#13 - JRL 7033
Poll Shows Ukrainians Regard NATO as 'World Policeman'
KIEV, January 22 (Itar-Tass) -- Ukrainian citizens come increasingly
to doubt that NATO is a peaceful organisation and are inclined to regard
it as a "world policeman".
According to the sociological survey held by the Social monitoring
centre and the Ukrainian institute of social studies in January, only 28
percent out of 3,063 respondents have confidence in that organisation
while the index in June 2002 was 39 percent.
Forty-four percent of Ukrainian citizens completely distrust NATO
while the index in June 2002 was 34 percent. NATO causes particularly
high incidence of distrust among residents of Crimea, 55 percent, and
there is the biggest confidence in the alliance in western Ukraine, 39
percent.
The percentage of those who regard NATO as a peaceful organisation
decreased from 20 to 17 percent, while the number of Ukrainian citizens
who regard NATO as "world policeman" rose from 17 to 20 percent.
At the same time the sociological survey shows that the opinion about
the need for Ukraine to join NATO has not changed substantively, the
index of those wanting Ukraine in NATO being 39 percent in June 2002 is
37 percent presently.
Alexander Yeryomenko, the board chairman of the Ukrainian institute of
social studies, and Olga Balakireva, the director of the Social
monitoring centre, believe that confidence in NATO decreased as NATO
propaganda became less insistent, and also because of the recent scandals
when President Leonid Kuchma was not invited to the latest Prague summit
of the alliance.
The results show that most Ukrainian citizens identify president with
the state, Yeryomenko told reporters, commenting on the results of the
survey.
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