Politics
Democracy is real winner of Ukrainian election
Reading Time: 5 minutesAt first glance, the all-but-final victory of pro-Moscow opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Ukraines presidential election appears to signal a reversal of the democratic pro-Western colored revolutions that swept the former Soviet space over the past decade.
By Brian Whitmore
Reports of the death of the Orange Revolution have been greatly exaggerated.
At first glance, the all-but-final victory of pro-Moscow opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko in Ukraine’s presidential election appears to signal a reversal of the democratic pro-Western "colored revolutions" that swept the former Soviet space over the past decade.
Yanukovych, after all, was the arch villain of the Orange Revolution narrative: the Kremlin-backed candidate who was exposed falsifying the 2004 election, sparking massive street protests, and then losing a court-ordered re-vote to pro-Western challenger Viktor Yushchenko.
So does Yanukovych’s resurrection in the February 7 runoff signal the end, not just of Ukraine’s Orange Revolution, but of the pro-democratic wave that swept through Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova, as well? Is a resurgence of Russian influence, and the authoritarian politics that come with it, lurking on the horizon?
Not so fast, say politicians, observers, and analysts across the region. What matters much more than the result is the fact that Ukraine has pulled off what is widely seen as the cleanest election the post-Soviet space has ever seen, one in which the sitting president and prime minister went down in defeat.
"We can only envy how the electoral system works in Ukraine. We envy their freedom of speech," says Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. "We envy their competitive elections without massive Putin-style falsification.
"This is a grandiose success story for Ukraine. It is the result of the Orange Revolution that nobody will be able to change."
Joao Soares, president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, called Ukraine’s election "an impressive display" and "a victory" for democracy.
Matyas Eorsi, head of the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly electoral observer delegation, said "democratic elections in Ukraine are now a reality."
And despite the air of triumphalism in official Moscow — the daily "Izvestiya" on February 8 featured a headline reading "Orange Sunset" — this is a precedent that may not be welcome among the Kremlin elite, which treats elections as heavily choreographed and tightly stage-managed affairs in which pre-selected candidates are essentially coronated.
A Most Positive Legacy
Russia, analysts say, may have won a tactical victory with Yanukovych’s victory over the Western-leaning Tymoshenko, who is widely seen as the architect of the Orange Revolution. But the democratic precedent it reinforced could turn out to be a strategic defeat in the long run.
Analysts across the region praised outgoing President Yushchenko, who was eliminated after coming in an embarrassing fifth place in the January 17 first round, for putting democratic values ahead of his own political fortunes.
A Minsk-based political analyst, Andrey Federau, says that as a result of the election, Ukraine has established genuine pluralism and escaped a situation where power is concentrated in a few hands, as is the case in Belarus and Russia.
Tbilisi-based political analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili says Ukraine has set an example that other countries in the post-Soviet space would do well to emulate — including Georgia, where President Mikheil Saakashvili has been criticized for backsliding on democratic principles since leading the Rose Revolution in 2003.
"Despite the unfortunate end of his political career, Mr. Yushchenko has left behind a most positive legacy, not only for Ukraine but for the entire post-Soviet space, due to the real steps he took to develop democracy," Tsiskarishvili says. "You won’t find one example in post-Soviet history where a president won election amid such excitement, who then went on to lose two parliamentary elections and then failed to win re-election."
Likewise, Leila Alieva, director of the Baku-based Center for National and International Studies, says the February 7 runoff "demonstrated to the whole world that Ukraine is capable of holding a clean election" — and that such democratic practices have become embedded in Ukraine’s political culture.
"In Ukraine, it will be difficult to reverse this process," Alieva says. "The past 20 years, this transition period, has not passed in vain. There was a very intense expansion of democratic institutions. In contrast to other post-Soviet countries there was not a rollback of civil liberties, and it will be difficult to roll them back now. Yanukovych will not be able to reverse the gains of the revolution."
A Model To Aspire To
So will Ukraine’s democratic example resonate elsewhere in the post-Soviet space? Will it provide encouragement to pro-democracy activists in neighboring Belarus, who continue to battle the regime of authoritarian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka? Will the praise being lavished on Ukraine resonate with quasi-authoritarian regimes, like in Armenia?
