"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"The more dialogue, the better it is: I have always worked with Ukraine in
such a spirit. I want Ukraine to develop. I wish it all the best and believe
that your state has the best prospects. I stress that independent sovereign
Ukraine is a great asset to Europe. And we should cultivate this."
[Interview with President of Poland, article thirteen]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 2004, Number 58
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, MONDAY, April 12, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
1. REAL ESTATE FEVER GRIPS UKRAINE
The boom's major drawback is that the construction industry is
fast becoming "one of Ukraine's most criminal and least transparent
industries," Ukrainian economic agency UFS lamented.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 11, 2004
2.RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE VIKTOR CHERNOMYRDIN
SAYS THE CES IS NEEDED, WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 12, 2004
3. UKRAINE MACROECONOMIC SITUATION MARCH 2004
By Iryna Piontkivska and Edilberto L. Sergura
SigmaBleyzer, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 2004
4 . NEW EUROPEAN UNION BORDERS WILL STRUGGLE
TO KEEP OUT CRIME, DRUGS, ARMS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
REUTERS, Medininkai, Lithuania, 12 April 2004
5. UKRAINE ECONOMY EXPANDS 9.4% IN 2003
Ups Industrial Output 11.8% in March, 2004
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, 09.04.2004
6.UKRAINE MOVES CLOSER TO PRIVATIZING LARGEST STEEL MILL
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 12, 2004
7. US SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL THANKS UKRAINE
FOR PEACEKEEPING IN IRAQ
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 10 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 10, 2004
8. UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS PICKET US EMBASSY IN KIEV
Demand Investigation About Death of Ukrainian Taras Protsuk in Iraq
ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukraine, April 8, 2004
9. "WHY VIKTOR PINCHUK HAS BECOME A PHILANTHROPIST"
Influential Ukrainian businessman and Member of Parliament
By Oleksandr Kazhuryn
Segodnya, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian 8 Apr 04; p 5
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 09, 2004
10.KLITSCHKO'S FUTURE LEFT ON THE FLOOR AFTER SURPRISE DEFEAT
Heavyweights look lighter than ever as Ukrainian hits the deck again
By John Rawling, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom, Apr 12, 2004
11. SOME UKRAINE POLITICIANS CREATE DIFFICULTIES FOR
THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukranie, 09.04.2004
12. 50 BODIES UNEARTHED IN UKRAINE MASS GRAVE IN
CRIMEA BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN KILLED BY NAZI TROOPS
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, April 9, 2004
13. POLAND'S PRESIDENT ON THE YEAR OF POLAND IN UKRAINE
Interview By Anatoliy Martsynovskyy with Aleksander Kwasniewski
Holos Ukrayiny, Kiev, in Ukrainian 30 Mar 04; p 1, 5
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 10, 2004
14. LARISA BOGORAZ: HUMAN-RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER BORN IN
KHARKOV, UKRAINE, DIES IN MOSCOW
Stepped on to Red Square at midday one Sunday in 1968 and unrolled
banners protesting against the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia-One banner read: "For Your Freedom and Ours"
Obituary: Larisa Iosifovna Bogoraz, by Marjorie Farquharson
The Independent, London, United Kingdom; Saturday, Apr 10, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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1. REAL ESTATE FEVER GRIPS UKRAINE
The boom's major drawback is that the construction industry is
fast becoming "one of Ukraine's most criminal and least transparent
industries," Ukrainian economic agency UFS lamented.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday, April 11, 2004
KIEV : Dozens of construction cranes crowd the Kiev skyline as the
Ukrainian capital is gripped by a real estate fever that experts say is
about to spread and infect the entire country.
"The industry is growing very well, but the real boom will come later," said
Ilya Pavlenko, vice-president of the Perry Construction company, which is
100-percent foreign owned.
The number of construction sites in this ex-Soviet republic grew by 26
percent in 2003 and the trend carried on well into 2004, according to
official figures.
Construction of apartment houses alone has reached new heights every year
over the past three years, with a 5.9-percent rise in 2003 - which means 6.4
million square meters (90 million square feet) of new housing space.
The boom is nothing surprising, as acquisition of good-quality lodging has
become a near-obsession with many Ukrainians, desperate to get out of
crowded, crumbling apartments dating back to the Soviet era.
Even in Kiev, the average space per person is only 20 square metres,
compared to 28 square metres in Portugal and 36 square metres in France.
The dream is made real by Ukraine's economic revival which has boosted
incomes, as well as development of a mortgage loan system which tripled from
2002 to 2003 to top 800 million dollars (660 million euros).
