"ACTION 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"
"ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 2004, Number 41
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C., FRIDAY, March 12, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
1. NEW UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POSSIBILITIES
EMERGING THIS WEEK IN KYIV
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 12, 2004
2. TOP UKRAINIAN MEDIA REGULATOR IN A LETTER TO US
SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL DISMISSES US ALLEGATIONS
OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH VIOLATIONS IN UKRAINE
3. US BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS (BBG) URGES
UKRAINE TO END ITS CAMPAIGN OF INTIMATIONS AND
PRESSURE AGAINST THE INDEPENDMENT MEDIA
US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Website
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, March 10, 2004
4. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT URGES UKRAINE TO ENSURE
MEDIA FREEDOM, FAIR ELECTIONS
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian,12 Mar 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK; in English, Friday, Mar 12, 2004
5. UKRAINIAN COMMUNIST LEADER SYMONENKO WANTS
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT TO BE ANNOUNCED PERSONA NONGRATA
Albright Threatens Ukraine
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 11, 2004
6. KYIV MAYOR OMELCHENKO OPPOSES UKRAINIAN
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mar, 11, 2004
7. UKRAINE WANTS NEW EU MEMBERS TO JOIN THE UKRAINIAN-
EU PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO PRIME MINISTER
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 11, 2004
8. UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT'S PLAN SEES 9.5% GROWTH
IN GDP IN YEAR 2004
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 11, 2004
9. UKRAINE OVERTAKES RUSSIA AS POLAND'S MAIN
TRADING PARTNER ACCORDING TO POLISH EMBASSY IN KYIV
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Mar 12, 2004
10. WIDER STILL AND WIDER
Where do the eventual boundaries of the European Union lie?
The Economist print edition, London, UK, March 11, 2004
11. RUSSIA'S GROWING DOMINATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
MEANS POLAND HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ORIENT
ITSELF FULLY TOWARDS THE WEST
Review of article by Andrzej Grajewski, Deputy Editor in Chief
Catholic Weekly "Gosc Niedzielny" in "Rzeczpospolita"
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Mar 11, 2004
12. CHILD TRAFFICKING IN MOLDOVA
An estimated 1.2 million children worldwide are victims of child
trafficking. One of them is Ioana, who was trafficked from Moldova to
Ukraine. Natalia Cojocaru, a Moldavian journalist for the newspaper
"Timpul" reports. Chisinau, Moldova, ILO Line, March, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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1. NEW UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POSSIBILITIES
EMERGING THIS WEEK IN KYIV
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Mar. 12, Kyiv, Ukraine
KYIV - The convolutions of presidential election politics and the lifespan
of the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych appear to be becoming
more tightly coiled and perhaps slightly more obvious in direction. Events
on Wednesday and Thursday of this week have combined to provide the basis
for further speculation as to which players will actually take the
presidential election field for the forces loyal to the current regime and
the long term implications of constitutional reforms.
On Wednesday, the Cabinet of Ministers discussed a draft of the governmental
action plan for 2004. The Rada will take up that plan, which if approved,
goes a long way to assuring the survival of the Yanukovych government
through the end of 2004, apparently in April.
On Thursday, Rada Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn pointed out in a press briefing
that should the constitutional reform proposals, already approved by a
simple majority, be further approved by the Constitutional Court and then by
a qualified majority vote in the Rada, i.e. approval by 300 or more members,
then the Yanukovych government could have a life span assured theoretically
through 2006.
Lytvyn's statement about Yanukovych government longevity points up a
scenario being more frequently discussed in Kyiv.
This scenario assumes that in the interests of harmony, the pro-presidential
forces might decide upon Lytvyn as a consolidated candidate that would be
acceptable to most elements in the Rada including the Communists and the
Socialists.
Many believe that Lytvyn could, with the help of extensive use of the
administrative resource, stand the chance of more easily overcoming the
campaign of former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko and being elected to
succeed President Leonid Kuchma. For one thing, Lytvyn would not have the
burden of two prison terms, something that would be certain to raise
questions in a Yanukovych campaign for president.
Although Yanukovych would probably prefer to be president, should the
constitutional reforms pass, greatly strengthening the powers of the prime
minister, Yanukovych might be happy to stay in his current position.
Those who see this plan as a real possibility point out that the
continuation of Yanukovych as a strengthened prime minister would make the
outcome of the presidential race much less important since whoever the
winner, Lytvyn or Yushchenko, would have greatly lessened powers.
Without stretching the arguments too far, it is possible to imagine that the
combination of a largely ceremonial head of state, the president, combined
with a more powerful prime minister, would therefore more exactly mimic the
constitutional situation in many European states and possibly unblock
Ukraine's way toward European Union membership. (END)(ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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2. TOP UKRAINIAN MEDIA REGULATOR IN A LETTER TO US
SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL DISMISSES US ALLEGATIONS
OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH VIOLATIONS IN UKRAINE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 11 Mar 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mar 11, 2004
The head of the Ukrainian media licensing authority has dismissed recent US
allegations of freedom of speech violations in Ukraine. In an open letter to
US Secretary of State Colin Powell, National Council for Television and
Radio Broadcasting head Borys Kholod defended the closure of an independent
Ukrainian radio which rebroadcast a number of foreign stations including the
BBC and the Voice of America.
