U.S. AMBASSADOR JOHN HERBST RESPONDS TO MEMBERS OF BEREGINYA UKRAINY PUBLIC UNION

Members of the public union Bereginya Ukrainy gathered at the United States Embassy in Kyiv today and presented letters addressed to President Bush. An Embassy representative accepted the letters and issued the following statement:

“The United States respects the right of peaceful assembly and demonstration as a form of democratic expression. Young people should take their civil responsibilities seriously to avoid being manipulated or disenfranchised by those who would manipulate the democratic process. We wish all political actors in Ukraine valued this right as much as we do.

As Ambassador John Herbst and other senior U.S. officials have stated repeatedly, the United States has no favorite candidate in this election. We have called for a honest, fair, and transparent election process in which the Ukrainian people choose their next leader free from pressure, force, and intimidation. .”

The Embassy representative also passed to the leaders of the event an open letter from Ambassador Herbst, which appears below. The Embassy invites the media to publish the letter so that it reaches those who sent letters but could not come to Kyiv themselves.

Open letter text:

Dear Parents and Students,

On behalf of the United States Government, I would like to thank you for your letters to President Bush. The United States respects and values the freedoms of speech and expression. We respect activities that encourage the people of this country and the world to speak their minds freely without coercion or intimidation. Almost always in our country, when students want to make a statement they do so without the presence or even the encouragement of their teachers. That way it is clear that it is an initiative of the students themselves. This is the basis of democratic government, which is supposed to listen to the voice of the people not just the privileged and to be accountable to the people. That is why the United States has spoken out against the abuses of these freedoms as we have seen them in the campaign for president of Ukraine this year.

While many parties in Ukraine pay lip service to the idea of a free and fair competition in the elections, the reality is sadly different. A variety of obstacles have been placed in the way of the opposition parties, which have begun to raise doubts about whether the elections can be considered truly free and fair. There is disproportionate coverage in favor of the government candidate in the main broadcast and print media; pressure continues on independent and opposition media; administrative obstacles to political events of the opposition are also evident; and regional officials and business leaders force citizens and workers to sign petitions and attend rallies in favor of the pro-government candidates.

Let me stress that the United States has no preference among the candidates. American officials who visit Ukraine have been scrupulous in asking to see both Victor Yanukovych and Victor Yushchenko. Our only interest is in the people of Ukraine choosing their own president. That choice should not be influenced by government officials who limit access to information, who hinder opposition political activities, intimidate people into engaging in involuntary political activity, or, worse, play games with the actual electoral results.

It is Ukraine’s honor that we cannot say at this stage who will be the next president of the country. It will be an even greater honor if the administrative abuses cease, if the counting of votes on election day is done in an honest and transparent manner and if, therefore, the people of Ukraine really are afforded the opportunity to choose their next president.

I hope in addition to writing letters to President Bush you are also contacting your own leaders to make your views known. Only Ukrainians can make Ukraine a stronger democracy. I wish you and your country the best.

Sincerely,

John E. Herbst

Ambassador