"Even if interest rates remain high, at 14-15 percent a year, most of our
clients still take out mortgage loans to buy their apartments," pointed out
Lyudmila Zabiyaka of the Blagovest real estate agency.
The demand has also boosted housing prices which doubled in 2003 and
continue to climb, reaching up to 1,000 dollars (825 euros) per square metre
in Kiev's downtown, much to investors' delight.
"The sale prices for new apartments are often three times as much as the
cost of building them," boasted Marta Kostyuk, expert for the DTZ real
estate consultancy.
However, the boom is mostly centered on Kiev and industrial cities of
Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsky and Kharkiv, with the rest of the country still
untouched by this new-found affluence.
Construction of commercial centers and offices, which the market desperately
needs, continues to expand as well, increasing output by up to 25 percent
for office space and up to 35 percent for commercial centers, Kostyuk said.
According to expert estimates, Kiev's total office space is 250,000 square
metres, of which some 10 percent are as yet unoccupied.
However, small businesses prefer to save money by installing themselves in
regular apartments outfitted for office use.
To meet demand, numerous construction companies plan to build as much as
150,000 square metres of new office space by 2005, according to experts who
also predict a rise in office rents of 10 percent this year.
Commercial centers and shopping malls also share in the boom, but their
growth is still insufficient, with Kiev boasting only 30 square metres per
1,000 people, compared to the average of 150 to 400 square metres in eastern
Europe.
The boom's major drawback is that the construction industry is fast becoming
"one of Ukraine's most criminal and least transparent industries," Ukrainian
economic agency UFS lamented.
However, the fact could not tarnish the market's promising growth, expected
to reach new heights in 2004-2005, the agency said. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58 ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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2. RUSSIAN AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE VIKTOR CHERNOMYRDIN
SAYS THE CES IS NEEDED, WE NEED TO MOVE FORWARD
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 12, 2004
KYIV - Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin believes that
creation of the Common Economic Space will be a great spurt forward.
"Today there are disputes on necessity of the common space. The CES is
needed! This way we will sooner settle economic problems in our countries:
new jobs will appear, pensions and wages will grow," he said in an interview
with the Izvestia newspaper published on Thursday.
He said that the commodity turnover between Ukraine and Russia grew from
$11 billion to $15 billion in three years of his work as the Ambassador.
"But being a pragmatic man I think that the achievement belongs to the past.
We need to go forward," he said.
He said that as a special representative of the Russian president on trade
and economic issue, he promotes all enterprises, in which Russian companies
have stakes.
He also urged the Ukrainian business to invest in Russia. (END)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Most economic and political obvservers do not believe it it at all in
the long run interest to join the Common Economic Space. Ukraine should
only do this if it wants to be dominated and controlled by Russia and once
again become known as "Little Russia."
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: 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
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3. UKRAINE MACROECONOMIC SITUATION MARCH 2004
By Iryna Piontkivska and Edilberto L. Sergura
SigmaBleyzer, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 2004
To read this excellent Ukraine Macroeconomic Situation report click on:
http://www.artukraine.com/econews/MACRO-Mar04.pdf
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: 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. NEW EUROPEAN UNION BORDERS WILL STRUGGLE
TO KEEP OUT CRIME, DRUGS, ARMS, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
REUTERS, Medininkai, Lithuania, 12 April 2004
MEDININKAI: More than 200 Lithuanian officers guard the main border
crossing with Belarus, soon to become one of the European Union's
easternmost outposts.
Their modern facilities aim to stem a feared inflow of drugs, arms and
illegal immigrants from countries of the former Soviet Union and central
Asia once EU borders shift thousands of kilometres to the east on May 1.
Lithuania, a former Soviet republic among the 10 mostly ex-communist states
joining the EU, has pledged to keep the border sealed but for the guards at
Medininkai this will be a tough challenge.
"Not enough," Deputy Commander Vladas Vasnoras says when asked if the
200-strong troop was sufficient to man the crossing and a 34km stretch of
the border they are in charge of. "But I don't think Lithuania will become a
gate into 'Old Europe' for illegal immigrants and drugs - we have enough
technical and other means to prevent it," he added.
The border now has several lanes for trucks and cars, a veterinary control
facility, panoramic view cameras, control gates and a truck scanning unit -
a far cry from the roadside trailer manned by guards in the Soviet years.
The graves of seven guards killed here in 1991 when the Soviet forces
attacked the post stand nearby as a symbol of Lithuania's struggle for
independence and becoming part of Europe again.
Despite months of preparations to make the EU's new 4000km eastern border
watertight, EU anti-crime agencies fear the new borderlands of Lithuania,
Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia may not be up to the job.
