"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
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"

SOCIALIST HEADS STATE PROPERTY FUND
Ukraine backtracking from liberal economy principles in favour
of a state-dominated economy.

Hierarchy of the Ukrainian non-privatization model
Yushchenko-Tymoshenko-Kinakh-Semeniuk

"On April 7, 2005 the Supreme Rada approved Socialist Valentyna
Semeniuk's appointment as head of the State Property Fund. This
might be the end of Ukrainian liberal reforms with respect to property.

Is this good or bad news? Hard to say at the moment. Most probably,
the greater part of Yushchenko's electorate was fed up with the unfair,
pilfering privatization of the last decade. People wanted privatization
matters to be set right. At the same time, they did not vote for Olexander
Moroz, thus showing disapproval of the socialist approach to property
issues. Therefore, one might expect to see pro-market experts/
practitioners in the top positions of the national economy management.
Alas.

The new administration came to power having pledged to protect
ownership rights and continue privatization, which would, unlike under
the old regime, be transparent and equitable. However, Valentina
Semeniuk's inaugural speech in Parliament last Thursday left little
hope those campaign pledges would be honoured." [article one]

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" - Number 461
E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, WEDNESDAY, April 13, 2005

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

1. NON-PRIVATIZATION MODEL
Ukrainian liberal reforms with respect to property may be over
Backtracking from liberal economy principles in favour
of a state-dominated economy.
COMMENTARY: By Nataliya Yatsenko, Mirror-Weekly
Zerkalo Nedeli On The WEB, No. 13 (541)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 9 - 15 April 2005

2. UKRAINE: OWNERS WITHOUT PROPERTY
Why is owning land unrewarding?
COMMENTARY: By Natalia Huzenko, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2005

3. HEDGE FUNDS BET ON UKRAINE'S FUTURE IN EU
By Pratima Desai, Reuters, London, UK, Tue, April 12, 2005

4. SCRAMBLING TO HALT GAS PRICE HIKES, GOVERNMENT
TARGETS REFINERIES, RETAILERS
Journal Staff Report, Ukrainian Journal
Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, April 11, 2005

5. DIRECTOR OF EBRD IN UKRAINE BELIEVES THAT FY 2005
BUDGET IS RISKY FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS
Oksana Torop, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

6. US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE JOHN HERBST ADVISES UKRAINE
TO ESTABLISH FAVORABLE LEGAL AND REGULATORY
CLIMATE FOR SUPPORTING INVESTMENTS
By Oksana Torop, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

7. STATE MATERIAL RESERVE TO HOLD FIRST TENDER FOR
PURCHASE OF MEAT ON APRIL 18
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

8. ELECTRICITY TARIFFS TO BE LOWERED FOR AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCERS BY 20%
UKRINFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

9. CABINET STARTS DRAFTING A CONCEPT FOR SUPPORT
AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE UKRAINIAN COUNTRYSIDE
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

10. AGRARIAN POLICY MINISTRY FOR CREATION OF AGRARIAN
BANK BASED ON LIQUIDATED UKRAINA BANK
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

11. CABINET OPENS 'HOT LINE': STOP BRIBE TAKING AT CUSTOMS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

12. UKRAINIAN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS WANT TO GO LEGAL
Time for the government to take notice of them
By Petro Izhyk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 April 2005

13. MONEY TO BE MADE
Venice alone earns $12 million annually from the souvenir trade.
What about Kyiv?
By Oksana Omelchenko, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2005

14. UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO SETS UP EXPERT COMMISSION OF
FOREIGN INVESTMENT COUNCIL
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 12, 2005

15. UKRAINE IS TO GET MARKET ECONOMY NATION STATUS AND
TO ACCESS WTO IN 2005'S FIRST HALF AND TO START
NEGOTIATIONS WITH REGARD TO FREE TRADE ZONE WITH EU
WITHIN NEAR TWO YEARS, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT STATES
Natalia Kostina, Ukrinform, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

16. "A BREAKTHROUGH IN UKRAINE-U.S. RELATIONS"
An Interview with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk
By Serhiy Solodky, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #12
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

17. "THE SECOND START"
By Tatiana Silina (Washington-Chicago-Boston-Washington-Kyiv)
Zerkalo Nedeli On The WEB, No. 13 (541)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 9 - 15 April 2005

18. "CHILDREN TESTIFY"
Two new publications on the Holodomor [Famine-Terror-Death]
By Nadiya Tysiachna, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 April 2005

19. PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO TO MEET WITH
WORLD FAMOUS TENOR LUCIANO PAVOROTTI ON WEDNESDAY
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

20. PRESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN OPENING CHAPEL-PANTHEON
AT TOMB OF MYKHAILO VERBYTSKY IN VILLAGE OF MLYNY, POLAND
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005
============================================================
1. NON-PRIVATIZATION MODEL
Ukrainian liberal reforms with respect to property may be over
Backtracking from liberal economy principles in favour
of a state-dominated economy.

By Nataliya Yatsenko, Mirrow-Weekly
Zerkalo Nedeli On The WEB, No. 13 (541)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 9 - 15 April 2005

On April 7, 2005 the Supreme Rada approved Socialist Valentyna
Semeniuk's appointment as head of the State Property Fund. This
might be the end of Ukrainian liberal reforms with respect to property.

Is this good or bad news? Hard to say at the moment. Most probably, the
greater part of Yushchenko's electorate was fed up with the unfair,
pilfering privatization of the last decade. People wanted privatization
matters to be set right. At the same time, they did not vote for Olexander
Moroz, thus showing disapproval of the socialist approach to property
issues. Therefore, one might expect to see pro-market experts/
practitioners in the top positions of the national economy management.
Alas.

The new administration came to power having pledged to protect ownership
rights and continue privatization, which would, unlike under the old regime,
be transparent and equitable. However, Valentina Semeniuk's inaugural
speech in Parliament last Thursday left little hope those campaign pledges
would be honoured.

A member of parliament for the last 11 years, famous for her active lobbying
for an anti-market law on privatization in the agricultural and processing
sectors as well as for advocating large-scale re-privatization, spoke about
everything but the transparent sale of state-owned property: about
establishing a state property registry, about tightening control over the
fulfillment of investment obligations, about retaining strategic enterprises
under state control, etc.

Amazingly, Ms Semeniuk is not expected to foster transparent and equitable
privatization, or so it appeared from what the President's Envoy to the
Supreme Rada, Serhiy Sobolev, said at the same parliamentary session.

Speaking on behalf of President Yushchenko, he set two major tasks for the
new SPF Head, namely: (1) to secure the passage of the law on the State
Property Fund (repeatedly vetoed by Leonid Kuchma) and (2) to develop a
new privatization strategy and a new strategy for state property management.

What are the implications of these developments? I am afraid we are
witnessing a gradual backtracking from liberal economy principles in favour
of a state-dominated economy. In this context, a Socialist MP managing the
SPF - as unconceivable an appointment in previous years as an ultra-leftist
at the head of the Finance Ministry or NBU - fits perfectly into the
architecture of the new team in power.

President Viktor Yushchenko does not seem to countenance privatization.
Nor does he seem to comprehend the very special role that property-related
issues have to play in the country's economic strategy (otherwise the above
appointment would have never taken place). Prime Minister Yuliya
Tymoshenko is an ardent proponent of enhancing the government's leverage
in the management of the national economy.

Finally, First Vice Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh, leader of the Ukrainian
Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, who has always expedited the
interests of large state-owned enterprise directors, has been placed in
charge of addressing privatization problems from the Cabinet's prospective.

Now the hierarchy of the Ukrainian non-privatization model has been
completed: Yushchenko - Tymoshenko - Kinakh - Semeniuk. The Finance
Minister could be the only person in the government who might have regrets,
as the 2005 budget revenues from privatization are set at UAH 6.9 billion -
a huge amount that can hardly be raised through establishing a state
property registry alone.

The general public could also have its grievances. As the prominent
Ukrainian economist Olexander Paskhaver said in an interview with ZN
over two years ago, "if there is no progress with legal privatization,
illegal ones will take up speed". He was referring to the State
Privatization Programme for 2003-2008 that had been developed
but never adopted by parliament.

It would be a shame if privatization progress were checked not
only because of the absence of supportive legislation but also due
to the presence of unsupportive leaders. -30-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.mirror-weekly.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: A member of the Socialist Party in Ukraine was also
appointed to be the new Minister of Agrarian Policy. This has raised
a considerable number of serious concerns in the international business
community related to the movement towards the complete private
ownership of land and other private market economy issues. [EDITOR]
=============================================================
2. UKRAINE: OWNERS WITHOUT PROPERTY
Why is owning land unrewarding?

