Pinning hopes on a new generation

Our newspaper has now welcomed a “new guard” of journalism interns, including students from Cherkasy Bohdan Khmelnytsky National University, National University of Ostroh Academy, and Zaporizhia National University. Recently, our budding journalists interviewed the distinguished public figure, political journalist, and diplomat Yuriy SHCHERBAK at The Day’s editorial office.

“He amazed us, above all, by the sheer breadth of his views. He cites interesting facts and draws striking parallels between the situation in Ukraine and the experience of other states,” says Cherkasy student Nazariy Vivcharyk about his impressions of meeting Mr. Shcherbak.

“Yuriy Shcherbak is a reader as well as a contributor to our newspaper, which has an impact on public opinion,” said The Day’s editor in chief Larysa Ivshyna, introducing the guest to the interns. Below our interns pose a number of questions to the veteran diplomat, political figure, and journalist.

“How do you think the West will react to the current developments in Ukraine?”

“There are different views of this problem in the West. It is a myth that the West is united: Western nations are very much disunited. Still, there is a feeling of great friendliness toward Ukraine, which emerged during the Orange Revolution. At the same time, the US is showing growing opposition to Russia. For example, the Republican John McCain, who may become the next US president, is scathingly critical of Russian policies and very actively supports Ukraine.

“There is also a substantial group of American politicians who think it better to promote friendship with Russia. They are right: we should not be hostile to each other, but we should look at the way Russia is treating us. George Bush is likely to speak at the G8 summit from this very position, although Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld are only too well aware of Russia’s true worth. Although summits usually sidestep awkward issues, I still think that the Georgian and Ukrainian issues will be raised. The EU takes a dimmer view of Ukraine, although many countries in this union have consistently backed Kyiv.

“However, Russia is an important supplier of energy resources to the EU. EU countries are 40 percent dependent on Russian oil and gas, and this dependence will reach 60 percent in the next few years. They are afraid that last winter’s situation may reoccur. But on the other hand, these countries do not want Russia to use its conflict with Ukraine as a tool of pressure on Europe, for example. The EU has no great desire to see us in its ranks now, and our chances are shrinking catastrophically.

“As for NATO’s reaction, secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said recently that he was unprepared to discuss the dates of Ukraine’s admission to the alliance, although a while ago he mentioned the years 2008—2009. Unfortunately, our domestic developments arouse no great enthusiasm in NATO. So attitudes differ in the West.

“At the same time, there are no fervent advocates of Russia there because of the type of democracy that Vladimir Putin is building: total control of the Federal Security Service (FSB) control, no freedom of expression, suppression of NGOs, etc. The Russian themselves are moaning about this. It is also dangerous for Russia to play up to Iran and Hamas.”

“What historical parallels can you draw with the current political situation in Ukraine?”

“What is going on in Ukraine is a tragedy. Unfortunately, longtime statelessness has not raised a self-sufficient political elite. In the past our elite used to orient itself either to Poland or Moscow. All attempts to build a Cossack state ended in fiasco. Even the life of Bohdan Khmelnytsky (he may be called a political showpiece) proves that he also vacillated between these two poles.

“Another parallel can be drawn with political life in the Ukrainian National Republic. Some of the national patriots and radicals of that time, who could also speak very brilliantly and romantically, did not know much about economics and industry; they did not understand the eastern regions of Left-Bank Ukraine. Incidentally, communist governments were quite aware of the role of Donbas and Dnipropetrovsk oblast in our country’s development. They always included representatives of these regions.

“In my opinion, we must now think about how to unite. I don’t want the Lebanese scenario. The war in that country broke out because of the redistribution of authority. The Muslim community was deprived of the right to vote and representation in the government, which provoked a severe and horrible war. We should not let things go this far, all the more so as we don’t have these kinds of Muslim-Christian conflicts.”

“Is there a political elite in Ukraine today, and what do you mean by this word?”

“Yes, we have a political elite. But it is small. We have a more numerous spiritual-national elite. I believe that it exists: its representatives are professors Ivan Dziuba and Serhiy Krymsky, and the poetess Lina Kostenko. There is a moral elite, but it keeps a low profile because nobody cares what it says.

“A political elite means people who know what a state is. I know many of them. When I was ambassador, I used to meet people who were statists of a kind. Whenever a delegation arrived, half of them were indifferent, while the other half showed genuine interest — you could see it in their eyes. Such people will find their proper place. For example, Arseniy Yatseniuk works quite well. In other words, if you look at a mass of people, for instance, at the Verkhovna Rada, there is no elite there. But if you look at personalities, there are competent politicians. There is such a thing as a parliamentary politician, who does nothing. But we need politicians who are capable of constructive work — this is very important. There are people like this in various ministries, but very few indeed.”

“Would it be difficult for you to form a government of national trust?”

“It would not be simple, but I could do it.” (Laughs)

“How long will the new coalition hold out? Do these politicians have a future?”

“Not long, I should think. But if they come to power and adopt certain techniques, there may more than one scenario. There are techniques that allow one to stay in power for quite a long time — for example, by curbing democracy and harassing journalists. Unfortunately, this is very easy to do. There are examples of this in a number of countries. Of course, I don’t mean stable democracies. It is impossible to do this in Canada and the US.

“We are in dire straits now. Can you imagine a communist at the head of the defense or interior ministries? There would be no NATO in this case! Communists do not play any serious role in Europe, but they can change, like the Polish ex-president, Alexander Kwasniewski, did. A former communist, he is nevertheless a Polish patriot, who brought his country into NATO and the European Union. I will tell you frankly: if Viktor Yanukovych becomes prime minister, some countries will refuse to receive him. The president should tell the coalition in no uncertain terms that there is a line that they may not step over. For the president is the guarantor of the constitution, public rights, and Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. He is vested with power and must wield it.”

“You were Ukraine’s diplomatic representative in many countries. How did you harmonize the interests of your native land and those countries?”

“It was a very difficult mission. My last place of work was Canada. I had excellent relations with the Ukrainian community there. The attitude toward me was also very nice. But my tenure (I was Ambassador to Canada in 2000-2003) coincided with Kuchmagate. Canadian officials told me bluntly that they would have no dealings with our president and that relations with Ukraine would be cool. So, all my efforts to increase cooperation with Canada were in vain. It was only after the Orange Revolution that cooperation improved. So it was difficult. Still, I was doing my utmost. I think I served my country faithfully and honestly. I promoted cooperation in the economic, cultural, and research fields.”

“Do business circles in America have serious intentions with respect to Ukraine?”

“They always had them. They used to propose serious projects to us. Thy usually went bust in the terrible investment climate, which continues. There is no point in talking about serious cooperation with the US until at least five large multinational companies (like Ford or General Motors) are represented in Ukraine.”

“What else would you like to see on the pages of our newspaper, given your journalistic experience?”

“I would like to see brilliant articles by students, which I would clip and save.”