Kholod said that the station, Radio Kontynent, had gone bankrupt and
produced too little programming of its own. The foreign broadcasters can
still be heard in Ukraine, Kholod said, regretting that Ukrainian
programming is not rebroadcast in the USA.
Urging top US officials to be impartial towards Kiev, Kholod said that
Ukraine has been making sustained progress in democracy. The following is
an excerpt from a report by Ukrainian news agency UNIAN:
Kiev, 11 March: The chairman of the National Council for Television and
Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, Borys Kholod, has said that the US
Department of State's accusations of press freedom violations in Ukraine
are biased.
Kholod said in an open letter addressed to US Secretary of State Colin
Powell that on 4 March US Department of State Spokesman Richard Boucher
at the beginning of a daily briefing voiced "grave concerns" over the end of
broadcasting in Ukraine by Radio Kontynent [independent radio], a
rebroadcaster of [US-funded] Radio Liberty and the Voice of America [and
the BBC].
Boucher interpreted this as "attempts by the Ukrainian authorities to
restrict public access to independent information". "In other words, [this
was seen as] almost a return of Ukraine back to the times of
totalitarianism, when foreign broadcasters were jammed," Kholod said.
"However, any impartial and attentive observer of the democratization which
is taking place in our country has convincing proof of great progress
achieved by TV and radio since Ukraine gained independence," Kholod said.
While in the early 1990s there were 25 TV and radio companies in Ukraine,
all of them owned by the state, now the number of Ukrainian broadcasters
totals 1,100 (97 per cent of them commercial and private), Kholod said. The
total volume of TV and radio broadcasting grew by more than 50 times since
then.
[Passage omitted: Kholod praises Ukraine's media legislation, says Kontynent
did not pay its licence fee - see UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1710 gmt 11 Mar
04.] The Media Centre [owner of Radio Kontynent] made one more serious
legislation offence. On 28 November 1996, the radio received a loan of
400,000 hryvnyas (about 250,000 dollars under the then official exchange
rate) from the Ukrainian State Innovation Company. The loan was to be repaid
on 31 December 1999. However, only 5,000 hryvnyas (or about 1 per cent of
the loan) have been repaid. Thus, the Media Centre is bankrupt, Kholod
noted.
"We know that US federal agencies pay very close attention to those who do
not return taxpayers' money back to the treasury on time. We know how
rigorous the Federal Communications Service is about insolvent contenders
for TV channels and radio frequencies while issuing TV and radio licences,"
Kholod added. "So why does this negative aspect of the Media Centre's (Radio
Kontynent's) activity go unnoticed?" he asked.
"Obviously, owners of the radio realize this, for since 2000 they have never
applied to take part in a frequency licensing competition. By the way, in
this period almost 20 such competitions were held, at which over 500 radio
frequencies were considered," Kholod said.
There is another reason [for Kontynent closure], a purely creative one,
Kholod believes. Radio Kontynent almost never produced programming of its
own. Instead, it used almost all of its airtime on the 100.9 MHz frequency
to rebroadcast another radio [independent Hromadske Radio] (which did not
have a national council licence either) and foreign programming. In fact,
this actually meant subcontracting the frequency to other broadcasters,
which is illegal under Ukrainian law, Kholod noted.
Speaking about "the allegations made by the US Department of State spokesman
that the Ukrainian authorities are trying to restrict public access to
independent information (referring to programmes by Radio Liberty [which
lost its rebroadcaster in Kiev recently], the Voice of America, etc.)",
Kholod said: "first, these radio stations are still rebroadcast by a whole
number of Ukrainian regional stations (which use powerful medium-wave
transmitters) and by the broadcast and cable networks of the First Channel
of the National Radio Company of Ukraine (which means 100-per-cent coverage
of listeners in the whole of our state).
If we take today's medium number one - television - the Ukrainian law allows
broadcasters to use 50 per cent of their airtime to rebroadcast foreign
programming. Foreign programmes take an even larger share in cable TV
networks (of which there are over 500 in Ukraine), which, depending on their
capacity, rebroadcast 10-70 foreign TV companies in full (in particular, US,
UK, French, German, Russian, Polish and other TV companies). The state-run
National TV company rebroadcasts weekly programme `Window into America',
which is produced by the Voice of America."
Ukraine also has TV and radio broadcasts to other countries, Kholod noted.
These programmes (including those in English), would certainly be of
interest to certain audiences in the USA, particularly to Americans of
Ukrainian descent. However, no TV or radio station in the USA rebroadcasts
these programmes. "You call this fair, gentlemen?" Kholod asked in his
letter to the US secretary of state.
