By the time you read this the election for President will
have happened in Russia. Writing in the middle of February we can all say
exactly what will happen in the election and what the result will be. The election
during the election period will be entirely free and fair – it will comply with
domestic laws and international standards for elections (the latter is the
phrasing that professional international observers actually use) and Vladimir
Putin will be elected with an overwhelming majority over ‘rival’ candidates who
mostly take care to praise the President during the election as well as after
the result is declared. Those candidates include Grigory Yavlinsky leader of
the Liberal ‘Yabloko’ party (apple) who is a genuine opponent. Alexei Navalny, outside
of Russia the most well known Kremlin critic, is barred from standing by a
dubious conviction.
On the 18 March Vladimir Putin could be rewarding himself
with a glass of Imperial Russian stout, rather than Arthur Guinness’ black
stuff.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) is the main international organisation doing election observation
(election monitoring) in the ex Communist countries of Eastern Europe and the
former Soviet Union, as well as on a much smaller scale in Western Europe and
North America. Britain is contributing 4 Long Term Observers (like regional
coordinators who observe before and during the whole election period) and up to
40 Short Term Observers (who cover what actually happens on the ground in the
days immediately before, during and after the election).
Why. What on earth is the point? The OSCE was set up at the
end of the Cold War to facilitate relations between the former Cold War rivals
and includes all of the former USSR, Europe, the USA and Canada. It came out of
the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe, part of the Helsinki
process during the period of détente in the mid-1970s. The OSCE works on political-military,
economic and environmental and human rights issues (the human dimension). It is
now best known for providing monitors of the war in south east Ukraine but does
much work at intergovernmental level and European and national conferences and
seminars and with political missions in places such as Macedonia, Georgia and
Kosovo (and Central Asia). That work includes promoting professional policing,
justice, anti-discrimination and protection of minorities, good governance and
media freedom. Russia, as the most important former Soviet state is a core part
of OSCE. Here you see the problem.
Whatever the faults of British, French, American foreign
policy outside of Europe they have not directly engaged in the brutality that
Russia has in Syria or its own former empire territory of Chechnya, nor have
they or any other European countries engaged in war in Europe (Slobodan
Milosevic’s Serbia / Yugoslavia the exception). Russia has changed the de facto
borders of a European state by force for the first time by a European state
since World War 2, and is engaged in a nasty vicious entirely pointless bloody
war in south East Ukraine where Russian soldiers kill their fellow slavs and
‘orthodox’ Christians. This by a country that pretends to stand for European
(‘White’) Christian values. Yes, the clear majority of people in Crimea want to
be part of Russia. Yes it was Russian territory longer than Ukrainian, as part
of the Russian empire then USSR when taken from the Ottoman Empire. This is no
excuse for military occupation. This is the illness of Putin, he could no doubt
have achieved his aims peacefully but for a swaggering bully like that peace
would not befit his macho image. Hence ten thousand people have been killed and
two million people have been displaced by the war in Ukraine. (In 5% of the country).
The economic damage has caused misery to millions more in Russia and Ukraine
(and producers in countries affected by the sanctions and Russia’s retaliatory
boycotts). All on the altar of Putin’s image and keeping his people inside the
bubble with the spectacle of Russophobia and Russia standing against barbarians
– this kleptocrat state’s version of bread and circuses.
At any stage Putin could have chosen peace, he has chosen brutal
violence. London’s 2012 Olympics was a celebration of the UK with the World.
Putin’s 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics could have been a bridge to the civilised
world but was a display to Russia and the World before Putin’s regime’s
military occupation and invasion of Ukraine.
The politics of OSCE election
observation.
Several of my good friends are observers and they will do an
excellent, professional, independent and impartial job. But it is a huge waste
of public money and a huge waste of credibility for the OSCE to send an
election mission. Russia is a leading member of the OSCE and its democracy and
society development wing, the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human
Rights (ODIHR). ODIHR, headquartered in Warsaw, organises the election
observation missions (EOMs). Where they go is based on a Needs Assessment
Mission by experts, which makes recommendations. The 21 December report for
Russia concluded “Most of the OSCE/ODIHR NAM interlocutors emphasized the value
of an OSCE/ODIHR election observation activity for the presidential election.
