"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 174
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, MONDAY, September 27, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE ALERT: IF IT LOOKS TO RUSSIA, LOOK FOR TROUBLE"
By Nadiya Kravets, National Review Online
New York, New York, Thursday, September 23, 2004.
2. "HOW TO AID DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: by Bohdan Hodiak, Bethesda, Maryland
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 25, 2004; Page A22
3. "POISON POLITICS IN UKRAINE"
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: by Jason T. Shaplen
The New York Times, New York, NY, September 25, 2004
4. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER HIT BY AN EGG
Yanukovych was slightly injured and briefly hospitalized Friday
The Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, September 27, 2004.
5. FATHER OF STUDENT THAT ATTACKED YANUKOVYCH
SAYS HIS SON DOES NOT BELONG TO ANY PARTY
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, September 25, 2004
6. UKRAINIAN, U.S. DIPLOMATS DISCUSS IN NEW YORK
FROZEN CONFLICTS IN EX-USSR TERRITORY
Assistant Secretary Jones praised Ukraine's openness on election monitors
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, Sep 25 2004
7. UKRAINE'S FOREIGN MINISTER URGES US BUSINESS
COMPANIES TO ACTIVELY COME INTO UKRAINIAN MARKET
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
8. U.S. HOPING UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WILL BE
CONDUCTED IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
SAY US STATE UNDERSECRETARY PAULA DOBRIANSKY
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 23, 2004
9. UKRAINE'S NEW DEFENCE MINISTER LISTS PRIORITIES
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Friday, Sep 24, 2004
10. PROFILE OF NEW UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER
OLEKSANDR KUZMUK, APPOINTED ON SEP 24
BBC Monitoring research in English 24 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Fri, Sep 24, 2004
11. INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION INVESTS
$57 MILLION IN UKRAINE IN 2004
Interfax News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 24, 2004
12. WILL POLAND BECOME THE WESTERN OUTPOST
OF THE DONBAS EMPIRE?
Ukrainian Donbas, which together with LNM Holdings is bidding for the
Czestochowa Steel Mill, is aiming to build an industrial empire in Poland.
>From Poland A.M., Warsaw Business Journal
Warsaw, Poland, Friday, 24th September 2004
13. UKRAINE BANKS LOW PROFITABILITY HINDERS LARGE
INVESTMENT IN BANKING SAYS CENTRAL BANK OFFICIAL
Interfax, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, September 24, 2004
14. UKRAINE LOSES BILLIONS IN CAPITAL OUTFLOW
Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 23 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
15. ASSOCIATION OF FARMERS AND PRIVATE LAND OWNERS
CREATE STRIKE COMMITTEE FOR DEFENDING THEIR INTERESTS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, September 25, 2004
16."CAUTION, BIG CITY! A 'PORTRAIT' OF MODERN DEPRESSION"
Alcoholism and depression go largely untreated in Ukraine
By Oksana Omelchenko, Den
Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, Wed, 22 Sep 04; p 1, 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Friday, Sep 24, 2004
17. PEACE CORPS PROJECT TO TAKE SAN MARCOS,
TEXAS WOMAN TO UKRAINE AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER
San Marcos Daily Record, San Marcos, Texas, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
========================================================
1."UKRAINE ALERT: IF IT LOOKS TO RUSSIA, LOOK FOR TROUBLE"
By Nadiya Kravets, National Review Online
New York, New York, Thu, September 23, 2004.
On October 31, Ukrainians will go to the polls. But coming during the
final run-up to the U.S. elections, the proceedings are unlikely to draw the
attention they deserve. Ukrainians will decide the fate of their nation and
possibly that of Russo-European relations. The election results could lead
to conditions that the United States cannot afford to ignore.
Few Americans are aware that in the early 1930s Soviet dictator Josef
Stalin launched a forced famine that took the lives of five million
Ukrainians.
Though it achieved independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the
Ukraine still battles to maintain an identity apart from its former colonial
oppressor. Not only does Russia continue its cultural, political, and
economic influence in the countries of the former Soviet Union, but it also
continues to do so in the light of a broader geopolitical strategy that, to
some observers, looks like expansion. Although it hasn't done so explicitly,
Russia has been expanding its sphere of control by means of economic,
political, and cultural influence, making former Eastern European countries
dangerously dependent on it.
The question that needs to be answered is whether this dependence is being
imposed, and, of course, who benefits. In relation to the Ukraine, the ties
between current Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Russian President
Vladimir Putin seem to be sealed by the Single Economic Space agreement,
ratified this year by the Ukrainian parliament, the Verhovna Rada. The
agreement includes a common tax code, customs union, foreign and trade
policy, mutual financial regulations, and possibly a common currency down
the road.
Putin's suppression of press freedoms and harassment of political opponents,
such as Mikhail Khodorovsky, have been amply covered in the Western press.
Kuchma's record on democracy and reform, less documented in the press,
makes it difficult to remain optimistic.
On March 3, Serhiy Sholokh — the director of a radio station called
Kontynent, in Kiev — fled the Ukraine, saying that he was threatened by
members of the United Social Democratic party in parliament, headed by
Victor Medvedchuk, presidential chief of staff. The reason for this threat,
according to Sholokh, was his intention to broadcast Radio Liberty, a U.S.
station.
Another controversy involving Kuchma stems from the death of a journalist,
Gregoriy Gongadze, who frequently exposed corruption in the Ukraine
uncovering the illegal activity of leading Ukrainian oligarchs and leaders
of security services. He was killed in 2000. The family of the journalist
and the opposition forces in the Ukraine alleged that the president and top
security services were connected to Gongadze's disappearance and murder.
