"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
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"
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN DIGEST
Developments for the week of August 2-8, 2004
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Sunday, 8 Aug 04
[article eleven]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 137
The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, THURSDAY, August 12, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1.OFFICIAL SPYING ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATE
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO IS EXPOSED IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian presidential race takes a sinister turn
By Askold Krushelnycky, The Independent, London, UK, Aug 12, 2004
2. UKRAINE POLICE DENY SPYING ON OPPOSITION LEADER
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 11 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004
3. UKRAINIAN TAX AUTHORITIES FREEZE BANK ACCOUNTS
OF PUBLISHER OF OPPOSITION LINKED NEWSPAPER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 11 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Aug 11, 2004
4.PERSISTENT DIPLOMACY NEEDED FOR NONPROLIFERATION
AND DESTRUCTION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
ACCORDING TO US SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR
National Press Club, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004
5. UKRAINE POSTS RISE IN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 9 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Aug 09, 2004
6. POLISH FIRMS INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN UKRAINE
Poland is 11th largest investor in Ukraine
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Aug 09, 2004
7. UKRAINE GOVERNMENT DELAYS MOVEMENT OF NEW
GRAIN TO EXPORT FACILITIES
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, August 11, 2004
8. RICHES PROMISED FOR UKRAINE OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS
Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, August 5, 2004
9. UKRAINE: KIEV MAYOR OLEKSANDR OMELCHENKO
OFFERS APARTMENTS FOR OLYMPIC WINNERS
AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Wed, Aug 11, 2004
10. MP OLEH RYBACHUK SEES SIGNS OF CORRUPTION IN
ACTIONS OF UKRAINIAN "OLYMPIAN" STATE OFFICIALS
"Our Ukraine" Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, 6 August 2004
11. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN DIGEST
Developments for the week of August 2-8, 2004
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Sunday, 8 Aug 04
12. UCCA SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE AS INTERNATIONAL
ELECTION OBSERVERS FOR UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By Tamara Gallo-Olexy, Executive Director
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
Washington, D.C., New York, NY, Wednesday, August 11, 2004
13. "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
The Action Ukraine Program, Washington, D.C., Thur, August 12, 2004
14.UKRAINE: "GRAVE ROBBERS: THE THEFT OF A NATION'S PAST"
By Serhiy Kharchenko, The Ukrainian Observer magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2004, Issue: 197/4
15. "A SOVIET NUREMBURG IS OVERDUE"
Without it, Russia can never truly become a 'normal' country.
COMMENTARY: By Andrew Stuttaford
National Review Online, Washington, D.C., August, 2004
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1.OFFICIAL SPYING ON PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATE
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO IS EXPOSED IN UKRAINE
Ukrainian presidential race takes a sinister turn
By Askold Krushelnycky, The Independent, London, UK, Aug 12, 2004
SIMFEROPOL, CRIMEA - A blunder by undercover policemen tailing
Ukraine's leading democratic contender in the country's presidential
election has led to more embarrassment for a regime that blends
authoritarianism with a penchant for banana republic-style bungling.
Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of the "Our Ukraine" coalition and the man
tipped to win October's presidential elections - if they are fair - has been
on the campaign trail in Crimea.
On Tuesday he was leading a group of supporters cleaning up rubbish at
a beauty spot near Yalta in Crimea as part of his "Let's Clean Ukraine of
Dirt" campaign - a not-so veiled reference to the corruption that
characterises the present regime.
Bodyguards assigned to him by the government noticed a group of men in
a car filming the group. The bodyguards stopped the three men who were
found to be carrying credentials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVS)
and instructions from a senior MVS officer ordering them to follow Mr
Yushchenko.
The three men were also carrying video cameras, and a recording device with
a long-range directional microphone and the boot contained five sets of fake
number plates.
The recordings revealed many of Mr Yushchenko's conversations during his
visit to Crimea. Mr Yushchenko has complained to the General-Prosecutor's
office. Mr Yushchenko said the events provided more evidence that the
Ukrainian government was increasingly becoming "a totalitarian and lawless
state".
Successive opinion polls show that Mr Yushchenko would win the presidency
in fair elections but Western diplomats, organisations and Ukrainian
political parties predict widespread election rigging and possibly violence
directed by the government. However Mr Yushchenko says pro-Kuchma
authorities are making it difficult for him to hold campaign rallies.
Local buildings booked by his party for meetings have been closed moments
before Yushchenko's arrival by surprise fire inspections. On one occasion he
was delayed because an airport said it could not provide the steps to allow
him and other passengers to descend from a scheduled flight. Last night one
of his provincial campaign headquarters in the town of Novoukrayinka in the
Kirovohrad region was set on fire by arsonists.
The government of Ukrainian strongman, Leonid Kuchma, is widely thought to
be unscrupulous in dealing with political opposition as the mysterious death
of an investigative journalist four years ago would indicate. Georgi
Gongadze disappeared in September 2000 after publishing a series of stories
alleging widespread and high-level government corruption. His headless body
was found in November that year.
Earlier this year The Independent revealed that leaked documents from the
Ukrainian General Prosecutor's office indicated Gongadze had been tailed by
government agencies for weeks before his disappearance.
The documents suggested that a key witness in the Gongadze case _ a former
MVS official who said the order to get rid of the journalist came from the
MVS minister of the time and Mr Kuchma _ had been killed while in custody.
