"UKRAINE REPORT-2004"
In-Depth Ukrainian News and Analysis
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"

[Dr. Peter Mauer] I'd say that your life today, my life today is in more
danger if we go 10 km by car than the president's life. The only danger
which he could face today is the flight from Baden-Baden to Kiev. This is
the only danger for today and the next five years. This is a joke, of
course, but this is true. Otherwise, his health is 100 per cent excellent. I
can guarantee this. [article one]

"UKRAINE REPORT-2004," Number 9
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., Sunday, January 18, 2004

INDEX OF TWELVE ARTICLES

1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT RETURNED TO KIEV FROM
GERMANY IN "EXCELLENT HEALTH" - TV
One Plus One TV, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

2. UKRAINE REPORTS MACROECONOMIC GROWTH
NUMBERS FOR 2003
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

3. ITALIAN APPLIANCE MAKER BUYS WASHING MACHINE
PLANT IN THE WESTERN UKRAINIAN CITY OF IVANO FRANKIVSK
Viktoria Braychenko, Staff Writer, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Thur, Jan 15, 2004

4. US FIRM RECOMMENDS ACCEPTANCE OF RUSSIA'S TNK-BP
PROPOSAL TO USE ODESA-BROADY PIPELINE IN REVERSE
Eastern Economist Daily (EED), Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 16, 2004

5. KYIV MAYOR SIGNS DIRECTIVE TO ESTABLISH STATE
HISTORICAL-MEMORIAL COMPLEX IN KYIV IN 2004 TO
COMMEMORATE TOTALITARIAN REGIME'S VICTIMS
Millions of Victims of Famine, Forcible Deportations and Other Reprisals
UKRINFORM, Ukrainian National Information Agency
Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 16, 2004

6. "OUR UKRAINE" LEADER, VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, STILL AT
THE TOP OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POPULARITY POLL
Interfax news agency, Moscow, Russia, in English, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004

7. OKSANA BAIUL, BACK ON THE BLADES AND HAPPY
Tiny Ukrainian girl won Olympic gold and the hearts of the world.
By Marie Vasar, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles, California, Saturday, January 17, 2004

8. MAJOR UKRAINIAN BUSINESSMAN, VIKTOR PINCHUK AND
PRESIDENT KUCHMA'S DAUGHTER, OLENA FRANCHUK, REPRESENT
UKRAINE AT HIV/AIDS MEDIA CAMPAIGN MEETING IN NEW YORK
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004

9. UKRAINIAN-CANADIAN COOPERATION IN LEGISLATIVE
REFORM PROJECT PROVES ITS EFFECTIVENESS
UKRINFORM, Ukrainian National News Agency
Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, January 17, 2004

10. UKRAINIANS CELEBRATE 17TH CENTURY PACT WITH RUSSIA
350th Anniversary of the Pereyaslav Council
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

11. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LAWMAKER ACCUSES PRO-
PRESIDENTIAL FORCES OF GROSS LEGISLATIVE VIOLATIONS
Associated Press (AP) Online; Kiev, Ukraine, Jan 16, 2004

12. FIFTY-TWO UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT CONTEST CONSTITUTION BILL IN COURT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
========================================================
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT RETURNED TO KIEV FROM
GERMANY IN "EXCELLENT HEALTH" - TV

One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

[Presenter] Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma returned to Kiev today after
medical treatment in Baden-Baden, Germany. Kuchma's rehabilitation course in
Germany lasted for three weeks. It followed an intestine surgery which
Kuchma had underwent in Ukraine [in November]. Kuchma is grateful to Germans
for their hospitality and will start working soon.

[Correspondent] Leonid Kuchma spent three weeks in Baden-Baden. He
celebrated New Year's Eve there too. Both German doctors and Kuchma himself
say that the course was useful. The improvement in the patient's general
condition is the main objective of Max Grundig Klinik at which Kuchma was
treated. [Passage omitted: the clinic's profile]

Kuchma was treated by one of the clinic's four leading physicians, Peter
Mauer, a 52-year-old gastroenterologist. Maurer told our programme that the
Ukrainian patient had undergone a very intensive course of physical therapy
because his organism was exhausted as a result of the surgery and had lost
much protein. Kuchma received a course of physio-therapy, rehabilitation and
an electro-physiology programme. Kuchma was administered amino acids,
mineral substances and vitamins. Mauer said that it was a standard treatment
for people who lose up to 25 per cent of their strength following surgery.
In Mauer's words, now Kuchma's strength has been restored.

