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Action Ukraine Report

"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"

ANOTHER DELAY IN INAUGURATION PLANS
More Waiting In Ukraine For Viktor Yushchenko's Presidency

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" - Number 407
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
FROM: KYIV, UKRAINE, TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005

-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"

1. YUSHCHENKO DECLARED UKRAINE ELECTION WINNER
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

2. KUCHMA ORDERS TROOPS TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ
Troops out within the next six months
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, Jan 11 2005

3. VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH IN NEW COURT CHALLENGE
AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 11, 2005

4. YANUKOVYCH DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE YUSHCHENKO'S
VICTORY IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 11, 2005

5. SUPREME COURT SUSPENDS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
UKRAINE ELECTION RESULTS IN GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPERS
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 11, 2004

6. "RUSSIA DID NOT LOSE"
For Ukraine, there is more to Russia than political consultants
OP-ED By Yulia Timoshenko, Vedomosti
WPS Monitoring Agency, Moscow, Russia, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

7. OLEH RYBACHUK TO HEAD COMMITTEE FOR EUROPEAN
INTEGRATION IN NEW GOVERNMENT
UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 11, 2005

8. CLUB OF ETHNIC MUSIC IN KYIV
A Project: Moya Ukrayina. Bervy
Club Of Ethnic Music in Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, January, 2005

9. UKRAINE'S GRAIN CROPS DOUBLE IN 2004
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 11 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

10. UKRAINE'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP 12.5% IN 2004
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

11. EX-CONGRESSMAN RON PICKARD A WITNESS TO
'REFRESHING' REVOLUTION IN UKRAINE
By Logan Jenkins, Union-Tribune, San Diego, CA, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

12. "THE UKRAINIAN SPIRIT OF 2004"
By Glen Willard, The Ukrainian Observer magazine
The Willard Group, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 2005

13. PUTIN SHOULD PAY ONE MORE VISIT TO KIEV
By Lucian Kim, Moscow Times, Moscow, Russia, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

14. RUSSIAN MP URGES PUTIN ATTENDANCE AT
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO INAUGURATION
Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, January 10, 2005

15. UKRAINE GOES WEST, RUSSIA SURRENDERS
The Russian administration will have to forget about
the notorious imperial ambition without Ukraine
Pravda.ru, Moscow, Russia, Mon, January 10, 2005

16. CONGRESSMAN WRITES TO PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH
Office of Congressman Steven R. Rothman (D-RJ)
U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C, Friday, Jan 7, 2005

17. POPE PAUL II SENDS BLESSING TO YUSHCHENKO FOLLOWING
HIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION VICTORY
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 11, 2005

18. HISTORIC PORTRAIT OF CRIMEAN WAR NURSE UNVEILED:
National Portrait Gallery Displays Unique Painting of Mary
Seacole, Voted the Greatest Black Briton
Charlotte Higgins, Arts Correspondent
The Guardian, London, United Kingdom, Tue, Jan 11, 2005
==========================================================
1. VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO DECLARED UKRAINE ELECTION WINNER

TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

KIEV - Ukraine's Central Electoral Commission has officially declared
pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko the winner of the 26
December repeat presidential election. The commission said Yushchenko
won with 51.99 per cent of the votes, beating his opponent, former Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych, by a margin of 7.79 per cent.

The last hour of the commission's marathon sitting was carried live by 5
Kanal television. Journalists and Yushchenko representatives present at the
sitting broke into cheering as soon as the announcement was made. The
official announcement of the election result was made less than an hour
before the legal deadline, after the commission and the Supreme Court
rejected numerous complaints by Yanukovych, who alleged widespread
irregularities and asked for the vote to be invalidated.

The Yanukovych campaign team have said they will appeal against the
announced result. They have a week to lodge their appeal with the Supreme
Court. Unless Yushchenko's victory is overturned in court, his inauguration
can go ahead on 15-16 January, parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said
earlier today.

The repeat runoff round of the election was held after the Supreme Court
invalidated Yanukovych's victory in the initial vote on 21 November, saying
it was marred by vote-rigging. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
==========================================================
2. KUCHMA ORDERS TROOPS TO WITHDRAW FROM IRAQ
Troops out within the next six months

By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Tue, Jan 11 2005

KIEV - Leonid Kuchma, Ukraine's outgoing president, upstaged Viktor
Yushchenko, Orange Revolution leader, yesterday by ordering an early
withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Iraq.

Mr Kuchma announced the decision just after the Central Election Commission
began a meeting expected formally to anoint Mr Yushchenko as
president-elect. Mr Kuchma's order was made in response to the deaths of
eight Ukrainian soldiers in a blast in Iraq at the weekend, but it
pre-empted Mr Yushchenko, who had made withdrawal from Iraq one of his
key campaign promises.

Although his presidential campaign had US backing, Mr Yushchenko had
accused Mr Kuchma of pandering to the Bush government in an attempt to
soften its criticism of his regime. Mr Kuchma had warm ties with Saddam
Hussein's Iraqi government and opposed the US-led war, but he agreed to
contribute troops after the fall of Mr Hussein, arguing that Ukraine should
stay involved in Iraq to protect Kiev's economic interests.

Mr Yushchenko, a pro-western liberal who has pledged to improve ties with
the US and the European Union, won a re-run presidential election last
month. He won 52 per cent of the vote against 44 per cent for Viktor
Yanukovich, the Russian-backed former prime minister, according to the
country's election commission, which was set to formalise the results last
night.

