"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
An International Newsletter
The Latest, Up-To-Date
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 548
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Published in Kyiv, Ukraine, MONDAY, August 29, 2005
--------INDEX OF ARTICLES--------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO MODERNIZE COAL INDUSTRY
Ukrayina TV, Donetsk, in Russian 1830 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sunday, August 28, 2005
2. UKRAINIAN PRES TAKES NATIONAL UNITY MESSAGE TO DONETSK
Ukrayina TV, Donetsk, in Russian 0910 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, August 28, 2005
3. UKRAINE HOLDS BACK FROM CES REGIONAL TRADE ZONE
Associated Press (AP), Kazan, Russia, Sat, August 27, 2005
4. RYBACHUK WILL VISIT U.S. TO PARTICIPATE IN "UKRAINE'S QUEST
FOR MATURE NATION STATEHOOD" CONFERENCE ON SEPT 27-28
Zoya Zhminko, Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Aug 26, 2005
5. USAID SWEARS IN EARL GAST AS NEW MISSION DIRECTOR
FOR THE REGIONAL MISSION IN UKRAINE
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, August 24, 2005
6. UKRAINIAN PRES MEETS WITH COCA-COLA REPRESENTATIVES
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 23, 2005
7. UKRAINIAN PRES MEETS WITH U.S. JUDGE BOGDAN FUTEY
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 23, 2005
8. U.S. CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES REFUSES TO
SELL 40% in 1 + 1 TO PRYVATBANK GROUP
Inna Sokolovska, Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu Aug 25, 2005
9. UKRAINE LOWERS EXCISE RATES FOR SEVERAL FOOD PRODUCTS
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Aug 28, 2005
10. AGRARIAN MINISTER SAYS NO-TILL TECHNOLOGY WOULD ALLOW
UKRAINE TO INCREASE YIELDS OF GRAIN TO 60 M. TONS A YEAR
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug 27, 2005
11. IMF LOWERS UKRAINE'S GDP 2005 FORECAST FROM 7% to 5.5%
Dmytro Symonov, Ukrainian News Agency, Fri, Aug 26, 2005
12. UKRAINE NEEDS MORE INVESTMENTS TO SUSTAIN GROWTH
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, August 29, 2005
13. UKRAINE FAILS TO ATTRACT INVESTMENTS
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, August 29, 2005
14. DISAPPOINTMENT WITH UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Interfax-FIA, New York, New York, Friday, August 26, 2005
15. UKRAINE: COUNTRY OUTLOOK
Real GDP growth continues to decelerate rapidly
Consumer price inflation stood at 14.8% year on year in July 2005
The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited
London, UK, Friday, August 26, 2005
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, August 29, 2005
16. COURT OVERTURNS PRIVATIZATION:UKRAINIAN CHEMICAL PLANT
The investors - U.S. company Worldwide Chemical LLC
Inter TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1700 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sun, August 28, 2005
17. UKRAINIAN TOP ECONOMIC COURT CONFIRMS PRIVATIZATION
OF NIKOPOL FERROALLOYS GIANT WAS UNLAWFUL
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1449 gmt 26 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Aug 26, 2005
18. RUSSIA'S ALFA GROUP CLAIMS SMALL COURT VICTORY
Battle over management of KyivStar, large mobile phone operator
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times
London, United Kingdom, Sat, August 27 2005
19. RUSSIA RULES OUT EXTRADITION OF IHOR BAKAY, FORMER
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICIAL, WANTED ON
EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES IN UKRAINE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1422 gmt 26 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Aug 26, 2005
20. UKRAINIAN ILLEGAL EMBRYO TRANSPLANT CASE LIKELY
TO GO TO COURT BY THE END OF THE YEAR
By Oleksandr Ilchenko, Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 25 Aug 05; p 20
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Aug 27, 2005
21. UKRAINIAN EMERGENCIES MINISTER ZHVANIYA DETAILS
CHERNOBYL-RELATED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1458 gmt 25 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Aug 25, 2005
22. BETWEEN "HOSANNA!" AND "CRUCIFY HIM!"
COMMENTARY: Myroslav Marynovych
Zerkalo Nedeli, Mirror-Weekly 31 (159)
International Social Political Weekly
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sat, Aug 13-19, 2005
=============================================================
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOWS TO MODERNIZE COAL INDUSTRY
Ukrayina TV, Donetsk, in Russian 1830 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sunday, Aug 28, 2005
DONETSK - President Viktor Yushchenko has told representatives of the
Donetsk Region coal industry that he will personally supervise a
programme to modernize the country's loss-making and unsafe mines.
In a speech in Donetsk marking miners' professional holiday on 28 August,
which was broadcast in full on a Donetsk-based TV channel, Yushchenko
said that artificially low coal prices mean that the mines are in effect
subsidizing other sectors of the economy and price liberalization would
allow them to return to profitability. He said that the recently
reintroduced Coal Industry Ministry would take over management of the
sector.
The following is an excerpt from Yushchenko's speech broadcast by
Ukrayina TV on 28 August:
Dear friends, dear brotherhood of miners, esteemed members of the
Ukrainian and local government, all those present here. It is a good day
today, a brilliant holiday of Ukrainian miners. [Passage omitted: historic
overview]
We are living in a different country now. We have a different sky above us,
and I am convinced that this unique sector for Ukraine, the coal industry,
has new and unique prospects. I am sure that there are no political,
economic or social factors that force Ukraine to close down its coal sector.
This is far from true.
Look at the world market. Look at the fight for markets. Competition is
high. Political factors are becoming more important in the context of
creating a new energy market. It would be a big mistake to forget about
Ukrainian natural reserves that could last for the next 400 years.
If we want a stable and high-quality national fuel policy we should talk
about the strategic prospects of the coal sector. But I agree with tens of
thousands of experts that we need to take many steps to achieve this. We
should look differently at the problems of this sector, the organization of
management, pricing, markets, relations with energy suppliers and so on.
These are not easy - and often quite - bitter issues because they require
solution of the problems we have got used to in recent years, the usual
problems with which we have managed to live.
Nevertheless, despite everything, I would like to say firmly and with
responsibility - I will personally monitor the coal sector. Modernization
that comes with new appointments and formation of new organizations
will bring this industry only one thing - new unique prospects personal
supervision and modernization. [Passage omitted: Yushchenko thanks
ordinary miners, criticizes previous organization of work]
PRICE OF COAL SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO RISE
There is no shortage of funds in the country to really lift up the coal
industry. The problem is the current structure of the sector, the existing
mechanisms. Let us talk about when the price of cast iron was raised. It is
going up every week. The price of rolled metal is going up every week.
Look at the chemical sector, any industry, even the energy sector. Every
sector is forming its immunity, primarily based on price, very quickly and
effectively.
If miners win the price, they win the economy, they win wages, they form
the profitability of the sector. Let us recall when the last liberalization
of coal price occurred. I can repeat the question. When was the coal price
liberalized in recent years? This has not been done for years. Is it respect
for work? Is it care for the industry?
Friends, the coal sector should not be a social-based sector, which
subsidizes metal, chemical, energy and other sectors. The coal industry
should be self-sufficient. But if we cannot say once that the coal price
should be decent, we will never solve this problem.
I am confident you don't want to risk your health and life. But look at the
safety policy in the sector, which has been formed over many years. We can
say today that there is no single, dominating concept in Ukraine that would
be a priority for the operation of every mine. My task, the task of the new
[coal industry] minister and the government is to answer the questions I
have mentioned and many other which I did not list.
COAL INDUSTRY MINISTER TO MANAGE SECTOR
I did not mention the management system. Ask the minister what he is
managing now. The minister is managing 250 companies in the coal sector,
two thirds of which have nothing to do with coal extraction. I don't want
the minister to have a purely formal role. I want him to manage the sector.
Unfortunately, the coal industry is really managed by companies to which
the state transferred its property for an indefinite period of time, most of
which has been sold by now. And it gave them high immunity in terms of
management and staff policy, the so-called state joint stock company
Vuhillya Ukrayiny. We should discuss and review all of this.
The goal of my meeting about two months ago with leading Ukrainian miners,
heroes of Ukraine and people who know the coal sector up and down was
[changes tack] - Dear friends, I am ready to write on paper all the concerns
of the coal sector, form a concept and draft a road map on how to implement
it.
I am calling on professionals to sit at a round table and discuss the
problems of the industry. Let us hold a discussion among experts. What does
the coal sector need today? Let us work out a programme for 2005-2006.
The minister received very specific tasks - on which I will talk later on -
with very tight deadlines.
PROMISES TO DECRIMINALIZE MINES
I don't want indifferent people to be in charge of the sector or
territories. I don't want people with unclean hands to be connected to this
sector. I don't want the coal industry to be linked to criminal-type
organizations. In other words, I would like the riches that are yours -
coal, mines and your professionalism - to bring you a decent reward for
your work.