"The main concern is the policing of the Union's new eastern borders with
countries such as Russia, Belarus and Ukraine," one domestic EU intelligence
chief said.
Although passport controls will remain at the borders between the old and
new members for at least two years, routine customs checks will stop,
meaning trucks can rumble freely across the EU once they have entered at the
eastern frontier.
EU officials worry this huge traffic will give powerful crime rings
operating in the new member states more freedom to move across Western
Europe.
"The EU enlargement must be a dream come true for East European smugglers,"
one EU law enforcement officer told Reuters. "It will be very hard to
uncover cross-border criminal activities after enlargement."
In terms of infrastructure and equipment, the new members states seem to be
ready thanks to millions of euros from the European Union, but there are
concerns about corruption and low morale among the border guards, he said.
"The weakest link is the human factor, and no amount of fancy technical
equipment can compensate for that," he said.
"In principle, the borders are almost completely open to smugglers as long
as they are willing to pay someone off."
Officials in the new member states admit corruption, drug smuggling and a
growing illegal trade in arms will be a challenge.
They insist, however, that fears of a crime explosion after May 1 are
exaggerated, because some established crime rings already operate across
the continent from Russia to Portugal.
"Polish crime rings had joined the EU a long time ago," says Magdalena
Stanczyk of the Polish Internal Security Agency.
Lithuania and fellow Baltic states Estonia and Lithuania are of particular
concern to law enforcement agencies because of their Soviet past.
Russian crime rings have found it easy to melt into the background in the
three countries better than elsewhere because two of them, Latvia and
Estonia, have sizeable Russian minorities.
The scale of the problem is illustrated by the impeachment of Lithuanian
President Rolandas Paksas, based on accusations his office had unsavoury
links with the Russian underworld.
The cause has embarrassed Lithuania, already seen in the West as a key
supplier of amphetamines and distribution point for other drugs smuggled int
o the EU from Russia.
In Hungary, on the southern end of the future EU border, the biggest concern
is human trafficking, mainly involving women sold into sexual slavery.
Police estimate a few thousand women are shipped by gangs through Hungary
from its neighbours Romania Ukraine, Croatia and Serbia.
Some officials hope that tougher entry rules that will come with the EU
membership and plans by Hungary to set up a special police unit to fight
human trafficking are set to stem this tide. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: 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. UKRAINE ECONOMY EXPANDS 9.4% IN 2003
Ups Industrial Output 11.8% in March, 2004
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, 09.04.2004
KYIV - Ukraine expanded its economy 9.4% in 2003, according to finalized
figures, to 264.16 billion hryvni, the State Statistics Committee told
Interfax.
It was earlier reported that Ukrainian GDP rose 9.3% in 2003. Industrial
production increased 15.8% and inflation was 8.2%. The hryvnia was stable,
growing to 5.3315 hryvni/$1 from 5.3324 hryvni/$1, the committee said.
The government forecasts GDP growth of 9.5% in 2004. (END)
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UKRAINE UPS INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT 11.8% IN MARCH
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 9, 2004
KYIV - Ukraine increased its industrial production 11.8% in March and 1
8.8% in the first quarter of 2004, the State Statistics Committee told
Interfax.
Production rose 19.6% year-on-year in March, the committee said.
Industrial output grew 15.8% in 2003, with 10.1% growth in March and
10.7% in the first quarter. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: 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. UKRAINE MOVES CLOSER TO PRIVATIZING LARGEST STEEL MILL
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 12, 2004
KYIV - Ukraine moved a step closer to privatizing Krivorozhstal, the
country's biggest steel mill, by incorporating the enterprise, initially as
a wholly state-owned joint stock company.
The Industrial Policy Ministry issued an instruction to incorporate the
steel mill, which has charter capital of 3.9 billion hryvni, on April 7,
Anatoliy Fedyayev, a deputy industrial policy minister, told Interfax.
The State Property Fund has hired the Kyiv-based Otsenka to value
Krivorozhstal's long-term assets. The Property Fund and the Industrial
Policy Ministry have been preparing the mill to be privatized by
corporatizing it, for example, and the parliament is drafting a bill to sell
the company off.
The parliament back in November 2003 entered Krivorozhstal on a list of
enterprises that cannot be privatized, but the Ukrainian president vetoed
this law.
Krivorozhstal controls up to a fifth of the Ukrainian steel market. It is
capable of turning out more than 6 million tonnes of rolled steel products,
about 7 million tonnes of crude steel and 7.8 million tonnes of pig iron a
year. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: 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. US SECRETARY OF STATE POWELL THANKS UKRAINE
FOR PEACEKEEPING IN IRAQ
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 10 Apr 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 10, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko has received a
letter from the US Secretary of State Colin Powell. UNIAN learnt this from
the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Markiyan Lubkivskyy.
