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Action Ukraine Report

"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"

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 518
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C. and Kyiv, Ukraine, THURSDAY, July 7, 2005

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

1. UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON CD PIRACY FOR WTO ENTRY
Victory for the Yushchenko/Tymoshenko government
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1018 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Jul 06, 2005

2. DPM RYBACHUK: CHANGES OF LASER DISKS LEGISLATION
COMPULSORY PRECONDITION FOR UKRAINE'S ACCESSION TO WTO
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

3. UNRULY UKRAINE DEPUTIES IMPEDE PASSAGE OF WTO LEGISLATION
Five bills adopted, three passed first reading, five failed, two postponed
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Thu, July 7

4. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO LAMENTS PARLIAMENT'S
FAILURE TO PASS WTO BILLS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1442 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, July 6, 2005

5. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER SLAMS SOCIALIST AG MINISTER
BARANIVSKYY OVER NON-SUPPORT OF WTO BILLS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1625 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Jul 06, 2005

6. WTO OBSTRUCTIONISTS
EDITORIAL: Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Jul 07 2005, 01:57

7. WTO MEMBERSHIP IMPORTANT TO UKRAINE'S FUTURE
LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR
From: Walter Prochorenko, PhD., Paramus, New Jersey
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 116, Article Seven
Washington, D.C., July 7, 2005

8. OPEN LETTER TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
Building A Holodomor Memorial: Museum, Library, Archives, Our Own Place
Peter Borisow, President, Hollywood Trident Foundation
Nick Mischenko, President, Genocide-Famine Foundation
Hollywood, CA; Chicago, IL, Tuesday, July 5, 2005

9. UKRAINE: NO PLACE FOR THE HOLODOMOR MEMORIAL
Seventy-two years after the genocide of millions of Ukrainians
COMMENTARY: By R.L. Chomiak, Journalist, Kyiv, Ukraine
Special to The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 515
Washington, D.C. Tuesday, July 5, 2005

10. TEN UKRAINIAN CABINET OFFICIALS RELINQUISH
THEIR SEATS IN PARLIAMENT
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0856 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, July 6, 2005

11. TAKI SPRAVY PUBLISHING HOUSE TO SEEK USD 65 MILLION
IN COMPENSATION OF LOSSES FROM UKRAINE
Lithuanian mother company one of the largest investors in Ukraine
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, July 6, 2005 (14:59)

12. RADA LOWERS EXPORT DUTY ON SUNFLOWER, FLAX & FALSE FLAX
From 17% To 10% In 2006-2012 Period
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

13. UKRAINE'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL PISKUN LEAVES FOR THE USA
TO SIGN COOPERATION TREATY BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

14. UKRAINE: WORLD BANK APPROVES NEW PACKAGE OF LOANS
UPDATES COUNTRY ASSISTANCE STRATEGY
World Bank, Washington, D.C., Tue, July 5, 2005

15. LARGE UKRAINIAN GRAIN EXPORTER ASKING CABINET OF MINISTERS
TO IMMEDIATELY ISSUE REFUND OF VAT ON EXPORTS
International companies Cargill and Serna already received payment
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

16. UKRAINE SETS VISA FREE REGIME FOR REVISITING U.S. CITIZENS
Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

17. HOW A LEEDS ROCKER'S ROMANCE LED TO A NEW LIFE
IN UKRAINE - WITH THE PRIME MINISTER AS HIS 'MAMA'
By Jack Malvern, Times, London, UK, Thu, July 7, 2005

18. MARKET STALLHOLDER FINDS KEY TO HEART OF PM'S DAUGHTER
From Kirkgate Market to nation in political ferment
Joanne Ginley, Yorkshire Post Today
Leeds, England, UK, Wed, July 6, 2005

19. THE PIONEER OF UKRAINIAN FEMINISM
The 150th birth anniversary of Natalia Kobrynska
By Serhiy Bukhalo, Kyvertsi, Volyn oblast
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #22
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 July 2005

20. SECOND CANADA CORPS CONTINGENT HEADS TO UKRAINE:
CANADA WORLD YOUTH PARTICIPANTS ALL READY TO GO
Work on projects at Ostroh Academy in Ostroh, Ukraine
CNW Telbec, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Wed, July 6, 2005

21. DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY IN NORTH DAKOTA ANNOUNCES
AG PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITIES IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE
National Agriculture University in Ukraine
The Associated Press, Fargo, North Dakota, Thursday, July 07, 2005

22. SAD ANNIVERSARY - FOUR STUDENTS OF KYIV UNIVERSITY
Executed by the NKVD on July 6, 1941
"Roman Serbyn" serbyn.roman@videotron.ca
To: history@infoukes.com; Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 1:21 PM
Subject: [history] A sad anniversary - Four students of Kyiv university
executed by the NKVD on July 6 1941
===============================================================
1. UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT ADOPTS LAW ON CD PIRACY FOR WTO ENTRY
Victory for the Yushchenko/Tymoshenko government
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1018 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Jul 06, 2005

KIEV - Parliament has established criminal liability for illegal circulation
of compact discs, equipment and raw materials for their production, and
moulds. The law on introducing amendments to various laws relating to the
implementation of legislation to the standards of the WTO's multi-lateral
agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)
was supported by 261 MPs out of 372 registered as present; 44 voted
against.

The law introduces changes to the Criminal Code and establishes liability
for illegal circulation of compact discs, equipment and raw materials for
their production, and moulds.

In accordance with the law, import and export of moulds as well as discs is
subject to licensing as a form of business activity. The import and export
of basic components for specialized equipment and raw materials for
production of discs and moulds is subject to licensing as a form of business
activity. The Cabinet of Ministers will determine the list of basic
components subject to licensing. Licensing issues will be dealt with by the
central executive body for economic issues.

In accordance with the law, licenses for import and export of discs and
moulds will be issued for a three-year period. Licenses for the import and
export of equipment and raw materials for the production of discs will be
issued on the basis of a foreign-trade contract or agreement.
In accordance with the law, a special identification code will be placed on
discs for export. Discs may be imported without such a code. Moulds for
import should have a special identification code.

In accordance with the law, the law "On features of the state regulation of
business activity connected to the production, export and import of compact
discs" does not extend to discs that are not objects of export or import and
are carried in or out of the country, or sent by international post or
courier services, by individuals in batches that do not exceed 20 items.

Nor does the law extend to discs that are carried in or out of the country,
or sent by international post or courier services, by legal entities to
provide for business activity without the right to or without the goal of
further sale or distribution. In addition, the law does not extend to discs
that are carried in or out with technical documentation as parts of
equipment.

In accordance with the law, transport on Ukrainian territory of discs that
do not meet the demands of the law "On features of the state regulation of
business activity connected to the production, export, import of compact
discs" is considered to be illegal circulation of compact discs.

State control over the import and export of discs and moulds will be carried
out by the central executive body for economic issues, the central executive
body for intellectual property rights and a specially authorized central
executive body for customs issues. They will carry out a monthly survey of
information on the issue of licenses and actual volumes of production
dispatched under licenses for import and export of discs and moulds.

The law reduces from 10 to 5 days the notice that control bodies should give
businesses of the conduct of scheduled inspections. Unscheduled inspections
may take place without written application to licensing bodies. In addition,
according to the law, informers who report to licensing bodies will not be
prosecuted if the information in their reports does not turn out to be
accurate.

The law also establishes the mechanism for confiscation of discs, moulds,
equipment and raw materials for their production that are produced in
violation of legislation. In particular, a document on the results of the
confiscation should be drawn up, one copy given to the business, and
another kept by the central executive body for intellectual property.

In addition, the licensing body is entitled to seal or confiscate discs and
moulds produced in violation of the requirements of the law "On features
of the state regulation of business activity connected to the production,
export and import of compact discs", raw materials, equipment for their
production until the case is resolved in court.