They also suggest similarities in the way Mr Yushchenko and Gongadze were
tailed, with references to false sets of number plates.
The general Prosecutor's Office is investigating the death but has also
started a criminal investigation into who leaked the documents to the
Independent. This reporter has been summoned for questioning by the General
Prosecutor's Office today. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. UKRAINE POLICE DENY SPYING ON OPPOSITION LEADER
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 11 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Aug 11, 2004
KIEV - A senior Ukrainian police official has denied allegations by
opposition leader and presidential campaign frontrunner Viktor Yushchenko
that he was being shadowed by police agents.
Speaking in a live interview on the state-owned UT1 television on 11 August,
Deputy Interior Minister Petro Opanasenko said the police officer caught by
Yushchenko and his supporters in what they said was a clear act of spying
was there merely to ensure Yushchenko's own safety.
On 10 August, the opposition-leaning 5 Kanal television showed Yushchenko
and his supporters detaining and questioning one of several individuals who
they say were illegally shadowing Yushchenko during his campaign tour of
Crimea. They said one of the individuals possessed surveillance
paraphernalia, including long-distance directional microphones, cameras and
fake car licence plates, and was carrying documents showing that he was an
employee of the Interior Ministry.
Videos with clandestine film of Yushchenko's activities in Crimea were found
in the men's car, including tapes that showed Yushchenko spending time with
his family, the channel reported.
But Opanasenko said the police officer detained by the Yushchenko team
was merely there to protect the opposition leader from a possible "act of
terrorism". He said the officer was acting within the law and his detention
was illegal. He did not comment on the items found in the police officer's
possession.
"Police agents were not following Yushchenko. The task was to ensure
public order during a visit by a presidential candidate. Our officers were
there merely to identify people prone to committing terrorist acts or other
crimes," Opanasenko said. He added that the Interior Ministry had asked
the Prosecutor-General's Office to investigate the illegal detention of the
officer.
Asked by the presenter why Yushchenko, who as a former prime minister
is always escorted by state security agents, was not informed about this
extra security measure, Opanasenko replied that Yushchenko did not have
to know.
He said it was thanks to such measures that a man was caught who was
later convicted for throwing a hand grenade in a crowd of supporters of
presidential candidate Natalya Vitrenko during the 1999 presidential
campaign. The opposition claimed at the time that the incident was
orchestrated by undercover agents to compromise Socialist leader
Oleksandr Moroz, whose aide was found guilty of throwing the grenade.
Moroz was one of President Leonid Kuchma's main rivals in the 1999
election.
Yushchenko himself ridiculed earlier in the day a statement by the Crimean
police that the alleged spy was protecting him against "radicals", saying
that his own bodyguards and state security agents were perfectly capable of
doing that. He said spying on a member of parliament and presidential
candidate was a criminal offence, and called for an investigation by the
Prosecutor-General's Office.
He had previously complained that the government was obstructing his
election campaign in order to boost the chances of his main rival, Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych. The government and the Yanukovych team
deny the charges. No further processing of Opanasenko's interview is
planned. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. UKRAINIAN TAX AUTHORITIES FREEZE BANK ACCOUNTS
OF PUBLISHER OF OPPOSITION LINKED NEWSPAPER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 11 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Aug 11, 2004
KIEV - The tax authorities today froze the bank accounts of the Mega-Plus
publishing house, which printed the Vechirni Visti opposition newspaper,
"without any explanation" and violating the procedure envisaged by the law,
a statement of the Fatherland party said. [The newspaper is linked to Yuliya
Tymoshenko, a close ally of leading opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.]
The party described "the illegal acts by the tax-collecting agencies as a
repressive action aimed at depriving the Ukrainian people of an opposition
newspaper and taking revenge on the independent publication for its articles
on crimes committed by the authorities".
"The Fatherland party demands an immediate stop of repressive actions
against Mega-Plus and calls on the international and Ukrainian public not to
believe the lies of the authorities that there is no administrative pressure
in Ukraine," the party's statement said. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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========================================================
4. PERSISTENT DIPLOMACY NEEDED FOR NONPROLIFERATION
AND DESTRUCTION OF WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
ACCORDING TO US SENATOR RICHARD LUGAR
National Press Club, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2004
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Aggressive and persistent diplomacy is needed
more than additional funding to expand the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat
Reduction Program effectively, according to one of the program's authors.
Senator Richard Lugar (Republican of Indiana), who along with former
Senator Sam Nunn wrote the legislation enacted in 1991, said that while he
appreciates that both U.S. presidential candidates are supportive of the
program and there have been calls to greatly increase its funding, "In the
short run, increasing funding does not ensure that Russia's vast WMD arsenal
will be reduced faster or more efficiently than current capabilities." Lugar
made his remarks in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington
August 11.
The original Nunn-Lugar program used U.S. technical expertise and money
to safeguard, deactivate, and destroy weapons of mass destruction in
countries of the former Soviet Union. In 2003, President Bush signed the
Nunn-Lugar Expansion Act, which allows a portion of the program's funding
to be used wherever nonproliferation opportunities appear.
"At this stage," Senator Lugar said, "diplomatic breakthroughs with
resistant Russian authorities are almost a prerequisite to putting major
funding increases to work." He explained that more funding could be used to
increase the missile dismantlement capacity at Surovatikha, for example, but
that would only be useful if Russia was willing to deliver more than the
four missiles a month they currently turn over for destruction.