The letter of the American foreign ministry says in particular: "On behalf
of the government of the USA and the American people, I would like to
personally express huge gratitude to the Ukrainian government for its
constant unflinching support of the coalition efforts to establish stability
and a new future for the people of Iraq."
In his letter, Powell highly praised the courage and bravery shown by the
Ukrainian peacekeepers, in particular, during the latest events in the city
of Al-Kut [when Ukrainian peacekeepers were forced to withdraw from their
positions under heavy fire from Shi'i militants, see "Ukrainian Defence
Ministry gives details of Iraqi city surrender", UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in
Ukrainian 1448 gmt 8 Apr 04].
Powell also said that he was ready to hold dialogue and discussion on the
progress of the peacekeeping mission and the future of Iraq. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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8. UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS PICKET US EMBASSY IN KIEV
Demand Investigation About Death of Ukrainian Taras Protsuk in Iraq
ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukraine, April 8, 2004
KIEV, April 8 (Itar-Tass) - Journalists from Ukraine and abroad have
staged pickets outside the building of the US embassy in Kiev on
Thursday. The pickets demanded an independent investigation into the
tragic death of Ukrainian camera man Taras Protsuk, who was killed in
Baghdad a year ago, and appealed to the US diplomats, asking for a
compensation to his family.
Earlier, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had several times appealed to
the US administration, asking for the compensation, but with no
result, said press service chief of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
Markiyan Lubkivski.
Taras Protsuk, a cameraman who worked for Reuter's news agency,
and his colleague from Spain Jose Couso were killed in the Palestina
hotel in Baghdad on April 8, 2003 when the hotel was shelled by
troops of the anti-Iraqi coalition.
Several days after the tragedy the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry
appealed to the United States and Britain, asking to investigate the
incident and bring all those responsible to justice. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
============================================================
9. "WHY VIKTOR PINCHUK HAS BECOME A PHILANTHROPIST"
Influential Ukrainian businessman and Member of Parliament
By Oleksandr Kazhuryn
Segodnya, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian 8 Apr 04; p 5
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 09, 2004
Influential businessman and MP Viktor Pinchuk, has become visibly more open
and philanthropic recently, a newspaper linked to the Donetsk business group
has said. The newspaper suggested that the reason behind Pinchuk's behaviour
could either be an inner need for peer esteem, or he may be anticipating a
regime change. Meeting visiting US businessman George Soros last week,
Pinchuk said he would back a Soros-sponsored project to provide free legal
advice to ordinary Ukrainians, the paper said.
The following is the text of the article by Oleksandr Kazhuryn, published in
the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya on 8 April under the title "Why Viktor
Pinchuk has become a philanthropist":
So Viktor Pinchuk (an MP, the Ukrainian president's son-in-law and owner of
Interpipe, a company that is active in the metallurgical, tube and pipe
business) has come to love people. The Greek word "philanthropos" means
"loving mankind", and "philanthropist" was the word used by George Soros to
describe Pinchuk after the Ukrainian businessman had decided to join in one
of the [Soros-funded] Renaissance Foundation's projects - setting up a
network of free legal advice centres in Ukraine.
One can be satisfied with a formal explanation as to why Soros should take
on this "headache", since the US billionaire has already spent more than one
decade promoting worldwide his idea of an "open society", in which, of
course, right triumphs. But what idea did Viktor Pinchuk intend to "push"?
The first theory is the naive one. Ukrainian big business is seeing the
appearance of people for whom profit has ceased to be the sole aim of their
activities, and they want to show their gratitude to society. In principle,
that is how things should be. In the USA, philanthropy is surprisingly well
developed. For example, nongovernmental organizations sponsored by the
rich are considered to be the fastest-growing public area in the public
sector over the past 15 years. In this way, affluent people derive a certain
moral gratification.
The second theory is about prestige. According to the [1950s] theory of the
US sociologist [Abraham H] Maslow, after his basic needs have been
satisfied, man craves for public recognition. It is well known how we
post-Soviet people think of businessmen "with a kindly, quiet word". Since
man is a collective being, the "rich, proud and self-sufficient" theory
needs modification in time. But anyone likes a kindly word.
There is the business theory. Soros means big money - for Ukraine maybe.
Soros also means contacts with the top people in business and politics
throughout the world. Accordingly, it is just plain advantageous to be on
friendly terms with people like Soros. Such cooperation means guaranteed
access to the world's elite.