The law increases from one to five years the period after which a producer
may receive a new license for production of compact discs if the previous
license for production of compact discs was cancelled by the central
executive body for economics.

The law will come into force after it is signed by the president. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: One top Ukrainian analyst in Washington said on
Wednesday afternoon the passage of this piece of legislation should
vastly improve the mood and the progress of the high-level meetings
being held in Kyiv this week between the United States and Ukraine.
===============================================================
2. DPM RYBACHUK: CHANGES OF LASER DISKS LEGISLATION
COMPULSORY PRECONDITION FOR UKRAINE'S ACCESSION TO WTO

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Oleh Rybachuk
believes that changes of legislation on laser disks in accordance with
requirements to the World Trade Organization are a compulsory pre-
condition for Ukraine's accession to the WTO.

He informed journalists about this after the parliament approved the law
"On amendments to certain laws (concerning implementation of legislation
for requirements of multilateral agreement on trade aspects of the WTO
intellectual property rights)."

"It would be useless to vote for other draft laws on Ukraine's accession to
the WTO without this law... It is good that this has finally happened,"
Rybachuk said.

In his opinion, the longer Ukraine procrastinates with accession to the WTO,
the more complicated the process will be. "Ukraine is tarrying on this
process for 12 years... Ukraine's WTO membership is softer for producers
now than it would be later," Rybachuk said.

He explained this with the fact that new WTO member countries, such as
Russia, will present new requirements to Ukraine.

Rybachuk emphasized that according to the US definition, Ukraine remained
the only country in List No. 301 that fail to fight against counterfeiting
property.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, approval of the law "On Amendments
to Certain Laws" received support of 261 MPs with a necessary minimum of
226 votes required to pass it. The Rada considered this draft law on May 31
and June 23, when it received 209 and 215 votes of MPs respectively.

The law envisages amendments to the Criminal Code, to the Law "On
peculiarities of state regulation of activity of economic agents, connected
with production export, import of disks for laser reading systems" to the
Law "On licensing of certain types of economic activity."

The Verkhovna Rada has regulated production of laser disks in January
2002, their export, import, as well as export and import of raw materials
for their production. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===============================================================
3. UNRULY UKRAINE DEPUTIES IMPEDE PASSAGE OF WTO LEGISLATION
Five bills adopted, three passed first reading, five failed, two postponed

By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times, London, UK, Thu, July 7

Ukraine's government yesterday struggled to push through a rowdy parliament
measures necessary for the country to join the World Trade Organisation.

Yulia Tymoshenko, prime minister, and Volodymyr Lytvyn, the parliamentary
speaker, needed to shout as opponents sounded sirens and scuffled briefly
with pro-government deputies.

But the more serious obstacle was the lack of discipline within the eight
parliamentary groups that support WTO membership and which should have
delivered a majority but repeatedly failed. Out of 15 WTO-related reform
bills aired yesterday, five were adopted and three more passed a first
reading. But five failed and two were postponed.

The government, which took power in January, is seeking to join the WTO at
this December's summit in Hong Kong. This week's parliamentary votes, set
to continue today, are crucial to meeting that ambitious target. Viktor
Yushchenko, the president, had hoped to have the bills adopted before a
meeting yesterday in Geneva of the WTO committee reviewing Ukraine's
application.

However, a person who attended the Geneva meeting said the mood was
upbeat and members agreed the December date was still feasible if the bills
passed by the end of this week.

Kiev has been rapidly concluding bilateral agreements with WTO member
states - the second part of the WTO accession process - but still has tough
talks ahead with the US and Australia, among others. Mr Yushchenko told
parliament on Tuesday that remaining outside the WTO was costing Ukraine
$1.6bn (Euro 1.2bn, £880m) a year in lost exports. -30-
===============================================================
4. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO LAMENTS PARLIAMENT'S
FAILURE TO PASS WTO BILLS

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1442 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, July 6, 2005

SUMY - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has called the situation in
parliament with the bills needed for Ukraine's accession to the World Trade
Organization "empty polemics". "It's a pity that there is no understanding
of what the nation and the state are losing from this empty polemics,"
Yushchenko said at a news conference in Sumy today.

He noted that failure to pass the bills needed for WTO accession makes it
more difficult for Ukraine to enter foreign markets and leads to financial
losses. He said that Ukraine is losing about 8bn dollars every year because
it is not a member of the WTO.

Earlier the president urged lawmakers to pass a package of bills necessary
for WTO accession. Yesterday some MPs disrupted parliament's work and
no bills were passed. Today parliament's work was difficult because of the
protests by the Communists and other opposition factions. However, the
MPs managed to pass several laws. -30-
===============================================================
5. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER SLAMS SOCIALIST AG MINISTER
BARANIVSKYY OVER NON-SUPPORT OF WTO BILLS

Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1625 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Jul 06, 2005

KIEV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko intends to discuss the
position of the Socialist Party faction, which does not vote on bills
necessary for WTO entry, with President Viktor Yushchenko and Agricultural
Policy Minister Oleksandr Baranivskyy, who represents the Socialist Party.

Speaking in an interview with journalists in a parliamentary lobby today,
Tymoshenko said: "I think the president and I will soon have a meeting with
the agricultural policy minister to discuss the way we are going to live and
work together," Tymoshenko said.

"It's wrong when part of the government is fighting to make Ukraine a worthy
trading partner for the world, while the other part is not working to
achieve this goal," Tymoshenko said.

Tymoshenko did not reply to an answer about the fact that Baranivskyy is
not the only Socialist in the cabinet [Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko also
represents the Socialist Party]. She stressed, however: "By tomorrow, we
must reach understanding within the government."

After the vote in parliament today [in which MPs failed to approve the
majority of the cabinet-backed bills necessary for WTO accession],
Economics Minister Serhiy Teryokhin suggested that Tymoshenko should
dismiss cabinet members who represent the Socialist Party due to the
behaviour of its parliamentary faction during the consideration of bills
necessary for WTO accession.

Earlier, the Socialist Party of Ukraine said in a statement that its faction
believes Ukraine's WTO entry should be gradual and be finalized after a
certain transition membership stage, and also that special conditions
should be created for Ukraine in the WTO. The Socialists believe that a
rapid accession to the WTO may become "shock therapy" for Ukraine and
"force domestic enterprises to cut production and jobs". -30-
===============================================================
6. WTO OBSTRUCTIONISTS

EDITORIAL: Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, Jul 07 2005, 01:57

As we went to press, the legislation necessary to prepare Ukraine for World
Trade Organization (WTO) accession this year seemed to be going through
parliament. But the war in the Rada over that legislation was an instructive
lesson in just who in politics is on the side of progress, and who's a
reactionary hack.

Take what happened in parliament on July 6. As WTO-related bills came onto
the slate that day, members of parliament's left and center-left factions
stormed the podium to block the bill from coming up to vote, snatching the
microphone from Parliament Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn before he could
floor the legislation. Scuffling broke out; they even reportedly broke the
microphone. The usual suspects were responsible for the obstruction:
members of the Communist and Socialist party factions, and of the bitterly
oppositionist Regions of Ukraine and Social Democratic Party of Ukraine
(united) parties.

We use the word "obstruction" because that's all this really is. WTO
membership would be a massive triumph for President Viktor Yushchenko
and forward-looking elements in Ukraine - and so the likes of the Regions
of Ukraine party, and the rest of them, are obliged to stop it at all costs.

An indication of the sophisticated thinking that motivates the anti-WTO
forces is Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz's July 5 comment that passing the
bills would amount to "destroying our own economy." Sure it would. The
obstructionists' claim that they wanted to protest the fact that Yushchenko
allies persist in holding parliament seats and government posts at the same
time is likewise nonsense. Yes, the double-dipping is unconstitutional and
Yushchenko should end it. But since when are, say, Regions of Ukraine
deputies so sensitive to the odor of corruption?

