EDITORIAL: Ukraine: from morass to muddle (09/10/06)

EDITORIAL

Ukraine: from morass to muddle

When the Universal of National Unity was signed on August 3 by the leaders of four parliamentary factions (Party of the Regions, Socialist Party, Communist Party and Our Ukraine), the president, the Verkhovna Rada chairman and the prime minister, some hailed it as a historic event aimed a uniting a divided nation, while others called it a betrayal of the ideals of the maidan.

President Viktor Yushchenko portrayed the document as a means to join together Ukraine east and west, on both banks of the Dnipro, as he put it. He claimed the universal was a victory for his program, particularly on such things as the official language of Ukraine and European integration. (Truth be told, the bulk of the document is composed of rather vague declarations that did not even come close to its purported purpose of spelling out foreign and domestic policy goals.)

If it was unclear early in August whether the inappropriately named "universal" would turn out to be the basis for a National Unity Coalition, the situation became even more muddled after the events of the last two weeks.

Regarding the ever sensitive language issue, as reported in last week's issue of The Weekly, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's Cabinet of Ministers issued a press release outlining its program of action through 2011. There, clearly stated, was "recognition of Russian as the second official language in Ukraine." The release also referred to the Single Economic Space "as a cardinally important direction in realizing national interests and ensuring Ukraine's national security." Strangely, this week no one seems to be taking responsibility for the press release, our Kyiv correspondent reports, although First Vice Prime Minister Azarov now says, "I haven't seen the release, but it was done by competent people and everything written there is correct." Our Ukraine officials, on the other hand, have not said anything to condemn or counter the release.

Addressing the opening of the Rada's fall session on September 5, Mr. Yanukovych said the top priority of his government would be eliminating corruption. He went on to list other goals: a transparent investment climate, a realistic tax policy, a revitalized industrial sector, membership in the WTO, stable economic growth and mutually advantageous relations with Russia. He steered clear of the more prickly issues.

A National Unity Coalition agreement is expected to be reviewed and signed on September 9. According to various faction leaders, it will be based on several documents, including the Universal of National Unity and the Cabinet's program for 2006-2011. What that program really contains, however, is an unknown.

We'll see soon enough how this power-sharing arrangement among disparate, and in some cases diametrically opposed, groups works - or if it works at all.

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