THE PRESIDENT
Please take
a seat, Mr President.
Thank you very much, Mr Yanukovych, for your most interesting
address. Members of the Assembly have expressed a wish to put questions
to you.
I remind them that questions must be limited to 30 seconds
and no more. Colleagues should ask questions and not make speeches.
The first question is from Mr Frunda, on behalf of the Group
of the European People’s Party.
Mr FRUNDA (Romania)
I congratulate
you, Mr President, on your election. I am deeply sorry about what happened
today in Kiev. Politics is about dialogue in parliament, not about
fighting in parliament.
One of the richnesses of Ukraine is its national minorities.
You have important national communities – Russians, Romanians and
Hungarians, to mention only the most numerous. In previous years,
national minorities could not be elected to the Rada and to local
bodies as representatives of their communities. Their educational
rights were reduced. The authorities reduced the number of classes
in schools in the mother tongue and did not support or allow use
of the mother tongue in the entrance exam to universities. People
did not have the right to use their mother language in their relations
with local authorities. How do you want to handle this very important
problem in the future?
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that it was an important social question. The issue had
recently affected various ethnic minorities in Ukraine, whose rights
had been violated. Now, the issue was how to restore the rights
of the Roma-speaking population: the Romanians, the Hungarians,
the Tatars, and others. There needed to be a change in the system
of independent testing at universities and the equal opportunities of
children of ethnic minorities so that they could take exams in the
language they spoke. In the near future, a series of laws implementing
European languages would be adopted. They had been ratified by Ukraine,
but had not yet been implemented, because of too much politicisation.
A range of draft laws had been developed and the Ukrainian Parliament
would discuss them soon.
Mrs ČURDOVÁ (Czech Republic)
Mr President,
first, on behalf of the Socialist Group, I congratulate you on your
election as President of Ukraine.
The Council of Europe is based on our common values of democracy
and the rule of law. I hope, therefore, that Ukraine will take further
steps to promote democratic principles and civil society.
However, democracy is for all citizens, and that means women
and men. In the Slavic language, some words, such as “democracy”
or “Ukraine”, are in the feminine gender, yet the Government of
Ukraine is represented by male ministers only. In that respect,
I should like to ask you, Mr President, what steps you intend to
take to increase the number of female representatives in the decision-making
bodies and institutions of your country, and to ensure that the
specific problems of Ukrainian women are solved properly?
Thank you for your reply.
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
agreed with Mrs Čurdová’s position and comments. It was surprising
that a current minister had been unable to invite women as ministers,
but that was democracy. His administration included two women who
worked very effectively as deputy heads of administration. This
helped to ensure a balance between men and women in Ukraine. Gender
equality was an important democratic process in any country. In
the future, steps would be taken to improve the situation.
Mrs BRASSEUR (Luxembourg) (interpretation)
congratulated
Mr Yanukovych on his election. She said the glorification of Stalin
and the Soviet interpretation of the Second World War in the Ukraine
was supported by the Minister of Education and asked what Mr Yanukovych
was doing to put an end to these very worrying developments.
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said it was a wonderful question, but did not accept the premise
of the question as the Minister of Education’s views coincided with
his own, which were that there were radical opinions in society,
but that these could not be taken into account.
He was not aware of efforts to build a monument to Stalin,
although there had been an example of a bust being built in the
garden of an office in Zaporozhie; the mayor of the city had contemplated
holding a referendum to resolve the issue. Much of society in Ukraine
had removed such monuments and they would not be restored.
Mr MARKOV (Russian Federation) (interpretation)
congratulated
the President on his election and said it was an honest victory.
He was concerned with the charter of European languages. He also
raised the question of military nationalists and Stalin, who in
the previous government had been idealised by ultra-nationalists.
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said the issue was linked to the previous question. It was
a radical position that did not have the support of the majority
in the Ukraine. There had been a discussion in society, court cases,
political declarations and even a declaration of the European Parliament
on the issue. A policy that divided the country to the extent that
this issue did should not be entertained. Ukraine had set up an initiative
studying ideas to develop textbooks for elementary and high schools.
After the work was finished, historians and not politicians would
make a decision on which textbooks to adopt.
Mr LAAKSO (Finland)
I congratulate
you, Mr President, on behalf of the UEL, on your election. I should
first point out that the Finnish Government has a majority of females,
and we have a proposal to set up a male protection movement! However,
that has nothing to do with my question. As you said, there is a
tendency for politicians to try to take on the role of historians,
and, unfortunately, we have seen this tendency in our Organisation:
we are dealing more and more in the interpretation of history.
You know, Mr President, that under the rapporteurship of President
Çavuşoğlu, there is now a Council of Europe report on the great
famine. What is your personal opinion of the great famine question?
