"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"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 166
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, SATURDAY, September 18, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE YUSHCHENKO'S
HEADQUARTERS SUSPECTS HIS DELIBERATE POISONING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 17, 2004
2.UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
SURVIVES ALLEGED ATTEMPT AT POISONING
Doctors do not rule out an attempt on his life
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 17, 2004
3. UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO POISONED,
FEARS FOUL PLAY
By Yuri Kulikov, Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 17, 2004
4. KUCHMA'S PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDING
THAT VIKTOR YUSCHENKO'S CAMPAIGN CHECK HIS FOOD
AND HAVE HIM DRINK ALCOHOL BEFORE EATING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, September 17, 2004
5. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
TO DOUBLE PENSIONS RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION
Highest pension level in any of the CIS countries
Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, Fri, Sept 17, 2004
6. "MORE STRAIGHT TALK"
Mr. Bush should also talk about Belarus and Ukraine
LEAD EDITORIAL: The Washington Post
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 17, 2004; Page A26
7. EMBATTLED TV 5 RESUMES BROADCASTS IN KHARKIV
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
8. EU HITS AT UKRAINE'S SAFETY FOR REPORTERS
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Fri, Sep17 2004
9. EU EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER LACK OF PROGRESS IN
GONGADZE CASE ON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 16, 2004
10. ROMANIA ASKS UN COURT TO HEAR BLACK SEA
BORDER DISPUTE WITH UKRAINE
Associated Press, The Hague, Thu, September 16, 2004
11. PARTNER NEEDED HELP FINANCE ODESSA-BRODY EXTENSION
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
12. UKRAINE SAYS NO ARMS SOLD TO CUBA, VENEZUELA
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, Fri, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 17, 2004
13. "VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO: A FUTURE PRESIDENT?"
Viktor Yushchenko may have been Ukraine's most popular politician for
the past two years, but his weaknesses may still mean he fails to become
the next president.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS by Ivan Lozowy
Transitions Online, Prague, Czech Republic, Fri, 17 September 2004
14. "UKRAINE'S OTHER COAST, ON THE SEA OF AZOV"
By Vlad Lavrov, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, Sep 8, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1 . UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE YUSCHENKO'S
HEADQUARTERS SUSPECTS HIS DELIBERATE POISONING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
KYIV - The headquarters of the presidential candidate, leader of the Our
Ukraine Coalition leader Viktor Yushchenko suspect that he had been poisoned
deliberately. Yushchenko's campaign manager Oleksandr Zinchenko informed
journalists about this.
"We are not talking about ordinary poisoning here, and not even about strong
poisoning. We have enough reasons to suspect that Yuschenko has been
poisoned," Zinchenko said. He informed that Yuschenko felt bad late at
night on September 5: he started vomiting, got a strong headache and pain
all over his body. Preliminary diagnosis of the medics has been intestinal
flu.
However, after Yushchenko was hospitalized to a clinic in Vienna (Austria),
the preliminary diagnosis was revised. "The preliminary diagnosis is wrong
per se," Zinchenko quoted a conclusion of the Austrian doctors. He noted
that the conclusion was made by 11 university professors from Austria. They
have found that Yushchenko has acute pancreatitis with a large number of
complications.
The probability of the lethal outcome in such case is 15%, but if the medics
interfered in the situation several hours later, this probability would have
grown to 80%.
"Health deterioration was caused by a strong viral infection and chemical
substances that are not contained in food products normally," the doctors
concluded.
As complex analysis of Yushchenko's condition was held on September 10,
six days after the poisoning, doctors failed to find out which substances
caused poisoning. Zinchenko noted that the day when poisoning took place,
was no different from Yushchenko's other days. He stressed that the
poisoning occurred against the background of complete physical health of
the presidential candidate.
Condition of Yushchenko's health is presently stable. He will return to Kyiv
from Vienna on September 18. Zinchenko noted that as a result of the
accident Yuschenko was prevented from election campaigning for 12 days.
According to Zinchenko, the headquarters don't plan to apply to the
law-enforcement agencies, as they believe that they must react themselves.
Zinchenko noted that a medical commission will be created in Kyiv, and the
headquarters will pass the conclusion of the Austrian doctors to it. He
refused to name people whom the headquarters suspect of deliberate
poisoning.
As Ukrainian News reported earlier, Yushchenko previously interrupted his
campaign tour due to illness. The Central Elections Commission registered
Yuschenko as presidential candidate on July 6. Presidential election is
slated for October 31. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
SURVIVES ALLEGED ATTEMPT AT POISONING
Doctors do not rule out an attempt on his life
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
KIEV - The team of Ukraine's [opposition] presidential candidate Viktor
Yushchenko does not rule out that his recent poisoning was an attempt on
his life.
The Austrian doctors at the Rudolfinerhaus clinic, who examined Yushchenko,
said that his health had been affected "by an acute viral infection and
chemical substances that are not usually found in food products", the
manager of Yushchenko's election campaign, Oleksandr Zinchenko, told a
news conference in Kiev today.
Zinchenko said that Yushchenko felt the first symptoms of illness on 6
September, after which Ukrainian doctors watched his condition, but it only
deteriorated. On 10 September Yushchenko was transported to the
Rudolfinerhaus clinic in Vienna. He had been diagnosed with flu in Ukraine,
but Austrian doctors said the diagnosis was incorrect.
A detailed examination was conducted in about six days after the poisoning,
so it is impossible to define which chemical substance and when caused the
poisoning, Zinchenko said.