"One hopes that what we’ve seen in Ukraine will be seen as a model to aspire to," says Steven Pifer, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine who is now a visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution. "That is the kind of democratic election that we would like to see become more common in the post-Soviet space."
One place to watch closely is Georgia, which is due to hold key local elections in May that are widely viewed as a dress rehearsal for the 2013 presidential vote that will choose a successor to Saakashvili. Critics are already accusing Saakashvili of attempting to assure that a loyal and handpicked successor takes over the presidency when his term expires.
Saakashvili has also come under criticism at home and abroad for unduly attempting to influence Ukraine’s election. The Georgian leader, a close friend and ally of Yushchenko, sent numerous electoral "observers" to Ukraine — many of them beefy wrestlers with little experience in election monitoring — during the January 17 first round, a move widely seen as an attempt at voter intimidation.
The Georgian president, who clearly favored Tymoshenko in the second round, has since praised the vote, saying, "Ukrainian democracy has won" and pledgingto work with Yanukovych.
Looming Disappointment In Moscow?
Analysts do say they expect a shift in Ukraine’s foreign policy toward Moscow, but most stress that it will not be a wholesale abandonment of Kyiv’s goal of integrating with Europe. Ukraine’s NATO bid, which had scant public support, will likely be shelved. But its bid to join the European Union will probably remain on track.
"As for those Russians who now think that this is Ukraine reversing course and coming back toward Moscow, I suspect that in the end they are going to be disappointed," Pifer says. "There will be less tension between the two countries. But my sense is that the bulk of the Ukrainian elite and a large segment of the population still want to see Ukraine fully a part of Europe."
Pifer and other analysts also point out that it was former President Leonid Kuchma, who served from 1994-2004 and was viewed as pro-Moscow, who initiated Ukraine’s NATO bid.
Likewise, observers say that radical changes are unlikely in Ukraine’s policies in places like Moldova’s pro-Russia breakaway province of Transdniester. Since 2006, Kyiv has been conducting joint EU-Ukrainian customs patrols on the Ukrainian side of the Transdniester border. The policy, an effort to combat illegal smuggling and arms trafficking, was opposed by Moscow, which called it a blockade of Transdniester. Despite Yanukovych’s pro-Russian leanings, observers say the policy is likely to remain in place.
"Ukraine has its own national interests, which are to strengthen the state and eliminate risks at the border. In this sense, the Transdniester conflict is one of official Kyiv’s priorities, regardless of the ‘color’ of those in power," says Chisinau-based political analyst Eugen Revenco.
A new football club has earned a leading place in the UEFA Champions League groups and starred in the headlines of worldwide football news yesterday. The Football Club Sheriff Tiraspol claimed a win with the score 2-1 against Real Madrid on the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid. That made Sheriff Tiraspol the leader in Group D of the Champions League, including the football club in the groups of the most important European interclub competition for the first time ever.
International media outlets called it a miracle, a shock and a historic event, while strongly emphasizing the origin of the team and the existing political conflict between the two banks of the Dniester. “Football club from a pro-Russian separatist enclave in Moldova pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history,” claimed the news portals. “Sheriff crushed Real!” they said.
Moldovans made a big fuss out of it on social media, splitting into two groups: those who praised the team and the Republic of Moldova for making history and those who declared that the football club and their merits belong to Transnistria – a problematic breakaway region that claims to be a separate country.
Both groups are right and not right at the same time, as there is a bunch of ethical, political, social and practical matters that need to be considered.
Is it Moldova?
First of all, every Moldovan either from the right or left bank of Dniester (Transnistria) is free to identify himself with this achievement or not to do so, said Vitalie Spranceana, a sociologist, blogger, journalist and urban activist. According to him, boycotting the football club for being a separatist team is wrong.