The anti-WTO movement is a crude, reactionary phenomenon. We hope
that President Viktor Yushchenko has completely politicked and organized
his way around it by the time you read this.

Finally, a word about Moroz and the Socialists. They occupy important
positions in Yushchenko's government, which they received in return for
their support of the Orange Revolution. But enough is enough. If they're
going to sandbag Yushchenko, shouldn't he consider firing them?

Kicking them out would be a violation of an agreement. But leaving them
in and allowing them to continue to sabotage reforms would be worse.
Yushchenko should make it clear that the Socialists can hit the road if
they're going to continue the shenanigans. -30-
===============================================================
7. WTO MEMBERSHIP IMPORTANT TO UKRAINE'S FUTURE

LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR
From: Walter Prochorenko, PhD., Paramus, New Jersey
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 116, Article Seven
Washington, D.C., July 7, 2005

RE: The Tangible vs. The Symbolic, Value of WTO Membership
By Ethan S. Burger, Washington, D.C.
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 115, Article Nine
Washington, D.C., July 6, 2005

First of all it should be noted that Ukraine's intentions for WTO accession
started well before Yushchenko's administration and actually even before
Kuchma took office. In a National Reform Press Club Report, dated May 6,
2005, Mr. Piatnytskiy informed that Ukraine began preparations for its WTO
accession in the spring of 1992 and it should be noted that the first
Working Party meetings took place on 27-28 February 1995. Thus accession
to the WTO was seen as beneficial long before President Yushchenko and
Prime Minister Tymoshenko made it a priority.

In a statement at this same National Reform Press Club Report of May 6,
2005 Mr. Serhiy Kasyanov, Head of Joint Parliamentary and Governmental
Commission for Ukraine's WTO Accession indicated that (WTO accession)
would speed up market reform and foreign investments to Ukraine; corruption
would be reduced; prices would be stabilized.

These are the same sentiments that Mr Kuchma reiterated about Ukraine's
Eurointegration objectives about first joining the WTO, then signing a free
trade agreement with the EU and eventually becoming a EU associate
member on October 30, 2002 at a meeting with EBRD President Lemierre.

However one of the most supportive studies dealing with the WTO question
came from Igor Eremenko & Katerina Lisenkova in their December 2004
CERT Discussion Paper 2004/11 entitled "The Impact on Ukraine of Joining
the WTO: Subsidies vs. Antidumping in Ferrous Metallurgy".

They unequivocally summarize (and I quote word for word): "To sum up, we
see that in subsidies-antidumping duel there is no trade-off for the
Ukrainian economy taken as a whole. It is widely recognized that by
eliminating subsidies, Ukrainian steel exports will face fewer antidumping
suits which will have a positive effect on Ukrainian exports and the price
received by Ukrainian exporters of steel. Besides that, equal conditions
will allow to promote development of competitive production.

"Further, elimination of subsidies is also beneficial for the whole
Ukrainian economy. The Ukrainian government will save a substantial amount
of money by canceling subsidization. It should be noted that it is very
important to insure channeling those funds to more productive needs, such as
investing in human and physical capital, developing infrastructure, etc, but
not to enlarging bureaucratic apparatus or increasing military expenditures.

"Benefits from decreasing antidumping investigations, more competitive
production and better use of budget funds exceed the losses of the producers
and the small losses of consumers of steel. Thus, our study shows that
Ukrainian economy will benefit from free trade and accession to the WTO
should be set as the priority goal of the external policy. Ukrainian
government will make a favor to everyone by changing hesitations to active
policy of promoting WTO membership."

There is little doubt that initially, perhaps even for one or two years,
Ukraine's agricultural and possibly metallurgical industries will have some
set backs and detrimental effects; however this is common of any type of
investment especially one as important as Ukraine's future which WTO
accession would provide.

As part of the temporary problematic issues Mr. Kasyanov believes that an
essential element of WTO membership's impact on transitional economies
is the cost of implementing institutional changes, in particular, with
regard to sanitary measures and technical standards requiring significant
expenses for relevant equipment, personnel training, etc.

But if Ukraine is to stop having a "short-sighted" attitude toward its
market economy development, it needs to "bite the bullet" with regard to
short term difficulties and instead look at the long term effects of its
policies. Ukraine needs to take lessons from countries like Japan, Korea,
China, Vietnam, and even Turkey and learn about short-term sacrifices for
the good of long term goals.

Perhaps it is paranoia but the one country that does not want to see Ukraine
enter the WTO community is Russia. Vadim Gustov, chairman of the
Federation Council's Committee on Commonwealth of Independent States
Affairs confirmed this in a statement to Pravda.ru on 4/15/2004 when Ukraine
agreed for the sake of entering the WTO to eliminate duties on imported
civil aviation by the year 2010. Mr. Gustov quoted: "Russia cannot afford
that". The fear is that: "the Russian market would be flooded with planes of
foreign manufacture, and 'we would simply lose that source of vital
technology.'"

I cannot help but believe that Russian interests continue to undermine any
and all attempts by Ukraine to move toward the West and Ukraine's
Parliament is particularly sensitive to such maneuverings. Thus both
President Yushchenko and Prime Minister Tymoshenko must renew their
efforts to lobby for this accession to take place.

The US should also provide strong support - at least as much support "for"
accession as Russia provides "against" it. -30-

Best Regards, Walter Prochorenko, PhD.
Paramus, New Jersey (prowalt@yahoo.com)
===============================================================
8. OPEN LETTER TO UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
Building A Holodomor Memorial: Museum, Library, Archives: Our Own Place

Peter Borisow, President, Hollywood Trident Foundation
Nick Mischenko, President, Genocide-Famine Foundation
Hollywood, CA; Chicago, IL, Tuesday, July 5, 2005

Dear Mr. President,

We are survivors of the Holodomor. We are survivors of the Ukrainian
Genocide. We are the last of the living witnesses to the largest planned,
organized and deliberate killing of human beings in the history of mankind.

To this day we are not able to erase from our memories the pain and horror
we suffered personally and witnessed among our dearest parents, our
brothers, our sisters, our families, friends and neighbors. When we saw the
bodies of strangers, we did not know who they were, but we knew how they
had suffered, how they must have been grateful to finally be free of the
pain.

Not even the Love of God can take away memories of the faces of the soon
to be dead children -- so innocent, so helpless in the hell that such evil
men had brought upon them.

Close your eyes, Victor Andriovich, and you will see them before you - not
one of us can escape those children, their faces, their eyes, their cries.
Those memories have been forever seared into the collective conscience
of all Ukrainians.

Afterwards, we were forbidden to talk or mourn. We were forced not to
remember. We learned not to cry. Some of us have not cried for almost
three quarters of a century.

Today, there is only a handful of small statues scattered around the world
to remember our 10,000,000 dead. We have for decades prayed for the
miracle of a Memorial to our suffering, to our 10,000,000 dead - a Memorial
that would be more than a statue, but a place for us to come and pray, cry
and be together.

We prayed for a place that would also have a museum, a library, archives
and scholars to research the Holodomor, still the least known and understood
genocide in history. Such a place could only be in Kyiv.

When we heard that a Holodomor Memorial was to be built in Kyiv, our hearts
rejoiced. After more than 70 years, we would finally have a place to go --
to remember and to be remembered. We would finally have a place of our
own - to be with our own and to cry with our own.

This would be the place where our hearts could finally bury our dear
parents, our brothers, our sisters, our families, friends and neighbors -
all those whom we were never allowed to bury, or were too weak to bury -
all those for whom there was no one left to bury them.

This would be the place where we could come to pray for their souls as we
would at their graves. We need such a place - we don't know their graves.

This would be the place where we could come to cry those rivers of tears
that need to be cried. This would be the place for us finally to cry with
our own.

This would be the place where we can teach our children and our children's
children to remember what happened to us, to remember and honor all
those who died in the horror of the Holodomor.

