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Action Ukraine Report

"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 560
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, THURSDAY, September 15, 2005

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

1. ASSESSING THE BLAME IN UKRAINE
Coalition's Fall Brings Discussion of Corruption Into the Open
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, September 15, 2005; Page A28

2. VIEW FROM WASHINGTON: POST-REVOLUTIONARY DISILLUSIONMENT
Jackson: The greatest threat to Ukraine is, well, Ukrainian politics.
COMMENTARY: By Bruce P. Jackson
The Day Weekly Digest in English, # 27
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 13, 2005

3. "DAY AND ETERNITY OF JAMES MACE"
New book published by Den
By Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No. 560, Article 3
Washington, D.C., Thursday, September 15, 2005

4. "INTELLECTUAL EUROPE ON THE UKRAINIAN GENOCIDE"
Books devoted to the tragedy of the manmade famine
published in Italy and Ukraine
By Nadia Tysiachna, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #27
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 13 September 2005

5. PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: DECREE N 1087/2005, ON ADDITIONAL
MEASURES FOR HONORING AND PERPETUATING THE MEMORY OF
THE VICTIMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSIONS AND FAMINES IN UKRAINE
President of Ukraine Decree N 1087/2005
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 11, 2005, in Ukrainian
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 560, Article 5
[English translation by The Action Ukraine Report (AUR)]
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, September 15, 2005

6. UKRAINE DEREGULATION: MORE THAN JUST TALK
LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR:
By Patrick Rader, Kyiv, Ukraine
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No. 560, Article 6
Washington, D.C., Thursday, September 15, 2005

7. TELENOR'S VIMPELCOM BUYS UKRAINIAN RADIO SYSTEMS
FOR 205 MILLION USD
AFX Europe (Focus), Moscow, Russia, Thu, Sep 15, 2005

8. RADISSON SAS OPENS KIEV HOTEL
By Roger Bray, Financial Times
London, UK, Thu, September 15 2005

9. RUSSIA'S ALFA GROUP CLAIMS VICTORY IN
UKRAINE TELECOMS BATTLE
By Arkady Ostrovsky in Moscow and Paivi Munterin Stockholm
Financial Times, London, UK, Thu, September 15 2005

10. JUSTICE MINISTRY RECOMMENDING THAT PGO FILE LAWSUIT
DEMANDING THAT PRYVATBANK GROUP RETURN 26% OF
NIKOPOL FERROALLOY PLANT TO THE GOVERNMENT
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, Sep 14, 2005

11. PRESIDENT CHARGES STATE SECRETARY OLEH RYBACHUK AND
FIRST DEPUTY STATE SECRETARY IVAN VASIUNYK TO DRAFT
PROGRAM TO IMPROVE UKRAINE'S PRESIDENCY
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, September 15, 2005

12. USA READY TO ASSIST UKRAINE IN ITS MEETING EUROPEAN
NORMS AND STANDARDS, US UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE PAULA
DOBRIANSKY NOTES WHILE MEETING WITH BORYS TARASYUK
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 15, 2005

13. ROMAN ZVARYCH CALLS LEONID KRAVCHUK'S STATEMENT ON
BORIS BEREZOVSKY FINANCING ELECTION CAMPAIGN
OF VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AS MISINFORMATION
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 15, 2005

14. FIRST LADY KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO VISITS BURN CENTER
Lack of antiseptic boxes, respiration equip, blood preparations,
International assistance needed
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 12, 2005

15. UKRAINE, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION SIGN AGREEMENT
ON FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING, ILLEGAL MIGRATION
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1058 gmt 14 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Sep 14, 2005

16. UKRAINE'S FIRST LADY VISITS ONCOLOGY INSTITUTE CLINIC
Lack of equipment to diagnose cancer in early stages
International assistance needed
Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 13, 2005

17. WESTERN UKRAINE TO GET NEW HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
Tribute to the many Jews shot to death here by Nazi forces
Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
Moscow and New York, Friday, September 9, 2005

18. UKRAINE'S FORMER STATE SECRETARY OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO
SEES PRO-YUSHCHENKO MOVEMENT IN DECLINE
"The president acted inappropriately'
INTERVIEW: with former State Secretary Oleksandr Zinchenko
By Oleksandr Chalenko, Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 10 Sep 05; p 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Sep 15, 2005

19. INTERVIEW WITH JAMES SHEER FOR DEFENCE EXPRESS
INTERVIEW: With James Sherr
Defence Express, Interview on August 20, 2005
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 6, 2005
=============================================================
1. ASSESSING THE BLAME IN UKRAINE
Coalition's Fall Brings Discussion of Corruption Into the Open

By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, September 15, 2005; Page A28

KIEV, Ukraine, Sept. 14 -- A feud over a hulking steel plant controlled by
one of Ukraine's leading tycoons was the tripwire for the implosion that
last week destroyed the coalition that led Ukraine's Orange Revolution last
year.

