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Ukraine appears to bow to pressure from China on Nobel Peace Prize; Parliament to vote on broadening public information.

Ukraine appears to bow to pressure from China on Nobel Peace Prize: DEC. 14-15

Ukraine used an unscheduled meeting of its diplomats on Dec. 14-15 in Kyiv as an excuse for not having its ambassador to Norway attend the Dec. 10 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony of Chinese political prisoner Liu Xiaobo.

Critics complained the decision to not have Ukrainian Ambassador to Norway Oleksandr Tsvetkov attend is a sign that Ukraine is willing to overlook China’s horrible human rights record in exchange for better ties with Beijing.

A pro-democracy protester wearing a mask of jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo protests outside the Chinese government liaison office in Hong Kong on Dec. 5. Protesters rallied in Hong Kong on Sunday for the release of the jailed Nobel Peace Prize winner. (AP)

In September, President Viktor Yanukovych visited China and signed bilateral agreements for up to $4 billion of Chinese investments in Ukraine, including a fast rail line connecting Boryspil International Airport and Kyiv.

Tsvetkov confirmed to Kommersant daily newspaper on Dec. 6 that he received a written “recommendation” from the Chinese not to attend the award ceremony.
On Dec. 6, the Oslo-based Nobel Prize committee said that Ukraine was among 19 countries to decline the invitations.

Norwegian Nobel committee secretary Torill Johansen told Kommersant that Tsvetkov informed the committee that attending a conference in Kyiv would prevent his appearance. Cuba, Russia, Venezuela, Kazakhstan and Saudi-Arabia – all run by autocrats or dictators – were among the other 19 countries that declined the award ceremony invitations.

Tsvetkov told Kommersant he will be in Kyiv on Dec. 10 to prepare for the meeting of diplomats to talk about Ukraine’s new non-aligned foreign policy stance and reaffirm the country’s commitment to European integration. But many think Ukraine is simply dodging the issue, since this biennial gathering usually takes place in August. The last one took place in 2009.

In November, Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, announced that China had been pressuring diplomatic missions in Norway to boycott the award ceremony.

China hasn’t released Xiaobo from prison and isn’t allowing his relatives to leave China to visit Norway.

The lack of solidarity is surprising to some, since Ukrainians made up the largest proportion of political dissidents in the Soviet Union. However, since statehood, Ukraine has had a troubling human rights climate itself. According to a 2009 U.S. State Department report, Ukraine’s problems “included reports of serious police abuse, beatings and torture of detainees and prisoners; harsh conditions in prisons and detention facilities; arbitrary and lengthy pretrial detention; an inefficient and corrupt judicial system; and incidents of anti-Semitism.”

In 2007-2009, the European Court of Human Rights issued 19 decisions against Ukraine for violations of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Late on Dec. 9, Ukraine’s foreign ministry announced that it was sending a replacement for Tsvertkov.

Parliament to vote on broadening public information

Parliament reconvenes Dec. 14-17 and may adopt laws giving the public greater access to official information.

One is a bill on public access to information championed by Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko parliamentarian Andriy Shevchenko. The draft law has received high marks from international experts. Civil society organizations and journalists participated.

The Party of Regions realizes they have no choice but to pass this law. There’s been a lot of pressure at home and from abroad on the importance of passing these bills.

– Andriy Shevchenko, parliamentarian, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko

The bill introduces a clearly defined concept of public ownership of information, and has provisions granting the public to access government and municipal plans and budgets. It also gives greater weight to the public’s right to know vs. the privacy of government officials.

President Viktor Yanukovych has repeatedly promised to pass such laws, in response to demands from the European Union and others. But his commitment is questionable, since the pro-presidential Party of Regions lawmakers who control parliament have constantly stifled the legislation.

The second bill is a new law on information favored by Party of Regions parliamentarian Olena Bondarenko.

Lawmaker Shevchenko said he’s optimistic both laws will get passed.

“The Party of Regions realizes they have no choice but to pass this law,” Shevchenko said. “There’s been a lot of pressure at home and from abroad on the importance of passing these bills. There’s been a lot of goodwill on both sides of the aisle, we’ve finally came to an understanding, this is crucial for our country to move forward.”