Subsequently, tapes of an alleged conversation among the president, his
chief of staff, and the interior minister were discovered, which led to a
parliamentary investigation.
The special parliamentary committee, designed to look into a variety of
allegations against the president, concluded that Kuchma ought to be
impeached. The list of the president's misdeeds included the controversy
over the sale of Kolchuga early-warning radar systems to Saddam Hussein
in 2002, as well as attempts to alter the constitution to allow Kuchma to
serve a third term.
The upcoming presidential election will determine if the Ukraine is pointed
West or East. West means democratic reform and possible alliance with the
European Union. East means a more autocratic state with serious leanings
toward union with Russia. A centralized, autocratic Russia could also
include Moldova, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, all members of the recently
created Single Economic Space.
For the United States, the implications of the Ukraine going East are
sizable. Recall the resources it took to dissolve the Soviet Union. Another
empire with an autocratic leadership and expansionist tendencies could well
require someone to oppose it down the road. That someone will not be
France, Germany, Canada, or the United Nations. It would have to be the
United States, already stretched to its limits.
Hope remains that current and former leaders of the United States and
members of the European Union will exert pressure on Russian leaders,
criticizing Putin's administration and its encouragement of Russia's
leadership role in the region, particularly in the Ukraine. For their part,
Ukrainians can choose between Kuchma and his ideological successor,
Victor Yanukovych, or support Victor Yushchenko, whose platform
includes democratic reforms and continued independence from Russia.
The Middle East is of obvious concern to U.S. policymakers. But history
confirms that it is folly to ignore what happens in Europe. George W. Bush
and John Kerry must understand that whoever is at the helm in Washington
might soon be dealing with a different Europe, and quite possibly a more
dangerous world, if Ukrainians don't support Yushchenko. -31-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nadiya Kravets, a Ukrainian national, is with the California-based
Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy (www.pacificresearch.org).
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/kravets200409230841.asp
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: The Single Economic Space does not include Moldova
as stated in the article above. The four countries in the Single Economic
Space are Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan. (EDITOR)
======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
======================================================
2. "HOW TO AID DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE"
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: by Bohdan Hodiak, Bethesda, Maryland
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 25, 2004; Page A22
I want to thank The Post for the Sept. 17 editorial "More Straight
Talk" about the critical events that will take place next month in
Ukraine and Belarus.
In Ukraine, the Oct. 31 election will show if the former communists
who are desperately trying to hold on to power will prevail. If they
do, we can expect to see a "union" of Ukraine with Russia within a
few years, a process that is well on its way now in Belarus.
This would not be good for the Western democracies, and it would
be a disaster for the people of the former Soviet republics.
Consider what Ukraine's Viktor Yushchenko, the leading opponent
of the ruling communists, has gone through in his campaign for
president.
He has not appeared on Ukrainian television because that is con-
trolled by the government and the oligarchs. Even the U.S.-funded
Radio Liberty has been silenced in Ukraine this year. In recent
years most of the independent Ukrainian newspapers have been
bought by the oligarchs. So Mr. Yushchenko must travel from city
to city and village to village to speak to people face to face, which
opens him to danger from hired thugs.
Even so, polls show that he is the overwhelming favorite to win. But
the election may still be stolen by fraud and other criminal
activities, some examples of which were described in May to a House
subcommittee. As was also pointed out during that hearing, sending
distinguished U.S. officials to Ukraine to ask the former communists
and oligarchs to please hold fair elections will not work.
But if the former communists and oligarchs can be convinced that
rigged elections will get them blacklisted for visas to Western
democracies and that it won't be so easy to deposit money into
private bank accounts outside Ukraine, that could have a real
effect.
The United States, with the cooperation of other democracies, can
do a great deal for Ukraine. It's not only the moral thing to do; it is
in our self-interest.
BOHDAN HODIAK, Bethesda [Maryland] -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A48931-2004Sep24?
language=printer; (www.ArtUkraine.com Monitoring Service)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
=======================================================
3. "POISON POLITICS IN UKRAINE"
OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR: by Jason T. Shaplen
The New York Times, New York, NY, September 25, 2004
Think this year's presidential campaign in the United States is nasty? Take
a look at politics Ukrainian style. On Sept. 6 the leading opposition
candidate in the presidential election disappeared from the campaign trail.
The first news of Viktor Yushchenko came a week later: he had been in
Austria, recovering from what aides initially thought was acute food
poisoning but subsequently said was an attempt on his life. They quoted
doctors in Vienna as saying his illness was due to "chemical substances not
normally found in food products." At a rally upon his return to Kiev a week
ago, Radio Free Europe reported, Mr. Yushchenko's face was swollen and
half-paralyzed; he had difficulty reading his text and was salivating
excessively.
President Leonid Kuchma - who is backing Mr. Yushchenko's main opponent -
laughed off accusations of foul play. The deputy head of his administration
went a step further, suggesting that a Yushchenko aide should taste his food
for him as they did with rulers in the Middle Ages. For its part, the
state-controlled news media reported that Mr. Yushchenko might have had a
stroke or heart attack with possibly lingering physical and mental effects.
The accusation of poisoning might seem frivolous were it not for the context
of the campaign. The unpopular Mr. Kuchma is not running for a third term.
Nonetheless, in a meeting in April, Mr. Kuchma made clear to several foreign
policy experts and me that he intended to remain involved in politics after
his term expired. In an effort to ensure this, he tried to pass a
constitutional amendment in April that would have transferred power from the
presidency to the Parliament, which his supporters control. Surprisingly,
the amendment failed, falling six votes short of the two-thirds majority
needed for passage.