This would be our Holy Place, for us and for ours.

We need such a place. Our suffering warrants such a place. Such a place
can exist only in Free Ukraine. We thank God that we can finally have such
a place.

We are grateful for your support for the Holodomor Memorial in Kyiv. We
hope and pray that you will have the courage and wisdom to protect the
Memorial as Our Place.

We understand you are under pressure to convert the Holodomor Memorial
into a human rights memorial dealing with totalitarian regimes, dedicated to
remembering all the victims of dictatorship, the victims of Stalin's and
other's terrorism. While, this is a worthy cause, it is not the same as our
cause and must not be allowed to replace our Holodomor Memorial. Our
Place must remain Our Place.

To dilute the memory of the victims of the Holodomor with the suffering of
others, no matter how worthy, sends the message to the world that on our
own, we are not worthy of singular recognition, that somehow our sacrifice
was not enough, that it must be augmented by the memory of others to be
worthy of a memorial. A Monument to the Victims of Stalin's Terror should
be built in Moscow -- not in Kyiv.

Throughout the world there are numerous memorials and museums dedicated
exclusively to the victims of other genocides. In Armenia, there are
memorials dedicated exclusively to the Armenian genocide. In Cambodia,
there are memorials dedicated exclusively to the Cambodian genocide. In
Rwanda, there are memorials dedicated exclusively to the Rwandan genocide.
There are many dozens of memorials around the world dedicated exclusively
to the Holocaust.

There is no place on earth dedicated exclusively to our genocide, to our
suffering, the Holodomor. We need such a place and we deserve such a
place. In the name of the ten million innocents who died in the Holodomor,
we ask that the Memorial in Ukraine be kept dedicated exclusively to the
Ukrainian Genocide.

There must be a Memorial in Ukraine where we can be alone with our own,
where we can remember and be remembered, where we can pray for our
own and with our own, a place where we can finally cry with own.

We pray you will keep the Holodomor Memorial as Our Own Place.

Sincerely,

Peter Borisow, President
Hollywood Trident Foundation
Hollywood, California

Nick Mischenko, President
Genocide-Famine Foundation
Chicago, Illinois
===============================================================
9. UKRAINE: NO PLACE FOR THE HOLODOMOR MEMORIAL
Seventy-two years after the genocide of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-1933

COMMENTARY: By R.L. Chomiak, Journalist, Kyiv, Ukraine
Special to The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 515
Washington, D.C. Tuesday, July 5, 2005

KYIV - Waiting for the holodomor memorial in Kyiv? Don't hold your breath.

On July 2 Vechirniy Kyiv, the newspaper owned by the Kyiv city council, had
this to say: "The issue of the final location of the memorial to victims of
the holodomor and political repression is far from completion."

Seventy-two years after the genocide of millions of Ukrainians by
Moscow-based totalitarian regime, 14 years after Ukraine threw off its
imperialistic shackles, four years after high-level decision to "do it now,"
the memorial complex remains "far from completion." Independent Ukraine
seems to live in denial.

Maybe it doesn't really want a holodomor memorial, despite the fact that you
can't walk through Druzhkivka, or Khoruzhivka, or one of the 32 Dmytrivkas
in Ukraine without meeting someone whose ancestors died during the man-
made, or rather Stalin-made artificial famine of 1932-33.

The news story by Kyrylo Kasatkin in the July 2 Vechirniy Kyiv goes over the
sites already proposed for the memorial. The first proposed site was at the
Arsenal Square. It's on the high bank of the Dnipro river. In 1918 workers
of the Arasenal armament plant, stirred up by Lenin's agents, staged a
failed rebellion against the short-lived government of the Ukrainian
People's Republic.

(To this day, Kyiv city government has not changed the name of the January
Uprising Street that begins there. It was so named by the Soviets to
memorialize the rebellion.)

The proposal called for erecting a monument on the square and convert the
Kyiv military garrison headquarters into a holocaust museum and study
center. "However, for certain reasons, this site was dropped," writes
Kasatkin, without a hint about the reasons.

One possibility could be the rapid construction of an apartment building
about 50 yards from the garrison building. Apartments in the building are
reportedly in the one million plus (US dollar) range, and apparently all
have been sold. It was started about a year ago under the former Kuchma
regime.

Construction rules were seriously bent and blueprints, that had been
approved through a series of exemptions, were changed during construction.
Five additional floors that were not in the original plans, appeared during
construction. Now the new president, Viktor Yushchenko, wants the place
torn down.

The area is within a park, and soil may not be able to hold the huge
building. It may actually slide down to the river. But so far, all that has
happened is that construction of the virtually completed building has been
suspended. Who will pay for tearing it down?

Meanwhile, a new site for the holodomor memorial was proposed on the
Dnipro river bank, near the Paton bridge -- out of sight, far from the usual
tourist routes, inaccessible by public transportation, and next to a
floating casino on the river.

After a few weeks this site, too, was scrapped.

The "final" worthy site proposed for the holodomor memorial was the hill
along Tryokhsvyatytelska Street, that goes up from the European Square
(where Hotel Dnipro is located) to the St. Michael's Church, destroyed in
1938 and rebuilt about five years ago. Back in the tsarist days there was a
big diorama there, that attracted visitors.

As soon as that site was announced for the holodomor memorial, Russian
investors made it known that they were willing to recreate the diorama as a
commercial project -- like the one that was built in the old imperial days
and that lasted well into the Bolshevik takeover of Ukraine.

The "final" plan called for building a monument on the hill, and converting
the existing building at 4b Tryokhsvyatytelska St., halfway between St.
Michael's and the Statue of St. Volodymyr, into the holodomor center.

Good location. It is along a well-traveled tourist trail. There are
scholarly institutes nearby. Done deal? No way. The latest barrier is
being laid by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kyiv Patriarchate. (Yes,
those are the good guys, who broke away from the imperialist Moscow
Patriarchate after independence).

BUT -- there is a presidential decree in effect in Ukraine, that provides
for the return to churches of former church real estate confiscated by the
Soviet state. A couple of years ago the US-Ukraine Foundation office in
Kyiv had a legal lease in a building that once housed a monastery. Moscow
Patriarchate claimed it, and US-Ukraine had to find other quarters, legal
lease notwithstanding.

Now -- Kyiv Patriarchate Orthodox Church says the building at 4b
Tryokhsvyatytelska Street, as well as other nearby buildings, once were
part of the St. Michael's Church and monastery, so it should be returned to
that Church -- in accordance with the presidential decree.

"If this happens," writes Kyrylo Kasatkin in Vechirniy Kyiv, "there will be
no room for the holodomor museum."

Seventy-two years after the greatest disaster of Ukrainian people there
still is no place for a center to study it and keep the memory of it alive.
===============================================================
10. TEN UKRAINIAN CABINET OFFICIALS RELINQUISH
THEIR SEATS IN PARLIAMENT

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0856 gmt 6 Jul 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - As of today, 10 officials combining jobs in parliament and in the
executive have submitted their resignation letters to parliament, speaker
Volodymyr Lytvyn said at today's session. Specifically, resignation letters
have been received from the following officials:

[1[ Oleksandr Turchynov (Security Service chief),
[2] Oleksiy Ivchenko (head of Naftohaz Ukrayiny [oil and gas] national
company),
[3] Viktor Pynzenyk (finance minister),
[4] Vasyl Tsushko (Odessa governor),
[5] Serhiy Ivanov (Sevastopol mayor),
[6] Stanislav Nikolayenko (education minister),
[7] Mykola Polishchuk (health minister),
[8] Petro Poroshenko (National Security and Defence Council secretary),
[9] Pavlo Ryabikin (deputy transport minister),
[10] Ihor Tarasyuk (head of Directorate for State Affairs).