He noted that although the Russian government has opened many facilities to
the Nunn-Lugar program, others remain closed. "Convincing Russia to
accelerate its dismantlement schedules, to conclude umbrella agreements that
limit liability for contractors, and to open its remaining closed facilities
are the most immediate challenges for Nunn-Lugar," he said. "Whoever wins
election in November must make the removal of these roadblocks a priority.
As the roadblocks are removed, Congress and the president, as well as our
allies, must commit the funds necessary to exploit the openings."
"This is an instrument begging to be used anywhere that we can achieve
diplomatic breakthroughs," he added.
The senator presented a list of 12 items toward which "the winning
presidential candidate ... must bring the full weight of U.S. diplomatic and
economic power to bear." The list, he said, is daunting and "illustrates
that the uncertain work of nonproliferation requires flexibility,
persistence, creativity, and allied cooperation."
The items include:
-- Achieving the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of
North Korean's nuclear program. Lugar named this item as the nation's
foremost nonproliferation priority;
-- Rallying the international community to apply significant pressure on
Iran to end its nuclear weapon ambitions;
-- Convincing Russia to bring its short-range, more portable, tactical
nuclear weapons into the Nunn-Lugar program;
-- Working with Russian authorities to end bureaucratic roadblocks to
nonproliferation and securing their ratification of the Nunn-Lugar Umbrella
Agreement, which protects nonproliferation contributions from being taxed
by the Russian government, and protects U.S. contractors -- who are doing
much of the most difficult work -- from liability in case of an accident;
-- Convincing Russia to open all of its biological weapons facilities and
provide full disclosure of its chemical weapons stockpiles, as well as
finalizing a plutonium disposition agreement with them;
-- Using confidence-building measures and supporting cooperation between
India and Pakistan to bring about nuclear agreements there;
-- Controlling nuclear materials worldwide;
-- Urging U.S. allies to meet their financial pledges for actual
nonproliferation projects in the Global Partnership Against Weapons and
Materials of Mass Destruction; and
-- Expanding the programs for employment of former weapons scientists into
the commercial sector of U.S. and European companies.
"The war on terrorism proceeds in a world awash with nuclear, chemical, and
biological weapons and materials," Lugar said. "The minimum standard for
victory in this war is the prevention of any terrorist cell from obtaining
weapons or materials of mass destruction." (END) (ARTUIS)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: Your editor attended the speech by U.S. Senator Richard
Lugar in Washington at the National Press Club. Reports from several
sources indicated that Senator Lugar will be making a trip to Ukraine later
this month to meet with President Leonid Kuchma and other government
leaders on various matters of international significance.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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=======================================================
5. UKRAINE POSTS RISE IN FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 9 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Aug 09, 2004
KIEV - Direct foreign investment in the Ukrainian economy grew by 863m
dollars in January-June 2004, which is 22 per cent more than in the first
half of 2003, the National Bank said in its analytical report on the first
half of 2004.
The National Bank explains the growth by an increased share of foreign
companies in the authorized capital of Ukrainian companies.
The State Statistics Committee reported earlier that the amount of direct
foreign investment amounted to 6,657.6m dollars on 1 January 2004. Direct
foreign investment grew by 1,185.7m dollars, or 21.7 per cent, in 2003.
Ukraine attracted 51.3 per cent more direct foreign investment in 2003 than
in 2002.
First Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Azarov predicted in early March that the
growth of direct foreign investment in 2004 would increase by 40 per cent
and reach 1.6bn dollars. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Ukrainian Information Website: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
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6. POLISH FIRMS INCREASE INVESTMENTS IN RUSSIA & UKRAINE
Poland is 11th largest investor in Ukraine
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Aug 09, 2004
WARSAW - A growing number of Polish companies are opening production
plants in Russia and Ukraine. According to Polish businessmen, the era of
trade representatives and exports through intermediaries is becoming a thing
of the past. Interest in the East is due to low labour costs as well as the
scale and rapid development of the markets in former Soviet republics.
An opportunity for entrepreneurs from these countries to meet with Polish
businessmen is the annual Economic Forum in Krynica, this year scheduled
for he beginning of September. "The Forum is well-known in Ukraine both
among entrepreneurs and politicians.
It creates a good atmosphere for business co-operation and allows
entrepreneurs to establish contacts," Mikolaj Oniszczuk, trade counsellor at
the Polish embassy in Kiev, told the Rzeczpospolita daily. Poland is among
the 20 largest foreign investors in Russia, and 11th in Ukraine. (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
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7. UKRAINE GOVERNMENT DELAYS MOVEMENT OF NEW
GRAIN TO EXPORT FACILITIES
Inside Ukraine Newsletter, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, August 11, 2004
KYIV - Ukraine has experienced harvest delays due to wet weather
conditions. As a result there has not been so far large volumes of grain
moving into the State purchased reserve. So in a variety of oblasts the
state and some regional authorities has instituted unofficial obstacles for
moving grains that have been privately purchased to export positions.
There have been delays in placing state railway cars, a shortage of
phytosanitary certificates from state authorities, and other matters which
have slowed down or stopped grains from moving to export position,
irrespective of commercially owned titled goods.