The breakup has become more bitter by the day as the alliance's dominant
figures, President Viktor Yushchenko and former prime minister Yulia
Tymoshenko, trade accusations about billion-dollar graft concerning the
plant.

The unlikely third party in this political divorce is Viktor Pinchuk, who
grew wealthy under the corrupt structure that Yushchenko and Tymoshenko,
acting together, ostensibly toppled.

Each side professes its innocence and shouts its dismay. But the
persistence of massive corruption, whoever is behind it, is now a strikingly
public issue, a departure from the refusal of the old government headed by
President Leonid Kuchma to discuss the issue openly.

In separate discussions with journalists this week, Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko voiced rare agreement on one point: that this may be a
defining moment in moving the country toward the justice and openness
that each promised the hundreds of thousands of citizens who turned out
onto the streets and helped sweep them into power.

"It's painful to speak about these things because, first of all, I'm
speaking about a lady," Yushchenko said in a 90-minute discussion
with foreign journalists. "I'm just happy I managed to eliminate double
standards."

"The air we are breathing is corrupt," Tymoshenko said in an interview.
"It's not the end of the Orange Revolution; it's the direct action of the
Orange Revolution. A public cleansing of society is underway."

The dispute focuses on the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant, one of the world's
leading suppliers of high-quality mixtures of metals. In 2003, Pinchuk, the
billionaire son-in-law of Kuchma, acquired a majority stake in the
state-owned facility for $80 million. There were accusations at the time
that the sale was rigged and that the factory was worth vastly more -- over
$1 billion, according to Tymoshenko.

In an interview, Pinchuk said the auction was open. He noted that the price
he paid was the highest ever for a piece of state property in Ukraine.

Earlier this year, after Kuchma left office, one of Pinchuk's business
rivals, the Pryvatbank group, challenged the privatization in court. Here
the allegations and counter-allegations begin, and they also involve
prominent television stations.

According to Yushchenko, the prime minister directly pressured the courts
on behalf of Pryvatbank to overturn the privatization and return the plant
to the state. "You can ask the judges how much pressure they received," he
said.

"The plot . . . involved discussion of the ownership of one of the major
Ukrainian TV channels and in order to bring about this, the prime minister
acted in such a manner," Yushchenko said.

According to some of Yushchenko's closest supporters, the Pryvatbank group
was also seeking to buy the 1+1 television channel and promised to throw the
network's editorial weight behind Tymoshenko in next March's parliamentary
elections if she wrested the Nikopol plant from Pinchuk and ensured
Pryvatbank got it. The courts eventually ruled that Pinchuk had to surrender
his shares.

Tymoshenko flatly denies any such intervention. She said in an interview
that Pryvatbank's challenge to the original privatization was simply an
attempt to undo an auction that the company viewed as tainted and to bring
about a new one in which Pryvatbank could compete fairly.

The state, she said, joined as a third party as a matter of law and planned
to hold an open auction for the property after the courts overturned the
original sale. She said it was the presidential administration that
attempted to interfere with the legal process, not her.

"The judges were pressured by the president's lieutenants to leave the plant
in Kuchma's family," Tymoshenko said. "The judges didn't go for that."

The prime minister, who was dismissed along with her cabinet last week by
Yushchenko, went on in the interview to argue that one of Yushchenko's key
advisers, Petro Poroshenko, was trying to keep the plant in Pinchuk's hands
in return for Pinchuk selling his TV stations, ICTV and the New Channel, to
people who would use them to support the president's camp in the
parliamentary elections.

"They agreed to leave the plant with Pinchuk in exchange for TV channels,"
Tymoshenko said. The channels remain in Pinchuk's hands.
In an interview, Poroshenko denied there was any such deal. He said that he
met Pinchuk in either June or July and that the businessman asked only that
he receive equal treatment before the law.