These resignations will be discussed by parliament's procedures committee
today and put to vote tomorrow. Lytvyn stressed that he has no right to take
away the cards of MPs holding two jobs or force them to follow the
constitution. However, he said that the cards of those MPs who have been
stripped of their mandates by court have been removed by his order.
===============================================================
11. TAKI SPRAVY PUBLISHING HOUSE TO SEEK USD 65 MILLION
IN COMPENSATION OF LOSSES FROM UKRAINE
Lithuanian mother company one of the largest investors in Ukraine

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, July 6, 2005 (14:59)

KYIV - The Taki Spravy publishing house, the Ukrainian division of
Lithuania's Tokios Tokeles publishing house, has decided to seek
compensation of USD 65 million in losses from Ukraine through the
International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which
is based in Washington, United States. The press service of Taki Spravy
disclosed this to Ukrainian News.

According to the press service, the Lithuanian company made this decision
because the Ukrainian authorities did not show interest in resolving their
dispute with the publishing house amicably. The company's lawyer Ivan
Lozovyi said that the publishing house sent letters containing proposals on
amicable resolution of the dispute but received no written response.

"Representatives of the authorities are speaking beautiful phrases, but they
are actually doing noting," he said. According to him, Tokios Tokeles is one
of the largest investors in Ukraine.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Taki Spravy publishing house
recently said that it intended to seek amicable resolution of its dispute
with Ukraine and withdraw the lawsuit against Ukraine demanding
compensation of USD 65 million for damages, which it earlier submitted to
the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

The State Tax Administration began an inspection of Taki Spravy in 2002
and blocked its bank account for one month. It accused the political bloc of
deputy Yulia Tymoshenko of financing the printing of propaganda materials in
the Taki Spravy publishing house by using funds that were laundered through
bogus firms.

The publishing house was aiming to secure recognition of the fact that the
arrest of its accounts was illegal so as to restore its reputation in front
of partner companies after large clients of Taki Spravy had stopped
cooperating with it. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
===============================================================
12. RADA LOWERS EXPORT DUTY ON SUNFLOWER, FLAX & FALSE FLAX
From 17% To 10% In 2006-2012 Period

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada has lowered the export duty on sunflower, flax,
and false flax from 17% to 10% in the 2006-2012 period. The relevant draft
law, which is entitled "On Introducing Amendments in the Law of Ukraine on
the Rates of Export Duty on the Seeds of Certain Oil-Bearing Crops," was
approved by 238 votes. Only 226 votes were required for its approval.

The law provides for lowering the export duty to 16% in 2006 and then
annually lowering it by 1% from January 1, 2007, until it reaches 10%.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Economy Ministry proposed annually
lowering the export duty on sunflower, flax, and false flax by 1% - from 17%
to 10% - during the 2007-2013 period. However, the Agricultural Policy
Ministry opposed this proposal.

Sunflower exports fell by 513,400 tons or 59.2% to 354,150 tons worth USD
98.32 million in 2004, compared with 2003. -30-
===============================================================
13. UKRAINE'S PROSECUTOR GENERAL PISKUN LEAVES FOR THE USA
TO SIGN COOPERATION TREATY BETWEEN TWO COUNTRIES

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - Ukraine's Prosecutor General Sviatoslav Piskun has left for the
United States at the invitation of US Prosecutor General Alberto Gonzalez
to sign a treaty on cooperation between the US and Ukrainian prosecutor's
offices. Ukrainian News learned this from the press service of the
Prosecutor General's Office.

Apart from this, Piskun intends to discuss with his American counterpart
the issue of extradition of the people who committed crimes in Ukraine's
territory and are seeking political asylum in the US, or other refuges.
According to the press service, Piskun took a draft extradition agreement
with him.

Together with the prosecutor general, representatives of the investigation
group for the murder of journalist Georgy Gongadze also left for the US.
During the visit they intend to settle the question of interrogation of
former presidential guards major Mykola Melnychenko on the issue.

As Ukrainian News reported, Piskun said earlier that three things need to be
done to finish the investigation of the Gongadze case: to detain Pukach; to
receive testimony from Melnychenko; and, finally, to complete the autopsy on
the Gongadze corpse. The Prosecutor General's Office sent Melnychenko 92
questions, but the latter refused to answer them or give over to prosecutors
the originals of his tapes and recording devices before their international
examination.

In June the Security Service of Ukraine reached agreement with the FBI on
questioning Melnychenko in the Gongadze case. Melnychenko has been
staying in the US since May 2001. The Prosecutor General's Office closed
the proceeding launched against Melnychenko in September 2004, and is
asking him to come to Ukraine and take the originals of his recordings. -30-
===============================================================
14. UKRAINE: WORLD BANK APPROVES NEW PACKAGE OF LOANS
UPDATES COUNTRY ASSISTANCE STRATEGY

World Bank, Washington, D.C., Tue, July 5, 2005

WASHINGTON - The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors today
approved the First Development Policy Loan for Ukraine in the amount of
$251.26 million. The Board also discussed a Progress Report on
implementation of Ukraine's Country Assistance Strategy.

The meeting follows approval in recent weeks of two further loans in
education ($86 million) and energy ($106 million), and release of the
second tranche of the PAL-2 loan ($172 million).

"The Ukrainian government has set out an ambitious agenda designed to
transform the economic and social development of the country, and to enhance
Ukraine's role in the global economy" says Paul Bermingham, World Bank
Director For Ukraine, Belarus And Moldova. "We in the World Bank have
adapted our programs to assist the government to achieve these goals.

We now see a real opportunity to pursue the fundamental reforms needed to
secure for Ukraine sustained strong growth and poverty reduction. Working
with our development partners, we are responding quickly with a larger
package of loans and advice designed to take advantage of this opportunity."

Development policy (previously known as "adjustment") lending will continue
to be at the center of the program, with its focus on key policy and
institutional reforms. The Development Policy Loan (DPL-1) is the first in a
planned series of three annual loans designed to help the government
translate its objectives into a sequenced and prioritized program of
actions.

It is a successor to the PAL program, for which the Bank released the second
and final tranche of US$172.5 million on June 21, 2005. The DPL program
seeks to integrate government and donor activities under three broad themes
to improve public governance: (a) investment climate, (b) public
administration and public finance management, and (c) social inclusion.

"The first Development Policy Loan approved today supports priority reforms
in key social and economic elements of the government's 'Meeting the People'
program", says Mark Davis, Program Team Leader. "It focuses on the
medium-term institutional and policy changes needed to sustain growth and
deepen integration in the global economy, and is consistent with and
supportive of the EU-Ukraine Action Plan."

The Progress Report documents progress in implementing the Bank's Country
Assistance Strategy for the period 2004-2007, and sets out how the strategy
will be adapted to meet evolving needs and opportunities during the next two
years. While the overall goals remain broadly unchanged, implementation is
planned to accelerate to take advantage of the opportunity created by the
ambitious reform program of the new administration.

The lending program for Ukraine will have two main dimensions. The FIRST is
a new series of annual, fast-disbursing development policy loans (the
successor to the PAL program) designed to support a comprehensive set of
policy and institutional reforms. The areas of reform include macroeconomic
management, investment climate, public administration, public finance
management, rural development, and social services.

The SECOND dimension is a series of specific investment projects. These
will include areas such as energy, transport, financial sector development,
environmental protection, social protection, health, and education. The
program will also include an extensive analytic and advisory services
component.

"Over the next two years, the Bank has an available lending envelope of up
to US$ 2 billion", notes Dusan Vujovic, World Bank Country Manager for
Ukraine. "As we implement our program, we intend to work with the
government to put in place a framework to measure the results of what we
do, and to coordinate our efforts with those of other donors and
international organizations."