[Mauer, speaking by phone, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] Your
president at first glance looks like a 45-50-year-old man. He is very
athletic. Thank God, athletic people in case of surgery have a lot of
reserves and, after an expected loss of strength due to the lack of motion,
could easily restore their strength.

[Correspondent] The doctor as well as the patient denied that any serious
problems appeared during the treatment.

[Mauer] I'd say that your life today, my life today is in more danger if we
go 10 km by car than the president's life. The only danger which he could
face today is the flight from Baden-Baden to Kiev. This is the only danger
for today and the next five years. This is a joke, of course, but this is
true. Otherwise, his health is 100 per cent excellent. I can guarantee this.

[Correspondent] To confirm that the treatment was normal, the presidential
press service reported that Kuchma had had a range of meetings with certain
officials in Germany to discuss Ukrainian-German consultations which are due
to be held in Kiev in February. (END) (ARTUIS)

[EDITOR'S NOTE: There were many rumors and non-verifiable stories
circulating in the US, in Ukraine, and elsewhere this past week about the
exact condition of President Kuchma's health. They ranged from his expected
death in Germany, to his imminent death in a few weeks, to him having
terminal cancer and not expected to live out the year 2004 and so forth.]
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
========================================================
2. UKRAINE REPORTS MACROECONOMIC GROWTH
NUMBERS FOR 2003

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

Kiev, 17 January: Most [of Ukraine's] macroeconomic indicators grew faster
in 2003 than in previous years, the Ukrainian prime minister's press
secretary, Taras Avrakhov, told UNIAN, summing up economic results of 2003.
GDP grew by 8.5 per cent in 2003, he said. This is more than in 2002, 2000
and 1999.

The tempo of industrial output growth was similar. It grew by 15.8 per cent
last year, which is more than in [any of] the previous four years.
Construction grew by 23 per cent last year, which is more than in [any of]
the past four years.

The production of consumer goods grew by 20.4 per cent, which is faster than
the pace of overall industrial growth. The production of agricultural goods
last year decreased by 10 per cent due to unfavourable weather conditions.
In the [first] nine months of last year, foreign investment grew by 40 per
cent. This is more than in similar periods in the previous years.

For the first time in the last four years, the turnover of goods grew by
almost 12 per cent last year. At the same time, passenger turnover grew by
almost 8 per cent.

Ukrainian exports grew by almost 28 per cent in 2003, which is more than in
[any of] the past four years. Budget revenues exceeded the target by 3.2 per
cent, while all of the expenditure was funded. Wages grew by almost 23 per
cent last year, while wage arrears decreased by 11 per cent. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
========================================================
3. ITALIAN APPLIANCE MAKER BUYS WASHING MACHINE
PLANT IN THE WESTERN UKRAINIAN CITY OF IVANO FRANKIVSK

By Viktoria Braychenko, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jan 15, 2004

In a move to cut production costs, Italy's household appliance maker Antonio
Merloni has purchased a 100 percent stake in the Ivita washing machine
factory, located in the western Ukrainian city of Ivano Frankivsk, and will
begin producing washing machines at the plant within one year.

Previously, Donetsk's Nord owned 50 percent of the factory. The State
Property Fund and the Ivita factory held the remaining shares.

Andrea Palossi, head of the representative office, and board member, of East
Trading Company, a company fully owned by Italy's Antonio Merloni and an
official dealer in Ukraine of Merloni's Ardo washing machine brand, said the
total cost for the acquisition of Ivita was three million dollars. He added
that Antonio Merloni is expected to invest between 10 million and 20 million
euros during the next year into the factory's modernization, and to install
new equipment.

Additionally, the company paid off about one million euros of Ivita's debts.
"The biggest problem all Ukrainian plants are facing is bankruptcy," Palossi
said. Ivita, which halted production 10 years ago, owed money to its former
employees, the tax administration and other state bodies.

"This was a complex company acquisition that took nine months of work to
complete, starting back in the spring of 2003," said Alexander Kurdydyk,
senior associate at EY Law. His firm worked with East Trading Company to
advise Antonio Merloni on the transaction.