Mr Yushchenko reiterated his pledge to pull out Ukraine's 1,600 troops
from Iraq on Sunday, soon after the blast, and also promised personally to
oversee an investigation, which a defence ministry spokesman said had
uncovered evidence of possible sabotage.

Olexander Kuzmuk, the outgoing defence minister, said in a televised address
that one battalion of Ukrainian troops would be withdrawn in March or April,
with the rest coming home in two to three months.

Although Mr Yanukovich resigned as prime minister last week, his ministers
remain in their jobs and continue to take directions from Mr Kuchma, who has
clung to the presidency despite having been forced to abandon his offices in
central Kiev in November by the Orange Revolution's massive street protests.

Mr Yanukovich has managed to hold up the transfer of power to Mr Yushchenko
by filing numerous appeals to the Supreme Court. Mr Yanukovich maintains
that he legitimately won the right to be president in an earlier election in
November that the Supreme Court ruled was spoiled by fraud.

Mr Yanukovich's campaign chief promised also to appeal against last night's
results ruling, in what would be the final obstacle to Mr Yushchenko's
inauguration, which his spokeswoman said could be held as early as Sunday.
Mr Yushchenko would then need parliament to confirm a new prime minister,
who he is expected to name later this week. -30-
==========================================================
3. VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH IN NEW COURT CHALLENGE

AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 11, 2005

KIEV, Ukraine -- Viktor Yanukovych, the losing candidate in
Ukraine's presidential vote, said Tuesday that he would appeal to
the Supreme Court over the announcement of his opponent Viktor
Yushchenko's electoral victory.

Yanukovych announced that his allies would file a massive, 800-
volume appeal to the Supreme Court to demand "the annulment of
the so-called rerun."

Yanukovych described the appeal as "a convincing package of evidence
that would prove election fraud" in the December 26 vote.

Nestor Shufrich, Yanukovych's representative in the Central Election
commission, said earlier that the candidate's camp "will not rush"
with the appeal.

He said the complaint could be submitted shortly before the court
closes at 4 p.m. (1400 GMT) Tuesday or even as late as Wednesday --
indicating that Yanukovych would try to delay the inauguration of
Yushchenko, the opposition leader who led protests against a
previous fraudulent round and managed to overturn the results.

Shufrich suggested that the appeal would focus on an electoral
reform that blocked absentee ballots and home voting -- allegedly a
prime source of abuse in the November 21 vote.

That measure was overturned by the Constitutional Court just a day
before the December 26 rerun, and that left little time for many old
and ailing Ukrainians to make voting arrangements.

Yanukovych said his team would use "all legal remedies" including
an "appeal to a European court if the court does not rule
favorably." He did not elaborate.

The final official tally of the December 26 vote showed Yushchenko
with 51.99 percent and the Kremlin-favored Yanukovych with 44.2
percent, the Central Election Commission announced late Monday,
formally declaring Yushchenko the victor 15 days after the balloting.

The final results must be approved by the high court and published
in two official government newspapers before Yushchenko can be
inaugurated.

The election was a rerun of the fraudulent November 21 vote.
Yanukovych, who last week stepped down as prime minister, had
been declared the winner of that election.

A last-minute turnaround for Yanukovych appeared unlikely after the
commission's announcement of results and Supreme Court rejections of
previous Yanukovych appeals. The court rejected eight minor appeals
from Yanukovych on Monday.

For Yushchenko, however, contesting electoral results worked. Backed
with hundreds of thousands of protesters Yushchenko filed appeals
with the Supreme Court, which prohibited official publication of
results showing Yanukovych the winner and eventually declared the
November 21 vote invalid.

International elections observers had harshly criticized the
November 21 election as a step backward for the ex-Soviet republic,
citing widespread incidents of multiple voting and bias by state-run
media against Yushchenko.
ETHNIC FAULT LINE
Yanukovych's campaign manager, Taras Chornovyl, threatened that
angry supporters from the candidate's stronghold, the eastern
Donetsk region, could pour into Kiev to protest a Yushchenko victory
but there were no expectations of any rallies on Tuesday.

Ukraine's hot political tensions derive partly from an ethnic fault
line between the country's east, which is heavily Russian-speaking,
and the center and west, where Ukrainian nationalist spirit is
strong.

Yanukovych supporters fear a Yushchenko presidency could marginalize
Russian-speakers and stoke tensions with Russia, which is Ukraine's
largest trading partner and the source of much of its gas and oil.

Yushchenko, meanwhile, has vowed to work against the primarily
eastern "clans" that control much of industry and have concentrated
wealth in a small number of hands. As president he is widely
expected to take action against alleged corruption.

Yushchenko also is expected to work for closer integration of
Ukraine with NATO and the European Union. Yanukovych had been
expected to bring Ukraine closer into Russia. -30-
====================================================
4. YANUKOVYCH DOES NOT ACKNOWLEDGE YUSHCHENKO'S
VICTORY IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 11, 2005

KYIV - Presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych does not acknowledge
the victory of his opponent, presidential candidate, Our Ukraine bloc leader
Viktor Yuschenko, on presidential election, despite the decision of the
Central Election Commission. Yanukovych made this statement at the press
conference by reading his statement to journalists.

Yanukovych believes that the results of election that the CEC announced in
the evening on Monday, January 10, give him grounds to appeal the CEC
decision in the Supreme Court demanding acknowledgement that it was
impossible to determine will of the people on this election. Yanukovych
noted that he decided to take part in revote of the second round of
presidential election purely to preserve peace and order in the society. He
believes that revote of the second round of election confirmed results of
the second round held on November 21, 2004.

