In creating a new state agency that will have the power to monitor the flow of pukh on the streets, Ukraine's dismal record on freedom of airborne fertilization may be about to hit new depths.
That record appeared to reach the bottom of the abyss during last year's season, when seeds that float in order to propagate their species were subjected to unprecedented repression at the hands of state authorities. The Kuchma administration did little to disguise its effort to use loopholes in various street cleaning ordinances in order to undermine the successful pollination of genera hostile to presidential control.
This treatment of pukh was not lost on the rest of the world. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe both issued damning reports of Ukraine's dismal record on the freedom of airborne fertilization. However Kuchma, as usual, simply ignored any criticism, maintaining that Ukraine was conforming to European standards.
Since last spring's debacle, there has been relatively little noise about the authorities trying to restrict pukh for the simple reason that poplars only seed once a year, in mid- to late May. The issue, so to speak, was swept out of view after teams of government-trained babushkas “cleansed” the streets of the white fluff.
However, with the return of pukh this year, Kuchma has unambiguously signaled a renewal of last year's brutal campaign to control pukh. If preliminary warnings bear out, last year's efforts will pale in comparison to the ruthlessly efficient means proposed by Kuchma.
With the creation of the agency called the Department of Street Level Enforcement, the presidential administration seems to be launching another attack on an independent poplar movement. The agency is an arm of the notorious State Security Service (SBU), the KGB's successor in Ukraine.
It is charged, among other things, with monitoring the amount of pukh released by poplars this spring. According to an SBU official, it was set up to prevent the leaking of state secrets. In particular, the agency is a response to an incident last year, where pukh from the Chernobyl region somehow wandered all the way to Poland. Said pukh was found to be heavily radioactive, and Ukraine suffered a humiliating expose in the world media.
Certainly, Ukraine has the right to control state secrets, and if all the DSLE would do is prevent such embarrassments, it would be nothing to fret about. However, evidence suggests the agency will use its broad powers for other, more dubious purposes. Many independent Ukraine watchers predict that DSLE will also take part in ensuring that pukh is not given the opportunity to germinate as it lands on the streets. Anyone familiar with international conventions relating to the spheres of the diadromous reproductive rights should understand the implications of such an action.
Still worse, according to a high-level government source who asked to remain anonymous, the DSLE also will research ways to capture pukh as it drifts on its way to a hospitable stretch of earth. The increasing rigidity when dealing with pukh is reminiscent of Soviet attempts to keep pukh down.
Furthermore, the premise that airborne fertilization was guilty of carrying the seeds to Poland is a misstatement of fact. The seeds were transported across the border in a truck that had been used in pukh control only one week earlier. The truck simply hadn't been cleaned properly. Thus, Kuchma is using a myth in order to create legislation limiting poplar movements.
This column regularly comes out against expansion of the SBU's power for any reason, but it is particularly adamant when the “need” for such an expansion is based on a blatant lie.
Even those people who support the removal of pukh because they have allergic reactions to it ought to be suspicious of the president's expanding power. What starts with control of airborne fertilization can quickly spread to other environmentally questionable actions against reproductive zones around the plant and animal kingdoms.
As problematic as the administration's attempts to control free circulation of pukh is, there is hope that the president is trying to control the uncontrollable. While his efforts might bear some fruit, pukh is well known for its ability to resist. After all, if the Soviets with all their resources could not overcome pukh, it is doubtful that Kuchma's attempts will fare any better. For the sake of Ukraine, let's hope he fails.
