EYEWITNESS TO HISTORY OSCE diplomacy in action Searching for a solution in

On 21 November 2004, a nation of 47 million in the heart of the OSCE area found itself faced with its most hotly contested election since it gained independence in 1991. The presidential contest in Ukraine, now on its second round, had turned into more than a mere competition between two candidates. For voters and their families, much more was at stake: the country’s future direction, as epitomized by two different visions.

For 17 straight days and nights, men Secretary General BY OLEKSANDR PAVLYUK and women, young and old, rich and poor, Ján Kubiš (left) with Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking, kept vigil international mediators ong before the first round on 31 on Maidan, often in freezing temperatures. and Ukrainian leaders, October, many observers were con- The entire capital was transformed into a 6 December 2004, at the vinced that the election would have landscape of bright orange — the campaign Mariinsky Palace. Lhistoric significance not only for colour of the opposition party. Orange flags AFP photo/Sergei Ukraine but also for the Commonwealth of fluttered from cars and balconies, orange Supinsky Independent States and for Europe. No one, ribbons adorned tree branches and everyone however, could have foreseen the suspense wore something in orange — a hat, a scarf, and drama that would build up in the coun- or a sweater. try as the year drew to a close. It was this emotionally charged, politi- It all started on the morning of 22 cally uncertain and potentially explosive November, when more than a hundred thou- situation that set the stage for the OSCE’s sand Ukrainians gathered at ’s Maidan participation in an urgently initiated inter- Nezalezhnosti (Independence Square), pro- national mediation effort. Secretary General testing against what they perceived as bla- Ján Kubiš arrived in Kyiv in the early after- tantly fraudulent practices the day before. noon of 26 November, having been asked Their numbers were to grow with every to represent the Organization by the 2004 passing day. In a simultaneous development OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Bulgarian Foreign all across the country, millions flooded into Minister Solomon Passy. Lamberto Zannier, the streets. Director of the Conflict Prevention Centre,

12 OSCE Magazine March 2005 and I had flown in earlier and were standing and the citizens themselves were the key by to provide support. players, the engagement of the international From the airport, we whisked the mediators — at the roundtable talks as well Secretary General to a bilateral meeting as in the flurry of behind-the-scenes diplo- with departing President . macy — was essential to maintaining the He was spending the last few weeks of his momentum of the complex process. presidency in his official residence outside A second meeting was held on 1 the city. As we drove through the snow-cov- December, followed by a third on 6 ered woods, I felt uniquely privileged — as December. The latter lasted six hours, a Ukrainian-born staff member of the largest ending only after 2.00 a.m. the next day, security organization in Europe — to be tak- reflecting the general intransigence on both ing part in the making of history in my own sides. At a particularly trying moment, the country. heads of delegation secluded themselves After the one-hour meeting, we proceeded in another room to try to come up with an to our next appointment: discussions with agreement among themselves. The rest of us the leader of the democratic opposition, waited anxiously and impatiently, exchang- . We found his election ing views and trying hard to fight exhaus- headquarters in Podil, the historic part of tion and drowsiness. Everyone was eager to the city, buzzing with revolutionary fervour. bring about a positive outcome. People exuded conviction and deep confi- When Parliamentary Chairman Lytvyn dence in their cause. emerged from behind closed doors and That evening, the first of what was to be shook his head, looking dejected, I real- a series of “roundtable” meetings was held ized our optimism had been premature: the in the presidential Mariinsky Palace, in cen- meeting was to conclude without an agree- tral Kyiv. President Aleksander Kwasniewski ment after all, although a statement to the of Poland, President Valdas Adamkus of press was issued. Lithuania, EU High Representative Javier The discussions did serve to create a People’s faces Solana, OSCE Secretary General Ján Kubiš, sound basis for the critical compromise reflected determination and Speaker of the Russian State Duma, reached the next day, 8 December, at the while radiating peace Boris Grizlov, were joined by the central fig- , which, in turn, paved the and good cheer. ures in Ukraine’s crisis: President Kuchma, way for the repeat of the second round of Photo: ODIHR/Urdur Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada (parlia- elections on 26 December. Gunnarsdottir ment) Volodymyr Lytvyn, and the two presi- dential contenders, Viktor Yushchenko and . The meeting proved to be a timely and ground-breaking confidence-building meas- ure. It was the first face-to-face encounter between the two camps since the elec- tion. Tension and unease were in the air. Gradually, however, this gave way to dia- logue — a major feat, given the wide chasm between the two sides. The OSCE’s preliminary findings and con- clusions concerning the second round of the presidential election served as the spring- board for discussions. Citing the report of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), the Secretary General pointed out that “the second round of the Ukrainian presidential election did not meet a considerable number of OSCE com- mitments and Council of Europe and other European standards for democratic elec- tions”. This first meeting ended with a joint statement urging all sides to refrain from the use of force and to start negotiations towards a peaceful settlement of the political stalemate. Although the Ukrainian leaders