The Austrian doctors' diagnosis was "acute pancreatitis accompanied by
interstitial oedematous changes". They supplied this with several additional
diagnoses, Zinchenko said. He stressed that the illness had developed
"despite Yushchenko's absolute physical health". [Passage omitted:
repetition]
Yushchenko feels good today. He is in a good physical form and high spirits,
ready to actively continue the election campaign, the press service of
Yushchenko's central headquarters said. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. UKRAINE OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO POISONED,
FEARS FOUL PLAY
By Yuri Kulikov, Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Fri, September 17, 2004
KIEV - A Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential candidate is in a
Vienna hospital recovering from what his supporters said on Friday appeared
to be an attempt on his life by political enemies who poisoned him.
Viktor Yushchenko, a former prime minister, stopped campaigning and flew
to Vienna for treatment a week ago after being taken ill with what was first
thought to be food poisoning and what turned out to be chemical poisoning,
his aides said.
Austrian doctors ran tests and found that Yushchenko's ill health was "due
to a serious viral infection and chemical substances which are not normally
found in food products," Oleksander Zinchenko, a senior aide, told a news
conference. "There is enough evidence to say that it was an attempt on the
life of presidential candidate Yushchenko," said Zinchenko, head of the
candidate's campaign for Oct. 31 presidential elections.
"We are talking about not an ordinary case of poisoning, and not really
about a bad case of poisoning. We are talking about things which are
threatening the life of Viktor Yushchenko." In a separate statement,
Yushchenko's supporters said they expected the authorities to resort to
"strong-arm techniques" to ensure the victory of their candidate, Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich. "A month before their ouster, the authorities
are ready to launch any kind of attacks to ensure their survival, including
the elimination of competitors," Yushchenko's team said.
OFFICIAL STATEMENTS EXPECTED
The opposition has already accused the authorities of harassing Yushchenko
during his campaign outings. In Yanukovich's home-base of Donetsk, youths
carried pictures of Yushchenko as Hitler when he arrived.
A spokesman for the prosecutor general's office was quoted as saying by
Interfax-Ukraine news agency that the office had yet to receive any
complaint.
A spokeswoman for President Leonid Kuchma, who has backed Yanukovich,
said a comment would follow. A spokeswoman for Yanukovich also said his
office would make a statement later.
Election campaigning in the country of 48 million has been so far marked by
sniping, a lack of open debate and widespread apathy on the part of voters.
The Oct. 31 election is to replace Kuchma. Yushchenko and Yanukovich are
the frontrunners in a field of 26.
Television is swamped with images of Yanukovich, while Yushchenko barely
gets a look in. EU and U.S. officials have called on Ukraine, located
between the European Union and Russia, to prove its democratic credentials
with a fair vote.
Most analysts say neither will win outright in the first round, forcing a
second round in November. (Additional reporting by Natalya Zinets)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
======================================================
4. KUCHMA'S PRESIDENTIAL ADMINISTRATION RECOMMENDING
THAT VIKTOR YUSCHENKO'S CAMPAIGN CHECK HIS FOOD
AND HAVE HIM DRINK ALCOHOL BEFORE EATING
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, September 17, 2004
KYIV - The Ukrainian Presidential Administration is recommending that
the election campaign team of the Our Ukraine coalition's leader and
presidential candidate check his food in order to avoid poisoning.
Vasyl Baziv, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Presidential Administration
and head of the administration's analytical department, announced this at a
news briefing.
"Let [the head of Yushchenko's election campaign team Oleksandr] Zinchenko
be the first to test, followed by all the others. In my opinion, rulers did
it this way in the middle ages," Baziv said.
Commenting on the claim by Yushchenko's election campaign team that it
suspected that Yuschenko was deliberately poisoned, Baziv said that it was
difficult to find a way to prevent such poisoning. "Government guards can
be requested from the law enforcement agencies when any other sort of
threat emerges. In this case, however, what can be done to prevent [it]?"
Baziv said.
After the news briefing, Baziv told journalists that a friend of his is in
hospital with food poisoning and that his doctors are saying that he would
not have fallen ill if had had consumed alcohol before eating. "Nothing
would have happened if he had drunk 100 grams [of alcohol] before
[eating]," Baziv said.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Yushchenko's election campaign
team has said that it suspected that Yuschenko was deliberately poisoned.
Yushchenko's condition is presently stable. He plans to return to Kyiv on
September 18 after receiving treatment in Vienna (Austria). (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
======================================================
5.UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
TO DOUBLE PENSIONS RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION
Highest pension level in any of the CIS countries
Russian news agency ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, Sept 17, 2004
KIEV - The Ukrainian government will increase minimal pensions to the
subsistence level next week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
[who runs for president] said at the ceremony of unveiling the monument to
the Kirovohrad angel guardian on Friday [17 September, in Kirovohrad,
central Ukraine].
"All Ukrainian pensioners will get a higher pension than in other CIS
countries next week and it will equal the subsistence level," he emphasized.
The minimal pension will reach 284 hryvnyas (approximately 54 dollars), the
spokeswoman of the prime minister, Anna Herman, told ITAR-TASS.