Then there is Soros's theory. "In this way, Pinchuk wants to show his worth,
so as to retain his present position regardless of who the future
authorities in Ukraine are."
The true reasons for Mr Pinchuk's philanthropic aspirations may well meet
somewhere at the intersection of all the theories mentioned. He may wish to
make some return to society, to achieve recognition, to prepare a "launch
pad" for the elections and to expand his business contacts. Maybe all this
is involved. Well, that's fine, as people say, so long as the country gets
something out of it... [ellipsis as published].
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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10.KLITSCHKO'S FUTURE LEFT ON THE FLOOR AFTER SURPRISE DEFEAT
Heavyweights look lighter than ever as Ukrainian boxer hits the deck again
By John Rawling, The Guardian. London, United Kingdom, Apr 12, 2004
The assumption that world heavyweight boxing would be dominated by the
Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Vladimir, in the post-Lennox Lewis era was
swept aside at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas as younger brother
Vladimir suffered a shocking knockout defeat against the unheralded American
Lamon Brewster in a fight for the vacant World Boxing Organisation version
of the title.
For 28-year-old Vladimir, the 1996 Olympic super-heavyweight champion, it
was his second bad knockout in 13 months. In March 2003 he was floored four
times on his way to a second-round stoppage loss against the South African
Corrie Sanders, who is to fight the 32-year-old Vitali for the vacant World
Boxing Council heavyweight title in Los Angeles on April 24.
Vladimir had been the hot favourite to beat Brewster on Saturday night and
regain the WBO title he lost to Sanders, and the 6ft 7in Ukrainian-born
Klitschko seemed to have matters under control when a big right hand sent
Brewster to the canvas in the fourth round. But Brewster, 30, survived to
the bell and the Californian turned the contest dramatically in the fifth.
First Klitschko was given a standing eight count by the referee Robert Byrd
when a left hook forced him to stumble along the ropes, then two punches
sent Klitschko sinking towards the floor as the bell sounded to end the
round.
"I tried to get him to respond but he couldn't," the referee explained after
stopping the fight with Klitschko almost unconscious in his arms, leaving
the ecstatic Brewster to say: "I proved you have to kill me to beat me. I
took everything he could throw.
Brewster had lost only two previous fights, but one was against Clifford
Etienne, a man blown away in less than a round by Mike Tyson last year.
The form line is hardly impressive and it is difficult to see how Klitschko
can rebuild his career to become a credible figure in a division which
seems woefully lacking in quality performers. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanky, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
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11. SOME UKRAINE POLITICIANS CREATE DIFFICULTIES FOR
THE UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH
ITAR-TASS, Kiev, Ukraine, 09.04.2004
KIEV, April 9 (Itar-Tass) - A politician, wishing good for his people,
should not create difficulties for their church, claimed Vladimir, the
Metropolitan of Kiev and All Ukraine. Speaking in an interview with
Tass on the eve of Easter, the metropolitan called attention to "a
substantial difference in the attitude of the ruling elites of Ukraine and
Russia to the Orthodox Church".
In Vladimir's opinion, "the consensus has developed in Russia on the
understanding of the role and importance of the church in society as
a bulwark of stability and a guardian of national traditions and
moral mainstays. Both right-wingers and left-wingers and even radical
political trends treat the church with respect. These are Pan-
European standards."
"Regrettably, in Ukraine, as was the case in atheistic times, politicians
can make absurd accusations of and attacks on the Ukrainian Orthodox
Church, although the prime sources of the orthodox faith of most
Ukrainian and Russian citizens are in Kiev," the metropolitan underlined.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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12. 50 BODIES UNEARTHED IN UKRAINE MASS GRAVE IN
CRIMEA BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN KILLED BY NAZI TROOPS
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, April 9, 2004
KIEV, Ukraine -- The bodies of at least 50 people believed to have been
killed by Nazi troops have been unearthed from a mass grave in the Crimean
peninsula, an investigator said Friday.
The remains, including those of children and Red Army soldiers, were found
about 550 miles southeast of capital Kiev and show signs of having been
executed, said Vasily Rybka, an investigator working at the site.
He said the grave could contain hundreds of bodies.
Investigators also found a quantity of German land mines from World War II
and other unexploded ordnance in or around the mass grave.