It has been reported to us that Cargill, for example, was unable to obtain
the necessary phytosanitary certificates to move barley to export port
position. They became frustrated and unloaded the barley back into
their facility.
The state, of course, does not officially ban the movement, but as usual
when the state wants to slow down or stall grain movement they institute
quiet phone calls authorizing bans or slowdowns.
This is not any different than the 1999 or 2000 crop year when stores were
empty and farmers were not in a hurry to sell to the state at lower than
market levels for the reserve. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukrainian Information Website: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
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8. RICHES PROMISED FOR UKRAINE OLYMPIC MEDAL WINNERS
Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, August 5, 2004
KIEV: Ukraine's Olympic officials are optimistically counting on a quickly
improving Olympic squad and hoping to better their performance at
Sydney and Atlanta, when Ukraine grabbed 23 medals on both occasions.
To back up their confidence, the country's top sports officials are
promising competitors riches beyond their wildest dreams. Ukrainian Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich, who also chairs the national Olympic
committee, announced recently the cash incentives for the medal winners
in Athens. Olympic champions will receive $100,000 (83,101 euro) for
their achievements, the silver medallists will receive 70,000 of prize
dollars, while the bronze medal winners will pocket $50,000.
The Secretary General of Ukraine's Olympic Committee Vladimir Gerashchenko
told AFP that all the country's athletes were supplied with everything they
needed to prepare for the Games in the best possible way. He added that the
team of 243 athletes (126 men and 117 women) is expected to be a more
powerful squad than the one which contested the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
when Ukraine picked up three gold, 10 silver and 10 bronze medals, to finish
in the 21st place in the medal table.
Gerashchenko also said the country's athletes, many of whom are the world
and European champions, would battle for the top places of the Olympics in
numerous events. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. UKRAINE: KIEV MAYOR OLEKSANDR OMELCHENKO
OFFERS APARTMENTS FOR OLYMPIC WINNERS
AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Wed, Aug 11, 2004
KIEV - Hoping to boost Ukraine's performance at the Athens Olympics, the
Kiev mayor on Wednesday promised an apartment to every Ukrainian athlete
who brings home a medal.
"We will give every winner the right to become a full resident of the
Ukrainian capital," Kiev Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko was quoted as saying
by the Interfax news agency.
In June, the Ukrainian government decided to double the prize money it
offered to medal winners four years ago. Gold medalists will now get
$100,000, silver medalists $70,000 and bronze medalists $50,000, while
coaches will receive half of those amounts.
Late Tuesday, Prime Minister and presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych,
who also heads the Ukrainian Olympic Committee, said that his country
"hopes to join the list of the 15 best countries on the medal chart by
winning at least five gold medals."
Yanukovych, who left for Athens early Wednesday, said he is confident that
Ukrainian athletes' achievements would strengthen this former Soviet
republic's "international prestige," established by Olympic medalists
including pole-vault star Sergei Bubka, sprinter Valery Borzov and gymnasts
Zinaida Turchina and Borys Shakhlin. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.137: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. MP OLEH RYBACHUK SEES SIGNS OF CORRUPTION IN
ACTIONS OF UKRAINIAN "OLYMPIAN" STATE OFFICIALS
"Our Ukraine" Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, 6 August 2004
KYIV - People's deputy of Ukraine Oleh Rybachuk thinks that the
Ukrainian legislation "On fighting Corruption" was violated by the decision
to send a delegation of Ukrainian state officials to the Olympic games in
Athens and pay for it with the money of an unidentified business. He
demands that the head of the State Sports Committee Mykola Kostenko
make public the information concerning the trip, including all the names of
the official delegates.
"Law-enforcement organs have to conduct an investigation into the government
actions mentioned above since those actions violate Ukrainian legislation
"On fighting corruption," stressed Rybachuk. Let it be known that article 1
of that legislation defines such actions as illegally receiving profits,
services, or other benefits by the people carrying out state functions as
"corruption."
"I am convinced," stressed Rybachuk, "that the state officials that are not
connected directly to the competitions in Greece ought to give up their
participation in the entertainment trip, paid for by an unknown business
enterprise, in favor of trainers and doctors. Victor Yanukovych himself, in
the mean time, ought to follow the example set by the then prime minister
Victor Yushchenko who gave up his right to go to the Sydney Olympiad in
2000 and decreased the official state delegation threefold. It seams,
however, that the current government has other standards."
Note: On 5 August 2004 the head of the State Sports Committee of Ukraine
Mykola Kostenko announced that Ukraine's official delegation to the Athens
Olympiad would consist of 200 people, headed by Prime Minister Victor
Yanukovych. It has been reported that the trip to the Olympic games in
Greece will be made aboard the cruise ship "Rotterdam" and that six
ministers, six heads of regional administrations, the heads of the sports
committee, sponsors, and the members of the National Olympic Committee
will be invited.
Mr. Kostenko has stated that, "not a single kopek of state money will be
spent to pay for the costs of the delegation," since an unidentified tourist
company is to pay for all the accommodations. (http://www.razom.org.ua)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137 ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN DIGEST
Developments for the week of August 2-8, 2004
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Sunday, 8 Aug 04
IN THIS EDITION:
[1] Registration of candidates ends: Twenty-six candidates had obtained
registration with the Central Electoral Commission by the 6 August deadline.