According to Yanukovych, the difference of about 2 million voters that,
according to CEC vote tally, gave Yuschenko the victory in revote of the
second round on December 26, 2004, is a consequence of the draft law that
was approved by the Verkhovna Rada and that limits voting outside of polling
stations. According to Yanukovych, 2 million voters is a number comparable
to the number of people who were unable to participate in election due to
this law. Yanukovych believes that results of revote of the second round
disprove charges of opponents against them of alleged mass falsifications in
the second round of election.

Yanukovych added that over 800 volumes of evidence that corroborate the
complaint that Yanukovych plans to submit to the Supreme Court, are a
convincing evidence that opponents held revote of the second round of
election with mass violations and falsifications. "That is why we cannot
acknowledge legitimacy of this election and legitimacy of the President
elected in unconstitutional way, who roughly violated rights and freedoms
of millions of citizens of Ukraine," Yanukovych said.

In the end of his statement, Yanukovych called on the Supreme Court to
consider the complaint transparently with participation of mass media in
direct television and radio broadcasts, and take not political, but
exclusively legal decision. While answering questions of journalists,
Yanukovych said that the first thing he expects from the Supreme Court is
that the court would rule the election as illegitimate. Yanukovych also
added that he attracted lawyers of a Swiss company to defend his complaint
in the Supreme Court, and five people's deputies will also represent his
complaint.

Yanukovych refused to inform journalists about his further political plans
in case the Supreme Court refuses to satisfy his complaint. He made a
promise to journalists that he would expediently inform mass media about
their further steps. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=======================================================
5. SUPREME COURT SUSPENDS OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
UKRAINE ELECTION RESULTS IN GOVERNMENT NEWSPAPERS

Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 11, 2004

KYIV - The Supreme Court of Ukraine has satisfied a petition from
presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych to block the publication of the
official result and has banned the CEC and the government newspapers
Uriadovy Kurier and Holos Ukrainy from publishing the result until the court
makes a ruling on the complaint of the presidential candidate.

Supreme Court judge Liliya Hryhoryeva made the ruling, the Supreme Court's
press service told Interfax-Ukraine. The Supreme Court has also banned the
CEC from undertaking any action with regard to implementation of the CEC
decision from January 10 on publishing the result in the elections.
========================================================
6. "RUSSIA DID NOT LOSE"
For Ukraine, there is more to Russia than political consultants

OP-ED By Yulia Timoshenko, Vedomosti
WPS Monitoring Agency, Moscow, Russia, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

Over and over, I'm hearing that Russia allegedly lost the
presidential election in Ukraine.

I categorically disagree.

If we are talking about those political consultants who are
citizens of the Russian Federation, they did indeed lose - because
they never managed to grasp the nature of Ukrainian statehood or
the mindsets of different strata of our society.

If we are talking about several Russian business leaders who
were relying on Viktor Yanukovich to ensure their participation in
what can only be described as criminal privatization, then they lost
as well. Had Yanukovich's sponsors bothered to do a serious analysis
of the situation, however, they'd have understood that Ukraine does
not need a leader of his type right now, so therefore he could not
become the president.

There is more to Russia than political consultants and a
handful of careless investors who should have known better. Russia
is a country with over a thousand years of history, and long-term
strategic interests. Its fundamental interests are not going to be
slighted in or by Ukraine under President Viktor Yushchenko. On
the contrary, his presidency will open up new vistas for these
interests.

We've been knocking at the Kremlin's doors, trying to explain
that there is no reason to fear us, ever since the spring of 2004.
We wanted to save the Russian presidential administration from
making any reckless decisions or moves. Unfortunately, we failed.
Fearing for their capital, the political consultants and
Yanukovich's investors built an impenetrable barrier around the
Kremlin to prevent a normal dialogue between Russian leaders and
the clear favorite in Ukraine's presidential race.

These people, who deliberately misled Russia and its leaders, came
up with a new cover story afterwards: to the effect that Yanukovich
actually won on November 21, but the all-powerful United States
interfered and arranged a revolution. Hence the need to exact
vengeance on America by ignoring the new Ukrainian leadership and
promoting a split of Ukraine.

We should recognize and accept the fact that Ukrainian-Russian
relations are rooted in our shared history; they cannot be turned
over to a bunch of players in the field of political consulting.

There are many things that unite Ukraine and Russia.

FIRST, we belong to the same civilization. Despite some
discord, our peoples have always been close to each other.

SECOND, our countries belong to the same geoeconomic zone -
post-Soviet territory - whether we want it or not. That is why
Ukraine and Russia are destined to be close partners in economic
matters, at least for the next several decades.

The issue of unifying our military-industrial complexes and
military technology cooperation systems is of particular interest
and importance. Together, we can reach a new level in producing
modern military hardware, expanding into new markets.

THIRDLY, we are facing similar objectives in domestic affairs.

Is Vladimir Putin building a strong state? He is. And so are
we.

Is Putin removing oligarchs from decision-making circles?
Yushchenko is also aiming to separate the state from big business,
and have state institutions serving the public interest in general.

FOURTHLY, we share common goals in foreign affairs. Ukraine and
Russia will join the united Europe, given time. Ukraine's movement
towards Europe is somewhat more rapid nowadays, which means that it
can help Russia keep up the pace and stay on target. In other words,
Ukraine can become Russia's lobbyist - whenever it is prudent and in
the interests of both countries.

What about the Russian language? It is not facing any threat
whatsoever in Ukraine under Yushchenko. Russian-language education,
Russian literature, Russian-language theaters, newspapers, TV, radio
- all these will develop under the new president. Russian-speaking
citizens of Ukraine are an integral part of the united Ukrainian
political nation. There will be no assimilation by force.

