Ukrainian authorities to engage civil society
President Viktor Yanukovych has signed a decree on the development of civil society in Ukraine which may reflect a wider governmental intention to stimulate dialogue with existing civil organizations.
The decree calls for the formation of a Civil Society Coordination Board, with Maryna Stavniychuk as a chairman. The board currently includes 16 Ukrainian civil organizations. To assist with the implementation of the initiative the National Institute for Strategic Studies, together with invited experts, will be commissioned to prepare a report on the current condition of Ukrainian civil society.
This report will provide the foundations for a series of strategic governmental policies and new laws governing the third sector. According to Stavniychuk, the new body will develop fresh approaches to the implementation of state policy on the support and development of civil society, scientific and expert communities. Third sector experts hope that the Civil Society Coordination Board will become a platform for constructive dialogue between the government and civil society in Ukraine, promoting reforms, the development of democracy and general well-being of the people.
The government will prove the sincerity of their intention if they approve the draft laws ‘On Civil Organisations’ and ‘On charity and charitable organisations’ in the nearest future. The authorities now have to prove that their latest initiative for establishing a dialogue with civil society is not just another bluff.
People First Comment: In terms of the protection of civil society in Ukraine, dialogue is just about the only thing this government has proven capable of doing… talk, talk, talk but with little or no action. Whilst some might consider dialogue as a step in the right direction one has to question how even a dialogue can take place when the two sides come from entirely different political cultures and speak completely different languages. With this regime’s track record on matters like free and fair elections, civil rights, rights of assembly, independence of the courts and media freedom, all of which have suffered badly over the last year one has to be cynical over the real intent of the Civil Society Coordination Board.
Civil Society in modern democratic state does not need a coordination board; it needs a political environment where people are free to express their opinions and to seek ways of building a fair and just society, it needs an environment free from the fear and intimidation, an environment where the rule of law is paramount and applicable to all and where the state infrastructure works in the interests of all, irrespective of their financial prowess or self styled social stature.
The most worrying aspect of this new board is that it will… ‘develop approaches to the implementation of state policy of support and development of civil society by the government, scientific community and experts’… Since when did civil society need government to tell it what to do as the whole purpose of civil society is to keep the government advised on how society want the nation to be run. This statement alone signifies the real intent of the regime which is to control the work of civil society organisations to ensure that they do not rock the boat.
Donetsk community blocks school closure
Parents and teachers from Donetsk secondary school №111 took local authorities to court over the planned closure of their Ukrainian language school. In a surprising result, considering the history of courts siding with authorities, the court found in favour of the citizens rather than local government. On April 15th 2011 Donetsk City Administration decided to close three secondary schools, including school №111, forcing parents and teachers to mobilise a campaign to save their children’s school. Some even went so far as to threaten to set themselves on fire if it was closed; although in fact the only fatality of the battle was one teacher who died of heart attack). Donetsk City Administration has informed that they plan to appeal the ruling. The parents who lodged the complaint against the shutting of their school stressed that the school was 57% full, which is much more than the majority of Russian language schools in their area.
Under a governmental order, schools are being closed in many regions of Ukraine. Local Donetsk activists inform of plans to liquidate 26 schools in the city; 16 of which have already been closed. In some cases when parents and teachers defend their school, local authorities bow to the pressure of the local community and cancel their decision without going to a court.
It means that Donetsk has shown an example to citizens in other regions how to effectively use the courts to defend their rights(. In January Verkhovna Rada voted against a moratorium that would have overturned the policy of shutting down Ukrainian language schools. The draft’s author, opposition deputy Andriy Parubay, reported that Ukrainian schools account for only 13% of the total schools in the Donetsk region, 22% in Lugansk region, 1.3% in Crimea and 0.3% in Sevastopol. Despite the clear imbalance between the two popular languages of Ukraine in certain regions, only 66 deputies supported the moratorium). The government is clearly happy f0or people to feel that they have no other choice than going to court, protesting and fighting for their children’s rights to elementary and secondary education.
People First Comment: Despite a public perception that holds the court system in low regard, a group of citizens, mobilised by desperation, belief in their cause and the desire to make themselves heard, have challenged and defeated local powers in court: securing a victory for popular resistance and raising the perception of judicial Independence.
The local authorities’ were supposedly following a national initiative to consolidate and optimise Ukraine’s education system; last year the Prime Minister announced the closure of 640 schools, with over 600 more pending consideration.
The case for closure of schools in general is not without merit: in less than one average Ukrainian lifespan the percentage of the population living in rural areas has halved, leaving a network of gigantic soviet-designed school buildings populated by often less than 20 students per school.
Optimisation however, relies as much upon the re-purposing of the resources from closed schools as it does on closing them in the first place: without a detailed plan of where to send the teachers, students, books and equipment, closing schools seems not so much about improving efficiency as it does about cutting costs.
The inability of the local authorities to provide a sound argument for why they were closing a fairly full Ukrainian language school when the surrounding Russian language schools were far less popular opens the door to assumptions of ulterior motive; also, if the foundations for this action are sound then the authorities would surly do better to appeal to public understanding, rather than initiating further legal action.
