Madam Chair, the NDP strongly supports this motion. The NDP is really concerned about the politically motivated persecution of Ukrainian opposition members and, in particular, the former prime minister, Mrs. Tymoshenko.
We in this room are not the only ones to be concerned about the current situation, nor are we the only ones to say that this trial was politically motivated. Amnesty International, which is a very trusted organization, said:
The prosecution against Yuliya Timoshenko is politically motivated. The charges against her are not internationally recognizable offences, they are attempts to criminalize decisions that she made in the course of her work.... Poor political decisions of this kind – if that is what they were - should be punished by voters, not through courts.
We fully agree. In fact, we have been concerned for some time about the situation. In September the NDP finance critic and the foreign affairs critic sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to underline our concerns on that issue. We are quite happy for this opportunity to discuss this very serious issue today.
As we all know, democracy is far more than casting a vote every four, five or seven years, depending on the regime. Democracy includes fundamental respect for institutions. In this case we can see a clear disrespect for normal institutions and the division of power. The persecution of Mrs. Tymoshenko is a politicization of the judicial system, not only her persecution but the persecution of other opposition leaders. It should be a wake-up call for all of us that our institutions can be so fragile and have to be protected seriously.
Democracy also includes respect for political rights. Here again we see a clear violation of those rights. As well, democracy includes respect for diverging views, such as in the media. More and more in Ukraine there is a shutdown of media that show different versions of things, and of course, opposition parties. Democracy is that and a lot more.
I started by saying that democracy is not only about voting, but democracy is also about the right to vote. There are serious concerns about the October 2012 election in Ukraine. How is this election going to proceed if the main opposition leaders cannot participate in the said election? What kind of democratic election can that be?
We are all here today because we deplore this situation, but we are not the only ones. The EU has condemned the situation, as have the Americans. However, we should do more than deplore and protest.
We Canadians have such strong links with Ukrainian people. Their brothers among us have helped build this country. We have more than 120 years of a strong relationship, so we do care about what is happening in Ukraine. We do not want Ukrainians to lose all the benefits of the Orange Revolution. We do not want violence to erupt in Ukraine. This could happen; repression moves quickly. We want a democratic and prosperous Ukraine.
We should do more than stand here worrying and saying this is not good. We should communicate our concerns to Ukrainian officials. We should discuss with partners in the EU and our neighbours to the south to see what avenues there are to convince current Ukrainian authorities that they are going down the wrong path. We should also help in Ukraine. We should support, for example, human rights groups. We should support a training formula. We should support pro-democracy organizations.
We already give $22 million a year to Ukraine. I am not saying we should stop giving this money, far from it, but we give it mainly in the business and agricultural sectors which are very important. If the situation gets worse, those sectors are going to suffer too. Maybe we should do a bit more on prevention. Maybe we should work more upstream and put all our efforts and money toward ensuring a healthy Ukrainian democracy where human rights are respected, where there is a clear division of power and where the prime minister does not hold all the power over parliament, government and everything else.
This is something we should clearly think about. We should think about redirecting our aid money to support on the ground human rights organizations and pro-democracy organizations. We should be looking very closely at the proposed Canada-Ukraine free trade agreement to see if we should move forward in the current circumstances and if so, if we can include in the agreement some safeguards and guarantees regarding human rights and the rule of law.