Search site
Action Ukraine Report

"UKRAINE REPORT"
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"

"WHEN is a free-trade agreement bad? When the treaty's
underlying purpose is neither about trade nor freedom.
Such a pact - calling for a 'united economic space' - is now
being entered into by Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.
On the surface, a 'united economic space' sounds like something
to applaud. But, sadly, the treaty will only entrench post-communism's
corrupt and criminal business practices, not increase trade or prosperity."
[article one]

"UKRAINE REPORT" Year 2004, Number 21
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., Friday, February 6, 2004

INDEX OF ARTICLES

1. ONE FREE-TRADE DEAL THAT WON'T FREE TRADE
By Yuliya Tymoshenko, Member of Parliament, Ukraine
Article from Project Syndicate, Published by The Straits Times,
English Language Daily, Singapore, Asia, February 6, 2004

2. UKRAINE PARLIAMENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
VOTE STRONGLY ANTI-YUSHCHENKO IN NATURE
ANALYSIS: Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Friday, Feb 6, 2004

3. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION FIGHTS CONSTITUTION
REFORM IN COURT
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 5 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Feb 05, 2004

4. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION FIGURE CALLS FOR UNITY
TO ENSURE EARLY WIN IN ELECTION
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0938 gmt 5 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 05, 2004

5. ODESSA-BRODY TO FLOW WEST
By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv, Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 5, 2004

6. GOOD FOR THE GLOBAL FUND
We don't blame the Global Fund for yanking its cash. Good for them.
EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 5, 2004

7.UKRAINE WAITING FOR 'CLEAR ANSWER' ABOUT EU FUTURE
AFX Europe (Focus); Feb 05, 2004

8. GEOPOLITICAL CHOICE OF UKRAINE
Address By Yuri Scherbak, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, At the Plenary Session of the Days of Science,
National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan 30, 2004
Published by the "UKRAINE REPORT" 2004, Feb. 6, Kyiv, Ukraine

9. UKRAINE: CHALLENGE AND CHOICE: UKRAINE'S PROSPECTS
IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD OF THE XXI CENTURY"
New Book By Ambassador Yuri Scherbak
By Vlad Lavrov, Journalist and ARTUIS Representative in Kyiv
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine,Wednesday, February 4, 2004

10. KYIV AND MOSCOW CHURCHES: "TOGETHER FOREVER"
Kyiv resisted for several decades before giving in to
political pressure, unctuous promises, even blatant bribery.
By Klara Gudzyk, The Day, The Day Weekly Digest,
Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. ONE FREE-TRADE DEAL THAT WON'T FREE TRADE

By Yuliya Tymoshenko, Member of Parliament, Ukraine
Article from Project Syndicate, Published by The Straits Times,
English Language Daily, Singapore, Asia, February 6, 2004

WHEN is a free-trade agreement bad? When the treaty's
underlying purpose is neither about trade nor freedom.

Such a pact - calling for a 'united economic space' - is now
being entered into by Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus.

On the surface, a 'united economic space' sounds like something
to applaud. But, sadly, the treaty will only entrench post-communism's
corrupt and criminal business practices, not increase trade or prosperity.

A huge benefit for the accession countries in preparing
themselves to join the European Union (EU) was that they were forced to
conform to European business, political, and legal norms. The proposed
'united economic space' will also have its own norms - the ways of the
oligarch, the corrupt bureaucrat, the crony capitalist, and the politically
motivated prosecutor.

Does anyone doubt that the jailing of Mr Mikhail Khodorkovsky,
chairman of oil giant Yukos, is politically motivated? I myself have endured
numerous politically inspired investigations and prosecutions of my former
business as a means to drive me out of politics. Can anyone imagine such
a prosecution occurring in the EU?

That Mr Khodorkovsky is spending months in jail before he is
formally charged tells us much about the nature of business, politics,
and law in the nations of the former Soviet Union.

In the countries of the 'united economic space', the rule of law
typically means 'I rule, and I am the law'. So, instead of promoting growth,
the 'united economic space' will retard it by discouraging competition and
investment.

Instead of enhancing European stability, it will undermine it by
dividing Europe into the EU's single market and an economic trading area
ruled by arbitrary fiat and decree.

But, as a matter of economic principle, practical diplomacy and
visionary politics, aren't regional free-trade areas at least a step in the
right direction?

After all, countries that scrap tariffs among themselves trade
more and often raise their economic growth rates as a result. Moreover,
free-trade agreements are typically seen as politically valuable: Countries
tied by commerce are supposedly less likely to shoot at each other.

Unfortunately, the 'united economic space' promises no such
benefits.

By definition, it discriminates against countries outside the
club, with which trade will not be liberalised. Members will specialise in
industries in which they lack comparative advantage, undercutting the
main reason to support free trade in the first place. Worse yet, markets
will be carved up for political, not commercial, reasons, locking in
inefficiencies.

The 'political' argument - that regional trade bodies promote
peaceful foreign relations - is simply wrong-headed in the post-Soviet case.