"I prefer not to comment," Pinchuk said when asked about an alleged deal
with Poroshenko over the television channels.

The coalition began to come apart last week when Oleksandr Zinchenko,
head of the presidential secretariat and a key organizer of the Orange
Revolution, resigned, charging that the president was threatened by
corruption within his closest circle. Poroshenko quit in response to his
accusations but denied wrongdoing.

Yushchenko said Zinchenko has yet to present a single piece of evidence
supporting his allegations. And he quickly turned on the prime minister,
contending that she was the cause of much of the corruption.

He accused Tymoshenko of a separate case of corruption -- using her office
to wipe out debts of more than $1 billion accumulated by an energy company
she formerly owned. Tymoshenko dismissed the allegation as an attempt to
distract attention from what she said was rampant corruption among the
president's closest confidants.

"Entrepreneurs are being forced to pay money so their property stays with
them," Tymoshenko said. "People are asked to pay dividends for political
support. People were forced to give up buildings in downtown Kiev." -30-
=============================================================
2. VIEW FROM WASHINGTON: POST-REVOLUTIONARY DISILLUSIONMENT
Jackson: The greatest threat to Ukraine is, well, Ukrainian politics.

COMMENTARY: By Bruce P. Jackson
The Day Weekly Digest in English, # 27
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 13, 2005

In 1920, as the Red Cavalry fell apart in Western Ukraine in a riot of
incompetence and mayhem, a disillusioned Isaac Babel wrote in his diary,
"They all say they are fighting for justice and they all loot."

Last week, an indignant Secretary of State Oleksandr Zinchenko, took much
the same tone in his televised resignation, disillusionment with what the
Orange Revolution had produced and a sense that the nation's romantic
purpose had been betrayed and hopelessly compromised.

As Washington returns from a painful summer, people here are beginning to
wonder what is it about Kievan politics which seems to induce such despair
in Ukraine's most talented citizens. Actually, there are two separate issues
in the minds of the few American policymakers who concern themselves with
the future of Ukraine.

FIRST, since character is supposed to predict destiny, what does all this
acrimony say about the character of Ukraine? Is this the way European
democracies normally act or does the constant charge of corruption and
counter- charge of provocation suggest a stranger, more neurotic and,
frankly, foreign country? This first issue could be called the question of
Ukraine's astounding ability to disappoint itself.

The SECOND issue relates to the persistent lack of progress in Ukraine's
development as a European nation. Whether we look at the last years of
President Kuchma or the first years of President Yushchenko, discussions
with NATO are always behind schedule, WTO membership is still blocked in
Parliament, and EU discussions are just over the horizon.

Is Ukraine wrestling with some deep-seeded psychological problems often
associated with people who have been occupied and brutalized? Or is there
just something wrong with this year's political leadership which a little EU
"capacity building" could fix in a few months?

In other words, has the Yushchenko Government stumbled as a result of its
own clumsiness or were the Ministers tripped up by darker forces about which
Brussels and Washington know next to nothing? Both issues are worthy of
serious examination.

On the question of national character, most Americans who give it a thought
think that all Slavic peoples indulge in an excessive amount of political
fatalism, which in our country is regarded as something akin to self-pity.
But Ukraine seems to have a special, private cellar of self-doubt and
pessimism.

Americans tend to believe that Ukraine should be one of the most hopeful
and optimistic countries in the world, blessed by a vibrant culture,
exceptional art and resources, and a highly motivated and idealistic youth.
Not to mention the widespread support throughout Europe for Ukraine's
aspiration to join NATO and the European Union.

By contrast, the grievances of Serbia are understandable, even if they are
not forgivable. Belgrade has had a role in starting many of the European
wars of the 20th century and has repeatedly paid for it by being destroyed
by the Great Powers in the opening days of each conflict.

When a student at Belgrade University describes the isolation of Serbian
youth from Europe which persists to this day and the litany of injustices
done to the Serbian people, it is difficult for even the most cold-hearted
not to think that life has been unfair to this family of the Southern Slavs.

Similarly, Bulgaria, which has distinguished itself by switching sides
repeatedly throughout the 20th century, must have some legitimate regrets
about their leaders' uncanny ability to pick the losing side of history and
to embrace the most disastrous course of action. But can this be said of
Ukraine?