The discussion we are facing within the framework of a new structure [the
new coal ministry] - I am sure it will not be a sweet discussion - should be
honest. After agreements that will be approved in the form of a concept of
the new ministry, which will be shared by you as directors or corresponding
associations and organizations, mines and coal sector experts [changes
tack] - This will be a programme that will mark the rise of the Ukrainian
coal sector.
New people have come to power in the ministry and in local administrations.
They show their new vision with their deeds rather than words. They show
their intention to honestly identify the industry's problems and give a
professional answer to the challenges we are facing today.
[Passage omitted: Yushchenko describes the 2005 budget as social, says
there should be no wage arrears; for remainder of speech see "Ukrainian
president takes national unity message to eastern region" - Ukrayina TV,
Donetsk, in Russian 0910 gmt 28 Aug 05]. -30-
===============================================================
2. UKRAINIAN PRES TAKES NATIONAL UNITY MESSAGE TO DONETSK
Ukrayina TV, Donetsk, in Russian 0910 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, August 28, 2005
DONETSK - President Viktor Yushchenko has told representatives of the
Donetsk Region coal industry that he wants to strengthen unity between
Ukraine's eastern and western regions.
In a speech in Donetsk marking miners' professional holiday on 28 August,
which was carried live on a Donetsk-based TV channel, Yushchenko
presented new Coal Industry Minister Viktor Topolov and called for greater
discipline in wage payments, improved safety and more transparency in the
industry.
He said that Ukraine pursues national interests in its participation in the
Single Economic Space, an economic bloc with Russia, Belarus and
Kazakhstan, and will work towards setting up a free trade zone without
delegating powers to a supranational body.
Yushchenko also said that next year's budget will introduce economic
reforms that will allow the continuation of current social programmes. This
is Yushchenko's third visit this year to Donetsk region, which strongly
backed his rival Viktor Yanukovych in last year's presidential election.
The following is an excerpt from Yushchenko's speech broadcast live by
Ukrayina TV on 28 August:
[Monitored in progress] I would not like to spoil your holiday, but this is
just a good opportunity to mention this. Is it a privilege for anyone that
Donetsk remains in first place for cases of TB and among the highest for
AIDS? Isn't this a problem for all those present in this hall?
We understand that no-one can build a wall to isolate people with AIDS or
TB. We live next to them every hour and every minute. They are members
of the public, they are normal people. So why isn't our attitude to them
normal? Why haven't we made our contribution as a community, as society -
I would put it more precisely, as business?
Given the sort of business that there is here in Donetsk, should this be a
problem for the city and for the region? Never. You should provide an
example of patriotic, regional business, which is doing rather well, which
can give a superb and exemplary response to social challenges and social
suffering and problems. [Passage omitted: repetition]
PRAISES SOCIAL SPENDING IN 2005,
PROMISES ECONOMIC REFORM IN 2006
I am sure that Ukraine needs change.
We have met the challenge with pensions, and partially with wages for
doctors and teachers. We have reviewed all children's programmes and
increased them five or 11-fold. I have received much criticism for having
approved a socialist budget which places a burden on development potential.
I am told that we should be thinking of economic development rather than a
consumption budget. But I am sure that we chose the right tactics in 2005.
People should see a policy that yields short-term successes. They should see
that something they have talked about for years can be changed in 12 months.
There is another truth, though. If we get carried away with handing out
candies without understanding that a candy can only be made if there is
economic development, if we bungle economic growth, we will bungle our
social policy which we are so keen to praise. So I tell my cabinet and my
colleagues: friends, you can have this sort of budget only once, but next
year we need reforms that will maintain stable economic development.
Economic development will let us have a new pie, new added value, which
can be distributed among the people again. So our objective for 2006 is a
policy of reform.
CALLS FOR DISCIPLINE IN COAL INDUSTRY
[Passage omitted: Yushchenko introduces Coal Industry Minister Viktor
Topolov]
Let us try to maintain perfect discipline in this industry. Discipline
begins, first, with the full payment of wages; second, the safety component;
third, fair, transparent relations and economic organization in the coal
industry. There are three things which should become the alpha and omega
of the operation of this industry.
We have mines that can be compared to Chinese mines which in terms of
safety. One third of our mines are celebrating their 100th anniversary,
another third are celebrating the 50th anniversary of their obsolete
equipment, and the last third are simply loss-making - they have no future
and an honest answer should be given here.
CALLS FOR NATIONAL UNITY, CONDEMNS SEPARATISM
I want to stress that this is my third visit to Donbass this year. On all my
visits, I bring the same message. I want to reinforce the axis of unity
between Ukraine's east and west. I am sure that unemployment hurts people
in the east as much as in the west. I am sure that wage arrears are the same
problem for Volyn miners as for Luhansk miners. I am sure that everyone is
fed up with the corrupt authorities regardless of where they live.
I want to say that there is nothing dividing us today. Nothing economic,
political, social or humanitarian divides us. It is with reason that I am so
wary of these things and remarks - I would call them irresponsible - that
took place a few months ago, involving a so-called eastern republic,
separatism. I am not addressing politicians now.
Politicians will do whatever they please. I am addressing you - honest and
professional people who are self-sufficient in their lives. Do not let such
things become the object of political speculation.
I am sure that, whatever the cost, we will reach understanding on language,
religious issues. Currently there are many initiatives for reaching out to
each other, for recalling that we are Ukrainians, that we pray to single
God, that we see our tomorrow bright, fair, righteous and without sin. There
is no need to look for enemies among ourselves. I do not mean that it is
easy. But we will do everything to make sure that people are comfortable.
INVOLVEMENT IN SINGLE ECONOMIC SPACE
GUIDED BY NATIONAL INTEREST
As president, I am guided by one fundamental criterion in every issue
involving European integration and integration with the Single Economic
Space [proposed economic bloc involving Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and
Kazakhstan] - the interests of Ukraine.
Yesterday, for the first time, Ukraine signed the whole package of CIS
agreements that were prepared for discussion, albeit with some
reservations. Yesterday we held the first discussion on the Single
Economic Space at which all participants understood the Ukrainian
position.
I received words of praise from the presidents of Belarus, Russia and
Kazakhstan, because Ukraine for the first time described our objectives in
the Single Economic Space and the logic of our actions.
Many people - very often unprofessional people who are ignorant of
economics and politics - are speculating on this issue. We believe that the
primary objective of the Single Economic Space - which is stated in its
blueprint - is to make a priority of setting up a free trade zone without
exclusions or restrictions.
There is a unique market in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan. I will give you one
example. This year we will see unprecedented trade with Belarus - 1.5bn
dollars. I told the Belarusian president [Alyaksandr Lukashenka] yesterday:
Mr Lukashenka, our level of trade requires a special culture in organizing
our relations. We should adopt dozens of regulations to boost ties. The same
is true with Russia and Kazakhstan.
What benefits each side? What makes an optimal mechanism for economic
communication? Unrestricted inflow of goods, services and labour. This is a
true space that will encourage the initiative of any organization involved
in economic progress. We stress - and this is stated in the SES blueprint -
that the setting up of a free trade zone is a cornerstone of economic
integration.
The first 29 agreements deal with the setting up of a free trade zone. We
have supported 15 of them. We have not supported the rest for two reasons.
Part of them, about eight, involve the setting up of a supranational body.
You know that Ukraine signed the agreement on setting up the SES with one
reservation - that Ukraine supports the SES agreement as long as it does not
run counter to the constitution.
In this case, according to the constitution, the president is not able to
discuss a transfer of sovereignty in trade, customs policy and other areas.
However, we say that we are prepared to adopt in parliament regulations
adopted within the framework of the SES - tariffs, procedures and so on. It
will not hamper our integration.
Another part of the agreement deals with our relations with third states. We
believe that each country should sign such agreements independently with
states that are not SES members. So I would like to say that Ukraine's
position is clear to everybody.
It seems that at the round table on the setting up of the SES yesterday we
witnessed the most constructive dialogue. [Passage omitted: more on the
importance of national unity, closing pleasantries] -30-
=============================================================
3. UKRAINE HOLDS BACK FROM CES REGIONAL TRADE ZONE
Associated Press (AP), Kazan, Russia, Sat, August 27, 2005 .
KAZAN, Russia - Leaders of three of the four ex-Soviet states considering a
free-trade zone said Saturday they are ready to move ahead by signing an
array of documents, but Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko held back.
Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine agreed more than two years ago to
create the Common Economic Space envisioning common tax, customs and
transport tariff systems, but its implementation has bogged down.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev,
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Yushchenko met Saturday to
discuss the bloc. Afterward, Putin said Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan were
prepared to sign scores of documents within the next few months that would
lead toward forming the zone.
Lukashenko, who seeks eventual reunification with Russia, praised the bloc
as a means to increase economic growth in all four countries.
But Yushchenko, who has made integration of Ukraine with Western Europe's
economy a key goal since becoming president this year, said Ukraine was
not ready for creation of an intergovernmental agency that would oversee the
CES.
"Politically ... to get approval from the Ukrainian parliament for this step
right now is impossible and this has to be taken into account," he said.
Yushchenko, however, did not reject participation and reports quoted Putin
as saying Yushchenko was willing to join the work gradually.