The Ukrainian government earlier planned to raise minimal pensions that now
equal 137 hryvnyas (27 dollars) to the subsistence level only for disabled
people in 2005. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
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6. "MORE STRAIGHT TALK"
Mr. Bush should also talk about Belarus and Ukraine
LEAD EDITORIAL: The Washington Post
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 17, 2004; Page A26
PRESIDENT BUSH at last has spoken out publicly against Vladimir Putin's
dismantling of democracy in Russia, despite his personal bond with the
Russian president and his administration's interest in preserving him as an
ally in the war on terrorism. For that we commend Mr. Bush, who has taken
a step toward backing up his rhetoric about "defending freedom" around the
world. And we have a follow-up suggestion: Mr. Bush should also talk about
Belarus and Ukraine, two European neighbors of Russia where popular
aspirations for political freedom are colliding with Mr. Putin's neo-Soviet
project.
Located between Russia and the new borders of NATO and the European
Union, Belarus and Ukraine face a choice this fall between the democracy and
free-market capitalism of the West and subordination to a Kremlin-directed
economic sphere and Mr. Putin's "managed democracy." Belarus, a country
of 10 million, is already nearly gone: President Alexander Lukashenko was
years ahead of Mr. Putin in establishing a de facto dictatorship of rigged
elections, state-controlled media and persecution of opponents, and next
year his country, already dependent on Russian subsidies, is to adopt the
ruble as its national currency.
Yet Belarus's democratic opposition has not surrendered, and now it faces a
crucial fight: Mr. Lukashenko has added a constitutional referendum to the
parliamentary elections he is staging on Oct. 17 that would allow him to
remain in power beyond 2006, when his tenure in office -- a decade, so
far -- is set to expire. The opposition has no more chance in the
parliamentary vote than Russia's opposition had in Mr. Putin's Duma
elections last year. But independent polling shows that most Belarusans
oppose Mr. Lukashenko's power grab. The Kremlin, naturally, is content
to go along with it, because it will ensure that Mr. Lukashenko, a pariah in
the West, will continue his surrender of sovereignty to Mr. Putin.
In Ukraine, the stakes are far higher, and the battle is more even. A
presidential election scheduled for Oct. 31 will probably narrow in a second
round to opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who favors the membership
of Ukraine in NATO and the European Union, and Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych, who supports closer integration with Russia and is openly
backed by Mr. Putin. This might offer Ukrainians a clear choice about the
country's future -- except that more than geopolitical alignment is
involved.
Mr. Yushchenko, who leads all polls, is committed to preserving political
freedoms, while Mr. Yanukovych and Ukraine's current president, Leonid
Kuchma, are moving toward Mr. Putin's style of politics. State-controlled
media are openly campaigning for the official candidate, dirty tricks
against the opposition are common, and Western observers believe there is
reason to fear that the government, with Mr. Putin's support, will steal the
election for Mr. Yanukovych.
Compared with efforts regarding Russia, the resources devoted by the
United States to these two countries are pitifully small. A handful of U.S.
officials have visited Ukraine and pressed for free elections -- but Mr.
Putin has met with Mr. Kuchma 10 times this year alone and recently
asserted that relations with Ukraine were "the first priority" of his
foreign policy.
Yet the Bush administration can still have an influence. It can promote the
formation of a contact group of neighboring countries, such as Sweden,
Poland and Slovakia, to support the cause of democracy; it can work with
the European Union to press for international election observers, and make
it clear that a rigged election will bring a united and firm response.
Finally, Mr. Bush can say directly to Ukrainians and Belarusans that he
supports real democracy for their countries -- and that in that respect, he
differs with Mr. Putin. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
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7. EMBATTLED TV 5 RESUMES BROADCASTS IN KHARKIV
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
KHARKIV - The 5 Kanal [opposition-leaning TV] has resumed broadcasting
in Kharkiv, UNIAN learnt from a representative of the Alpha Communications
cable network operator - a company that has been transmitting 5 Kanal's
programmes in three out of Kharkiv's nine districts for a long period.
The representative said that broadcasting had been halted "for a certain
period for technical reasons" on 13 September. Asked whether the company
had been pressurized for cooperation with the opposition channel, the
representative did not give any answer.
He said that 5 Kanal's broadcasting was resumed in full at 1700 [local time]
on 15 September. He added that programmes of the Favorit and ATVK
channels were transmitted instead of 5 Kanal during those several days.
As UNIAN reported, 5 Kanal's broadcasts were stopped in Kharkiv on 13
September. Earlier 5 Kanal's broadcasts were stopped in Donetsk Region,
Dnipropetrovsk Region and Uzhhorod. [Passage omitted: US, European
officials concerned] (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
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8. EU HITS AT UKRAINE'S SAFETY FOR REPORTERS
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Fri, Sep17 2004
KIEV - The European Union yesterday criticised Ukraine for "lack of
progress" in its investigation into the killing of journalist Georgy
Gongadze, whose disappearance four years ago has become the country's
longest-running political scandal.
A statement issued by the Netherlands, which holds the EU's rotating
presidency, said since Gongadze's death "there have been a number of other
physical attacks on and suspicious deaths of journalists, putting into
question the security and safety for media professionals".
A parliamentary commission has accused Ukraine's outgoing president, Leonid
Kuchma, of ordering Gongadze's kidnapping. Case materials leaked recently
showed police investigators admitting they had followed Gongadze during the
months before his disappearance. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. EU EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER LACK OF PROGRESS IN
GONGADZE CASE ON THE FOURTH ANNIVERSARY
OF HIS DISAPPEARANCE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thur, September 16, 2004
KYIV - The European Union has expressed its concern at the lack of
progress in the investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death
of journalist Georgy Gongadze on the fourth anniversary of his disappearance
and murder. The EU expressed this concern in a statement, a text of which
Ukrainian News obtained.
