Kyiv, Ukraine — Ukraine intends to build transport and energy infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan, as well as help repair military equipment produced in the USSR, said the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych at the meeting with Hamid Karzai, the Afghani President. The meeting took place in the framework of the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago.

Ukraine also aims to continue providing NATO with air transport support to finish the peacemaking campaign in Afghanistan by 2014, mentioned the Ukrainian leader. In addition to the listed intentions, President Yanukovych supported the security transition in Afghanistan by 2014, as outlined in the Lisbon Roadmap.

As a nation contributing to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), Ukraine also supports the 2014-2024 strategic partnership that involves the USA and NATO and is set to help establish peace on the territory of the Central Asian country.

Addressing the summit, Ukrainian leader also expressed the country’s readiness to join the Danish initiative Coalition of Committed Contributors. The so-called 3C-initiative will help fund Afghani security forces after 2014. So far 23 nations joined the initiative, reported Stephen J. Flanagan, PhD, at the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia hearing on April 26, 2012.

Ukraine has already joined the Central Asia Counternarcotics Initiative, countering threats of stability from Afghan and Pakistani violent extremist groups which use drug trafficking to fund their activities.

Currently, 22 Ukrainian peacekeepers are stationed in Afghanistan. The team from Ukraine features mine clearance experts, medics, army aviation advisors, and staff officers. It was recently announced that Ukraine planned to add to its ISAF mission a dog handler who specializes in mine and explosives detection.

Ukraine sent its first ISAF representatives to Afghanistan in May of 2007. A team of 10 to 30 Ukrainians (depending on the stage of the mission) performed tasks along with the peacekeepers from Denmark, Croatia, Georgia, and Lithuania. Among other peacekeeping jobs, Ukrainian team helped construct a mosque in a refugee camp in Chaghcharan.

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The 2012 edition of IREX’s Media Sustainability Index (MSI) for Europe and Eurasia measures the struggles and triumphs of the media sector in 21 transitioning countries from Croatia to Kazakhstan.

Evidence from local media experts shows overall stability in the media sector. Increasing use of digital and social media gives hope for expanding freedom of expression. However, reported backsliding in several countries, partly due to the increased political control of media, concerns the experts. See www.irex.org/msi for the full report.

Croatia received the highest score overall. Kyrgyzstan returned to the top spot in Central Asia as the political situation there stabilized. Among Caucasus countries, Armenia maintained its leading score despite a slight slide. Georgia regained lost ground and made a stronger showing in news plurality.

Albania, Bulgaria, and Macedonia’s lower scores reflect politicized editorial policies at respected media outlets caught in a wave of divestment by west European media conglomerates. Bought by local tycoons, these media began to promote political causes.

Despite pro-Putin dominance of Russian media, after opposition protests over elections, independent and state media found more leeway. “After December 10, things started to move. Even federal television channels started to show faces that had not been approved officially,” said MSI panelist Boris Timoshenkofrom the Glasnost Defense Foundation.

Media experts expressed cautious optimism for the future, although difficult obstacles remain and the post-election period will determine the relationship between the regime and the media. Belarus, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, whose governments impose strict controls on free expression and other human rights, ranked at the bottom again this year.

The MSI’s unique methodology measures journalism quality, media management practices, news plurality, press freedom, and supporting institutions. Journalists, media advocates, academics, and related professionals evaluate the media in their own country. “From a correspondent in rural Tajikistan, to a blogger in Baku, or a Tirana marketing analyst,” said Leon Morse, managing editor of the MSI, “MSI panelists are selected to present a multi-faceted perspective of the media sector.”

The U.S. Agency for International Development funds IREX’s publication of three regional editions of the MSI covering Europe and Eurasia, Africa, and the Middle East. It is a trusted evaluation of global media health, providing donors, media advocates, local professionals, and scholars a decade-plus of rich data.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.irex.org/msi

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