After all, Ukraine managed to eliminate its nuclear weapons and
reach accommodation over the Black Sea fleet without joining a private
economic bloc with Russia.

On the other hand, not long after the 'united economic space'
was announced, Russia began to cast covetous eyes on the Ukrainian Black
Sea island of Tuszla. Economic borders cannot and will not disappear until
Russia and Ukraine agree on their territorial borders.

Because the proposed members of this new 'united economic space'
share Russian as a lingua franca and a common past within the former
Soviet Union, outsiders may dismiss too readily subtler differences in
culture, outlook, and even vocabulary. Because the region shares many
outward forms of European culture, it is a short step to assuming that
recent moves to free markets and democracy will be seamless and permanent.

But the 'united economic space' is also a perversion because the
presence of Belarus and Kazakhstan will ensure that democracy remains
low on the agenda.

Another perversion of democracy is the fact that the
supra-national body that is to administer the 'united economic space' grants
Ukraine and its 49 million people only 9.9 per cent of votes, while it gives
Russia and its 140 million people 83 per cent.

That gross imbalance in representation is a shameful betrayal of
Ukraine's sovereignty. It is a deal that can only have been agreed to as
the price of Russian support for Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma as
he desperately seeks to extend his presidency beyond the two-term limit
that he faces this year.

My opposition to the 'united economic space' is not opposition
to Russia. The more Ukraine trades abroad, the better; if more of that
open trade goes Russia's way, so be it. But that trade should reflect that
Ukraine is competing with the world, unconstrained by a private deal
that excludes outsiders and their demands for a stable and predictable
legal environment and the best business practices.

I am not one of those people who think Russia is so naturally
collectivist that free trade and an open economy cannot work there. Nor
do I believe that Russia is so inherently autocratic that democracy must
invariably fail. But I do believe that, for these canards to be discarded,
Russia and Ukraine must open themselves to global competition, not
isolate themselves with each other.

Mr Dmitri Likhachev, one of Russia's most respected
intellectuals in the communist era, said that there is no such thing as the
Russian soul - 'we can create whatever future we want'. Ukraine and
Russia, too, can create the future they want, but not by closing themselves
off in a 'united economic space' that, in reality, is nothing more than
another dark corner. (END) (ARTUIS)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
The writer, a former deputy prime minister of Ukraine, is now
a leader of the parliamentary opposition to President Leonid Kuchma.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/commentary/story/0,4386,233399,00.html
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
========================================================
2. UKRAINE PARLIAMENT'S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
VOTE STRONGLY ANTI-YUSHCHENKO IN NATURE

ANALYSIS: INSIDE UKRAINE Newsletter, Friday, Feb 6, 2004

KYIV - Inside Ukraine, Feb 06 - The Ukrainian parliament's strong vote of
approval of an amended bill on constitutional reform on Tuesday demonstrated
the critical balance in parliamentary forces. However, the vote also clearly
demonstrated that the pro-presidential forces need the support of the
Socialists to accomplish their desired changes that could best be described
as strongly anti-Yushchenko in nature.

Each of the nine pro-presidential factions has its own agenda but they are
united by the fear that Viktor Yushchenko might become president and break
up the cozy oligarchic control of government power and state assets that
exist under the current president. The majority faction agreed to edit the
earlier bill to excise that portion allowing parliamentary election of the
president in 2004 only because of fear that it would be impossible to pass
it without the Socialists. By holding firm, the Socialists were able to
demand and get concessions that create a set of checks and balances that
limit the power of the presidency and counterbalance it with powers held by
a coalition government.

Thus, a situational majority was cobbled together that, should it hold,
would be able to pass the amended bill after its approval by the
Constitutional Court. Getting past the constitutional reform hurdle may
break the legislative deadlock that has crippled parliamentary action for
weeks and allow consideration of the over 1,000 bills on the legislative
calendar during the current session. However, final approval of the amended
reforms would shift power to the point that the presidency would become a
much less powerful and more ceremonial job, hardly worth the fight needed to
win by Viktor Yushchenko or anyone else.

The reasons for the apprehensions of the reformist bloc was summarized in an
interview of Tymoshenko bloc leader Oleksandr Turchynov who was quoted as
saying, "All the reform boils down to is a transfer of powers from the
Presidential Administration to the building on Hrushevskiy [the Cabinet of
Ministers headquarters]. The result may be that we elect our president
[Viktor Yushchenko] in the October election but then he will be unable to
appoint a government or to change local administrations."

The revised constitutional reform bill removes the provision for
parliamentary election of the president in 2004 but it failed to deal with
another possibility that some suspect may be the eventuality, i.e. a
continuation of the actual ruling mode of the current president. The fact
that the amended reform bill was passed with obvious Presidential
Administration assent leads to two possible inferences:

(a) The first is that President Kuchma might really be
uninterested in a third term. On Wednesday he stated that he is serious
about his intention to establish an institute of strategic assessments in
which he would be a principal. Some analysts believe that Kuchma's
Wednesday statement may imply that rumors about his health have some
grounds.