Each candidate must now collect 500,000 signatures in his favour by 20
September. (Interfax-Ukraine 6 Aug)
[2}Kuchma keeps promise not to run for third term: President Leonid
Kuchma kept his] promise not to run for another term as the deadline for
applications to run in the election expired on 2 August. But opposition
leader and campaign front-runner Viktor Yushchenko said it was too early to
celebrate Kuchma's imminent departure from politics. He said the president
could stay on as an all-powerful prime minister if the Kuchma-backed
constitutional reform is rammed through parliament this autumn.
(ITAR-TASS, UNIAN 2 Aug)
[3] Yushchenko maintains lead: The two main candidates, Viktor Yushchenko
and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have seen their poll ratings grow in
July, with Yushchenko's lead shrinking from 7.4 to 6.8 per cent, according
to the Razumkov centre, one of Ukraine's leading pollsters. In the first
round of the election, 27.9 per cent of those polled were ready to support
Yushchenko and 21.1 per cent Yanukovych. The figures for late June were
25.2 and 17.8 per cent, respectively. Communist leader Petro Symonenko
came third with 9.8 per cent, and the Socialist Oleksandr Moroz fourth with
6.5 per cent. In the run-off between Yushchenko and Yanukovych, 37.1 per
cent would vote for Yushchenko and 29.4 per cent for Yanukovych. Some
2.7 per cent would vote against all, 12.5 per cent were undecided and 8.4
per cent would not vote at all. (Interfax-Ukraine 3 Aug 04)
[4] Opposition candidates sign fair election accord: Viktor Yushchenko and
Oleksandr Moroz signed a fair election accord on 2 August, pledging to work
together to prevent electoral fraud. On 28 July Moroz signed a similar deal
with Petro Symonenko. Meanwhile, Viktor Yanukovych's team rejected
Yushchenko's call for all candidates to sign a fair election pact as a
campaign gimmick. (Interfax-Ukraine 2 Aug 04)
[5] Pro-Yanukovych, anti-Yushchenko TV bias continues: Campaign coverage
by the three most-watched TV channels continued to be heavily biased in
favour of Viktor Yanukovych. State-owned UT1, and the private Inter and
One Plus One channels (all widely believed to be linked to the presidential
administration) gave uniformly positive and generous coverage to the
activity of Yanukovych's government and to his election campaign, while
devoting much attention to negative stories about Viktor Yushchenko. The
channels featured several attacks against Yushchenko by Symonenko, but did
not cover any of Symonenko's criticisms against the government.
[6] ICTV and Novyy Kanal (associated with Viktor Pinchuk, an MP,
industrialist and President Kuchma's son-in-law) continued to devote less
attention to the campaign than the three administration-linked channels, and
what they did show was less obviously biased. Yushchenko's campaign received
more dfpositive coverage on 5 Kanal, which is controlled by Our Ukraine MP
Petro Poroshenko. The channel gave largely neutral coverage to other
candidates. However, it also showed a number of reports directly attacking
Yanukovych. (BBC Monitoring research 5 Aug)
[7] Yushchenko's media complaint rejected: The Central Electoral Commission
rejected a complaint by Yushchenko's campaign proxy Mykola Katerynchuk
MP that several state-owned media were running Yanukovych advertisements
disguised as news reports. The commission ruled that the reports in question
constituted "legitimate coverage of political events, in which Yanukovych
featured in his official capacity as prime minister". (Interfax-Ukraine 3
Aug 04)
[8] Yanukovych signature collection steaming ahead: The Yanukovych team
have collected 5m signatures in support of his presidential bid, far more
than the 500,000 each candidate must submit to the Central Electoral
Commission. Pro-government TV channels have provided frequent updates
on the progress of Yanukovych's signature-collection campaign. The
opposition said public servants and company managers were illegally
campaigning on behalf of Yanukovych. (Ukraina 4 Aug, Interfax-Ukraine
4 Aug)
[9] Opposition says Yanukovych uses state machine for campaigning: About
100 Yushchenko supporters picketed the Interior Ministry building in Kiev,
demanding the release of an activist detained for an alleged attack on a
Yanukovych campaign office in Pryluky. The protesters said the office was
located in government buildings, which is illegal. Yushchenko's campaign
chief Oleksandr Zinchenko accused Yanukovych of "gross and large-scale
offences" against election laws, saying the prime minister was "making the
utmost use of his official position". (Interfax-Ukraine, 5 Kanal 2 Aug)
[10] Ukrainians "forced to campaign for Yanukovych": More than a quarter
of the people in Kharkiv Region have been forced at one point to take part
in pro-Yanukovych events, according to a poll by Razumkov centre, a leading
pollster. The figure was much higher than average for the whole of Ukraine
(4 per cent). (UNIAN 5 Aug 04)
[11] Yanukovych team deny election fund overspend: Oleksandr Moroz said
Viktor Yanukovych's campaign billboards in Kiev alone must have cost at
least double the 10m hryvnyas each candidate can spend on his election
campaign. Yanukovych's campaign chief Serhiy Tyhypko denied this at a
news conference. (TV 5 Kanal 5 Aug, Korrespondent.net 6 Aug)
[12] Yanukovych team say fraudsters behind Donetsk whip-round: A
representative of the Yanukovych campaign staff in Donetsk blamed fraudsters
for reported phone calls to businessmen and company managers in Donetsk
asking for a financial contribution to the Yanukovych campaign fund. (5
Kanal 6 Aug)
Yanukovych pledges fair campaign, accuses opponents of "extremism":
Viktor Yanukovych said his aim was to win the election in a fair and
transparent contest. Speaking in a rare newspaper interview, he urged his
supporters and allies "to abide precisely and consistently by the
requirements of the law".