"Our client has long-term plans for the development of its business in
Ukraine, and therefore our task was to carry out the transaction in a way
that would prevent any future problems between our client, the former plant
owners and regulatory bodies," Kurdydyk said.

NEAR THE BORDER

Palossi said that his company's main motivation for acquiring the plant in
Ukraine is the region's proximity to European countries. "Just 100
kilometers, and you are in Europe," he said. The company will not only
produce washing machines for Ukraine and Russia, but will also export them
to other European countries. Palossi said that Antonio Merloni intends to
manufacture 200,000 washing machines in Ukraine annually. The company's
total production capacity is 1.3 million units per year.

The Ukrainian plant will produce several of the company's washing machine
brands. In 2002, Antonio Merloni's Ardo brand was the best selling brand of

washing machine in Ukraine. Though Ardo has been successful in the country,
it occupies just 20 percent of Antonio Merloni's product line, Palossi said.
"When the Ivita factory's modernization is completed, we'll produce goods
under the Ardo trademark, though the factory will produce our other washing
machine brands, too," he added.

In addition to Ardo, the company owns the brands Asko and Eurotech. The
company initially plans to employ 300 workers at the western Ukrainian
plant, and will gradually boost its workforce. Employees of Antonio Merloni
will be trained at the company's plant in Italy.

PRICE WARS

As the home appliance sector develops, so does competition between
producers. According to Palossi, his company and another Italian firm,
Merloni Elettrodomestici, occupied the leading positions on the Ukrainian
appliance market in 2002: together, the companies' imports accounted for
nearly 50 percent of the entire home appliances market.

Merloni Elettrodomestici owns the Indesit and Ariston trademarks.However,
the Italian manufacturers have been losing their grip on the market during
the last year as they struggle to keep up with Asian competitors, like
Korea's
LG Electronics and Samsung, who benefit from the low cost of labor.

"We've mostly started losing our position on the Ukrainian and the Russian
markets," Palossi said.Unlike Western European customers who buy brands,
domestic shoppers are most influenced by advertising campaigns and low
prices, he said.

"In recent years we've been trying to sell goods at the lowest affordable
price for the market, but our goods are more expensive than those made in
Korea," he said. Also, changes in the dollar-euro exchange rate over the
last year have made exports from euro-zone countries more expensive. "The
dollar-euro changes increased the price of all European brands selling in
Ukraine by 40 percent last year compared to the year before," Palossi said.

Maksim Nikanorov, home appliance manager at Samsung Electronics Ukraine,
said that Merloni's decision to begin producing washing machines
domestically would definitely increase the competition in the industry,
forcing other manufacturers to seek alternative ways of selling their
products.

ALL IN THE FAMILY

The history of Merloni Group goes back to 1930, when Aristide Merloni opened
a factory to produce scales. In 1970, Aristide Merloni created three
business divisions: Merloni Elettrodomestici and Antonio Merloni, which
produce household appliances, and Merloni Termosanitari, which manufactures
water and air heating systems.

Today, Merloni Elettrodomestici is Europe's third-largest maker of
refrigerators, ovens, and washing machines, behind Germany's Bosch Siemens
and Sweden's Electrolux. In March 2003, Merloni Elettrodomestici announced
plans to build a new washing machine factory in the central Russian city of
Lipetsk.

"In three years time, the market will be dominated by two strong European
brands, with Korean and Chinese manufacturers holding the rest," he said.
The Ukrainian market is extremely promising, with growth potential of 15
percent per year, Palossi said. The washing machine market alone is
estimated at 350,000 units, with turnover of $120 million last year.

Merloni's investment represents a change in sentiment toward investing here,
said Natalia Kochergina, EY Law associate. "Ukraine has a high investment
potential, and the appearance of an Italian manufacturer displays the
interest of foreign investors in the Ukrainian market." (END)(ARTUIS)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
========================================================
4. US FIRM RECOMMENDS ACCEPTANCE OF RUSSIA'S TNK-BP
PROPOSAL TO USE ODESA-BROADY PIPELINE IN REVERSE

Eastern Economist Daily (EED), Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 16, 2004

KYIV. The US consulting company Energy Solutions LLC has recommended that
the Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry accept a proposal from Russia's
TNK-BP to use the Odesa- Brody pipeline in reverse for no more than three
years. A source in the ministry reported that, in its recommendation, the US
company said the TNK-BP proposal will provide "a positive net monetary
result for three years." In addition, at the moment there are no alternative
proposals for the use of the Odesa-Brody pipeline.

