Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is important that we all stand united with the Ukrainian people at this very worrying and extremely difficult time. If any message goes out from here today, it should be that while there may be differences in regard to our analysis of the way forward, the most important thing is that this House stands united in wanting what is best for Ukraine and its people. There are many similarities between both our countries. I would argue that our peoples are warm, friendly and educated and we both have young populations. There is a love of live, of music and of culture. The two countries have had a difficult relationship with their nearest neighbour. They have suffered occupation, intimidation, repression, division, censorship, war and famine, which is a particular similarity of Ukraine and Ireland. The natural resources were stripped from the two countries for the benefit of others rather than themselves.

The Ukrainian people have suffered under corrupt and ineffective governments for too long. The result has been a deterioration in socioeconomic conditions and the effective bankruptcy of the state. The recent problems in Ukraine stem from the EU, US and Russia playing a zero-sum geopolitical game with the country. Ukraine basically got an offer to throw all its eggs into the EU basket on the off-chance that, down the line, it might get EU membership in a few years time and an offer to throw all its eggs into Russia's basket and continue to be under its thumb while surrounded by countries who took the EU route. Meanwhile, the country was slowly becoming bankrupt, regressing in socioeconomic terms and was rife with corruption. Rather than trying to railroad Ukraine down one particular political route, the EU and Russia should have been working together to create mutually beneficial and non-exclusive economic, political and social relationships with Ukraine. This policy direction would have been of real and genuine benefit to ordinary Ukrainians.

There is an urgent need for restraint from all sides within Ukraine and from foreign powers at this crucial time. We have not seen that from the EU, the US or from Russia. The interim government in Kiev has very little legitimacy, particularly for people living in the east. The country continues to be divided, and attempts by the EU, the US and Russia to increase their influence merely exacerbate tensions and make complex problems worse. I am under no illusion regarding Russia's self-interest in this region and its reasons for its recent behaviour, but the EU’s actions have been just as disastrous for the Ukrainian people.

The EU has ploughed ahead with its association agreement with Ukraine, one of the primary causes of the escalation in the first place. Surely the EU should not be forcing through such an important document with an interim government that was not democratically elected. It is basically locking future elected governments into a straitjacket in respect of the EU's political and economic structures. That is unacceptable. It has been suggested that one of the first effects of this agreement will be a 50% increase in domestic gas prices on 1 May 2014. The EU and IMF are demanding this to provide financial support to Ukraine. This is a sample of what is coming down the track for the people of Ukraine. Before this, domestic gas prices were heavily subsidised by the Ukrainian Government, which literally ensured people did not starve or freeze to death during the winter. We all know the unique conditions of a Ukrainian winter. Despite this, the IMF, in its wisdom, believes that to give an aid package to Kiev, it must cut this subsidy. Let us think about the impact this will have on the people of Ukraine. It will certainly lead to deaths and extreme hardship. This is the prospect facing Ukraine indefinitely with no chance of opting out or doing down a different road.

Threats of other enormous spending cuts while so many people are in poverty and lack future prospects are enormously unpopular throughout Ukraine, but especially in the east. So far, these neoliberal, austerity measures have been spectacularly unsuccessful elsewhere in Europe, including in Ireland. They have increased unemployment, emigration, the sell-off of state assets and the destruction of social services and social protection schemes, and the same will happen in Ukraine. While some people will think that this is fantastic and that we have a way out of this crisis, if one looks at what is happening in many countries across Europe, including this country, one can see the options are not fairly rosy given what is happening to ordinary people in their communities and family homes.

