Ukraine Is a Single “Free” Post-soviet State?

translated by Irena Yakovina , 08.09.2006, 14:54
Ukrayinska Pravda

Freedom House’s survey of the political and civic freedoms disclosed that Ukraine was a single ‘free state’ within the post-soviet space (save the Baltic countries), Radio Liberty reports.

Freedom House experts analyzed political and civic situation in 192 countries, rating them as ‘free’, ‘comparatively free’ and ‘non-free’.

Unlike Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Russia and Byelorussia are still labeled ‘non-free’. Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Moldova gained the status of ‘comparatively free’.

According to Director of the Freedom House European Branch Kristie Evenson, Ukraine made a great step forward “demonstrating willingness to carry out some political and civic reforms.”

She said, that when conducting its survey Freedom House witnessed that Ukraine was holding free and fair elections, having laid the foundation to the reformation of the lawmaking system as a whole. These are, although weak, sprouts of the fledgling democracy which will likely grow into a vivid and strong democracy.

Yet the situation in the former soviet Central Asian republics keeps worsening. Leaders of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan put democracy there on the brink of extinction.

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