UKRAINE: MOI AND MFA DISCUSS PLANS TO FIGHT

C O N F I D E N T I A L KYIV 003034

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2016
TAGS: PHUM PGOV UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: MOI AND MFA DISCUSS PLANS TO FIGHT
XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS

REF: A. KYIV 2718

B. KYIV 2943

Classified By: Ambassador for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (C) Summary and Comment. The Ukrainian Government is
taking steps to combat the increase in racially-motivated
crimes in Ukraine this year. Acting Minister of Interior
Korniyenko highlighted to the Ambassador several initiatives
undertaken by the Ministry including increased security for
diplomatic missions, meetings with expatriate groups,
meetings with university administrators, and the creation of
a special MOI unit to investigate crimes committed both
against and by foreigners. MOI Deputy Minister Kupianski
provided details regarding investigations into incidents that
have occurred in 2007 as compiled by the Embassy. Korniyenko
agreed that the MOI should coordinate with other ministries
and law enforcement bodies, including the Office of the
Prosecutor General (OPG) and Security Service of Ukraine
(SBU). In a separate meeting Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
(MFA) newly appointed Ambassador at Large to Combat
Xenophobia, Racism, and Discrimination Oleksandr Horin told
the Ambassador that he will coordinate efforts between the
MFA and other ministries in this area and he outlined several
proposals to include creation of an inter-agency task force,
provision of tolerance education in schools, improvement of
accurate media reporting on xenophobia, and an increase in
video surveillance in public areas. Horin also mentioned
that he was following the property dispute between the city
of Uman's Jewish community and a Ukrainian construction
company over the grave site of one of the most important
religious figures for Hassidic Jews, Rabbi Nachman.


2. (C) Comment. We were impressed by Korniyenko's openness
and how seriously his staff reviewed our list of incidents to
prepare for the meeting. They have made progress in
acknowledging the seriousness of the problem since a previous
meeting last May. However, we think that the MOI special
unit's dual mission of investigating crimes by and against
foreigners may not be the most effective set-up and could
lead to racial profiling. It also remains to be seen when
the unit will become fully operational. We will support
Ambassador Horin's efforts to encourage much needed
coordination between the MOI, PGO, and SBU as well as to act
as a point of contact within the MFA to respond to the
international community's concerns. End Summary and Comment

Acting Minister of Interior Not Defensive, cites Progress
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3. (C) Acting Minister of Interior Korniyenko met with the
Ambassador and his counterparts from Israel, Egypt, Germany,
Nigeria, and the UK, as well as the head of the Kyiv office
of the International Office of Migration (IOM) Jeffrey
Labovitz, on November 29. The meeting was held at the
Ambassador's request in order to obtain an update on steps
taken by the MOI to fight the recent increase in
racially-motivated crime. Korniyenko was accompanied by
Deputy Ministers Kupianski, Bodnar, Fatkhutdinov, Marmazov,
the head of the International Relations Department Kaliuk,
and the MOI's department chief for Kyiv Lieutenant General
Krykun. (Embassy note: The Ambassador, along with several
of his counterparts, met with Korniyenko on May 14, 2007, to
discuss the same issue. End note.)


4. (C) Korniyenko, who appeared more open and less defensive
than at the meeting in May, highlighted several steps taken
over the past months to address the problem of attacks
against foreigners and people of non-Slavic appearance. He
said that MOI had taken steps to increase security for
diplomatic missions in Kyiv, met with expatriate groups, met
with university administrators where several of these
incidents have occurred, and directed regional and city
police to make fighting racially-motivated crime a priority.
He noted that the MOI established a special unit in August to
investigate crimes committed both against and by foreigners.
(Comment: Human rights groups object to the unit's task of
investigating crimes committed by foreigners since this could
reinforce stereotypes that certain ethnic groups are prone to
commit crimes and could also result in racial profiling. End
Comment) Korniyenko noted that the MOI has also established
an action plan to fight racially-motivated crime, established
public councils including human rights NGO participation, and
cooperated with mobile monitoring groups that monitor prison
conditions.

Deputy MOI Responds to Embassy's List of Incidents
-------------- --------------


5. (C) Deputy Minister Kupianski gave a detailed response to
a list of violent incidents in 2007 targeting foreigners,



mostly of non-Slavic heritage, compiled and presented by the
Embassy to the MOI in advance of the meeting. (Comment: We
compiled this list from media reports, human rights
monitoring websites, and information provided to the Embassy
by U.S. citizens. The Ambassador has shared this list with
numerous senior-level Ukrainian government officials
including PM Viktor Yanukovych, possible next PM Yuliya
Tymoshenko and former FM Yatsenyuk. End comment.) Kupianski
explained that the MOI had instructed police officers to meet
with youths involved in skinhead groups (and their parents)
to try to dissuade them from accepting the skinheads,
intolerant ideology. According to Kupianski, the police
found that parents often had no idea their children were
involved in these groups and that the police intervention had
yielded positive results.


6. (C) Kupianski explained that 256 of the 353 crimes
committed against non-CIS country foreigners had been solved,
with the vast majority of these crimes involving robbery,
theft, extortion and other similar crimes. (Comment:
Korniyenko mentioned that there were 1,032 crimes committed
against foreigners in 2007, however this number included
victims from CIS countries. End Comment). Kupianski said
the MOI was aware of 11 of the cases involving grave bodily
injury or death in 2007 with one case still under
investigation. He said that motives, including xenophobia,
racism, and religious intolerance, were always considered by
investigators but could only be determined onced the suspect
was detained. He explained that the MOI reviewed the
Embassy's list of violent incidents and of the 40 cases
listed, 20 criminal cases had been initiated, 12 suspects had
been identified, and in 13 cases there was not enough
evidence to confirm a crime had been committed. The MOI was
not aware of seven cases on the list, all reported by the
media, but was trying to confirm what occurred.