"Analysing the situation in Ukraine (in particular, developments in TV and
radio), one would wish to see that high-ranking US officials are unbiased
towards our country, which has been making steady democratic progress,"
Kholod stressed. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Check Out the News Media for the Latest News >From and About Ukraine
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
=========================================================
3. US BROADCASTING BOARD OF GOVERNORS (BBG) URGES
UKRAINE TO END ITS CAMPAIGN OF INTIMATIONS AND
PRESSURE AGAINST THE INDEPENDMENT MEDIA
US Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) Website
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, March 10, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG)
unanimously passed a resolution today urging the Government of Ukraine to
"end its campaign of intimidation and pressure on independent media."
The BBG, which supervises all US non-military international broadcasting,
including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and the Voice of America
(VOA), also called on Ukraine's government to permit the resumption of all
broadcasts on Radio Kontynent, which was shut down in a raid by Ukrainian
authorities on March 3. The station carried RFE/RL and VOA programmes.
President Leonid Kuchma's government should "eliminate barriers to
broadcasts of international radio programmes on local radio stations
throughout Ukraine," the resolution said.
In addition, Ukraine should "investigate thoroughly and openly" the death of
Heorhiy Chechyk, owner of Poltava Radio and Television, who was killed 3
March in an automobile accident en route to Kiev to meet RFE/RL officials to
discuss carrying RFE/RL programmes on his radio station, the resolution
said.
"There are some very disturbing developments coming out of Ukraine regarding
media and the ability of Ukrainians to get accurate news and information,"
said Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the BBG's chairman. "We need to support the
people of Ukraine."
Steven J. Simmons, chairman of the BBG's RFE/RL Committee, said: "The
freedom of the press has never been more important than right now - 2004 -
with the upcoming presidential election in Ukraine."
RFE/RL President Thomas Dine, who has called the actions against the media
in Ukraine outrageous, said: "Freedom of expression is a universal human
right, and those who work to suppress it should pay the consequences."
"The Voice of America has a reputation around the world for providing
balanced and reliable news," said VOA Director David Jackson. "Silencing
that voice is not in Ukraine's interest."
The BBG's resolution also noted that Radio Dovira, an FM network in Ukraine,
dropped RFE/RL's popular Ukrainian programmes on 17 February, ending a
successful five-year partnership.
Virtually all Ukraine's electronic media are now directly or indirectly
controlled or influenced by the government, the resolution said.
(END)(ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Major Articles About What is Going on in Ukraine
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
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4. EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT URGES UKRAINE TO ENSURE
MEDIA FREEDOM, FAIR ELECTIONS
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian,12 Mar 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK; in English, Friday, Mar 12, 2004
Kiev, 12 March: The European parliament has discussed its resolution on the
political situation in Ukraine. The resolution says that the European
parliament demands that the Ukrainian authorities secure transparent and
democratic presidential elections in October this year and calls on Kiev to
respect freedom of speech.
The resolution was supported by 59 European MPs and only two abstained, the
press service of the [opposition] Our Ukraine bloc reported.
The European parliament calls on the Ukrainian authorities "to improve
conditions in prisons, stop unfounded detentions, cut the term of pre-trial
detention, respect freedom of speech and constantly take effective measures
to prevent and punish interference in the work of free and independent
media, groundless administrative or legal persecution of TV channels and
other media and the use of force against journalists."
Deputies of the European parliament have expressed concern over the recent
decision to close the [opposition] Silski Visti newspaper, a refusal to
continue broadcasting Radio Liberty in Ukraine and a campaign against
[opposition] 5 Kanal TV. The resolution calls on the Ukrainian authorities
"to explain accusations about its secret service receiving orders to shadow
Ukrainian journalists and Ukrainian and foreign politicians to hamper their
work on the problems of human rights in Ukraine" (this refers to the
information provided by a former Security Service general, Valeriy
Kravchenko - UNIAN).
The European parliament has also called on the Ukrainian authorities to take
every effort "to investigate the mysterious death of journalist Yuriy
Chechyk (director of Yuta TV in Poltava - UNIAN) [he died in road accident
just before talks on broadcasting Radio Liberty]" and other high-profile
journalists who fell victims to road accidents or died in some other
unnatural way". The resolution says that the European parliament "has taken
it into account that the Ukrainian parliament excluded a part of the
constitutional reform bill (on electing president by parliament - UNIAN)
[from the final version] and praised the opposition's efforts in this
process".
The European Parliament believes that "the legitimacy of constitutional
changes must be based on public support and urges Ukraine to take into
account the proposals of the Venice Commission for future partnership in the
area of constitutional reform".
The resolution also calls on the European Commission to ensure the
implementation of TACIS democratic programmes to strengthen civil society
and independent media, and to support associations of democratic forces. The
resolution also calls on the European Council and the European Commission
"to closely monitor the situation in Ukraine, play an active role in the
presidential election this autumn and support joint actions of the OSCE and
the Council of Europe".
