"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"
"COUP IN KIEV"
Tens of thousands of outraged citizens filled the center of Kiev last
night to oppose this authoritarian coup. The United States and other
Western governments must do everything possible to support them.
[Editorial, The Washington Post, article one]
"THE REAL VIKTOR"
Yushchenko is right to contest Ukraine's rigged poll result
[Editorial, Financial Times, article three]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 228
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, WEDNESDAY, November 24, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. "COUP IN KIEV"
Tens of thousands of outraged citizens filled the center of Kiev last
night to oppose this authoritarian coup. The United States and other
Western governments must do everything possible to support them.
EDITORIAL, The Washington Post
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Page A28
2. THE UNITED STATES STANDS WITH THE UKRAINIAN
PEOPLE IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME
STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE, Office of the Press Secretary
Crawford, Texas, Tuesday, November 23, 2004
3. "THE REAL VIKTOR"
Yushchenko is right to contest Ukraine's rigged poll result
EDITORIAL: Financial Times
London, UK, Tuesday, November 23 2004
4. FOR THE U.S., A BALANCING ACT ON UKRAINE
White House Seeks to Support Election Protesters
Without Angering Russia's Putin
By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Wed, Nov 24, 2004
5. "UKRAINE ROBBED"
OP-ED, The Washington Times
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
6. "STOP DISHONORING UKRAINE"
I call all my colleagues-diplomats to support the new President Yushchenko
Statement by Yuri Scherbak
Former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Canada, Israel,
and Mexico; Ukrainian writer, doctor, politician and statesman
Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, November 24, 2004
7. AN OPEN DECLARATION
By a Group from the Diplomatic Corps of Ukraine
Declaration by Four Ukrainian Diplomats
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
8. DIPLOMATS QUESTION UKRAINE ON ELECTION
AP, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
9. UKRAINIANS DESERVE A FAIR COUNT
Putin only wants a Ukrainian Lukashenko, cut off from the west
EDITORIAL: The Moscow Times
Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, November 24, 2004
10. "TIME FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION TO BACK UKRAINE"
Commentary: By Gareth Harding
UPI Chief European Correspondent
UPI, Brussels, Belgium, Tues, November 23, 2004
11. EU PARTY HAILS VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AS WINNER
EUBusiness, Brussels, Belgium, Tue, Nov. 23, 2004
12. U.S. SENATOR KYLE CRITICIZES 2ND UKRAINIAN VOTE
International Organizations Found Deep, Systematic Irregularities
Office of United States Senator Jon Kyle
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 22, 2003
13. AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER ON UKRAINE'S
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
From: Peter.Sawczak@dfat.gov.au
Date: 24-Nov-2004 12:45:02 ZE10
Media Release. FA157a- Wed, 24 November 2004
14. "A TUG OF WAR OVER UKRAINE"
NEWS ANALYSIS: By Steven Lee Myers
The New York Times, Wednesday, November 24, 2004
15. RUSSIA PLAYS FOR HIGH STAKES OVER UKRAINE
By Arkady Ostrovsky in Moscow
Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, November 23 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. "COUP IN KIEV"
Tens of thousands of outraged citizens filled the center of Kiev last
night to oppose this authoritarian coup. The United States and other
Western governments must do everything possible to support them.
.
EDITORIAL, The Washington Post
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004; Page A28
UKRAINE FACED a fateful choice on Sunday: not just between two sharply
opposed candidates in a presidential election runoff, but between two
political systems. Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko promised a genuine
liberal democracy along Western lines, while Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych represented those forces that, backed by a neo-imperial Russia,
would rule this large European nation through force and fraud. The outcome
of the vote has brought this confrontation to a head. According to exit
polls, the democratic opposition won handily, by 54 to 43 percent in one
survey. But yesterday the government revealed its intent to steal the
election, announcing that Mr. Yanukovych had a decisive lead in the vote
count. Tens of thousands of outraged citizens filled the center of Kiev last
night to oppose this authoritarian coup. The United States and other
Western governments must do everything possible to support them.
For the Bush administration, the responsibility starts with stating the
unvarnished truth about what has happened in an election that some --
including those employed by a large Ukrainian lobbying operation in
Washington -- have falsely portrayed as flawed but free. Sen. Richard G.
Lugar (R-Ind.), who traveled to Kiev to observe the elections with the
endorsement of President Bush, made an excellent start: "It is now
apparent," he said in Kiev, "that a concerted and forceful program of
election-day fraud and abuse was enacted with either the leadership or
cooperation of governmental authorities." That judgment was backed by the
European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
and several nongovernmental organizations that sent observers to Ukraine.
Appropriately, the State Department called yesterday for "quick action on
the part of the government of Ukraine" to "ensure an outcome that reflects
the will of the Ukrainian people."
The United States should do everything possible to help those who seek to
reverse the fraud. If that proves impossible in the short term, the United
States at least can demonstrate to Ukrainians that it supports their desire
for genuine democracy -- and it can oppose any use of force by the
government to suppress popular demonstrations. It can take action against
senior Ukrainian officials and businessmen who are organizing and supporting
the fraud, denying them visas or placing sanctions on their companies. It
can also work toward a joint Western response to the new government,
which should include a freeze on all cooperation with Mr. Yanukovych, and
vigorous and material support for the Ukrainian political parties and civil
society groups that fight for democracy.
