Olha Herasymiuk on “democracy’s alarm button”

Quite recently the fifth award “Woman of the Third Millennium” was bestowed upon Ukraine’s most successful ladies. The claimants contested the prize in three nominations, “Symbolic Figures,” “Rating,” and “Prospects.” All in all, 40 Ukrainian women have received this celebrated title this year. Among the winners of the prize in the nomination “Rating” is Olha HERASYMIUK, MP and television anchor.

Enumerating all her professional awards is quite a challenge. Herasymiuk holds the prize “Golden Era of Ukraine-99,” she has twice been a laureate of the Eurasian Teleforum in Moscow; she has also been awarded the prize of the Ukrainian Dimension Foundation as “The Best Journalist of 1999,” and many others.

However, the anchor herself emphasized that “The Woman of the Third Millennium” is her only purely feminine award so far. As an MP, Herasymiuk heads a subcommittee for cooperation with NATO and Assembly of WEU [Western European Union – Ed.] at the parliamentary committee for European integration.

She also represents the Ukrainian parliament at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). And yet, despite these awards and important titles, she has always remained feminine and sensitive to changes in public opinion in Ukraine, as mentioned by the ceremony’s organizers.

The Day congratulated Ms. Herasymiuk on this award and asked her what she thought of the present-day European public’s prevailing sentiment concerning Ukraine, and of social and political issues in the light of the upcoming local elections.

Olha, congratulations on your award. So, how does it feel to be awarded such a prestigious title, “The Woman of the Third Millenium?”

“It’s very pleasant. This has been my first feminine prize. A woman’s strength, as the world’s greatest film star Sophia Loren once said, is in 50 percent made up of what she actually has, and the other 50 percent is what the others think she has. I hope that this great award stems from my own 50 percent, which got noticed. However, as I have already mentioned in my speech, even this 50 percent rather belongs to my beloved Ukraine, to which I dedicate all my achievements.”

As the Verkhovna Rada representative to the PACE, will you please tell us what Europe thinks of Ukraine today? What sentiments prevail?

“Although we keep saying that Europe is sick of our constant ‘cardinal’ changes of line, and the European community is tired of us and has ceased to show signs of interest, this is far from true. Today, Europe is worried about the situation in Ukraine, and it is quite vocal about it.

“We certainly would rather it voiced its worries and criticisms higher and sharper. Yet then it would be our type of rhetoric, we are used to being emotional and loud. We have forgotten the language of parliament and replaced it with street rhetoric. Meanwhile, Europe speaks diplomatically, and this time it has spoken harshly.

“It should be born in mind that today’s Europe has its own problems as well. It is very different from what it used to be in Churchill’s times, when his Council of Europe was a lever to oppose the totalitarian USSR. The Europe of today — official and bureaucratic — is lulled into serenity by its wealth, it only cares for itself and is annoyed when something stops it from doing so.

“To a certain extent this is correct: every state should place its own society’s interests in first place. But on the other hand, you can’t ensure them without taking in account the reality of your neighborhood, and your neighbor’s role in the world’s leading players’ geopolitical plans. Thus, there is no avoiding Ukraine. We are Europe’s neighbor. Lots of Ukrainians are living and working in Europe. And Europeans themselves are looking our way, studying the markets. The main thing is, and this has been proved by history, Europe’s destiny depends on the fate of Ukraine. Europeans should read their own historians, who realized this long ago.

“That the European community cares for Ukraine is doubtless. This was evident at the recent discussion of the report on Ukraine in the PACE. The strongest censure of what is now going on in Ukraine, as a result of the regime’s ill-conceived revanchism in foreign policy, was sometimes offered by the most unexpected delegations.

“For instance, the British delegation, usually quite indifferent towards those of our ilk, from the heights of their Buckingham Palace, at this recent PACE session criticized the Ukrainian situation, and urging everyone to pay attention to the details of ‘this country’s’ difficult history.

“Many worried speeches made by other European delegations indicated that today they are extremely anxious, as they would hate to be a neighbor to a piece of the Soviet Union in its worst edition, a satellite to Russia which has used the gas vent to block all freedom, and uses its wealth to pay off the world and curtail its democratic demands.