Asked about allegations of using state machinery to win the elections, he
said anyone making use of "administrative resources" to boost his campaign
would become "an ally of [Yanukovych's] opponents". He described himself
as a patriot but not a nationalist, adding that his main support base lay
left-of-centre. He said overcoming poverty was his main priority. He
described calls by some Yushchenko supporters to ban the Communist Party
as extremist, and said that indiscriminately condemning the Soviet legacy
was "insulting the memory of our parents". (Den 6 Aug)
[13] Yanukovych calls for Iraq troops cut: Viktor Yanukovych called for
cutting the Ukrainian troop contingent in Iraq, and promised to push for
bringing some of the troops back home "as soon as possible". His statement
was widely reported by the media, and appears to have been directed at the
large majority of Ukrainians who oppose the presence of Ukrainian troops in
I raq. (Inter TV 3 Aug)
[14] Communist leader pledges to bring Iraq troops home: Petro Symonenko
said his first decree as president would order the return of Ukrainian
troops from Iraq and other hot spots. "We should get our soldiers back home
today, rather then reduce their number," Symonenko said, commenting on
Yanukovych's call to reduce the Iraq contingent. "Yanukovych's statement is
a good illustration of how cynical the ruling regime is. I would like to
remind you that it was the pro-presidential majority with support from the
right-wing and nationalistic forces of Our Ukraine who turned the Ukrainian
military into occupiers... From the very start we categorically opposed the
use of Ukrainian soldiers as 'cannon fodder' for American generals."
(Interfax-Ukraine 3 Aug)
[15] Student protest gains momentum: Oleksandr Moroz, Viktor Yushchenko
and Petro Symonenko came out in support of the 40-odd student protesters
from Sumy marching to Kiev after the government dismissed their concerns
over the merger of their universities. The opposition leaders expressed
their outrage after the students were reportedly beaten up by police and
spent 24 ours in detention for ignoring a court ban of the protest. The
students are being accompanied by several opposition MPs. Yanukovych's
campaign chief Serhiy Tyhypko said the protesters were being egged on
by the opposition, and called for them not to put students "in the way of
police truncheons". He reportedly offered to intercede on behalf of the
students in Kiev and resolve their concerns. Yanukovych himself has not
commented. (ICTV, 5 Kanal 6 August)
[16] Yushchenko tours southern, eastern Ukraine: Viktor Yushchenko hit the
campaign trail in Crimea, Odessa and Zaporizhzhya. His campaign chief
Oleksandr Zinchenko said campaign efforts will be focused on southern and
eastern Ukraine, where Yanukovych leads in the polls. Yushchenko said he was
pulling large crowds, despite nuisances such as being denied venues for his
news conferences and meetings with supporters, lengthy delays at airports,
and sudden power blackouts during events with his participation. He blamed
the government for the incidents, saying the Ukrainians will be making a
choice between "bandits and non-bandits" in the election, and adding that
under Yanukovych the country would live under "prison rules". Officials say
they have nothing to do with Yushchenko's woes. (TV 5 Kanal 3 Aug, Black
Sea TV 3 Aug 04)
[17] Yushchenko woos Russian media: Yushchenko's campaign manager
Oleksandr Zinchenko went to Moscow to challenge Russian perception of
Yushchenko as a radical nationalist, ICTV channel reported. Yushchenko
himself gave an interview to a leading Russian paper. He promised to be a
reliable and predictable partner for Russia and said Russian business would
be welcome in Ukraine. He said the Kuchma administration had alienated
both Russia and the West. (ICTV 4 August, Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow,
30 Jul)
[18] Socialist leader opposes Kuchma immunity: Oleksandr Moroz said he
was against granting President Kuchma immunity from prosecution for the
numerous offences he is alleged to have committed while in office. He said
Ukraine needs a law providing guarantees to former presidents, but added
that relieving a former head of state of responsibility for abuse of office
was unacceptable. He said the opposition would not allow a draft bill to be
passed granting the president immunity from prosecution for criminal
offences. (Interfax-Ukraine 5 Aug)
[19] Opposition media complain of gagging campaign: The opposition-leaning
5 Kanal, owned by Yushchenko's ally Petro Poroshenko, said it had been
removed from the basic cable package in Kryvyy Rih (a city in Dnipropetrovsk
Region with more than 500,000 inhabitants) and reported periodic jamming of
its signal in Kirovohrad (a regional capital in central Ukraine). The
channel said it remains unavailable in Donetsk and most of Dnipropetrovsk.
The cable operators cite technical difficulties; the channel insists
politics is behind its problems. (5 Kanal, Interfax-Ukraine 6 August).