The European parliament demands that the Ukrainian authorities ensure
transparent and democratic presidential elections in October 2004. It also
asked the European parliament chairman to send the resolution to the Council
of Europe, the European Commission, the secretary-general of the Council of
Europe, the OSCE, the Ukrainian government and parliament. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Exciting Opportunities in Ukraine for Travel and Tourism
Travel and Tourism Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/tourgallery.htm
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5. UKRAINIAN COMMUNIST LEADER SYMONENKO WANTS
MADELEINE ALBRIGHT TO BE ANNOUNCED PERSONA NONGRATA
Symonenko States Albright Threatens Ukraine
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 11, 2004
KYIV - Ukrainian Communist Party chief Petro Symonenko wants the former
US secretary of state Madeleine K. Albright to be announced persona nongrata
in Ukraine.
"She must be immediately announced persona nongrata in Ukraine because she
threatens to Ukraine," Symonenko said in an interview Thursday.
"If elections should go the wrong way, we shall close all accounts of
natural and legal persons abroad," Communist chief misquoted Mrs Albright as
saying.
"It's an impunity unseen for a long time. Toward Ukraine, it's just a
boorish conduct," Symonenko said, according to Interfax-Ukraine.
In fact, Madeleine K. Albright wrote in her (New York Times
article http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/08/opinion/08ALBR.html) titled
How to Help Ukraine Vote: "If, however, the elections are fraudulent,
Ukraine's leaders should know that their entry into Western institutions
will slow and that their own bank accounts and visa privileges will be
jeopardized.
The same should hold true if Mr. Kuchma's faction manipulates the
Constitution to its own advantage. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
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6. KYIV MAYOR OMELCHENKO OPPOSES UKRAINIAN
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORMS
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mar, 11, 2004
KYIV- Now that the Constitutional Court has decreed that Kyiv City Mayor
Oleksandr Omelchenko is not subject to age limitation of his term in office,
the
mayor has apparently decided to play a high stakes political game in regard
to the proposed constitutional reform amendments.
Speaking on Wednesday at a Kyiv meeting on local governance, Omelchenko
said, "We will not take part in the constitutional reforms because it was
conceived by nobody knows whom and planned for no one knows what.
Ukraine's people would derive from the reforms not a unification but rather
a separation."
The mayor's rapid cryptic statement is believed to be but another chapter in
his long-term battle with the Medvedchuk/Surkis political clan and its
efforts to take over the powers and position of the Kyiv city mayor, widely
judged to be the most powerful municipal administrative position in Ukraine.
Since the current constitutional reform package is widely regarded as having
been brokered by Presidential Administration Head Viktor Medvedchuk and
Communist Party leader, Petro Symonenko, there is little surprise that
Omelchenko would have a negative view of the reform package.
However, there may be a deeper meaning to Omelchenko's very public
disagreement with the constitutional reforms conceived largely by Medvedchuk
and supported by Medvedchuk's boss, President Leonid Kuchma. Many in the
Verkhovna Rada believe that Omelchenko's open declaration of non-support for
the reforms is a strong indication of the weakening position of a lame-duck
president.
The unanswered question is whether Omelchenko was merely sending a verbal
signal of his opposition or if he will try to actively lobby other officials
and legislators against the reforms. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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7. UKRAINE WANTS NEW EU MEMBERS TO JOIN THE UKRAINIAN-
EU PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT ACCORDING TO PRIME MINISTER
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 11, 2004
KYIV - (Interfax-Ukraine) - Ukraine wants to sign a protocol on having the
new European Union member nations join the Ukrainian-EU Partnership
Agreement, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich told ambassadors of current and
prospective EU member nations in Kyiv on Thursday.
The Ukrainian-EU Action Plan is to be approved in Brussels on May 18 at a
meeting of the council for Ukrainian-EU cooperation, Yanukovich said. The
goal of the plan is to set up a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU,
he said. The plan is being drafted now, Yanukovich said.
"It will be the chief instrument for our cooperation in the coming two or
three years. It is intended to lead to a free trade zone and the start of
talks on signing an agreement on association between Ukraine and the EU," he
said.
"The latest talks held between our delegations showed that the differences
between two sides' approaches can be resolved through compromise,"
Yanukovich said.
Speaking of the protocol on having new EU member nations join the agreement
on partnership and cooperation between Ukraine and the EU, he said that Kyiv
wants the issues involved to be resolved together "in light of Ukraine's
justified concerns regarding the consequences of the EU's expansion."
"I wish to emphasize that Ukraine has no intention of obstructing the
signing of a protocol on new EU member nations joining the Ukrainian-EU
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement and would like to have that document
signed before April 1," Yanukovich said.
The granting of market economy status to Ukraine by the European Union would
help overcome the negative consequences of the EU's expansion, he said.
"This would also be proper acknowledgment of what Ukraine has done to reform
the economy over the past years," Yanukovich said.
A letter was sent by a EU trade commission member to the Ukrainian Cabinet,
which says that the European Union has no questions for Ukraine before
awarding it the status of a market economy, he said. "There are no obstacles
to
making a decision. We will wait," Yanukovich said.