The source said the company says that the time restrictions on the reverse
use of the pipeline are due to the fact that in three years additional
possibilities may appear for the transport of Caspian oil to Europe. He said
that Energy Solutions believes that in the long-term the transportation of
Caspian oil through the Odesa-Brody pipeline is the best option for Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Ministry held a tender to prepare a
feasibility study for the reverse use of the Odesa-Brody pipeline, which was
won by Energy Solutions LLC on October 20.

The study evaluates demand on European markets for an additional 9mn t of
Russian oil, and the range of possible tariffs for transportation and
transshipment at which this route will effectively compete with alternative
routes to transport Russian oil. Energy Solutions LLC is to submit the
finished feasibility study next week. Russia's TNK-BP has said it is ready
to supply 380,000-420,000 t of Russian Urals oil as a credit to fill the
pipeline, and also to transport 9mn t of oil a year.

The Ukrainian government at a session on Wednesday approved an agreement on
the integration of the Odesa-Brody pipeline system with the Polish system. A
joint company will be set up to complete the pipeline on Polish territory
from Brody to Plock. The Odesa-Brody pipeline, which is 674 km long and
1,020 mm in diameter, and the Pivdenny oil terminal were completed in May
2002. The first stage of the Odesa-Brody transport system has capacity for
9mn-14.5mn t of oil a year.

The port of Pivdenny is capable of accepting tankers with deadweight of up
to 100,000 t and can be expanded to handle 40-45mn t of oil a year with
capacity to store 600,000 cu m of oil. Discussions have been underway for
several months in Ukraine over various options for the use of the pipeline:
to Europe to transport Caspian oil, or to the Black Sea coast - to transport
Russian oil. The Ukrainian government plans to reach a decision on this at
the start of February. (Podrobnosti/BBC, Jan. 15) (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
========================================================
5. KYIV MAYOR SIGNS DIRECTIVE TO ESTABLISH STATE
HISTORICAL-MEMORIAL COMPLEX IN KYIV IN 2004 TO
COMMEMORATE TOTALITARIAN REGIME'S VICTIMS
Millions of Victims of Famine, Forcible Deportations and Other Reprisals

UKRINFORM, Ukrainian National Information Agency
Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 16, 2004

Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko has signed a directive to create a
historical-memorial complex in the Ukrainian capital city this year, with a
view of commemorating the totalitarian regime's millions of victims of
famine, forcible deportations and other reprisals.

The complex will be located on Trekhsvyatitelskaya street in downtown
Kyiv. The building to house the complex is being reconstructed, which
job is scheduled to be completed by November 1, 2004.

In fall 2003 Ukraine widely marked the 70th anniversary of one of the
Bolshevick totalitarian regime's most horrible and atrocious crimes, the
devastating 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine's countryside, which was
masterminded to exterminate the pink of the Ukrainian nation, its peasantry.

On May 14, 2003 the Ukrainian Parliament appealed to the international
community, urging the famine's recognition as the totalitarian regime's act
of genocide against the Ukrainian people.

The call was heard in other nations, and the parliaments of Australia,
Argentina, Hungary, Canada, many other countries adopted resolutions
to appraise the Stalin regime's crime as such. Ukraine's official statement
at the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly was supported by over
60 nations.

Notably enough, the Russian Parliament failed to pass a resolution to
qualify the 1932-1933 famine as a genocidal act against Ukraine. (END)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
========================================================
6. "OUR UKRAINE" LEADER, VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, STILL AT
THE TOP OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POPULARITY POLL

Interfax news agency, Moscow, in English, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004

Kiev, 16 January: Viktor Yushchenko, leader of the Our Ukraine bloc, is
still the frontrunner in the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections,
according to an opinion poll conducted by the Democratic Initiatives
foundation and the Socis research centre. The poll surveyed 1,200
respondents in Ukraine between 26 December 2003 and 5 January 2004.