(b) If the health rumors are not true, then at some point Kuchma
might decide to take up the position of prime minister, exercising real
power through the parliament while a President Yushchenko might be left for
ribbon cutting and other ceremonial duties.

The Constitutional Court is believed almost certain to approve the new
reform bill in an expeditious fashion, leaving only the maintenance of the
situational majority achieved on Feb. 3 as a necessity for making the new
bill a part of the constitution of Ukraine. The pro-presidential forces are
likely to put immense pressure on the court to act quickly, first because of
the possibility of decay in the situational majority and the need to have
final approval of the constitutional reform as it applies to the election
finalized before the official start of the presidential campaign on May 1,
2004.

The first test of the ability of the pro-presidential forces to keep the
situational majority intact will come when the parliament takes up the
necessary legislation to change the election law to allow approval of 12 new
members of the Central Election Commission this year. Current law prohibits
more than five appointments in one year. Parliamentary factions and members
will be intensely interested in using their powers to block any changes
until such time as the current list of nominees, almost all Kuchma
stalwarts, is changed to reflect much better balance.

The second trial of the situational majority will be the vote on
all-proportional election of parliament members. Approval of an
all-proportional system is an absolute prerequisite of the Socialists and
Communists for continued support of the pro-presidential majority. Passage
of the all-proportional system is complicated by the fact that parliamentary
deputies now serving in majority districts are bitterly opposed, feeling it
may mean a defeat for most of them. A compromise is possible if the barrier
for parliament membership were to be lowered to one percent from the current
four but this too will be difficult. This requirement does not suit the
Communist, Socialist, Social Democrat and to some extent, the Regions of
Ukraine factions.

Thus, the future of constitutional reform is still open to doubt. This is
further complicated by the precedent set by the parliament's peculiar
stratagem of declaring an extraordinary plenary session on Feb. 3 for the
purpose of meeting the constitutional requirement for passage of amendments
in two plenary sessions. Many of the more responsible deputies are worried
that this precedent could be used to bring up other constitutional changes
in ways far different from that envisioned by the original framers of the
constitution. Many fear that this precedent may lead to mischief in the
coming months. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
=========================================================
3. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION FIGHTS CONSTITUTION
REFORM IN COURT

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 5 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Feb 05, 2004

Kiev, 5 February: Three opposition parties [Our Ukraine, the Yuliya
Tymoshenko Bloc and the Socialist Party] have appealed to the Kiev Pechersk
district court and the Constitutional Court regarding the legitimacy of the
votes on constitutional reform, which occurred in parliament on 23-24
December 2003 and 3 February 2004, opposition bloc leader Yuliya
Tymoshenko told a news conference today.

Two appeals against the actions of parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn have
been sent to the Pechersk district court, one about the December vote and
another about the recent one, she said. [On 24 December MPs from
presidential majority and the Communists supported the constitutional reform
bill that envisages direct presidential election in 2004 and presidential
elections in parliament in 2006 and onwards. On 3 February the majority, the
Communists and the Socialists backed canceling presidential elections in
parliament].

The Civil Procedure Code allows appealing against actions by state
officials, Tymoshenko said. The main thing here is that such an appeal
automatically stops the implementation of the decision question
(constitutional changes in this case), she emphasized.

Article 55 of the constitution envisages that every citizen has the right to
appeal against any action or inaction of state bodies, local government and
state officials, Tymoshenko recalled. She said that the appeal against the
illegal vote in December had been signed by herself, Our Ukraine leader
Viktor Yushchenko and Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz. The appeal
against the vote on 3 February was signed by Yushchenko and Tymoshenko
[Moroz's faction participated in that vote].

>From now on, according to legislation, the procedure of introducing any
constitutional amendments will be suspended until the appeals are considered
in court, Tymoshenko emphasized. The appeals say that over 200 Ukrainian
people's deputies were witnesses, she added.

Two appeals to the Constitutional Court also concern the votes on 23-24
December and 3 February. They were signed by the leaders of the three
opposition parties and their members.

"If the Pechersk district court and the Constitutional Court do not violate
existing legal procedure then the voting on constitutional changes cannot
continue and from now on the decisions that have already been taken are
suspended," Tymoshenko said.

The appeal regarding the December vote is supplemented with a video
recording of the parliamentary sitting, which independent experts used to
calculate the exact number of MPs who voted for preliminary approval of the
so-called Symonenko-Medvedchuk constitution reform bill [its first reading
was passed by a show of hands]. That decision was supported by only 156
MPs, Tymoshenko said.