By Natalia Huzenko, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2005

The UN predicts that by 2050 Ukraine's population will have shrunk to 36.2
million. Among the causes of the future demographic crisis, experts point
to malnutrition, a problem directly linked to the plight of the country's
agriculture. According to Anton Tretiak, vice-president of the Ukrainian
Academy of Agrarian Sciences, in the 14 years since the land reform began
the government has been unable to formulate principles of profitable and
environmentally safe use of land.

Moreover, after eliminating collective and public ownership of land, the
government has failed to find real owners for this land, because it has
often been fictitiously transferred into private ownership.

As a result, the introduction of short-term land leases led to the
unprecedented phenomenon of unemployment in the countryside, where
owners were excluded from the process of land use. The result was
lamentable: land prices fell threefold (with the exception of land plots set
aside for the construction of industrial facilities - Auth.).

According to Tretiak, the main reason behind this is an insufficient number
of laws and enactments that have been given legal force: of the 28 laws
required to make the Land Code an effective instrument, only 11 have been
passed. Only 30 bylaws have been endorsed out of the required 90 bylaws.
According to Leonid Novakovsky, deputy director of the Kyiv Land Relations
Institute, we have progressed to the stage where we have fundamental
documents, but they do not reveal the specifics of legal relationships in
the sphere of land use.

Meanwhile, the government, whose main task is to defend the law, has
turned a blind eye to this problem. As a result, nearly every city has
territories of expensive misappropriated land, and this problem can be
eliminated only by creating an effective agency to manage land use.

Inadequate legislation is not the only cause of the low productivity of
Ukraine's agricultural sector. According to Yaroslav Movchan, department
chief at the Ministry of Environmental Protection, we will be doomed to
harvest between 20 and 40 hundredweights per hectare while investing
significant resources until we establish standards for the use of low-yield
lands. Movchan believes that Ukraine has between 5 and 10 million hectares
of unusable lands: eroded lands, hillsides, and low-yield lands. It is
unprofitable to grow crops on them because only individual crops can be
grown on hillsides, while eroded soil takes a long time to regenerate.

Meanwhile, one crop of sunflowers dramatically reduces soil fertility, which
takes a long time to regenerate. Therefore, it is more efficient to turn
such lands into meadows or nature preserves. The latter require special
attention. As Movchan put it, 1 dollar invested in a nature preserve returns
100 in the form of population health, raw materials, improved local
ecological systems, etc. Moreover, environmentalists claim that people in
greener regions live longer, and their quality of life is much higher.

However, if the government follows this path, it will inevitably face the
problem of creating a compensation fund with money to buy such low- yield
lands from their owners. But where to get this money is anyone's guess.

The lack of funds is the cause of many problems in agriculture, including
the problem of land ownership deed issues. According to Mykhailo Laveykin,
director of the Lviv-based private company Zemservis, the number of land
deeds issued every year is declining. Statistics suggest that the total
acreage of land plots unclaimed by village residents is 2.37 million
hectares.

Because of the unregulated procedure of issuing land deeds, businesses
have found themselves at the mercy of the authorities, who lease out
economically unprofitable lands that may not be leased for environmental
or safety considerations, such as land plots close to railroad tracks or
narrow strips of land near forest plantations.

Still, it is possible to find money. So says Anatoliy Yurchenko, department
chief at the Land Utilization Institute, who proposes introducing a land tax
for the regeneration of land resources and resolving problems related to
land management. However, bringing this idea to life requires passing many
laws. Meanwhile, cropland acreage in Ukraine will continue to shrink like
before. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/135125
=============================================================
3. HEDGE FUNDS BET ON UKRAINE'S FUTURE IN EU

By Pratima Desai, Reuters, London, UK, Tue, April 12, 2005

LONDON - Hedge funds, eyeing Ukraine's potential entry to the European
Union, are exploring joint ventures with local partners to trade the
country's currency, equity and bond markets or seek private equity
opportunities. Hedge fund managers and analysts say Ukraine's stock
market has had a strong run and is looking toppy but long-term prospects
for all assets seem bright because the government has made bold
pledges to reform the economy.

Ukraine's benchmark stock market PFTS index has jumped around 70
percent this year after a firm showing in 2004, but many investors still see
the market as a good long-term buy. "We expect more hedge funds to seek
investment opportunities in Ukraine," Christoph Avenarius, senior hedge fund
analyst at Credit Suisse Alternative Investments in Zurich said. "Investment
in the equity market is still very much a long-biased strategy."

That is because investors can only buy stocks. The facilities for
short-selling -- betting on a lower price for a security in the future --
are not easily available.

Ukraine's new President Viktor Yushchenko, propelled to power after the
"Orange Revolution" protests last year, is pressing the EU to set a
timetable for his country's accession. That means Yushchenko will have to
embark on a series of reforms to liberalise the economy, financial markets,
and the political and tax systems, which should boost foreign investment and
the stock market, hedge funds say.

"If Ukraine makes serious efforts to join the European Union, that should be
very good for the investment climate going forward," Jochen Wermuth,
founder of the Jersey-registered, Irish-listed Greater Europe Fund said.

DEBT, CURRENCY
Trading Ukrainian stocks is difficult because only about 10 percent -- $2
billion -- is free-float. "It'll be a great market when they introduce
electronic settlement for stocks and centralise clearing," Wermuth said.

Equity investors have to trade through local brokers and hedging exposure
to Ukrainian stocks is difficult. One way is to short the currency, but that
is practically impossible given the country's foreign exchange controls.
Besides, many hedge funds are trying to buy hryvnias because they expect
strong economic growth to boost Ukraine's currency. Ukraine's Prime Minister
expects the hryvnia to rise to about 5.0 against the dollar by end-2005 from
around 5.25 now.

Ukraine this month scrapped a rule demanding exporters sell at least 50
percent of hard currency earnings, but kept all other restrictions on the
foreign exchange market in place. The government sees the repealed rule
as the start of a process to allow the hryvnia to flow more freely and be
allowed to rise to help curb inflation, so interest rates can be cut.

Hedge funds are banking on lower interest rates as that will further boost
government bond prices. Central bank data showed non-residents invested
around $400 million in Ukraine's debt in the first quarter of this year,
roughly the same as the total for last year.

PRIVATE EQUITY
But some hedge funds say Ukrainian assets are overvalued, a worry that
is shared by the country's government. "That doesn't mean it won't be
interesting in the future, but prices have to reflect reality," William
Browder, chief executive of hedge fund Hermitage Capital said.

"Ukraine is a very corrupt country. Just because you have a guy at the top
who is saying all the right things doesn't mean he is going to be able to
change the country from top to bottom to make Ukraine a safe place for
the public market investor."

So, if you don't want to invest in stock, bond or currency markets, but you
want exposure to Ukraine, you should look at private equity, some hedge
funds say. However, private equity investment require patience as there will
be a lot of volatility fuelled by economics and politics. It is not for
those looking to make a quick buck.

"We're talking to a couple of possible partners about teaming up to put
together a Ukraine fund," James Breiding, managing director at hedge fund
firm Naissance Capital. "These are local people who have a block-trading
and private equity investing skill-set. -30-
=============================================================
4. SCRAMBLING TO HALT GAS PRICE HIKES, GOVERNMENT
TARGETS REFINERIES, RETAILERS

Journal Staff Report, Ukrainian Journal
Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, April 11, 2005

KIEV, April 11 - Scrambling to contain a price rise that started this month,
the Ukrainian government slapped restrictions on mark-ups by oil refineries
and by retail gasoline chains, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko said Monday.
The move sets the maximum allowed mark-ups by refineries and by retail gas
chains at 15%, Tymoshenko said.

"If anybody anywhere charges more than 15% on the top of the costs, these
extra profits will be taken to the state budget," Tymoshenko said at a press
conference.

The latest round of price increases started April 1, after the Russian
government its increased oil export duty 23.6% to $102.6 per metric ton.
Ukraine's gasoline prices rose about 10% over the past two weeks, during a
period which saw both crude oil and gasoline futures rise to record levels
on world markets, and analysts expect the price to continue to increase
through April and May.

The restrictions on the mark-ups were widely expected following the
government's move Saturday to completely ban exports of diesel fuel in a bid
to force domestic prices down in spite of the world market fluctuation. The
developments mostly hurts Russian oil companies, such as TNK-BP, Lukoil,
Alliance Oil and Tatneft, which own major Ukrainian oil refineries and run
the largest retail gasoline chains in the country.

Meanwhile, TNK-BP said Monday it suspended operation of Linos, Ukraine's
second largest oil refinery, on Saturday for a scheduled maintenance, and
analysts said the development may further worsen the situation with domestic
fuel supplies. Linos is expected to resume operation May 14.

Linos, capable of refining 16 million tons of crude annually, refined 1.68
million tons in the first quarter, down from 1.88 million tons refined in
the same period a year ago, the government said.

Tymoshenko said the government is taking tough measures to fight the
gasoline price hike because of suspected conspiracy by the Russian oil
companies to increase gasoline prices. Tymoshenko, who called the
companies "a cartel," said the government will take steps to ensure that
the mark-up restriction will be enforced.