The poll showed that if presidential elections were held this coming Sunday,
24.1 per cent of respondents would vote for Yushchenko, 10.2 per cent for
Communist leader Petro Symonenko, 9.8 per cent for Ukrainian Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych, 6 per cent for Yuliya Tymoshenko, 4.7 per cent for
Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz, 3.9 per cent for Transport Minister
Heorhiy Kyrpa and 3.4 per cent for Progressive Socialist Party leader
Natalya Vitrenko.

An estimated 2.1 per cent of respondents said they would vote for National
Bank chief Serhiy Tyhypko, 1.8 per cent said they would vote for
presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk and 1.1 per cent would
support parliamentary chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn. Some 7.3 per cent of the
respondents said they would vote against all candidates, 5.5 per cent said
they would not vote and 16.6 per cent said they were undecided.

Iryna Bekeshkina, an official with Democratic Initiatives, said the
foundation did not include incumbent President Leonid Kuchma in the list of
the candidates. However, according to other public polls, Kuchma would
receive no more than 7 per cent of the vote. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
"WELCOME TO UKRAINE" MAGAZINE
Just A Great, World Class Magazine about Ukraine, In English
http://www.artukraine.com/travel/wumagazine.htm
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
========================================================
7. OKSANA BAIUL, BACK ON THE BLADES AND HAPPY
Tiny Ukrainian girl won Olympic gold and the hearts of the world

By Marie Vasar, Staff Writer, Los Angeles Daily News
Los Angeles, California, January 17, 2004

It was almost exactly a decade ago that a tiny Ukrainian girl won Olympic
gold and the hearts of the world. She was a motherless teen in a fluffy pink
costume who skated a flawless, lyrical "Swan Lake.'

Since then, Oksana Baiul has toured the world as a competitor and pro
skater, written two autobiographies and been the subject of a
made-for-television CBS movie. She also publicly battled addiction, crashing
her Mercedes into a tree in 1997 while under the influence and eventually
entering rehab.

The girl who stepped onto the world stage 10 years ago has grown up. Now 26,
she's been sober since 1998, has founded her own skate wear company and has
found true love. In September, she returned to Ukraine for the first time
since emigrating to America after the 1994 Games in Lillehammer, Norway, and
connected with the father she never knew. And now, after several years away
from the ice, she's returned to skating.

Baiul will be featured this weekend as a special guest star in Smucker's
Stars on Ice, along with fellow Olympian Scott Hamilton. And fittingly, the
petite blonde who won judges and a world audience over with her
ballet-infused style revisits the classic work by Tchaikovsky that carried
her to gold. Although this time, says Baiul, her costume is a little less
fur and feathers, a little more grown-up. Much like the woman who wears it.

"When I came to America, I didn't know anything. I didn't speak English. I
had to adjust to a new culture; I just had to learn how to live,' says
Baiul. "Now I'm pretty much in control of the things I do. It really makes
me happy.'

In addition to her "Swan Lake' program, Baiul will skate to Jennifer Lopez's
"Ain't It Funny.' In part, Baiul says she picked such different numbers to
push her versatility and to lift the audience. With the hip-hop number, she
says, "I want people to have fun with me, to stand up on their feet and
dance.'

When Baiul took the ice before the tour's first show in Lake Placid, N.Y.,
on Nov. 29, 2003, she says she was "crying because of the emotion. To me,
it was something like a dream come true. I felt so happy, those were tears
of joy -- to be back on the ice,' she says. "And those are the best skaters
in the world.'

Baiul knows some fans root for her underdog status. And that's fine, she
says, if she can inspire people on any level.

"I think they feel something special for me -- they can relate to me on all
different levels -- orphan, survivor. I have a lot of names.'

But while she's grateful for the applause she gets before stepping onto the
ice, Baiul says the applause she really wants is the applause after her
performance. "I want them to clap because of my skating,' she says. "It's
the best feeling in the world.'

Two years ago, Baiul quit touring to focus on other projects in her life,
particularly her apparel line. With the help of her fiance, Gene Sunik, a
clothing entrepreneur, they've built a company from the ground up, designing
skating couture that is sold in pro shops and online at www.oksanastyle.com.

But when Baiul took her fiance's family to a Stars on Ice show, his
grandmother commented on how much she wished Baiul was among the cast.
And that moment, says Baiul, "is when I felt the pinch in my heart.'