From an admittedly distant American perspective, the facts of Ukraine's
history and its most recent triumph in the Orange Revolution refute the
claim for Ukraine as a nation of victims and comprehensive state corruption.
Perhaps no country (with the possible exception of Poland) prevailed against
Nazi aggression and Soviet occupation with as firm a sense of identity and
national purpose as Ukraine.

Few countries in Europe have been consistently as resilient militarily,
technologically, artistically and even athletically as Ukraine. One wonders
at a country which can qualify for the World Cup, but cannot enact the most
basic reforms without months of bickering.

It is obviously not military or economic failures that retard the progress
of Ukraine. Rather, it seems that it is the prospect of success which
confounds the political leadership and engenders such anxiety in society.

The greatest threat to the future of Ukraine is not the perfidy of Moscow or
the insensitivity of global market forces. The greatest threat to Ukraine
is, well, Ukrainian politics.

We have all been taught that insecure and unstable European states tend to
strike out at their neighbors to avoid confronting their internal problems.
Instead, it seems to be the fate of Ukrainians to lash out at themselves to
avoid confronting the responsibilities and demands of success on the
European stage.

Let us not kid ourselves. Ukraine has no problems that half the countries in
the world (and many more advanced candidates for NATO and the European
Union) would not beg to have. This includes the struggle against corruption
which is not more pervasive in Ukraine than it was in Poland, the Czech
Republic or Romania less than a decade ago. Then, what explains Kiev's
geopolitical hypochondria?

The explanation lies in the mysterious birth of nations and the positive
effect this transformation has on the collective political imagination. The
Ukrainian people have a hard time imagining themselves as a successful
European democracy and without this sense of self-regard and national
exceptionalism are liable to harbor a contempt for their own political
revolution and the very institutions which they must build in order to
prosper.

The phenomena of what Anne Applebaum has called "the post-totalitarian moral
hangover" can be linked to the incomplete project of building a nation after
the dissolution of the Soviet Empire in 1989 and can be readily seen in the
current symptoms of Ukraine's despair. Four deficiencies confirm that Kiev
is one step short of a nation in the Euro-Atlantic sense.

Ukraine is lacking a true Constitution. A state which cannot constitute
itself in a central document of organization and principle will remain
dangerously vulnerable to shifts in political power and popular mood in a
way that European states are not.

Few Germans think that a change of the German Chancellor on September
18th will threaten their livelihood or personal freedom. The same could not
be said for a Pora activist or steelworker from Donbass about next March's
Parliamentary elections.

Ukraine has not yet produced accountable government. It remains a country
where the primary motivation for government service is defensive.
Businessmen routinely run for Parliament, not to effect legislative reform,
but to seek immunity for themselves and protection of their businesses from
capricious seizure.

National Security officials are far more likely to investigate their
political opponents than to monitor the activities of hostile powers.

Unless Ukrainian voters can invest a much higher degree of trust and
confidence in their elected representatives, the prospect of accountable
government is remote.

Ukraine still teeters on the knife edge of disunity. The degree of
alienation between Kyiv, Donetsk, Lviv, Odesa and Kharkiv and the collision
of their sectional interests are reminiscent of the rivalries between
Italian city-states during the Renaissance. Most Ukrainian political
candidates are representatives of regional or economic interest groups.

As much as East Germans chafe in the company of Bavarians and vice versa,
their economic interests and political sympathies are locked in one nation.

By contrast, the voting patterns of Ukraine are far too polarized by region
to reflect the national coherence of a European nation. The highest priority
of any government must be to build a nation at peace with itself, before it
can begin to build an integrated European democracy.

Finally, there is the incessant war between political power and wealth. The
Ukrainian narod is still lighting candles at the altar of historical justice
and praying for the arrival of the Good Czar with the axe who will finally
and conclusively distribute the wealth of Ukraine fairly amongst its
citizens. This will never happen and has never happened.

The countries which obsess about historical justice, such as Turkey, Armenia
and Serbia, in a cruel irony of history, are inevitably left behind in
isolation and embitterment. As Adam Michnik realized in 1989 at the round
table talks between Polish government and opposition, justice is a useless
verdict reached by historians years after the irremediable injustice.

Michnik argued that what is decisive in the rebirth of a nation is
forgiveness, not revenge or restitution. In Kiev, the politics of grievance
must give way to the political compromises and generosity of
nation-building, as President Yushchenko has on many occasions seemed
to be saying.