The Bush administration - while admittedly focused on its own election
campaign - should not ignore the Ukrainian contest. It should put more
pressure on Mr. Kuchma to ensure free and fair elections, including balanced
coverage of the candidates by the government-controlled news media.
This may be easier said than done. After holding Mr. Kuchma at arm's length
for two years (after he was accused of authorizing the sale of Kolchuga
aircraft-tracking radar to Iraq), the Bush administration recently began to
re-engage him. President Bush met with Mr. Kuchma at a NATO gathering
in June, and several other administration officials, including Secretary of
Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Richard Armitage, deputy secretary of state,
have visited Kiev recently.
The United States' interest in Ukraine is understandable. It sits at a
crossroads with Russia to its east and an expanding Europe to its west.
Since the collapse of the Soviet empire in 1991, Kiev has been engaged
in an extraordinary dance between the two. Against the odds, it has made
remarkable changes in its military, economic, social and, to a lesser
extent, political structure, while keeping both its eastern and western
flanks relatively happy.
Its military transformation alone has been stunning: Ukraine has rid itself
of all its all tactical and strategic nuclear weapons. In just 13 years, it
has also transferred control of its armed forces from military leaders to a
civilian defense minister and reduced its armed forces personnel from about
1 million to 350,000 (with further reductions to 200,000 planned by the end
of next year). And it has established formal relations with NATO, which it
would like to join. In addition to sending troops to Iraq, Ukraine has
contributed forces to NATO missions around the world, including Kosovo,
Bosnia and Afghanistan.
The changes on the non-military side of the equation have also been
impressive. Ukraine's economy grew more than 8 percent last year, on top
of 4 percent growth in 2002 and 9 percent growth in 2001. Inflation has also
dropped to single digits from a high of 10,000 percent in 1993. While Kiev
is not quite a bustling metropolitan city filled with skyscrapers, high-end
restaurants offer food on par with upper-end establishments in New York,
middle-aged patrons fill sophisticated jazz clubs at night, and 20-something
crowds can be found in the early morning hours on the floors of high-tech
dance clubs.
Against such positive changes across so many sectors, the latest efforts by
Mr. Kuchma to amend the constitution and the accusations of possible
poisoning are troubling. The government-controlled news media's election
coverage is dominated by pictures of Mr. Yushchenko's opponent, Prime
Minister Viktor A. Yanukovich. Still, many people expect the election on
Oct. 31 will result in a runoff.
While the Bush administration has carefully dealt with Mr. Kuchma so as
not to push him toward Russia's waiting embrace, it must also address his
attempt to cling to power. The United States provided $189 million in aid
to Ukraine during the fiscal year that ended last September, including $55
million for democracy programs centered in large part around these
presidential elections. Any efforts to disrupt the electoral process should
be met with threats of curtailing or suspending current and future aid.
Washington has other tools at its disposal as well. To this day, Ukrainians
bridle at the "Little Russia" moniker for their country, as demonstrated by
the title of Mr. Kuchma's very own book, "Ukraine Is Not Russia." Ukraine
desperately wants to be part of NATO and the World Trade Organization,
aspirations that Washington could use to encourage Kiev to turn toward the
West and democracy. But it must also make clear that regardless of Ukraine's
geopolitical importance it will not shy away from confronting it on matters
of principle like free and fair elections. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jason T. Shaplen writes frequently on foreign policy.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Support The Action Ukraine Report: Send A Check Today
========================================================
4. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER HIT BY AN EGG
Yanukovych was slightly injured and briefly hospitalized Friday
The Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, September 27, 2004.
KIEV -- Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor after being hit with an object
during a campaign stop in western Ukraine. Yanukovych accused allies of
Viktor Yushchenko, his top rival in the Oct. 31 presidential vote, of
organizing the attack in the city of Ivano-Frankivsk.
"I have questions for people from Yushchenko's surroundings who encouraged
them," Yanukovych said, according to his spokeswoman, Hanna Herman.
Herman earlier said someone had thrown a rock or some other "hard object"
at Yanukovych. Serhiy Tyhypko, Yanukovych's campaign manager, said the
prime minister had been hit by camera batteries.
Police said, however, that Yanukovych was hit with an egg thrown by a
17-year-old boy. "The second egg remained in the teenager's pocket," police
spokeswoman Tatyana Podoshevska said. In television footage, Yanukovych
grasped his chest and fell into the hands of his bodyguards, a grimace of
pain on his face.
The teenager, who was detained, reportedly had been standing with a group
of anti-Yanukovych protesters when the incident happened. Police officer
Oleh Shihov confirmed Yanukovych had been injured, but could give no
further details.
The city police department earlier said members of an opposition group
called Association of Young Nationalists threw two "hard objects" at
Yanukovych, hitting him in the chest and head. Yanukovych's political party
said a bodyguard was also injured and blamed the incident on "radical
elements" loyal to Yushchenko. Yushchenko's party denied any involvement.
His political ally, Yury Orobets, described the incident as "cheap and dirty
public relations."
Election campaigning has been contentious, with Yushchenko and Yanukovych
favorites to replace outgoing two-term President Leonid Kuchma. Earlier this
month, Yushchenko fell ill and his campaign charged that he was poisoned by
political opponents. Ukrainian prosecutors and the country's parliament have
opened an investigation into the incident. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. FATHER OF STUDENT THAT ATTACKED YANUKOVYCH
SAYS HIS SON DOES NOT BELONG TO ANY PARTY
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, September 25, 2004
KYIV - Mykhailo Romaniuk, the father of student Dmytro Romaniuk,
who is said to have attacked presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych in
Ivano-Frankivsk, says his son is not affiliated with any of the parties.