President Bush must also end his administration's passivity in the face of
massive and malign Russian intervention in Ukraine. President Vladimir
Putin, who has been consolidating an authoritarian regime in Moscow, now
seeks to install a client government in Kiev; he channeled hundreds of
millions of dollars into Mr. Yanukovych's campaign and personally traveled
to Ukraine before each of the election's two rounds. Yesterday Mr. Putin
brazenly issued a statement congratulating Mr. Yanukovych, even though
Ukraine's election commission had not finished counting the vote or declared
an official result. To its credit, the administration summoned the Russian
ambassador in Washington to a meeting with a State Department official,
Assistant Secretary A. Elizabeth Jones, who expressed concern about Mr.
Putin's action. The next step is for Mr. Bush to clearly and publicly
challenge the Russian president on his neo-imperialism -- and to design a
U.S. policy to check it. -30-
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NOTE: Many of you will be wanting to contact the White House
immediately on this critical issue for sure.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. THE UNITED STATES STANDS WITH THE UKRAINIAN
PEOPLE IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME
STATEMENT BY THE DEPUTY PRESS SECRETARY
THE WHITE HOUSE, Office of the Press Secretary
Crawford, Texas, Tuesday, November 23, 2004
The United States is deeply disturbed by extensive and credible indications
of fraud committed in the Ukrainian presidential election. We strongly
support efforts to review the conduct of the election and urge Ukrainian
authorities not to certify results until investigations of organized fraud
are resolved. We call on the Government of Ukraine to respect the will of
the Ukrainian people, and we urge all Ukrainians to resolve the situation
through peaceful means. The Government bears a special responsibility not
to use or incite violence, and to allow free media to report accurately on
the situation without intimidation or coercion. The United States stands
with the Ukrainian people in this difficult time.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. "THE REAL VIKTOR"
Yushchenko is right to contest Ukraine's rigged poll result
EDITORIAL: Financial Times
London, UK, Tuesday, November 23 2004
The Ukrainian presidential election has fulfilled the worst fears of those
who predicted it would be undermined by widespread intimidation and
fraud. The authorities have bent every rule to fix the results in favour of
their candidate, prime minister Viktor Yanukovich. Viktor Yushchenko,
the challenger, has been left no choice but to reject the official verdict
and declare himself the winner. Speaking before tens of thousands of his
supporters yesterday, he pledged to fight the results in the courts and in
peaceful protests.
Ukraine now faces a dangerous struggle for power. Mr Yushchenko's
followers hope that, as in Georgia, the sheer weight of their numbers and
their arguments will win the day. But the authorities they must confront are
in a much stronger position than the ageing former Georgian leader Eduard
Shevardnadze, who was overthrown late last year. In Ukraine, President
Leonid Kuchma has built a powerful authoritarian regime, supported by the
bureaucracy, the business oligarchs, and by Russia. So there is a risk of
the conflict ending in violence.
Mr Yushchenko has very strong grounds for claiming victory. According to
the official count, he lost by 46 per cent to 49 per cent. But this ran
counter to his solid lead apparent in exit polling, and resulted from Mr
Yanukovich's vote being swelled by massive ballot-stuffing in eastern
Ukraine, especially in his own region of Donetsk, where the turnout reached
the incredible level of 96 per cent. Mr Yushchenko is rightly demanding the
cancellation of results for districts where the turnout exceeded 90 per cent
and where opposition observers were hustled out of the polling stations.
The tragedy is that Ukrainian voters' enthusiasm has been betrayed. Even
without the ballot-stuffing, turnout was very high. Ukrainians knew their
country faced a historic choice and voted in vast numbers. They demonstrated
beyond doubt that, given the chance, their country could be a genuine
European democracy. It is not condemned by its past and its geography to
Russian-style authoritarianism.
Millions showed they want political freedom. Millions more would have done
the same, had their minds not been twisted by fear and media manipulation.
The authorities must now accept Mr Yushchenko's demands for a fair legal
review of the election result. The Supreme Court, which has shown its
independence in the past siding with Mr Yushchenko, will play a key role.
So will parliament, where speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn has said he wants a
legitimately elected president.
The west has roundly condemned the election fraud. The European Union
has urged Ukraine to review the election process and result, and should
cold-shoulder Kiev if Ukrainians are cheated of their democratic rights. But
this is primarily a political battle to be decided by Ukrainians. They have
shown they want a democracy. Now they must prove how hard they are
ready to press for one. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. FOR THE U.S., A BALANCING ACT ON UKRAINE
White House Seeks to Support Election Protesters
Without Angering Russia's Putin
By Glenn Kessler, Washington Post Staff Writer
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Wed, Nov 24, 2004; Page A17
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Bush administration is seeking to support
Ukrainian demonstrators who are challenging official results declaring that
a Moscow-backed candidate narrowly won Sunday's presidential election
without risking an open break with Russian President Vladimir Putin,
administration officials said yesterday.
Even before the count was completed, Putin on Monday congratulated
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on his victory over Western-leaning
Viktor Yushchenko in an election that international observers said was
deeply flawed. Yushchenko declared himself the winner yesterday and
took a symbolic oath of office as hundreds of thousands of protesters
packed Kiev's downtown streets.
Before the Ukrainian election, Russian President Vladimir Putin and
President Bush discussed the issue at an economic summit last weekend,
officials said, with Bush stressing the United States' interest in a
democratic outcome. (Jason Reed -- Reuters)
Putin visited Ukraine before the runoff election and an earlier round of
voting, in an apparent attempt to influence the results. But administration
officials said they are focusing on the need for a democratic outcome and
ensuring a result that reflects the will of the voters and is credible to
the world -- a message that a top State Department official, A. Elizabeth
Jones, delivered to the Russian ambassador Monday.
