This Week in the News

On April 7, President Viktor Yanukovich signed a bill which alters the Ukrainian constitution in regards to the central government's relationship to the ARC, including land reform and allotments. This, the President said, is in agreement with his personal politics--i.e., regionalism--and the constitution of the ARC; the Kyiv Post mentions that this was against the advice of "some experts." I looked for more references to this act and unfortunately I could find none. As such, I cannot comment on the types of reforms that this new bill will introduce. This does, however, come after a speech by the President wherein he has announced his plans to return to a mixed electoral parliamentary system in order to modernize the system and to cut down on election fraud.

Analyst and blogger Paul Goble has issued a review-cum-response of an article by Anna Steshenko in RosBalt.ru, the original on the "hidden Islamization of Ukraine" appearing on 31 March. Steshenko attests in a hostile and frankly islamophobic manner that in the past twenty years, over a million Slavs in Ukraine have converted to Islam, and that Kyiv's policies toward Islam foster radical Islamic movements. She also criticized Ukraine for not supporting Russian efforts in Chechnya by allowing Chechen refugees asylum, ridicules the idea that Ukraine can be a model of any kind to Russia, and closes her article on a note of condescension and derision. It was clear from her attacking tone that the article was intended to drum up fear and religio-racial strife. Goble picks up on this too, and criticizes her article because of it. He surmises that Steshenko has probably distorted her statistics (attributed to Gennady Udovenko of Narodny Rukh) and additionally exaggerated the numbers further to push her agenda. However, that is Goble's main critique. He leaves her argumentative tone alone and does nothing to rebuff Steshenko's fearmongering. Because Steshenko did not provide any sources besides Udovenko, her allegations especially into Kyiv's policies on Muslims and Islam and the Muslim group "Alraid" ring hollow and specious. This kind of malicious journalism helps no one resolve conflicts or issues--in this case, the treatment of Muslims and Islam--it only serves to polarize the debate, devolving it into a series of ad hominem attacks which betray any attempts at successful negotiation. I applaud Mr. Goble for holding Ms. Steshenko accountable for her trumped-up statements, but I criticize him for not going far enough.

Articles referenced in this post:

Yanukovych backs Crimean autonomy

http://www.kyivpost.com/news/nation/detail/101835/

Ukraine should return to mixed electoral system of parliamentary elections, says president

http://www.interfax.com.ua/eng/main/65607/

Window on Eurasia: Have ‘More than a Million Slavs in Ukraine’ Become Muslims Since 1991?

http://windowoneurasia.blogspot.com/2011/04/window-on-eurasia-have-more-than.html

Скрытая исламизация Украины (The Hidden Islamization of Ukraine)

http://www.rosbalt.ru/ukraina/2011/03/31/834517.html