Ukraine regards the accession of new member nations to the European Union as
recognition of the achievements made by these nations and governments in
reforms and as a restoration of historic justice, Yanukovich said. "Ukraine
is positive about the EU's expansion," he said. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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8. UKRAINIAN GOVERNMENT'S PLAN SEES 9.5% GROWTH
IN GDP IN 2004
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, March 11, 2004
KYIV - The government expects Ukraine's GDP to grow 9.5% in 2004, the
country's finance minister said on Wednesday. Finance Minister Mykola
Azarov also said real wages in Ukraine should rise 15%.
Azarov, who was presenting the government program for 2004 to Cabinet, said
this year's plan would boost exports and help attract more investment.
"The main social and economic results of the new program will be GDP growth
of 9.5%, and growth in real wages of at least 15%. The growth in the gross
accumulation of capital will be almost double the growth in GDP," Azarov
said.
He predicted that under the program, exports would rise 10-12% and direct
foreign investment would grow to $1.3-1.5 billion. He said the program
envisages moderate inflation this year, and a stable hryvnia exchange rate.
Last year Ukraine's GDP rose 9.3%, exports increased 28.5%, and direct
foreign investment was $1.185 billion. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
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9. UKRAINE OVERTAKES RUSSIA AS POLAND'S MAIN
TRADING PARTNER ACCORDING TO POLISH EMBASSY IN KYIV
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Mar 12, 2004
WARSAW - Poland and Ukraine registered record volumes of bilateral trade
last year, the Polish embassy in Kiev has announced. The figures show that,
for the first time, Poland exported more to Ukraine than to Russia.
Economists hope this year will be equally good. In 2003, the volume of trade
between the two countries amounted to $2.3bn, an increase of almost $1bn
compared to the previous year.
Polish exports to Ukraine were twice as high as imports, with Lanos cars
being the biggest hit. The final assembly of the cars takes place at the
Zaporoze factory in Ukraine. Besides cars, Poland exports domestic
appliances, plastic, rubber and furniture to its neighbour, while its
imports consist mainly of iron ore and chemical products. After Germany,
Ukraine is the second most important recipient of Polish investments. Polish
investors have already built two factories there. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
=========================================================
10. . WIDER STILL AND WIDER
Where do the eventual boundaries of the European Union lie?
The Economist print edition, London, UK, March 11, 2004
GROUCHO MARX famously remarked that he did not want to belong to any club
that would have him as a member. The European Union faces the opposite
problem. It is a club that does not appear to want anybody who applies for
membership. One senior official comments that "the countries that are most
attractive to us as future members are small, rich ones like Norway and
Switzerland." Unfortunately the Swiss and Norwegians show no signs of
wanting to join. All the would-be new members are poor or big, or both.
On May 1st the EU will formally admit ten new countries. Most of them are
from central Europe, and all are poorer than the EU average. Then, 2007 is
the target date for the EU to let in two more relatively poor countries:
Bulgaria and Romania. That would mean an EU of 27, which would become 28 if
Croatia manages, as it hopes, to slip in at around the same time. By the end
of this year, the EU is due to decide whether formally to open membership
negotiations with Turkey-a country that is not only poor and big, but also
Muslim. The betting in Brussels is that, unless the Cyprus re-unification
talks go badly awry, Turkey will secure its invitation to start
negotiations. And that means that eventual Turkish membership will become
almost inevitable-perhaps by around 2015.
By then, the four remaining western Balkan countries-Albania, Bosnia,
Macedonia and Serbia-might also be joining the EU; Macedonia has already
applied. And if Turkey gets in, is there any real argument for keeping out
Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus or Georgia (whose new government has just
announced that its long-term goal is to "join Europe")? Some people have
talked of Russia joining the EU one day; others have mentioned Israel, a
putative Palestinian state or even Morocco.
All this enthusiasm for Europe should be intensely flattering to the
bureaucrats of Brussels. After all, it is the mark of a good club that
people clamour to become members. An ever-larger EU might also bring big
benefits. It would create a political unit with a huge population,
furthering the Union's ambitions to be a global power. The EU is also
effective at moulding the behaviour of would-be members. The hope is that by
exporting European laws and values, it can expand a zone committed to
prosperous and peaceful co-existence and the rule of law.
Yet in reality many of today's members view the prospect of an
ever-expanding Union with a mixture of fatalism and dread. There are several
reasons for this. The first, inevitably, is money. The EU redistributes
billions of euros from rich to poor members: more poor members means more
claimants on the purse. A second is immigration. One of the Union's
fundamental principles is that there should be freedom to move from one
member country to another. But anti-immigration parties are gaining ground
across western Europe; they could make huge political capital out of
potential Turkish membership.
