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From Tim Clapham, LI Warsaw

Dear All

Ukraine - at the Crossroads

The events in the Ukraine have struck a special chord in Poland.

In the streets here all the young people are wearing orange symbols, the President Mr Kwasniewski and Ex President Lech Walesa have visited the Ukraine to help resolve the situstion and Polish public opinion regards the situation as a key test of EU commitment to democracy. The Parliament is awash with orange even the Marshall (the Speaker) and there have been thousands of students and young people involved in demonstrations of support.The depth of feeling here should not be underestimated by our colleagues elsewhere in the Union

You may not be aware but before the second World War nearly 20% of the Ukraine was Polish., what is interesting is that the Polish reaction has not been a nationalistic one but one of empathy from a people who themselves have suffered from the lack of democratic structures in the past and can therefore fully understand the current situation in the Ukraine.

It is a defining point for Europe, where are its boundaries and what is to be its relationship with Russia. The Ukraine is an enormous country, endowed with the best soil in Europe it is rich in natural resources. An expression common here is that Russia without the Ukraine is just another country but with the Ukraine it remains an empire, so the stakes are very very high.

The issue is not really who or who did not win the election Yanukovich or Yushchenko, Yuschenko was a previous Prime Minister and is not exactly lily white but it is about honest elections and the future direction of the Ukraine.East or West.

It is also clear that the new member states particularly Poland have started to bring a new dimension to EU politics , it is believed here that Solana had to be pressured into reactiing effectively to this situation and unfortunately it has been contrasted to the immediate and positive response of Colin Powell on the part of the US.. Whether that is a fair judgement is a matter of opinion but it does remind us of the need to develop the second pillar of the EU, a common foriegn and security policy, as rapidly as
possible.

The reality of support for the Ukraine has been striking and I hope this short note brings to you a dimension of this sitution. It is history in the making

Fraternally
Tim Clapham
Chairman Labour International
Warsaw