"On the fourth anniversary of his disappearance and murder of the journalist
Georgy Gongadze, the EU wishes to express once again its concern at the
lack of progress with the investigation into the circumstances of his
death," the statement said.
The EU said in the statement that there have been a number of other physical
attacks on and suspicious deaths of journalists in the four years since
Gongadze's death.
"The EU therefore calls on the Ukrainian authorities to do their utmost to
find the perpetrators of these crimes, and bring them to justice," the
statement said.
In addition to the member-countries of the EU, the candidate-countries
Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Croatia, as well as the countries of the
Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania,
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,
Serbia and Montenegro, and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein,
and Norway aligned themselves with this declaration.
Ukrainian News earlier reported, Gongadze disappeared on September 16,
2000. A headless body considered to be that of Gongadze was found in the
woods in the Tarascha district near Kyiv two months later.
The disappearance of Gongadze sparked a political scandal in Ukraine, with
President Leonid Kuchma being accused of complicity in his murder. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 166: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. ROMANIA ASKS UN COURT TO HEAR BLACK SEA
BORDER DISPUTE WITH UKRAINE
Associated Press, The Hague, Thu, September 16, 2004
THE HAGUE (AP)--Romania filed a suit Thursday against Ukraine at the
International Court of Justice, asking the U.N.'s highest judicial authority
to demarcate their border in the oil-rich Black Sea. The two former
communist countries have been in talks for six years over their shared
maritime boundary.
Romania said in its suit that it wants the court to step in "to avoid the
indefinite prolongation of discussions that in its opinion, obviously cannot
lead to any outcome."
In the mid-1990s, major oil and gas deposits were discovered in the
region, and in 1995, Ukraine protested that Romania was laying claim to
Ukrainian territory in the Black Sea. Ukraine went on to build structures
on "Serpents Island," a rocky isle, to strengthen its claim.
The two countries signed a treaty in 1997 agreeing to negotiate a settlement
of the border "as well as an agreement for the delimitation of the
continental shelf and the exclusive economic zones," Romania said in its
filing. The countries have agreed on their land border, but discussions on
the sea boundary have so far proved fruitless.
The court didn't immediate set a date for submissions or hearings on the
application, which usually precede a ruling on whether it will adjudicate a
case. Normally, border disputes brought to the 15-member court take several
years. The International Court of Justice, also called the world court,
arbitrates disputes between assenting U.N. member states. Its decisions on
such matters are final and binding on the parties. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166 ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. PARTNER NEEDED HELP FINANCE ODESSA-BRODY EXTENSION
Polish News Bulletin; Warsaw, Poland, Fri, Sep 17, 2004
WARSAW - Ukraine's UkrTransNafta and its Polish counterpart PERN,
working on the extension of the Odessa-Brody pipeline to the Polish petro-
chemical plant in Plock, hope that in the realization of the project -
estimated initially at $400-500m - they will be assisted by oil extracting
companies.
Their company, Sarmatia, established to accomplish the task, lacks
sufficient financing. Both companies will talk to Chevron Texaco and
Kazmunaigaz, which exploit oil fields in Kazakhstan and have already
expressed an interest in the project in Poland. Sarmatia President Cezary
Filipowicz said he hoped that the main financial burden of the project will
be shouldered by the new partners of Sarmatia.
In his opinion, the construction of the 560km pipeline would take two to
three years. If Sarmatia manages to secure financing by the end of 2005, it
will be ready to start the construction process in 2006, said Filipowicz.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166 ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
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12. UKRAINE SAYS NO ARMS SOLD TO CUBA, VENEZUELA
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, Fri, 17 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 17, 2004
KIEV - The presidential administration has dismissed reports that Ukraine
sold weapons to Cuba and Venezuela. The deputy chief of the Ukrainian
president's administration and the head of the administration's main
analytical directorate, Vasyl Baziv, made a statement to this effect at a
briefing today.
Baziv was commenting on a report by the British publication Jane's
Intelligence Digest that Ukraine had sold weapons to Venezuela and Cuba.
According to the State Export Control Service of Ukraine, Ukrainian
exporters "did not supply military-purpose products to Venezuela" in
2003-04, Baziv said. "At present there is even no information about any
intentions to do so in the future," he added.
No military-purpose products were supplied to Cuba in this period either,
Baziv said. "Several batches of dual-purpose goods were supplied - aircraft
engine parts were supplied by Motor Sich, while Meridian sent
radio-electronic devices to Cuba," Baziv said.
No international sanctions were imposed on either Cuba or Venezuela, and
so "there are no restrictions on selling dual-purpose goods [to them] in
terms of international law," Baziv said. While taking decisions on issues
like this, every country is guided by, first, its international obligations
and, second, its national interests, he said.
The report in Jane's Intelligence Digest is "another piece of misinformation
and a very dirty form of competition on the world arms market", Baziv said.
He noted that nobody had yet proved that Ukraine sold Kolchuga [radars] to
Iraq. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166 ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
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13. "VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO: A FUTURE PRESIDENT?"
Viktor Yushchenko may have been Ukraine's most popular politician for the
past two years, but his weaknesses may still mean he fails to become the
next president.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS by Ivan Lozowy
Transitions Online, Prague, Czech Republic, Fri, 17 September 2004
KIEV, Ukraine--He has been Ukraine's most popular politician for the past
two years. In six weeks' time, he may be Ukraine's president. And, if he
wins the presidential elections, even his fiercest opponents admit that
Viktor Yushchenko would dramatically change the face not only of Ukrainian
politics but of Ukraine itself.