However, Tymoshenko did not rule out that, taking into account the
reputation of the Pechersk district court, it could refuse to accept the
appeals or issue an illegitimate ruling. In that case the opposition will
turn to the court of appeal and then, if necessary, to the Supreme Court of
Ukraine, Tymoshenko said. "Even if all of them (courts - UNIAN) will ignore
it, we must keep in mind the main point: the second voting did not in any
way legitimize the first vote in December. Two minuses do not give a plus,"
she said. If a singe opposition candidate is Ukrainian president the court
will have to take a legal decision, she added. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Build Ukraine Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
=========================================================
4. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION FIGURE CALLS FOR UNITY
TO ENSURE EARLY WIN IN ELECTION

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0938 gmt 5 Feb 04
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Feb 05, 2004

Kiev, 5 February: Yuliya Tymoshenko, the leader of the Yuliya Tymoshenko
Bloc, has stressed that the unity of the opposition trio [presumably made up
of her bloc, the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the Our Ukraine bloc] is a
necessary prerequisite for a single opposition candidate to attain victory
in the first round of the coming presidential election [in autumn 2004].
UNIAN reports that she made these comments at a news conference today.

She said that "I cannot guarantee that the trio will be united, but my
faction and I will make every effort to ensure this, as the trio is needed
to ensure victory in the first round of the election." Tymoshenko stressed
that from the point of view of developments in parliament at present as to
changes to the constitution, the opposition needs to focus on the
presidential election and make sure that at the very least the three forces
put forward a single candidate.

She added that the "mistake" made by the Socialist Party of Ukraine can be
corrected (on 3 February the Socialist Party voted in favour of withdrawing
provisions in a draft law on changes to the constitution on the president
being elected by parliament and to take into account the conclusions of the
Venetian Commission).
Tymoshenko also emphasized that "I will fight to get back the Communists,
because we now need to act in a spirit of solidarity and unity and work for
victory". (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
=========================================================
5. ODESSA-BRODY TO FLOW WEST

By Roman Olearchyk, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv, Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 5, 2004

In a landmark decision, the government rejected Russian efforts to reverse
the still-empty $500 million Odessa-Brody oil pipeline and accepted a
last-minute offer by United States oil giant ChevronTexaco, which promised
to pump Caspian crude through it to Europe as early as this year.

"The direction of flow will be from Odessa to Brody," deputy Prime Minister
Andriy Kluyev told journalists upon conclusion of the Jan. 4 cabinet meeting
in which the decision was made.

The decision came four days after a Feb. 1 deadline set by President Leonid
Kuchma. The government claims the decision was unanimous, yet it was clearly
one of the hardest economic and geopolitical decisions Ukraine has made
since independence.

Reversing the pipeline, pumping Urals crude from Brody to Odessa, would have
improved export capacity for oil giants to the north, strengthening Russia's
grip on energy markets in Europe and Ukraine. The originally intended option
could diversify energy supplies in the region and tighten Ukraine's ties
with Europe.

But the government's decision marks a serious blow to the Russian- and
British-owned TNK-BP and other Russian oil producers, which have in recent
months lobbied Ukraine hard to reverse the pipeline, permitting them to pump
about 9 million tons of Urals crude annually to Odessa, on the Black Sea,
from where it could be shipped to markets by tanker.

The Russian option was sharply criticized by some analysts, who feared it
would further clog up the already crowded Bosporus straits, which connect
the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

By resisting reversal of the pipeline and yielding it for ChevronTexaco's
use, Ukraine appears set to strengthen relations with the United States.

ChevronTexaco, which has interests in Kazakstan's portion of the oil-rich
Caspian Sea basin, has for months quietly expressed its desire to pump its
oil through the pipeline to Europe.

The United States, the European Union and Kazakhstan urged Ukraine to resist
Russian pressure to reverse the pipeline's flow. California-based
ChevronTexaco last year expressed its interest in using the pipeline, but
the company has provided few details to the public.

In a statement issued late on Feb. 4, the United States Embassy in Kyiv
welcomed the decision, but hinted that much work still lies ahead.

"The United States is very pleased with the Cabinet of Ministers' decision.
The United States has long supported commercialization of the Odessa-Brody
pipeline in order to ensure Ukraine's energy independence, energy sector
reform and European integration. We hope that this decision will allow
Ukraine to redouble its efforts to conclude a transportation agreement with
interested western companies. Ukraine will be best served if it assures
western companies interested in shipping Caspian crude to central Europe and
European consumers that Ukraine is committed to an open and transparent
negotiation process. Ukraine will infuse more momentum by a transparent
process as it considers new initiatives, such as tendering Odessa-Brody for
concession," the statement reads.

Kluyev said a government working group would develop a plan with oil
producers for utilizing the pipeline. The principal producer at hand is
ChevronTexaco, whose proposal was handed to Kluyev by U.S. government
officials during a visit to Washington on Jan. 29, where he discussed the
pipeline's future with U.S. State Department and Energy Department
officials.

Last minute lobbying efforts by the U.S., which has urged Ukraine not to
reverse the pipeline, have apparently proved successful.