Since Ukraine joined the World Bank in 1992, commitments to the country
total over US$4.5 billion for 33 operations. -30-
===============================================================
15. LARGE UKRAINIAN GRAIN EXPORTER ASKING CABINET OF MINISTERS
TO IMMEDIATELY ISSUE REFUND OF VAT ON EXPORTS
International companies Cargill and Serna already received payment

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - Ramburs, one of the leading domestic Ukrainian grain exporters,
has written an open letter calling on the Cabinet of Ministers to urgently
resolve the situation surrounding refund of value-added tax on exports and
take measures to ensure early payment of the debt. The company
announced this in a statement, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained.

The letter states that the current situation is not transparent,
discriminatory in nature, and has resulted in unclear and groundless
actions by certain officials of the State Tax Administration.

Moreover, Ramburs and other grain traders believe that further delay in
resolving the issue of refund of value-added tax to exporters may not only
result in bankruptcy among specific companies, but also cause a price
collapse on the market.

Grain traders are concerned by the delay in refunding VAT on exports and
are saying that the consequences of this may become clear in the very near
future. As of July 4, the overdue VAT refund to Ramburs amounted to UAH
29.896 million.

In late May, the State Tax Administration fully refunded VAT totaling UAH 98
million and UAH 125 million to Cargill and Serna, respectively, which are
major foreign participants on the market.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Ramburs closed joint-stock company
is one of the largest grain exporters in Ukraine with an annual export
volume of about 1 million tons. The STA recently promised to pay the debt
owed on value-added-tax refunds to exporter by July 1, 2005. However, the
State Tax Administration's First Deputy Chairman Mykola Katerynchuk later
expressed doubt whether this was possible. -30-
===============================================================
16. UKRAINE SETS VISA FREE REGIME FOR REVISITING U.S. CITIZENS

Office of the President of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, July 6, 2005

KYIV - Starting July 1, Ukraine set a visa free regime for U.S. citizens who
revisit Ukraine. President Viktor Yushchenko signed the decree, stating
that Americans returning to Ukraine within six months after their first
visiting are no longer required to obtain a new visa, as long as they don't
stay more than 90 days.

Yushchenko's press office commented that the decision was aimed at
"the development and practical realization of the principal of strategic
partnership between Ukraine and the U.S.".

President's Decree No. 1008/2005
On Introduction of Visa Free Regime for US Citizens

With the aim to develop and realize into practice principles of the
strategic partnership between Ukraine and the United States of America
and guided by the aspirations to simplify the regime for mutual travels and
to foster bilateral contacts in all fields of relationships, I issue a
decree:

1. To introduce on July 1, 2005 visa free regime for the US citizens for
entering Ukraine and for transit through the territory of Ukraine, if they
visit Ukraine for the second time within 6 months from the date of their
first visit to Ukraine for the period which doesn't exceed 90 days.

2. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine should set the compensation
mechanism for the State Budget of Ukraine and introduce other measures,
deriving from this Decree.

The President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
June 30, 2005
===============================================================
17. HOW A LEEDS ROCKER'S ROMANCE LED TO A NEW LIFE
IN UKRAINE - WITH THE PRIME MINISTER AS HIS 'MAMA'

By Jack Malvern, Times, London, UK, Thu, July 7, 2005

HE IS a rottweiler-owning rock singer from Leeds, she is the daughter of the
Ukrainian Prime Minister: they seem a mismatched couple whose unlikely
romance would succeed only in fiction. But Sean Carr, a cobbler and key
cutter, is to wed Evgenia Tymoshenko, the daughter of the billionaire
Ukrainian Prime Minister.

Evgenia's mother, Yuliya, became a heroine in Ukraine after she led the
Orange Revolution against Leonid Kuchma, the country's unpopular and
autocratic former President.

Ms Tymoshenko was swept to power alongside Viktor Yushchenko and
became known for the rousing speeches she made to her followers, who
spent weeks protesting against the Government in sub-zero temperatures.

Mr Carr, a tattooed singer who plays in a heavy-metal band called Death
Valley Screamers, closed his market stall in Leeds and moved to Ukraine
after meeting his future wife in a bar in Egypt.

The improbable romance began when Miss Tymoshenko, 25, asked for
Mr Carr's number from his friend, who initially asked for payment in return.
By the time he relented, Mr Carr had returned to Britain.

Miss Tymoshenko, who studied at the London School of Economics, sent Mr
Carr, 36, a text message on her return to London and they arranged to meet
at a biker festival. But it was only when Mr Carr visited her flat in London
that he discovered that she was the heiress to a multibillion-pound fortune.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: "I still didn't know about her mum, but
she seemed to be living in an awful lot of luxury for a student." Five
months after they met and the Orange Revolution was at its height, Mr Carr
visited Ukraine. Yuliya Tymoshenko was leading the opposition movement
alongside Mr Yushchenko, who is now the President.

The day after Mr Carr arrived in Ukraine he stood on a stage in front of
thousands of people as his future mother-in-law called for Mr Kuchma to
resign. She was appointed Prime Minister six months ago.

Mr Carr said that he was initially terrified of his fiancée's mother, but
now calls her "Mama" and has moved his customised Harley-Davidson
motorcycle and 11-stone rottweiler, Salem, to Ukraine.

"I know it's mad," he said. "I can't really believe it myself. It's just
bizarre. It has been a big adjustment for me but I am making it. I am
picking up some Ukrainian and have formed a rock band."

Yuliya Tymoshenko said that she was delighted by her prospective
son-in-law. "He is an excellent person," she said. The wedding will take
place on November 2 and the venue is believed to be in Yorkshire. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PHOTO: Sean Carr and Evgenia Tymoshenko met in Egypt and are to
marry in Yorkshire on November 2 (ROSS PARRY)
LINK: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-1683543,00.html
===============================================================
18. MARKET STALLHOLDER FINDS KEY TO HEART OF PM'S DAUGHTER
From Kirkgate Market to nation in political ferment

Joanne Ginley, Yorkshire Post Today
Leeds, England, UK, Wed, July 6, 2005

IT'S a love story that even the most inspired novelist would struggle to
come up with. Their backgrounds are poles apart but in a few months time
Sean Carr, a 36-year-old market stallholder and rock musician from Leeds,
will walk down the aisle with the daughter of the Ukrainian Prime Minister.

Mr Carr's life has already turned upside down since he caught the eye of
Eugenia Timoshenko in an Egyptian bar. He's upped sticks and moved to the
Ukraine and his friends were amazed to see him on TV sitting next to Ukraine
president Viktor Yushchenko at the Eurovision Song Contest, held in Kiev
this year.

In the autumn Mr Carr will be back in Yorkshire for his wedding, which will
be witnessed by 25-year-old Eugenia's mum, Yuliya Timoshenko, the
Ukrainian Prime Minister.

Yesterday Mr Carr, who has left behind his Heel and Key bar in Kirkgate
Market to live a very different life in the Ukraine said: "I know it's mad.
I can't really believe it myself, it's just bizarre."

The love story began with a glance across a bar in Egypt - and could have
easily ended there and then if Eugenia hadn't been determined to track Mr
Carr down. "All I saw was this pretty girl disappearing down some stairs.
Later on the barman, who was a friend of mine, said she had asked for my
number so I said he could give it to her with a message that I would be in
the Hard Rock cafe, but she never turned up so I just shrugged it off," Mr
Carr said.

But that wasn't to be the end of the story.

Mr Carr said: "The barman tried to sell her my number and when she wouldn't
pay he gave her a wrong number instead. She persisted and got it in the end
but by this time I was back in England." Back home in Thorner, Leeds, he
received a text out of the blue from Eugenia, who it transpired was a
student living in London.

A month later they agreed to meet at a biker's festival. Mr Carr was still
in the dark about Eugenia's background but when she invited him to London
it became apparent that the pair shared very different backgrounds. "I still
didn't know about her mum, but she seemed to be living in an awful lot of
luxury for a student," Mr Carr said.

Five months after they met Mr Carr travelled to the Ukraine - and got a
taste of what he had let himself in for. It was the height of the Orange
revolution - protests in response to allegations of political corruption,
including claims President Yushchenko had been poisoned.