In Luhansk, two popular opposition papers, Luhanchany and Na Dnyakh,
said they could not find anywhere to print their copies, and complained of a
gagging campaign by the local authorities. In Donetsk, the opposition paper
Ostrov has been facing similar problems for weeks. (Postup, 31 Jul)
[20] Privatization becomes campaign issue: Viktor Yanukovych said the
election campaign should not affect the progress of privatization, arguing
that privatization proceeds make it possible to boost economic growth and
raise social spending. Meanwhile, Viktor Yushchenko said the recent sales
of the steel giant Kryvorizhstal, the Kryvyy Rih iron ore combine and the
proposed privatization of Ukrtelecom were illegal. He pledged to challenge
the deals in court and reverse the sales if he became president. The
opposition had earlier said the government was pushing ahead with a fire
sale of state assets to well-connected businessmen in the run-up to the 31
October election.(Inter TV 7 Aug, Ukrayinska Pravda 5 Aug) (END)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Now a major source of Ukrainian news for thousands around the world
=======================================================
12. UCCA SEEKS VOLUNTEERS TO SERVE AS INTERNATIONAL
ELECTION OBSERVERS FOR UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By Tamara Gallo-Olexy, Executive Director
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
Washington, D.C., New York, NY, August 9, 2004
NEW YORK, The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
is seeking individuals interested in serving as International Election
Observers for Ukraine's upcoming presidential election.
As in previous years, the UCCA will be actively participating in Ukraine's
electoral process by hosing a delegation of International Election
Observers for the October 31, 2004 election.
The UCCA delegation will be registered with Ukraine's Central Election
Commission and each delegate will have the right to act an official
election monitor.
The UCCA will coordinate local travel within Ukraine, arrange for briefing
seminars and provide all the necessary election materials for each election
monitor. However, all expenses related to travel, food and lodging must
be borne by the individuals themselves.
The UCCA is required to register its delegation with the Central Election
Commission, therefore, the deadline for submitting an application to
UCCA is August 31, 2004. More detailed information about UCCA's
International Election Observer program can be found on the UCCA website
at http://www.org/events/elections2004.html.
Anyone interested in serving as an International Election Observer, should
call 212 228 6840 or send an e-mail to ucca@ucca.org, UCCA's office
in New York, to obtain an application packet. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137 ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
========================================================
13. "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
A Publication Supported Financially By Its Readers
The Action Ukraine Program, Washington, D.C., Wed, August 11, 2004
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04, is an in-depth news and
analysis international newsletter, produced by the www.ArtUkraine.com
Information Service (ARTUIS). The report is now distributed to several
thousand persons worldwide FREE of charge using the e-mail address:
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. This is the 136th Report issued so
far in year 2004.
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" is supported through The Action
Ukraine Program Fund. Financial support from readers is essential to
the future of this Report. You can become a financial sponsor of The
Action Ukraine Program Fund. Individuals, corporations, non-profit
organizations and other groups can provide support for the expanding
Action Ukraine Program by sending in contributions.
Checks should be made out to the Ukrainian Federation of America,
(UFA), a private, not-for-profit, voluntary organization. The funds should
be designated for the Action Ukraine Program Fund (AUPF), and
mailed to Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson, Ukrainian Federation of
America (UAF), 930 Henrietta Avenue, Huntingdon Valley, PA
19006-8502.
For individuals a contribution of $45-$100 is suggested. Your contribution
to help build The Action Ukraine Program to support Ukraine and her
future is very much appreciated. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137 ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
========================================================
14.UKRAINE: "GRAVE ROBBERS: THE THEFT OF A NATION'S PAST"
By Serhiy Kharchenko, The Ukrainian Observer magazine
Kyiv, Ukraine, July 1, 2004, Issue: 197/4
"Someone found them, put them together and I simply restored them..."
- Serhy Platonov, collector.
"Collectors are not doing anything for the public good. They should be
guided by the interests of the archeological heritage of Ukraine."
- Petro Tolochko, lawmaker.
Think of grave robbers, and the plunder of ancient Egyptian tombs come to
mind. But the theft of archaeological treasures is not exclusive to the
Middle East or solely a problem of the past: Wherever ancient cultures have
left reminders that can be discovered and sold, so-called black
archaeologists can be found.
Unsanctioned digs are a continuing problem in Ukraine. Because the territory
was at one time home to many ancient peoples, some historians believe that
Ukraine is the cradle of European civilization. Over time, Trypillians,
Cimmerians, Scythians, Goths, Alans and Phrygians have lived in the region.
Each group left artifacts that tell the story of how they lived, what they
believed, and how they died.
Ukraine is becoming an international center for black archeology, according
to parliament deputy Leonid Tanyuk, who chairs parliament's committee on
culture and spirituality. He said that archeological rarities from Ukraine
could be found for sale throughout Europe.
In addition to stealing valuable artifacts, archaeologists complain that the
illegal excavations are done crudely, with workers destroying information
considered valuable in the course of their search for salable artifacts and
precious metals. Scientific digs approach the area methodically, allowing
academics to carefully examine layers of clay and rock for minute evidence
of past civilizations.
The legitimate archaeologists are also envious of the tools used by some of
the pirates, who employ high-technology scanners to look for deposits buried
far below the surface. Academics rarely have the funds to acquire and use
such equipment.
Historian Yuriy Rassamakin blames the government, in part, for not acting to
protect the country's buried past.
"For seven years, Ukraine has failed to ratify the European Convention on
the Protection of Archeological Heritage," he said. The treaty sets out a
strict system for protection of archeological heritage, and provides for
enforcement by specially trained archeological police.