"We start daily monitoring of [petroleum] prices," Tymoshenko said, adding
tax authorities and special police squads will be involved. Tymoshenko said
the diesel fuel exports ban will be in effect until May 1, while the mark-up
restriction will continue indefinitely. (sb/ez) -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: These actions by the government do not sound like the
concept of private free enterprise is in full play in Ukraine today. This
news story sounds too much like news stories from the past. [EDITOR]
=============================================================
5. DIRECTOR OF EBRD IN UKRAINE BELIEVES THAT FY 2005
BUDGET IS RISKY FOR INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS

Oksana Torop, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) in Ukraine Kamen Zahariev stated the Ukrainian
f.y. 2005 national budget is "risky for western investors" during the
international seminar "Improvement of the investment climate in
Ukraine: next steps" on Tuesday.

Analyzing the modern investment policy in Ukraine, the expert named
two factors, which indirectly influence the investment policy, which are
the privatization-related policy and the upcoming parliamentary elections
in 2006. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
6. US AMBASSADOR TO UKRAINE JOHN HERBST ADVISES UKRAINE
TO ESTABLISH FAVORABLE LEGAL AND REGULATORY
CLIMATE FOR SUPPORTING INVESTMENTS

By Oksana Torop, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The international seminar "Improvement of the investment climate in
Ukraine: next steps", which was attended by US Ambassador to Ukraine John
Herbst, Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in
Ukraine Kamen Zahariev, representative of the American Commerce Chamber
in Ukraine Myron Wasylyk and other international experts, was held in Kyiv
on Tuesday.

US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, as representative of the country,
which is among Ukraine's biggest investors, noted that the topic of
investments to Ukraine is a priority, shared by the Ukrainian new Govt and
the United States. That's why, the USA are interested in Ukraine's becoming
"leader in its region".

Talking about hindrances, which obstacle the increase of investments from
the USA, the American envoy named corruption, contradictory economic
and civil law, unequal attitude toward market players, weak protection of
shareholders' rights and traditions of opaque privatization.

These hindrances, according to the diplomat, not only restrain the flow of
foreign investments, but also hinder the dynamic growth of the Ukrainian
business. According to the US diplomat, the new Govt acknowledges all
these problems.

"Justice Minister Roman Zvarych, speaking at an investment conference in
New York two weeks ago, touched on the matters, which I mentioned today,
and President Viktor Yushchenko promised to turn Ukraine into a real market
economy nation", the US Ambassador said.

Talking about ways to improve the investment climate John Herbst stressed
that the main objective of the Ukrainian Government should become the
establishment of the favorable legal and regulator climate, for the private
sector could develop its financial services and infrastructure, needed for
the investments' support.

The seminar touched the topic of Ukraine's accession to the WTO. As it was
noted, the WTO accession will be a desirable move toward the improvement
of Ukraine's investment climate, as holding reforms, necessary for the
integration with the WTO, will lead to significant increase in the flow of
investments. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
7. STATE MATERIAL RESERVE TO HOLD FIRST TENDER FOR
PURCHASE OF MEAT ON APRIL 18

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The Ukrainian State Committee for the State’s Material Reserves
(State Reserve) will hold its first tender for purchase of meat on April 18.
Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced this to journalists on Tuesday.

According to her, the Finance Ministry has allocated 500 million for
purchasing beef and pork into the State Reserve via open tenders.
The meat will later be sold via the retail networks of the Ukoopspilka
state enterprise at low prices. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: This news story also is one that sounds exactly like
what was implemented in the past. How does this action and many more
like it from the present Ukrainian government support a private, market-
driven economy in Ukraine? The answer is clear, it doesn't. [EDITOR]
=============================================================
8. ELECTRICITY TARIFFS TO BE LOWERED FOR AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCERS BY 20%

UKRINFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - Electricity tariffs will be lowered for agricultural producers by
20%. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced this on Tuesday at
a meeting on the drafting of a concept for revival of the Ukrainian
agricultural industry.

According to Mrs. Tymoshenko, the draft law on reducing electricity
tariffs for agricultural producers is also being considered by the Fuel
and Energy Ministry. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: Electricity tariffs in Ukraine already do not cover the cost
of delivering electricity and are subsidized by the government. Now
tariffs are going to be lowered an additional 20% for ag producers. How
does this new action by the government help balance the new budget
which already has in it a very large deficit and which is considered by
many astute international observers to be highly inflationary and
unsustainable. [EDITOR]
=============================================================
9. CABINET STARTS DRAFTING A CONCEPT FOR SUPPORT
AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE UKRAINIAN COUNTRYSIDE

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers has proceeded to drafting a concept
for the support and development of the Ukrainian countryside. Prime
Minister Yulia Tymoshenko announced this while opening the meeting
devoted to the creation of this concept.

Tymoshenko noted that this is the first meeting whose purpose is to
start work on a laconic and effective program for the development of
the agro-industrial complex, that would be provided with all resources,
including organizational and financial.

Tymoshenko noted that every year the government designs ponderous
programs for the revival of the agro-industrial complex, which are never
put into practice. The situation must be radically changed, she noted.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister proposed for consideration two
concepts for the development of the countryside. One of them was
created by the Agricultural Policy Ministry, and the other by the National
Agricultural Chamber of Ukraine.

In March President Viktor Yuschenko ordered the Cabinet of Ministers to
work out a complex program of support for the Ukrainian village in order
to guarantee the development of a relevant social infrastructure, due
budgetary financing of the agrarian sector and prevention of worsening
of the conditions for farmers' work after tax law changes.

As Ukrainian News reported, the Cabinet of Ministers intends to set up
a council of agricultural producers within the government. -30-
=============================================================
10. AGRARIAN POLICY MINISTRY FOR CREATION OF AGRARIAN
BANK BASED ON LIQUIDATED UKRAINA BANK

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The Agrarian Policy Ministry has spoken out in support of
creation of the Agrarian Bank on the base of the Ukraina bank, which
is now being liquidated. Agrarian Policy Minister Oleksandr Baranivskyi
made the statement at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers.

"It is necessary to form agrarian stock exchanges, agrarian fund and
agrarian bank... on the base of the Ukraina bank," he said. The ministry
believes that creation of agrarian stock exchanges, fund and bank will
form a mechanism to counteract monopolization of the agricultural market,
for example, by grain traders. "Today Ukraine's market is monopolized
by grain traders..., who keep the price monopoly," Baranivskyi added.

As Ukrainian News reported earlier, the board of the National Bank of
Ukraine decided to extend the period of liquidation of the Ukraina bank
until July 16, 2005. The NBU started liquidating the Ukraina bank in 2001,
and the previous version of the law "On Banks and Banking Operations"
stated that such procedures should be completed within three years
(in July 2004).

However, the parliament amended the law "On Banks and Banking
Operations" in late July 2004 to grant the National Bank of Ukraine the
power to extend the duration of bank liquidation procedures by up to
one year (up to two years for systemic banks). Ukraina bank, which was
one of the largest banks in the country, encountered a crisis in 1998,
resulting in its bankruptcy, and the NBU started to liquidate it in the
summer of 2001. Ukraina bank had one of the most extensive affiliate
networks, covering 519 population centers in all regions of Ukraine.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: The new Minister of Agrarian Policy is from the
Socialist Party. Claiming that there is monopolization and
manipulation of the agricultural markets and prices by grain
traders is a standard line the Socialist Party has used for many
years in many different countries and continues to use in Ukraine
regardless of the actual facts.

This Socialist Party line of propaganda will not encourage increased
domestic or international private investment into the much needed
development of Ukraine's very important and grossly under-
developed agriculture and agri-business sector.

The continued use of Socialist propaganda like this by the Minister
of Agrarian Policy will be very counter-productive and not assist
at all in fulfilling the economic goals for Ukraine as laid out by the
new Yushchenko government. [EDITOR]
=============================================================
11. CABINET OPENS 'HOT LINE' TO STOP BRIBE TAKING AT CUSTOMS

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers has opened a 'hot telephone line' in
order to stop bribe-taking at customs agencies. Ukrainian News
learned this from the press service of Kyiv's regional customs office.

The phone numbers are: 256 7685, 256 7872, 256 7997, 256 7713,
256 7972. From 9:00 to 20:00, calls will be received by representatives
of the State Customs Service, State Border Service, Security Service
and Importers' Council to the Cabinet of Ministers. The group will work
in the Cabinet Club building at 7 Instytutska Street, Kyiv, Room 209.

The hot line was organized for detection and elimination of bribe-taking
and extortion at customs agencies, as well as for organization of
immediate reaction of internal security units of customs agencies to
addresses of foreign trade entities.