"Each of our partners should decide for itself whether integration is
advantageous or not," Putin said. "If there are some doubts among society,
parliament, in any country, it is better not to rush ... because otherwise,
in the worst case, it will be regarded as something imposed from the
outside."
The meeting came one day after a summit of the Commonwealth of
Independent States, a loose grouping of 11 ex-Soviet states.
Both the CIS and the Common Economic Space are under strain as some
former Soviet republics look to move out of Russia's economic and political
shadow and join NATO and the European Union.
Two weeks ago, Ukraine's economic minister said his country was preparing
to leave the bloc, although Yushchenko subsequently backed away from the
comments.
Since becoming president this year, Yushchenko has actively courted
Western political and economic blocs and has his country's relations with
Russia have turned prickly.
Economic ties between Russia and Ukraine are particularly thorny, since
Russia is Ukraine's largest neighbor and trade partner. Ukraine is heavily
dependent on Russian natural gas and Russia depends on Ukraine's
pipelines to ship oil and gas to lucrative European markets.
The leaders met in Kazan amid celebrations to mark the 1000th anniversary
of the central Russian city's founding. -30-
=============================================================
4. RYBACHUK WILL VISIT U.S. TO PARTICIPATE IN "UKRAINE'S QUEST
FOR MATURE NATION STATEHOOD" CONFERENCE ON SEPT 27-28
Zoya Zhminko, Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Aug 26, 2005
KYIV - Deputy Prime Minister for European Integration Oleh Rybachuk will
visit the United States to participate in the 7th annual roundtable within
the framework of the "Ukraine's Quest for Mature Nation Statehood: A
Roundtable" conference on September 27-28. The deputy premier's press
service disclosed this to Ukrainian News.
According to the statement, Rybachuk will be the main speaker of the
forum, which is taking place this year under the title "Ukraine's Transition
to a Developed National Identity."
Nearly 75 participants will participate in the forum, including
representatives of governmental and non-government organizations from
Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and several countries
neighboring Ukraine.
According to the statement, the objective of the forum's participants is to
assess the ability of Ukraine to develop a stable gravitation center as a
state and to define its place on the international arena following its
historically significant uprising during the orange revolution. The forum
will be held in Washington, in the Ronald Reagan International Trade
Center.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, US Assistant Secretary of State
(European Affairs) Daniel Fried stated in July while addressing the
Foreign Policy Committee of the US House of Representatives that the
United States supports reform in Ukraine, but at the same time it is
concerned over certain aspects of its economic policy. -30-
=============================================================
5. USAID SWEARS IN EARL GAST AS NEW MISSION DIRECTOR
FOR THE REGIONAL MISSION IN UKRAINE
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
Washington, D.C., Wednesday, August 24, 2005
WASHINGTON, DC - The Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID), Fred W. Schieck, today swore in Earl W.
Gast as Mission Director for the USAID Regional Mission in Ukraine. Gast
will be managing more than $105 million worth of projects in three countries
and a wide variety of programs, including democracy development, health
and economic development.
As Deputy Mission Director in two of the most difficult locations, Kosovo
(2002) and Iraq (2003) Gast learned the skills needed for post conflict
oriented development management. Following these two assignments, he
has been in Rome for the past year as the USAID Representative to U.N
Agencies in Rome.
The Administrator for USAID, Andrew S. Natsios, once commented that Gast's
". bravery, leadership, and endless hours of hard work" were instrumental in
making the USAID mission in Iraq ". one of the most successful and largest
post war reconstruction programs in the history of USAID." This was on the
citation that accompanied his USAID Agency Award for Heroism in 2004 for
service in Iraq.
Gast started working for USAID in 1990, as a Program Development officer
in Manila where he designed USAID infrastructure and developed policy for
privatization of infrastructure, energy sector restructuring and reform of
the telecommunications sector. His next assignment was in 1995 to
Moscow, overseeing U.S. government assistance programs for Russia.
Next came an assignment as a Supervisory Program Officer in both the
Ukraine in 1996 and Caucasus in 2000, responsible for strategic planning
and implementation of USAID programs, which in some cases totaled over
$200 million.
In addition to the Agency's Award for Heroism in 2004, Gast has been
warded the Distinguished Unit Award in 2003, the C. Herbert Rees Memorial
Award in 1999 as well a numerous Meritorious Honor Awards.
His academic record includes a BA from the University of Maryland in History
and Criminal Law (summa cum laude), and an MA from George Washington
University in political science and Middle Eastern Studies. His language
skills include English, Arabic and Russian.
The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and
humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.usaid.gov/press/releases/2005/pr050824_1.html
=============================================================
6. UKRAINIAN PRES MEETS WITH COCA-COLA REPRESENTATIVES
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 23, 2005
KYIV - President Victor Yushchenko met with representatives of the
Coca-Cola Company. The sides discussed Ukraine's investment
climate and ways to improve it.
The Head of State stressed that the government spared no effort to
organize Ukraine's transparent and competitive market with clear and
easy rules to launch businesses. They also discussed ways to simplify
the registration procedure and hold fair privatization auctions.
Neville Isdell, Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company, Silvid
Popovichi, Director General of the Coca-Cola Beverages Ukraine, and
Sonya Soutus, Coca-Cola PR Director, were present at the meeting.
=============================================================
7. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH U.S. JUDGE BOGDAN FUTEY
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 23, 2005
KYIV - Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko met with U.S. Federal
Appellate Court Judge Bogdan Futey. During the meeting, they
discussed judicial reforms in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Leader particularly noted that our country needed such
reforms. He also said independent courts were a priority for the new
government.
Then, the sides considered ways to enhance contacts with the Ukrainian
Diaspora. Speaking on the subject, Victor Yushchenko noted that the
government should work hard to engage members of the Diaspora in
Ukraine's democratic processes. The President thinks that will give
Ukrainians abroad “a stronger sense of unity with their motherland and
culture.” -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
8. U.S. CENTRAL EUROPEAN MEDIA ENTERPRISES REFUSES TO
SELL 40% in 1 + 1 TO PRYVATBANK GROUP
Inna Sokolovska, Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu Aug 25, 2005
KYIV - The U.S. media corporation Central European Media Enterprises,
owning 60% of shares in the 1+1 Studio TV company, has refused to sell
its 40-percent stake in the TV company to the group of companies that are
affiliated with Pryvatbank. 1+1 press service reported this to Ukrainian
News.
Central Media Enterprises confirmed that the talks were held with the
group's co-owner Ihor Kolomoiskyi. The transaction was not approved and
on August the CME wrote to Kolomoiskyi about that. "...CME definitely
withdraws any its suggestion on considering the very transaction," the
statement reads.
As Ukrainian News reported earlier, the group of companies that are
affiliated with Pryvatbank is prepared to buy 40% of the shares in the 1+1
Studio television company for USD 100 million. Rodianskyi had earlier
confirmed that the Pryvatbank Group had made an offer to acquire the
television company.
In August, the general meeting of the Board of Directors of the 1+1
television company with the participation of co-owners Oleksandr
Rodnianskyi, Borys Fuksman and executives of Central European Media
Enterprises relieved Volodymyr Oseledchyk from the duties of director
general of the 1+1 Studio TV company, and they appointed Yurii Morozov
to replace him.
Central Media Enterprises owns 60% of shares in 1+1, Rodianskyi and
Fuksman each owned 20% of shares. -30-
=============================================================
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=============================================================
9. UKRAINE LOWERS EXCISE RATES FOR SEVERAL FOOD PRODUCTS
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Aug 28, 2005
WARSAW - The Ukrainian government has quietly lowered excise rates for
several products - a move that may pave the way to the promised land for
many Polish companies. The new regulations entered into force on 16 August.
"The rates for products such as beef and pork have already been lowered.
New rates for poultry will enter into force when Ukraine joins the World
Trade Organisation," says Mikolaj Conics of the trade and economic section
of the Polish Embassy in Ukraine. Many Polish companies have been closely
watching developments in Ukrainian legislation and are ready to start
exporting.
Nonetheless, lorries are still not forming queues at border crossings, as
Polish companies still have not obtained the necessary certificates. While
many businessmen are very enthusiastic about the Ukrainian market, with
its 90 [48 (editor)] million potential clients, some are still sceptical due
to the country's political instability. -30-
=============================================================
10. AGRARIAN MINISTER SAYS NO-TILL TECHNOLOGY WOULD ALLOW
UKRAINE TO INCREASE YIELDS OF GRAIN TO 60 M. TONS A YEAR
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Aug 27, 2005
KYIV - Speaking at an international conference into resource-saving
agricultural technologies, Ukrainian Agrarian Policy Minister Oleksandr
Baranivskiy said that application of these, in particular, the so-called
"no-till" technology, would allow Ukrainian farmers to increase annual
yields of grain crops to 60 million tons.
In addition, he said, "no-till" technology will save huge amounts of fuels
and lubricants. As experts' estimates suggest, traditional tilling requires
100 liters to 120 liters of fuels and lubricants per ha, whereas the
"no-till" technology reduces consumption of fuels and lubricants to 18
liters to 24 liters per ha, that is, five to six times less.