But, despite the resilience of his popularity and ordinary Ukrainians' quiet
but powerful change, few analysts venture to bet on a Yushchenko win. A
poll conducted on 11-12 September indicates that 31 percent would vote
for Yushchenko in the first round (rising to 40 percent in the run-off),
compared with 24 percent (rising to 33 percent) for the pro-government
candidate and current prime minister, Viktor Yanukovych. But many supporters
do not believe Yushchenko will win, a point last demonstrated in an April
2004 poll by the Kiev International Sociology Institute, which showed that
while 36 percent of voters would prefer Yushchenko as president only 20
percent believed Yushchenko would win. (Yanukovych then had the backing
of 26 percent, but 35 percent thought he would become president.)
The lack of faith in a Yushchenko victory is partly explained by the
entrenched nature of Ukraine's ex-communist leadership, but also partly by
the personal weaknesses and ambiguities that have emerged during
Yushchenko's complex and drawn-out road toward the country's top post.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
Viktor Yushchenko was born in 1954 in a village in the northeastern region
of Sumy, an area dominated by Russian speakers. He studied at the Ternopil
Finance and Economics Institute in western Ukraine, a region that, even in
the Soviet era, was always more consciously and patriotically Ukrainian. His
first job was as an accountant in the village of Yarove, again in western
Ukraine. After military service, Yushchenko returned, in 1976, to the Sumy
oblast to work in a local branch of the State Bank of the USSR.
Yushchenko's big break came in December 1987, when he was noticed by Vadym
Hetman, the head of the state's agricultural bank, Ahroprombank, who offered
the young Yushchenko a post in Kiev. Yushchenko accepted and apparently was
sufficiently impressive at Ahroprombank for Hetman to nominate Yushchenko
for the post of chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine in 1993. Yushchenko
got the post, reportedly also thanks to another powerful connection, to the
then speaker of parliament, Ivan Pliushch.
As governor of the central bank, Yushchenko introduced Ukraine's new
currency, the hryvnia, in 1996. He also introduced, for the first time in
Ukraine's short but inflation-ridden history, a tight monetary policy. The
new currency became stable and popular, as too did Yushchenko.
By 1998, Yushchenko was being talked of seriously as a potential candidate
in presidential elections due the next year. Vyacheslav Chornovil, the then
leader of the opposition Rukh party, which had won the second-largest number
of votes in general elections in 1998, tried to convince Yushchenko to run.
To no avail.
Leonid Kuchma went on to win a largely uncontested victory. Kuchma invited
Yushchenko to become prime minister, an offer that Yushchenko accepted.
But if Kuchma reasoned that the loyalty Yushchenko had demonstrated by not
competing for the presidency ruled him out as a rival and made him a safe
bet, he could not have been more wrong.
TURNING THE TABLES AND BUYING POPULARITY
When he became prime minister, in December 1999, Yushchenko found
himself handcuffed in a largely ceremonial role. The real power lay with the
president, who could hire and fire ministers, as well as regional governors
and even local county heads. The president also benefited from a holdover
from the Soviet era, the "telephone right," a tradition that in practice
allows the president or his aides to telephone anyone in the country and
insist on almost any decision being made.
Yushchenko complained that he could personally choose only a few ministers.
But, in giving Yulia Tymoshenko the energy portfolio, he made an astute
decision that foreshadowed his break with Kuchma.
To some, the choice may have looked odd. Tymoshenko had been a protégé of
Lazarenko, a former prime minister. By the time she was appointed, Lazarenko
had fled the country rather than face charges of stealing state funds and
ordering a killing. The man whose murder he stood accused of commissioning
was Hetman, Yushchenko's early patron. And the person who became, in
Lazarenko's absence, the object of much of Kuchma's ire was Tymoshenko.
Despite her Lazarenko connection, Yushchenko appointed Tymoshenko and,
for some reason, Kuchma tacitly approved. Perhaps Kuchma reasoned that she
could be removed more easily as a minister than as a member of parliament,
because, by giving up her seat in parliament to take a seat in the cabinet,
she lost her immunity from prosecution.
Yet the economic figures in 2000 spoke for themselves, strengthening
Tymoshenko's position. For the first time since independence, Ukraine had a
budget surplus. And not just any surplus: tax revenues exceeded projections
by 9.5 billions hryvnia, equivalent to about 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.
Herself a seasoned operator in Ukraine's energy sector, a market with an
annual turnover of tens of billions of dollars, Tymoshenko had clamped down
on financial schemes that had deprived the government of hundreds of
millions of dollars in taxes.
In the process, she had stepped on the toes of some of Kuchma's close
associates, such as Hryhoriy Surkis, head of the Dynamo Kiev football team,
and a powerful player on the energy markets.
But for Yushchenko, Tymoshenko's windfall was a boon. His government put
the surplus funds to good use, repaying wage and pension arrears which had
accumulated for years. The average Ukrainian was impressed. Yushchenko's
popularity soared to over 35 percent, a figure unprecedented in independent
Ukraine.
Yushchenko used his popularity to good effect, pushing through several
sweeping reforms, including reform of the agricultural sector. He took
semi-privatized farms off the government's drip-feed and drastically cut
taxes for "primary producers," those enterprises which actually grow
agricultural produce.
