Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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I will concentrate my few comments on the situation in Ukraine. I am known at this committee to have dissented somewhat from the popular views that have been expressed here to the effect that Tymoshenko was the hero of Ukraine, that she was the greatest democrat that existed, she is one of ours and therefore let us run with her.

I concur with the Tánaiste's condemnation of the role Russia has played. There are very dangerous tendencies in being selective with the truth. I am not impressed by the efforts of the diplomatic corps in the EU to date and I believe they rushed in in terms of the situation in Ukraine. They did not take due cognisance of the vast number of Russian-speaking Ukrainians. Yanukovych would have gone in the next election. The people in the east and in the west of Ukraine were going to oust him in any case not because he was pro-Russian or anti-European but because he has ruined the economy of Ukraine. The tragic consequences of what is happening is that regardless of who wins the minds of the people of Ukraine, they are in a desperate situation financially and the Russians will not be able to resolve that on their own and neither will Europe.

I suggest that the West, particularly the European Union, should be very cautious of the people who are out there on the ground and coming in from various parts of the world to advice the Ukrainians on how to run their affairs. I note that Mikheil Saakashvili, the former President of Georgia, has been out there advising. This is similar to the Bertie Aherns of this world going around the world telling people how to build a tiger economy. Thankfully, he was rightfully ousted by the people of Georgia but not before he made catastrophic political decisions which resulted in the troops coming in from Russia who could have gone on to Tbilisi. I also note, and the Tánaiste might comment on this, that the former chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, said that Ukraine could live with both an association agreement and the customs union agreement - that there is no need to be that competitive about the types of the development that would occur in Ukraine.

I fear that the media, both in the West and in the East, have been playing to their own audiences.

It worries me no end that what is happening now is largely as a result of black propaganda that has extended throughout Ukraine from the east right across the country. However, I do not believe the Western press paid any serious consideration to those forces operating out of Kiev that called at the barricades for every man with a licensed gun to come to the square and take on the Government. In what I argue is an important issue, I do not believe the West really played any serious role in identifying the Right Sector and the role it played. While it was a human tragedy that the riot police killed so many people, prior to that I had not heard anyone in the West condemn those who shot members of the riot police in advance of the big vicious massacre, when at least eight to 12 police officers were murdered by gunshots at the barricades.

I will conclude by noting the West quite rightly always sought the release of Ms Tymoshenko. On her release, the lady in question appeared at the barricades, notwithstanding the fact that the Parliament was in session and was trying to get people to desist at the barricades and to wind down the campaign there because the parliamentarians wished to enter into negotiations about the future of Ukraine. However, she went to the barricades, where her first public statement was for people to continue to man the barricades. I consider that to have been quite irresponsible and do not think this lady or her party are contributing in any way to the stability of Ukraine. God help Ukraine if she should ever became the President, which she will not.

What to me appears most disturbing is that on the day on which Yanukovych abdicated, the Parliament, now deemed to be pro-Western, reversed an important public policy on the use of not only the Russian language but also the languages of the minorities. This was a complete affront to the Russian-speaking citizens of Ukraine. Does the Tánaiste think the aforementioned pro-Western Parliament did the right thing by issuing, immediately on seizing power, a reversal of a policy in which the regions could have recognition for a second language? This affected languages other than the Russian language, including Hungarian and perhaps others. My worry about Ukraine is the west of the country is playing far too much to its Western audience and has neglected the vast Russian-speaking area of the country. I hope peace returns because as matters stand, there is now a deep wedge between the people in the east and the west of Ukraine. I wonder whether we in the West handled it properly.