The conference was attended by experts from Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan,
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Lithuania, the USA, Brazil, Canada,
Australia, Germany, Kazakhstan. -30-
=============================================================
11. IMF LOWERS UKRAINE'S GDP 2005 FORECAST FROM 7% to 5.5%
Dmytro Symonov, Ukrainian News Agency, Fri, Aug 26, 2005
KYIV - The International Monetary Fund has lowered the forecast of the
gross domestic product increase in Ukraine in 2005 from 7% to 5.5%. This
was announced in a report of the IMF obtained by Ukrainian News.
At the same time, the IMF raised Ukraine's GDP growth forecast in 2006 from
earlier predicted 4% to 5%. The International Monetary Fund has improved its
forecast of growth of gross domestic product of Ukraine from 6% to 7% in
2005. This was disclosed in the IMF World Economic Outlook.
As Ukrainian News reported, in 2006 according to the opinion of the Fund,
the GDP growth in Ukraine will slow down and constitute 4%, compared with
6-7% predicted for 2005. At the beginning of August, the Economy Ministry
said it could worsen this year's GDP growth from 8% to 6-6.5%. In
January-July this year the GDP rose by 3.7% from January-July 2004 to UAH
213,934 million. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
12. UKRAINE NEEDS MORE INVESTMENTS TO SUSTAIN GROWTH
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, August 29, 2005
Ukraine's economy grew 4.7 percent on the year in January-May 2005, a half
of the pace of its expansion last year. Key reasons for slower growth were a
slowdown in industrial sector and dramatically lower growth in fixed
investments: 4.5 percent in the first quarter against 52.1 percent over the
same period in 2004.
The review of previous allegedly corrupt privatization deals, one of the
core election promises of the new government, remains unsettled. The lack
of a clear and agreed indication of the scale and principles of this
re-privatisation has put a damper on both domestic and foreign investment in
Ukraine.
A 6.7 percent decline in construction over January-May 2005 and a noticeable
reduction in the number of press releases about business developments
posted by major companies indicate that investment activity has abated.
The government needs to identify the terms and conditions underlying this
re-privatisation process as soon as possible to enable investment to move
into high gear and, thus, to ensure rapid and sustainable economic growth
for the next few years.
Overall, investments will grow faster in 2006 than in 2005. After the March
2006 general election, the government will shift the key emphasis in its
economic policy from improving the current personal financial standing of
Ukrainians to implementing large-scale, long-term reforms. But the majority
of these reforms will likely only be implemented starting in 2007.
The key growth driver will be livelier investment - USD 2.5 billion in 2007
as reforms will improve business environment and Ukraine will probably join
the World Trade Organization by that time. In general, the year of 2007
would be the year when structural economic reforms kick in. -30-
=============================================================
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=============================================================
13. UKRAINE FAILS TO ATTRACT INVESTMENTS
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, August 29, 2005
Ukraine has failed to show an increase in investments, senior deputy premier
Anatoly Kinakh said analysing the shortcomings of the new Ukrainian cabinet.
According to Kinakh, following its so-called Orange Revolution the republic
has "a unique opportunity to convert good-will and newly found confidence
into solid investments."
We have been discussing re-privatisation, which had dissuaded investors'
activities in our economic zones and techno-parks, undoubtedly the direct
result of amending a taxation system during a financial year," he stressed.
According to Kinakh, revaluation of the Ukrainian currency was amongst
factors influencing poor trade balance results. Trade balance surplus was
USD 2.1billion in 2004 and hit USD800m in the same period for this year.
"Imports are exceeding exports," he added.
Ukraine imported 26 percent more having boosted its exports by only 10-12
percent. "This could endanger the economy, especially considering we also
changed to principal payments to purchase energy," Kinakh stressed.
=============================================================
14. DISAPPOINTMENT WITH UKRAINE'S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Interfax-FIA, New York, New York, Friday, August 26, 2005
NEW YORK - Ukraine's economic development and political situation have
not improved as fast as expected after Viktor Yushchenko's victory in the
presidential election, says Ralph Sueppel, an
analyst from Merrill Lynch.
Political struggles still curb economic reforms, Sueppel is quoted by
Bloomberg as saying. Against the backdrop of important transformations, this
is a great disappointment, he said. Sueppel also added that the country's
economic growth pace is a major disappointment this year.
Ukraine's GDP growth slowed in the first half of 2005 to 4 percent compared
to a 12.1 percent rise registered in 2004. Moreover, last month the
Ukrainian government announced that overall in 2005, economic growth may
fall to 6 percent.
The political struggle between the new administration and diehard supporters
of former President Leonid Kuchma's policies is proceeding at full speed,
Sueppel said.
Annual inflation in Ukraine in July was 14.8 percent compared to 12.3
percent in 2004, making the 9.8 percent inflation target set by the
government for 2005 look very optimistic, he said. At the same time, 41
percent of Ukrainians say that the country's economic situation has
worsened following the presidential elections.
This opinion was expressed during the poll "Evaluation of Government's
Activity, Economic Awareness, Voting, Language, and Foreign Economic
Preferences of the Ukrainian Population" held by the Kyiv Center of
Political Studies and Conflictology and Kyiv Centre for Social and Political
Investigations SOCIS.
The poll was conducted from August 4-14, 2005, and 2,500 respondents
were questioned. Kyiv International Sociology Institute chairman Mykhailo
Pohrebynsky presented the poll results.
According to the poll, the number of people who consider the economic
situation to have worsened since the presidential elections has risen from
21 percent to 41 percent since May. In addition, the number of those who
believe that the economic situation has improved has fallen by 6 percent,
from 28 percent in May to 22 percent in August.
According to the poll, most Ukrainians experience the negative effects of
inflation - 64 percent of respondents say consumer prices have considerably
grown in their cities when compared to the beginning of the year. Yet, 31
percent of the respondents consider that prices grew reasonably.
Compared to April, Ukrainians' inflation expectations have risen. In April,
23 percent of respondents expected prices to grow considerably during the
current year, and 36 percent thought they would rise reasonably, while in
August these numbers are 34 percent and 40 percent respectively.
To make matters worse for the country's new leadership, 33 percent of
Ukrainians say that following Yushchenko's victory in the 2004 election,
corruption in the government has decreased, while 44 percent of those
questioned said corruption remained the same, while 12 percent say it has
risen. Approximately 11 percent of the respondents couldn't answer the
question.
In addition, the poll also showed that the number of those who think that
changes are moving Ukraine in the proper direction continues to fall. In
March, 47 percent thought so, while in April it was 43 percent and in
August - only 35 percent of the respondents think their country is now
headed in the right direction according to the survey. -30-
=============================================================
15. UKRAINE: COUNTRY OUTLOOK
Real GDP growth continues to decelerate rapidly
Consumer price inflation stood at 14.8% year on year in July 2005
The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited
London, UK, Friday, August 26, 2005
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, August 29, 2005
OVERVIEW: The government and the presidential administration will
ensure greater political openness than existed in the past, and will push
for faster economic reform. However, occasionally poor policy formulation
and government in-fighting will limit the extent of improvements.
Moreover, the 2006 parliamentary election and the planned transfer of
greater powers to the legislature will bring significant distractions. Even
after the election, the new pro-government majority in parliament will be
unstable.
The Economist Intelligence Unit expects real GDP growth to decelerate to
4.3% in 2005, before recovering to 5% in 2006. Year-end inflation is
forecast to slow to 9% by 2006.
The currency will remain broadly stable in nominal terms against the US
dollar in 2005-06, with only a slight appreciation expected. The
current-account surplus reached a record high in 2004, but will decline in
2005-06 as export growth decelerates.
[1] DOMESTIC POLITICS: The president, Viktor Yushchenko, and the prime
minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, are expected to continue to co-operate with
one another during the rest of the 2005-06 forecast period. The risk of
political instability and inefficacy will nevertheless remain high.
Ukraine's new leadership represents an uneasy coalition of heterogeneous
political forces that frequently disagree over policy and the division of
responsibilities. These differences will become harder to contain as the
March 2006 parliamentary election approaches, and as the debate heats up
over the implementation of constitutional changes that are scheduled to come
into effect at the start of 2006.
Moreover, the pro-government majority that is expected in parliament after
the election is unlikely to be cohesive or to work smoothly with the
executive branch.
[2] INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Ukraine's relationship with the West will
be much better than it was during the tenure of Mr Yushchenko's predecessor,
Leonid Kuchma.
Despite the recent rejection of the EU's proposed constitutional treaty by
French and Dutch voters--which has produced a backlash against
enlargement--Ukraine will continue to prioritise its relationship with the
EU and push ahead with implementing the commitments contained in the
EU-Ukraine Action Plan signed earlier in 2005.
However, there is now more of a risk that the plan will be a less effective
policy anchor than had been expected before the French and Dutch
referendums.
[3] POLICY TRENDS: The election of Viktor Yushchenko as president in late
2004, and the appointment of a pro-reform cabinet, has given new impetus to
the process of economic liberalisation.
