5/Sarkozy demands a greater role

For the first time in the his­tory of NATO, French Presi­dent Nicolas Sarkozy threat­ened to boycott the alliance's summit scheduled for April in France and Germany.

Sarkozy's threats to ignore the event are associated with the tradition of seating the participants of the summit in alphabetical order.

The top administration of the Alliance was forced to satisfy the request of the French president to be seat­ed right next to NATO Secre­tary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer.

Besides the seating claims, Paris has even more serious demands. Specifically, at the summit on April 3-4 the French president plans to give a speech about France's complete return to the mili­tary structure of the Alliance.

Sarkozy promised last year that France would take such a step. Today, the appoint­ment of a French representa­tive to one of the two most important military posts in NATO - Commanding Offi­cer of the NATO Supreme Allied Command on Transformation - is one of the terms for such a return.

Sarkozy's desire to sit to the right of the NATO Secre­tary General has been satis­fied. NATO is also likely to meet France halfway con­cerning its staff demands and official Paris is not about to concede from its principles that President Charles de Gaulle proclaimed 40 years ago: "France will preserve its right to make ultimate deci­sions as to its participation in military operations.

In the context of "seating" problems, it is worth recall­ing the year 2002. Then at the meeting of the NATO European-Atlantic Partnership Council in Prague they used seating of the officials according to alphabetic order in French in order to seat then President Leonid Kuchma as far away from the leaders of the U.S. and the U.K. as possible.

Ukraine was the last coun­try on the list of member countries at the summit in Prague, which was drawn up in the French language. The conflict was based on suspicions of illegal trading of Kolchuga air defense sys­tems. Though violation of international sanctions was not proven, the reputation of Ukraine's leaders was tar­nished.

6/Rusyns seeking status as separate ethnic group

Ukraine currently recognizes around 130 minorities, which comprise about 11 million people, or 22.2 percent of the country's population. Granting Rusyns ethnic minority status would mean that Ukraine is required by law to provide them with certain privileges, including the estab­lishment of Rusyn language schools and funding to preserve their cultural heritage.

"There are two reasons why the authorities are reluctant to recognize the Rusyn nationality," according to Fedir Shandor, a sociologist at the University of Uzhgorod and a member of the People's Council of Transcarpathian Rusyns, which boasts up to 3,000 active members.

"Firstly, it is believed that Rusyns are the hand of Moscow. Secondly, there is a belief that, if the Rusyn nationality is recognized, Transcarpathia Region will attempt to separate from Ukraine and gain independence."

According to Oleksandr Solontai, chairman of the National Foundation for Regional Initiatives, 60 percent of Transcarpathia Region's population consists of impoverished and poorly educated rural residents, some of whom play-up or down their national identity for financial gain.

Solontai said that other Rusyns, lacking a strong sense of ethnic identity, are easily manipulated by outsiders.

If Ukraine would recognize [the Rusyns|, the problem would become much smaller," Shandor added. In a December 1991 referendum, 78 percent of voters in Transcarpathia Region voted for regional autonomy, which was never implemented. Today, the Transcarpathian Special Economic Zone enjoys tax and custom duty breaks meant to stimulate economic growth and development. It is also a major border crossing for trade with the EU. Slovakia, now an EU member, also boasts a sizeable Rusyn population.

"The pure Rusyns say they don't have any relation to Ukrainians or Ukraine. They are a separate nation," said Yaroslav Joganik, who is himself a Rusyn.

In 2001 in Slovakia, the number of Rusyns rose to 21,000, while the number of Ukrainians decreased to 11,000.Joganik said it has now become fash­ionable to call oneself Rusyn.

In the U.S., which is believed to have one of the largest Rusyn Diaspora communities in the world, Rusyn and Ukrainian communities are not close, according to Shandor.

"In Diaspora communities in America, Ukrainian and Rusyn commu­nities do not get along - they have con­flicts," he said.