"This is not a U.S.-Russia issue," an administration official said, speaking
on the condition of anonymity because of sensitive diplomacy. "It is not an
East-West issue." He said that a fully democratic Ukraine would have to
have close relations with Russia, no matter who wins the presidency.
"The Russians may make it an issue, but it isn't," he said.
Although White House officials hailed the close relationship with Putin
early in President Bush's tenure, tensions have risen in the past year over
Putin's efforts to muzzle political opponents and centralize political
control. The dispute over the Ukrainian election is potentially problematic
because Russia may feel that the United States is interfering in its sphere
of influence. Yesterday, Putin attacked Western criticism of the election.
Charles A. Kupchan, director of Europe studies at the Council on Foreign
Relations, said the administration appeared to be trying to encourage a
review of the election without crossing what he called two "red lines" --
creating an overt rift with Putin or encouraging violence in Ukraine.
He said that Ukraine has remained relatively cohesive since the breakup of
the Soviet Union but that the voting generally split along east-west lines,
with the western, Ukrainian-speaking areas supporting Yushchenko and the
eastern, mostly Russian-speaking areas voting for Yanukovych. A misstep,
Kupchan said, "could turn a political cleavage into a conflict of competing
identities."
Bush raised the upcoming Ukrainian election with Putin when they met on
the sidelines of an economic summit last weekend, officials said, but they
declined to characterize the discussion except to say that Bush stressed
the United States' interest in a democratic outcome.
Bush also raised concerns about Putin's efforts to rein in democratic
institutions, officials said. Putin responded with a long lecture about how
he was creating a "democratic style" of government that is consistent with
Russian history and the unique problems that Russia faces as a multiethnic
society on a large landmass. Bush has not spoken to Putin since the
Ukrainian election, officials said.
The White House, in a statement issued in Crawford, Tex., where Bush is
spending Thanksgiving, said the United States "is deeply disturbed by
extensive and credible indications of fraud committed in the Ukrainian
elections."
The statement noted that "the United States stands with the Ukrainian people
in this difficult time." The White House urged Ukrainian authorities not to
certify the results until allegations of "organized fraud" are resolved, and
to respect the will of the people.
"The government bears a special responsibility not to use or incite
violence," the statement added, saying the government also must permit news
organizations to report on the matter "without intimidation or coercion."
State Department spokesman J. Adam Ereli said Jones, an assistant secretary
of state, had also spoken twice to the Ukrainian ambassador expressing "our
deep concern over the allegations of fraud and abuse" and calling for "a
complete and immediate investigation into the conduct of the election."
U.S. officials have suggested they are considering a series of escalating
steps against the Ukrainian government if it fails to take effective action,
starting with refusing to issue visas for officials and moving to
restrictions on nearly $150 million in annual aid. But officials said they
are working to avoid having to take such steps.
"It is pretty clear it was a stolen election," the administration official
said. "But the situation is very fluid." -30-
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NOTE: Many of you will be wanting to contact the White
House immediately after reading the above article.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. "UKRAINE ROBBED"
OP-ED, The Washington Times
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
The presidential election in Ukraine has fulfilled the worst
expectations. The fraudulent second-round vote is now threatening to tear
the country apart. The United States, the European Union and international
organizations have correctly denounced the results, but the old and
corrupted guard in Ukraine is banking on the prospect that international and
domestic outrage will peter out. Due to Ukraine's geopolitical importance,
the tainted election could have lasting consequences.
With almost all the ballots counted, the official vote tally has Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych defeating rival Viktor Yushchenko by almost
three percentage points. According to international observers, Sunday's
election was even more flawed than the first round of voting on Oct. 31.
Several reliable exit polls had Mr. Yushchenko winning the vote by a
comfortable margin.
President Bush warned outgoing President Leonid Kuchma that
Washington would review its relationship with Ukraine if authorities didn't
ensure the vote was fair. Sen. Richard Lugar, Indiana Republican, who
traveled to Ukraine as President Bush's envoy, said, "It is now apparent
that
a concerted and forceful program of election-day fraud and abuse was
enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of governmental
authorities."
The tainted election sent hundreds of thousands of protesters into the
streets of Kiev, the capital, yesterday in an impressive show of civil
disobedience amid freezing temperatures. The fraud in the election is
dividing the country. Kiev's city council and the administrations of four
other sizable cities said they would only recognize Mr. Yushchenko as the
legitimate president. The cities closer to Russia are supporting Mr.
Yanukovych just as passionately.
Mr. Kuchma has called for political forces to "to sit at the negotiation
table immediately." What's needed, though, is clear enough: a fair tally of
votes. Mr. Kuchma has called the pro-Yushchenko rallies "very dangerous"
and said they "can lead to unforeseen consequences." One consequence
could well be democracy.
Mr. Yanukovych has tried to downplay the massive unrest the electoral
process has triggered. "This small group of radicals has taken upon itself
the goal of splitting Ukraine," he said. While he is certainly correct about
a potentially splintering country, those divisions are a result of the
fraud, not the defense of democracy.
There is much at stake in the election for Ukraine - and for Russia, the
United States and Europe as well. Ukraine is seen by Moscow as an
important frontier of Russian economic and geopolitical influence. Ukraine
is potentially a critical transit point for Caspian and Central Asian oil to
Europe. A pipeline that was going to supply Europe with those energy
resources was instead directed towards Russia.
A triumph by Mr. Yushchenko and subsequent construction of oil pipelines
to Europe would strengthen the West's ties not only to Ukraine, but also to
Caspian and Central Asian oil suppliers. Also, Mr. Yushchenko would seek
to bring Ukraine into NATO and the European Union.