What about NATO? I don't rule out the possibility that Ukraine
may become a NATO member, eventually; together with Russia, that is.
I'm firmly convinced that Ukraine and Russia can never be members of
different, let alone hostile, military blocs.

Last but not least, Orthodoxy is another unifying factor. I'm
sure that it will help us forget petty grievances.

Perhaps Yushchenko as president is bad for some part of the
Russian bureaucracy: those who do not care about national interests.
But he is good for Russia and the Russian people.

No wonder President Yushchenko intends to make his first
official visit a visit to Russia. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Translated by A. Ignatkin, WPS Monitoring Agency, www.wps.ru/e_index.html]
==========================================================
7. OLEH RYBACHUK TO HEAD COMMITTEE FOR EUROPEAN
INTEGRATION IN NEW GOVERNMENT

UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 11, 2005

KYIV - Member of parliament Oleh Rybachuk will head the Committee for
European Integration in the new government. He has said this in an interview

to "CN-Stolychni Novyny" daily Tuesday.

O.Rybachuk has noted that, by analogy with the new members of the EU,
Ukraine will set up a structure that "would fulfill functions of a
locomotive in the countries, which have become members of the European
Union" - a Committee for European Integration. He has indicated that this
governmental structure will solve the main task: achieving a full-fledged
membership in the European Union.

According to him, Victor Yushchenko has already signed all the necessary
documents, so that "practically from the first minutes after the
inauguration, the country live in an absolutely new rhythm". According to
O.Rybachuk, "I will be busy with the issue of the European integration, I
will head this committee. This is almost equal to the status of a Vice-Prime
Minister".

O.Rybachuk has expressed a confidence that the European course of Ukraine
will not worsen its relations with Russia. According to him, the new
government will base its relations with Moscow on the fact that Russia is
our strategic partner.

He has stressed that Ukraine's moving forward on the way to the European
integration is profitable to the Russian business, investing in Ukraine.
==========================================================
8. CLUB OF ETHNIC MUSIC IN KYIV
A Project: Moya Ukrayina. Bervy

Club Of Ethnic Music in Kyiv, Kyiv, Ukraine, January, 2005

KYIV - The Club of Ethnic Music unites like-minded people,
enthusiasts and cognoscenti of Ukrainian tradition culture which
is thousands of years old and which now should become the basis
for the Ukrainian culture of our times.

We believe that traditional folk music is a key to understanding
Ukrainian folk art, folk architecture, pottery, embroidery and
poetry; within it, we can find the primordial meta-tounge which
our ancestors used to talk to Nature and to the world around
them.

Members of the Club of Ethnic Music are entitled to ordering
CDs from the Club catalogue at special Club prices; being
updated on all Moya Ukrayina. Bervy events and new releases;
being invited to all the Moya Ukrayina. Bervy functions and
presentations; and taking part in folklore-collection expeditions
organized within the Moya Ukrayina. Bervy project.

Among the CDs already released you can find:

1. BERVY - Ukrainian traditional folklore
2. NAD RICHKOYU KARAYTSEM - (At the River Karayets) -
Ukrainian traditional folklore from the Land of Podillya
3. HEY, NA CHORNOMY MORI - (Hey, on the Black Sea) -
music of Kobzar-lyrical tradition. Mykola Budnyk plays the bandura.
4. ZELENY shum POLISSYA - (The Green Noise of the Land of
Polissya) -- Ukrainian traditional folklore form the Land of Polissya.
5. TARAS KOMPANICHENKO. Narodna bandura, lira - Taras
Kompanichenko plays the folk instruments - bandura and lira in the
Kobzar-lyrical tradition.
6. UKRAYINSKA epichna tradytsiya - Heroic epos of the Ukrainian
people.

CDs soon to be released are:

1. KARPATY - traditional folklore of the Carpathians
2. UKRAYINSKE vesillya - Ukrainian Wedding
3. KOLYSKOVI - Lullabies

Visit our website, www.ukrfolk.kiev.ua for more information.
==========================================================
9. UKRAINE'S GRAIN CROPS DOUBLE IN 2004

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 11 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

KIEV - Ukrainian farmers harvested 41.72m tonnes of grain and leguminous
crops (including maize) in 2004, which is double the 2003 figure,
Interfax-Ukraine reported on 11 January citing the State Statistics
Committee's data.

Ukraine's grain harvest in 2003 was 20.23m tonnes, which was 47 per cent
less than in 2002, the agency said. -30-
==========================================================
10. UKRAINE'S INDUSTRIAL OUTPUT UP 12.5% IN 2004

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

KIEV - Ukraine's industrial output grew in December 2004 by 4.3 per
cent over December 2003. Its total annual growth was 12.5 per cent,
Interfax-Ukraine has learnt from the State Statistics Committee today. In
December, industrial output decreased by 4.3 per cent compared with
November 2004.

In November, industrial output grew by 11.3 per cent over the same period
in the previous year, in October by 7.7 per cent, in the first 11 months by
13.4 per cent and in 10 months by 13.6 per cent. [Passage omitted:
background] -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==========================================================
11. EX-CONGRESSMAN RON PICKARD A WITNESS TO
'REFRESHING' REVOLUTION IN UKRAINE

By Logan Jenkins, Union-Tribune, San Diego, CA, Mon, Jan 10, 2005

In so many circles, this is an election season from hell. From chaotic Ohio
to bubble-headed San Diego, the Palestinian area to Iraq, the mechanics of
democracy have been stressed to infernal limits. As history – and geology –
would have it, an awe-inspiring upsurge of freedom was eclipsed by the
Indian Ocean tsunamis, which occurred the same day, Dec. 26, as the
second, and final, Ukrainian presidential election.

