Editor’s Note: This feature separates Ukraine’s friends from its enemies. The Order of Yaroslav the Wise has been given since 1995 for distinguished service to the nation. It is named after the Kyivan Rus leader from 1019-1054, when the medieval empire reached its zenith. The Order of Lenin was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union, whose demise Russian President Vladimir Putin mourns. It is named after Vladimir Lenin, whose corpse still rots on the Kremlin’s Red Square, more than 100 years after the October Revolution he led.
Ukraine’s Friend of the Week: Sir Roger Gale – Heads the U.K. parliamentary delegation to PACE
If there was one silver lining to the dark clouds that swirled around the events of June 25, as delegates overwhelmingly voted to fully reinstate Russia’s participation and voting rights at the Council of Europe, it was that Ukraine’s true allies at the Assembly stood shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine when it mattered.
In the end, 118 delegates to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, or PACE, voted against European values, human rights and the rule of law. They instead backed the Kremlin and supported Russia’s return, signaling their unconditional surrender to dictator Vladimir Putin.
Ukrainian lawmakers have rightly called it a moral capitulation and a betrayal.
At the same time, 62 delegates stood in defiance of the momentum to bring Russia back in from the cold. A number of them broke ranks with compatriots who had sided with the Kremlin. They showed courage and solidarity with Ukraine, the victim of Russian aggression, while other delegates made the easy choice and moved to lazily appease the aggressor.
All 62 of those delegates from Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Poland, Sweden, Georgia and the Baltic states deserve our admiration. While dozens of representatives threw Ukraine under the bus in Strasbourg, those rebels stood firm together in defense of European values and the core principles that are supposed to be the backbone of PACE: human rights, dignity and the rule of law.
As the Kyiv Post went to print, it became clear that Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Georgia, Poland, and Slovakia have joined Ukraine in temporarily walking out of PACE. The stand of these delegates against a pro-Russian tide of votes at the Assembly is an inspiration and could have gone some distance in preventing PACE from becoming a total embarrassment to Europe.
But special credit and thanks must be reserved for the British delegation to PACE, which is diligently and energetically led in Strasbourg by a veteran member of the U.K. parliament and London’s top representative to the Assembly, Sir Roger Gale. He and his delegates worked tirelessly with the Ukrainians, Georgians and others in the days prior to the June 25 vote.
“That this assembly is even contemplating abject surrender to this crude attempt at blackmail is a source of shame,” Gale said in a speech at PACE on June 25, as Russia tried to worm its way back into the Assembly.
“That the Secretary General and the President are complicit in promoting this cause is a disgrace,” Gale added. “We want the Russians to take their place in this Assembly, but not at any price. Before readmission, Ukrainian sailors imprisoned in Russia have to be released. Annexed land must be vacated. Human rights respected and of course, debts paid in full.”
While Gale and his colleagues could not sway the final result, their staunch resistance to the pro-Russian surge in Strasbourg should be a matter of record. All but two British delegates opposed Russia being reinstated to PACE. In other words, Ukrainian delegates aside, the U.K. votes accounted for about a third of all opposition to Russia and its supporters.
Asked by the Kyiv Post why it was so important for him to oppose Russia being unconditionally reinstated to the Assembly, Gale said it was a question of principle and basic human values.
“If this institution (PACE) stands for only one thing, then it must stand for human rights — otherwise it stands for nothing,” he said. “It must not stand for the shooting down of planes, the illegal occupation of foreign territory, or the abuse of human rights,” he added.
For his tireless efforts in mobilizing multinational opposition to Russia at the Assembly in Strasbourg, and for firmly standing beside Ukraine in its hour of dire need, Sir Roger is a deserving recipient of the Order of Yaroslav the Wise.
Ukraine’s Foe of the Week: Thorbjørn Jagland – Secretary General of the Council of Europe
In reality, Ukraine has more than 118 foes to choose from this week: short-sighted, misguided or corrupt individuals who have betrayed European principles, justice and freedom to further their own interests. Many will have been following the example of Thorbjørn Jagland, the Norwegian secretary general of the Council of Europe who has enjoyed a cozy relationship with Moscow while taking a weak stance on Russia’s abuse of Ukraine and Georgia.
Only Moscow benefits from the June 25 outcome, which sees Russia’s delegation return to the Assembly in Strasbourg without conditions and with a vengeance. Not that Jagland is concerned — he has previously said that Russia’s absence from the Assembly is as bad as Brexit. He will gladly welcome the Russians back.
Under Jagland’s watch, the Council of Europe (CoE) has turned into a safe space for Moscow lobbyists and supporters of Putin. Money, power and vested interests have taken priority over human rights and dignity. Any suggestion that the CoE is a genuine, progressive force has become laughable.
Dozens of delegates from France, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, and Turkey unanimously supported Russia on June 25, seriously letting Ukraine down in the process but at least showing the world their true colors. More delegates from Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and Finland also supported the pro-Russian motion.
Jagland was silent as Ukraine suspended its membership in protest at the result, prompting accusations that he sided with an aggressor and was overseeing the downfall of a previously proud institution.
There is not enough space to name and shame all of the individuals who, on June 25, badly failed Ukraine and spat on the Council of Europe’s primary mandates: to defend human rights, uphold the law and protect democratic values.
Delegates were given a free vote on this issue, and they overwhelmingly decided to back Russia and appease the aggressor, even though Russia is almost certainly in breach of international law and must be in contravention of PACE conventions and statutes. It is an insult and an embarrassment that an institution which shaped the European Convention on Human Rights, and is mandated to oversee the European Court of Human Rights, will allow Russia to be fully reinstated to its Assembly.
As the head of an organization that is showing itself to be morally bankrupt, useless and compromised, and as the failing captain of a sinking ship, Thorbjørn Jagland is a foe to Ukraine and most-deserving of this week’s Order of Lenin.