This is mentioned in Mykhailo Romaniuk's statement, which was disseminated
by the press service of the central election campaign headquarters of Viktor
Yuschenko.
It is mentioned in the statement that Mykhailo Romaniuk became aware today
that his son Dmytro, who is a student of the Vasyl Stefanyk Prykarpattia
National University, was arrested at Shevchenko Street in Ivano-Frankivsk
during the time of the meeting of presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych,
as he was accused of ostensibly throwing a raw egg in the direction of
Yanukovych. It is also mentioned in the statement that Dmytro Romaniuk,
who is 17 years old, is very emotional and impressionable, but neither he,
nor the father himself are members of any of the parties or youth wing
organization.
"If he carried out these actions, then this is possibly only in a state of
strong emotional excitement," it is stated in the statement of the student's
father. Mykhailo Romaniuk hopes that law enforcement agencies will look
into this situation, and will in no way charge his son with political
provocations. "If this deed had taken place, I personally ask the
forgiveness of Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych," it is mentioned in the
statement. -30- (The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
=======================================================
6. UKRAINIAN, U.S. DIPLOMATS DISCUSS IN NEW YORK
FROZEN CONFLICTS IN EX-USSR TERRITORY
Assistant Secretary Jones praised Ukraine's openness on election monitors
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, Sep 25 2004
KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryshchenko and U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State Elizabeth Jones discussed ways to intensify
efforts towards settling the so-called frozen conflicts in the former USSR
territory.
Meeting in New York within the framework of the 59th session of the
UN General Assembly, Hryshchenko informed his American counterpart
of Ukraine's vision of steps to achieve progress in settling the
Transdniestria conflict, said Ukrainian Foreign Ministry press secretary
Markiyan Lubkivsky.
Ukraine is among the mediators in negotiations between Chisinau and
Tiraspol, and Jones said the U.S. is willing to actively cooperate on this
issue.
The American diplomat also said that Ukraine's progress towards
integration into European and Euro-Atlantic institutions is important for
the U.S., which is open to continuing dialogue towards expanding
Ukrainian-American relations in all spheres.
Hryshchenko and Jones also talked about involving Ukrainian companies
in implementing contracts as part of Iraq's reconstruction and U.S.
government assistance on this issue.
They agreed that it is important to arrange presidential elections in
Ukraine in line with international standards. Hryshchenko said this is why
Ukraine has invited many international observers to monitor the voting.
Jones praised Ukraine's openness on this issue. -31-
---------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: We hope that Assistant Secretary of State Jones also
asked the foreign minister when the government of Ukraine would
provide access to the media for all presidential candidates. We hope
this was not just one of those nice diplomatic meetings where the US
once again tells Ukraine the US supports a free and fair presidential
election and Ukraine, once again, says in return of course, no problem.
And then, once again, nothing happens and the presidential election
process in Ukraine continues to not be free and fair in any sense of the
word. We have not found any public information from the US Depart-
ment of State about this important meeting in New York. (EDITOR)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 174: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
The Action Ukraine Coalition: Securing Ukraine's Future
=======================================================
7. UKRAINE'S FOREIGN MINISTER URGES US BUSINESS
COMPANIES TO ACTIVELY COME INTO UKRAINIAN MARKET
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
KYIV - Ukraine's Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko has called on
US business circles to actively come into the Ukrainian market. The chief
press service spokesman for the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Markian
Lubkivskyi, disclosed this to Ukrainian News.
"Having significant economic and scientific and technological potential,
Ukraine is confidently turning into the most attractive country for
investments not only outside the boundaries of an enlarged European Union,
but in Europe as a whole," Hryschenko appealed to representatives of the
US business elite at a round table meeting in New York. In his address to
participants of the round table, Hryschenko emphasized the steadiness of
Ukraine's strategic policy for European integration, and also he outlined
the vision for the future paths of developing cooperation between Ukraine
and the an enlarged EU.
Hryschenko was invited to attend the round table, which was devoted to
discussing the prospects for economic cooperation on the European space in
light of the enlargement of the European Union, within the framework of the
59th UN General Assembly. The foreign ministers of Poland Wlodzimierz
Cimoszewicz, Georgia's Salome Zurabishvili, and the international financier
George Soros also took part in the round table.
The mass media and top US business companies JP Morgan Chase, Citi-
group, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft and AIG Global Investment also exhibited
interest in the meeting. During the time of the discussion, the
interlocutors paid main attention to issues relating to trade and investment
cooperation, the short-term internal economic policy of European countries,
the role of the business circles in promoting economic process, and also the
crucial aspects of the new European neighborhood policy.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Hryschenko traveled to New York
(United States of America) to participate in the 59th session of the General
Assembly of the United Nations, which is taking place from September
20-28. -30- (The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
=======================================================
8. U.S. HOPING UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS WILL BE
CONDUCTED IN LINE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS
STATES US STATE UNDERSECRETARY PAULA DOBRIANSKY
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 23, 2004
KYIV - The United States is hoping that Ukraine will conduct its
presidential elections in line with international standards. Markian
Lubkivskyi, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry's press
service, disclosed this to Ukrainian News. According to Lubkivskyi,
the United States Undersecretary of State for Global Affairs Paula
Dobriansky expressed this hope during a meeting with Ukraine's
Foreign Affairs Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko in New York.