For North County's Grand Old Politician, who made his own electoral history
in 1982 by winning a House seat as a write-in candidate, what he witnessed
in Kiev and rural Ukrainian cities proved a tonic for the American soul.
"You read about revolutions," former Congressman Ron Packard said. But in
Ukraine, "there was no bloodshed, no rioting. It was really . . . ." He
paused a moment to find the right word. "Refreshing."

Throughout his long career of public service, Packard, an 18-year member
of the House of Representatives, was best known for being, well, unknown.
Rising through the ranks to key positions on the House Appropriations
Committee, Packard was an unassuming, almost invisible, legislator who
quietly but efficiently brought home the bacon.

Having caught wind of his Ukrainian adventure, I called Packard at his home
in Carlsbad last week. He sounded almost embarrassed to talk at length about
his two trips. "I've never sought publicity," he said. Sorry, Congressman.
Today, you're standing square in the limelight.

Last summer, the State Department invited Packard and other former members
of Congress to go to Ukraine and monitor the precarious presidential
elections. [Ed. Action Ukraine: The invitation actually came from the U.S.-
Ukraine Foundation under a program funded by USAID].Packard, the only
former congressman from California who went, took his first weeklong trip in
August during the Ukrainian run-up to its 26-candidate October primary. He
returned in late December for the climactic finale.

During his travels, Packard learned firsthand of the "terrible abuses"
committed by the pro-Russian government. For example, five of Ukraine's six
TV stations carried only propaganda favorable to Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych, a presidential candidate. His major opponent, pro-Western Viktor
Yushchenko, was allowed to appear only on the other station, which suffered
power failures with suspicious regularity, Packard said.

Yanukovych's victory in November turned out to be a brutal joke, a result of
blatant fraud. Unable to wiggle out of its remedial duty, the Ukrainian
Supreme Court ordered another election Dec. 26. "My wife and family didn't
want me to go," Packard said of the Christmas trip. They were worried, as he
was, that a violent civil war could break out if the election was hijacked
again.

In Kiev, Packard wandered around the tent city where 250,000 Yushchenko
supporters camped out. "I have never seen anything like it," said Packard,
who will turn 74 soon. One night in Kiev, Packard said, he listened to a
speech by Yushchenko, who had barely escaped death by poisoning. The
pro-Western candidate's face was disfigured, but his progressive message
resonated in the winter air.

On the day after Christmas, Packard took up his post at a polling station in
Kirovograd, 200 miles south of Kiev. The city of 300,000 had been one of the
worst areas of voter fraud in the November election. Packard worked from 5
a.m. to midnight. "It was the hardest thing I ever did," he said. Other
congressmen labored even longer to shepherd democracy on foreign soil.

The stakes were high in Ukraine, Packard said. After Yushchenko's victory,
Russia no longer can count Ukraine as a beholden partner. The agrarian
powerhouse, larger than Spain or France, will lean toward Europe in the
future. The citizens of other countries in the region, including suffering
Russia, will take note of Ukraine's democratic revolt through the ballot
box. Looking back, Packard is modest about his role. That's his lifelong
style, his customary M.O.

Still, the guy sacrificed his Christmas, the first he had ever missed with
his family. In Ukraine, Christmas was celebrated Jan. 6, after he left. So
he missed the holiday on both ends, he said with a faint ghost of a chuckle.
In large cities, the former congressman stayed in four-star hotels, which he
equated to one-stars in the United States. But out in the country, where the
fertile earth was a rich black, the dignified silver-haired statesman used
restroom facilities that were nothing more than holes in the ground. "The
people knew there was a serious problem," he said. "They welcomed us
with open arms. It was an important trip, and I feel good about it."
So should we. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Logan Jenkins can be reached at (760) 737-7555 or by e-mail at
logan.jenkins@uniontrib.com.
==========================================================
12. THE UKRAINIAN SPIRIT OF 2004

By Glen Willard, The Ukrainian Observer magazine
The Willard Group, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 2005

Events Happen! The past is prologue. And the past, well, it isn't even past.

And so we paraphrase: from the semi-obscene and trite, to the Bard, to a
Nobel honoree in literature.

And in this January issue of The Ukrainian Observer, it is now time to name
our Person of the Year for 2004.

We decline.

Events, the times, the past few months, the current tumult, all have
overtaken us.

So, for this year only, but for what we believe is good reason, we are not
naming a single Person of the Year. Instead, for the Year 2004:

We salute, we honor, The Spirit of Ukraine.

That spirit is symbolically expressed by the young lady that is caricatured
on our cover. She, perhaps an Olga, as in the country's historical past,
represents, stands for, the people of Ukraine. All of Ukraine.

For more than a millennium, there have been a Ukrainian people. In a time
before nations were known to history, they assembled for a great period and
were Kyvian Rus. At one time in history they banded as Cossacks. Great and
glorious stories and much honor and valor flowed from those periods, both in
truth and in legend. But on history's time scale, those are brief periods
when contrasted with the longer, more troubled, more tortured and conflicted
history of the people.

On the streets of Kyiv, of L'viv, of other cities, including the Donbass
region and elsewhere throughout Ukraine in the months of November and
December the people have taken a stand. In colors both orange and blue and
white and in the azure blue and yellow of the people's flag they have stood
up and spoken.