We continue to expect greater progress on crucial issues than in the past:
privatisation sales are likely to become more transparent; fiscal policy
will be rationalised; energy sector reform will resume; and a more concerted
effort will be made to bring businesses out of the shadow economy.
However, this forecast comes with a number of caveats. Many of these
reforms are unlikely to begin in earnest until after the March 2006
parliamentary election; even then, they will suffer because of a lack of
cohesion within the executive branch and within the expected pro-
government majority in parliament.
Moreover, the government's performance to date shows that conflicting
priorities and limited capacity to generate and implement effective policies
will, on occasion, hamper reform. Policy initiatives continue to be badly
prioritised and co-ordinated, while legislation is often poorly thought out.
Sometimes, the government will put other goals ahead of its interest in
economic liberalisation.
[4] INTERNATIONAL ASSUMPTIONS: With economic policy being tightened
in a number of countries and high levels of debt weighing on consumers,
companies and governments, the global economy is expected to continue
to slow.
We forecast a deceleration in world GDP growth on a purchasing power
parity (PPP) basis, from an estimated 5.1% in 2004 to 4.3% in 2005 and
4.1% in 2006.
A fall in oil prices later in 2005 and in 2006, combined with real
appreciation of the exchange rate of the rouble and slower growth of
Russian oil output, will bring down real GDP growth in Russia, Ukraine's
largest export market. The prospects for Ukraine's terms of trade are not
particularly favourable.
Ukraine will benefit from a modest reduction in the cost of oil imports in
2006, but prices will still remain high, at over US$50/barrel. Moreover,
prices for steel, which account for almost 40% of Ukraine's export earnings,
have been falling since late 2004 and are expected to continue to do so
until early next year.
Steel prices are forecast to be down by over 30% year on year in early 2006,
before then recovering somewhat. Average steel prices for 2006 as a whole
are likely to be 10% below 2005 prices.
[5] ECONOMIC GROWTH: Real GDP growth continues to decelerate rapidly.
The economy expanded by just 2.4% year on year in July, and cumulatively
by 3.7% year on year in January-July. The slowdown reflects less buoyant
external conditions, particularly for the steel sector, as well as sluggish
investment trends, attributable to political instability and concerns over
the government's review of previous privatisations.
This review has been both controversial and protracted, and any improvement
in investment in the second half of 2005 is expected to be modest. Real GDP
growth for the year as a whole is now forecast at 4.3%.
[6] INFLATION: Consumer price inflation stood at 14.8% year on year in July
2005. Inflation is expected to ease to below 12% by end-2005, but will still
remain high owing to sharply rising incomes.
An increase in administered prices, which were generally kept down in 2004
because of the approach of the presidential election, will also add to
inflation--although the government will still try to contain any price
increases, in anticipation of the March 2006 parliamentary election.
The narrowing trade surplus and slight currency strengthening expected will
nevertheless contain the pressure on prices by permitting a tighter monetary
policy. Moreover, the government's fiscal policy in the second half of 2005
will be considerably more prudent than it was in the year-earlier period,
when expenditure surged in advance of the presidential vote.
Nevertheless, the government is expected to post budgetary deficits in both
2005 and 2006. Combined with high oil prices and a rise in the gas price
paid to Russia, as well as further large foreign-currency inflows expected
as a result of the current-account surplus, inflation is only likely to fall
to around 9% year on year at end-2006.
[7] EXCHANGE RATES: During the past three years the NBU had often
intervened on the interbank market to keep the hryvnya's exchange rate
fixed against the US dollar. The central bank signalled a shift in policy in
April 2005, when it allowed the hryvnya to appreciate by 3%.
So far this has proved to be a one-off attempt by the NBU to mitigate risks
inherent in the continued large-scale inflows of export earnings.
We believe that the NBU will not permit significantly greater appreciation,
and will continue to intervene to soak up excess foreign currency when
necessary.
However, recent personnel changes at the NBU have increased the risks to
this forecast, and stronger than expected currency appreciation is now a
greater possibility than before. Although the economy is slowing, the
opposite risk--of currency weakening--is still limited, in view of the
strong current-account inflows and concerns over inflation.
[8] EXTERNAL SECTOR: With higher incomes and oil prices pushing up
import expenditure, and the steel sector suffering from a less favourable
external environment, Ukraine's current-account surplus is expected to fall
to around 5.3% of GDP in 2005. Preliminary data already show the trade in
goods surplus in January-June narrowing to just over US$380m, down by
almost US$2bn compared with the year-earlier period.
The current-account surplus is set to narrow further, to around 4.2% of GDP,
in 2006. This will reflect lower annual average steel prices, and continued
strong import growth linked to a further rise in incomes and a pick-up in
investment. However, the current-account surplus in 2006 is now likely to be
larger than previously forecast, as the outlook on the steel market appears
set to improve. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
16. COURT OVERTURNS PRIVATIZATION OF UKRAINIAN CHEMICAL PLANT
The investors - U.S. company Worldwide Chemical LLC
Inter TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1700 gmt 28 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sun, August 28, 2005
KYIV - [Presenter] The state has won yet another victory in a controversial
privatization process. The Luhansk regional economic court stopped the
reorganization of the Severodonetsk Azot production association and closed
the plant's bankruptcy case.
[Correspondent] Court disputes involving the privatization of Severodonetsk
Azot have lasted for more than a year. Luhanskoblenerho [Luhansk regional
energy distribution company], which is the plant's main creditor and which
started the process, complained that the decision on its bankruptcy and the
change of owners was taken in its absence.
The state also had complaints about the investors, as the privatization was
carried out in an unlawful way, and the budget has not received a penny.
This is proved by documents of the State Property Fund and the Justice
Ministry.
[Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko] The best part of Severodonetsk Azot has
been separated from the state enterprise and included in the authorized
capital of a private enterprise without any privatization procedures or
payment.
[Oleksiy Danylov, captioned as head of the Luhansk regional state
administration] The state has not received a single penny for the
60-per-cent stake in a powerful association like [Severodonetsk] Azot. Not a
single penny. How could this have happened? The 60-per-cent stake was
presented to someone.
[Correspondent] The investors - the US company Worldwide Chemical LLC -
have a differing opinion. They undertook to invest 120m dollars in the
plant's development and upgrading. They have already invested half of it,
but this had no bearing on the bankruptcy process. It was in full swing at
the time.
So the Americans did not risk making any further investment, quoting the
unstable situation. They are going to look for the truth in the Supreme
Court. But the government thinks that the problem has been settled.
Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko said that the Cabinet of Ministers
approved a schedule for putting the plant up for a repeat privatization
competition in the spring. The competition will be fair and transparent. Any
investor, even the former owner, can take part. But they will have to pay
much more. Experts estimate the price at about 2bn hryvnyas [0.4bn dollars].
=============================================================
17. UKRAINIAN TOP ECONOMIC COURT CONFIRMS PRIVATIZATION
OF NIKOPOL FERROALLOYS GIANT WAS UNLAWFUL
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1449 gmt 26 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Aug 26, 2005
KIEV - The Supreme Economic Court of Ukraine has rejected a complaint
filed by the industrial financial union Prydniprovya against the ruling of
the Kiev economic court of appeal of 25 July, which ruled unlawful the sale
of 50 per cent plus one share of the Nikopol ferroalloys plant,
Dnipropetrovsk Region.
Therefore the Supreme Economic Court confirmed that the privatization was
unlawful. In addition, the court made another ruling - to uphold a request
of the Prosecutor-General's Office and to annul an order by the State
Property Fund to privatize a 25-per-cent stake in the ferroalloys plant and
a report announcing a privatization tender.
The court also overruled the ruling of the Kiev economic court of appeal
that the money used to buy two stakes in the ferroalloys plant be return to
Prydniprovya after they are resold.
Prydniprovya lawyer Oleksiy Reznikov said that Prydniprovya would appeal
against the ruling at the Supreme Court. [Passage omitted: background] [The
Nikopol ferroalloys plant was controlled by MP Viktor Pinchuk, the
son-in-law of former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma.]
=============================================================
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=============================================================
18. RUSSIA'S ALFA GROUP CLAIMS SMALL COURT VICTORY
Battle over management of KyivStar, large mobile phone operator
By Tom Warner in Kiev, Financial Times
London, United Kingdom, Sat, August 27 2005
KIEV - Russia's Alfa Group has claimed a small but significant victory in
its battle with Norway's Telenor by obtaining injunctions from Ukrainian
courts that hamper Telenor's ability to manage KyivStar, Ukraine's
second-biggest mobile phone operator.
Telenor, which owns 56.5 per cent of KyivStar, said yesterday it had
received three injunctions from different district courts in Kiev that
suspended its board of directors and limited the powers of its president
and vice-presidents.
Alfa, the banking and industrial group that owns 43.5 per cent of KyivStar,
obtained the injunctions when it filed lawsuits this week that sought to
strengthen its role in managing the company at Telenor's expense.
