anti-Semitic articles in local papers), according to the report, which added that the Ukrainian government protects the rights of the Jewish community and speaks out against anti-Semitism. Furthermore, the State Department document noted "only isolated cases of ethnic discrimination in Ukraine" and said"there is no evidence of serious ethnic tension."

Regarding the death penalty, The Weekly's December 15, 1996, issue urged Ukraine to live up to its promises. After all, Ukraine had pledged in December 1995 to effect a moratorium on capital punishment as the first step to abolishing the death penalty by the year 2000, which was required for Ukraine to gain admission into the Council of Europe. Now Ukraine faces the distinct possibility that it could be expelled from the council if it does not immediately halt executions. According to the latest information released on February 12 in London by Amnesty International, Ukraine last year carried out 167 death sentences. That statistic placed Ukraine in second place behind China for the highest number of known executions. A chilling fact, indeed.

Reviewing the above information, we can reiterate: there is both good and bad news about Ukraine's evolution as an independent post-Soviet state. We, the press, have to report both, and we in the diaspora have to realize that free Ukraine does have warts. The most important thing to remember in order to put everything into perspective is that - in a little more than five years of independence - Ukraine has come a long way. It still has a way to go, but it is consistently, unfailingly, moving in the right direction. The future, therefore, holds much promise.

| Home Page |