For a thousand years, though interrupted at times, there have been masters
and the masses. There has been the State, in one form or another, whether
represented by tsar or commissar, and the masses. And the masses never
really counted.

There has always been the "elites", the "authorities", the "rulers". Never,
"the people".

The Ukrainian people are passive. They are of a peaceful nature. They will
not fight. They... they... other attributes. These things are said. But yes,
also, they are said to be hardworking; they are honest (save for the
necessities of living and dealing within the "system"); they are kindly,
neighborly, taken to religion, self-sufficient, and they have other
favorable attributes.

But all that is "they". As in spoken "of them".

If the they, the them, are passive, peaceful, subdued in and by their
collective natures, then why? The answer? Perhaps, just maybe, they've
collectively, also individually, as family and as self, and personally,
physically and in sprit suffered greatly for a long time under their
masters. Their masters, meaning here, the system of governance in which and
under which they have lived. Systems of government which, when not directly
attempting to treat them as serfs, indirectly through other means
distinguished them and treated them as such. They, these masses, had no
voice. They were not truly passive and subservient by choice. Not to be
passive was to be killed, or otherwise removed. And there were ample means
of enforcement by those tsars, commissars, elites, authorities and such.

But enough.

This UO issue is dedicated to celebrating the spirit of those people. For
the people, in the year 2004 have found their collective voice. They are
speaking in the streets and at the polling places. East and west, right bank
and left bank, in Ukrainian and in Russian they are speaking to those who
have neglected and abused them; and who thought they would always remain
passive and servile.

It seemed at one time that they had started anew some 14 years ago.
Independence was declared and from a republic contrived under another
system, a nation was born. But old habits of governance remained. Places and
names in government changed, but the way of doing the business of government
remained largely in force.

The people, the individual, their voices continued unheard. New elites
replaced the old. Those elites, like boyars of old, considered the wealth,
the property and assets of the country theirs alone to use. They stole from
the people. In this neglect and abuse of the people's properties and wealth
they were abetted by, joined by, and in many cases were the same people as
those elected to govern. Election to office itself was often purchased. And
those purchasing elected office did so to promote their own interests and to
protect what they believed to be their own assets. Few represented the
people.

Let it be said now. That in the year 2004, late in that year, the people
have spoken. They have asserted their right to be heard. That is what those
crowds in the streets, those horns blowing, those shouts and cheers are all
about.

If change is here, if a revolution is in process, if it continues, it is all
because the people of the nation Ukraine have finally found their voices.
They have said, "We will not be passive." And, "We will be heard." And
"Those of whom we choose to elect, you will serve for us, and you will serve
at our privilege."

At least that is what we at the UO believe is happening during these times.
And for this we celebrate, salute and honor the people through this Spirit
of Ukraine issue. -30- (www.Ukraine-Observer.com)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ukrainian Observer Editor's Note:
Our declining to name a Person of the Year 2004 is not that there are none
available worthy of the honor. We hesitate to name names though many in
the sports and entertainment fields jump quickly to mind. Think of Vitaliy
Klitchko, Andriy Shevchenko, Yana Klochkova, Ruslana (no last name
needed now). There are deserving candidates likewise in the fields of
fashion and design, in arts, letters and science and business. And, even in
politics, there are several who would normally garner consideration
(though this presents an, "the jury is still out" problem, at the end of
this particular year).

We chose not to directly name the people of Ukraine as the winner of an
honor either. We did not want an award as such to them. In a sense, with
the people coming forth and asserting their rights to be heard, they have
collectively shown tenacity, courage and conviction. Real Spirit! But, in a
very large sense, the jury is still out again as to what all their efforts
means for the future. So, we have saluted that spirit shown so fervently
towards the end of 2004. May it long continue. -30-
==========================================================
13. PUTIN SHOULD PAY ONE MORE VISIT TO KIEV

By Lucian Kim, Moscow Times, Moscow, Russia, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

If Vladimir Putin is looking for something to do next weekend, I can highly
recommend a trip to Ukraine. For me at least, post-revolutionary Kiev has
turned out to be the perfect holiday destination, with a contagious
festivity that fills the streets. Day and night, Kievans pack the city
center to celebrate one of Europe's largest demonstrations of "people
power" since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The giddiness here reminds me of the summer of 1990, when I spent three
months backpacking through the former Eastern Bloc. Most of the people I
met back then were enthusiastic about the prospects for a democratic
society and a higher standard of living. They were ready and open to learn
from the West. Now it looks like a majority of Ukrainians harbor the same
ambitions as the Poles, Czechs and Hungarians who embarked on the tortuous
trek to Europe 15 years ago.

Viktor Yushchenko was chosen to be Ukraine's new president by citizens
who wanted their country to forge closer ties with the West. In large part,
Yushchenko owes his election to the European Union -- especially Poland --
which intervened diplomatically to make a rerun of the botched second round
possible. Inevitably, Ukraine's foreign policy will refocus on the EU, away
from Moscow.

Just as Prague's Velvet Revolution symbolized an abandonment of
Russian-style communism, Ukraine's Orange Revolution has been a rejection
of Russian-style crony capitalism. Everyone I've talked to here resents
Putin's two visits to Ukraine late last year to campaign for Viktor
Yanukovych. But those same people go to great lengths to explain -- in
Russian -- just how warm their feelings for Russia are. But unfortunately,
bilateral relations don't depend on Ukrainian goodwill alone. To an already
prickly Kremlin, Ukraine is the latest Western domino to fall on Russia's
borders. But such a view skews the true picture. For one, Moscow clearly
has more dangerous threats on its southern flank than the establishment of
liberal democracy in Ukraine. What's more, it will take years before the EU
begins to consider a Ukrainian application for membership.