As Ukrainian News reported, on April 7, Chairperson of the State Customs
Service Volodymyr Skomarovskyi with his order banned officers of the
Customs Service from holding more than UAH 100, foreign currency
cash and mobile phones in the customs control zone. The Cabinet of
Ministers approved national program "Smuggling Stop" on March 26.
=============================================================
12. UKRAINIAN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS WANT TO GO LEGAL
Time for the government to take notice of them

By Petro Izhyk, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 April 2005

Ukrainian software exporters want to end their semi-legal status and be
openly represented in the international IT market, much like they were at
the world's largest annual high-tech fair CeBIT held in Germany's Hannover
in mid-March. The Ukrainian IT industry will again exhibit its products at a
nationwide Ukrainian outsourcing forum this November.

Outsourcing, or farming out certain types of work to outside subcontractors,
originated as a cost-cutting measure. Intellectual labor is very expensive
in the West, and software developers earn hefty salaries, which is a
colossal cost for large corporations with their own IT divisions. To cut
costs, companies hire a smaller staff of programmers and farm out some of
their work to overseas companies (offshore programming). The outsourcing
business is based on the difference between labor costs inside the company
and overseas.

A distinguishing feature of the Ukrainian outsourcing market is that a large
part of it is not in the open. As a rule, only large companies seek
publicity. According to Ukrainian Hi-Tech Initiative president Viktor
Mazniuk, they account for a third of the market. The second largest group
consists of companies that keep their business out of the public eye. The
third group of market participants is made up of small software development
teams and individual developers. Given such a market structure, available
market statistics are clearly underreported.

According to a survey conducted by the venture company TechInvest, in
2004 software exports from Ukraine rose by 57% from 2003 to reach
$110 million (official statistics on software exports are close to zero). In
2005 the export growth rate will remain at 50%, and the export volume will
exceed $165 million. The total number of specialists working in the
Ukrainian IT export market reached 15,000 by late 2004, a 50% rise
over 2003.

According to a regional breakdown, Kyiv has the largest share of the
outsourcing market, followed by Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, and
southern Ukraine. However, this business is not concentrated just in large
cities. According to Mazniuk, in many raion centers there are skilled, young
programmers who work directly for foreign companies, earning three times
the average salary in oblast centers.

"It is definitely a plus that people earn decent wages and don't depend on
the government for survival. But on the other hand, huge financial flows are
bypassing state coffers, which is a minus. For this reason, the forum is
designed to bring as much of this business as possible into the open and
show the government a major source of economic growth," Marketing
Communications Agency director Serhiy Kostiukov told a news conference
in Kyiv.

The organizers of the November forum believe that ensuring the effective
development of the Ukrainian economy requires the creation of a
communication space for Ukrainian professionals and representatives of
Western companies that are in the market for our intellectual resources.
"Ukraine has many interesting projects, but the people who are involved in
this business are reluctant to publicize them because of certain collisions
in Ukrainian legislation (Ukraine has yet to elaborate the legal aspects of
intellectual exports - Auth.)," Kostiukov said.

This agency owner says that so far this business is developing on its own.
If the government starts responding to its needs, it will grow even more
dynamically. Kostiukov believes that government support is needed to
create business parks and techno-parks. The government can also
finance overseas marketing centers to secure contracts for Ukrainian
specialists.

In this business both the company's reputation and the government's policy
on outsourcing are very important. India, the world's leader in terms of
external outsourcing contracts, has a special committee that oversees
offshore business. It has developed into a large industry, which is why the
dynamics of IT exports from India are so impressive: its IT exports are
poised to top a staggering $50 billion per year by 2008.

According to Kostiukov, outsourcing is even more attractive because it is
linked not so much to a country's technical resources as human resources -
the level of education and professional training. Ukraine faces many
opportunities in this respect. Fifty thousand IT specialists graduate from
Ukrainian universities every year. Indian programmers outstrip the
competition in program code writing.

Therefore, the forum's organizers believe that Ukraine should gain a
foothold in a different niche that requires a higher level of skills and
offers higher earnings. There is a growing demand in the West for
custom software, i.e., software products designed for specific
companies or tasks. This should become a market for Ukraine.
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LINK: www.day.kiev.ua/135123/
=============================================================
13. MONEY TO BE MADE
Venice alone earns $12 million annually from the souvenir trade.
What about Kyiv?

By Oksana Omelchenko, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2005

This story is now a legend. A German tourist, after seeing all the sights of
Kyiv, decided to buy a souvenir. He must have been most impressed by the
legend of St. Andrew the First Called, because he began hunting for a
figurine of the saint at gift shops and vendor stands. His amazement knew no
bounds when he discovered that no such figurine was available. Moreover,
some salesclerks and vendors didn't know a thing about St. Andrew.

Something like this could very well happen during the Eurovision contest in
Kyiv, and some of the 50,000 expected guests will have to make do with
Russian matryoshkas or, at the most, with a concoction of two pine twigs
known as the traditional oberih (talisman for protecting homes). In Ukraine,
the tourist business has somehow never gone hand in hand with souvenirs.
Meanwhile, statistics show that every tenth tourist dollar is earned from
souvenirs.

Venice, for example, makes $12 million a year from the sale of souvenirs;
Istanbul, $9.5 million, and Hamburg, $5.8 million. Proceeding from souvenir
sales, experts compute the so-called comeback ratio; the higher the souvenir
revenues, the better the chances that every second tourist will visit the
city again. Decorative plates, cups, and T-shirts are a comparatively
inexpensive advertising technique. After buying a souvenir, a tourist will
show it to his friends at home and some will want to visit Ukraine. Here is
food for thought, especially considering that the Ukrainian budget allocates
a mere UAH 13 million for tourist advertising, which is 28 times less than
in Turkey.

According to the State Tourism Administration, data on Ukraine's tourism
capacities have just been compiled. Therefore, the scope, profitability, and
other souvenir market indices are anyone's guess. Last year, the organizers
of a souvenir exhibit held in Lviv made an unpleasant discovery: people in
Ukraine only have a vague idea of souvenirs.

"No one's against folk crafts," says Volodymyr Tsaruk, head of the STA press
service, "but international standards are entirely different. A product must
be launched into serial production, sell at between 1 and 3 euros, and serve
as a memento of a given country or city. In other words, it can be a cup, a
trinket, a leaflet, or a bookmark. People who are willing to pay more than 3
euros need an assortment of handicrafts. But there is one important
condition: they have to be authentic, quality products."

In Ukraine, the exact opposite is true. There are practically no handicrafts
on sale, and true artisans either specialize in custom- made products or
sell their works well away from the beaten tourist path. Lately, gift shops
have been vanishing from central Kyiv for one reason or another. Craftsmen
were especially pained by the disappearance of a very popular shop on
Tolstoy Square. The shop is still there, but it now sells winter clothing
and footwear.

All attempts to convince the municipal authorities that souvenirs should be
sold in places frequented by tourists have proved futile. Some souvenir
traders had to close; others have moved to the Left Bank or are selling
their wares in supermarkets. In the latter case the problem is not that
tourists won't feel like buying sausage plus souvenirs. According to Serhiy
Lytvyn, the CEO of SPD Lytvyn (decorative ceramics and wickerwork
furniture, wholesale and retail), a souvenir trader can't afford a monthly
rent of $30-50 per square meter. Adding this cost to the price would
mean surpassing all European price criteria. Who's going to pay 10-30
dollars for a trinket?

In the absence of an adequate market, businesspeople are in no hurry
to finance craftsmen. Whereas in Russia experienced managers have
long busied themselves promoting Gzhel porcelain and ceramics and
Palekh painted lacquer ware as that country's calling cards, in Ukraine
artisans are left to the mercy of fate. Unlike Russia, Ukrainian folk craft
businesses are not exempted from the land tax and VAT.

In fact, contrary to the law that the state must provide artisans with tax
concessions, the Tax Code of Ukraine has no such clause. So brands like
Reshetylivka embroidered runners and Krolevets ceramics have all but
disappeared. The decorative weaving factory in Kolomyia is still operational
only thanks to the Ukrainian Diaspora in Canada and the United States. The
situation in Kyiv doesn't look much more optimistic. Souvenir Factory
old-timers recall that they had a hard time meeting commissions in early
1990, when there were lines of delivery trucks waiting their turn at the
factory gates. Today the place is quiet, with 70 persons left on the payroll
out of 14,000, and even they often have no work to do.

Ukrainian souvenir traders are waiting for commissions now that their
products are increasingly in demand, as tourists continue to visit Ukraine.
Every year between 300 and 400 thousand foreigners buy souvenirs in Kyiv
alone. As a rule, tour guides direct them to Andriyivsky Uzviz. The Kyiv
authorities made up their mind to clean the place of Chinese and traditional
Russian merchandise only recently, with the Eurovision Song Contest looming.