"She expressed the hope that the presidential elections in our country
will take place with observance of international standards," Lubkivskyi
said. Hryschenko assured Dobriansky that Ukraine would make all
efforts to achieve such a result. He informed Dobriansky in detail about
the internal political situation in Ukraine and the progress of the election
campaign.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, President Leonid Kuchma has
repeatedly said that the Ukrainian presidential elections will be
democratic. At the same time, Kuchma forecasts that the elections will
be the dirtiest.
The issue of the presidential elections in Ukraine is constantly discussed
during Kuchma's meetings with representatives of the United States.
Campaigning in the Ukrainian presidential elections, which will take place
on October 31, started on July 3. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: Once again the U.S. tells Ukraine the U.S. is hoping the
presidential election in Ukraine will take place with the observance of
international standards. And once again Ukraine says it will make all
efforts to achieve such a result. All astute election observers know of
course that Ukraine has not and is not doing this and that the top leader-
ship of Ukraine never planned on carrying out a free and fair presidential
election.
One wonders whether the United States Undersecretary of State for
Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky asked Foreign Minister Kostiantyn
Hryschenko any of the tough questions as to exactly when the highly
documented multiple election violations in Ukraine would stop and the
election would start to be free and fair. Once again we have not been
able to find any public information released from the U.S. Department
of State about exactly what happened at this very important meeting in
New York. It would be good if our own State Department would be
much more transparent and forthcoming about such meetings. (EDITOR)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. UKRAINE'S NEW DEFENCE MINISTER LISTS PRIORITIES
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Fri, Sep 24, 2004
KIEV - Oleksandr Kuzmuk has listed three of his priorities as Ukraine's
defence minister. "The first one is to reform the armed forces. Second, the
armed forces must be disciplined, combat-ready, well-equipped and enjoy
social security. And, most importantly, people should have appropriate trust
[in the armed forces]," Kuzmuk said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine in
Kiev today.
Asked by the agency about how he had learnt about his appointment, Kuzmuk
said: "I am a soldier, and I was given an order. The president personally
summoned me and instructed me to take charge of the armed forces." He said
the tasks set by the president [Leonid Kuchma] "are very specific and
difficult at the same time".
As was reported earlier, the Ukrainian president signed a decree appointing
Kuzmuk as defence minister today. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10 PROFILE OF NEW UKRAINIAN DEFENCE MINISTER
OLEKSANDR KUZMUK, APPOINTED ON SEP 24
BBC Monitoring research in English 24 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Fri, Sep 24, 2004
KIEV - Oleksandr Kuzmuk, who was appointed Ukraine's new defence
minister on 24 September, had already occupied this post in July 1996-
October 2001. He got his old job back after President Leonid Kuchma
dismissed his successor, bitter rival and key NATO membership advocate
Yevhen Marchuk on 22 September.
Kuzmuk is seen an interim figure, with just several months left to serve
before the entire cabinet of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is due to
resign after the end of President Kuchma's term of office. Kuzmuk was
forced to resign in October 2001 after a stray Ukrainian missile shot down
a Russian airliner over the Black Sea, killing all 78 people on board. Upon
his return to the Defence Ministry, Kuzmuk will find it purged of his key
supporters after two years with Marchuk at the helm (Postup newspaper,
21 Aug 04).
President Kuchma cited failings in the country's arms recycling programme as
the official reason for Marchuk's dismissal. But some Ukrainian media have
described the move as yet another step towards closer relations with Russia,
or a move to ensure the army's support for the prime minister and
presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, in the run-up to the 31 October
presidential elections (Ukrayinska Pravda web site, 22 Sep 04). The media
had earlier suggested that a conflict over lucrative military property was
behind a reprimand Marchuk received in July 2004 (Postup newspaper, 21
Aug 04).
KUZMUK BACKGROUND
Kuzmuk's resignation in 2001 came after several weeks of denials that the
Russian airliner was shot by a Ukrainian missile, in the face of mounting
evidence. On 24 October 2001 the president reluctantly accepted Kuzmuk's
resignation, which was tendered soon after the incident. Ukraine has never
officially admitted responsibility for the downing of the Russian jet, but
agreed to pay millions of dollars in compensation to the relatives of the
victims (Radio Mayak, Moscow, 17 Jun 04).
The shooting of the Russian airliner was preceded by a similar incident in
September 2000, when a stray surface-to-surface missile launched during a
military exercise hit an apartment building in the town of Brovary, outside
Kiev, killing three. The ministry, led by Oleksandr Kuzmuk, also denied
responsibility for several days, even after fragments of the missile were
found at the scene, before finally accepting the blame.
But even after Kuzmuk was replaced on 12 November by Volodymyr
Shkidchenko, his deputy and chief of the General Staff, he remained an ally
of President Kuchma. Shkidchenko's appointment was dismissed at the time
as "a replacement of one military clan with another, which fails to address
the
army's problems" (Trud-Ukraina newspaper, 16 Nov 01). Another paper
said the English-speaking Shkidchenko was a more progressive and pro-
Western figure (Zerkalo Nedeli newspaper, 17 Nov 01). Kuchma himself
criticized the military for its handling of the Russian airliner incident
and blamed "old thinking" for the spate of embarrassing incidents involving
the army. But he said he was not questioning Kuzmuk's "honour as an officer
or his courage as a citizen". (UT1 television, 14 Nov 01).
