The Crimean Crisis and Russia’s CoE membership !!

Posted on 3 April 2014 by redaksiyon

Moscow : Russian Walkout of CoE Won’t Harm us…

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Le Comité des Ministres juge illégale l’annexion de la Crimée et appelle à prendre des mesures sur les minorités nationales

Strasbourg, 03.04.2014 – Les Délégués des Ministres du Conseil de l’Europe ont poursuivi l’examen de la situation en Ukraine lors de leur réunion les 2 et 3 avril, réunion à laquelle a pris part le Ministre ukrainien des Affaires Etrangères faisant fonction, Andrii Deshchytsia. Le Ministre Deshchytsia y a notamment rappelé l’engagement de l’Ukraine à mettre en œuvre des réformes devant renforcer la protection des droits de l’homme, et le fonctionnement démocratiques des institutions de son pays dans le sens des valeurs du Conseil de l’Europe.

Les Délégués des Ministres ont salué les mesures d’assistance immédiate à l’Ukraine proposées par le Secrétaire Général, notamment via la Commission de Venise.

Les Délégués des Ministres ont également pris connaissance du rapport ad hoc préparé à leur demande par le Comité consultatif de la Convention-cadre pour la protection des minorités nationales, suite à une visite d’une délégation du Comité en Ukraine du 21 au 26 mars derniers.

Au vu des préoccupations soulevées dans ce rapport, notamment à propos de la sécurité des personnes appartenant à des minorités nationales, les Délégués ont appelé les parties concernées à garantir de manière effective les droits de toutes les personnes appartenant à des minorités nationales à travers l’Ukraine, y compris en Crimée. Ils ont invité le Comité consultatif à continuer à suivre la situation des minorités nationales à travers l’Ukraine, y compris en Crimée, par tous les moyens disponibles.

Les Délégués ont par ailleurs souligné que le référendum illégal du 16 mars et l’annexion également illégale de la Crimée par la Fédération de Russie qui s’en est suivi ne pouvaient nullement constituer le fondement d’une modification quelconque du statut de la Crimée et de la ville Sébastopol.

Committee of Ministers deems the annexation of Crimea illegal and calls for measures concerning national minorities

Strasbourg, 03.04.2014 – The Council of Europe Ministers’ Deputies continued to discuss the situation in Ukraine at their meeting on 2 and 3 April with the participation of the country’s acting foreign minister, Andrii Deshchytsia. In particular, the minister reiterated Ukraine’s commitment to implement reforms so as to reinforce protection of human rights and the democratic functioning of the country’s institutions in line with Council of Europe values.

The Ministers’ Deputies welcomed the Secretary General’s proposals for immediate support measures for Ukraine, notably through the Venice Commission.

They also took note of an ad hoc report prepared at their request by the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, following a visit by a committee delegation to Ukraine from 21 to 26 March 2014.

In view of the concerns raised in this report, in particular regarding the safety of persons belonging to national minorities, the Deputies called on the parties concerned effectively to guarantee the rights of all such persons throughout Ukraine, not least in Crimea. They invited the Advisory Committee to continue monitoring the situation of national minorities all over Ukraine, including in Crimea, by all available means.

The Deputies also underlined that the illegal referendum of 16 March and the ensuing, also illegal, annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation could in no way constitute a basis for any change in the status of Crimea and of the city of Sebastopol.

Russian Walkout of Council of Europe Parliament Won’t Harm Moscow

MOSCOW, April 3 (RIA Novosti) – Russia will suffer no significant impact if it withdraws from the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), experts told RIA Novosti Thursday.
According to Leonid Polyakov, the head of the political science department at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, PACE is not an international discussion platform, but a “place where decisions made in Washington are announced.”

He added that Russia should not face any problems if it withdraws from PACE.

“If members of PACE are fine with the scenario when contacts with Russia are kept to a minimum or do not exist at all, I believe we shouldn’t have any troubles. Business ties will remain,” Polyakov said.