Either Ukraine must move decisively to bind up the nation's wounds or in its
disillusionment it will become just another forgotten headstone on what
Senator John McCain has called "the vast dictatorial tundra of Russia
history."

Here again, the desperate tales of the Red Cavalry come to mind.

Isaac Babel tells the story of Prishchepa, a soldier who survives through
the Revolution and the civil war to return to his village in Eastern
Ukraine. There Prishchepa exacts a murderous revenge on his neighbors for
stealing his household goods. Then, he burns down his own house, shoots his
last cow in the mouth with his revolver, and vanishes from European history.

Prishchepa was disillusioned with post-revolutionary Ukraine. And, when he
was finished, so was everyone else. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce P. JACKSON is the President of the Project on Transitional
Democracies, an international non-governmental organization, which supports
Ukraine's membership in NATO and the European Union. Mr. Jackson will write
an occasional column for Den on Ukraine's European integration campaign.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.day.kiev.ua/148382
=============================================================
Send in names and e-mail addresses for the AUR distribution list.
=============================================================
3. "DAY AND ETERNITY OF JAMES MACE"
New book published by Den

By Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No. 560, Article 3
Washington, D.C., Thursday, September 15, 2005

KYIV - A new book featuring the writings of the late Professor James
Mace has been published in Kyiv by the newspaper Den/The Day. The
book will be officially launched on Friday, September 16, at the
International Book Fair in Lviv, according to Natalia Dziubenko-Mace
(Mrs. James Mace) who will be present at the Book Fair.

Mrs. Mace told me in Kyiv last Sunday, when I interviewed her, that Larysa
Ivshyna of Den will present the new book in Lviv. The book was under the
overall editorship of Larysa Ivshyna. Maryna Zamuatina and Nadiya
Tysiachna of the Den assisted in the compilation of the articles by Dr.
Mace. The book is being published in Ukrainian and English.

There are over 110 articles in the book written by Dr. Mace, many of them
while he worked for the Den and wrote a weekly column for the Day Weekly
Digest in English. There are also over 20 tributes and memoirs in the
book written by Kateryna Yushchenko, Stanislav Kulchitsky, Yury Shapoval,
Eugenia Dallas, Maria Bohachevsky-Chomiak, Marta Kolomayets, Roman
Serbyn, Natalia Feduschak, Yury Shcherbak, myself and others who knew
Jim so well and about his outstanding scholarship and teaching.

Natalia Dziubenko-Mace said she is so proud the new book has been
published, and is very grateful to the management of Den. "It is a fitting
tribute to Jim, his work about the Ukrainian genocidal famine (Holodomor)
of 1932-1933 and his dedication to the people of Ukraine. I hope you and
others will do what you can to tell the world about the book. We really
want the book to receives wide distribution and readership. This will be
the best tribute for Jim and his work," Mrs. Mace said.

Larysa Ivshyna wrote in her introduction 'To The Readers,' "The report to
Congress, prepared by the U.S. Commission on the Ukraine Famine of
1932-1933 headed by James Mace, created a sensation, a veritable
exposing that opened the eyes of the international community to the
enormity of the catastrophe experienced by the Ukrainian people.

Much has been said and written about his achieving a singular insight into
this country, about his becoming perhaps a better Ukrainian than most,
about this sharing the grief of the Holodomor victims in his own singularly
empathic way.

His own, very keen sense of justice must have been the reason for his
decision to become a part of Ukraine. He wanted to expose that official
conspiracy to remain silent on the Holodomor Manmade Famine; he
wanted the tragic truth made public knowledge worldwide.

It was a very hard task. We know that a number of his US counterparts
remain Soviet-minded researchers specializing in Soviet history,
that they are vague about vague about singling out Ukraine with its
disasters and national interests.

The editor of the book continued, "Den/The Day presents this unique
bilingual book project featuring James Mace's weekly columns and
analytical articles that appeared in our newspaper between 1998 and
2004.

We have published the book also in English not only because most
of the articles were originally written in English, but also because we
would like the world to see Ukraine through the eyes of James, much
like he opened the world to us through his articles.......

It is with special emotion that we compiled the book. We would like
for it to touch a chord with readers Ukrainian and otherwise, whose
souls are still alive. It is dedicated to the memory of an honest
intellectual, fearless man, and passionate journalist, of whom there
are few.