Kuzmuk, meanwhile, became parliament member in March 2002 after
winning a seat in a first-past-the-post constituency as a government-backed
candidate. In parliament he joined the Working Ukraine faction, whose
informal leader was Viktor Pinchuk, the president's son-in-law and
influential businessman.
He appeared to maintain good relations with his successor Shkidchenko,
who was considered "one of his team" (Postup newspaper, 21 Aug 04).
But Shkidchenko himself lost the job after another embarrassment for the
Ukrainian military, when a fighter jet crashed into a crowd of spectators at
an air show in Sknyliv in July 2002, killing scores of people.
The arrival of Yevhen Marchuk was seen as a chance to boost Ukraine's
flagging army reform and develop closer ties with NATO. Marchuk gradually
got rid of most of the people considered part of the Kuzmuk-Shkidchenko
team. Kuzmuk, for his part, repeatedly criticized Marchuk's handling of the
job. He was not seen as an opponent of Marchuk's pro-Western drive, but
he blamed him for a series of explosions at Ukraine's munitions dumps in
2003-04. Marchuk retorted that the situation with old munitions was the
legacy of his predecessors (Obozrevatel web site, 16 Oct 03). Kuzmuk later
dismissed as "nonsense" Marchuk's announcement in March 2004 that several
hundred missiles decommissioned under Kuzmuk were unaccounted for
(Ukrayinska Pravda web site, 26 Mar 04).
And in October 2003 Kuzmuk's son Ivan was involved in a tussle at a military
hospital with Deputy Defence Minister Oleksandr Danylchuk, who is a civilian
(Obozrevatel web site, 16 Oct 03). After the incident Ivan Kuzmuk reportedly
said: "Father, on my face you can see what the civilian control of the army
means." -30- (www.ArtUkraine.com Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORPORATION INVESTS
$57 MILLION IN UKRAINE IN 2004
Interfax News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, September 24, 2004
KIEV - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) invested $57 million
in Ukraine in the 2004 financial year (July1, 2003 to June 31, 2004), a
press release from the corporation's representative office in Ukraine says.
The IFC's biggest projects in this country are a loan of $30 million to the
Myronivsky Khliboprodukt company, a loan of $10 million to fruit juice
company Sandora, a $5 million loan to the network of construction material
shops Nova Liniya, and a $2 million loan to the First Leasing Company.
Since 1993, the IFC has invested in Ukraine $114 million. Ukraine has
been a permanent member of the IFC since 1994.
The IFC took part in creating the Ukrainian fund of venture investment
($1.5m in 1996), invested into the capital of the First Ukrainian
International Bank ($16.5m in 1996), supported the creation of the
Microfinance Bank ($7.2 in 2000), provided a partial guarantee to the
HVB-Ukraine bank ($15m in 2003) and invested into restructuring the
Ocean dockyard ($10 million in 2001). -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
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12. WILL POLAND BECOME THE WESTERN OUTPOST
OF THE DONBAS EMPIRE?
Ukrainian Donbas, which together with LNM Holdings is bidding for the
Czestochowa Steel Mill, is aiming to build an industrial empire in Poland.
>From Poland A.M., Warsaw Business Journal
Warsaw, Poland, Fri, 24th September 2004
WARSAW - Donbas will also bid for pipe manufacturer Walcownia Rur
Jednosc, but these projects are just the beginning, as Donbas is also
interested in close cooperation with the Batory and Ferrum steel mills.
Konstanty Litwinow, the company's representative in Poland, stated that
Polish companies may benefit from cooperation with the Ukrainian concern
as it can offer them supplies of cheap raw materials.
The Ferrum steel mill can also count on a contract to provide pipes if the
Odessa-Brody-Gdansk oil pipeline is constructed. Donbas is also
investigating vertical expansion and is considering investing in Polish coke
companies to the extent that it has already had exploratory talks with the
management of Koksownia Przyjazn (KP).
At present Donbas hopes to win a EUR 300 million contract with KP, but
Litwinow declared that when the Treasury Ministry finally prepares the
privatization scheme for KP, Donbas will definitely submit an offer. (Puls
Biznesu, pp. 1, 4) E.B. -30- (Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Send Us Names For The Free Distribution List
========================================================
13. UKRAINE BANKS LOW PROFITABILITY HINDERS LARGE
INVESTMENT IN BANKING SAYS CENTRAL BANK OFFICIAL
Interfax, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 24, 2004
KYIV - Banks' low profitability does not allow reckoning on considerable
investments in the banking sector soon, Central Bank Vice-Governor
Oleksandr Shlapak told a Thursday press conference. "If we fail to mend
the situation in the near future, one should not expect serious capital to
come in the next two or three years," he said.
He said that the Central Bank is ready to encourage banks to raise
profitability by issuing regulations, however, it sees no way out of the
situation now. Therefore, the Central Bank is holding consultations with
banks on how the problem of the high value of liabilities and banks'
considerable spending can be settled.
As was reported, January through August 2003, Ukrainian banks boosted
profit by 2.1 times year-over-year to UAH 1.008 billion. At the same time,
their revenues rose by 47.8% to UAH 12.308 billion by August 1, while
expenses rose by 44.2% to UAH 11.299 billion. There are 159 banks
operating in Ukraine. -30- (The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
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14. UKRAINE LOSES BILLIONS IN CAPITAL OUTFLOW
Source: Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 23 Sep 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
KIEV - A total of 850m dollars in earlier invested funds were transferred
from Ukraine in 2004, the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian National Bank
board, Oleksandr Shlapak, told a news conference today. The National
Bank does not interpret this as Ukraine's low attractiveness for investors
but as a channel of transferring capitals from Ukraine, because the outgoing
investment funds are often significantly larger than initial investments in
Ukraine.