However, Telenor said the injunctions had no real impact because they
blocked only "strategic" decisions and not day-to-day operations. Telenor
said it believed it would soon get the injunctions lifted.
KyivStar's board had already been disabled since this spring by Alfa's
policy of boycotting meetings, which deprived it of a quorum, Telenor said.
However, analysts said the injunctions bode ill for Telenor, and could be a
sign that the courts were ill-disposed towards KyivStar because of its link
to the former president, Leonid Kuchma.
Mr Kuchma's brother-in-law, Yuri Tumanov, co-founded KyivStar and has
stayed on as chairman after selling his shares, which were subsequently
acquired by Alfa.
Alfa is challenging a shareholders' agreement signed in 2002, when it held a
smaller stake, that gives Telenor the right to nominate KyivStar's president
after the current president, an ally of Mr Tumanov, steps down or his role
is terminated. It is also challenging a separate agreement that gives
Telenor the right to nominate three vice-presidents, including the chief
financial officer.
John Suggitt, managing director of Kiev brokerage Concorde Capital, said
KyivStar's link to Mr Kuchma "definitely has a lot to do with this. Alfa is
leveraging that fact". -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
19. RUSSIA RULES OUT EXTRADITION OF IHOR BAKAY, FORMER
UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICIAL, WANTED ON
EMBEZZLEMENT CHARGES IN UKRAINE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1422 gmt 26 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Aug 26, 2005
KIEV - Ihor Bakay, born in 1963, [former Ukrainian President Leonid
Kuchma's administrator of affairs] is a Russian citizen in accordance with
the Russian federal law 62-FZ of 31 May 2002 "On the citizenship of the
Russian Federation".
The press service of the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office said this
today, quoting an official statement by the Russian Prosecutor-General's
Office, which had been sent to the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office
on 16 August.
The statement said that according to Article 61 of the Constitution of the
Russian Federation and Article 57 of the convention "On legal assistance
and legal relations in civic, family and criminal cases" of 22 January 1993,
this rules out the extradition of Russian citizen Bakay Ihor Mykhaylovych to
other states. [Bakay is wanted in Ukraine for embezzlement of state funds.]
=============================================================
20. UKRAINIAN ILLEGAL EMBRYO TRANSPLANT CASE LIKELY
TO GO TO COURT BY THE END OF THE YEAR
By Oleksandr Ilchenko, Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 25 Aug 05; p 20
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Aug 27, 2005
A scandalous case of illegal use of parts of human embryos is likely to go
to court by the end of the year, a regional prosecutor has told a Ukrainian
paper. The paper said that a private clinic operating at a state hospital in
the city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine had been giving injections and
transplants of placenta and other fetus-related material to wealthy
patients for cosmetic rejuvenation purposes. The operations were carried
out without permission or licence, it added.
The following is the text of the article by Oleksandr Ilchenko published in
the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya on 25 August; subheadings are as
published:
The noisy scandal caused by the dubious activity of a Mariupol limited
liability company attached to a city hospital is expanding with fantastic
speed and looks likely to go beyond the borders not only of Donetsk Region,
but also of the country.
BAIL FOR SUSPECTS
We reported the story briefly on 18 August in a dispatch entitled "Criminal
rejuvenation". According to one chief of the human trafficking department of
the regional Interior Ministry directorate, Serhiy Kolomiyets, a criminal
case has been instituted for stem cell treatment for the first time in the
years of independence.
"We brought it not against specific people who violated the law on
transplants," the prosecutor of Mariupol, Oleksandr Yehorov, said in an
exclusive interview with Segodnya, "but regarding illegal trade in organs or
tissues, i.e. under part 4 of Article 143 of the Criminal Code. The founder
of the medical firm, H., and surgeon O. are suspected of being responsible.
The latter is the chief doctor of the hospital on whose territory the
limited liability company has been operating since 2000. Neither of them has
been put in custody; they have both been released on bail... [ellipsis as
published]"
It must be said that for more than four years the work of the company (in
the interests of the investigation the prosecutors prefer not to name it)
has not caused reprimands or suspicion either from clients or from monitors.
What is more, the firm's services were widely advertised in the local media
and to date the identity of about 100 patients has been established from
Mariupol residents alone, who used them for treatment and cosmetic
purposes.
EASILY FOOLED
This spring, staff from the regional directorate of the state service for
combating economic crime received operational information that far from
everything in the company's activity was as smooth as the publicity clips
and highly coloured leaflets report.
In particular, instead of treatment therapy, they use injections of
biological material prepared on the basis of the so-called phyto-placenta
complex and carry out operations to implant placenta tissue. At this stage
the prosecutor's office joined the operational staff and it authorized a
test purchase.
"A resident of Mariupol acting under control of operational staff applied to
this private enterprise to use the phyto-placenta complex to rejuvenate the
organism," the region's prosecutor and head of the investigation
directorate, Oleksandr Lyvochko, joined in the conversation.
"He was given an injection and was also sold four ampoules with a substance
of a reddish colour allegedly facilitating a considerable rejuvenation
effect."
These ampoules were taken away, after which they were sent to Kiev for
expert analysis. A Kiev research institute soon gave its conclusion that the
substance contained dead human tissues, rather than living placenta cells,
of the blood and embryo of a human foetus. And this carries the danger of
infection.
"In other words, we were not sure whether dead tissues had been originally
sold as living ones or whether living cells had lost their condition and
died in transport," Oleksandr Lyvochko says. "The lack of reliable data
about this prevented us from instituting a criminal case at that time -
there was an insufficient basis of proof. After that a second test purchase
was made.
The second patient, having agreed to cooperate with law-enforcement
agencies, requested placenta material to be sown into him. And when this
person had been fully prepared for the operation and the same complex was
due to be introduced, law-enforcement officers appeared before the doctors.
EXPECT VERDICT
The second forensic medical examination showed the presence in the
confiscated material of blood and cells from a human embryo (foetus): "The
morphological characteristics of the cells found give grounds to assume that
they were extracted from bone marrow," the conclusion said.
"Blood and a fragment of the thymus gland of embryo origin were also
discovered in the substance. Microscopic study of the material found blood
and human embryo cells. Histological research also showed the presence of
placenta of an age up to 12 weeks, blood and transverse cut muscle fibre
(most likely extracted from heart muscle) and elements of cartilaginous
tissue from an embryo."
This all comes under Article 143 of the Criminal Code - violation of the
system established by law for transplantation of human organs or tissues.
Data from the preliminary investigation established that the transplant
material (i.e. material emanating from the brain, liver and other organs of
a human foetus for future injections) was extracted from embryos still
present in the womb of pregnant women and taken to Mariupol, mainly from
Donetsk Region in special containers with liquid ammonia maintaining a
temperature of up to 150 degrees.
After that, the liquid obtained was introduced intra-muscularly or
intravenously to the patient, and sometimes the transplant material was
implanted by means of an incision in the soft tissues of the buttocks.
"The purpose of carrying out injections or operations by means of
transplanting material from human embryos was rejuvenation of the patients'
organism or treating some diseases," Lyvochko says. "But we do not rule out
the possibility, as your paper wrote, that the source material also came
from another region bordering Donetsk Region, and possibly from other
regions of the country."
Prosecutor's office staff say that the clients included fairly well-known
and wealthy people - on average every operation cost about 300 dollars, but
some services cost more.
Considering the fact that in Moscow such rejuvenation is estimated to cost
about 10,000 dollars, it cannot be ruled out that the graduate student from
a Moscow research institute detained two months ago on a train from Kharkiv
to Moscow with 36 ampoules of human embryos is connected in some way with
the Mariupol centre, from where transplant material could go to the near and
far abroad. This theory is being checked.
"DON'T WORRY, IT'LL PASS..."
Currently the activities of the limited liability company has been
suspended. With court warrants there have been searches and removals of
documents and raw materials. Expert analysis has not yet been completed.
A member of the investigation agencies who asked for his name not to be
published in the press told Segodnya that far from all patients were
satisfied with the quality of the services provided:
"One client testified that after the injection he had had the shakes for
three days, as if in a fever, and he had already bid farewell to life.
Disillusion also came to a woman who had stem cells stitched in - there were
no signs of rejuvenation on her face and body. Staff from the private
enterprise tried to calm them down, saying that the reaction of people's
organisms varied, and that soon everything would be all right and painful
sensations would disappear... [ellipsis as published]"
On the other hand, some patients of the limited liability company are not
making contact with the investigation; fearing publicity or persecution,
they are not admitting that they were victims. The process of proof is
painstaking and scrupulous. The operational investigation group includes
officers from the prosecutor's office and the police.
"What the Mariupol doctors achieved in five years or so may be regarded as a
scientific discovery and become a form of know-how," prosecutor Oleksandr
Yehorov believes. "But the whole problem is that they engaged in this
activity illegally, without to this day permission from the Cabinet of
Ministers and a licence from the Health Ministry.
An experimental base was not developed and approved - after all, in other
countries research is first carried out on laboratory animals and only
later, given positive results, is work started on human organs and cells."