The day after he arrived, he found himself up on stage in front of thousands
of people as Eugenia's mother, Yuliya, then in opposition, addressed a
crowd. She became Prime Minister six months ago.

At first Mr Carr admits he was terrified of his future mother-in-law but he
now calls her "mama". In April he asked Eugenia, who now holds a master's
degree in politics and economics, to marry him at the bar in Egypt where
she stood him up.

He misses his daughter Charlotte, 10, but is adjusting well to his new life
and has moved his customised Harley Davidson and his 11-stone Rottweiler
dog, Salem, out to the Ukraine and formed a rock band called Death Valley
Screamers.

"It has been a big adjustment for me but I am making it. I am picking up
some Ukrainian and I probably know more about the politics of that country
than I do about my own. But Eugenia and I just suit each other. She doesn't
even want me to cut my hair," he added. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-mail: joanne.ginley@ypn.co.uk
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=55&ArticleID=1075946
==================================================================
19. THE PIONEER OF UKRAINIAN FEMINISM
The 150th birth anniversary of Natalia Kobrynska

By Serhiy Bukhalo, Kyvertsi, Volyn oblast
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #22
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 5 July 2005

The outstanding public figure and writer Natalia Kobrynska was born on
June 8, 1855, in the village of Beleluyi, Sniatyn district, in what is now
Ivano-Frankivsk oblast. No one in Rev. Ozarkevych's family could have
imagined that some day the charming little girl would grow up to be a
"hell-raiser," who would implement her daring and progressive ideas not
just as a writer but also as a public figure.

Already in her early youth Natalia noted the incongruity, even in Christian
books, that women must submit to their husbands. The path to spiritual
maturity and full awareness of her goal and principles tested her patience,
and it took resilience on her part to ignore the gossip.

A study of the writers of the positivist school sparked anxiety in
Kobrynska, who realized that, although the social system was in no way
indestructible, it was very difficult to change it. Natalia's life was
marked by an inner duality: with other people she expressed certain
views, but kept her real thoughts to herself.

Among those who fully shared her views was her husband Teofil, but their
marriage lasted for a mere six years. The death of her husband was an
irreparable loss to Kobrynska, who then moved from Sniatyn to Bolekhiv to
live with her parents. She spent her next years living in this picturesque
town at the foot of the Carpathians and making frequent trips abroad.

Thanks to her father, Natalia Kobrynska received a good, albeit informal,
education. Later, another prominent feminist, Olha Kobylianska, had a
similar upbringing. Incidentally, it was Kobrynska who persuaded her to
write in Ukrainian rather than German.

Also thanks to her father, Kobrynska visited Vienna, Geneva, and other
Western European cities, where she met many well-known men of letters,
including Ukrainians. The one who exerted the greatest influence on her was
Ostap Terletsky, a political writer and literary scholar, who was a friend
of Ivan Franko. In 1883 she wrote a short story called "Shuminska" (later
renamed "The Spirit of the Times") and one year later, the novella "For a
Piece of Bread."

At the time Kobrynska believed that her lifelong goal should be to implement
feminist ideas through literature. This detail is important as far as
Kobrynska's further pursuits are concerned. Commenting on her political
writing, Ivan Franko often emphasized that it could not have as profound an
effect on women's emancipation as her fiction.

An important landmark in Kobrynska's life was the year 1884, when she
initiated the creation of the Society of Ruthenian Women in Stanyslaviv. "We
have set a goal to promote women's ideas via literature, for the latter is
the best way to show the bright and dark sides of our social system, its
requirements and drawbacks," stated the program documents of the
newly-formed organization.

Kobrynska and her associate Ulyana Kravchenko argued that they had
founded an effective literary and popular enlightenment organization despite
its members' slender financial means. The Society of Ruthenian Women was
to keep track of current literary trends and convey them as quickly as
possible to the grassroots so that the people would have a clear picture of
the situation of women.

This was supposed to produce a far greater effect than philanthropy. In a
letter to Hanna Barvinok, Kobrynska wrote about the plight of women: "Since
our women have no access to higher learning, the only way for them to
improve their knowledge is to read books, which still cannot produce the
desired results. For reading does more harm than good not only to Ruthenian
but also Polish women because they read indiscriminately, whatever they come
across. Our women are still absorbed by the ideas of the Romantic school,
and they reject all newer and more realistic things as wicked and immoral."

The writer lived in Bolekhiv for more than 30 years, frequently traveling
abroad and corresponding with well-known public figures and authors, such
as Ivan Franko, Mykhailo Pavlyk, and Ivan Nechuy-Levytsky. In 1887, together
with Olena Pchilka, she published Pershyi vinok (The First Garland), a
journal for women. This literary collection was criticized by various
political and cultural figures, including radicals, who objected to the
blending of feminist and socialist ideas.

The publishers were encouraged by the support of Ivan Franko. Lesia
Ukrayinka also published her poetry in Pershyi vinok. Kobrynska entertained
the idea of uniting not just the women of Galicia but all of Ukraine. This
was a time when Western Ukrainian intellectuals were rejecting the influence
of Polish culture, embracing their own national identity, and turning their
hearts and eyes to their brothers in Central and Eastern Ukraine.

Since popular enlightenment was usually the preserve of priests and their
children, education minister Goluchovski instructed theological seminaries
to reduce the admissions quotas for Ukrainians. The historic value of this
journal lay in the fact "that our women in the vast expanses of
Rus'-Ukraine, especially well-educated ones, should feel themselves both
Ruthenian and human and be able to defend their national and civil rights."

From the viewpoint of a highly-educated person, this was nothing unusual.
According to Kobrynska, this was the duty of a well-bred person, not a
prerogative, and it also entailed other responsibilities.

When Kobrynska felt a "shortage of oxygen," she went to Switzerland for a
year, where she attended university lectures. She also dreamed of meeting
Mykhailo Drahomanov and Boleslaw Limanowski, remembering her encounter
with Ostap Terletsky. In Zurich the young writer was greatly impressed with
the lectures on political economy, which were delivered by the distinguished
German, Professor Julius Platter.

After returning to Bolekhiv, Kobrynska continued her public activities,
launching a petition demanding the right of women to study at universities
and lyceums, and submitting to the Galician Sejm a number of proposals on
the rights of peasants. In 1893-1896 Kobrynska was engaged in publishing.
Her publishing house Zhinocha Sprava (Women's Cause), issued three
volumes of the collection Our Destiny. Lesia Ukrayinka and Ivan Franko had
a high regard for this extraordinary undertaking.

In order to improve the effectiveness of her publishing venture, Kobrynska
moved to Lviv in the hopes that this glorious city would provide better
conditions for her to popularize feminist ideas. But the Galician women were
deaf to her ideas. The indifference of the women whom she encountered had an
adverse effect on the writer, and she returned home. Kobrynska did not write
much in Bolekhiv. She was often visited by her follower and protoge, Olha
Kobylianska, and her contacts with local youth filled her with optimism.

The writer, who got along well with people, managed to convince many that
slavery and ignorance were harmful not only to women but also society. With
such loyal followers as Lesia Ukrayinka and Olha Kobylianska, Kobrynska
spared no efforts working for the emancipation of Ukrainian women and
continued writing.

After the February Revolution of 1917 Kobrynska wrote a fairy tale called
"Brothers." Numerous literary critics have commented on this short story,
which is one of her most powerful works. But it is simply ludicrous to claim
that in this story the writer was glorifying the October Revolution.
Firstly, the fairy tale was written six months before the Bolshevik
takeover. Secondly, the tale contains an altogether different prophecy.

At the heart of this story is the revival of Ukrainian statehood and deep
sorrow for the losses suffered by the Ukrainian people, when brother fought
against brother.

"Brother!" A young man in a foreign uniform cried out.