A law protecting cultural artifacts enacted in 2000 didn't define or
criminalize commercial archeological digs, said Petro Tolochko, an
academician and parliament deputy. He said that he has made several efforts
to persuade colleagues to support a bill that would outlaw commercial
excavations.
"My bill makes black archaeology an offense punishable by up to seven
years in prison," Tolochko said. He said that the legislation would at least
slow the pace of illegal activity.
Many archeologists assert that the illegal activity is stimulated by demand
from wealthy collectors eager for antiquities. Because they are wealthy, the
collectors are able to influence legislators and block bills that, like
Tolochko's, would impede the black marketeers.
Collectors aren't picky about how the items they buy were found. And
since possessing artifacts isn't in itself illegal, collecting can represent
a legal means of investing capital.
That means that collectors need not hide their purchases. One prominent
Ukrainian collector, businessman Serhy Platonov has openly placed his
collection on public exhibit. Experts have estimated the value of the
collection at several million dollars.
Among Platonov's items is a little toy bull on wheels from Trypillia. The
object excited scientists, who believe that it proves that the wheel was
invented in Ukraine some 1,500 years earlier than originally believed.
The collection also includes a 949-gram gold coin, amphorae, Polovtsian
gold, and the bust of a Roman soldier - all items that would be sought after
by major museums.
Platonov said he doesn't know which of the items he has purchased were
discovered by legitimate archeologists and how many are the products of
commercial digs. "Someone found them, put them together - piece by piece,
and I simply estored them with the help of specialists," he said.
Platonov said that buying the artifacts for his personal collection benefits
the country because they would otherwise be sold abroad.
"When I found out that many antiquities of Ukrainian origin are illegally
transported abroad to be sold in Western auctions, I decided to collect
them here," he said. "They are national treasures."
Few other Ukrainian collectors permit scholars to examine their purchases.
Tolochko said that opening private collections to scientists represent a
first step toward a civilized collaboration between the two groups.
Most archaeologists, however, view with skepticism Platonov's argument that
buying and keeping artifacts in the country is somehow patriotic. Collectors
who pay black marketeers generous fees feed an industry that damages
legitimate academic research. Removed from their archeological context, the
items are stripped of their ties with the location where they were found and
cannot be accurately dated.
That keeps archaeologists from learning all they can about the objects, they
say.
According to figures from Hislop's Official International Price Guide to
Fine Art, over the past five years prices for rare artifacts at
international auctions have increased by 700 percent, making commercial
archaeologists' work worth the risks involved.
One risk entails smuggling artifacts out of the country. In 2003, customs
officials discovered 384 attempts to illegally export items with cultural or
historical value out of Ukraine.
While Tolochko continues to hope for a legislative solution to the problem,
hoping that the European Convention on the Protection of Archeological
Heritage will be ratified and that his "strict but just" bill will be
passed. But he also holds consumers - the collectors who buy artifacts -
responsible for providing a market.
"Collectors must understand that they are not doing anything for the public
good," he said. "They should be guided by the interests of the archeological
heritage of Ukraine." (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 137 ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
========================================================
15. "A SOVIET NUREMBERG IS OVERDUE"
Without it, Russia can never truly become a 'normal' country.
COMMENTARY: By Andrew Stuttaford
National Review Online, Washington, D.C., Sun., August 8, 2004
We hear a lot these days from the current Russian government about the
wrongs that Russians suffer at the hands of Ukrainians, Balts and other
nations strangely ungrateful for what Moscow did to, oh sorry, for, them in
the course of the Twentieth Century, but this story shows just how seriously
the world should take those complaints.
It begins with the mass murder by the Soviets of thousands of Polish
officers at Katyn in 1940, a crime that was nothing less than an exercise in
social and cultural genocide, a savage attempt to decapitate Polish society.
Warsaw has long wanted an accounting. Moscow has long responded with
lies and evasion. Not enough, it seems, has changed.
"Kieres, head of Poland's Institute for National Remembrance of the War,
came to Moscow this week with Polish war crimes prosecutors. He was
cruelly disappointed. Russian prosecutors told him that the crimes took
place too long ago to be acted upon and refused to even divulge how many
of the suspects were still alive. While promising to share some information
with Warsaw, the Russians insisted that the crime could not be classified as
genocide, a move that would allow prosecutions to go ahead.
The Polish side was furious. "This was genocide, whether they want to
call it that or not. That is the reality, the painful reality for us and for
them," Anna Wolinska, who lost her father and uncle in the massacres,
told TV Polonia."
As the Independent points out, this is the second Russian insult to the
Poles in as many second weeks. Another of the squalid chapters in the
Soviet Union's very mixed record between 1939 and 1945 was the
decision of the nearby Red Army to watch passively as the Germans
crushed the Warsaw Rising in 1944. Conveniently for Stalin, the slaughter
of yet more of Poland's best and brightest by the Nazis removed another
obstacle to the communist takeover of Poland that he had planned for so
long.
Moscow is also refusing to apologize for this betrayal of a supposedly
allied country. Russia's foreign ministry merely contents itself with the
comment that it considers " it inappropriate and blasphemous to the
memory of the fallen to get into public polemics on this score." In reality,
of course, it is the failure of the current Russian leadership to
acknowledge the horrors of the Soviet past that is the real blasphemy.
A Soviet Nuremberg remains long overdue. Without it, Russia can never
truly become a 'normal' country. (END)
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