The prosecutor's office has sent a representation to the regional health
department on the need to conduct an in-house inquiry into the incident.
There has been no reaction yet. The regional health people considered that
since a commercial organization was operating, there was no need for
intervention from above. But the organization was operating under cover of a
state hospital, on its premises, and specialists of that establishment
combined, so to speak, the pleasurable with the advantageous, working in
two places in combination.
"Indeed, the company's staff did not have licences to carry out any work
connected with transplantation," the deputy prosecutor-general and
prosecutor of Donetsk Region, Oleksiy Bahanets, confirmed in an interview
with Segodnya.
"The 1999 law on transplants of human organs and other anatomical material
clearly sets out a procedure, from the pre-operational preparation of the
donor and recipient (i.e. the person receiving the transplant) to
post-operation observation. The relevant permits are required to carry out
such activity. They are issued by a Health Ministry department.
The company staff did not have them, which in itself is already a most
flagrant violation. At the present stage the investigation is continuing;
the basis of proof is being strengthened; it is being clarified who the
objects of criminal assault were when placenta and other source material was
acquired, intended allegedly for the production of rejuvenating material."
Oleksiy Bahanets said that at various stages of the investigation
operational technical measures were used envisaged by the law on operational
detective work. Therefore, although the case has no equivalents and is
fairly complex at the level of proving the guilt of the suspects, a judicial
prospect is extremely likely. Prosecution and police officers are not being
subjected to pressure from outside.
Charges have not yet been laid against H. and O. But in conversation with a
Segodnya correspondent, the Mariupol prosecutor expressed confidence that
that the case would go to court by the end of this year.
NOT EVERYTHING GETS TO COURT
And to end with - a slight elaboration. A case similar to the Mariupol one
was recently launched by the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine]. SBU officers
uncovered a mechanism for removing fragments of connective and bone
tissue from dead bodies and their illegal export abroad as raw material for
preparing implants of the "tutogen" type, widely used in traumatology.
The announcement from the SBU press centre appeared in the middle of April
this year. A case was brought under the same Article 143 of the Criminal
Code of Ukraine (true, under part 1 - violation of the procedure established
by law on transplantation of human organs or tissues). It was investigated
and transferred to the Kiev prosecutor's office, but... [ellipsis as
published] did not get as far as the promised court.
The prosecutor's office of the capital's Shevchenkivskyy district halted it
because of the absence of corpus delicti.
Will the Mariupol story also meet the same fate? -30-
[The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
21. UKRAINIAN EMERGENCIES MINISTER ZHVANIYA DETAILS
CHERNOBYL-RELATED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1458 gmt 25 Aug 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Aug 25, 2005
CHERNOBYL - The construction of the Shelter facility over generating set No
4 of the Chernobyl nuclear plant costs 1.09bn euros, Emergencies Minister
Davyd Zhvaniya told journalists today.
"The total cost of the project is 1.09bn euros. The whole amount of money
needed has been collected," Zhvaniya said. He added that the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development is currently holding a tender for
Shelter construction.
The minister said the results of the first stage of bidding will be known in
September. He said that technical documentation will be amended after
that. "By December we hope to start practical work," Zhvaniya said.
He pointed out problems with finances for the construction of spent fuel
storage facility No 2. He said that the contractors selected to build the
facility are not fulfilling their commitments. The minister said that the
latest assembly of donor countries adopted a decision to carry out an
international audit of the Ukrainian party's activities at its own request.
Meanwhile, he said, Ukraine has decided to start the construction of spent
fuel storage facility No 2 on its own. "Each year of procrastination entails
extra spending from the state budget," Zhvaniya said. He stressed that the
Emergencies Ministry has decided to place spent nuclear fuel in storage
facility No 1, which is already in operation.
He believes that the spent fuel can be unloaded from generating set No 3
over 18 months and all remaining fuel in the following five years. He said
that a final decision on the completion of spent fuel storage facility No 2
will be adopted after an international audit and ensuing court rulings.
=============================================================
22. BETWEEN "HOSANNA!" AND "CRUCIFY HIM!"
COMMENTARY: Myroslav Marynovych
Zerkalo Nedeli, Mirror-Weekly 31 (159)
International Social Political Weekly
Kyiv, Ukraine, Aug 13-19, 2005
The Maidan was an act of faith - pragmatism cannot arouse such enthusiasm.
However, most Maidan actors understood even back in November that their
enthusiasm would gradually ebb. Some Ukrainians have even lost faith. The
majority is still faithful, albeit wary of the latest developments in
Ukraine. They expected more form the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko team.
I do not want to censure the administration - the press does it with a
greater zeal and zest than is sensible. Some reporters do it sincerely,
others for big money. Nor do I wish to prophesize, aspiring to unravel
secret motives of those fighting for power or define Ukraine's oil-and-gas
prospects. The only aim I hope to achieve with this publication is to offer
a different perspective that might be of interest to some readers.
POWERS THAT BE
Ever since the autumn of 2004, I have been rejoicing in the sentiment that I
shared with those on the Maidan: my country will have a government that I
elected and that I understand. Its achievements would be my achievements as,
basically, we have common goals. Its mistakes could have been my mistakes
had I been one of the team.
I am fully aware that this government would not resolve all of Ukraine's
problems because it is not perfect and the time will come for us to replace
it. Yet I believe that this government will make a difference and establish
a bridgehead for a new one. Today, I refuse to watch many Ukrainian TV
channels - not because they criticize this government, but because they do
so from a position that I would never accept.
I like the president's genuine caring and standing up for Ukraine's national
interests, and I empathize with the government's vehement desire to defend
these interests in disputes with Russia. I know there will be failures, but
I have always dreamt of a government with a healthy nationalist instinct
that has nothing to do with morbid Russophobia.
Leonid Kuchma sold to Russia almost everything it wanted in Ukraine, except
for the people's will and love for their land. I am not discouraged with
Europe's lukewarm response to our integration plans - it will teach us to do
business with Europeans and soberly evaluate our chances, rather than rely
on our partner's altruism.
Looking around I cannot help praising the president and his administration
for an incomparably greater freedom than we have ever had before in this
country, and for enabling the nation to learn how to use this freedom. I
praise them even though I know that the time will come when they will try to
shorten the leash, and the people will have to save the Maidan heroes from
their transformed selves by shoving love through defiance.
Moreover, I cannot get rid of a nagging thought that the incumbent Ukrainian
administration repeats the mistakes made in the early 1990s by a democratic
regional government in Western Ukraine. Like the latter, central authorities
of today keep replacing individual officials having no time - or lacking a
clear vision - for altering the entire framework of state power. As a
result, new people (wherever they are new indeed) fall into the traps of old
public administration and governance systems.
In no way do I claim I would have acted wiser if I had been in their shoes:
the wisest solutions are elusive. The "old" team lost the battle, but they
don't think they lost the war. Viktor Yanukovych was right when he stated
during the election campaign: "You won't squeeze us out of power."
The changing of civilizations is painful and draining. One can think
strategically sitting in a safe HQ tower, not in the midst of hand-to-hand
combat in the trenches where the president and government turned out after
the revolution.
Yet understanding the cause of threat does not relieve the threat itself:
the defective administration system transforms the newcomers to it faster
and more effectively than they reform the system. Besides, the behavior of
some of the president's team members makes one wonder whether they are
newcomers to the defective system or an integral part of it, after all.
The upcoming parliamentary elections place too much of a strain on the
government. The revolution winners' decision to focus on several
breakthroughs in the social sphere exposed at least three of its
weaknesses.
FIRST, there is no guarantee that the losers would not try to counteract the
breakthroughs. They are putting a lot of effort into it, and the effect of
raised income inflation is often marred with soaring prices.
Under the circumstances, the government is forced to either haggle with
market monopolists seeking awkward compromises or "pacify" the
disobedient with the tools borrowed from Leonid Kuchma's plentiful arsenal.
SECOND, the government should have had a consistent reform strategy right
from the start - it will hardly be in a better position to overhaul the
system of power after the parliamentary elections. Unless the government
gains a resounding victory, it will be drawn into a running trench battle
yet again, distracting time and strength from a cardinal transformation
effort. If it does gain a decisive victory, then why should it want to
change anything at all (cf. the situation in Russia)?
THIRD, the government's urge to produce immediate impressive results
suggests that it does not have enough confidence in Ukrainians. Do the
Maidan heroes really believe their policy advisers are smart where people
in the street are dumb? Of course, people want better living standards but
material wealth is not the only criterion against which they will assess the
government's performance.
People think of the authorities not only when they receive salaries or
pensions, but also when they apply for public services. They think of the
authorities when they register their small business and look for jobs, etc,
etc, etc. Therefore, what they need to see at the end of the tunnel is
light, an obvious sign that "tomorrow will be brighter than today".
This light will also help people make out what the government strives to
achieve, how it intends to achieve its goals, and whether it plans to treat
people as partners on the way to achieving them. People from Maidan would
be patient if they knew for what sake. They would gladly render any possible
assistance to the government if the latter asked them to.