Ukraine was occupied by the Nazis, who executed tens of thousands of
civilians and Soviet prisoners of war. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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13. POLAND'S PRESIDENT ON THE YEAR OF POLAND IN UKRAINE
Interview By Anatoliy Martsynovskyy with Aleksander Kwasniewski
Holos Ukrayiny, Kiev, in Ukrainian 30 Mar 04; p 1, 5
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Apr 10, 2004
KYIV - Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski has said that The Year of
Poland in Ukraine should complement mutual political understanding and
dialogue. Speaking in an interview with a Ukrainian daily, Kwasniewski said
that it would accelerate the resolving of many issues. Speaking about Poland
joining the European Union in May, he said this would assist Ukraine as
foreign companies working in Poland were likely to be encouraged to operate
on the Ukrainian market. He was critical of dividing the world into
Christianity and Islam as this might lead to a tragic confrontation.
The following is the text of an interview with Kwasniewski conducted by
Anatoliy Martsynovskyy, published in the Ukrainian parliamentary newspaper
Holos Ukrayiny on 30 March entitled "Aleksander Kwasniewski: The Year of
Poland should complement political understanding through contacts between
people"; subheadings have been inserted editorially:
[Martsynovskyy] Mr President, what do you think should be the final outcome
of The Year of Poland in Ukraine? What does it signify to Ukrainian society?
[Kwasniewski] I think that events like The Year of Poland in Ukraine should
add a societal human factor to political dialogue and understanding. These
are occasions which make it possible to show cultural achievements, to
foster contacts between common people, artists, scientists and youth. This
will be very important so as to deepen relations between Poland and Ukraine.
On the other hand, this will sort of demonstrate that Poland, which joins
the EU this year, does not turn its back on its closest eastern neighbour
and wants to continue cooperating with it.
I hope that thanks to a good start on Tuesday and then thanks to the
different actions by various establishments we will succeed in alleviating
the tension that existed. Poland has well-kept Ukrainian cemeteries in
Krakow, Lublin and Warsaw. Ukraine also has a cemetery in Kharkiv. A
cemetery in Lviv, though we have not opened it formally, is also in a good
state. There are monuments in Volyn [Region]: these are all the things which
remove tension in relations between people. Many older people can go and see
places familiar to them since their childhood. And it is exactly that moment
when contacts between people and good positive feelings should complement
politics.
Consequences of Poland's accession to EU
[Martsynovskyy] As of 1 May Poland joins the EU. How could this affect our
economic relations? Does this pose a threat in terms of falling trade
volumes?
[Kwasniewski] Entry into the EU gives Poland a chance to develop, but I am
certain our membership of the [European] Union will promote development of
relations with Ukraine and other eastern neighbours, Belarus and Russia.
>From the very beginning we firmly decided that Poland's accession to the EU
should not erect any barriers in relations with our eastern partners and
that there should be no "curtain" even if it is very light.
I think we managed to formulate a good visa system, and economically we will
become increasingly interesting partners for you, more attractive from the
perspective of the export of Ukrainian products to Poland and a Ukrainian
economic presence in our state, investment.
It is crucial for us to have Ukraine engaged in common European processes
through such significant cooperation. I even assume that for investors from
third countries which already work in Poland, its entry into the EU might
provide encouragement to operate on Ukrainian markets, so more investment
could flow not only into Poland but also into Ukraine.
This will certainly require corresponding effort, but this is quite
feasible. I would also like to stress that being in the EU we will be
seeking to use our geographic position and urge the EU to determine its
eastern policy so that this dimension would become as active and clear as,
for example, its policy on the Mediterranean region, that is, North African
countries. Access to Polish markets will become simpler and easier, so I am
calling on Ukrainian entrepreneurs to look at this positively and think what
could be gained from Poland's entry into the EU.
It will become more stable, have the same economic and legal standards as
those in other EU states, and our immediate neighbourhood provides even more
opportunities for cooperation. We would like Ukraine to move towards the EU,
and we hope in the future it will become an associate and then fully fledged
member of the EU.
Privatization of Polish steel plant to be checked
[Martsynovskyy] The story with the bid by the [Ukrainian Donetsk-based]
Industrial Union of Donbass corporation in the privatization of the Polish
[metallurgic] plant Huta Czestochowa proved to be a somewhat sore issue for
the Ukrainian side. What is the situation with this now? Could Poland
reconsider the results of the tender which have been announced?
[Kwasniewski] First of all, I should point out that this issue lies within
the government's remit, not within the president's. Individual ministries of
the government deal with it. But I can say that in tenders like this
somebody wins and somebody loses, and those who lose have a certain sense of
displeasure. We treat the Ukrainian government's remarks very seriously.
[Ukrainian] Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych sent a letter to our prime
minister, Leszek Miller, and it will receive a competent reply. For this we
have set up a task force which should evaluate the whole procedure and see
whether any mistakes were made. The task force should finish its work and
present results next week. If we see that tender procedures were complied
with, we will uphold the decision. If we see that any incorrect actions were
involved, the situation will be different.