"We do not mind the outflow of investment funds... [agency's ellipsis]
However we do not like being treated like fools virtually every time this
operation takes place and it is impossible to trace the incoming investment
which then leads to quite significant sums being transferred out of
Ukraine," Shlapak said.
Shlapak said that in order to cut the outflow of capital from Ukraine
through this channel, the National Bank of Ukraine adopted a resolution
requesting additional documents for purchasing hard currency at the
interbank currency market. "Of course, all who have come with normal
investments will be able to take them out along with revenues, but if the
established rules are broken, we will not allow these investors to buy
[foreign] currency at the interbank currency market," Shlapak said.
Shlapak named another route of capital outflow from Ukraine. This is
[fictitious] import without [actually] importing goods to Ukraine. He said
that about 3bn hryvnyas were transferred from Ukraine through this channel
this year. Shlapak said that the National Bank adopted a resolution cutting
the outflow of capital through this scheme and established tougher control
over those currency operations. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
Send The Action Ukraine Report To Your Contacts In Ukraine
========================================================
15. ASSOCIATION OF FARMERS AND PRIVATE LAND OWNERS
CREATE STRIKE COMMITTEE FOR DEFENDING THEIR INTERESTS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, September 25, 2004
KYIV - The Association of Farmers and Private Land Owners of Ukraine
has created a strike committee for defending their rights and interests. The
President of the Association, Verkhovna Rada deputy Ivan Tomych,
disclosed this to journalists on Friday. "There are problems - there is a
need to strike," he said.
In Tomych's words, the strike committee approved at its first meeting on
Saturday, September 25, the methods and forms of protesting on problems
relating to land and the development of the rural areas. "[We] decided that
we will block off roads, go on hunger strike..." said Tomych.
In his words, seven farmers from the Kyiv region are already on hunger
strike for the second week going at the walls of the Administration of the
President, and they are supported by the Association. They are carrying
the placard reading "Stop lawlessness!" and "Give assets belonging to
peasants" and others.
Hunger strikers representing the municipal commune of Demiantsi rural
council (Khmelnytskyi district, Kyiv region) have voiced their lack of
confidence in deputies of the rural council, which received the property of
the former agricultural collective enterprise that was closed down in 1996.
The hunger strikers also are protesting against the fact that nearly 200
persons were not included in the lists of those that should have received
land plots during the division of the land belonging to the collective
agricultural enterprise Alta Agro-Firm. They are asking the government to
return funds that were received from the sale of their property (1,200
cattle head worth nearly UAH 3 million), which took place in the early part
of this year.
In the words of Tomych, there are presently nearly 40% of peasants that
did not receive state acts for land and nearly 70% of farming enterprises
are loss making. He also said that it is impossible to create the land
market due to the lack of the necessary registration of land parcels and
the legislative base.
As Ukrainian News reported previously, the Association of Farmers made a
request to the Verkhovna Rada in early September to extend the moratorium
on the sale of land plots until 2007. President Leonid Kuchma had earlier
vetoed the law on extending the moratorium on the trade of land until
January 1, 2007. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER SIXTEEN
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16. CAUTION, BIG CITY! A 'PORTRAIT' OF MODERN DEPRESSION"
Alcoholism and depression go largely untreated in Ukraine
By Oksana Omelchenko, Den
Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, Wed, 22 Sep 04; p 1, 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Fri, Sep 24, 2004
KIEV - Recent research has suggested that a quarter of all men in Ukraine
and just under 5 per cent of women suffer from alcoholism, a Ukrainian daily
has said. These figures, extrapolated from a US-Ukrainian study, mean that
some 2.5m men in Ukraine abuse alcohol, and the problem is more serious in
the capital than elsewhere. Western Ukraine has fewer alcoholics than any
other area in Ukraine. Some 15 per cent of the population suffer from
clinical depression, it said.
The country has too few psychiatrists for the problem to be tackled
seriously, it concluded. The following is the text of the article by Oksana
Omelchenko entitled "Caution, big city! A 'portrait' of modern depression",
published in the Ukrainian newspaper Den on 22 September; subheadings
have been inserted editorially:
When publishing any medical statistics, doctors traditionally stress: these
are only the official figures. The coefficient by which they need,
theoretically, to be multiplied so as to obtain the real picture generally
varies, but, in any case, it is not less than three. Researchers at the
State University of New York at Stony Brook, in collaboration with the
Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, have been the first to undertake to
calculate this coefficient for data on the mental health of Ukrainians. The
researchers held two-stage interviews with 4,725 people from different
regions in the country. Thanks to quite lengthy conversations, they were
able to find out the extent to which mood disorders (or, put more simply,
depression), fears and phobias, as well as alcoholism, are widespread in
Ukraine.
ONE IN FOUR MEN ABUSE ALCOHOL
The results were striking. It turned out that a quarter of the men
interviewed abuse alcohol. A further 10 per cent know from personal
experience what depression is, and about 5 per cent are familiar with fears
and phobias. With women, the situation is radically different. They are far
more subject to depression (20 per cent) and to various fears (8 per cent)
than to alcoholism (under 5 per cent). All in all, it looks as though the
relationship between women and alcohol in Ukraine has been overdramatized.
According to the study, the "weaker" sex in our country drinks 10 times less
than the "stronger" sex. Admittedly, alcohol use among them peaks at
different ages. Among men, 33 per cent have such problems in their mature
years (35-49), whereas only 6 per cent of women are actively drawn towards
alcohol at that age. Women prefer to "hit the bottle" before the age of 25.