In the meantime, Kuchma's relations with Yushchenko and Tymoshenko
worsened. In the spring of 2001, with Kuchma's tacit approval, the deputy
chairman of parliament, Viktor Medvedchuk, publicly announced that he would
push through a no-confidence vote in Yushchenko's government. In the mean-
time, Kuchma removed Tymoshenko from her post by presidential decree.
When the no-confidence vote passed in April 2002, Yushchenko announced to
parliament that he was "leaving politics in order to return." The message
for Kuchma and his entourage was clear.
A COMPLICATED ROAD TO DAMASCUS (AND DONETSK)
Yushchenko did not start out intending to challenge Kuchma. There are
reasons to believe that, for a time, Kuchma supplanted Hetman as
Yushchenko's patron. In a now-infamous comment, Yushchenko claimed that
his relationship with Kuchma was akin to that between a father and a son.
Even after being removed from office, Yushchenko admitted to frequently
visiting Kuchma.
He remained relatively restrained in his criticism of Kuchma. In contrast,
after her sacking, Tymoshenko had launched a campaign to impeach Kuchma.
Yushchenko also found himself in a difficult position on one of the
touchstone issues for the opposition, the disappearance of journalist
Heorhiy Gongadze. When anti-Kuchma protests erupted in 2000 after secretly
recorded tapes implicated Kuchma in Gongadze's murder, Yushchenko, who
was prime minister at the time, added his signature to a letter also signed
by Kuchma and Pliushch condemning the protesters. (Yushchenko later
claimed he did not agree with everything in the letter.)
Still, Yushchenko's popularity was strong enough for his election bloc, Our
Ukraine, to win the most votes in a general election held in March 2002.
By then, he looked the opposition candidate most capable of becoming
president. But as he began preparing for a presidential bid he met fierce
resistance from those in power. In October 2003, Yushchenko arrived in the
eastern city of Donetsk to find masked policemen carrying machine guns at
the airport and drunken youths occupying the hall where he was due to speak.
It seemed to be an act of clear intimidation by the local government, which
has ties to the Party of Regions of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Billboards were plastered around Donetsk depicting Yushchenko as a fascist.
Yet, ironically, the visit quickened an otherwise flagging campaign by
gaining Yushchenko a lot of air time on TV and radio. More importantly,
after the Donetsk incident, Yushchenko changed his public posture. He began
to speak openly of the "bandits" in power in Ukraine. His visits to Kuchma
have all but ceased, and Yushchenko positioned himself firmly as an
opposition alternative to the almost unbroken line of presidents and prime
ministers drawn from the former communist ruling elite, the nomenklatura.
THE CHALLENGE
By challenging Ukraine's political establishment, which looks wistfully at
the tame handover of power in Russia from Boris Yeltsin to Vladimir Putin,
Yushchenko is up against a powerful, state-controlled governmental,
economic and media conglomerate that has barely changed since Ukraine
gained independence in 1991.
Entrenched as the old guard may be, there are signs that Ukrainians are
finally ready to vote them out and for serious change. That desire helps
explain Yushchenko's consistently high poll ratings despite the many
apparent reasons not to vote for him--including the ambiguity of
Yushchenko's own past relationship with Kuchma, negative coverage from
mass media in thrall to the government, and the at times inconsistent tempo
of Yushchenko's own campaign efforts.
Those in positions of power in Ukraine have taken heed that serious change
may be in the offing. Prominent oligarchs such as Viktor Pinchuk, Kuchma's
son-in-law, who has become fabulously wealthy thanks to a series of lopsided
large-scale privatizations during Kuchma's tenure, have sought contacts and
friends in the West. Kuchma himself has tried, instead, to endear himself to
the ruler of Ukraine's powerful neighbor, Russia, by making strategic
concessions, including selling strategic enterprises to Russian companies,
reversing the Odessa-Brody pipeline, and joining the Single Economic Space,
a trade agreement that Russia looks set to dominate.
Yet change in Ukraine will be a wrenching experience; that is one thing that
all sides seem to agree on. President Kuchma, who has ruled himself out of
the running despite a Constitutional Court decision that he could run for a
third term, has forecast that the upcoming elections will be Ukraine's
dirtiest ever. After Donetsk, which was the most extreme example of
government efforts to intimidate him during a series of regional visits,
Yushchenko has warned that the regime is prepared to maintain power at
any cost.
Such warnings seem prescient. On 20 August, two explosions shook a popular
street market in the capitol, Kiev. Law enforcement agencies claim that two
suspects arrested in connection with the bombings are members of the
Ukrainian National Party, which is part of the Our Ukraine coalition. The
explosions were quickly seized on as a public relations initiative by the
government. On 22 August, the president's press service distributed a joint
declaration by the General Procurator of Ukraine, the head of the secret
service, and the interior minister, in which they claimed the opposition was
planning violence acts--up to and including insurrection--in order to
destabilize the political situation.
WEAKNESS STRENGTH = A STRENGTH?
More widespread forms of pressure include negative campaigning (involving,
for example, the production of millions of leaflets distributed ostensibly
by Yushchenko, but cleverly designed to undercut his popularity), and the
use of temnyky, instructions regularly issued by the Presidential
Administration to media outlets on which events to cover and how.
Yet Yushchenko's personal strengths are such that he is not very susceptible
to such "black techniques." Prior to the general elections in 1999, the
government and its election coalition, For a Single Ukraine, sought to
discredit Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc. Yet the worst public kompromat, or
compromising material, that they could come up with was that while he was
governor of the central bank, Yushchenko's daughter took a number of banking
courses in Ukraine at the bank's expense. The cost (about $3,500) pales into
insignificance with the huge sums accumulated by others.
