Amid a spike of violence in the Ukraine war, the group monitoring the fighting suffers from false claims it will take up defensive weaponry, its chief says.
Demonstrators gather for a rally in the city of Donetsk, the main base of pro-Russian insurgents in east Ukraine, on June 10, 2016 , to protest the presence of Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe monitors in the war-ravaged region. (ALEKSEY FILIPPOV/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
KIEV, Ukraine – A senior official with the international organization charged with monitoring the ongoing violence in Ukraine is distancing himself from speculation among the region's top leaders that it may soon take up arms, saying the discussion is unfounded and potentially dangerous to the group's continued front-line work.
"Unfortunately there is quite a bit of 'megaphone diplomacy' going on, so everyone has an idea and broadcasts it," says Alexander Hug, the principal deputy chief of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. "But there is no plan."
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has been among the most vocal top leaders to say that the OSCE should have weapons for its patrols throughout the eastern parts of his country currently contested by Russian-backed separatists, particularly amid an uptick in fighting there that could soon rival some of the two-year-old war's most violent times.
"We have to ensure the actual withdrawal of Russian troops and guarantee the storage of weapons held by the illegal armed groups. One of the most likely and acceptable options to resolve this problem is an international security component in the form of an armed OSCE mission," the former business magnate said in April. "In order to do this, we definitely need an OSCE's decision on extending the mandate, and we are now effectively conducting negotiations with our partners to ensure this security component."
The shift could take the form of a change to the organization's charter by allowing its own employees to carry firearms, Poroshenko has indicated, or to create a special security unit that would protect its workers.
The Russian government has indicated in recent weeks it would be open to the change for the OSCE.
"We don't mind them having a Makarov pistol or a Walther handgun on them, whatever they like," Sergei Ivanov, chief of staff to the office of Russian President Vladimir Putin,said last week. " [They should] have light small arms on them so to simply protect themselves, elementary."
Any change to the OSCE's structure – particularly if its monitors were to arm themselves – would require the consensus of all 57 states that comprise the organization's membership. And, Hug states, there is currently no formal consideration for any such change.
Much of the "megaphone diplomacy" Hug cites is fueled by a spike in violence in the contested Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known collectively as the Donbass. April, May and June saw some of the most violations to the shaky cease-fire deal negotiated in Belarus in 2014, known as the Minsk Protocols. Casualties among Ukrainian troops have also increased, with averages approaching one death every one or two days.
Hug says the increase in cease-fire violations may be due to the fact that the OSCE now has more monitors operating in more places than it did during previous peaks in fighting, and not necessarily indicative of an unprecedented level of violations.
Further complicating the issue are accusations from both Ukrainian and Russian leaders in recent years of bias by the OSCE, with Moscow claiming the organization created as a forum for dialogue during the Cold War maintains an anti-Soviet mindset, while Kiev has regularly jumped on reports that the organization employs Russians with close ties the separatist movement.
Ukrainian soldiers operating in Avdiivka, Ukraine – one of the biggest hotspots in fighting in recent weeks – routinely disparage the OSCE and its work, accusing monitors of largely operating during times of day when there is typically a lull in the fighting. Some repeat rumors that an OSCE camera mounted on the roof of a bombed-out apartment building near the front lines provides a direct feed to separatist-controlled Donetsk and which the Russian-backed fighters somehow use to direct their artillery fire.
Amid these tensions, Hug fears that continued public debate over arming the OSCE endangers the day-to-day work of his monitors, as they maneuver their white SUVs down the artillery-pocked streets and the mine-laden, entrenched wheat fields of the Ukrainian front lines.
"If you say it enough times, then civilians, or even those with guns, especially on [the non-government controlled side] will say, 'OSCE is about to be armed, or is already armed,'" Hug says. "In fact, these risks are far more difficult to mitigate than the risks as a result of the kinetic activity, because we know where [this activity] is happening. We can protect our monitors with armored vehicles and proper planning.
"With this aggression and mistrust against us, incidents can happen anywhere."
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