A document produced by a public relations firm obtained by the Post details
plans to scahedule meetings between U.S. and Ukrainian officials as part of
the effort to ensure the pipeline not be reversed. Some of the meetings
scheduled in the document were to occur into late February, with the
participation of U.S. officials, ChevronTexaco and other oil firms.

On Feb. 3, Energy Minister Serhy Yermilov announced through an Internet chat
session that ChevronTexaco had proposed pumping oil through the pipeline as
early as this year. It is envisioned that as much as four to five million
tons could be pumped through the pipeline this year, Yermilov added.

The Odessa-Brody pipeline project was one of several projects intended to
increase the supply of Caspian crude oil to Europe. It was planned that
Caspian oil would be shipped in barges from Georgia across the Black Sea to
Odessa, from where it would be pumped westward through existing Soviet-built
pipelines and ones that would be built. Completed in 2001, the 674-kilometer
pipeline has the capacity to pump 14 million tons of crude to Europe every
year, and a planned extension into Poland could more than double its
capacity.

But it has stayed unused, and chances it would pump Caspian crude faded as
Russian oil firms last year launched lobbying efforts to reverse its flow.

Some experts had argued that reversal was the more profitable option for the
next three years, until the pipeline was extended to Poland and large
amounts of contracts for Caspian crude materialized. During this time,
Ukraine could generate revenue to pay for the construction of the pipeline
and fund its extension into Poland, they argued.

Other analysts, for example PricewaterhouseCoopers, hired to develop a
business plan for the Caspian option, warned that if Ukraine reversed the
pipeline temporarily, it would lose its "window of opportunity" to become a
major route for Caspian supplies to Europe.

Temporary reversal of the pipeline was too risky, according to Yermilov.
"Talk about short-term benefits is not good enough, as we don't plan on
dying in one or two years. This time period will pass quickly. And studies
show that in two to three years, alternative routes will be developed that
could make this pipeline completely useless [as a channel for Caspian crude
to Europe]," Interfax-Ukraine quoted Yermilov as saying.

A consortium of consulting firms headed by Arizona-registered Energy
Solutions, founded by ex-pat David Sears, had a difficult time preparing a
feasibility study for the government on the reversal option.

A document dated Jan. 13 obtained by the Post indicates that the firm first
advised Ukrainian officials to temporarily accept TNK-BP's offer and reverse
the pipeline for three years, and only later to shift to the better
long-term Caspian-option.

Energy Solutions was scheduled to submit their study results on Feb. 19, but
requested an extension, finally presenting it to a government-established
commission on Jan. 27.

The study results have not yet been made public, but a copy has been
obtained by the Post. The recommendations in the final study are noticeably
different from those in the Jan. 13 document. The final study cites the
Caspian option as the best among nine different options, one of which is
reversal in line with TNK-BP's proposal.

Officials at Ukrtransnafta, Ukraine's oil transportation company, have
accused the Energy Ministry of pressuring Energy Solutions to amend their
study results in favor of the Caspian option. Another source close to
Ukrtransnafta and the Ukrainian government confirmed the accusations,
saying: "Energy Solutions was told they wouldn't get the last $90,000 of
their $225,000 payment for the study unless the final recommendations were
changed."

Sears was unavailable for comment. The Energy Ministry declined comment.
Peter Cameron of Energy Markets Ltd., a British consultancy which
participated in the study, denied the allegations.

"I have not been pressured by anyone to change our Odessa-Brody pipeline
study results, nor has anyone else in Energy Markets," he said. (END)
=======================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2005, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
=======================================================
6. GOOD FOR THE GLOBAL FUND
We don't blame the Global Fund for yanking its cash. Good for them.

EDITORIAL, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Feb 5, 2004

As a Post story this week relates, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS,
Tuberculosis and Malaria is temporarily yanking its anti-HIV funding from
three Ukrainian organizations that received it. The Fund seems to have
been concerned that it got too little value for its money. This withdrawal
of monies is remarkable news, given the extent of the AIDS epidemic that
afflicts Ukraine, where fully one percent of the adult population is
afflicted with the virus.

According to news reports, the Global Fund has approved three grants
worth a total of $25 million over two years to Ukraine. Of this, roughly
$7.5 million has been disbursed, but only $740,000 has so far been spent.
The Fund's primary recipients, reports say, have been the Ministry of Health
Protection, the United Nations Development Programme, and something
called the Ukrainian Fund to Fight HIV and AIDS.

In other words, the Fund - a public-private partnership founded in 2001 -
has been funneling millions of dollars to, respectively, a government office
in a spectacularly corrupt post-Soviet country notorious for its patronage
regime; a U.N. program, with all of the amazing transparency, accountability
and efficiency that that title implies; and what has been described to us as
a Ukrainian "state specialized non-profit organization under the
jurisdiction of the Cabinet of Ministers," founded to "attract non-budget
and international moneys ... for fighting AIDS."

Gee, how reassuring. We don't blame the Global Fund for yanking its cash.
Good for them. The only thing we can't figure out is why they decided to
pledge the money in the first place.