He has also trodden carefully in some of the key political minefields. His
opponents on the Inter television channel have tried to brand Yushchenko
-a native of a Russian-speaking region--as an extreme Ukrainian nationalist,
coining the term "nashisty" for Yushchenko's supporters, a play on the word
"fascisty" and the Ukrainian name of the Our Ukraine (Nasha Ukrayina).
But when, in fall 2003, Russia tried to annex the Ukrainian island of Tuzla,
which lies between the Black and Azov Seas, Yushchenko refrained from
the anti-Russian rhetoric indulged in by politicians of all shades.
That incident points to a singular strength of Yushchenko the candidate: his
relatively mild manner. Even in the speeches most critical of the
government, Yushchenko comes across as intellectually refined. When
Yushchenko speaks of a "criminal government," as he did in a campaign stop
in the central region of Poltava, he makes his point, but does not scare
away Ukrainians who may be wary of radical or uncontrolled change. Though
criticized for being supposedly "weak" and indecisive, Yushchenko's very
moderateness ensures that he does not frighten voters--and the reward is
that he has the lowest negative rating of any leading Ukrainian politician.
Though he is also depicted by his detractors as a lackey of the West,
particularly of the United States (his wife Kateryna Chumachenko, daughter
of Ukrainian emigres, is a U.S. citizen), Yushchenko can show that he is his
own man. Initially, he supported Ukraine's decision to send a battalion to
Iraq, but, with the situation there continuing to deteriorate, Yushchenko
now speaks out in favor of withdrawing Ukraine's contingent.
Yushchenko's moderation and non-confrontational approach help him with
voters, but it may also be undermining his election campaign. His personal
management style is not only laid back, it is also indecisive. Faced with
criticism of the head of Our Ukraine's headquarters, Roman Bessmertny,
Yushchenko chose not to remove him but, instead, to create a new managerial
level by appointing the parliamentary deputy speaker, Oleksandr Zinchenko,
chairman of his election campaign.
This decision to add yet another layer of management is just one example of
how Yushchenko's campaign is "organizationally challenged." After Yulia
Tymoshenko finally came on board and threw her support behind Yushchenko,
just before the campaign began, she claims she was forced to spend close to
a month disentangling the chaotic stew of overlapping responsibilities and
highly personalized internal politics among those supporting Yushchenko.
Even so, bedlam reigns, and it is damaging Yushchenko's bid. Under Ukrainian
law, each candidate has to gather a certain number of signatures to be able
to run for the presidency. Our Ukraine repeatedly delayed launching its
campaign to gather signatures. One of Our Ukraine's MPs, Mykola Tomenko,
tried to explain this as a "clever tactical move." What was clever about it
remained very unclear. Instead, it seemed like an organizational
dysfunction--and, with the pressure mounting on Yushchenko, such failings
could not come at a worse time.
But, whatever Viktor Yushchenko's fate in the upcoming presidential
elections, whatever his personal strengths and weaknesses, he has already
accomplished much. In his one year as prime minister and years as
central-bank governor, he has shown that Ukraine has potential leaders of
better quality than its current crop of leaders schooled in the Soviet
system. His record suggests that, as many Ukrainians believe, there would
be less cronyism and more direction under him than under Kuchma or his
associates. Yushchenko's opponents have seized on this perception and
sarcastically labeled him a "messiah." He might not be a messiah, he might
be too careful, too indecisive, and too unwilling to enter
confrontations--but sometimes having a moderate face at the helm can
represent a chance for dramatic change for a country. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ivan Lozowy is a TOL correspondent and also runs an Internet newsletter,
the Ukraine Insider, (lozowy@i.com.ua) (www.tol.cz)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.166 ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
========================================================
14. "UKRAINE'S OTHER COAST, ON THE SEA OF AZOV"
By Vlad Lavrov, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, Sep 8, 2004
KIEV - The Fedotova Kosa spit is home to a large nature preserve, endless
stretches of white sand beaches and, oh yeah, one of President Leonid
Kuchma's numerous and heavily guarded dachas.
For most Ukrainians and foreigners the Black Sea coast of Crimea remains
the number one beach destination in Ukraine. So it was surprising to find
that the Sea of Azov coast in Zaporizhya oblast offers just as many marvels
if you're looking for a sea-side change of pace.
NO SMALL BUSINESS
Kyrylivka, a village with a population of slightly more than 4,000, though
lacking in decent accommodations, quality restaurants and other tourist
amenities afforded in nearby Berdyansk, offers something more valuable: a
seemingly endless stretch of sandy beach and azure sea.
It should come as no surprise, then, that around 500,000 tourists from
Ukraine, Russia and Belarus visited Kyrylivka last year. In fact, the
average occupancy rate for the aging tourist "rest areas" - campgrounds,
essentially - approached 130 percent.
What strikes you first while walking along the main street of Kyrylivka is
that despite the influx of so many tourists, it remains a village. Here you
won't find any of the petty snobbishness typical of the other resorts on the
Azov and Black Seas.
DOWN TO EARTH
Simple and undemanding: These words come to mind while walking through
Kyrylivka. This really is a place to come to relax, as long as you don't
expect five-star resorts, and are willing to explore a bit.