She spent a year training and getting back in top shape, and now, Baiul
says, she's in the best shape of her life since Lillehammer.

"I'm just enjoying being on the circuit again. I've made peace with a lot of
people,' she says. "Life is treating me well right now. (END) (ARTUIS)
http://u.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,211~23542~1895941,00.html
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
========================================================
8. MAJOR UKRAINIAN BUSINESSMAN, VIKTOR PINCHUK AND
PRESIDENT KUCHMA'S DAUGHTER, OLENA FRANCHUK, REPRESENT
UKRAINE AT HIV/AIDS MEDIA CAMPAIGN MEETING IN NEW YORK

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004

Kiev, 16 January: A member of the Ukrainian parliament and owner of the ICTV
television company, Viktor Pinchuk, and the founder of the Anti-AIDS
charitable fund, Olena Franchuk [Pinchuk's wife and Ukrainian President
Leonid Kuchma's daughter], represented Ukraine at a round-table meeting of
heads of leading media corporations and public organizations in New York.

The meeting was held on 15 January at the initiative of UN Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, launching the first global media campaign against HIV/AIDS, the
Foreign Ministry's press service has reported.

Pinchuk stated ICTV's readiness to initiate a regional media movement in
Eastern Europe, where, according to the UN, the number of HIV/AIDS
positive people stands at 1.5m, with 230,000 being infected in 2003 alone.

Speaking about the importance of involving world leaders and celebrities in
publicity and prevention work, Pinchuk invited the secretary-general to
appeal to Ukrainian young people to fight "the plague of the 20th century".

The round table resulted in the signing of a declaration stating the
participants' pledge to step up publicity and information activities to
raise HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention.

To date, more than 40m people have been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS,
including 2.5m children under 15. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
========================================================
9. UKRAINIAN-CANADIAN COOPERATION IN LEGISLATIVE
REFORM PROJECT PROVES ITS EFFECTIVENESS

UKRINFORM, Ukrainian National News Agency
Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, January 17, 2004

The Ukrainian-Canadian legislative and intergovernmental project that
was implemented in the 2001-2003 period has proven the effectiveness
of bilateral cooperation in reforming the Ukrainian legislation.

This view was expressed on Friday by participants in a seminar on the
outcome of the project, which was implemented in partnership with the
Ukrainian parliament and Cabinet of Ministers, the Canadian parliament
and government, several Ukrainian regions, Canadian provinces, and
public organizations in the two countries.

The main financial support was provided by the Canadian agency for
international development in Ukraine. 38 draft normative and legislative
acts and laws in the sphere of operations of local communities, credit
relations, property rights involving real estate, health, culture, and the
mass media as well as on participation of citizens in government
decision-making processes were prepared drafted During the three-year
cooperation on the project.

In particular, the project participants' proposals on the approach to
drafting of local budgets and calculation of inter-budgetary transfers
have already been taken into consideration in the Ukrainian law "On
the Ukrainian State Budget for 2003" while their recommendations
on establishing responsibility for improper servicing of local budgets
are taken into consideration in the relevant State Treasury decree.

Moreover, the ideas and proposals of the participants in the project
are also reflected in the presidential decree "On the Measures for
Creation of a Single System for State Registration of Land Plots, Real
Estate, and the Rights to them within the Land Cadastre," the Civil
Code, the law 'On Amendments to the Basic Legislation on Culture,'
the law "On Amendments to Certain Ukrainian Laws on taxation,"
etc. During the implementation of the project, seminars, and roundtables
were held while over 100 government and non-governmental experts
studied in Canada.

In his address at the seminar on the outcome of the project, Ukraine's
Deputy Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Zinchenko said that the Ukrainian
parliamentary leadership considered Ukrainian-Canadian cooperation
in the sphere of legislative reform "almost the best inter-parliamentary
project of the past 3-4 years." According to the director of the project,
Ukrainian-Canadian bilateral cooperation has the "spirit of special
partnership" and is a long-term cooperation. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
=========================================================
10. UKRAINIANS CELEBRATE 17TH CENTURY PACT WITH RUSSIA
350th Anniversary of the Pereyaslav Council

ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 17 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 17, 2004

Kiev, 17 January: About 500 people gathered in Kiev today to mark the 350th
anniversary of the Pereyaslav Council, at which Ukrainian hetman Bohdan
Khmelnytskyy concluded a military and political union with Russia against
Poland.