Many of them also stressed the importance of a long-term and regional presence
to cover all aspects of the process.” All the work is subject to the fact that the
OSCE is a diplomatic intergovernmental organisation, (yes of course nothing to
do with the EU, though I erroneously thought it is related to the Council of
Europe) that has its own Parliamentary Assembly of elected representatives of
the member states.
Other international election monitor organisations include
the Carter Center of former US President Jimmy Carter, and the American NDI
(National Democratic Institute) and IRI (International Republican Institute) as
well as African, Asian and other regional bodies. My experience of the former is
that they operate in a highly professional independent manner, I haven’t worked
outside of Europe so have no experience of the other bodies.
In actual monetary terms the cost of Britain contributing to
a large EOM like Russia is relatively low – flights, and fairly generous
expenses but no payment for STOs and a token payment only for LTOs. British
contingents on missions have reduced compared with a few years ago. Then the UK
commonly contributed 10% of observers, now it is often half the former number.
(The UK also continues to send a small number of observers on the smaller
European Union election observation missions that support democratic elections
in Africa, Asia and Central and Latin America). Where Britain sends observers
now seems to be clearly dependent on internal Foreign Office politics,
determined by the priorities of each Embassy and affected by budget. Entirely
understandable but not necessarily consistent or principled, unless the
principles on which observers are deployed is made clear. The UK, however,
contributes to many missions, Russia now sends observers only when it appears
strategically of use for Russia. Montenegrin elections when Russia hoped and
failed to get a more favourable government; Moldova where it fared better, and
Ukraine when it elected President Petro Poroshenko who proved a far less
compliant leader than Viktor Yanukovych. These are among the recent examples. Obviously
Russian monitors might be shy in the neighbouring countries it has gone to war
with, and its money (reduced with oil prices) is being spent on wars. It is
telling though that Russia sends monitors only in its geo-strategic interests.
Usually, not always, directly from the Foreign Ministry (as with many European
countries, not the UK) and often ex-FSB.
Isn’t it time to call a spade a spade and to call Russia
out. You can’t be a member of club promoting Enlightenment progressive human
values if your State activity in and outside of Europe is entirely turned to
destroying and subverting those values. Russia’s military supplied the missile
launcher used to murder the 300 European and Asian passengers and crew of MH17.
The rest of Europe should have acted decisively then. It must be time for this
dancing around the issue to end. It is a shame for the hard work done in the
OSCE by all the people who work hard to make the World a better place. If the
structure falls apart because Russia is thrown out (and perhaps the dictators
of the former Russian empire may walk as well) then it may make reconciliation
in the future more difficult. Putin, the dictators and his far right fans like
Orban thrive on never having consequences, on the double standards of ‘the
West’, by dividing Europe, by exploiting hypocrisy (like the words of Boris
Johnson versus his actions which have fundamentally undermined security and
stability in Europe, same for Liam Fox). Britain should not be wasting
taxpayers money in Russia and nor should we let the cosy pretence continue that
Russia can remain a member of a club for civilised nations.
The writer. Kiron
Reid has been an OSCE LTO election observer in Ukraine, Georgia and Macedonia.
He is an honorary volunteer professor at Zaporizhzhia National University in
south east Ukraine (visiting Ukraine five times since 2014) and a member of the
Liberator collective.
March 16 note.
The poisoning in Salisbury of Sergei Skripal in March 2018 makes no difference,
whether Russia is blamed (the UK Government line) or we should await for the
outcome of a full investigation to establish the facts (the Jeremy Corbyn,
Leader of the Opposition, Labour Party, line). The Russian State had passed beyond
the pale a long time ago. The only thing the poisoning and outrage might do, along
with the impact of fact based drama like ‘McMafia’ is lead to the British Government
finally tightening up on Russian (and other dodgy) money stashed in London.