Call us cynical, but we can't help wondering how much NGO money in
Ukraine goes toward paying for strippers, Crimean dachas, Mercedes
sedans, and vacations in Dubai.

Ukrainians deserve real help in confronting the HIV epidemic. That means
that the sooner the do-gooder organizations start restructuring their ways
of doing things to avoid pouring millions of dollars into sewers, the better
off Ukraine's people - as opposed to overfed NGO types and government
ministry parasites - will be. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
7. UKRAINE WAITING FOR 'CLEAR ANSWER' ABOUT EU FUTURE

AFX Europe (Focus); Feb 05, 2004

(AFX) - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantin Hrishchenko said his country
is waiting for a "clear answer" from the European Union about its chances of
joining the bloc. "Regarding the question about where we will find our best
future, my answer is clear: in Europe", Hrishchenko told Poland's
Rzeczpospolita in an interview.

"The EU is perfectly in its right to demand that Ukraine respect European
standards", he said, but added that Ukraine expects "a clear answer to the
fundamental question of whether, and when, we will be able to join European
structures, and what should be the criteria and the steps which will enable
us to reach our main objective."

President Leonid Kuchma said last year Ukraine wanted to launch EU accession
talks in 2011. The EU has held out on offering any promises, saying massive
political and economic reforms must first be carried out. Our objective is
Europe, but we understand that we're dealing with a long process that will
also require efforts on our part," Hrishchenko said. mrm/mkh/cml (END)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
=========================================================
8. GEOPOLITICAL CHOICE OF UKRAINE

Address By Yuri Scherbak, Ambassador Extraordinary and
Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, At the Plenary Session of the Days of Science,
National University of Kyiv Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine, Jan 30, 2004
Published by the "UKRAINE REPORT" 2004, Kyiv, Ukraine

This report is based on the ideas, hypotheses, and facts forming my
book "Ukraine: Challenge and Choice," which is to be presented today,
immediately after the end of the conference.

For several centuries, Ukraine, which was a powerless province of
great empires, had no geopolitical choice, being deprived of any right to
its own foreign policy. While conducting repressive selection of generations
and consistently destroying those who showed resistance, the ruling regimes
fostered the feeling of inferiority and slavish obedience in Ukrainians.

At that time, Ukrainian geopolitics had no chance. The two
repartitions of the world in Paris and Yalta took place without the
participation of Ukraine. The main geopoliticians of Ukraine in the Soviet
period were Stalin and Khrushchev. Our geopolitical fate was decided not at
the negotiating table but in the bloody battlefields of the World Wars I and
II, and during the disastrous arms race in the course of the Cold War.
Ukrainians fought for their future place in the world in the ranks of the
Red Army, partisan troops, and OUN-UPA brigades.

As Oleksandr Dovzhenko wrote in 1943, "The fate of the humankind
is decided in Ukrainian fields and villages, in fire and flame, on our
misfortune. So ill-fated is our land. So miserable is our lot."

The situation changed dramatically within a few days in 1991 when
our newborn state found itself caught in the turmoil of the geopolitical
passions associated with the dissolution of the USSR, fall of the Berlin
Wall, liquidation of the Warsaw bloc and so-called world socialism system,
and disintegration of Yugoslavia.

"-----------------------------------------------------------"

NOTE: To read the entire presentation by Ambassador Scherback click
on the following link: http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/shcherbak3.htm
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Support Ukraine Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/uasupport/index.htm
=========================================================
9. UKRAINE: CHALLENGE AND CHOICE: UKRAINE'S PROSPECTS
IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD OF THE XXI CENTURY"
New Book By Ambassador Yuri Scherbak

By Vlad Lavrov, Journalist and ARTUIS Representative in Kyiv
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Kyiv, Ukraine,Wednesday, February 4, 2004

KYIV..........The presentation of the new book by Dr. Yuriy Scherbak
"UKRAINE: CHALLENGE AND CHOICE: UKRAINE'S PROSPECTS
IN THE GLOBALIZED WORLD OF THE XXI CENTURY" was held
on January 30, 2004 in the Culture and Arts Center of the Kyiv Mohyla
Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine, at the closing of the Xth Annual Scientific
Conference, "Ukraine - Person, Society, Nature."

Dr. Scherbak's latest book as well as his speech "Geopolitical Choice of
Ukraine" which preceded the book's presentation, are focused on studying the
role and place of independent Ukraine in today's complicated world.

According to Dr. Scherbak, during the years of Independence, there were two
Ukrainian states being built. The virtual one, existing only on paper with
imaginary democratic procedures and human rights, and the real one, with all
the dirt of everyday life, with the oligarch's financial capacity that
enabled them to get control of most of the means of political power, with
the power ministries' lack of transparency and integrity, with corruptedness
of the media and some of the members of parliament.

The new book already drew some positive responses both in Ukraine and
internationally.