Instead, they feel alienated form the decision-making processes, and that
hurts them more than low incomes. The government still has time to remedy
the situation: those in power should communicate with people if they want to
win the elections.
A dialogue with the public could help the administration estimate all
implications of its decisions. Sometimes decisions, even important ones, are
made in a hurry or on the spur of the moment, without a thorough analysis of
alternative policy options and potential practical outcomes.
Furthermore, a few recent examples of fulfilling decisions (on the
liquidation of traffic police and the State Committee for Religious Affairs)
revealed fundamental flaws in the implementation mechanisms, which,
coupled with some of the implementers' gloating delight over the
government's troubles, can jeopardize any useful initiative.
In any country, the opposition watches the government's every step for a
faux pas - it is the opposition's political role. In this country, this
government's mistakes are not only likely to bring about a new team (which
would be normal), but also threaten to bring back the old civilization.
Thus, in establishing a new system of state power and eventually reforming
the country, the incumbent administration joins its efforts with all
Ukrainian intellectuals and engages them as experts or consultants at the
planning, implementation, and evaluation stages of policy making. Direct
involvement will turn yesterday's harsh critics into understanding
partners - an invaluable capital, particularly during elections.
I am positive that Ukraine needs a team capable of mobilizing the potential
of participatory society, rather than a team capable of proving it can cope
on its own.
OPPOSITION
In a democracy, the opposition's untiring scrutiny and championing of
changes is what makes the government think of reforming the public
administration and governance systems. If the government fails to duly
inform the public of its management strategy, the opposition should come up
with an alternative strategy, and the government will have to follow suit
for fear of looking less attractive.
If the government ignores think -tanks' and experts' advice and projections,
the opposition should win them on its side, and the government will lose
peace. As the practice of the two last election campaigns shows, it is much
more effective to invest in domestically developed scenarios than to hire
expensive spin-doctors form Russia.
Can former officials and influential public figures be effective in the
opposition? The question seems rhetorical: those individuals are skilled in
clinging to power at all costs. They do not know how to rely on the people
in order to come to power. They do not know Ukrainians for what they are and
they despise people around them. No popularity ratings, Russian or domestic
political operatives can do the trick for them.
I agree with [MP] Andriy Shkyl, who says that Viktor Yushchenko and Yuliya
Tymoshenko are, respectively, focal points for "moderate" and "positively
radical" political forces. These seem to be prototypes of powerful parties
that would unite around two different, yet equally legitimate, management
styles, rather than around their leaders' personalities.
Now that the old regime representatives are just forming their ranks, the
above prototypes have to stand by each other. After the elections, however,
the situation could change. Then a civilized parliamentary competition
between two management styles could be as beneficial for Ukraine as is the
major political parties' rivalry in, say the UK or USA.
PARLIAMENT
That the serving parliament does not reflect the Ukrainian society of today
is a truism. Yet even this parliament has had its minutes of glory and did,
indeed, play a progressive role in certain episodes of Ukraine's recent
history - not because it was up to the mark per se, but by virtue of the
nature of parliamentarianism. This time, people should think hard about
whom to elect as their representatives in legislature, to prevent further
criminalization of the Supreme Rada.
Frankly speaking, I am concerned about the plans for transforming Ukraine
into a parliamentary-presidential republic. I do not question the need for
reform that would preclude new Kuchmas from usurping power in the country.
Alas, our present parliament is no better than Kuchma.
The new Rada will not be an improvement either. So why trade bad for worse?
Do Olexander Moroz and his party realize that a half-way solution (whereby
the presidential-parliamentary system is preserved, but with a simultaneous
prudent curtailing of presidential powers) would enable both institutions to
grow into meaningful guarantors of national stability, while the Socialists'
stubborn desire to have it their own way could fling Ukraine into a new
crisis?
A detailed and binding procedure should be established, as soon as possible,
for recalling MPs or other elected representatives. Situations like that
with MP Taras Chornovil, who sees nothing wrong in representing the
constituency that voted him into the Rada with an opposite mandate, cannot
be tolerated.
The society should find an aurea mediocritas between an MP's right to act
in harmony with his/her beliefs (a parliamentarian is a free human being,
accountable to his/her voters but not enslaved by them) and the voters'
right to recall their representative if his/her behavior in parliament is in
conflict with the mandate (with which sovereign people delegate part of
their authority to their representatives).
The task of achieving this balance should not be left to the discretion of
MPs or their party bosses. It should be up to the people to prevent
misrepresentation of their will.
PRESS
The role of the press cannot be overestimated: it allows society to detect
the government's errors and demand that it remedy them in a timely manner.
I trust the new administration's pledges that there will be no return to the
practice of "temnykys."
Yet it is one thing to publicly denounce censorship, and it is quite another
thing to engage all branches of power (including the media) in meticulous
everyday work of revising effective media legislation and reconciling it
with the international law.
At the same time, the society should bear in mind that the "fourth branch of
power," as any other, is prone to degrading when there is no system of
checks and balances in place. Journalists should remember it, too. As in the
case with the president, parliament, and cabinet, the public should keep the
media under permanent control, especially when it comes to moral and ethical
standards.
Reform of the media legislation will be conducive to this aim, and it should
be carried out immediately lest the next parliament could learn from the
Russian State Duma how to "curb the destructive anarchy reigning in the
press."
SOCIETY
On the one hand, I am happy that popular affection and support of the
"orange" team are not blind: Ukraine is not going to idolize its leaders. On
the other hand, the society should be more critical of itself. Over the last
20 years, Ukrainian society has been learning what democracy is about. The
Maidan was a test showing that we have gained some knowledge of its
principles. It was a mid-term rather than a final exam, and this subject is
yet to reveal its most exciting or most complex truths to us. One of the
basic ones is that democracy calls for daily toil, for daily pains to bring
pressure to bear on powers that be.
In the height of the revolution, the Maidan united people with a simple
formula: "The revolution will never succeed without me." However, upon
leaving the Maidan people seem to have modified it beyond recognition into
something like: "We have elected the president and government. It is now
their task to improve our life and society."
People have returned to their cozy habits and temptations, convinced that
their small sins would not spoil the overall picture. And five months later,
municipal elections in Kyiv saw as many irregularities and falsifications as
the presidential ones. In Lviv, no sooner had the echo of mass chanting
"Yushchenko!" died away than local residents resumed their usual practice
of giving and taking bribes.
The next lesson we have to learn in our school of democracy is that each of
us is responsible for the country's future, along with the president,
government, and parliament.
I have heard people say: "We will come out onto Maidan again if they betray
out trust!" I think it is a misinterpretation of the role of mass rallies.
Maidan is an extraordinary form of controlling the authorities, when people
use their sovereign right directly. The Universal Declaration of Human
Rights provides for the right to protest against criminal regimes.
Nevertheless, the extraordinary nature of this instrument means that street
protests are not the only form of control available to a developed civil
society. It should design, as soon as possible, effective and lasting
mechanisms for controlling the government.
The new authorities should free civil society organizations from the
administrative and financial noose that the previous regime slipped on them.
If public servants do not want to yield to the "will of the street," they
should secure the rights of the opposition and an independent third sector.
Yet the authorities should not set up such organizations, otherwise they
would not, by definition, be independent and non-governmental. The general
public should appreciate the civil society organizations' role and value as
advocates of public interests and vents for public discontent. When mass
protests become redundant, it means that administrative machinery of the
state operates well.
It is equally important for Ukraine to develop trade unionism. One of my
deepest concerns is that most private companies in the country cynically and
blatantly exploit their workers who have no organized voice and who are
fully dependent on company management and owners for job security and
work safety.
These workers prefer to expedite their interests by demonstrating servile
loyalty to their employers than through acts of solidarity with their
colleagues. It is a source of overt and latent corruption that cannot be
extirpated without the workers' active assistance. So if the government
falls short of implementing its reform programs and keeping its promises to
Maidan, God forbid, it will not be the only one to blame: it will be our
fault, too.
SPIRIT
I am one of the few who believe that the wellbeing of the society is
determined by its spiritual, rather than economic, health. Society's
spiritual revival is a prerequisite for economic upturn.
It is true that we live in the world where petrol price weighs more than the
value of the word of honor, and people think of their daily bread more often
than of morals. Therefore I understand the government's predicament and I
understand it has to resort to compromises in order to provide the
population with bread and petrol.
I do not view it as betraying the Maidan ideals. Yet if the Maidan leaders
forget about their comrades in arms and if their commercial interests
eclipse the spirit that united us there, they will betray those ideals.
Jeffrey Wills, a wise and kind-hearted American who has been of great
service to our country for 10 years, was right saying that the independent
Ukraine before Maidan had been like "Israel without its Book of Exodus."
Nowwe have it. However, Exodus has no sense unless people hope to
get to Mount Sinai and the Promised Land one day.
Ukraine is looking at Maidan leaders with anticipation and apprehension:
will they be worthy of their historic calling? The new team owes us the
answer, since what matters in the final analysis is not bank accounts and
private businesses, but people's trust, the dignity and honor of the called.
=============================================================
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