“Europe is confused about the latent, but quite tangible conflict within the regime. When Yushchenko bickered with Tymoshenko, they would raise hell. This conflict, however, is quiet, but still it lets steam through the cracks in the regime’s engine. And everyone understands that something wrong hides behind the revanchist success reports and all the window dressing: the reforms have stuck, a kind of police state is being built, the SBU has been turned into a sort of police watchdog which looks for the wrong things in the wrong places and will go all out to intimidate citizens. Now, the SBU had been so successful that there appeared an item on the PACE resolution about the need to reform it according to European standards. Frankly, I do not recollect anything of this sort in resolutions on other states.”

As for the local election, it is the first election under the new regime. Do you think it is going to pass this democracy test?

“This is what I would sincerely hope for — but to my mind, the regime neglects this issue. By the way, at a recent debate at the PACE it was said that Ukraine showed that it did not hear what was being said to it. How else can you account for this: when Ukraine is told to improve its electoral legislation, once and for all, rather than move the goalposts before each election, it does just the opposite. Right on the eve of the voting day, or a month before it at best, everything is changed to fit the political needs of a certain political force.

“And what with all those processes involving setting up commissions, fake oppositions, pushing the right buttons and pulling the right strings, attempts at ousting non-parliamentary parties from the electoral race in order to destroy the opposition, and the following demonstrative ‘work on mistakes,’ when those parties eventually are admitted — but the time has been lost… Everyone can see it! Hypocrisy and falsehood without any disguise. All of this pulls us down.

“The incumbent regime treads on law and rights awkwardly, like a bull in a china shop, as graceful as a tank on the delicate porcelain of our unripe liberties. This is very conspicuous. And the cracking is just deafening. And it is the confusion and oafishness of the new regime that catches the eye first.

“Society is sick to death of the political ads which are broadcast everywhere. Each quarter of an hour you will hear that ‘Ukraine is dying,’ ‘they are stealing,’ ‘people are reduced to despair…’ You just lose track of who is saying what and about whom. And no one can take it any longer. All this is like a wet blanket on the people’s enthusiasm about the local elections. Or maybe, this was what the author of the ‘against all’ vote in the recent presidential election was going for.”

What course will the regional mass media take? Will they be able to keep their dignity throughout the electoral race, or will they again be accused of losing ground?

“Not so long ago Iryna Herashchenko’s resolution on the moratorium on mass media inspections during election campaigns was passed.

“All media have been intimidated by the tax administration. The editors had been persuaded to defect and join the party in power. Everyone was afraid of censorship, reprisals, or dismissal. Yet we have all seen that. And now, when the voting day is at hand, 364 MPs put up a grand show and voted for this resolution.

“Of course it was necessary. However, just as a lot of other things, it was passed way too late, and only for appearances’ sake. It was meant as a pro-forma event to please those European observers whose vigilance gets in the regime’s way.

“As for the accusations of abandoning standards, they will surely be addressed to those who have done something to deserve it. If there was pressure, there will be those who gave in. This, however, is a matter of ethics in this profession.

“Some may say that journalists, too, have families to support, and that it is just a job. I can understand that. And there is a grain of truth there too. But journalism is not a way to earn a living. It is a major social mission, and sometimes even ‘democracy’s alarm button.’ Thus, if you feel that you cannot resist the pressure, you’d better look for another job. Values and beliefs are things which can not be dollarized.”

For how long do you think is Ukraine going to live without an effective opposition? Who claims this role today, from your perspective?

“I don’t think we are going to have a real opposition very soon. It needs time to take shape and mature.

“Today I can see Viacheslav Kyrylenko’s party For Ukraine! as a staunch supporter of Ukrainian values, and opposition in its ideological root.

“But it is necessary to ignite the masses with those correct national-democratic ideas. That is why I believe that Kyrylenko has still got an important mission to carry out at this point in history, via finding ‘pure’ forces and minds to consolidate his activities as a statesman.

“The fire of Ukrainian values, just like the Holy Fire of Jerusalem, has to be brought to each Ukrainian home to kindle peoples’ spirits. I may seem to be somewhat pathetic, but you cannot create an effective opposition out of nothing.

“You cannot form an opposition just due to the fact that you are no longer in power. It takes time, learning, and growing. It is not enough to pelt the regime with rotten tomatoes to the accompaniment of hoots of disgust. Okay, the disgraced politician is removed from office, but what next? Who is prepared to take his/her place and prevent the same from happening again and again?”