This contest will be a test of sorts for the Ukrainian souvenir business. So
far the situation is somewhat alarming. A recent preview exhibit of
souvenirs meant for Eurovision featured ordinary stuffed elephants and
tigers alongside souvenir cups, T-shirts, and Ukrainian pysanky (Easter
eggs). In a word, tour guides and hotel personnel are the only hope.

One of the most prestigious hotels in Kyiv recently placed a warning on
its Web site: "Dear Guests of Kyiv, think twice before buying matryoshkas
and balalaikas as Ukrainian souvenirs." -30-
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LINK: www.day.kiev.ua/135122/
=============================================================
14. UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO SETS UP EXPERT COMMISSION OF
FOREIGN INVESTMENT COUNCIL

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 12, 2005

KYIV - President Viktor Yuschenko has set up an expert commission
of the consultative council for foreign investments and headed it. The
presidential press service made the statement, quoting a corresponding
presidential order.

Under the statement, the commission is being created to work out
suggestions on improvement of the legislation in investment activity,
simplification of the procedure investment contribution and repayment,
reinvesting, assistance in the resolution of disputes, preparation of
investment projects, rendering consultative aid to foreign investors.

One of the main tasks of the council is assistance in the improvement
of investment climate in Ukraine. As Ukrainian News reported earlier,
President Yuschenko said he intended to set up a committee to
coordinate all issues connected with foreign investments.

The Cabinet of Ministers forecasts the growth of foreign investments in
2005 by at least USD 1.7 billion to USD 10-10.5 billion. Earlier, Prime
Minister Yulia Tymoshenko called on foreign diplomats to help increase
foreign investments in Ukraine. The volume of foreign direct investment
(FDI) in Ukraine for 2004 expanded by 23% or USD 1,559.468 million
and totaled USD 8,353.878 million, as of January 1. -30-
=============================================================
15. UKRAINE IS TO GET MARKET ECONOMY NATION STATUS AND
TO ACCESS WTO IN 2005'S FIRST HALF AND TO START
NEGOTIATIONS WITH REGARD TO FREE TRADE ZONE WITH EU
WITHIN NEAR TWO YEARS, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT STATES

Natalia Kostina, Ukrinform, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

WARSAW, POLAND - A short list of Ukraine's concrete tasks, aimed
at realization of its European aspirations, was aired by Ukrainian
President Viktor Yushchenko during his speech in the Warsaw
University on Tuesday. As the President reminded, on February 21,
2004 Ukraine signed the Ukraine-EU Action Plan for three years, but
at the same time the Ukrainian side has a clear vision of certain
Eurointegration actions in 2005.

The first step the Ukrainian President named Ukraine's acquiring a market
economy nation status in 2005's first half, to which end the Ukrainian side
addressed the USA and the European Commission a week ago. According
to the President, Ukraine may become a member in the WTO at its
Secretariat's session in November.

Ukraine's another objective was named signing an agreement on a free
trade zone between Ukraine and the EU. The President also touched on
the visa regime-related matters. In particular, he meant simplifying visa
terms for students, journalists, artists and businessmen by the USA and
the EU.

Among other matters of Ukraine's cooperation with the European Union,
President Yushchenko mentioned to offer the EU some continental
economic projects for participation in, including the Odesa-Brody-
Gdansk oil pipeline and the international gas transportation consortium
=============================================================
16. A BREAKTHROUGH IN UKRAINE-U.S. RELATIONS
An Interview with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk

By Serhiy Solodky, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #12
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Without a doubt, President Viktor Yushchenko returned from his visit to the
United States last week with many impressions (a standing ovation in
Congress, with congressmen sporting orange ties, and the prestigious JFK
Prize) and concrete results. Most importantly, his visit marked the end of a
cool period in Ukrainian-US relations.

There's a simple explanation for the success of his visit: the credit of
trust Ukraine received from its partners in the aftermath of the Orange
Revolution is still there, it's working for the Ukrainian president's
benefit, meaning that it is benefiting the Ukrainian state, at least for the
time being. What happened in the US was another meeting between Viktor
Yushchenko and George Bush, and it looks as though other meetings are in
order.

According to sources close to The Day, the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents may
well meet again in New York this June at the UN summit, then in September to
mark the 60th anniversary of the United Nations. President George Bush is
also expected to visit Ukraine in the second half of this year. This is
another result of Viktor Yushchenko's trip to America, proof that official
Kyiv is determined to uphold universally recognized democratic values.

Of course, exporting revolution isn't the point; the point is to act in
accordance with the international instruments currently in effect. Proof of
this is what the Ukrainian and US heads of states had to say on human rights
issues in Belarus and Cuba. Their statements have caused sharp responses
from Minsk and Havana. Ukrainian diplomats, however, are hinting at further
consequences of Ukraine's democratic mission. Respect for democracy is
a new feature of this state, and it will be systemic rather than
spontaneous.

According to our sources, the subject of democracy will be uppermost on the
agenda of the GUUAM summit scheduled for April 22 in Chisinau (Moldova). In
the following interview with The Day, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Borys
TARASIUK comments on the Ukraine-US breakthrough and "democratic"
differences with Belarus and Cuba.

BORYS TARASIUK: THE VISIT WASN'T A FESTIVE OCCASION
THE DAY: There are various opinions concerning Viktor Yushchenko's visit to
the United States. Most say it's a breakthrough that has opened a new page
in the annals of cooperation with Washington. Others, among them experts,
have called this a festive rather than working, or official, visit. So are
there any specific results of this festive occasion worth being discussed?

TARASIUK: I wouldn't describe it as a festive visit, as it involved rather
intensive work; we actually didn't have a minute to spare. As for the
overall atmosphere of the meetings, festive probably best describes it, in
the sense that the President of Ukraine was welcomed in Congress, in
Chicago, Boston, and Georgetown University. In terms of concrete
documented results, we have a joint statement that actually opens up
new horizons for the Ukraine-U.S. strategic partnership.

This joint statement offers conceptual assessments, plans, and specific
aspects. For example, the U.S. will help Ukraine join the WTO this year,
which is a very serious result. It can't be regarded as just a clause of a
given document. It implies U.S commitment involving very specific and
massive work, including expert assistance in formalizing certain aspects of
the final stage of Ukraine's admission to the WTO, also a friendly attitude
in solving problems concerning mutual economic relations; last but not
least, it's the U.S. president's personal involvement.

This is a very serious signal. Another result is the signing of a memorandum
between the U.S. Eximbank and Ukraine's Ukreximbank. This instrument
provides for the creation of a line of credit guarantee to support exports,
which will, of course, help boost our economic and trade relationships.

As a result of this visit, we received assurances from George Bush's
administration and the U.S. Congress that they will support Ukraine in
carrying out our political and economic reforms. This is very important.
Thus, no one doubts the need to annul the Jackson-Vanik Amendment or
that Ukraine must have market economy status. Of course, there's work
to be done. The U.S. Congress must make certain decisions.

Without overstating the fact, we've opened a new page in the annals of
Ukraine-U.S. relations. Before, our strategic partnership existed only on
paper; today we can discuss its actual prospects as outlined in President
Bush's speech in Congress when he proposed eight basic points of
cooperation. By the way, this proposal was upheld by the president and the
Secretary of State. Both presidents instructed their agencies to work out
and coordinate an Action Plan for the year 2005, which, among other things,
provides for the training of Ukrainian students (some 2,000 in all).

The United States will also contribute $45 million toward the construction
of a new shelter containment structure in Power Unit 4 in Chornobyl. This
construction project has slowed down for lack of funds.

Another topic broached during the summit was the possibility of including
Ukraine in the program "Challenges of the Millennium." This is a huge
program that envisages aid to countries combating corruption, trying to
improve management, and so on. This is very relevant for us.

The main result is the resumption of a top-level dialogue between the two
countries. You know that it was actually cut short in 2000. Now this
dialogue has been resumed and it has a pleasant content. In other words,
both presidents have established personal friendly contacts.

We can say that as a result of this visit, we have a great deal of trust
credit from the American political community with regard to the President of
Ukraine and the Ukrainian state. This inspires hopes for the Ukraine-U.S.
partnership.

THE DAY: Speaking of business results, particularly the intention to annul
the Jackson-Vanik Amendment, obtaining market economy status, supporting
Ukraine's WTO membership - how firm are American intentions along these
lines? Is there a possibility that Kyiv may face new requirements that will
actually postpone the solutions to their problems?

TARASIUK: You can't call these conditions. For example, granting Ukraine
market economy status, getting back to a normal trade regime can be possible
only after certain steps have been taken by Ukraine - for example, enacting
laws that would make the production of pirate CDs impossible.

This is a justifiable requirement. Here everything depends on Ukraine; it
has to meet this requirement. Otherwise there will be no progress in terms
of WTO membership or market economy status. As for the Jackson- Vanik
Amendment, no requirements can be considered per se. Life itself has
placed it outside the limits of normal relationships. It's a matter of time
and I'm convinced that this amendment will be annulled very soon. The
U.S. Congress appears to have reached a consensus on the issue.