Overall, then, by correlating the study findings with census information, we
deduce that 2.5m men and 3,500 women have problems with alcohol (for
comparison, there are just 800,000 according to official figures). It should
also be borne in mind that people were only entered in the "alcoholic"
bracket if they replied in the affirmative to such questions as: have the
police ever detained you in an intoxicated state? Have you ever taken part
in drunken brawls? Do you have a constant wish to drink? Do you need
alcohol in the mornings?
Moreover, the co-author of the study, [Dr] Evelyn Bromet, thinks that the
scale of the problem is subconsciously minimized in Ukraine. In her view,
many occurrences that would, in the West, be regarded as more than a
warning signal do not give rise to any concern in our country. It is partly
for that reason, perhaps, that only 7.7 per cent of the men and 14.9 per
cent of the women had been treated for alcoholism at a hospital.
The American specialists are as yet unable to provide a detailed answer to
the question of why people drink in Ukraine. All that is clear right now is
that those who have a close relationship with alcohol are generally far
removed from material problems. Their average age is 25. For the most
part, they have a secondary education and are able-bodied.
Significantly, the most "drunken" regions were Kiev and Kiev Region (25.5
and 39.7 per cent, respectively). Not far behind the "leaders" come
Chernivtsi, Kirovohrad, Mykolayiv and Zaporizhzhya regions. On the other
hand, Western Ukraine turned out to be the most sober, with minimal
"alcoholic" figures in Lviv, Transcarpathian and Ternopil regions.
CLINICAL DEPRESSION AFFECTS 15 PER CENT
However, the "depression" rating of the regions is not much different. Kiev,
once again, is in the lead, along with Zaporizhzhya, Kharkiv and Zhytomyr
regions. In the opinion of Halyna Polyakova, deputy director of the Social
Policy Research Centre, this fact would seem to stem from the tension and
quick pace of life in large towns. Poverty is irrelevant here. In
financially deprived regions, depression actually occurs far less than in
relatively wealthy areas. Examples are Volyn, Transcarpathian and Rivne
regions, where there are three times fewer people with mood disorders than
in Kiev.
In one way or another, the American specialists concluded that 15 per cent
of the population had symptoms of clinical depression (sleeplessness, weight
loss, tearfulness, lack of interest in any activity, inability to take
decisions). Of these, 27 per cent are women over the age of 50, which
Ukrainian experts explain by the social isolation and low income of
pensioners.
There is a brief answer to the question of why only elderly members of the
weaker sex suffer from depression: men do not live long in Ukraine. The
Americans, though, came to somewhat different conclusions. In their view,
apart from elderly women, depression is primarily to be found among people
living in Kiev with an average age of 28, without higher education and
suffering from lack of money.
The findings of the study of fears and phobias may give rise to some
optimism. It has emerged that today's Ukrainians are virtually free of them.
Incidentally, that is the only respect in which the figures are not higher
those in Europe. But the problem lies not so much in the figures, although
they have come as a virtual revelation to everyone. It turns out that people
in Ukraine do not want treatment either for alcoholism or for depression.
Only 17 per cent had spoken about their depressive symptoms to doctors,
and even then they were only general practitioners, who were unable to
provide the right help. A slightly larger number of patients, 25 per cent,
had talked about their thoughts of suicide. But again, of these, 19 per cent
of the men and 28 per cent of the women had spoken only to general
practitioners.
UKRAINE SHORT OF PSYCHIATRISTS
The reason for this situation is clear to specialists. Semen Hluzman,
executive secretary of the Ukrainian Psychiatric Association, says that we
have, essentially, no system for providing psychological or
psychotherapeutic help. There are no more than 100 real specialists in the
country - "real" meaning that they have had proper training and have
undergone a probationary period under the watchful eye of professionals.
The others, according to Hluzman, work in the "soul-treatment market" in
order to survive. They scramble desperately into various schools or classes
often without any kind of psychological or psychiatric background. It
frequently happens that, after a couple of weeks' training, the person who
invites you to a session of psychotherapy is a former specialist in language
and literature... [ellipsis as published]. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.174 ARTICLE NUMBER SEVENTEEN
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17. PEACE CORPS PROJECT TO TAKE SAN MARCOS,
TEXAS WOMAN TO UKRAINE AS AN ENGLISH TEACHER
San Marcos Daily Record, San Marcos, Texas, Thu, Sep 23, 2004
SAN MARCOS - San Marcos resident Lynnette Lombardo has
accepted an assignment to the Ukraine as a member of the Peace
Corps. She departs Sept. 26.
Lombardo, 32, who graduated in 1994 with a bachelor's degree in
English from the University of Dallas, said she is looking forward to
her adventure and service.
"I would like to learn about another culture and I have a desire to
travel" she said. "I want to prove myself that this challenge is within
my capabilities."
Lombardo will serve as an education volunteer, teaching English as a
foreign language to Ukrainians ages 17-19. Before the Peace Corps,
she worked as an instructional assistant at Texas State University,
a human resources specialist for the Attorney General of Texas and
as a court-appointed special advocate for foster children from CASA
of Central Texas. She is the daughter of Ray and Maria Lombardo,
also of San Marcos.
The Peace Corps reports that applications are up 15 percent from
last year. "Peace Corps is seeing more applications coming in not only
from college graduates, but from mid-career professionals who have
been laid off and retirees who feel too young to retire," said Peace
Corps spokesperson Jesus Garcia. -30-
http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/articles/2004/09/23/news/news5.prt
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