The United States, European countries and international groups should
continue pressing Ukrainian officials to restore democratic legitimacy. They
will also have to lean on Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin was quick
to congratulate Mr. Yanukovych on the election, despite the widespread
allegations of fraud. The international community must press Mr. Putin to
support electoral transparency in Ukraine. While the United States usually
respects Mr. Putin's strong administrative hand within Russia, U.S.
officials should make clear that such forbearance doesn't apply to action
and policies taken beyond Russia's borders.
Ukrainian authorities are waiting for the everyday needs of the
Ukrainian people to bring them back off the streets and into their homes and
workplaces. Mr. Yushchenko said, "We appeal to the parliaments and nations
of the world to bolster the will of the Ukrainian people, to support their
aspiration to return to democracy." U.S. and EU officials must heed that
appeal and keep the pressure on Mr. Yanukovych, Mr. Kuchma and Mr. Putin.
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LINK; http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20041123-080537-6853r.htm
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
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6. "STOP DISHONORING UKRAINE"
I call all my colleagues-diplomats to support the new President Yushchenko
Statement by Yuri Scherbak
Former Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Canada, Israel,
and Mexico; Ukrainian writer, doctor, politician and statesman
Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, November 24, 2004
The recent events showed that the authorities had ignored the people's will
by organizing a dirty election campaign with unprecedented cynicism,
falsifying the final election results and attempting to appoint their
creature as the President of Ukraine.
Coming to power of Viktor Yanukovich - the person who has brutally divided
Ukraine according to regional, language, religious and other characteristics
and who has sown the seeds of hatred and discord - will cause irreparable
damage to our people and our state.
International consequences - isolation of Ukraine in the world, the downfall
of Euro-Atlantic aspirations, forced inclusion of our state into a new
Eurasian empire and gradual loss of Ukraine's sovereignty and international
legal personality - will be especially grave.
As a Ukrainian writer and doctor, as a politician and a statesman, as a
diplomat who represented Ukraine in the capacity of an ambassador in the
USA, Canada, Israel and Mexico, I want to state: stop turning the diplomatic
service of the sovereign state into slaves who should serve private
interests of the corrupted elite. Stop dishonoring our motherland and make a
mockery of it.
I call all my colleagues-diplomats to support new President of Ukraine
Viktor Yushchenko, to sustain freedom and independence, glory and honor
of Ukraine!
Yuri Scherbak, Ambassador of Ukraine -30-
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[Statement sent to The Action Ukraine Report by Amb. Yuri Scherbak]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
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7. AN OPEN DECLARATION
By a Group from the Diplomatic Corps of Ukraine
Declaration by Four Ukrainian Diplomats
Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
We, Ukrainian diplomats, declare our resolute protest against what has
become the transformation of the Presidential elections of 2004 into a
disgraceful war against the people of Ukraine. Today when our families,
our loved ones and our friends find themselves on Independence Square
in Kyiv, we cannot remain silent.
Guided by our conscience, our professional pride and our oath to loyally
serve the Ukrainian state, we express our solidarity with the voice of the
Ukrainian people. That voice is an expression of protest against the
violation of our citizens' right to elect a president by democratic means.
In spite of incessant threats, terror and massive fraud, the Ukrainian
people have expressed their will. Their choice, however, has proven
inconvenient for those representatives of the political elite in Ukraine who
have for years ostensibly expressed Ukraine's European and democratic
orientation. At this crucial moment, the actions of that same elite have
proven that the expressions of European integration and democracy were
merely empty slogans. The people of Ukraine, represented by a small
portion freezing in Kyiv's Independence Square, deserve a different
government than the one currently asserting itself.
We are convinced that our silence today, in the long-term, would continue
to undermine and erode the authority of our state. This would effectively
change the diplomatic corps into an instrument of service to a government
whose legitimacy is already questioned by the world community. Once and
for all, this would annul the international reputation of our country.
Democratic nations of the world will turn away from Ukraine. We cannot
quietly look away as Ukraine's future is buried along with the future of our
children.
We call upon all members of the Ukrainian diplomatic corps to raise its
voice in defense of what we believe and hold dear: an independent,
democratic and honorable Ukraine.
We, Ukrainian citizens, demand that the results of the elections reflect the
true will of the people as the only source of power in Ukraine. We believe
that other members of the diplomatic service will come to support this
declaration.
Advisor to the Embassy of Ukraine to the United States O.V. Shcherba
Second Secretary of the Embassy of Ukraine to the U.S. U. B. Parkhomenko
Advisor to the Embassy of Ukraine to the United States O.V. Potiekhin
Advisor to the Embassy of Ukraine to the United States V. M. Chuma
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(An unofficial translation prepared by Mykola Hryckowian, Vice President of
the Organization for the Defense of Four Freedoms for Ukraine and Marko
Suprun, Executive Director of the Ukrainian American Civil Liberties
Association)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
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8. DIPLOMATS QUESTION UKRAINE ON ELECTION
AP, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 23, 2004
WASHINGTON (AP) - In an unusual show of independence, four
Ukrainian diplomats accused their government Tuesday of subverting the
will of the people to favor pro-Russia Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
in the nation's presidential election.
In a signed declaration, the diplomats said voters were subjected to
incessant threats, terror and massive fraud. ``We cannot quietly look
away as Ukraine's future is buried along with the future of our
children,'' the diplomats said in the statement.
The diplomats, based at Ukraine's embassy in Washington, spoke up just
before the Bush administration urged the Ukrainian government not to
certify results of Sunday's disputed presidential runoff election.
