ANKARA - Ahmet Gurhan Kartal
Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovych will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday as the street protests against the president and his government enter the fourth week.
Despite the cold and wet weather conditions, protesters who think that the opportunity to establish closer ties with Europe is now missed forever after Yanukovych refused to sign a trade deal with the EU, continue their protests in Kiev’s Independence Square. Nearly 300 thousand protesters filled the main square and adjacent roads shouting a single slogan: “Ukraine belongs to Europe”.
Most recent opinion polls suggest that 45 per cent of the Ukrainian population is in favor of closer ties with the EU but about 32 per cent of the rest would like to maintain historic ties with big brother Russia.
While the parts of the toppled Lenin statue, selling for 50 to 125 dollars apiece, have already started to appear on the internet, many of the Ukrainians are reported as seeing closer ties with the EU as a chance to live in a more democratic system without being forced to live with country-wide corruption.
Meanwhile, Alex Spillius, columnist with the Telegraph newspaper in the UK, explains the protesters’ motives as follows:
“No matter how dull the language of the trade deal, and how limited its scope, it offered a vision that a majority of Ukrainians support, but which Yanukovych has now frustratingly put out of reach. What he has offered instead is a vision of Ukraine’s sub-standard present extended into the future: suspect elections, selective justice and corruption so rampant that the country is commonly ranked as the worst on the European continent. In other words, a vision of Ukraine as the post-Soviet satellite is today.”
Cultural differences between the West Ukrainians and their countrymen living in the east comes is emerging as a factor in the recent crisis in the country.
Middle East Technical University (ODTU) Russia and Eurasian studies expert Assistant Professor Oktay Tanrisever has told the AA that Western Ukraine has a different background, culture and ethnic composition in comparison to the rest of the country and they see themselves as Europeans.
“Annexation of Western Ukraine to the Ukraine that we know now was completed in the end of the World War II. They consider themselves as Westerners and their presence within Ukraine did not start a long time ago. They had unpalatable experiences under the rule of the USSR (United Soviet Socialist Republics) and their right to travel was limited. We know they are not very pleased to be a part of Ukraine. In fact, the problem is the late joining of a society that feels different in identity to another society”," Tanrisever said to describe the problem in the Ukraine today.
Tanrisever also said that what caused the recent development was the shock and reaction created by the president’s decision in not signing the controversial deal with the EU and the rejection of the president’s decision widely came from west Ukraine as people worried about Ukraine’s entering the Russian orbit.
With regards to the suggestions that Ukraine may enter the Russian led customs union which has Belarus and Kazakhstan as other members, Tanrisever commented as follows:
“Of course, it is hard for Ukraine to stay outside those two trade pacts (EU and Russia’s custom union). A trade deal can also be signed with the EU in the long term. I do not think this issue is over completely. The EU can attract Ukraine again by increasing the benefits in the deal.”
“Ukraine has a serious debt it has to close in some ways. It will take a loan from the IMF or Russia. Ukraine is in a serious economic crisis. This economic situation makes it harder to decide for Ukraine. Although Russia is very effective, Ukraine’s ties with Europe are very strong too. A significant loan offer may change their decisions. Ideally, Ukraine should go for a free trade deal with the whole world but its economy does not permit it. Since its energy dependency is high, Russia naturally manipulates this situation”, Tanrisever also told the AA.
As thousands of Ukrainians still wait in Kiev’s Independence Square for the outcome of President Yanukovych’s talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin Tuesday afternoon, Assistant professor Tanrisever concludes his views on Ukraine:
“This dilemma continues in Ukraine since the 18th century. Ukrainian leaders must understand the disappointment of Western Ukrainians and convince them that the path to Europeanization has not been closed completely. Being European is a strong identity in Ukraine.”
englishnews@aa.com.tr