At the same time, “it’s an illusion to think that territory matters when it comes to football clubs,” Spranceana claimed. “Big teams, the ones included in the Champions League, have long lost their connection both with the countries in which they operate, and with the cities in which they appeared and to which they linked their history. […] In the age of globalized commercial football, teams, including the so-called local ones, are nothing more than global traveling commercial circuses, incidentally linked to cities, but more closely linked to all sorts of dirty, semi-dirty and cleaner cash flows.”
What is more important in this case is the consistency, not so much of citizens, as of politicians from the government who have “no right to celebrate the success of separatism,” as they represent “the national interests, not the personal or collective pleasures of certain segments of the population,” believes the political expert Dionis Cenusa. The victory of FC Sheriff encourages Transnistrian separatism, which receives validation now, he also stated.
“I don’t know how it happens that the “proud Moldovans who chose democracy”, in their enthusiasm for Sheriff Tiraspol’s victory over Real Madrid, forget the need for total and unconditional withdrawal of Russian troops from Transnistria!” declared the journalist Vitalie Ciobanu.
Nowadays, FC Sheriff Tiraspol has no other choice than to represent Moldova internationally. For many years, the team used the Moldovan Football Federation in order to be able to participate in championships, including international ones. That is because the region remains unrecognised by the international community. However, the club’s victory is presented as that of Transnistria within the region, without any reference to the Republic of Moldova, its separatist character being applied in this case especially.
Is it a victory?
In fact, FC Sheriff Tiraspol joining the Champions League is a huge image breakthrough for the Transnistrian region, as the journalist Madalin Necsutu claimed. It is the success of the Tiraspol Club oligarchic patrons. From the practical point of view, FC Sheriff Tiraspol is a sports entity that serves its own interests and the interests of its owners, being dependent on the money invested by Tiraspol (but not only) oligarchs.
Here comes the real dilemma: the Transnistrian team, which is generously funded by money received from corruption schemes and money laundering, is waging an unequal fight with the rest of the Moldovan football clubs, the journalist also declared. The Tiraspol team is about to raise 15.6 million euro for reaching the Champions League groups and the amounts increase depending on their future performance. According to Necsutu, these money will go directly on the account of the club, not to the Moldovan Football Federation, creating an even bigger gab between FC Sheriff and other football clubs from Moldova who have much more modest financial possibilities.
“I do not see anything useful for Moldovan football, not a single Moldovan player is part of FC Sheriff Tiraspol. I do not see anything beneficial for the Moldovan Football Federation or any national team.”
Is it only about football?
FC Sheriff Tiraspol, with a total estimated value of 12.8 million euros, is controlled by Victor Gusan and Ilya Kazmala, being part of Sheriff Holding – a company that controls the trade of wholesale, retail food, fuels and medicine by having monopolies on these markets in Transnistria. The holding carries out car trading activities, but also operates in the field of construction and real estate. Gusan’s people also hold all of the main leadership offices in the breakaway region, from Parliament to the Prime Minister’s seat or the Presidency.
The football club is supported by a holding alleged of smuggling, corruption, money laundering and organised crime. Moldovan media outlets published investigations about the signals regarding the Sheriff’s holding involvement in the vote mobilization and remuneration of citizens on the left bank of the Dniester who participated in the snap parliamentary elections this summer and who were eager to vote for the pro-Russian socialist-communist bloc.
Considering the above, there is a great probability that the Republic of Moldova will still be represented by a football club that is not identified as being Moldovan, being funded from obscure money, growing in power and promoting the Transnistrian conflict in the future as well.
Photo: unknown
Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, together with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nicu Popescu, pay an official visit to Brussels, between September 27-28, being invited by High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell Fontelles.
Today, Prime Minister had a meeting with Charles Michel, President of the European Council. The Moldovan PM thanked the senior European official for the support of the institution in strengthening democratic processes, reforming the judiciary and state institutions, economic recovery and job creation, as well as increasing citizens’ welfare. Natalia Gavrilita expressed her confidence that the current visit laid the foundations for boosting relations between the Republic of Moldova and the European Union, so that, in the next period, it would be possible to advance high-level dialogues on security, justice and energy. Officials also exchanged views on priorities for the Eastern Partnership Summit, to be held in December.