Then there is the feeling that a larger EU might simply be unable to
function. If you add in all the Balkan countries, Turkey and a further
scattering from the former Soviet Union, you soon arrive at a European Union
of almost 40 members. In a book published this week, Frits Bolkestein, the
Dutch European commissioner, argues that "the larger the group, the fewer
decisions it can take." To get any decisions in an EU as big as 40,
remaining rights to national vetoes would surely have to go. On current
population projections, moreover, Turkey could be the biggest member in
15-20 years' time. It would thus command the biggest block of votes, in a
Union that is already responsible for as much as 50% of the new domestic law
in its member countries.
CONTRA VOX POP
Ordinary citizens in today's EU of 15 could come up with any number of
plausible-sounding objections to Turkish or Ukrainian membership. They are
not really European, they are too poor, they are too different. But all such
objections have been defined away in Brussels. Turkey was accepted as at
least a potential candidate as far back as the 1960s, on the basis that part
of its land-mass is in Europe. As for Ukraine or even Russia, they surely
fit the traditional geographic definition of a Europe that stretches from
the Atlantic to the Urals.
Moreover, the European Union has consistently rejected the idea of insisting
on a minimum level of income or wealth for EU members. Its only serious
economic demand is that members should have a "functioning market economy".
The question of European values may be the most sensitive of all. Some
people in today's EU may believe that the borders of Europe are those of
traditional Christendom, but this position has never been formally endorsed
by EU leaders. They are understandably wary of ethnic- or religion-based
definitions of Europe. After all, today's Union already has millions of
Muslim and black citizens. Two possible future members, Albania and Bosnia,
are mainly Muslim by heritage. Instead the EU defines itself as a "Union of
values". Any European country that embraces democracy and human rights is
fit for membership.
Citing national interest or public opinion might seem a standard procedure
in discussing a far-reaching foreign-policy decision in a nation-state. But
it is regarded as barely respectable in the multinational European Union.
The EU is comfortable talking about values, but uncomfortable talking about
interests. And it has consistently been built over the heads of its
citizens. Although all ten new members held referendums to approve their
entry, voters in the 15 existing members were not consulted. Opinion polls
in France show strong opposition to this enlargement. But when the French
government tentatively floated the notion of holding a vote to approve it,
this was swiftly denounced and quickly dropped. Whether such high-minded
elitism will be enough to drive through the even more controversial
enlargements to come must be open to question. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. RUSSIA'S GROWING DOMINATION IN EASTERN EUROPE
MEANS POLAND HAS NO CHOICE BUT TO ORIENT
ITSELF FULLY TOWARDS THE WEST
Review of article by Andrzej Grajewski, Deputy Editor in Chief
Catholic Weekly "Gosc Niedzielny" in "Rzeczpospolita"
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Mar 11, 2004
Two important processes will be completed this year that will ultimately
determine Poland's place in Europe, writes Andrzej Grajewski, deputy editor
in chief of the Catholic weekly Gosc Niedzielny, in a recent issue of
Rzeczpospolita.
The first process relates to the key terms of European integration and the
EU's institutional shape. The second one concerns Russia's attempts to
dominate the post-Soviet space in Eastern Europe, notably Belarus and
Ukraine.
Patriotically-oriented Russian politicians, writes Grajewski, accepted the
Soviet Union's collapse because they wanted to rebuild a strong Russian
statehood instead. A crumbling, costly empire was sacrificed to save its
healthy core ? Russia. At the same time, efforts were made to secure control
of areas that would determine the new Russia's geostrategic capacities. That
is why, among other things, Russia intervened militarily in the Dnestr
region, fought two Chechen wars, put in place a military presence on the
border with China and Afghanistan in Tajikistan, and helped install
pro-Moscow regimes in all former Soviet republics in Central Asia.
The integration of economic structures has been less successful. More
important, however, than the Commonwealth of Independent States' dubious
achievements was the way the political Russian elites thought about their
neighbours, a philosophy expressed in the term "Close Abroad." During the
Vladimir Putin presidency, the not too far abroad has become an even closer
one for Russia. In particular, this applies to Poland's eastern neighbours,
Belarus and Ukraine.
Ukraine's and Belarus's Orientation Undecided
Ever since the early 18th century when Peter the Great laid the groundwork
for an empire that would capture Poland's easternmost territories, conflict
between the two countries was inevitable. Poland came out the loser. Russia
opposed any form of Polish statehood, fearing the reborn state would raise
the issue of the captured territories.
The 1917 Bolshevik revolution in Russia added a socio-ideological dimension
to the civilisational-cultural conflict. The Polish-Russian war of 1920
failed to determine the question of domination in Belarus and south-eastern
Poland, and the dispute was only limited to the areas Soviet propaganda
referred to as Western Ukraine and Western Belarus.
For Soviet Russia, the invasion of September 17, 1939, was an act of
historical justice, a unification of lands belonging to Russia's natural
zone of influence in a single state organism. A border agreement made
between Soviet Russia and Poland's provisional government in August 1945
only legitimated a political reality that was also accepted by the western
powers.