Diplomats Acknowledge Progress, See Need for Improvement
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7. (C) When asked by IOM Head Jeffrey Labovitz about MOI
coordination with other ministries and law enforcement
bodies, Korniyenko stated that the SBU and OPG had expressed
interest in the MOI's action plan and he agreed with Israeli
Ambassador Kalay-Kleitman that the MOI should cooperate with
the SBU's recently established foreign crime unit. In
response to Labovitz's concern about the lack of prosecutions
under Ukraine's article 161 of the Criminal Code on inciting
ethnic, racial, or religious hatred, Korniyenko noted that
the hate crime law stipulates a five-year maximum penalty
while prosecution for assault and murder have stiffer
penalties. His preference was to charge perpetrators of
racially-motivated crime for more serious offenses when
possible, or at least combining such charges with hate crime
charges, to impose the greatest punishment allowed by the
law.


8. (C) When asked by the German DCM what the MOI was doing
to prevent crimes and raise public awareness, General
Fatkhudinov explained that the MOI was creating a system to
educate and train police officers and police cadets on
combating xenophobia in preparation for the upcoming 2012
European soccer championship to be co-hosted by Ukraine and
Poland. He added that the MOI wanted to increase video
surveillance in public places and station more security -
either private or MOI - at synagogues and Jewish schools. He
added that they were paying particular attention to soccer
fan clubs where skinheads tend to congregate. He said the
MOI was open to exchanges with foreign police forces to gain
from their experiences.


9. (C) The Nigerian Charge expressed frustration with the
slow progress in the trial of three men accused of murdering
a Nigerian citizen in 2006, one of whom is being tried for
committing a hate crime (see ref B). Korniyenko explained
that the Ministry of Justice, and not the MOI is responsible
for the court proceedings but assured her that he would look
into delays in transporting the defendants to court, an MOI
responsibility, which had caused the hearing to be postponed
twice. Korniyenko also assured Israel's ambassador that the
MOI was actively carrying out President Yushchenko's orders
to fight xenophobic and anti-Semitic crimes (see ref A) and
cited examples such as regional police meetings with Jewish
communities, and greater cooperation with the SBU in
exchanging information, and joint operations with the SBU to
investigate hate crimes.

Ambassador meets with MFA Ambassador at Large on Xenophobia
-------------- --------------


10. (C) The Ambassador met with the MFA's newly appointed
Ambassador at Large to Combat Xenophobia, Racism, and

Discrimination Oleksandr Horin on November 30. Horin
requested the meeting to introduce himself and explain his
responsibilities. Horin, who was appointed to this
newly-created position on November 13, previously served as
Ukraine's Ambassador to Singapore and Brunei. The MFA
announced that this position was established to coordinate
efforts between the MFA and other GoU ministries.


11. (C) Horin confirmed that he will coordinate activities
to fight xenophobia, adding that President Yushchenko's
mandate to establish this position gave him the authority
needed to accomplish his job. He acknowledged that
xenophobia and racism will be hard to eradicate from
Ukrainian society and that the GOU will have to use a
"multi-pronged" approach rather than only law enforcement.
His vision of a multi-pronged approach included new
legislation to meet international standards, improved
coordination of government activities through the creation of
an inter-agency task force, the promotion of tolerance
through educational programs at schools, and the development
of media standards to encourage more balanced and
professional reporting on racism and xenophobia.


12. (C) Horin noted that the creation of special foreign
crime units at the MOI and SBU showed that the GOU now
recognizes the problem of hate crime and that it was
important for Ukrainians to understand that these incidents
were damaging its international image. Although Horin
acknowledged there is a problem, he noted that statistics
show that other European countries have higher levels of hate
crimes. He opined that xenophobia can be tied to low living
standards and Ukraine's history of anti-Semitism. Horin drew
a sharp distinction between traditional anti-Semitism, which
he acknowledged still exists in Ukrainian society, and the
virulent and violent ideology seen from extremist "skinhead"
groups, which he believes have backing from Russia. He found
repugnant MAUP's attempt to play the role of victim, fighting
in the courts to defend academic freedom, and stated the SBU
needed to do more to investigate MAUP's funding, especially
from external sources that Horin called "significant." (Note:
MAUP, the Interregional Academy of Personnel Management, is
a private commuter university and Ukraine's largest purveyor
of anti-Semitic rhetoric. End note.)


13. (C) Horin said he would soon meet with the Foreign
Minister to discuss his plans for an inter-agency task force
on xenophobia and the establishment of public councils, to
include NGO participation. His suggestions will include an
increased security presence at university campuses and
increased video surveillance in public areas. He expressed
interest in visiting other countries to gain insight on
different methods of combating xenophobia and seemed most
interested in the U.S. model. Horin was also exploring other
approaches, such as Singapore's, which he felt used a more
authoritarian approach. He added that Israel and Ukraine had
agreed to cooperate in historical research on UPA (Ukrainian
Insurgent Army) leader Roman Shukevych's role as a partisan
leader in World War Two and his alleged collaboration with
Nazi war criminals.

Will oversee Dispute over Rabbi Nachman's Gravesite
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14. (C) Horin confirmed the MFA's announcement that he will
work to resolve a property dispute between the Breslav
Hassidim and a Ukrainian owned construction company in Uman,
which could result in the transfer of ownership of Rabbi
Nachman's grave site to the non-Jewish Ukrainian company.
Horin promised to review each side's arguments scrupulously
and agreed with the Ambassador on the importance that the
annual pilgrimage and religious observances at the venerated
site should not be disrupted by the property dispute.


15. (U) Visit Embassy Kyiv's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Taylor