The event was organized by the Union of Orthodox Communities and the
Progressive Socialist Party of Ukraine [led by Nataliya Vitrenko].
Participants in the meeting gathered near Uspenskyy Cathedral of the
Kiev-Pechersk monastery and marched towards Sofiya Square, carrying
gonfalons and icons. Priests of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow
Patriarchate also took part in the march. The meeting on Sofiya Square
started with a prayer for the reunification of Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.

[Over 1,000 people took part in the march, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency
said at 1332 gmt on 17 January. The Ukrainian news agency UNIAN put the
figure at over 3,000, in a report released at 1654 gmt. The Interfax-Ukraine
report quoted Vitrenko as urging a union with Russia, and also said that
Russian Duma member Sergey Baburin took part in the meeting.] (END)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
=========================================================
11. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LAWMAKER ACCUSES PRO-
PRESIDENTIAL FORCES OF GROSS LEGISLATIVE VIOLATIONS

Associated Press (AP) Online; Kiev, Ukraine, Jan 16, 2004

KIEV......A Ukrainian opposition lawmaker on Friday accused parties backing
President Leonid Kuchma of "gross violations" in a recent vote on
constitutional amendments that tentatively approved changing the presidency
from an elected position to one appointed by parliament in 2006.

The Dec. 24 vote was held with a show of hands after opposition deputies
broke the electronic voting system in an attempt to block the vote on the
changes, which they contended would undermine democracy in the former Soviet
republic.

Serhiy Sas, a member of the opposition Our Ukraine faction and acting head
of the parliamentary committee on regulations and lawmakers' ethics, on
Friday exhibited video and photos of the vote that showed some lawmakers
voting with both hands. He said the vote should be considered invalid.

He also claimed the lawmakers had violated procedures by falsifying
documents and signatures when they held an urgent vote to change the voting
procedure from electronic to a show of hands.

The opposition, which ranges from reformers to Communists, has tried vainly
to unseat Kuchma through street protests, accusing him of corruption,
illegal arms trading, and involvement in the killing of an independent
journalist. Tensions rose substantially after the constitutional court ruled
last month that Kuchma can seek a third term.

Opposition groups believe they have the support to win the 2004 presidential
election in a popular vote and are incensed at the prospects of parliament
assuming that power. The undeclared front-runner for president, Our Ukraine
head Viktor Yushchenko, fears the amendments could curtail his prospective
term because the pro-presidential forces that dominate the parliament could
vote him out two years into office. (am/ji) (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 9: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
=========================================================
12. FIFTY-TWO UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION MEMBERS OF
PARLIAMENT CONTEST CONSTITUTION BILL IN COURT

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 16 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 16, 2004

Kiev, 16 January: Today 52 Ukrainian members of parliament submitted a
representation to the Constitutional Court contesting the constitutionality
of a resolution by the Supreme Council [parliament] on the approval of a
draft law on constitution amendments.

Interfax-Ukraine has learnt from the press service of the Ukrainian People's
Party [UPP] that the representation notes that the resolution is not
constitutional because it violates procedures stipulated in articles 154-159
of Section 13 of the constitution of Ukraine, which "clearly set out
procedures for introducing amendments to the constitution".

The authors of the representation note that the draft law on constitution
changes approved by the Supreme Council has not been endorsed by the
Constitutional Court, which the constitution requires in accordance with the
Constitutional Court's interpretation dated 9 June 1998. The representation
does not raise the issue of parliamentary rules being violated during
plenary meetings on 23-24 December, the UPP press service said.

The people's deputies are asking the Constitutional Court to consider their
representation urgently because the absence of a ruling on this issue could
lead to complicated political and legal repercussions, the press service
said. Most of the MPs who signed the statement are members of the Our
Ukraine faction.

As already reported, on 24 December parliament approved constitution changes
draft law No 4105 in the first reading by 276 votes in favour. The
electronic registration system Rada was not operational, so the majority and
the Communists voted by a show of hands. The Our Ukraine, Socialist Party
and Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc factions have refused to recognize the results
and are insisting on a revote. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
"UKRAINE REPORT-2004," No. 9, SUNDAY, JANUARY 18, 2004
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