However, in any case one should not interpret this case as, to put it
figuratively, "to be or not to be". We also take part in many tenders. Some
of them we win, some of them we lose - that is a nature of this process. And
I would like to say: we are interested in the presence of Ukrainian capital
and Ukrainian enterprises in Poland. The Polish Ministry of Property
presented a list of over 200 privatization facilities, and we invited our
Ukrainian friends to take part in their privatization. As to the Industrial
Union of Donbass, which we regard as a very serious enterprise, we also
invite it to bid in the privatization of other facilities, in particular
those in the metallurgy sector.
Cultural, religious divisions in Europe should be averted
[Martsynovskyy] In his recently published book ["The Limits of Europe"] EU
[Single Market] Commissioner Frits Bolkestein writes that Ukraine will never
gain membership of the EU because it will remain a "buffer" zone between the
EU, Russia and Muslim states in the south. How would you comment on such
statements?
[Kwasniewski] You know, we live in democratic countries where every person
can express his views. And so I view the stance which you mentioned as being
one of these views. I do not agree with such a concept. I am strongly
against this. Especially in view of the fact that the world blended together
a long time ago: Muslims are today present in Europe, many of them live in
France, Germany and other countries. Christians live in many Muslim states.
So the concept according to which we will define the EU's geographic
boundaries and a geographical "buffer" zone and then protect ourselves
against influences of other cultures or religions is a bad concept which
will breed conflict.
Of course, the EU's borders exist in the sense that it is hard, for example,
to imagine its stretching up to the Pacific Ocean. There are no reasons for
this, and in this case the EU would lose its active capacity. In the future
the world will have several centres, and Russia and the EU, that is, a
united Europe, will be among them. It is obvious to me that Ukraine lies in
the European part and should join European structures as an equal partner.
As regards Russia which is by nature a Eurasian state, the question is much
more difficult. I am absolutely convinced that Ukraine has a place in
Europe, and things are in your own hands. If we live by the same democratic,
legal and economic standards, geography does not matter much. When these
standards are adhered to, Ukraine will occupy its place in the European
structures.
[Martsynovskyy] Do you think it is possible to heighten the level of
cooperation between Ukraine and NATO at the Istanbul summit in June? Will
Poland uphold this?
[Kwasniewski] Without doubt. We want the summit between Ukraine and NATO
to be held at the highest possible level, in a sincere and benevolent
atmosphere. We have a hope that this will be a successful summit, although
one should keep in mind that it will be held when presidential election
campaigns are being waged both in Ukraine and in the US. This will not be an
easy time, but I believe it will be a good summit.
Urges foreign partners not to ignore Ukraine
[Martsynovskyy] A few months ago you met US President George Bush, and
reportedly, your conversation brought up Ukraine among other things. What
exactly did you discuss?
[Kwasniewski] I gave my assessment of the situation in Ukraine, and it
seemed to me that both President Bush and his entourage listened with
interest. I was under the impression that I was regarded as a sort of expert
on Ukrainian issues. Believe me that during contacts abroad I always call on
partners to cooperate with Ukraine as closely as possible so that they do
not give up due to various difficulties and problems, so that the relations
between your state and the EU and US are active and consistent. Although
these were not easy issues, I discuss them very often and quite candidly
with foreign colleagues.
Ukrainian society needs more dialogue
[Martsynovskyy] You, of course, are quite familiar with the current events
and processes inside Ukraine. How important or decisive could they be for
further development of Ukrainian-Polish relations?
[Kwasniewski] As regards Ukraine's domestic political situation, I can say
the following: if I myself did not know the problems in Poland, I would
probably be more generous in offering advice. However, since there is no
lack of such political problems at home at the present time, I will refrain.
I tell all my interlocutors in the world: Ukraine has made great progress
towards democracy, its major democratic institutions have been set up and
the foundations of multiparty political pluralism set up.
I think that the problem in Ukraine is a lack of dialogue between different
sides with a view to finding an optimal solution. Poland's experience, which
comes from the palace where we find ourselves at the present time, is
experience of a "round table". Such dialogue should ensue in parliament,
society and the mass media.