Individuals the likes of James are people with a mission. It is a matter
of honor for Ukrainians to remember him, a true Hero Of Ukraine."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: The new book published in Ukraine by Den, "Day and Eternity
Of James Mace" is available from the www.ArtUkraine.com Information
Service (ARTUIS) in either Ukrainian or English. If you are interested in
obtaining information about purchasing the book please send an e-mail
to ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. [Editor]
=============================================================
Send in a letter-to-the-editor today. Let us hear from you.
=============================================================
4. "INTELLECTUAL EUROPE ON THE UKRAINIAN GENOCIDE"
Books devoted to the tragedy of the manmade famine
published in Italy and Ukraine

By Nadia Tysiachna, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest in English, #27
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, 13 September 2005

On September 5 the Art and Culture Center of National University Kyiv-Mohyla
Academy hosted the presentation of Death of the Land. Holodomor in Ukraine
of 1932-33, published under the editorship of the distinguished Italian
historians Gabriele de Rosa and Francesca Lomastro.

The book is based on the proceedings of the international conference on the
tragedy of the Ukrainian Holodomor, which was held in October 2003 at the
Institute of Social and Religious History of Vicenza. Even at this late date
Robert Conquest's book, The Harvest of Sorrow, had not been published in
Italy. Translated into Italian, it had gathered dust for 18 years and was
finally published only in the wake of this international symposium.

The conference in Vicenza drew scholars from the US, Canada, Russia,
Germany, Poland, and Ukraine, including our late colleague James Mace.

Their papers addressed the economic and political aspects of the
Holodomor, including its impact on the psychology, religious beliefs, and
behavior of the Ukrainian nation.

The conference participants endorsed a resolution addressed to the Italian
government and the European Parliament with a request to recognize the
Holodomor as an act of genocide against the Ukrainian people. All of this is
covered in the book, Death of the Land, which was presented in Rome this
past June.

"The presentation was a success," says Oksana Pakhlovska, who chairs the
Ukrainian Language and Literature Department at La Sapienza University in
Rome. "An extremely large number of people attended it. I saw how the
audience was deeply moved by the Ukrainians' tragedy. I sensed the birth of
understanding of the profundity of the Ukrainian reality.

In this way we can overcome our alienation from common European history.
This is the route we must take. After all, long-term European integration
begins with Ukraine's intellectual integration into Europe. Yet I always
stress the word re-integration, because Ukraine has been and always will be
a European country."

The book launch in Kyiv was attended by almost all the conference organizers
and speakers from Italy: Giorgio Cracco, general secretary of the Institute
of Social and Religious History of Vicenza, Francesca Gori, Soviet history
specialist at the Unidea Foundation, Andrea Graziosi, history professor at
the University of Naples, Francesca Lomastro, research fellow at the
Institute for Social and Religious History of Vicenza, along with Italy's
Ambassador to Ukraine Fabio Fabbri and director of the Italian Culture
Institute in Ukraine Nicola Franco Balloni.

The Ukrainian participants of the Vicenza conference represented Ukraine:
the historians Yury Shapoval and Stanislav Kulchytsky, Ukrainian
parliamentary advisor for international issues Yuriy Shcherbak, National
University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy president Vyacheslav Briukhovetsky,
Kyiv Mohyla Academy professor Yuriy Mytsyk, and others.

Addressing the audience, Andrea Graziosi cited the horrible statistics of
the Ukrainian Holodomor, which the Italians had obtained in the 1930s. Prof.
Graziosi is the author of Letters from Kharkiv, a book based on reports sent
by Italian diplomats in the Soviet Union to their government. Proposals to
translate and publish Graziosi's book in Ukrainian were discussed.

Both the Ukrainian and foreign speakers often mentioned the American-born
James Mace, who revealed to the world the horrible truth about the famine in
Ukraine. They recalled his work as staff director of the US Commission on
the Ukraine Famine, his tenure at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, and his memorable
speech at the conference in Vicenza.

Days before the book launch in Kyiv, The Day published a bilingual
Ukrainian-English book, Day and Eternity of James Mace, a compilation
of some of the late Dr. Mace's best materials along with reminiscences by
people who knew him, including Kateryna Yushchenko, Vyacheslav
Briukhovetsky, Stanislav Kulchytsky, Yury Shapoval, and many others.