At present the doors of federal U.S. institutions are open for Ukraine,
including Congress. Ukraine only needs to work out a clear and realistic
stand and proceed to implement it. Ukraine won't be faced with any
prejudiced approaches or unrealistic conditions like before.

THE DAY: According to the presidents' joint statement, the U.S. will help
Ukraine enhance its cooperation with NATO, raising it to the Intensified
Dialogue level. Could this happen during the ministerial meeting in Vilnius?
How is the Ukrainian government likely to plan its official information
policy to keep its citizens up to date about NATO? We all know that
Ukraine's NATO membership concept leaves much to be desired in
terms of public support.

TARASIUK: President Bush made it clear that he supports Ukraine's NATO
membership. At the same time, we remember that NATO doesn't mean the
United States only. Yet in knowing the situation and the alignment of forces
within the alliance, the U.S. says in the joint statement that Ukraine will
be raised to the Intensified Dialogue level. Realistically speaking, this
approach involves a number of problems, simply because not all NATO
countries support the idea, although we (and that includes me) are adopting
measures to work out this problem in our contacts with colleagues, including
NATO countries.

Our goal is to have the issue finally agreed upon before the summit of NATO
foreign ministers in Vilnius. We need to work actively in this direction,
and we are working. I think it is quite realistic to expect that in Vilnius
Ukraine will receive an invitation to commence the Intensified Dialogue
program and that it will be a step forward, in the direction of the NATO
membership plan.

You're absolutely right in pointing out the low level of public support of
Ukraine's NATO membership. The reason is obvious. The previous regime,
while declaring Ukraine's intention to join NATO, actually took steps in the
opposite direction. By the way, without any false modesty, I can state that
I made every effort to convey the truth about Ukraine-EU- NATO relations to
the general public, especially in the regions of Ukraine. The Ukrainian
Foreign Ministry has worked out proposals and we'll submit them to the
president; these proposals are aimed at stepping up information work.

When we held the roundtables at the Euro-Atlantic Cooperation Institute that
I created, we usually commissioned polls. Their results, depending on the
region, make it clear that most citizens are insufficiently informed about
NATO. At the same time, over 80% respondents, regardless of the region,
believe that they receive information from the national TV channels. What
does this mean? It means that our national TV channels have failed to keep
our society adequately informed. It means that there is serious work to be
done.

THE DAY: We're marking the second anniversary of the death of Ukrainian
cameraman Taras Protsiuk in Iraq. Before visiting the United States,
President Yushchenko instructed the Foreign Ministry to handle the issue
(including compensations for the late journalist's parents). Was the subject
broached in Washington? What are you going to do?

TARASIUK: The subject was broached during NSDC Secretary Petro
Poroshenko's visit to Iraq, also by the Ukrainian embassy and by me during
my visit to Washington. We're still waiting for the U.S. side's response and
we're keeping an eye on the issue to make sure the U.S. responds to it in
an adequate manner.

THE DAY: There's another sensitive issue that caused a scandal in Ukraine,
namely Kyiv and Washington's reciprocal commitments to uphold democracy
in Cuba and Belarus. The resultant public debate focused on the economic
and political priorities that are involved. What is more important:
upholding certain political interests or democratic values? Who is
responsible for including a human rights clause in the laws of Cuba and
Belarus. Which clause was added to the joint statement?

TARASIUK: Indeed, the joint statement reads that the U.S. and Ukraine will
cooperate in upholding liberties in countries, such as Cuba and Belarus.
Here I'd like to explain what made Ukraine take this step. To begin with,
the Orange Revolution was caused by the people's protest not against the
lack of food but because the government was openly scorning their right to
elect the man they wanted as head of state. Hence all those protest actions
aimed at making democracy reign supreme.

The new government was actually brought to power by the people, who were
hoping that the democratic principles of the Orange Revolution would be
uppermost on the agenda. Actually, that's what's happening. The new
government is trying to eradicate all the undemocratic trends that existed
under Leonid Kuchma. However, foreign policy can only respond to this new
constant value of Ukraine: democracy and the rule of law.

When the U.S. side proposed to include these clauses in the joint statement,
they were accepted mostly for the above reasons. Here doing anything
contrary to any international commitments isn't the point. There are a great
many such commitments that every country must implement. A reminder of
this doesn't need explaining or being challenged as something contrary to
international law.

THE DAY: We know that official Minsk has adopted a rather critical stand
toward what came to pass in Kyiv. Havana responded by cutting short the
deputy foreign minister's visit to Kyiv this week. Did you foresee this kind
of response?

TARASIUK: I believe that the leaders of these countries have misinterpreted
our emphasis on the issues of democracy and human rights. I also believe
that their response is rather emotional. There's nothing to prevent Havana's
cooperation with the European Union, although the EU does initiate and
support resolutions on democracy in Cuba and Belarus. Belarus would love to
cooperate with the European Union, despite the EU resolutions concerning
that country.

In fact, all the EU member states are in favor of devoting special attention
to the state of democracy in Cuba and Belarus. Ukraine has declared that our
objective is obtaining EU membership; even the previous regime wanted the
EU vehicles to be extended to Ukraine in terms of accession to the EU's
declarations concerning all issues (including human rights), meaning that no
one should be surprised at official Kyiv's current stand.

Ukraine is preparing to join the European Union, but this can't be done on
paper, as practiced by the previous regime, which constantly declared its
intention to join the union while looking the other way when things
happened, which in turn affected fundamental EU values and standards.

INCIDENTALLY
The United Social Democrats and Communists of Ukraine are sharply critical
of President Viktor Yushchenko's speech in the U.S. Congress; the same is
true of the Ukrainian and U.S. presidential joint statement concerning Cuba
and Belarus. SDP(U) MP Ihor Shurma said in an interview with Interfax
Ukraine that what happened during Viktor Yushchenko's visit to the U.S. was
a "sequel to the Maidan rhetoric."

He added that "no one will attempt to make Ukraine competitive at the
international level." Communist MP Ihor Alekseyev said he was surprised to
hear the Ukrainian and U.S. presidents' joint statement on Cuba and Belarus,
stressing that he views it as "further U.S. interference in the internal
affairs of the sovereign Republic of Cuba." -30-
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LINK: www.day.kyiv.ua/135529/
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17. "THE SECOND START"

By Tatiana Silina (Washington-Chicago-Boston-Washington-Kyiv)
Zerkalo Nedeli On The WEB, No. 13 (541)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, 9 - 15 April 2005

It was really emotional: Bush smiling warmly and amicably at Yushchenko
(and only once in a while at pretty Ukrainian journalists); Yushchenko’s
spouse conversing at ease with Laura Bush; Russian journalists applauding
violently; Rumsfeld looking very glad; Cheney wearing an orange tie;
congressmen interrupting Yushchenko’s speech six times, standing up,
waving orange kerchiefs, applauding, and chanting “Yu-shchen-ko!” before
and after his speech, and then queuing up for his autograph and a photograph
with him (a helpful thing for those who are going to run for Congress in
areas with large Ukrainian communities). And Ukrainian-Americans hailed
Yushchenko hilariously, reaching out their hands to touch the hero of the
Orange Revolution.

There were tears, too: they were in the eyes of Viktor and Kateryna
Yushchenko when they visited Nastya Ovchar in a Boston clinic: the
five-year-old girl had been severely burned while rescuing her two-year-old
sister in a house fire. Tears were in the eyes of those who gathered in the
Palmer House Hilton hotel in Chicago to meet with Yushchenko: before he
addressed members of the Chicago council for foreign affairs and
representatives of the local Ukrainian community, they were shown “Orange
November” - a very emotional and sad video.

There were prestigious awards: Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of the 36th
U.S. President, handed Yushchenko the Profiles in Courage award from the
John Kennedy Library Foundation; Former Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright presented an award from her National Democratic Institute. There
were also lots of flowers, compliments, and ovations…

Not only members of the Ukrainian delegation, but also the U.S. and European
press called the visit Yushchenko’s and Ukraine’s triumph. Both parties to
the talks noted an entirely different tenor and a new atmosphere in the
numerous meetings in Washington. Ukraine’s Defense Minister, Anatoliy
Gritsenko, compared it with the atmosphere in relations between Kyiv and
Warsaw - “warm and frank”. And Economy Minister Sergey Teryokhin said
that it took Yushchenko and Bush just a few minutes to start talking like
old friends. “Everything was very democratic, without any mentorship or
pressure. We talked as equal partners,” said practically all the members
of the Ukrainian delegation.

This visit is very likely to usher in a true strategic partnership between
Ukraine and the United States, which both Kyiv and Washington view as built
on the “promotion of freedom and democracy”.

