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Human rights group says Ukraine coverage is biased
According to the British Helsinki Human Rights Group (BHHRG), a group which monitors human rights in the 57 member states of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), reporting of the second round of the Ukrainian presidential elections in the Western media has distorted the true picture. BHHRG observers say that they found no evidence to suggest that the election, although close, has been unfair."In spite of concerns," says the BHHRG on its web site, "BHHRG finds no reason to believe that the final result of the 2004 presidential election in Ukraine was not generally representative of genuine popular will. The election featured a genuine choice of candidates, active pre-election campaigns, and high voter participation. It is clear that Ukrainian opinion was highly polarized. That meant many people backing a losing candidate would find it difficult to accept a defeat. Foreigners should not encourage civil conflict because the candidate on whom they have lavished expensive support turned out to be a loser."
The BHHRG has come under fire from Guardian columnist David Aaronovitch who writes, in a column titled 'PR Man for Europe's nastiest regimes' that the group's "stance has led to the BHHRG being criticised by the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (established in 1976) as preferring 'the role [is to take] (sic) PR flak for a new breed of authoritarian rulers in Europe' to the business of actually monitoring abuses." (As a matter of nit-picking fact, the IHF-HR was established in 1982; 1976 was the year in which Yuri F. Orlov announced the formation of the Moscow Helsinki Group, with a number of high-profile anti-Soviet dissidents on its committee.) The IHF-HR statement on the Ukraine, prepared by the organisation's local affiliate, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, charges "brutal violations of human rights and election law" and concludes that "the election cannot be considered free, fair or transparent."
The IHF-HR says it is "even-handed in its criticism of human rights violations with respect to the political systems of states in which these abuses occur." It was formed as a bye-product of the creation of the OSCE in 1975. The OSCE then included both the US and USSR among its member states. The Helsinki group is an umbrella organisation for national human rights groups whose political complexion may vary, while the BHHRG is broadly speaking anti-OSCE and is undeniably associated with anti-interventionist libertarian groups in the US and Europe.
Just what has been going on in the Ukraine remains unclear, but the emergence of an independent press may help to clarify things.
Follow the links to the BHHRG web site, an article by BHHRG trustee, John Laughland, in the Guardian, 27 November 2004, David Aaorinovitch's piece in the Guardian, 30 December 2004, and the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights.
LINKSThe BHHRG web site
John Laughland's article
David Aaronovitch's article
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights
IHF-HR statement on Ukraine
Last modified: Monday, December 6, 2004
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