Unofficial totals gave Yanukovych a narrow lead over Western-leaning
opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
"The United States is deeply concerned by extensive and credible
indications of fraud committed in the Ukrainian presidential
election,'' White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan told reporters at
a briefing in Crawford, Texas, where President Bush is spending the
Thanksgiving holiday.
"We strongly support efforts to review the conduct of the election
and urge Ukrainian authorities not to certify results until
investigations of organized fraud are resolved,'' Buchan said.
The State Department renewed its demand for a complete and immediate
investigation. Elizabeth Jones, the assistant secretary of state for
European Affairs, called in Ukraine's ambassador, Mikhailo Reznik, to
underscore U.S. demands for an inquiry and to warn that U.S. relations
with Kiev could be damaged.
In the Ukrainian capital, where some 200,000 protesters massed in the
streets, U.S. ambassador John Herbst registered parallel complaints
with the prime minister's office, members of parliament and the
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
President Leonid Kuchma, appearing on state television in Kiev,
derided the demonstrators as political farce and said consequences
could be extremely dangerous.
Still, Kuchma proposed negotiations among all sides to get the country
out of the crisis. Interfax news agency said a top opposition official
accepted the outgoing president's suggestion.
The Ukrainian diplomats expressed their solidarity with the protesters
in challenging ``the violation of our citizens' right to elect a
president by democratic means.''
``We cannot remain silent,'' they said. ``Guided by our conscience,
our professional pride and our oath of loyalty to serve the Ukrainian
state we express our solidarity with the voice of the Ukrainian people.''
Protesting what they called ``a disgraceful war against the people of
Ukraine,'' the diplomats said they demanded ``that the results of the
election reflect the true will of the people.''
The statement was signed by embassy counselor Oleksandr V.
Shcherba, Second Secretary Yuriy B. Parkhomenko, counselor
Oleksandr V. Potiekhin and counselor Volodymyr M. Chumak.
State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the department had
heard reports of high-level Ukrainian military officers and police officers
speaking out for democracy "and against the use of violence by
government forces against demonstrators.''
``What's clear is that there is a widespread perception in Ukraine
that the elections were not free, were not fair and do not reflect the
will of the people,'' Ereli said.
He demurred when asked about Russian President Vladimir Putin's
congratulatory telephone call to Yanukovych late Monday. He noted
that no winner has been declared in Ukraine, and "we hope that all
democratic governments would join us in supporting efforts to
investigate the conduct of the election and to get to the bottom of
reports of fraud.''
The European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation,
Freedom House and other groups also have raised questions about
Ukraine's election. -30- [The Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.228: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Suggested articles for publication in the Report are always welcome
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9. UKRAINIANS DESERVE A FAIR COUNT
Putin only wants a Ukrainian Lukashenko, cut off from the west
EDITORIAL: The Moscow Times
Moscow, Russia, Wednesday, November 25, 2004
President Vladimir Putin's blatant support for Viktor Yanukovych
during the Ukrainian presidential campaign was risky and seemingly
unwise. There was little evidence that if elected, Viktor Yushchenko
would turn his back on Ukraine's big, gas-producing neighbor, and the
race was too close to call.
But by congratulating Yanukovych on Monday as the world was
condemning the vote, Putin showed his true intent. He does not want a
Ukrainian president he can work and do business with, if that president
can work and do business with the rest of the world. He wants a
Ukrainian Lukashenko [president of Belarus], cut off from the West and
beholden to his only friend.
But Ukraine deserves better. Ukrainians, whether they support
Yanukovych or Yushchenko, came out to cast their ballots because they
wanted a say in where their country is going. They had a real choice
at the ballot box. They believed their votes mattered. They cared who
won.
For those who supported Yushchenko, the obvious falsifications were
an affront.
This was not ballot stuffing as in some Russian republics where there
is no real alternative to the Kremlin candidate and the result is
already known.
The point is not that Yushchenko is the better candidate and should be
Ukraine's president. The point is that the Ukrainians had a right to
decide this for themselves, and by all indications they did.
The country is bitterly split. The maps of Ukraine showing the regions
that went to each candidate may not be in red and blue, but they bring
to mind another hotly contested presidential election earlier this
month. Although, or perhaps because, the U.S. election was unusually
nasty, it may have something to say to Ukrainians wondering where
their country goes from here.
Despite some questions about the vote counting, Democrats were able
to accept the conclusion, however distasteful, that the majority of
Americans had voted for George W. Bush. The voters had made their
choice.
Many Democrats were angry, but John Kerry's first words when accepting
defeat were about the dangers of the divisions within the country. He
called for Democrats and Republicans to find common ground and work
together.
In Ukraine, the reports of fraud are credible and numerous. An
independent review of the voting results must be conducted if people
are to have any confidence in the results of the election.
Only in this way will Ukrainians have a legitimate president with any
hope of holding the country together. Their only other option is to
decide the election on the streets. -30-
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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/11/24/005.html
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
10. "TIME FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION TO BACK UKRAINE"
Commentary: By Gareth Harding
UPI Chief European Correspondent
UPI, Brussels, Belgium, Tues, November 23, 2004
BRUSSELS -- As hundreds of thousands of opposition supporters
braved sub-zero temperatures to protest against the rigged presidential
elections in Kiev Tuesday, the most heated discussion in the European
Commission's daily press briefing was whether journalists would get
access to the canteen in the EU executive's newly restored headquarters.
There were questions about the tense standoff between reformist
candidate Viktor Yushchenko and Moscow stooge Victor Yanukovich --
who the electoral commission judged to be the winner of Sunday's poll --
but the commission would go no further than "share the concerns"
expressed by EU foreign ministers Monday until "official" results are
announced.
Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot -- whose country holds the rotating
presidency of the EU -- was blunter Monday, telling reporters, "We
don't accept these results. We think they are fraudulent."
But as usual with EU foreign policy declarations, the statement is
stronger on adjectives than verbs. Aside from calling Ukrainian
ambassadors in for a dusting down in national capitals, there was no
threat of sanctions and no declaration of support for Yushchenko,
despite exit polls that showed him the clear winner. There was also no
promise of a brighter future for the 48 million people of Ukraine --
whoever emerges as the country's next president.
The EU "has no common or foreign policy towards Ukraine," Latvian
Foreign Minister Artis Pabriks told the International Herald Tribune
after Monday's meeting. It is a view shared by most of the governments
in the eight Central and Eastern European countries that joined the
Union in May.
"There is a widespread concern that Ukraine will be sold down the
river in return for cheap gas and good relations with Moscow," said
Polish member of the European Parliament Janusz Onyszkiewicz.
"Without the prospect of EU membership, Ukraine will definitely drift
towards closer relations with Russia."
No one can accuse the commission of dishonesty when it comes to
Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova -- the three former Soviet republics that
form the EU's eastern flank. Launching the "European Neighborhood
Policy" in May, Enlargement Commissioner Gunter Verheugen said: "For
a relatively long time to come the western borders of the EU will be the
eastern borders of the former Soviet Union -- with the exception of
the Baltics."
Instead, the commission stands accused of double standards in its
dealings with eastern European countries. Next month, EU leaders are
expected to agree to start membership talks with Turkey, a poor,
Muslim with a secular government and over 90 percent of its landmass
in Asia. Brussels has also pledged that Serbia and Montenegro -- which
includes the disputed territory of Kosovo, Macedonia, which only
recently averted a civil war, and Bosnia, a virtual EU-U.N.
protectorate -- will join the 25-member club in the not-too-distant
future.
But Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, which are all clearly European
countries eligible to join the Brussels-based bloc, have effectively
been told they will never become members. All have major problems.
Ukraine has a shaky democracy and widespread corruption, Belarus,
a communist dictatorship with an appalling human rights record, is
teetering on the brink of civil war, but last year's peaceful
revolution in Georgia has shown that political change in the region is
possible. Moldova is still reeling from poverty, corruption and 1990s
rebellion in the breakaway Dniester region.
The best way to promote democratic reform and market opening --
as well as protecting the Union against instability on its borders -- is
to offer all European countries the prospect of EU membership. This
speeded up the collapse of communist kleptocracies in central and
Eastern Europe after the fall of the Berlin Wall helped cement
democracy and the rule of law in the region throughout the 1990s. In
recent years, the carrot of EU membership has also lead to the most
profound political, economic and judicial reforms in Turkey since
Mustafa Kemal, better known as Ataturk, founded the republic eight
decades ago.
The problem with the commission's neighborhood strategy -- aside from
lumping Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova together with non-European
states like Morocco, Tunisia and Syria -- is that it is full of well-meaning
ideas for creating a "ring of friends" around the Union, but offers
nearby states little concrete help in becoming democracies or market
economies.
"The fact that the neighborhood policy contains no promise of
accession vastly diminishes its attractiveness for the neighbors,"
wrote policy analyst Heather Grabbe shortly before joining the
commission this week. "The EU needs to give its neighbors additional
incentives to cooperate, or it will have very little influence over
them. In their current form the commission's proposals look like a
token policy, not a serious attempt to transform the EU's neighborhood."
Verheugen said he did not "want to see the creation of a new dividing
line in Europe" after May's historic enlargement. But without the hope
of joining the EU -- even at some distant point in the future -- this
is exactly what will happen to Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.
Putin is keenly aware of this, which is why he is busy trying to draw
all three countries back into Moscow's sphere of influence with
promises of dual nationality, cheap gas, free-trade zones, and overt
support for pro-Russian candidates. The EU, however, torn between
keeping friendly relations with Putin and actively promoting democracy
on its eastern flanks, appears to have opted for the former approach.
"If you are not part of Europe you are part of Russia," former
Estonian Prime Minister Mart Laar told United Press International
earlier this year. If Yushchenko's supporters refuse to accept the
election result and lead a Georgian-style peaceful revolution, Ukraine
could take a decisive step towards Europe -- but it will be no thanks
to the EU. If, on the other hand, Moscow intervenes or rival camps
split the country asunder, Laar believes "Ukraine could become the new
Balkans." -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20041123-041834-4674r
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
11. EU PARTY HAILS VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AS WINNER
EUBusiness, Brussels, Belgium, Nov. 23, 2004
The main umbrella group for European conservative parties on Tuesday
hailed Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko as the winner of
weekend polls and invited him to talks with its leaders next month.
The European People's Party (EPP) said it was outraged at the result
of the polls in the ex-Soviet country, in which pro-Moscow Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich is leading according to official figures.
"This is a blatant attempt to overthrow and silence the widespread
democratic movement headed by Mr. Viktor Yushchenko," said EPP
head Wilfried Martens in a statement.
"When I visited Kiev a few days ago I personally witnessed this
movement against the current authoritarian regime. You can see it
everywhere, you can feel it," he added.
He welcomed the European Union's expression of serious concern about
the poll results, and the bloc's demand that Ukraine review the elections.
"The EPP will back up the European Unions decision and offers all
possible assistance in order for the Ukrainian authorities to
reconsider their position," said Martens.
He added that "since I am convinced that the real winner of Sundays
elections is Viktor Yushchenko I have decided to invite him to the
upcoming EPP summit in Brussels on 16 December," he added.
