Unprecedented Openness As Standard of Security
On September 27 Verkhovna Rada hosted the international conference, Parliamentary Control in the Field of Security and Defense. Among the key subjects under discussion were representative power control over the armed forces, combating terrorism as a global threat, money laundering, and corruption. Naturally, in the light of the recent allegations that this country has supplied radar systems to Iraq, the debaters could not bypass this problem. Verkhovna Rada Vice-Speaker Oleksandr Zinchenko told the conference that in the years of independence Ukraine has adopted some basic laws that set out the rights and powers for governmental institutions to exercise control over the armed forces. According to Mr. Zinchenko, parliament does not control the army directly but still “has quite a wide and relatively self-sufficient range of the mechanisms of influence,” the most powerful of which being the debate on and approval of the military budget, confirming the armed forces personnel strength, and making decisions on war and peace. The vice-speaker noted that the people’s deputies “still fail to make full use of their institutional powers as to controlling the army and police.” In his opinion, the system of civilian control over the armed forces will only then meet the standards of civilized states when it attracts more civilian experts competent in military matters, the press, and academic institutions.
By far the greatest interest of the journalists present was aroused by Yevhen Marchuk, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC). Little wonder, for the journalists and foreign guests hoped to hear more details about the official viewpoint on the so-called Kolchuha affair.
“Ukraine will provide unprecedented openness to check up on the information that Kolchuha [coat of mail —Ukr.] radar systems have been illegally supplied to Iraq,” Mr. Marchuk stated. In his words, the Ukrainian state is even prepared to divulge some performances of these systems to US experts. The NSDC secretary reiterated that Ukraine had not been selling Kolchuha to Iraq, adding that this country’s leaders had already responded to such accusations in the spring of this year. Mr. Marchuk also recalled that, following the allegations against Ukraine, the leadership had suggested that the UN Security Council and the US make an inspection of how Ukraine observes UN sanctions against Iraq. “We have suggested that the US not only verify the very procedure of Kolchuha sales but also take part in inspecting the systems deployed in Ukraine,” he said. Yet the NSDC secretary emphasized: although the experts will be shown the Kolchuha characteristics necessary for the investigation, Ukraine is not going to reveal all the know-how of this equipment. As is known, Kolchuha radar systems are able to spot even Stealth-type aircraft, still remaining undetected from the air.
Mr. Marchuk reported that several dozens of the produced Kolchuha systems have been installed not only in Ukraine but also in Russia, Belarus, and Azerbaijan. “Back in Soviet times, a few items were in East Germany,” he pointed out. The NSDC secretary also said the inspectors would be told about the country that had purchased Ukrainian Kolchuhas as well as the intermediary company.
Openness and transparency is precisely what the US State Department insisted upon when it leveled charges against Ukraine. The statement of US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, US Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual, and US mission in Ukraine Deputy Chief Maria Jovanovic stressed that what really mattered for the United States was not whether Kolchuha systems were sold to Iraq but whether the very possibility of this had ever been discussed by the Ukrainian leadership. This raises an assumption that the US will take a tough stand. It remains an open question whether the United States has any evidence that Ukraine tried to breach UN sanctions against Iraq: Mr. Pascual failed to confirm that such information is available (apart from saying that a fragment of the Melnychenko tapes was proved authentic). The already historical examples confirm that Washington extremely rarely changes a once-made decision under the influence of any factors — no matter what administration is in power, what the question is, and what the result is likely to be.
What matters in this case is precisely the action: the Iraqi question helps keep up the popularity of President George Bush, the United States can launch an operation against the Saddam regime on its own, for far from all the US’s European allies are prepared to support it, even without waiting for the UN Security Council approval. This is why we cam suppose that the conclusions of the UN experts invited by Ukraine will not necessarily become the decisive factor in favor of this country. The Ukrainian elite will have to make strenuous efforts to restore confidence in relations with the US.
Nevertheless, the UN Security Council began consultations over the Kolchuha problem last Friday night. The date of the likely visit to Ukraine of American inspectors is reportedly under consideration. Chairman of the UN Security Council’s Iraqi Sanctions Committee, Ole Peter Kolby, assured Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Anatoly Zlenko that the Committee would be working on the basis of objectivity and impartiality.