The new Ukrainian president hasn't even been sworn in yet. That means
Putin has the perfect excuse to drop into town again -- for Yushchenko's
inauguration. A lot has changed since his last visit. For a start, Putin's
presence would actually be welcome this time. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Lucian Kim is deputy business editor of The Moscow Times.
==========================================================
14. RUSSIAN MP URGES PUTIN ATTENDANCE AT
VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO INAUGURATION

Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian, 10 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Mon, January 10, 2005

MOSCOW - The chairman of the Russian State Duma's Committee on
International Affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, has said relations with Ukraine
would benefit if President Vladimir Putin attended the expected inauguration
ceremony of Viktor Yushchenko as the country's new president.

"In strictly theoretical terms, I would be very happy if President Putin,
firstly, received such an invitation, and secondly, if he found an
opportunity to accept it. Everything here depends, of course, on when this
inauguration will be and to what extent all this coincides with our
president's work schedule, but in theoretical terms, if the first meeting
between the two presidents were to take place during President Yushchenko's
inauguration, I think our bilateral relations would only benefit from
that," Kosachev said in remarks broadcast by Ekho Moskvy radio on 10
January. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==========================================================
15. UKRAINE GOES WEST, RUSSIA SURRENDERS
The Russian administration will have to forget about the notorious
imperial ambition without Ukraine

Pravda.ru, Moscow, Russia, Mon, January 10, 2005

MOSCOW - Russia will have its pride hurt in the beginning of the new year,
when Viktor Yushchenko's inauguration takes place in Kiev. Ukraine has
finally chosen the way of its development for decades ahead. Russia will be
closely involved in the process. Ukraine is unable to live without the
Russian fuel and sales market. Russia will have to deliver its oil and gas
via the territory of Ukraine. Cooperation with Ukrainian enterprises is
highly important for hundreds and thousands of Russian companies. It goes
without saying that it will be impossible to cancel longstanding cultural
and economic links between the two countries even within a decade.

Viktor Yushchenko's victory at the presidential election does not mean
that Ukraine, the largest of all post-Soviet republics, has taken a strictly
pro-Western orientation. As they say, Ukraine does not want to become
a part of Great Russia anymore. The European model of life is still an
illusion for Ukraine, albeit a rather attractive and understandable
illusion.

The new political situation in Ukraine will cause certain problems and
losses for Russia too. The Russian administration will have to forget about
the notorious imperial ambition without this country. Furthermore, grand
projects like the creation of the joint economic space will not be
realized. Political relations between Russia and Ukraine will definitely
become more complicated. Russia supported Yushchenko's rival, Viktor
Yanukovich, during the election battle - it was the Kremlin's strategy.
Needless to say that they do not condemn those who win. Russia, therefore,
will have to be very careful since it has found itself involved in such a
complicated game.

It is possible to say now that a civil war will not break out in Ukraine,
although the situation in eastern parts of Ukraine will obviously become
less comfortable for people. Ukrainian largest tycoon, Rinat Akhmedov, a
follower of Yanukovich, has already exercised his willingness to negotiate.

One shall also presume that the camp of the winner will soon be gripped
with fights, when politicians will be trying to win a better place and
become closer to the president. It is not ruled out that Julia Timoshenko,
another outstanding leader of the Ukrainian opposition, will not make it to
the office of the prime minister - her current goal number one. The
position will most likely be taken by someone "weaker" like Alexander
Moroz, for example (the leader of the socialist faction in Ukraine), whose
attitude to Russia is rather loyal.

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma won Putin's support and managed to
promote the political reform in Ukraine. The president, however, has not
been able to solve every single problem. The fate of the reform will now
depend on Viktor Yushchenko. One may not doubt that it will be delayed
till parliamentary elections, at which the new Ukrainian leadership hopes to
obtain the majority of seats and nominate their own premier without any
auxiliary agreements.

The question of Viktor Yushchenko's heath is still actual, though. If he
has been poisoned with dioxin, a new reelection of the president is
possible to happen in Ukraine again, for it is a strong and long-lasting
chemical. Yushchenko will have to take a profound rest and undergo a
medical treatment after his inauguration.

At any rate, the Kremlin is supposed to run very friendly and reasonable
politics towards Ukraine right now. If Russia shows that it has been
offended with the final outcome of the Ukrainian election, it will
inevitably end up in self-isolation. Serious politicians do not have a
right to take offence. When Ukrainians went to the polls for the third
time, they chose Europe, not Russia, and the Russian administration
obviously has to learn this lesson. -30-
==========================================================
16. CONGRESSMAN WRITES TO PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH

Office of Congressman Steven R. Rothman (D-RJ)
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C, Friday, January 7, 2005

President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We are writing to urge you to promptly invite Ukrainian President-elect
Viktor Yushchenko to Washington, D.C. for an official state visit. As you
well know, the outcome of the recent Ukrainian elections provides the
opportunity for the Republic of Ukraine to become more closely
integrated in Euro-Atlantic institutions, demonstrate true democratic
governance under the rule of law, and operate a genuine free market
economy.

It is critical that at this time we recognize the importance of the
relationship between the United States and the Republic of Ukraine and
reach out to President-elect Yushchenko in an effort to enhance these
relations.

To your credit, the United States has consistently worked with the Republic
of Ukraine to encourage the conduct of free and fair elections in the former
Soviet state. We believe that with this recent election, the Republic of
Ukraine has indeed demonstrated its commitment to being a true democracy.