March 2005 OSCE Magazine 13 last but not least, the cordial personal relations between Ján Kubiš and sever- al Ukrainian leaders. A few days after the much-heralded compromise was reached in the Verkhovna Rada, Chairman Lytvyn wrote a letter to the Secretary General expressing “sincere gratitude” for his active participa- tion in resolving the political crisis. He was confident that the relationship between Ukraine The mood was festive at The solution, said Ukrainian Foreign and the OSCE would become even closer, the inaugural ceremony of Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko in a letter and would contribute to “strengthening Ukraine’s new leader. of appreciation to the Secretary General, was peace and stability in the Euro-Atlantic space Photo: OSCE/BOBO “civilized, legal and, most importantly, non- and in the world”. violent”. The broad package of agreements The series of visits left me with many in parliament included amendments to the deep and lasting impressions. There was the Law on Election of the night after the first meeting when we went that were specifically meant to prevent fraud without any sleep as our hotel rooms were and falsification. Another set of intended almost directly facing Independence Square, amendments focused on changes to the which was pulsating with non-stop energy. constitution of Ukraine, aimed at reforming There was one evening when the the political system and maintaining a better Secretary General and I deliberately sought balance between the branches of power. out a closer look at the action on Maidan. Besides participating in the roundtable We were overwhelmed by what we saw: meetings, we also held numerous bilateral a sea of humanity as far as one could see, meetings with Parliamentary Chairman dominated by orange and blue-and-yellow Lytvyn, presidential contender and Prime Ukrainian flags, with splashes of Georgian, Minister Viktor Yanukovych, leaders of the Lithuanian, Polish and Russian banners. opposition Yuliya Tymoshenko and Borys People’s faces reflected determination and Tarasyuk, Foreign Minister Gryshchenko, and self-discipline but at the same time radiated the Russian and American Ambassadors to a feeling of peace and good cheer. Ukraine. Another memorable incident took place By the time the crisis was over, Secretary on our way from one meeting to another. General Kubiš had visited Kyiv four times Our car was blocked by demonstrators and within a 10-day period. In every single dis- it took about an hour and the personal cussion with Ukraine’s leaders, he remained intervention of Yuliya Tymoshenko — now focused on his core message: Refrain from Prime Minister — before we could get the use of force and proceed with politi- going again. cal dialogue. He also expressed the OSCE’s Looking back, I realize now that the commitment and readiness to do everything people’s unbowed spirit that emerged possible to help ensure that the repeat of the from the “” is the best vote on 26 December would be free, fair and guarantee that Ukraine will ultimately come transparent. into its own. The OSCE stands ready to Several aspects of the OSCE’s con- continue playing its part in the country’s Oleksandr Pavlyuk is structive role had become apparent: the progressive steps towards democratization Acting Head of the Organization’s impartiality, its internation- — whether through the office of the Project OSCE Secretariat’s ally recognized election standards, its out- Co-ordinator in Ukraine, or by sending External Co-operation standing reputation in election-monitoring, observers to the parliamentary elections in Section. its professional track record in Ukraine, and, late March 2006.

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