"Brother!" A rifleman cried out in reply. The drawn bayonets dropped out of
their hands, and the two men hugged each other warmly. In a moment, two
more soldiers of the warring camps came out, guns in hand, and the two
brothers were instantly felled."

After the tragedy, the brothers' souls soar in the shape of gray doves, and
the monster approaching from the northeast is just a certain stage of
history, not a manifestation of general human rejoicing. It is also a
tragedy when "people voluntarily give up their lives instead of having them
ripped away from them by others."

Many readers pointedly disregard the conclusion: "The rosy dawn broke,
the sun of resurrection raised high its rays, and three stars flashed in the
clear blue. A mighty lion raised its head and a Cossack with a musket
appeared. A golden plow appeared in the blue field, and two doves with
widespread wings streaked across the boundless sky."

Natalia Kobrynska died in 1920 in Bolekhiv, where she was buried. Long
ignored, she is now regarded as a pioneer of the feminist movement in
Ukraine. Humiliated in her lifetime, Kobrynska was only appreciated after
her death. Yet this guiding light of Ukrainian thought is still unstudied.

In the 1930s one of her followers, the distinguished Ukrainian champion of
women's rights, Sofia Rusova, opened the eyes of many who had failed to
grasp the ideas of Natalia Kobrynska, "The emancipation of women is not an
act of feminism but the same natural manifestation of political and cultural
evolution as was the emancipation of the serfs." Time has only confirmed the
rightness of these words. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/144453
===============================================================
20. SECOND CANADA CORPS CONTINGENT HEADS TO UKRAINE:
CANADA WORLD YOUTH PARTICIPANTS ALL READY TO GO
Work on projects at Ostroh Academy in Ostroh, Ukraine

CNW Telbec, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Wed, July 6, 2005

MONTREAL - In a few days, the second contingent of Canadians supported
by Canada Corps will head to Ukraine. Seven young Canadians with previous
experience volunteering on information technology placements on a Canada
World Youth (CWY) team in Eastern Europe will travel to Ostroh, Ukraine and
work on projects developed by the Ostroh Academy.

Last December, the Ukrainian Ambassador, Yurii Mikolayevich Sherbak, gave
a passionate send-off speech congratulating and thanking the 500 Canadians
heading to Ukraine over the Christmas season as election observers. Canada
had never sent a larger team of observers to oversee elections abroad and
this contingent was the first initiative of the new Canada Corps.

In fact, the send-off on December 21 was also the official launch of
Canada Corps and several other initiatives were announced by Hon. Aileen
Carroll, Minister of International Cooperation. Among the announcement was
an allocation of $1 million to support young Canadians volunteering overseas
on information-technology and governance projects. The funds are managed
by the NetCorps coalition, a group of nine NGOs led by Canada World Youth.

At a meeting in Ottawa today between the Ukrainian ambassador and young
participants of CWY program, the organization's president, Matthew Pearce,
said that with the support of the Canada Corps, CWY is in a position to
continue the efforts made last December and to strengthen its partnership
with Ukraine and Ostroh Academy.

"The Ostroh Academy has been our partner for nine years. It will shortly
become the first CWY partner to benefit from the Canada Corps initiative
by hosting a contingent of young volunteers who will take part in a program
designed to foster good governance through the use of information
technology," said Mr. Pearce.

The program, known as ICT4G (Information, Communication Technologies
for Governance) will involve the CWY team, made up of young people
between 17 and 29, in concrete projects at Ostroh Academy, one of
Europe's oldest continually functioning universities, founded in 1576.

The projects in which the young CWY volunteers will be participating are
varied in nature. They include a research component (research into
international partnership opportunities and international educational
programs, governance and e-governance models) and a technical component
(web-site design and maintenance, technical support to the Academy's editing
and publishing department, installation of software and hardware, creation
of databases, plus tutoring students and training staff).

"This international experience will allow me to further explore my
Canadian identity as well as my global citizenship. I am honored to commit
my time to working on promoting governance through intercultural diversity
as is it will provide me with the necessary skills to launch my career,"
said Shelley Solomon a young CWY participant in the program.

Canada World Youth (CWY) aims to prepare a new generation of global
citizens through its international educational programs for young people
aged 17 to 24. Since 1971, more than 25,000 youth from Canada and
around the world have participated in CWY programs in 67 countries.
LINK: www.canadaworldyouth.org. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For further information: Joelle Ganguillet, Director of communications,
Canada World Youth, (514) 931-1614 (ext. 370), jganguillet@cwy-jcm.org
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2005/06/c9130.html
===============================================================
21. DICKINSON STATE UNIVERSITY IN NORTH DAKOTA ANNOUNCES
AG PARTNERSHIP WITH UNIVERSITIES IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE
National Agriculture University in Ukraine

The Associated Press, Fargo, North Dakota, Thursday, July 07, 2005

DICKINSON, North Dakota - Dickinson State University is partnering with a
Fargo machinery company and agricultural schools in Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's Nizhniy Novgorod State Agriculture Academy and the National
Agriculture University of Ukraine are taking part in the yearlong program.

Under the plan, Fargo's Titan Machinery will work with the schools on
scholarships and summer internships for as many as four students a year.
Titan Machinery has dealerships in the area for agricultural and
construction equipment. After a year, the students may attend more classes
at Dickinson State or work as Titan employees in their native countries,
officials said.

Dickinson State agriculture department chairman Gary White said the
Ukrainian and Russian students will learn about agriculture and business,
and will get to know American culture.

Peter Christianson, president of Titan Machinery, said in a statement that
the program would give students the skills to "carry on a long-term
international business relationship." -30-
===============================================================
22. A SAD ANNIVERSARY - FOUR STUDENTS OF KYIV UNIVERSITY
Executed by the NKVD on July 6, 1941

"Roman Serbyn" serbyn.roman@videotron.ca
To: history@infoukes.com; Sent: Wednesday, July 06, 2005 1:21 PM
Subject: [history] A sad anniversary - Four students of Kyiv university
executed by the NKVD on July 6 1941

The calendar of historical events in today's issue of Kyiv daily "Den'" does
not mention this fact among the events it deems worthy to remember - but I
think it should have done so! Nor, I suspect have other media outlets taken
note of this tragic event, symbolic of things to come...

Sixty-four years ago, on July 6th 1941, on the personal decision of the
People's Commissar of Internal Affairs (NKVS or NKVD) of the Ukrainian
Soviet Socialist Republic and the Prosecutor of the same pseudo-sovereign
state, the NKVS executed, after interrogation but without any trial, four
Ukrainian students of the Kyiv State University:

1) Krasnokuts'kyj Petro Tymofijovych
2) Kravchenko Vitalij Mykolajovych
3) Manylenko Oleksandr Vasyliovych
4) Sliusar Mykola Oleksijovych.

The four — three students in ethnography and one in history - were
accused of anti-soviet conspiracy, of setting up a nationalist organization,
with the intention of overthrowing the Soviet regime and creating up an
independent Ukrainian state under German protectorate.

The interrogation showed that the students came to their "criminal"
anti-soviet position because of their love of Ukrainian culture and
language which they saw as being in a state of decline due to a faulty
nationalities policy pursued by the Communist party.

The dossier of the interrogation is now strored in Kyiv archives and makes
for extremely interesting reading. Two documents from this file have been
reproduced in a recent publication: "Kyiv u dni natsystskoi navaly. Za
dokumentamy radians'kykh spetssluzhb" (Kyiv-Lviv, 2003). The book was
published by the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine together with the Kyiv
Municipal administration and the State archive of the SBU.

While there was much discussion in the Ukrainian media concerning the
"Great Fatherland War", Victory Day, and the Day of "Germany's
Treacherous Attack" on the "Soviet Fatherland", documents from this
case, and others of the kind found little or no exposure. And yet they are
indispensable to the reconstruction of the true face of the "Soviet
Fatherland".

Roman Serbyn
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