Without transparent explanation of the needs for these reforms, or indeed of their benefits to the population, is it any wonder that people feel desperate to take action. Without genuine representatives as their mouthpieces the ruling elite should not be surprised when the people move collectively to raise their views, whether in the courts, or out on the streets.
Ukraine’s image: one step forward, two steps backwards
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed a contract, via the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, to promote Ukraine on the pages the prestigious American publication Washington Post. The paper recently published a six-page supplement, mainly covering the Ukrainian economy, believed to cost the Ukrainian budget upwards of $100,000.
Oleg Voloshyn, director general of information policy, advised that if Ukraine wants to have a positive representation in the media, it will have to fund such campaigns on a monthly basis
At the same time Ukrainian delegates at the Davos Summit found themselves in the middle of a scandal which may have had an adverse impact upon the country’s image.
Yuriy Ladnyi, head of the Presidential Administration’s Main Office for State Protocol, was caught using the security badge of another delegate, Vladyslav Kaskiv. It is difficult to judge to what extent the scandal of a senior Ukrainian official, and principal specialist in protocol and organisation of high level events, being caught falsifying his identity will effect Ukraine’s image among the international community. As such it is impossible to calculate the amount of investment into advertising in the Washington Post required to compensate for the damage to Ukraine’s national image caused by the unprofessional behaviour of Ukrainian officials?
It is unsurprising that many senior Ukrainian politicians choose to blame everyone but themselves for Ukraine’s poor reputation. A recent example being Hanna Herman, advisor to the President, who accused the opposition of damaging Ukraine’s image by causing the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to issue a critical resolution on Ukraine).
People First Comment: $100,000… they could spend $100 million and nothing would change as you cannot buy reputation. Unfortunately in Ukraine today there is a class of super rich citizen who believes that you can buy anything and everything… but sadly they are wrong as you cannot buy respect or trust or loyalty and all three of these are the foundation stones of reputation. Similarly the technique being used by the regime of short term advertising which, as singular inserts, will have absolutely no impact what so ever on Ukraine’s reputation.
Reputations take years to build and seconds to destroy as they are all based on trust. Doctors generally keep us well and therefore they have earned our trust over time and it is the same for our teachers, nurses, lawyers and priests however if our judges for example are ‘bought off’ then both trust and reputation evaporate.
The same is true of governments. When this government came to power the nation and international political and business communities gave them a few months to get their feet under the table. They took into consideration that they had to change a lot that the previous administration had left behind, hence the term 100 days in power, after that however it was up to the government to earn our respect.
Rather than capitalising on the initial good will, the regime preached political plurality and threw the opposition in jail, they preached democracy and then rigged the local government elections, they preached anti-corruption and yet in 2011 corruption in Ukraine has risen faster than in any other country in the world. In fact according to international indicators life in Ukraine under this government has improved in only four areas and whilst it has deteriorated in twenty one. The only thing that is going to improve the reputation of Ukraine is when the government starts visibly working in the interests of the nation and the regime honours its promises.
Authorities appoint new directors for national museums
In the first months of 2012 a number of the most important national museums experience a sudden unexpected management turnover. The directors of National Sanctuary ‘Pechersk Lavra’, ‘Sofia Kyivska’ monastery, National Museum of Taras Shevchenko and ‘Pirogovo’ Museum of Folk Architecture and Ukrainian Life have all been replaced).
Experts believe that the recent turnover of museum staff is intended to strengthened control over museum assets. According to Parkhomenko, Deputy Head of Ukrainian society for the protection of monuments of history and culture, the directors of museums were fired because they were considered undesirable by the authorities. Other experts claim that the staff were removed in order to quickly prepare museums for Euro-2012 and control the inflow of money received from tourists. Some experts fear that a new government-led museum management policy may result in museum assets disappearing without a trace. Additional threats to the national heritage of Ukraine are appearing in the form of government initiatives to use museum assets as guarantees against credit.
This may become yet another divisive factor putting Ukrainian society against the government. According to current law, museum pieces are untouchable and are not subject to privatisation, pledge, transfer, sale or purchase. It is expected that Ukrainian society will keep a close eye on their national museums and react negatively towards any attempt by the government to encroach on Ukraine’s national heritage.
People First Comment: Is nothing sacred in this country? Is there nothing that cannot be plundered? Does everything have to be arranged to ensure that it makes money for the State coffers. Ukraine’s museums and galleries are a unique part of what it means to be Ukrainian, they are part of the unique history of a great nation and as such they should be an exhibition of cultural heritage and not turned to profit.
If this government were trust worthy we might accept that perhaps there is a great deal more that could be done to promote the national culture as many of these institutions were being run much as they had been in Soviet times. But this government cannot be trusted and therefore the very fabric of the nations cultural past is at risk.
There are items in the national archive that belong not just to the nation but to the history of mankind that are held in trust by the government of Ukraine. Any step that puts these relics at risk should be resisted at all cost. And as for the excuse of seeking to capitalise on Euro 2012 obviously the creator of this great scheme has never seen the results of 200,000 drunken football fans as if he had the national treasures would be held behind very locked doors.
Viktor Tkachuk is chief executive officer of the People First Foundation, which seeks to strengthen Ukrainian democracy. The organization’s website is: www.peoplefirst.org.ua and the e-mail address is: [email protected]