You should definitely visit the market, at the very center of the village,
and where vendors offer almost everything imaginable, from multitudes of
fruits and vegetables to swimwear and fishing gear and more. At least 20
varieties of fish are also available there, ranging from fresh and smoked
Azov bullheads at Hr 5 per kg, to imported smoked salmon at Hr 70.
Every second vendor, it seems, is involved in the currency exchange
business. According to the local mayor, that's because there aren't enough
official exchange outlets. Tourists should summon their courage and use all
their bartering skills to get exactly what they expect.
LOCAL SAMPLINGS
Dining out in Kyrylivka is largely a matter of small eateries offering
different kinds of barbecued meat and fish. Expect to pay around Hr 20 per
person. A small number of restaurants and cafes, and some good ones at that,
can be found around town. Why does such an underdeveloped tourist
environment have such good food? Because meals are usually offered along
with accommodations, which are modest: Hostelries find that serving
high-quality board is a good way to compensate for less-than-stellar rooms.
Largely Soviet-built, accommodations in Kyrylivka often lack such basic
amenities as hot water and air conditioning, and many rooms are reminiscent
of student hostels, with up to four beds in each. Such rooms typically cost
around Hr 60 per person per night, including three meals. Parking and hot
showers are extra.
Some such places have upgraded their facilities and can claim to be either
recently renovated or newly built. Such places have around the clock hot
water, air conditioning and television, and are generally a great
improvement over the regular rooms. They range in price from Hr 200 to
Hr 550 per person per night - well worth the cost.
GOING OUT
Entertainment spots in Kyrylivka are generally beverage kiosks surrounded
by plastic tables and blasting loud music, but there are a few
establishments worth mentioning. Bagira, an open-air entertainment complex
themed after Rudyard Kipling's "Jungle Books," is one of them. Concrete
sculptures of the characters from the books are scattered around the
territory - Bagira, incidentally, was one of the books' heroes, a black
panther.
Bagira offers a local take on European cuisine, with a large selection of
seafood entrees, naturally. An average dinner for two with drinks costs
around Hr 60 per person. The spot also offers an evening entertainment
program featuring local performers who sing pop music hits. On special
occasions, Bagira invites popular Russian acts too.
There are also numerous night clubs located at the beginning of Fedotova
Kosa, a narrow spit of land stretching some 30 km into the sea. They're
hardly high-concept places, but they are worth visiting for their lively
atmosphere and cheap drinks.
Among the most popular is Texas, perhaps the best spot in town, and which is
rumored to have American backing. At any rate, the U.S. flag flies above the
Ukrainian one at the entrance. The cover charge is Hr 25 for men and Hr 15
for ladies. It's big and barn-like, but it has nice music, good lighting and
lots of good-looking people having a good time.
The only real drawback is its drastically inadequate number of bathrooms -
only one for both men and women. The tired-looking middle-aged woman
who takes your money at the door repeats to anyone who brings it up that
the lack of facilities isn't her fault.
As a natural attraction, the Fedotova Kosa spit, which juts out into the Sea
of Azov, deserves special attention. Only one third of its territory is
accessible to tourists, as the rest of it is taken up by the Biriyuchiy
Ostriv (Lone Wolf Island) Nature Preserve, home to various birds, waterfowl
and other creatures. It's tightly guarded. Why? Maybe because the preserve
is said to be the location of one of President Leonid Kuchma's numerous
dachas.
That said, even the accessible part of the spit, namely the five-km stretch
that hasn't yet been developed, is a real natural gem. The endless stretch
of white sand, about 20 meters wide, littered with oyster shells that crack
every time you step on them, is reminiscent of the beaches in Egypt, except
the sand is whiter. That might be hard to believe, but it's true.
Add to this a sea of unimaginably crystal-clear blue, as clean as can be; an
almost total absence of people; and a panoramic view of the horizon; and
you feel as if you're on an uninhabited island. That is, until you turn
around and see the green steppe and an estuary said to be a great place for
fishing.
If you like living in a tent, Fedotova Kosa on the Sea of Azov can't be
matched in Ukraine or anywhere. Camping on the beach costs Hr 30 per
vehicle. Most camping supplies can be bought from the hotel and
entertainment area nearby, a fifteen-minute drive by car.
ACCOMMODATION IN KYRYLIVKA
Rodem (full board only); Regular room (double, three, four beds): Hr 75
per person; Two-room suite: Hr 530 per person.
Tel.: (06131) 96-275; (0619) 42-3216; (067) 561-8502;
Email: rodem_baza@rambler.ru.
Priboy (full board only);
One-room suite: Hr 195; Two-room suite: Hr 220 to Hr 375.
Bungalo: Hr 375 to Hr 450. Tel.: (06131) 9-6346; (06131) 9-6976.
GOING OUT
Bagira entertainment complex; Tel.: (06131) 9-6999, (0619) 42-6848.
Email: bagira@artsv.net, or see www.bagira.zp.ua.
Texas nightclub: Fedotova Kosa, no telephone.
GETTING THERE
Your best bet is to take the train (Hr 320, first class, round-trip) or bus
(Hr 150 round-trip) to Melitopil).
To get from Melitopil to Kyrylivka, take either a bus (Hr 8 one-way), or
minibus (Hr 12 one-way). Alternately, a two-hour drive to Kyrylivka by taxi
costs Hr 100.
For more information, contact the National Tourist Organization at (044)
216-3422, or see www.nto.org.ua. (END) (www.kyivpost.com)
========================================================
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ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY"
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