The Orange Revolution does not only belong to Ukraine. To many nations, it
is an inspiring example of how to defend civil rights and win without any
violence. The Ukrainian revolution was really unique, as we can see from
the recent developments in Kyrgyzstan and from the experience of civilized
European countries where mass protest actions have always left broken shop
windows and burned cars. This fact is extremely important for the United
States. Condoleezza Rice and Richard Cheney said once that “the USA won
the cold war on an ideological basis”.

The victorious Ukrainian revolution has set a new example that the United
States means to use in Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, and other countries with
early signs of nascent democracy. The USA regards Ukraine as a potential
regional leader, capable of facilitating security and promoting democratic
values in the region. Therefore, if Ukraine succeeds, it will not be only
Ukraine’s success. And if it fails, its failure will have negative impacts
far beyond its borders.

“If the democratic process in Ukraine fails, there may be grave economic
and political consequences for the USA, Europe, and democratic reformers.
But if Ukraine sticks to the democratic way and the pro-Western trajectory,
the positive effects will go far beyond the region, and include the entire
transatlantic community.”

This was stated in a document which the Republican Political Committee of
the Senate disseminated on the eve of Yushchenko’s visit. Senator McCain,
Board Chairman of the International Republican Institute, told Ukrainian
reporters that the USA and Ukraine would “together inspire other countries
to follow the democratic way”.

Such intentions, however, stirred up indignant responses in some countries.
The joint declaration signed by Yushchenko and Bush contains the following
paragraph: “We undertake to cooperate in supporting reforms, democracy,
tolerance, and respect for all communities, as well as in peacefully
resolving the conflicts in Georgia and Moldova, and to support the
advancement of freedom in such countries as Belarus and Cuba.”

The Foreign Ministry of Belarus immediately expressed its “surprise with
this fact”; the Ukrainian Ambassador to Cuba, Viktor Pashchuk, received a
note of protest (and died of a heart attack the next day), and a Cuban
delegation demonstratively interrupted its official visit to Kyiv.

“If we wanted democracy and defended it in our country, we must not be
silent when other nations, especially those friendly to Ukraine, are
deprived of democracy,” Foreign Minister Boris Tarasyuk explained. Why did
the joint declaration mention Belarus and Cuba? because the UN keeps them
under special monitoring, and issues annual reports on human rights there.
Besides, Tarasyuk said, Ukraine wants to take part in drafting EU statements
on foreign policy, human rights issues included, and EU statements have
repeatedly raised the issue of violations of human rights in Belarus and
Cuba.

Yes, we are very grateful to the Cuban people for their aid and for the
treatment of Chernobyl-affected children, but this is exactly why we want to
help our friends, for we regard freedom and democracy as the highest values.
The Foreign Ministry press service says in its commentary that Ukraine
values its relation of friendly cooperation with other countries, including
Belarus and Cuba, but “true friends can always talk frankly about problems”.

“The development of democracy, respect for and protection of basic human
rights and freedoms are the cornerstones of the new Ukrainian government’s
domestic and foreign policies. We are watching democratic processes in any
country with interest and shared concerns,” the document says.

But certainly, in the first place Ukraine has to continue its own democratic
reforms - that was stressed during all meetings Yushchenko had in the United
States. And the United States means to monitor these efforts, responding
very definitely to any deviations from the course taken in the days of the
Orange Revolution.

It was very important for Washington to hear Yushchenko assure the
congressmen that the new leadership would allow “no administrative pressure
during next year’s parliamentary elections” and that it would “ensure their
transparency, for the people themselves will not tolerate anything else”.
“Nobody must order journalists to say and write what the authorities want.
There will be no monopolistic division of the Ukrainian media space among
two or three families,” stated Yushchenko.

He also assured the U.S. Government and Congress that “all those who
perpetrated, masterminded, and ordered the murder of journalist Georgiy
Gongadze will be brought to justice”. “Our task number one is to guarantee
the independence of the judiciary. Our goal is to establish the rule of law
in Ukraine,” Yushchenko stated, arousing another storm of applause. Now
his words need to be put into actual practice.

George Bush promised an additional $60 million in support of democratic
reforms in Ukraine. The House of Representatives had halved the sum, but
after Yushchenko’s triumphal speech its earlier decision is likely to be
reconsidered. As Senator McCain assured Ukrainian journalists, the Senate
is ready to vote for Bush’s proposal. As to Yushchenko’s eight principal
requests to the U.S. Government and Congress, Mr. McCain believes that
“everything sensible will be supported”.

We can also be sure that the notorious Jackson-Vanick amendment will shortly
be abrogated. Ukraine “inherited” it from the times when the USSR blocked
the emigration of Jews. Decades have passed since then, and the original
grounds for trade limitations no longer exist in Ukraine, but this amendment
is still used as a heavy-duty tool in negotiations with Ukraine (as was the
case with imports of chicken legs to Ukraine). The amendment itself has long
lost its practical force, since the U.S. President has regularly suspended
it. But it is humiliating politically.

On the one hand, its abrogation has been opposed by influential Jewish
organizations that press for handing former synagogues over to Jewish
communities and restoring old Jewish cemeteries in Ukraine. On the other
hand, the amendment has been an instrument of economic influence over
Ukraine. Besides, there have been apprehensions lest the abrogation of the
amendment make Russia jealous: many experts believe that Russia is
doomed to live with this document for many more years to come. But today
the majority of congressmen are ready to vote for the abrogation, and the
Ukrainian President got their assurances.

Ukraine’s relations with Russia were discussed at various levels during the
visit, but the most particular attention to them was paid during the talks
between Yushchenko and Bush. The U.S. side is very much interested in
friendly, mutually advantageous, and conflict-free relations between Kyiv
and Moscow. At the same time, Washington is perfectly aware that these
relations will undergo a serious test in the nearest months. Washington sees
that the Kremlin shudders, watching the frontiers of democracy approaching
Russia’s western border.

Washington is aware of the Kremlin’s resolve to resist the expansion of
democracy across Russia as well as Ukraine, and to pressure-test Ukraine in
every field. It is extremely important for the Americans that the Ukrainians
withstand this test and stick to the chosen way. And Washington offered Kyiv
a strong shoulder, pledging support in every field, at every level, and in
every way.

The Bush administration also demonstrated its readiness to support Ukraine’s
bid for NATO membership. George Bush directly stated at a press conference,
“I support the idea of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Alliance.” The
U.S. side is leaving it up to Ukraine to choose the pace of its
Euro-Atlantic integration, and believes that Kyiv should not push the cart
ahead of the horse. The Presidents’ joint declaration says that the USA
supports the proposal to start an intensified dialogue (ID) with Ukraine on
NATO membership during the meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Vilnius
later this month.

Of course, the Ukrainian side would prefer to directly accede to the
Membership Action Plan, because the frameworks of the Action Plan signed
at the Prague summit are wider than the format of the proposed “intensified
dialogue”. On the other hand, a number of experts view the commencement
of the ID as a very positive signal since the very name implies a “dialogue
on membership”. Besides, almost all new members of NATO have passed
this procedure, and it is better for Ukraine to follow the beaten track that
leads to NATO membership than to keep within the existing charters or
plans that were devised exclusively for Ukraine and that never provided for
membership.

There are two reasons for the ID-MAP sequence. Firstly, the United States
has to reckon with some European allies (primarily France, Belgium, Spain,
Italy, and Germany), who still think little of Ukraine’s membership
prospects and are not ready to negotiate the MAP with Ukraine. Secondly,
the U.S. leadership is well aware of the political situation in Ukraine,
where public opinion about NATO and Ukraine’s membership in it is far from
unanimous, and where the opposition means to capitalize on negative public
sentiments on this issue during the forthcoming parliamentary election
campaign. According to well-informed sources, Ukraine may accede to the
MAP either in December 2005 or (most probably) soon after the parliamentary
elections next spring.

Meeting in Washington with senior Pentagon and National Security Council
officers, Defense Minister Anatoliy Grytsenko spoke about plans to revise
the existing bilateral military programs and projects: everything outdated
and unnecessary would be deleted, and new priorities would be added. The
Ukrainian side is free to formulate the tasks and directions of basic
cooperation that it deems to be the most important. These, according to
Grytsenko, include the transition of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to military
service on a contract basis, and the training of rapid deployment forces and
a sergeant corps. Within two weeks Kyiv is to draft its proposals, and in
June the Pentagon will send a delegation to Kyiv to adjust joint plans.

Some observers alleged on the eve of Yushchenko’s visit to the USA that
his decision to withdraw the Ukrainian military contingent from Iraq would
overshadow the talks. But the U.S. leadership demonstrated complete
understanding of this step. “The most important thing for the United States
today is to retain the Ukrainian flag in Iraq. The Ukrainian flag will stay
there,” Grytsenko explained. According to him, the Ukrainian troops might
be completely withdrawn either before or after the elections in Iraq, but
not during that crucial event. Then the military contingent will be replaced
by military and civil advisers and instructors, who are supposed to promote
Ukraine’s interests in Iraq.