“Besides, all sane people in Europe realize that there is no way you can wrench Russia away from Europe and vice versa. On a level of personal human ties there is an understanding that it is all meaningless,” he concluded.

Fyodor Lukyanov, the head of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy in Moscow, thinks that Russia’s withdrawal from PACE will negatively impact both sides.
“European institutions do not have much practical sense, but they weave the fabric of European politics, which acts as a playing field for a bigger game. The more elements, including membership in such organizations you have, the bigger the toolset you can use for this game,” he said.
Europe is trying to use PACE to compensate for its own reluctance to impose real economic sanctions on Russia, Lukyanov claimed.

“The paradox is that the EU doesn’t want any economic measures to be taken against Russia, so much that it sabotages them in every possible way, despite pressure from the US,” Lukyanov said.

“At the same time, Brussels is compensating for the lack of economic sanctions by taking political ones. The Council of Europe and PACE are an arena where you can act out the situation politically to display the extent of European outrage,” Lukyanov said.

The April session of PACE will be held next week in Strasbourg. A number of PACE delegates from Western countries have already spoken in favor of suspending the Russian delegation’s powers due to its stance on events in Ukraine.
Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, adopted a resolution on Tuesday warning the assembly from making such a decision. Alexei Pushkov, the head of the Russian delegation, said that Russian delegates would walk out of the assembly at the first sign of a vote on their sanctioning. Source.

AGİT Ukrayna Özel Gözlem Misyonu

Ukrayna’da yaşanan gelişmeler bağlamında anılan ülkede bir AGİT Özel Gözlem Misyonu oluşturulması hususunda 21 Mart 2014 tarihinde AGİT Daimi Konseyinde oydaşma sağlanmış, bu çerçevede çeşitli AGİT ülkelerinden gözlemciler Ukrayna’da görevlendirilmeye başlanmıştır.

Sözkonusu Gözlem Misyonunun başkanlığına deneyimli ve saygın bir diplomat olan Bakanlığımız eski Müsteşarı emekli Büyükelçi Ertuğrul Apakan 2 Nisan 2014 tarihi itibariyle atanmış bulunmaktadır. Büyükelçi Apakan’ın yardımcılıkları İsviçre ve İngiltere’nin gösterdikleri adaylar tarafından üstlenilecektir.

Büyükelçi Apakan, Birleşmiş Milletler Nezdinde Türkiye Daimi Temsilcisi olarak görev yaptığı 2009-2012 döneminde, Türkiye’nin BM Güvenlik Konseyi Geçici üyeliği vesilesiyle bu forumda ülkemizi etkin biçimde temsil etmiş, aynı dönemde BM gündemindeki önleyici diplomasi, arabuluculuk ve barış girişimlerinde etkin rol oynamıştır.

İlk aşamada 6 aylık bir süre için oluşturulan AGİT Ukrayna Özel Gözlem Misyonunda ayrıca ülkemizden gözlemciler de görev yapacaktır.

OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine.

The Permanent Council of the OSCE has reached consensus on establishing an OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, in view of the developments in the country. In this context, the deployment of observers from various OSCE countries has already begun in Ukraine.

Retired Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan, an experienced and distinguished diplomat and former Undersecretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey has been appointed as the Head of the Special Monitoring Mission as of 2 April 2014. Candidates from Switzerland and the UK will be assigned as deputies to Ambassador Apakan.

During his tenure as the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations between 2009-2012, Ambassador Apakan has effectively represented Turkey at the UN Security Council on the occasion of Turkey’s non-permanent membership. In this capacity, he also played a leading role in preventive diplomacy, reconciliation and peace initiatives on UN’s agenda.

Turkey will also deploy observers in the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine which has been established for an initial period of six months. Kaynak/Source.

Pourquoi la Crimée est-elle si chère au cœur de la Russie ?