“The EU is open to continue to support the Republic of Moldova and the ambitious reform agenda it proposes. Moldova is an important and priority partner for us,” said Charles Michel.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita also met with Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for Economy, expressing her gratitude for the support received through the OMNIBUS macro-financial assistance program. The two officials discussed the need to advance the recovery of money from bank fraud, to strengthen sustainable mechanisms for supporting small and medium-sized enterprises in Moldova, and to standardize the customs and taxes as one of the main conditions for deepening cooperation with the EU in this field.
Additionally, Prime Minister spoke about the importance of the Eastern Partnership and the Deep Free Trade Agreement, noting that the Government’s policies are aimed at developing an economic model aligned with the European economic model, focused on digitalization, energy efficiency and the green economy.
A common press release of the Moldovan Prime Minister with High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission, Josep Borrell Fontelles, took place today, where the agenda of Moldova’s reforms and the main priorities to focus on in the coming months were presented: judiciary reform; fighting COVID-19 pandemic; promoting economic recovery and conditions for growth and job creation; strengthening state institutions and resilience of the country.
“I am here to relaunch the dialogue between my country and the European Union. Our partnership is strong, but I believe there is room for even deeper cooperation and stronger political, economic and sectoral ties. I am convinced that this partnership is the key to the prosperity of our country and I hope that we will continue to strengthen cooperation.”
The Moldovan delegation met Didier Reynders, European Commissioner for Justice. Tomorrow, there are scheduled common meetings with Oliver Varhelyi, European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport and Kadri Simson, European Commissioner for Energy.
Prime Minister will also attend a public event, along with Katarina Mathernova, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement Negotiations.
Photo: gov.md
Politics
Promo-LEX about Maia Sandu’s UN speech: The president must insist on appointing a rapporteur to monitor the situation of human rights in Transnistria
The President of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, pays an official visit to New York, USA, between September 21-22. There, she participates in the work of the United Nations General Assembly. According to a press release of the President’s Office, the official will deliver a speech at the tribune of the United Nations.
In this context, the Promo-LEX Association suggested the president to request the appointment of a special rapporteur in order to monitor the situation of human rights in the Transnistrian region. According to Promo-LEX, the responsibility for human rights violations in the Transnistrian region arises as a result of the Russian Federation’s military, economic and political control over the Tiraspol regime.
“We consider it imperative to insist on the observance of the international commitments assumed by the Russian Federation regarding the withdrawal of the armed forces and ammunition from the territory of the country,” the representatives of Promo-LEX stated. They consider the speech before the UN an opportunity “to demand the observance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the Russian Federation with reference to this territory which is in its full control.”
“It is important to remember about the numerous cases of murder, torture, ill-treatment, forced enlistment in illegal military structures, the application of pseudo-justice in the Transnistrian region, all carried out under the tacit agreement of the Russian Federation. These findings stem from dozens of rulings and decisions issued by the European Court of Human Rights, which found that Russia is responsible for human rights violations in the region.”
The association representatives expressed their hope that the president of the country would give priority to issues related to the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region and would call on relevant international actors to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental human rights and freedoms throughout Moldova.
They asked Maia Sandu to insist on the observance of the obligation to evacuate the ammunition and the military units of the Russian Federation from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, to publicly support the need for the Russian Federation to implement the ECtHR rulings on human rights violations in the Transnistrian region, and to request the appointment of an UN Human Rights Council special rapporteur to monitor the human rights situation in the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova.
**
The Promo-LEX Association concluded that 14 out of 25 actions planned within the National Action Plan for the years 2018–2022 concerning respecting human rights in Transnistria were not carried out by the responsible authorities.
The association expressed its concern and mentioned that there are a large number of delays in the planned results. “There is a lack of communication and coordination between the designated institutions, which do not yet have a common vision of interaction for the implementation of the plan.”
Promo-LEX requested the Government of the Republic of Moldova to re-assess the reported activities and to take urgent measures, “which would exclude superficial implementation of future activities and increase the level of accountability of the authorities.”
Photo: peacekeeping.un.org
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