To this end, according to Boris Tarasyuk, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry is
going to increase its diplomatic and consular presence there. Yushchenko
said during the talks that since January 9 there has not been a single
incident in the area controlled by Ukrainian troops. According to him, now
it is one of the calmest areas in Iraq, and experienced Ukrainian
specialists could start restoring vital water supply and sewage facilities
there. “The start of these works would be the best example of a peace-
making policy,” Yushchenko said.

The U.S. side, however, remains rather reserved on that score. George Bush
gave an evasive answer to a question about Ukraine’s chances of getting any
lucrative contracts in Iraq. As he told the press conference, decisions on
this or that country’s participation and on offering this or that contract
will be made by Iraq’s sovereign government. Vice President Cheney, a very
influential policy-maker in the U.S. government, was no less reticent. He
was rather cautious about the Ukrainian delegations’ insistent invitations
to invest in Ukraine. As he explained diplomatically, the U.S. government
does not interfere in private businesses.

At the same time, it is in the competence of the U.S. government to grant
Ukraine market economy status, to sign a bilateral protocol on access to the
market of goods and services, to facilitate accession to the WTO, and to
open the U.S. market to Ukrainian imports. Yushchenko listed all these while
speaking to the Congress. According to him, the new Ukrainian government
is taking an unprecedented step, maximally opening its market and radically
reducing customs limitations. As a response, it expects the U.S. side to
abolish limitations on Ukrainian imports as soon as possible.

Economy Minister Sergey Teryokhin complains that without market economy
status, Ukraine loses about $200 million annually. The previous governments
gave up trying and have not submitted official applications for the market
economy status since 2002. Such an application was submitted during the
visit. This voluminous document contains descriptions of various sectors of
Ukraine’s economy, on the basis of which the U.S. side could appraise their
conformity to five principal requirements stipulated in the U.S.
legislation. Such applications are normally considered for 270 days. But the
Ukrainian side hopes that this process will be at least 150 days shorter.

Inspired by the talks between Yushchenko and Bush, Teryokhin said assuredly
that “Ukraine stands a fair chance of getting market economy status and
signing a bilateral protocol with the USA for WTO membership as early as
this year”.

The U.S. side was reluctant to set any specific deadlines at first, but the
Ukrainian delegation managed to specify: “The United States and Ukraine will
accelerate the process of bilateral negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to
the WTO in 2005.” In Tarasyuk’s opinion, Washington has thus assumed very
serious obligations, but the final result certainly depends on Ukraine: the
Verkhovna Rada has to adopt about a dozen bills to liberalize the national
market of financial, insurance, bank, audio, and visual services, to lift a
number of sanitary restrictions, to abolish subsidies to exporters, etc.

While Yushchenko was in the United States, the Ukrainian parliament voted
for preliminary adoption of amendments to the bill on optical data carriers.
This fact played a very positive role: the Americans believe that when the
bill is finally adopted, the previous privileges will be restored and the
trade sanctions imposed on Ukraine as a punishment for copyright violations
will be lifted.

The visit prepared a very fertile ground for concrete economic projects and
investment offers. After Yushchenko made a speech at the U.S. Chamber of
Commerce, Teryokhin stayed there a while longer to talk with potential
investors. They flooded him with questions, of which only three percent were
about obstacles and difficulties, and ninety-seven percent were about active
and potential projects, where and how it would be best to invest.

Transport Minister Yevhen Chervonenko also had fruitful talks with his U.S.
counterpart and productive meetings with the managers of Boeing, UTC
Sikorsky, and Motorola: the parties vetted feasible areas of cooperation and
future joint projects.

Several American delegations - governmental and private - are going to visit
Ukraine in the next few months to continue and deepen the dialogue that
began in Washington. President George Bush might also visit Ukraine this
year. He stated quite unambiguously: the United States is ready to support
Ukraine, and will support it even more than necessary, but only if Ukraine
develops democracy, if it has free mass media and independent courts,
and if the next parliamentary elections comply with all democratic norms.

Otherwise, Ukraine’s strategic partnership with the United States is doomed
to remain verbal, as before. -30-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.mirror-weekly.com/ie/show/541/49750/
=============================================================
18. "CHILDREN TESTIFY"
Two new publications on the Holodomor [Famine-Terror-Death]

By Nadiya Tysiachna, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #11
The Day, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 April 2005

Kyiv Mohyla Academy Publishers, jointly with the Association of Holodomor
Researchers, and with support from the Ivan Bahriany Foundation (US), has
just launched Pavlo Hlushanytsia's Viyna bez postriliv (A War without Shots
Fired) and Ya nis tiazhky khrest ternystoyu dorohoyu na ukrayinsku Holhofu
(I Carried a Heavy Cross on the Thorny Road to the Ukrainian Calvary);
Leonid Mykhalchenko's Lykholittia sela Novoselytsia (The Calamitous Times
of the Village of Novoselytsia), and Ukrayinsky holokost. 1932-1933 (The
Ukrainian Holocaust, 1932-33); the latter is a two-part publication compiled
by the Rev. Yuriy Mytsyk.

These new publications contain eyewitness accounts of the survivors of this
horrible tragedy. Every book has a story to tell. Pavlo Hlushanytsia, a
Ukrainian Canadian, was one of the first in North America to commit to paper
his memories of the genocide in Ukraine. According to the Ukrainian writer
Mykhailo Slaboshpytsky, the Ukrainian immigrant declared a personal war
against the Soviet regime sometime in the early 1950s. He was proclaimed
persona non grata in the Ukrainian SSR and in Canada he was accused of
damaging Canadian-Soviet relations.

In his newly published books, the author brings the reader back to the
terrible events of 1933 in Novoselytsia, his native village in Zhytomyr
oblast. The author provides information about literally every resident, and
his memoirs are complemented by historian Leonid Mykhalchenko's study
of the same village, published at Pavlo Hlushanytsia's expense. It is a
record of events that took place not only in the ill-fated year 1933, but
also in previous years, beginning in 1928.

Pavlo Hlushanytsia also helped publish the book on the Ukrainian Holocaust
of 1932-33. Its author, the Rev. Yuriy Mytsyk, D.S. (History), was a little
boy when his father told him about the tragedy. As an adult, he obtained
more information from his relatives in Poltava oblast, but he knew better
than to ask others about it. He returned to the subject in the early 1990s.
As a history professor at Dnipropetrovsk University, he assigned his
students to write a paper on the Holodomor the usual way or to collect
eyewitness accounts. In the end he acquired enough accounts to
generate a sizable database.

Ukraine was gripped by a severe economic crisis, so publishing a book
was out of the question. Some eyewitness accounts were published in
the periodical press and some were transferred to the Dnipropetrovsk
Regional History Museum. In 1996-97, when the Rev. Yuriy Mytsyk was
appointed head of the History Chair at Kyiv Mohyla Academy, he enlisted
other students in the project. The long-awaited book appeared in print
thanks to various institutions in the Diaspora and in Ukraine. "As an
historian, I concentrated on the Cossack period and the history of the
church.

Then suddenly I found myself meeting people who had witnessed the
genocide. Their stories depressed me," says the author. "The Holodomor
claimed the lives of 9-14 million Ukrainian peasants. The 20th century is
probably the most tragic in our history: two world wars, revolutions, the
Holodomors of 1921, 1932-33, 1946-47, collectivization, resettlement,
and deportation. I can't think of another European nation that suffered
as much, be it in the 18th, 19th, or 20th century."

The Rev. Yuri Mytsyk is working on the third volume of his book on the
Ukrainian Holocaust. He says he must hurry. The first eyewitness
accounts were collected from people who were 20-30 years old during
the Holodomor. Now such accounts are being provided by people who
were children at the time. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/135120
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: For information on how to purchase these new books please
send an e-mail to the ArtUkraine Information Service (ARTUIS) at
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net.
=============================================================
19. PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO TO MEET WITH
WORLD FAMOUS TENOR LUCIANO PAVOROTTI ON WEDNESDAY

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko will meet with world famous tenor
Luciano Pavorotti on April 13, who arrived in Ukraine on Monday.

As Deputy Secretary of State Markian Lubkivsky told Ukrinform, Luciano
Pavorotti has a status of the President's personal guest, which envisages
his personal meeting with the Head of State and certain honors under
the protocol. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
20. PRESIDENT PARTICIPATES IN OPENING CHAPEL-PANTHEON
AT TOMB OF MYKHAILO VERBYTSKY IN VILLAGE OF MLYNY, POLAND

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 12, 2005

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko participated in opening a chapel-
pantheon at the tomb of Mykhailo Verbytsky in the village of Mlyny,
Poland, the presidential press service told Ukrinform on Tuesday.

The pantheon has been constructed on the occasion of the 140th
anniversary of the Ukrainian national anthem's performance and the
190th anniversary of the compositor's birthday. -30-
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