As I mentioned, I do not like the fact that we are deciding this
issue by voting. What is the correct interpretation of history? President
Çavuşoğlu’s report is very balanced. Should we vote, and what is
the truth of the history?
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that the territories of these countries were well known.
The great famine of the 1930s had affected the Volga region, Belarus
and Kazakhstan as well as Ukraine. It had been a consequence of
the policies of the Stalinist regime, and all countries had been
affected. To recognise Holodomor as genocide in respect of one or
another people would be incorrect and unfair. It had been a shared tragedy
between all members of the Soviet Union.
Mr BRAUN (Hungary)
Over the past
decade, the Hungarian minority in Ukraine had the opportunity to establish
a functioning Hungarian language school system in Transcarpathia.
Unfortunately, Ukrainian education measures introduced in the past
few years have generated a tendency that is to the detriment of
the situation of the Hungarian minority. The latest Ukrainian education
regulation, which came into force this year, could have a positive
impact on the future of the national minorities. We would like to
hear Your Excellency’s views on what further steps your government
plans to take to reduce the negative effects of the education decrees
of the previous Ukrainian Government.
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that he had always been opposed to policies detrimental
to the languages of minority ethnic groups. His government would
pass a number of laws, one of which would pass the European language
charter into Ukrainian law.
Mr VAREIKIS (Lithuania)
Mr President,
you said several times that you are implementing the European Charter
for Regional or Minority Languages. That is okay, but I have a question
about a small but unique ethnic group who live in your country:
the Crimean Tatars. Language itself is not enough – that ethnicity
is disappearing. What is your programme for enabling that ethnic
group, with its unique European heritage, to survive in your country?
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that he agreed that Ukrainian government policy on the
Tatars had long been inadequate. In future, a national programme
would be developed. A new agency would be set up to see that Ukrainian
policy towards the Tatars was reformed. He saw that his colleague,
Mr Mustafa Jemiliev, was present in the Chamber and he looked forward
to working with him on this. Both parties should be able to work
together to build confidence.
Mr ZINGERIS (Lithuania)
I congratulate
you, Mr President, on the recent elections. They were fair, and
they were the outcome of your country’s democratic development over
the past five years. My question is about today’s events in your
parliament. You have said that they were “heated up”, but you are
the President of all Ukraine, not just the eastern side, so are
you sure that these scenes will not become an everyday occurrence during
your presidency?
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that it was the Ukrainian people who would decide the
outcome of all future elections. Local elections would be held in
2011. For any Ukrainian politician, the desire to unite Ukraine
would always come first, higher than any personal or political ambition.
It was impossible to agree with the priorities of those who placed
their own advancement ahead of the improvement of society. It was
a great achievement for Ukraine that he had been able to plan and
present a budget so soon after having been elected, especially given
that he had been in opposition since 2004.
Mr GROSS (Switzerland)
My question
is along the same lines. Winning elections might be easier than uniting
the country. Integration is also a democratic duty, and the winner
must reach out to the other side. You cannot wait until the next
elections. What will you do to unite the country and convince those
who today disagree with you? Throwing eggs is not an argument, but
you have to understand those who have thrown eggs, because you need
to integrate them into your country. What are you willing to do
over the coming weeks to integrate people, rather than continuing
with the current divisions?
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that he did not distinguish between the wishes of a teacher, doctor
or anyone in east or west Ukraine. Every Ukrainian wanted a stable
country under the rule of law with human rights for all. The economy
would be made to work for the benefit of everyone.
Ukraine would soon celebrate 20 years of independence. Previous
governments had lied to the population with pleasant-sounding slogans,
but he would aggressively pursue the process of European integration
and seek to be a reliable partner, always meeting his commitments
and obligations. An element of conflict would always persist because
divisions between some peoples were so deeply entrenched. It was,
however, his strongly held belief that people could live peacefully
in accordance with the principles practiced by their ancestors.
The use of force to the contrary of such efforts was futile.
Mrs GAUTIER (France) (interpretation)
asked whether
Ukraine intended to join Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan in a customs
union or whether it would reach a free trade agreement with the
European Union.
Mr Yanukovych, President of Ukraine (interpretation)
said that Ukraine had made its choice, entering the World
Trade Organization several years ago, and was now integrated into
the WTO. For that reason, joining a customs union was impossible,
because the economic principles and rules of the WTO would not allow
it. The development of a free trade agreement with the European
Union was in the national interests of Ukraine and was supported
by the European Union.
THE PRESIDENT
Thank you.
I must now conclude the questions to Mr Yanukovych. Mr President,
on behalf of the Assembly, I thank you most warmly for your address
and for the answers you have given to questions.