The first and second rounds of voting on October 31, 2004 and November
21, 2004, respectively, were fraught with corruption and fraud, including
reports of government-run media bias, abuse of absentee ballots, and voter
intimidation. Taking a step which demonstrated Ukraine's elected
representatives' true commitment to democracy, the Ukrainian Parliament
responded by approving a resolution that called the elections invalid. This
action was later reinforced when the Ukrainian Supreme Court invalidated
the election and called for a third round of voting on December 26, 2004.

Following weeks of protest and debates, an impressive 77% of the
population turned out to vote for President on December 26, 2004.
We congratulate the Republic of Ukraine on following the democratic
processes that ultimately led to the conduct of a free and free election for
the Ukrainian presidency.

As a showing of American solidarity with the Ukrainian people and its
newly-elected leader and in an effort to further strengthen U.S.-Ukraine
relations, we believe it is important that you promptly invite
President-elect Yushchenko to the White House for a state visit once he
has been sworn in as President. We thank you in advance for your kind
attention and ask that you please inform us as to how you intend to
proceed on this matter.

Sincerely,
s/
STEVEN R. ROTHMAN
Member of Congress
=========================================================
17. POPE PAUL II SENDS BLESSING TO YUSHCHENKO FOLLOWING
HIS PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION VICTORY

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 11, 2005

KYIV - Pope John Paul II has sent blessings to the Our Ukraine coalition's
leader Viktor Yuschenko following his victory in the Ukrainian presidential
elections. Markian Lubkivskyi, the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs
Ministry's press service, disclosed this to Ukrainian News.

According to him, Pope John Paul II sent his blessings to Yuschenko on
January 10 during a traditional audience with members of the diplomatic
corps at the Vatican. Lubkivskyi stressed that the Vatican closely followed
the presidential elections in Ukraine. -30-
=========================================================
18. HISTORIC PORTRAIT OF CRIMEAN WAR NURSE UNVEILED:
National Portrait Gallery Displays Unique Painting of Mary
Seacole, Voted the Greatest Black Briton

Charlotte Higgins, Arts Correspondent
The Guardian, London, United Kingdom, Tue, Jan 11, 2005

LONDON - The only known oil painting of the 19th-century woman voted
the greatest black Briton has come to light. The portrait of Mary Seacole,
who cared for British troops during the Crimean war despite having been
turned down as an official nurse by the war office, is a heroic image of a
handsome, beady-eyed woman, her medals prominently displayed.

It was discovered after an antiques dealer picked it up at a car boot sale
in Burford, Oxfordshire. He thought he was buying a print, but when he
removed the frame he found the portrait, turned face in; it had been used as
backing for the print. The dealer, ignorant of the sitter's identity, put
the portrait in an auction at Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire, in 2002. It
was bought by a local art dealer, and Helen Rappaport, a Seacole scholar,
was contacted to help identify the subject.

"It was my wildest dream," said Ms Rappaport, who bought the painting and
has now lent it indefinitely to the National Portrait Gallery. "Every
biographer fantasises about finding a lost letter. It is even more
extraordinary to find a lost image. There are so few portraits of Mary
Seacole - an early pastel from the 1840s, cartoonish images from Punch and
the London Illustrated News. And this is such an iconic image, of a proud,
dignified, self-possessed woman.

"As soon as I opened the email and saw the image I almost fell off my chair.
I knew immediately it was her." No other work by the artist - the portrait
is signed Albert Charles Challen, 1869 - is known.

Ms Rappaport discovered that he was born in Islington, north London, painted
the portrait when he was 22, and died aged 34. But otherwise his life and
career are a mystery, including the circumstances of the portrait. Sandy
Nairne, director of the National Portrait Gallery, said: "It's conjecture
that it was painted from life, but it would have been an odd angle for a
photograph." He said the quality of the work was "very strong".

Seacole, whom Ms Rappaport described as "a free spirit, a humanitarian and
an Everywoman", was born in Kingston, Jamaica, in about 1805. She ran a
boarding house there and cared for sick British officers, having been
trained in herbal medicine. Refused as a nurse by the British government,
probably on racial grounds, she set out to Balaclava, now in Ukraine, in the
mid-1850s. There she set up a boarding house and held surgeries for soldiers
suffering from the intestinal diseases that were rife, administering
remedies made from boiled pomegranate skins.

Her courage, kindness and energy - which ran to rustling up dozens of plum
puddings at Christmas 1855 - became famous, and her exploits were recorded
in British newspapers. Her heroic status makes it all the more mysterious,
as Ms Rappaport writes in the journal History Today, that Queen Victoria
never made any effort to meet her, in stark contrast to her treatment of
Florence Nightingale.

The reason, suggests Ms Rappaport, was propriety: Seacole also sold alcohol
in the Crimea, which was beyond the pale. In a letter of 1870 Nightingale
acknowledged Seacole as "very kind to the men" and "did some good" in the
Crimea, but said: "Anyone who employs Mrs Seacole will introduce much
kindness - also much drunkenness and improper conduct . . ."

According to Ms Rappaport, "Florence Nightingale was trying to establish
nursing as a profession for middle-class women, and she could not be
associated with a freewheeler and maverick like Mary".

Despite her fame in the 1850s, by the time she died in 1881 Seacole was
almost forgotten, and it was as late as the 1970s before she began once more
to be known. Last year she was voted the greatest black Briton in an online
poll. Now her portrait will hang alongside Nightingale's and
Victoria's. -30- (www.guardian.co.uk/arts)
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