Pour la Russie, la Crimée n’est pas une terre étrangère qu’une humeur primesautière a poussé à solliciter son rattachement au territoire de son voisin. Elle est un chapitre essentiel de son histoire, sans lequel la Russie d’aujourd’hui n’existerait pas. Dans un style très hagiographique,

Dans les cœurs et dans les esprits, la Crimée a, de tout temps, fait corps avec la Russie. Cette conviction, étayée par la soif de vérité et de justice, est toujours restée inébranlable. Elle s’est transmise de génération en génération, sans que le temps ni les circonstances ne puissent l’altérer. Même les bouleversements spectaculaires que la Russie a connus au vingtième siècle n’ont pu entamer cette certitude. Nul ne pouvait imaginer que l’Ukraine et la Russie puissent, un jour, devenir des États différents. Mais l’Union soviétique s’est effondrée. Tout s’est déroulé si rapidement que très peu, à l’époque, ont pris la mesure des évènements tragiques qui se sont enchaînés, et des conséquences qui allaient s’en suivre. Et quand, du jour au lendemain, la terre de Crimée est devenue le bien d’un autre pays, la Russie ne s’est pas seulement sentie flouée, elle s’est sentie dépouillée. Des millions de Russes se sont couchés dans un pays et se sont réveillés dans un autre, transformés en un tournemain en groupes minoritaires à l’intérieur des républiques soviétiques qui existaient jusque là. C’est ainsi que la Russie est devenue une des nations les plus disloquées du monde, voire même la plus grande de toutes. Le peuple, lui, ne s’est jamais accommodé de cette injustice historique flagrante. Durant toutes ces années, nombre de citoyens et de personnalités en vue ont soulevé cette question, encore et encore, proclamant que la Russie était née sur la terre de Crimée et que Sébastopol était une ville authentiquement russe. Tout au long de ces vingt trois dernières années, la Crimée a préservé son âme russe. Chacun de ses habitants a appelé de ses vœux, ardemment, sans jamais renoncer, le retour de la péninsule au sein de la Russie. Et maintenant, c’est arrivé, pour la joie tant attendue de tous, dans la liesse générale et les larmes de bonheur, réparant l’injustice d’autrefois. Lire analise complète.

Why America Needs a Face-Saving Retreat Plan for Ukraine

By Andrew KORYBKO – The American foreign policy blunders in Ukraine have been colossal, and as it currently stands, it looks as like they have completely backfired. Ukraine rejected the EU Association Agreement in November, only to have a covert Western-led coup usurp power. At that time, American policy seemed to have prevailed, but the flimsy foundation it was based on, as well as the flirtations with Fascist forces, spelled the long-term doom of the US’ short-term success. America’s repeated policy failures in Ukraine mean that it is time for Washington to make a pragmatic, face-saving exit from this catastrophe, the benefits of which could return Ukraine to its neutral position and reap tremendous advantages for the Euro-Pacific civilization from Vancouver to Vladivostok.

The US’ policy began to unravel after American support for extremists elements and the junta drove the Russian-affiliated citizens of the East, South, and Crimea to request Russian humanitarian support. The lawlessness, militia bandits, and Pravy Sector’s attempted storming of Parliament in Kiev, for example, signify that the junta cannot even guarantee its hold on power, and another civil conflict could erupt if the militias refuse to disarm and instead fight the junta. The chaos and uncertainty born out of the coup resulted in Crimea overwhelmingly voting to reunify with the Russian Federation, forever removing America’s hope of establishing a strategic NATO base in Sevastopol. Instead of succeeding with its plan for control over a unified Ukraine, the US’ failed disorganized strategy is breaking the country apart. This runaway policy now risks provoking Russia to humanely intervene in Eastern and Southern Ukraine to protect its threatened compatriots there, possibly repeating the Crimean reunification scenario and resulting in even more zero-sum losses for the West. It is now high time for the US to stop its shenanigans and pragmatically retreat from the crisis. (…) Full analysis.

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