The EPP meeting, a traditional gathering just before an EU summit,
will group 11 serving EU prime ministers from parties which come under
the EPP umbrella, as well as new European Commission head Jose Manuel
Barroso. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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LINK: http://www.eubusiness.com/afp/041123171637.vs7q4vzk
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
12. U.S. SENATOR KYLE CRITICIZES 2ND UKRAINIAN VOTE
International Organizations Found Deep, Systematic Irregularities
Office of United States Senator Jon Kyle
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., Tuesday, November 22, 2003
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jon Kyl today criticized the
second round of the presidential election in Ukraine on November 21
as "deeply and systematically flawed, to the point of a presumption of
malfeasance."
Noting that the vote has also been criticized by the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Council of Europe
and U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN), who served as President Bush's
representative during the election, Kyl said, "It is encouraging that
the Ukrainian people have turned out to vote in large numbers. But
their democratic spirit must be matched by a commitment on the part of
their leaders to a genuine democratic process, and such a commitment is
clearly lacking."
The OSCE stated today that the Ukrainian Central Election Commission
"displayed a lack of will to conduct a genuine democratic election
process," similar to what it found in the first election three weeks
ago. International observers cited highly suspect voting patters,
incidents of violence, and a pattern of intimidation directed toward
voters, polling commission members and even the observers themselves.
Lugar cited strong evidence of, among other problems: Illegal expulsions
of opposition members of election commissions; inaccurate voter lists;
busloads of people voting more than once with absentee ballots; and
suspiciously large use of mobile voting. Lugar concluded that "a
concerted and forceful program of election day fraud and abuse was
enacted with either the leadership or cooperation of governmental
authorities" in the Ukraine.
"It is extremely unfortunate that those authorities would place a higher
priority on their political power than on moving their nation forward
toward democratic legitimacy," Kyl said.
Prior to this runoff, along with Senators Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Pete
Domenici (R-NM), Sen. Kyl had sponsored a bill calling for free
elections in the Ukraine and for the imposition of sanctions on the key
government officials involved in corrupting the democratic process.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. Kyl serves on the Senate Finance, Judiciary and Energy &
Natural Resources committees and chairs the Republican Policy
Committee. Visit his website at http://www.kyl.senate.gov.
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
13. AUSTRALIA'S FOREIGN MINISTER ON UKRAINE'S
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
From: Peter.Sawczak@dfat.gov.au
Date: 24-Nov-2004 12:45:02 ZE10
Media Release. FA157a- 24 November 2004
Australia has followed with deep concern the second round of Ukraine's
presidential elections, held on 21 November 2004. International observers,
including the International Election Monitoring Mission of the Organisation
of Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have reported that the
election has clearly fallen short of international standards.
In light of the irregularities detailed in the report by the OSCE's Office
for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights on the election, Australia
has serious reservations about whether the official results will fully
reflect the will of the Ukrainian electorate.
I urge Ukrainian authorities to fully investigate the irregularities
reported in the electoral process and to review the results together with
international observers, including the OSCE. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Media Inquiries: Mr Downer's office 02 6277 7500 -
DFAT Media Liaison 02 6261 1555
http://www.foreignminister.gov.au/releases/2004/fa157a_04.html
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
14. A TUG OF WAR OVER UKRAINE
NEWS ANALYSIS: By Steven Lee Myers
The New York Times, Wednesday, November 24, 2004
MOSCOW, Nov. 23 - Not since NATO's war in Kosovo, or perhaps
the cold war itself, have the political differences between Russia and the
West appeared so starkly as they have in Ukraine's disputed presidential
election.
It is not just that Russia and President Vladimir V. Putin himself
have come out so strongly for the candidate promising closer relations
with Moscow, Viktor F. Yanukovich, while Europe and the United
States are supporting Viktor A. Yushchenko, albeit more subtly.
It is that both sides - rivals in what the United Financial Group, a
Moscow investment banking company, calls "a cold-war-style proxy
confrontation" - have staked out diametrically opposed views of what
unfolded in Ukraine.
Mr. Putin, through a Kremlin spokesman, called "open and honest" an
election that the European Union, the United States and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe called everything
but that. The returns of the Sunday vote showed a victory for his
candidate, whose opponent disputes the results.
Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, chairman of the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, who led an American delegation to Ukraine, cited
"a concerted and forceful program of election-day fraud and abuse."
The speaker of Parliament, Boris V. Gryzlov, whose presence in Ukraine
no doubt was intended as a counterweight to Mr. Lugar's, declared that
"the election was as democratic as they come."
The collapse of the Soviet bloc was supposed to erase the old
divisions of Europe. For a time, even the words East and West sounded
faintly anachronistic as the former Soviet republics and satellites of
Eastern Europe embraced democracy, however hesitantly.
Increasingly, a new division has become apparent, defined not by
competing political ideologies but by competing economic and political
interests and contradictory ideas about what democracy represents.
In Mr. Putin's Russia, the use of government resources on behalf of
loyal candidates or the state's control over the media - both factors
criticized by international observers in Ukraine - are accepted tools
of politics. So is wielding the president's personal prestige,
carefully preserved on those state channels, to influence elections,
even those outside the country's borders.
Mr. Putin stepped on accepted diplomatic protocol by campaigning so
overtly on Mr. Yanukovich's behalf, playing host to him in Moscow and
visiting Ukraine before each round in the election. Imagine the
reaction if President Vicente Fox of Mexico had hit the campaign trail
for President Bush, or the reverse.
