Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 April 2014

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade

Situation in Ukraine: Former UN Co-ordinator in Ukraine

2:40 pm

Photo of Eric ByrneEric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. O'Donnell. I deeply respect his accumulated knowledge and his experience as ambassador and placements throughout the world. I am fascinated by his contribution. It is my belief that I have not, as a politician, engaged in any previous issue that has been so divisive on the propaganda field. A horrendous propaganda campaign has emanated from the east by the Russians. We cannot move forward and be satisfied unless we come to terms with what provoked the Russians to move into Crimea. I am not happy that the west has projected itself honestly from a propaganda point of view.

In order to move forward it is important to understand what happened. Therefore, I shall defer to Mr. O'Donnell and ask him a couple of questions. What is his belief or understanding of the Eastern Partnership as a European concept? To this day I fail to understand how so many people from the West engaged without success in the Eastern Partnership relationship with Ukraine. Mr. Pat Cox was sent out as the Baroness Ashton's agent. Everybody in the west was told, including the Cheann Comhairle who visited Kiev and spoke to people there, that the ink had almost dried on the paper yet the partnership did not happen. Can Mr. O'Donnell explain the diplomatic ineptitude within the European Union that existed at the time?

Notwithstanding what had happened in Georgia when that President, stupidly, in my view, attempted to take on the so-called Russian bear, who he thought was asleep on some bank holiday weekend in May, he is now advising the current Government, which worries me. That was the history. Then, the Eastern Partnership was engaging in these agreements with Armenia, and clearly Armenia pulled out because of the pressure from the Russians. Therefore, we already have a timescale and then we have the lads trying to secure the agreement of Yanukovych.

What worries me is that I am not satisfied that all the Western propaganda has been explained. Why did we not know about the existence of the extreme right wing fascists in Ukraine until after the events? Is Mr. O'Donnell happy that the intercession of France, Poland and Germany in the creation of the alternative Government, which gave such prominence to these fascists in the new Government, was appropriate diplomacy? What does he think of the first decision of that Government to outlaw Russian in those peripheral regions where Russian was recognised as the second language? Its first parliamentary project was to renege on that agreement. There is a lot of propaganda. It worries me that we have not as yet had an explanation as to why the Estonian Foreign Minister, in a live taped broadcast with the baroness, suggested that guns were being used by the opposition. It is my confirmed belief that members of the opposition killed at least 12 riot police. Where is this being debated in order that we can understand the totality of what went on at the Maidan?

In the past three years it has always been my belief that the West has not treated Ukraine as a unitary state. It spoke to the Western element of Ukraine and totally neglected to engage and understand the Russian speakers and the Russian half of the nation. Diplomacy in the West and in the European Union must be examined very closely in regard to why the poor Ukrainian state is in the state it is in today, given what is happening in Donetsk and the eastern regions. I am probably an unpopular politician in suggesting that we need to study the role the EU played in pushing the Eastern Partnership cause, given what trends had occurred in Georgia, where the troops could have gone as far as Tbilisi, as we know. How did it get it so wrong? Pat Cox was out there and everyone was going to sign, but it all failed.

I extend and put on the public record my support for the Ukrainian state, the state of both Russian and Ukrainian speakers. We must do all in our power. Mr. O'Donnell is aware the OSCE originally sent in some monitors, who could not get into Crimea in any case. A presidential election is taking place. One of the first acts of Tymoshenko when she got out of jail, notwithstanding what was going on with the four leaders of the West and with the Parliaments, was to tell the rioters to stay at their posts. Now, she is going to be a candidate in this election. Would Mr. O'Donnell agree with me that what we need in Ukraine are nationalists who believe in Ukraine as a totality, combining the support of the Ukrainian people and Russian speaking Ukrainians? How does he view the OSCE election monitoring that is going to take place? He knows they are sending out 900 short-term observers and there is already a core team and other teams out there. How does he consider it will pan out in terms of their ability to monitor?

Does Mr. O'Donnell think a presidential election at this point in time is the appropriate structure that is required for Ukraine? In other words, would it not be far more democratic and healthy to have parliamentary elections rather than presidential elections?

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