The more dialogue, the better it is: I have always worked with Ukraine in
such a spirit. I want Ukraine to develop. I wish it all the best and believe
that your state has the best prospects. I stress that independent sovereign
Ukraine is a great asset to Europe. And we should cultivate this. (END)
==========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 58: ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
==========================================================
14. LARISA BOGORAZ: HUMAN-RIGHTS CAMPAIGNER BORN IN
KHARKOV, UKRAINE, DIES IN MOSCOW
Stepped on to Red Square at midday one Sunday in 1968 and unrolled
banners protesting against the Soviet invasion of
Czechoslovakia - One banner read: "For Your Freedom and Ours"
Obituary: Larisa Iosifovna Bogoraz, by Marjorie Farquharson
The Independent, London, United Kingdom; Saturday, Apr 10, 2004
"THE GLORY of Soviet science is talked of loudly and at length and each of
you feels you share some part of it," Larisa Bogoraz wrote to Soviet
scientists in 1975, appealing for them to help the imprisoned biologist
Sergei Kovalyov:
Let us remember the shame of Soviet science too: the lines of scientific
enquiry forbidden, the scholars forced out . . . Surely you can sense that
when you make a choice between the fate of Sergei Kovalyov and research on
the nucleus of cells - and favour the latter - you are not championing
science, just your own place in it?
That sense of moral choice was always very vivid for Bogoraz and put a full
stop to her own career as a philologist at the USSR Academy of Sciences. She
was sacked, stripped of her Masters Degree in 1978 and later, in the 1980s,
was even moved from her job as night watch at an institute on the
instructions of the KGB.
Larisa Bogoraz's sacking came after she and six others had stepped out on to
Red Square at midday one Sunday in 1968 and unrolled banners protesting
against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia. Violently broken up in three
minutes, this bold display was the first public demonstration of its kind in
the Soviet Union and recognised as the start of the human- rights movement
that continues today.
At her trial in October 1968 Bogoraz said she would have preferred to have
stayed at home and add her nameless voice to the protests of the great and
famous - "but there were none". The court sentenced her to four years of
internal exile in eastern Siberia.
In her writings and in her behaviour, Larisa gave the impression of being a
free spirit, in a country that at that time decidedly was not. When she and
Pavel Litvinov, for example, protested against the imprisonment of the
writers Yuri Galanskov and Alexander Ginzburg in 1968 as an assault on
freedom of expression and violation of Soviet law, they addressed "World
Public Opinion".
As this was one of the first appeals to international public opinion ever
to have emerged from the Soviet Union, the boldness of the address
gripped the foreign media.
Protests that Bogoraz put her name to would usually end with calls for
people in other countries to set up their own national support committees.
And they found a response. Around 50,000 people in West Berlin and the
Federal Republic of Germany associated themselves with the 1974 "Moscow
Appeal" against the deportation of the writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn.
Sixteen 16 British intellectuals - who included W.H. Auden, Julian Huxley,
Bertrand Russell and Stephen Spender - responded to the appeal to "World
Public Opinion", after it appeared in The Times on 13 January 1968. The
Writers and Scholars Trust was set up as a result and Index on Censorship
began charting the state of freedom of expression the world over.
On paper Larisa Bogoraz's life looks relentlessly bleak. Ill-health dogged
her for decades; both men she married were also political prisoners - her
second husband, Anatoly Marchenko, six times. It was his death on hunger
strike in a labour camp in 1986, and the outcry it provoked, that finally
triggered the large-scale release of political prisoners by President
Mikhail Gorbachev.
Bogoraz's wit, however, and what friends called her "intellectual and
physical charm", made her manner anything but tragic. She was frail, but she
was also tough.
One of the slogans at her Red Square demonstration had been "For Your
Freedom and Ours", and by the end of her life she had the satisfaction of
seeing several of the things she believed in become reality, against the
odds. Hunger is no longer approved as a way of punishing prisoners in Russia
now, and international human-rights standards have been written into the
Constitution, for human-rights activists to achieve with them what they may.
The Gulag Archipelago - Alexander Solzhenitsyn's chronicle of political
imprisonment under Stalin - has also been published in Moscow. But the
crimes of the Soviet secret police have never been judged by an
international tribunal, as Bogoraz wanted; let alone by national courts.
Jewish and born in Ukraine, Larisa Bogoraz moved easily between different
interest groups campaigning for human rights, but once wrote that she
identified culturally with Russia. She joined the Moscow Helsinki Group in
1989 and piloted their Seminar on Human Rights in Russia's regions until she
retired in 1996.
In recent years she was critical of the conduct of the war in Chechnya, and
opposed the notion of "pre-emptive war" that the United States and its
allies declared on Iraq.
Larisa Iosifovna Bogoraz, philologist and human-rights campaigner: born
Kharkov, Soviet Union 8 August 1929; married 1950 Yuli Daniel (died 1988;
one son; marriage dissolved), 1972 Anatoli Marchenko (died 1986; one son);
died Moscow 6 April 2004. (END)
==========================================================
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