The Soviet Union's collapse, writes Grajewski, again put the question of
Russian domination in Central and Eastern Europe on the agenda. While the
Baltic states adopted a clearly pro-western course, Ukraine's and Belarus's
choice has not been clearly defined. Ukraine's foreign policy has been a
constant zigzagging between initiatives towards European and Atlantic
integration and a continuing strong attraction of the powerful Russian
magnet. Moscow has also skilfully exploited pro-Russian sentiment in Ukraine
itself.
Belarus represents an even more complicated case. While president Alexander
Lukashenka is rightly cast in Poland as a villain, it should be noted that
he created a model of statehood that gives Belarussians a substitute of
sovereignty in what is probably the only form possible at the current stage
in the development of their national identity.
For many months now, Lukashenka has been a very uncomfortable partner for
the Kremlin in the talks on the new shape of the Union of Belarus and
Russia, trying to secure maximum sovereignty for his own regime. While
personal ambitions and egotism have certainly played a part here, one should
not rule out the possibility that Lukashenka is also motivated by political
realism and concern for Belarussian statehood that is so uncomfortable to so
many.
In Ukraine, and, particularly, Belarus, the West has done little to support
the forces opposing Russian domination. If the pending talks between Minsk
and Moscow on the introduction of a common currency end with Lukashenka
accepting Russia's terms, which include a single central bank in Moscow,
Belarus's sovereignty will be greatly reduced and Lukashenka's own rule will
face decline.
In Ukraine, if president Leonid Kuchma decides to violate the constitution
to prolong his rule, he will find himself in Russia's embrace, and dependent
on Kremlin's support.
Poland Set to Remain a Challenge for Russian Ambitions
Putin's Russia, writes Grajewski, will certainly remain oriented towards the
West. At the same time, it will do everything to dominate the post-Soviet
space of Belarus, Ukraine, and the Baltic states. It has sufficiently strong
assets to influence the course of events in that area. This means that
Poland is losing its eastern buffer and becoming a border state again. It is
not yet clear how the EU's eastern policy is going to look like.
It is in Poland's interest for its eastern border not to become a line of
new division in Central and Eastern Europe. But irrespective of how much
effort Poland puts into developing good relations with the area of eastern
European integration, i.e. Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, the situation there
will be determined by the course of events in Russia following Putin's
victory in the this month's presidential elections.
As the EU's easternmost outpost, Poland will always remain a challenge to
Russia's ambitions of domination in eastern Europe. For Belarus, Ukraine,
and the Kaliningrad enclave, Poland will serve as an alternative model of
civilisational and social development, weakening their ties with Russia.
This is why Poland poorly integrated with the European and Atlantic
structures is in Russia's interest.
Russia's interests in Poland are clearly defined today: security of all
kinds of communication and transport routes with the West, security of
commodity transmission lines, particularly natural gas pipelines, and the
securing of a monopoly on the markets for those commodities. The failure of
the Norwegian gas pipeline project, the illegal installation of a
high-capacity fibre-optic connection along the Polish stretch of the Yamal
gas pipeline, or the perturbations around the Odessa-Brody-Plock oil
pipeline project all show that the Russians know how to protect their
interests in Poland.
Tomorrow, perhaps, they will raise again the issue of creating a corridor
that would link Russia proper with the Kaliningrad enclave. Poland's western
partners will look at those postulates with understanding, especially that
they have long co-operated with Russia on various strategic projects.
At the beginning of the 21st century, Russia stands a chance to become a
global power again. Its immense natural resources and the professionalism of
its political leaders, most of whom are former members of the security
services, or siloviki, open up the prospect of rapid economic growth and
civilisational development.
For the first time in its history, Russia is building its statehood almost
solely on the basis of Russian population. For many Russians, the choice of
Orthodox Christianity as an unofficial state religion strengthens the
specificity of Russian identity. Thanks to Putin's efforts, this year will
probably see the historical unification of the Moscow patriarchate with the
Russian expatriate church, which is going to further strengthen the Russian
Orthodoxy's role in the world of eastern Christianity.
As a result, Russian nationalism will receive a boost from Orthodox
messianism.
Poland Torn Between East and West Would Be Worst Scenario
Western Europe, writes Grajewski, has been watching the recent developments
in Russia calmly. While the Polish press reacted to the results of the
autumn parliamentary elections, which saw the democratic forces
marginalised, with fear, the west's perception has been wholly different.
For western Europe, and France and Germany in particular, the election
results only confirmed Russia's specific line of development, always
different than the European model.
The most important thing, it has been stressed, is that Russia is now more
stable, more predictable, and thus a better business partner. Russia would
have to experience a catastrophe, something that fortunately seems unlikely,
for the West to change its good opinion about Putin's state.
If the EU splits into two areas of integration, Poland should be aware that
the member states favouring closer co-operation perceive Russia as one of
their main strategic allies. If they started passing Poland over in their
dealings with Russia, Poland would be marginalised and its peripheral
situation would only be exacerbated. The consequences would be so dire that
today's problems with Nice and the EU constitution would shrink in
comparison.