Sinn Féin tried its best to get all-party support for a motion on the current situation in Ukraine and Crimea. It was and is important that a joint message is sent out in support of the ordinary people in this region. Again, I apologise for the confusion, some of which is down to my lack of experience in this area. We have difficulties in respect of the motion. I note that it is down on the Order Paper and is signed by our party leader, Deputy Adams. I originally thought the motion was a Government motion and that the Government was looking for input from parties. I did think it was looking for a cross-party motion on this issue. We put forward some amendments to the Government's motion and are willing to compromise on others, but we have difficulties in respect of this motion as it stands. I welcome the fact there was movement from the Government and that many of the concerns are addressed in the motion. I want to express solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It is not a case of people changing their minds in mid-stream. We have consistently spoken in this House and outside it about what we see as the best way forward for the people of Ukraine. We have a difficulty with the inclusion of a line welcoming the signing of the association agreement. I recognise it is a compromise motion but that was a major difficulty we had with it. I apologise for the confusion. The agenda of those un-elected EU bureaucrats who are wedded to neoliberal policies and who seek to extend their influence eastwards by spreading a destructive austerity is not something we welcome. We have a difficulty with this agreement and I have explained the background to this difficulty.

Another major issue of concern, which is shared by practically everyone in this House, is the make-up of the interim government in Kiev. Three members of the current interim government are from the far-right, neo-Nazi Svoboda party, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the environment Minister and the agriculture Minister. Until his resignation last week, the defence Minister was also from Svoboda. We are concerned about the inclusion of these far-right, neo-Nazi, anti-semitic politicians as ministers in the government. The Ceann Comhairle will come in and tell me I cannot mention people but if one looks at the history of the policies of the party, I am very concerned about some of its public utterances. The rabbi of Kiev has spoken about them and even suggested that people of the Jewish faith leave Kiev because of the lack of safety. Any of us who are conscious of history and events that happened in the past in other countries in that region have huge concerns about what is happening. We feel that the inclusion of these far-right, neo-Nazi, anti-semitic politicians as ministers in the government, coupled with the attempts by the government to impose controversial laws such as removing Russian as an official language, sends an extremely worrying signal to linguistic, religious and ethnic minorities in Ukraine. The fact that the EU sees this government as a natural ally and has not spoken out against the inclusion of neo-Nazis in an unelected interim government is extremely worrying. I know there are concerns across Europe about the composition of this new opposition-led coalition, which have been expressed publicly and privately. The new opposition-led coalition has so far failed to persuade right wing militia groups to disarm. Is it any wonder that minorities are living in real insecurity and fear?

The referendum which took place in Crimea on 16 March 2014 is another factor in this escalating crisis.

The referendum was held under the worst possible conditions with a poor security situation and tense atmosphere, international pressure, a short run-in, a lack of open and democratic debate, press restrictions and a lack of dialogue preceding the referendum. The referendum was not in line with good democratic practice in my opinion, an opinion shared by most Members of this House. I am not opposed to referendums to decide self-determination but they must be conducted in line with good democratic practice. It is clear that there is a great deal of support in Crimea for separating from Ukraine and joining Russia. However, there should first be dialogue and negotiation within Ukraine, free from outside interference, with a view to finding an overall agreement on the future of Ukraine.

Sinn Féin condemns the political, economic and military interference in Ukraine and Crimea by the US, EU and Russia. There must be open dialogue between all sides in Ukraine and respect for human rights. There is a need for foreign powers to end hostilities and rising tensions by stating they will not militarily intervene and will stop meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs. Ukrainians are the only people who should ultimately decide their own future with self-determination through democratic means.

The make-up of the interim government is extremely worrying due to the inclusion of extreme right-wing neo-Nazis in key ministerial positions. We reject the signing of the association agreement with the interim government which is un-elected and, therefore, has no mandate to sign such an agreement. That feeds into the Russian arguments and creates more difficulties rather than resolving the problem. It also ties the Ukrainian people into austerity. The austerity measures that the EU is imposing as a condition for providing aid will slash pensions and public services and will increase unemployment and further impoverish the people.

All efforts need to directed to de-escalating the crisis and allowing the people of Ukraine to discuss and seek agreement on their future. The more Ukraine improves it socio-economic development, the less likely it will be that the country can be used as a geo-political football, as it has been for so long. This should be the focus of all efforts and support in the future.

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