Zbigniew Brzezinsky, a former advisor to the US President on national
security: "...the book is an important input for better understanding of
Ukraine's place in the world, and a more extensive outlook of Ukraine's
foreign policy........ That is why I greet and appreciate coming out of the
book, considering it an important step towards consolidating Ukraine's
position."

Orest Subtelny, Professor of the York University (Canada):
"...the author undertakes a flawless research of Ukraine's place in the
fast-changing world."

Ivan Dziuba, Academician, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine:
"Yuriy Shcherbak has offered an extensive view on Ukraine's problems and
prospects as a state, both historically and geopolitically. A weighted and
proper approach in researching a great array of subjects did not prevent the
author from showing life of Ukraine and of the world in an attractive and
elegant style.

The following is the English summary of the new book taken from the book:
"UKRAINE; CHALLENGE AND CHOICE" BY YURI SCHERBAK

The author is a well-known Ukrainian writer, politician, and diplomat with
service as the Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel, the USA, Mexico and Canada.
This book is a multifaceted research project on the role and place of
Ukraine in the globalized world at the beginning of the 21st century.

The young Ukrainian state encountered three dramatic challenges - the
globalization geopolitical challenge, and the most important one --
challenge of the future,

The author considers September 11th of 2001 to be the turning point of
modern history - the date of the terrorist attacks on New York and
Washington, which were the beginning of the first asymmetric war of the
globalization era.

The book exemplifies an attempt to answer a question of vital importance:
what awaits the world, Europe and Ukraine in the 21st century? What will the
globalization era bring to Ukraine? What sort of geopolitical position can
Ukraine take, considering Its position at a crossroads between the East and
West? What awaits Ukraine in the future, taking into consideration the
energy, demographic and envirormental threats?

Yuri Scherbak gives an exhaustive, factual analysis of the internal and
foreign policy of Ukraine within the period of 1991-2003, paying particular
attention to the problems of removing nuclear weapons and relations with
Russia, the USA, NATO and the European Union.

Basing on his many years of diplomatic experience, the author provides
reasons for the necessity of Ukraine to join the Euro Atlantic community and
supports the strengthening of the strategic partnership between Ukraine and
America.

The author depicts objectively the substantial domestic problems of Ukraine,
calling for the reformation and democratization of the state, intensifying
the struggle with corruption.

Yuri Scherbak's book is definitely the genre of political publications, -
is written in a lively and personal manner; it is full of personal memories,
poems, lyrical flashbacks.

"Ukraine: Challenge and Choice" is a moving document of modern history
in which Ukraine's future emerges as a happy one. (END)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Yuri Scherbak, "Ukraine: Challenge and Choice,
Ukraine's Prospects in Globalized World of the XXI Century"
Published by Dukh I Litera: Kyiv, 2003, in Ukrainian
Sponsored by the Petro Yatsyk Foundation (Canada) and the
Harvard University Center of Ukrainian Studies. Softback, 578 pages.
CONTENTS
About the Author/5, Acknowledgements/8
Foreword/11, Introduction: Beginning of the New History/21
PART ONE: GLOBALIZATION CHALLENGE
I. Globalization and National State/30
II. Participation of Ukrainian State in the Globalization Processes/60
PART TWO: GEOPOLITICAL CHALLENGE
I. Where Does the Independence Begin?/119
II. Geopolitical Prospects of Ukraine in the Globalization Epoch/153
III. The Nuclear Rockets Drama: Ukrainian Choice/240
IV. Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears/271
V. Euromyths, euromirages, and euroreality/321
VI. When Will Ukraine Become a NATO Member?/359
VII. Ukraine-USA Strategic Partnership: Fate-Shaping Choice/389
PART THREE: CHALLENGE OF THE FUTURE
I. What Ukrainian State Should Be Like in the XXI Century?/455
II. Ukraine Which We Recognized: Consequences and Recognitions/488
III. Future and Post-Future/496
IV. Why Should We Think About the Future?/503
V. Ukraine in Waiting for Changes/510
VI. Ukraine and the World Information Revolution/524
VII. Ukraine and Global Resources/531
VIII. The Future and Ukraine's Security/550
IX. The Future Brand of Ukraine/555
X. Conservatism of the Future/560
XI. Ukraine - Beginning of the History/566
Afterword/572, Ground Zero/572, Summary (English)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: Copies of Ambassador Yuri Scherbak's new
book, "Ukraine: Challenge and Choice," published in Ukrainian, are
available through the www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service
(ARTUIS) in Kyiv. If you are interested in obtaining information about
how to purchase this book please contact us at: morganw@patriot.net
or at ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 21: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
=========================================================
10. KYIV AND MOSCOW CHURCHES: "TOGETHER FOREVER"
Kyiv resisted for several decades before giving in to political
pressure, unctuous promises, even blatant bribery.

By Klara Gudzyk, The Day, The Day Weekly Digest,
Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004.

