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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

READERS SOUND OFF

10 March, 1999 - 00:00

Dear Editor:

Sadly, Oleg Maliv’s letter (The Day, March 6, “Understand and Not be Rude”) displays the worst aspects of chauvinism that all too often seem to epitomise Russia’s attitudes towards Ukraine, namely bigotry, xenophobia, ignorance of Ukrainian history etc. Mr. Maliv condescendingly tells Ukrainians “don’t be rude” and accuses them of behaving as a “guilty party” and of attempting to “justify their misconduct”. How patronising and exactly what conduct he is talking about remains unclear. He accuses them of suffering from some “juvenile complex” because they robustly defend their independence yet fails to understand that this is often in response to chauvinist statements by senior Russian politicians who refuse to accept Ukraine’s internationally recognised borders. For example, Moscow Mayor Luzhkov’s constant refrains that Sevastopol, which de jure is part of Ukraine, belongs to Russia and will always be Russian, comments which, fortunately, were ignored by the Federation Council when it sensibly ratified the grand treaty with Ukraine in February. However, according to a recent poll, 78% of Russians agree with Luzhkov. How else are Ukrainian newspapers to react when a top politician and presidential contender behaves in this way toward a friendly and sovereign state? If this does not qualify as misconduct, then what does? On the subject of Crimea, Maliv should perhaps dig out an objective history book: Crimea was only annexed by Russia in 1783 and as a relatively recent acquisition can hardly be regarded as Russian, as Maliv states (just as England cannot regard Scotland, also acquired in the same century, as English). Before that it was populated by neither Russians nor Ukrainians but by Crimean Tatars who in successive years were driven out and exiled to remote areas of Russia and the USSR by Russian Tsars and Communists. Staying with history, the state system in Ukraine is not seven or 180 years old, as he implies, but predates the Russian state system in that it derives its origins from Kievan-Rus. He chidingly states Ukraine should allow as much freedom for the media as it has in Russia. Whilst I agree that Ukraine has a long way to go in terms of press freedom, the situation seems to be better only in Russia’s capital. Suppression of press freedom in Russia’s outlying regions is legendary. Surely Mr. Maliv, who is himself a journalist, is fully acquainted with the attacks on the Sovetskaya Kalmykiya newspaper, which culminated in the murder of its editor, Larisa Yudina. She was one of ten Russian journalists murdered last year. The Glasnost Defence Foundation, a Moscow-based pressure group, has recorded over 1,000 cases of harassment, including punitive raids by the tax police, cancellation of leases, withdrawal of printing facilities, disruption of distribution, arrests of reporters and denial of accreditation to journalists, in Russia’s regions. Is he suggesting Ukraine follow Russia’s example? To his comments that Ukraine should form its own foreign policy and clearly define its priorities, I would say it does at every opportunity but risks encountering hostility and threats from its northern neighbour if what it says is not to their liking: note, for example, Russia’s reaction to Ukraine’s aspiration to join NATO. There is only one point that I can agree with Mr. Maliv and that is that Ukraine should pay for the Russian gas it uses. However, the problem of debt settlement does not only affect Ukraine: the Russian Black Sea Fleet owes Sevastopol over 250,000 dollars for fuel. Mr. Maliv’s sentiments are those of a member of a former imperialist power which still to this day has not accepted “the loss” of its southern neighbour and is trying to rebuild what has long been lost. If Ukraine and Russia are to live as friendly independent states in complete harmony then it is imperative that attitudes change in Russia and that the Russians accept Ukrainian independence as it has, say, that of the Baltic states. Britain, say, would not dream of dictating to Ireland or Canada how it should conduct its foreign policy and so Russia shouldn’t try and dictate or influence the foreign policy of a former colony.

Peter Shutak,

England

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