Crime and Punishment
Ukraine is stunned by the case of alleged serial murderer Anatoly Onopriyenko, who is charged with the murder of 52 people, including ten children, the youngest of whom was a three month old baby. If found guilty, obviously such a person does not deserve to live, and their will be a virtual unanimous chorus demanding his execution. President Kuchma has already promised to take the matter up with the Council of Europe, to try to get permission to make this one exception to Ukraine's moratorium on capital punishment, a condition of Ukraine's membership in the organization. And if Europe refuses to go along? Then, "to hell with Europe," says my Ukrainian wife. Most people will agree with her.
That would be a mistake. Of course, there is nothing unjust in putting to death a monster capable of robbing and killing scores of people. But sometimes justice is not the only priority. In the real world doing the right thing in one area can mean doing something absolutely disastrous in another, and Ukraine could be approaching precisely such a situation.
The Council of Europe is probably the weakest and least important of the various European and Atlantic organizations uniting the West. It is, however, the only such organization of which Ukraine is a member. And for Ukraine that makes it paramount. President Kuchma might have been offended at being excluded from associate member in the European Union, but the latter really had no choice. It means to build a continental market economy without borders, ultimately with anybody being able to travel from Warsaw to Lisbon without let or hindrance. Of course, it had to demand that new associate members like Poland institute visa requirements for its former Soviet neighbors to the East. Otherwise, when the border between Poland and Germany comes down, Germany would be flooded by millions of economic refugees. And that could be the beginning of a new Iron Curtain between East and West.
It is obvious to one and all that Ukraine is sinking by the day into
the quicksand of the CIS, which is not just an organization but a modus
operandi and way of life. It means a model of politics and the economy
which make the few unbelievably wealthy and renders the great majority
poor and powerless. It is incapable of evolving into Western style representative
government because the few that are really represented in the corridors
of power can effectively shield their doings from public view. The only,
albeit fraying lifeline Ukraine is still holding onto is the Council of
Europe, which has, let us recall, already established a fund to help Ukraine
defray the expenses of locking mad dog murders up for life. Just one firing
squad here could sever that lifeline, and Ukraine could sink forever.
Выпуск газеты №:
№43, (1998)Section
Day After Day