The Russian president trampled on protocol altogether on Monday by
congratulating Mr. Yanukovich on a victory that his opponent had not
yet conceded and that even his patron, President Leonid D. Kuchma,
still had not acknowledged as official.
Joining Mr. Putin on Tuesday in offering congratulations was President
Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus, the man often called the last
dictator of Europe.
"We do not want their values imposed on us," Mr. Lukashenko said
earlier this month, dismissing the Western criticism heaped on the
presidential referendum in October that effectively lifted any limit
on his own stay in power.
Masha Lipman, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center, a
research institute, said the election in Ukraine highlighted what she
called "a value gap" between Russia and Belarus on one side and
the rest of Europe on the other.
"The fact that Russia does not think of itself as part of the West has
become very explicit," she said.
It was inevitable that Ukraine would become a battleground.
The candidates offered starkly divergent visions for the country's
future. Mr. Yanukovich promised to carry out Mr. Kuchma's legacy,
while deepening relations with Russia. Mr. Yushchenko fashioned
himself as a liberal, democratic reformer eager to break the power of
the state as it turns to Europe.
Given the distribution of votes in the runoff on Sunday, with the
Russian-speaking eastern half of the country strongly behind Mr.
Yanukovich and the capital and the more "European" western half
strongly behind Mr. Yushchenko, Europe's new dividing line seems to
run somewhere east of the Dnieper River.
Sergei A. Markov, director of the Institute for Political Studies in
Moscow, who was among the many Russian advisers to Mr.
Yanukovich's campaign, said in an interview that the election was
not a struggle over ideas as much as influence.
In Russia's view, the country remains a vital part of the "near
abroad," the former Soviet republics with deep economic, historical
and, in Ukraine's case, cultural, linguistic and ethnic bonds. Mr.
Putin has invested considerable effort in drawing Russia, Belarus,
Ukraine and Kazakhstan into an economic and political union.
Mr. Markov dismissed Western criticism of the election, saying Mr.
Yanukovich had won fairly. Europe and the United States protested,
he said, only because their favorite lost.
Increasingly, though, Russia and the West seem to be talking past each
other. "I think there could be a new cold war," Mr. Markov said, "not
a result of competition of interests, but because of miscommunication."
It only intensified Tuesday. In Portugal, where he was making the
first state visit of a Russian leader, Mr. Putin called European
criticism of the results "inadmissible" in the absence of official
results. Ukraine, he added pointedly, according to The Associated
Press, "does not need to be lectured." -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 228: ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
Letters to the editor are always welcome
=========================================================
15. RUSSIA PLAYS FOR HIGH STAKES OVER UKRAINE
By Arkady Ostrovsky in Moscow
Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, November 23 2004
MOSCOW - The fate of Ukraine may be decided on the streets of Kiev
in coming days, but the stakes are also high for Russia, which has openly
tried to reassert its influence in the former Soviet republic during the
elections.
The vote's outcome is seen in Moscow as a defining moment both for
Russian foreign and domestic policies. For the first time since the collapse
of the Soviet Union, Russia is trying to impose its political will beyond
its own borders.
"The Ukrainian election has become the factor of self-identification for
Russia," says Lilia Shevtsova, a senior analyst at the Moscow Carnegie
Centre.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin backed Viktor Yanukovich, the incumbent
prime minister in the run-up to the elections and was the first to declare
his victory despite mass protests in Kiev and outrage in the west at the
widespread irregularities and fraud.
A confrontation over the Ukrainian vote is set to overshadow a summit
between Russia and the European Union in The Hague on Thursday. Mr
Putin is scheduled to discuss an agreement on closer links between
Moscow and the EU with Jose Manuel Barroso, the new European
Commission president, and Jan Peter Balkenende, Dutch prime minister.
On Tuesday Joschka Fischer, German foreign minister, called on Ukraine
to hold a recount - and possibly even a re-run. "We call on the Ukrainian
government, in co-operation with the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, to review both the polling and counting process
and to take the necessary corrective measures."
Gleb Pavlovsky, a communications adviser contracted by the Kremlin
administration to pursue Russia's interest in Ukraine, said: "There is a war
of nerves going on at the moment [between Russia and the west]. If the EU
does not recognise Yanukovich as a legitimate president, it could lead to a
direct confrontation with Russia."
Until recently the Kremlin pursued an ambivalent foreign policy declaring
its long-term common interests with Europe while also trying to strengthen
its ties with the former Soviet republics. However, the elections in Ukraine
clarified Russia's position.
"This is the first time since the end of the Soviet Union that the interest
of Russia and the interest of the west clashed so openly. The west is not
used to a strong Russian state pursuing its interests. Let it get used to
it," said Vyacheslav Nikonov, a political analyst close to the Kremlin.
Russia sees Ukraine as a battleground for influence between itself and the
west. "If Viktor Yushchenko had won the elections, Ukraine could have
joined Nato within two years and this would have been an openly anti-
Russian move," said Mr Nikonov, expressing the Kremlin view that Mr
Yushchenko has definitely lost.
But the Ukrainian elections could also have serious implications for Russian
domestic policy.
Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, on Tuesday said
that, by discrediting the Ukrainian elections, the Kremlin aimed "to
demonstrate to its own citizens that there can be no honest elections in the
post-Soviet space and therefore kill political opposition in Russia in the
bud". Mr Yavlinsky said Russia's policy in Ukraine was also the result of
its imperial ambitions.
As Ms Shevtsova put it: "Russia still feels a phantom pain for the loss of
Ukraine. It is like with a patient whose leg has been amputated. The leg is
gone, but you still feel the pain in it." -30-
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Additional reporting by Daniel Dombey in Brussels, John Thornhill in Paris
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