Poland's integration with the EU, says Grajewski, is not taking place in a
geopolitical vacuum. Going west, Poland should not be forgetting what is
going on in the east, and the processing occurring there should cause it to
integrate as quickly and as fully as possible with the European structures.
One should not fear a strong Russia. It clearly something that the modern
world needs. What one fears is a weak Poland, torn between the East and
West, a hybrid unable to make a consistent choice. (END)(ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 41: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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12. CHILD TRAFFICKING IN MOLDOVA
An estimated 1.2 million children worldwide are victims of child
trafficking. One of them is Ioana, who was trafficked from Moldova
to Ukraine. Natalia Cojocaru, a Moldavian journalist for the
newspaper "Timpul" reports.
Chisinau, Moldova, ILO Line, March, 2004
CHISINAU, Moldova (ILO Online) - Last year, life for 15 year-old
Ioana had become unbearable. Though she was one of the best pupils in
her class, she had abandoned school and decided to leave her home and
her alcoholic parents, moving in with her grandparents.
One day, while at the market here in the Moldavian capital, she met a
woman from a neighbouring village who listened attentively to her
woes and proposed that she accompany her to Ukraine where she could
find a job.
Customs was no problem. Despite her young age, Ioana was able to
cross the border in the company of a stranger, identified only by a
birth certificate of a trafficker's (neighbor lady's) daughter.
>From September to April 2003, Ioana was forced to sell goods on a
market in Ukraine. As compensation, she received a pair of winter
clothes and food. Eventually, Ukrainian police who had been searching
for her at the request of her mother, found the girl and returned her
to her home. Paradoxically, Ioana reportedly told the police she
preferred life with the trafficker to her own home, believing life
was better on the run than among her alcoholic parents.
Though not entirely typical, Ioana's story is sadly common in this
impoverished nation and elsewhere throughout the region. Though the
precise number of children trafficked from Moldova and other
countries in the area is unknown and data are unavailable from local
authorities, the Temporary Centre for Minors in Moscow, Russia,
estimates that more than 50 per cent of the children begging on
Moscow streets are from Moldova. In 2001, the Russian Ministry of
Internal Affairs registered 500 minors trafficked from Moldova to
Russia for begging, of which some had been sexually abused.
The First Annual Report of the Counter-Trafficking Clearing Point 1/
reveals that the majority of victims trafficked for sexual
exploitation from Moldova to mainly Balkan countries are between 18
and 24 years of age. Other sources say younger children are
trafficked to Russia and Ukraine for economic exploitation. The lack
of visa requirements for CIS member states facilitates illegal
transportation of children within this region.
The International Organization for Migration and the NGO "La Strada"
report that 40 per cent of children trafficked to CIS, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Serbia-Montenegro, Kosovo and
Albania come from abusive, single-parent families or have been in
boarding institutions. More than a half are orphans, or lost the
contact with their parents.
In either case, they are easy prey for traffickers. Minors are often
recruited from rural areas where about 60 per cent face a higher risk
of sinking into poverty because of the low productivity and incomes
in the agricultural sector affecting the overwhelming majority of
rural workers.
Moldova, Romania and Ukraine are reported as most significant sending
countries in terms of scale and Albania as a major source and transit
country for the trafficking of women and children from the Balkans to
Western Europe. To support the Government of Moldova fulfill its
commitments under relevant international labour standards governing
child labour 2/, the ILO included Moldova in the recently launched
sub-regional project called "Combating Trafficking of Children for
Labour and Sexual Exploitation in the Balkans, Ukraine and Republic
of Moldova".
This three-year project will be funded by the Governments of the
Unites States and Germany and implemented by the ILO International
Program on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), a leader in
accomplishing of action programs against child Labour.
The project mainly aims at improving capacity of governments, workers
and employers' organizations, NGOs and others in civil society
concerned about child trafficking to effectively prevent and
eliminate child labour, giving priority to its worst forms; to
reinforce the existing mechanisms; and to provide for knowledge and
experience sharing on child labour and replication of best practices
interventions at national and at the sub-regional level.
In line with the provisions of the recently signed Memorandum of
Understanding for cooperation in the area of eliminating of child
labour, and being committed to ensure in-country "ownership" and
sustainability of the IPEC's interventions, the Government of Moldova
will create a National Steering Committee (NSC) to observe the
achievement by the Government and responsible agencies of the
objectives and targets set by the ILO programmes. Participation of
various governmental, social and non-governmental partners in the NSC
will contribute to the mainstreaming of the issues of working
children into all relevant national policies.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
1/ The Regional Clearing Point (RCP) was established in Belgrade in
July 2002 and is working within the framework of the Stability Pact
Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe
(SPTF). 2/ ILO Minimum Age Convention No. 138 (1973) and the
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention No. 182(1999).
For further information, please contact the ILO Department of
Communication, phone: +4122/799-7912, fax: +4122/799-8577, e-mail:
communication@ilo.org;
http://www.union-network.org/uniindep.nsf/0/2D1E6666756AC44BC1256E530026A6C1
?, (paste link together) OpenDocument
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