A poisoned election

THE JERUSALEM POST Dec. 22, 2004
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1103685619986&p=1006953079865

On December 26, the people of Ukraine will again go to the polls, in an election of vital international interest whose impact reaches far beyond that nation's borders.

Ukraine is a nuclear power of 48 million people that occupies a key strategic position between Russia and Europe. Its 300,000 Jews also make it home to one of the largest Diaspora communities, making it of special interest to Israel and the Jewish world.

Its presidential contest features two candidates who espouse and embody radically different political views. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, like his mentor current President Leonid Kuchma, favors a foreign policy strongly aligned to Russia, and a domestic governing style with noted authoritarian tendencies. Opposition leader Victor Yushchenko espouses democratic reforms, and would prefer to see Ukraine more strongly linked to Europe and the West.

Even under normal circumstances this race would be of global interest - and so far its circumstances have been far from normal, even shockingly so.

During the campaign, Russian President Vladimir Putin offered outspoken support for Yanukovych to the degree that it constituted inappropriate partisan interference in the internal politics of a neighboring country. The first round of balloting last month, in which Yanukovych emerged victorious, was so marked by ballot box intimidation and corruption that it triggered international condemnation (with the notable exception of Putin) and widespread internal protest, so much so that the results were eventually disqualified by the Ukrainian Supreme Court.

Worse still was the subsequent revelation that a dioxin-based poison was the cause of the mysterious disfiguring illness that struck Yushchenko earlier this year. Even before that diagnosis made by Austrian doctors though, there were strong suspicions that he had fallen victim to foul play.

Although no one knows yet who poisoned Yushchenko and how, heavy suspicion has fallen on the security services of Ukraine and Russia. Poisoning of political dissidents was a common KGB practice - and since Putin, that agency's former head, came to power in the Kremlin, its use seems to have reemerged in several mysterious incidents involving politicians, reporters and business figures critical of his government and those of other FSU republics allied to it.

All these factors will undoubtedly play a role when Ukrainians go to the polls on Saturday. It is also worth noting here that in the past month Yushchenko has taken steps to reassure Ukrainian Jews who have been wary over his ties to nationalistic groups, visiting a Kiev synagogue to light Hanukka candles, and talking of strengthening ties to Israel. Still, some Jews are said to be favoring Yanukovych, seeing in him a vote for stability over uncertainty.

It is their choice to make, like the rest of Ukraine. But it is the responsibility of the free world to be vigilant and ensure there is no repeat of last month's travesty of the democratic process. If Yushchenko should emerge victorious, it must also move quickly to provide him with the support he will need to bring reforms to Ukraine and move it closer into the Western sphere.

This should include immediate inclusion in the European Union "action plan" that provides free access of goods, services, people, and capital for countries who want to reach EU membership standards. Consideration should also be given to military linkage with NATO, which would send a strong message to Putin in support of Ukraine's right to a foreign policy independent of the Kremlin.

When Putin came to power, Western governments strained to give him the benefit of the doubt, on the understanding that he inherited a country beset by crime, corruption and confusion, badly in need of strong leadership. In recent years, though, he has gone too far in the direction of authoritarian rule, and a more independent and democratic Ukraine would provide a boost to the greatly diminished and struggling supporters of reform in neighboring Russia.

It is the poison-scarred face of Yushchenko that has been the dominant image of the campaign now reaching its climax in Ukraine. But the most lasting impact of this extraordinary race may be whether or not it has exposed to the world the real face of the leader who sits in the Kremlin.