[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 1 (Tuesday, January 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S30-S31]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TROUBLING PRE-ELECTION DEVELOPMENTS IN UKRAINE

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, as co-chairman of the Helsinki 
Commission and the sponsor of the 2002 Senate-passed resolution urging 
the Ukrainian Government to ensure a democratic, transparent and fair 
election process in advance of their parliamentary elections, I find 
recent developments relating to upcoming presidential elections in 
Ukraine deeply troubling.
  Ten months before these critical elections, a constitutional 
amendment is making its way through the Ukrainian parliament designed 
to ensure that the current, corruption riddled powers-that-be retain 
their grip on power, neutralizing the leader of the biggest democratic 
fraction in parliament and Ukraine's most popular politician, Victor 
Yushchenko. The amendment calls for abbreviating the presidential term 
for the October 2004 elections to 2 years, with the election of a 
president by the parliament in 2006, notwithstanding opinion pools 
indicating that the overwhelming majority of Ukrainians support 
preserving direct presidential elections. This amendment had been 
approved by Ukraine's Constitutional Court in a decision which has led 
many observers both within and outside of Ukraine to question the 
independence of the court. The court's decision a few weeks ago to 
allow President Kuchma to run for a third term, despite the 1996 
constitution's 2-term limit, has only raised more questions.
  Media repression continues, including the issuance of directives sent 
to media by the presidential administration on what and how issues and 
events should be covered, especially in the electronic media. A recent 
Freedom House report concludes that:

       The current state of affairs of Ukraine's media raises 
     serious questions as to whether a fair and balanced electoral 
     contest can be held.

  Newspapers critical of the authorities are subjected to various 
methods of repression, including attacks against journalists, arrests 
of publishers, ``special attention'' via tax inspections, 
administrative controls over distribution and pressure on advertisers.
  At the same time, administrative measures are being taken to prevent 
lawful political activity, the most stark example of which was the 
disruption--instigated by the authorities--of a national congress of 
the Yushchenko-led Our Ukraine bloc in Donetsk last November. Most 
recently, a presidential decree dismissed the elected Our Ukraine mayor 
of Mukachevo, despite a ruling by the Supreme Court which confirmed 
that he had been elected in a legitimate way. In a telling twist, an 
acting mayor from the political party led by the head of the 
presidential administration, Victor Medvedchuk, has been installed.
  As co-chairman of the Helsinki Commission, I share the concern of 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle that the presidential elections 
in Ukraine scheduled for October be free, fair, open and transparent 
and conducted in a manner consistent with Ukraine's freely undertaken 
commitments as a member of the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe--OSCE. The Helsinki Commission, consistent with 
our mandate to monitor and encourage compliance with OSCE agreements by 
all participating states, will continue to follow the situation in 
Ukraine closely.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of a recent Washington Post 
editorial on troubling pre-election developments in Ukraine be printed 
in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

               [From the Washington Post, Jan. 12, 2004]

                        A Resolution for Ukraine

       According to Secretary of State Colin L. Powell, the Bush 
     administration's first foreign policy resolution for 2004 is 
     ``to expand freedom.'' And not only in Iraq and the Middle 
     East: In an op-ed article published in the New York Times, 
     Mr. Powell promised to support ``the consolidation of freedom 
     in many new but often fragile democracies . . . in Latin 
     America, Europe, Asia and Africa.'' We hope that support will 
     extend beyond the rhetoric that too often has substituted for 
     genuine democratic advocacy during President Bush's first 
     three years--and that it will be applied even where the 
     United States has interests that make toleration of autocracy 
     tempting.
       One region where such U.S. engagement, or its absence, 
     might prove decisive is the band of former Soviet republics 
     to the west and south of Russia. Several are struggling 
     democracies; others are ruled by autocrats. Almost all are 
     under threat from Moscow's resurgent imperialism. As the tiny 
     state of Georgia recently demonstrated, democracy is the best 
     defense against Russian President Vladimir Putin's attempts 
     to create a Kremlin-dominated sphere of influence. Countries 
     that have held free and fair elections have tended to 
     gravitate toward strengthening their independence and seeking 
     good relations with the West, while unstable autocrats are 
     more likely to yield to Mr. Putin.
       The country closes to a tipping point may be Ukraine. Like 
     Russia, Ukraine has an electoral democracy tainted by 
     corruption and strong-arm tactics and an economy warped by 
     clans of oligarchs. Much of its population, however, aspires 
     to integration with the West. President Leonid Kuchma has 
     been linked to corruption and serious human rights 
     violations. In recent months he has

[[Page S31]]

     been moving steadily closer to Mr. Putin, allowing a Russian 
     takeover of much of Ukraine's energy industry and signing an 
     economic integration treaty.
       Now Mr. Kuchma appears to be looking for ways to curtail 
     Ukraine's democracy so that he can prolong his own hold on 
     power when his term expires this year. Last month his allies 
     in Parliament pushed through the first draft of a 
     constitutional amendment that would cut short the term of the 
     president due to be elected in October and provide that 
     future presidents be chosen by Parliament--where Mr. Kuchma's 
     forces retain control. Then the judges he appointed to the 
     supreme court ruled that the constitution's two-term limit 
     does not prevent Mr. Kuchma from serving again. The 
     president's cronies protest that they are only moving the 
     country toward a more parliament-centered system, and Mr. 
     Kuchma coyly says he has not ``yet'' decided to seek another 
     term. But the effect of his moves would be to neutralize the 
     country's most popular leader, Viktor Yushchenko, who, polls 
     say, would win the next presidential election if it were 
     fairly held.
       More than Mr. Kuchma's quest for continued power is at 
     stake, Mr. Yushchenkjo is popular precisely because he is 
     associated with those Ukrainians who seek to consolidate an 
     independent democracy and move the country toward integration 
     with Europe. Mr. Putin surely will be sympathetic to Mr. 
     Kuchma's subversion of the system. The question is whether 
     the Bush administration will work with Western Europe to 
     mount an effective counter. Freedom could be consolidated 
     this year in Ukraine or slip away. The outcome may just 
     depend on how well Mr. Powell keeps his resolution.

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