The Council [Treaty] of Pereyaslav determined Ukrainian nation's history for
several centuries, and its impact remains. It also exerted a fatal influence
on the political and social order, culture, education, and last but not
least, on religious life, the Orthodox Church of what was then known as
Little Russia. The treaty with Moscow eventually resulted in a Church union
with all its consequences.

Some historians hold that Bohdan Khmelnytsky from the outset of talks with
Moscow was willing to join the Ukrainian Church to the Moscow Patriarchate,
although the Ukrainian Church had since AD 988 remained under the
Constantinople See. And that, prior to the Council of Pereyaslav, he wrote
to Patriarch Nikon, addressing him as the "Supreme Shepherd."

However , the accords made in the spring of 1654 had no clause on the
subordination of the Kyiv Diocese to the Patriarch of Moscow . It was only
after the Hetman' s death that the Moscow government claimed the clause was
there and proceeded to wage a consistent, persistent, and often treacherous
policy aimed at absorbing the Kyiv metropolis, relying on the principle of
the end justifies the means.

The Moscow tsar and the Russian Church were eager to get hold of the ancient
Kyiv Diocese, knowing that Christianity had spread over all of Eastern
Europe through it, with the shining Hagia Sophia of Kyiv and saints of the
Kyiv Pechersk Lavra (Monastery of the Caves), numerous monasteries,
theological institutions, learned clergy, and large pious congregations.

Last but not least, the Ukrainian Church was better off financially. Yet the
Ukrainian clergy did not share Moscow's enthusiasm and, in fact, resisted
for several decades before giving in to political pressure, unctuous
promises, even blatant bribery.

"----------------------------------------------------------"

NOTE: To read the entire article about how Moscow put the Ukrainian
church under their control by using political pressure, unctuous promises
and even blatant bribery click on the following link:
http://www.artukraine.com/historical/together_forev.htm
=========================================================
ARTICLES ARE FOR PERSONAL AND ACADEMIC USE ONLY
=========================================================
WEBSITE FOR NEWS AND INFORMATION ABOUT UKRAINE
LINK: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
FOLK ART MAGAZINE: NARODNE MYSTETSTVO
A Great Magazine About Ukrainian Folk Art Culture....In Ukrainian
LINK: http://www.artukraine.com/primitive/artmagazine.htm
========================================================
INFORMATION ABOUT "UKRAINE REPORT-2004"
The "UKRAINE REPORT-2004," is an in-depth news and analysis newsletter,
produced by the www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS) with
production offices in Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C.. The report is
distributed worldwide free of charge using the e-mail address:
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. Please make sure this e-mail address is
cleared for your SPAM filter. Letters to the editor are always welcome.
For further information contact Morgan Williams: morganw@patriot.net.

"UKRAINE REPORT" 2004 SPONSORS:

1. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION, (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj
McConnell, President; John A. Kun, VP/COO; Markian Bilynskyj,
VP, Dir. of Field Operations, Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C.
website: http://www.usukraine.org .
2. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Kempton Jenkins,
President, Washington, D.C.
3. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL,
(UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C.
4. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA, (UFA),
Dr. Zenia Chernyk, President, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
5. ACTION UKRAINE COALITION, (AUC),Washington, D.C.
6. KIEV-ATLANTIC UKRAINE, David and Tamara Sweere,
Founders and Managers; Kyiv, Ukraine
7. VOLIA SOFTWARE, Software to Fit Your Business, Source your
IT work in Ukraine. Contact: Yuriy Sivitsky, Vice President, Marketing,
Kyiv, Ukraine, yuriy.sivitsky@softline.kiev.ua; Volia Software website
http://www.volia-software.com/.
8. POTENTIAL, the launching of a new business journal for Ukraine.
http://www.usukraine.org/potential.shtml#about
9. INDIVIDUAL, CORPORATE and FOUNDATION READERS
OF "UKRAINE REPORT-2004" who financially support the publication.
Additional financial support is needed to maintain and expand the
program to include the translation and distribution of important articles
in Ukrainian.

PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
E. Morgan Williams, Senior Advisor, Government Relations and
Foundation Development, U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
Publisher and Editor: "UKRAINE REPORT" 2004
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS).
http://www.ArtUkraine.com News and Information Website,
P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013
Tel: 202 437 4707, morganw@patriot.net
Office In Kyiv: 380 44 212 5586, Mobile in Kyiv: 380 50 689 2874
====================================================
TO SUBSCRIBE (FREE)
If you know of one or more persons you think would like to be added to
the distribution list for "UKRAINE REPORT" 2004 please send us the
relevant contact information. We welcome additional names. The report
is sent FREE of charge and is courtesy of our sponsors. To subscribe
please send a subscription request e-mail to Morgan Williams,
morganw@patriot.net. Past issues of the "UKRAINE REPORT-2003"
(119 reports) and 2004" will be sent upon request.
TO UNSUBSCRIBE
UNSUBSCRIBE: If you do not wish to receive future editions of the
"UKRAINE REPORT-2004," up to three times per week, please be sure
and notify us by return e-mail to morganw@patriot.net.
====================================================