"When Ukraine tried to raise the issue of recognizing the Holodomor as an
act of genocide, we found active support in Italy, in no small degree owing
to the extensive research and educational efforts undertaken by Italian
scholars," says The Day's chief editor Larysa Ivshyna, adding, "The book
contains materials that were published in our newspaper.

In particular, in his October 21, 2003, article entitled 'Intellectual
Europe on Ukrainian Genocide,' James Mace wrote about the conference in
Vicenza. I would like to present this book to the Italian scholars and thank
them for their efforts." In return, the director of the Italian Culture
Institute in Ukraine, Nicola Franco Balloni presented Larysa Ivshyna with
the book, Death of the Land. The Holodomor in Ukraine of 1932-33.

"I am very pleased that you joined our presentation. These two books have a
common subject. After all, securing the international community's
recognition of the 1932-33 Holodomor in Ukraine as an act of genocide
against the Ukrainian people was the lifework of James Mace," Balloni said.

The Ukrainian speakers discussed the significance of the Italian scholars'
efforts. Ivan Dziuba, a scholar from the Ukrainian National Academy of
Sciences, said, "We have very many studies on this subject. However, it is
important that this is the standpoint of Italian scholars, especially now
that the question of recognizing the 1932-33 Holodomor as an act of genocide
against the Ukrainian nation will be raised once again at the UN assembly in
2007.

In general, it seems to me that we must find a way of commemorating those
Italian diplomats who were truthfully informing their government about the
situation in Ukraine in the 1930s. Perhaps we should include their names in
Ukrainian encyclopedias?"

After the international conference in Vicenza, the Institute of Social and
Religious History of Vicenza has continued to focus on the histories of
Central and Eastern European nations, especially Ukraine. According to Prof.
Graziosi, on October 12 Rome will host a seminar on the Ukrainian Holodomor,
to which leading Ukrainian scholars have been invited. -30-
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5. PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE: DECREE N 1087/2005, ON ADDITIONAL
MEASURES FOR HONORING AND PERPETUATING THE MEMORY OF
THE VICTIMS OF POLITICAL REPRESSIONS AND FAMINES IN UKRAINE

President of Ukraine Decree N 1087/2005
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, July 11, 2005, in Ukrainian
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), Number 560, Article 5
[English translation by The Action Ukraine Report (AUR)]
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, September 15, 2005

On additional measures for honoring and perpetuating the memory of the
victims of political repressions and famines in Ukraine

To perpetuate the memory of victims of political repressions and famines in
Ukraine, to provide a profound understanding of the historical past of the
Ukrainian nation, its longstanding fight for the renewal of its nationhood,
and also to encourage the Ukrainian society and especially its youth to
pay closer attention to the tragic pages in its history

I d e c r e e:

1. To Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine:

a) to resolve the question of the creation of the Ukrainian National
Memory Institute by 26 November, this year's Day of Remembrance of the
victims of political repressions and famine's.

For this purpose in particular:

By August 15, 2005, create an interdepartmental working group on the
creation of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute, the preparation of
proposals on its structure and main directions in its activity. This working
group should be created taking into consideration the proposals of the
Ukrainian National Academy of Science, the Ukrainian Voluntary
Cultural-Educational Human Rights Charitable Association "Memorial"
named after V.Stus, the Association of Researchers of Famines in Ukraine,
the All-Ukrainian Association of Political Prisoners and Repressed People.

This group should include leading scientists, renowned experts,
representatives of non-governmental organizations who carry out research
on political repressions and famines;

in accordance with the established order, provide a solution for the
location of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute in the center of Kyiv;

b) in accordance with the established order, make proposals for
giving national status to the State Historical-Memorial Reserve "Brykivski
Mohyly" by August 1, 2005;

c) in accordance with the established order, prepare and introduce for
the consideration by Verkhovna Rada a bill on political-juridical appraisal
of famines in the history of the Ukrainian nation.

2. To Security Service of Ukraine, State Archive Committee of Ukraine -

to provide all necessary assistance to the representatives of
non-governmental organizations, scientific institutes and organizations,
as well as scientists in accessing appropriate archives pertaining to
political repressions and famines in Ukraine and in publishing such
documents.

3. To the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea,
regional, Kyiv and Sevastopil municipal state administrations with the
assistance of non-governmental organizations that research political
repressions and famines:

in 2005-2006 take measures on the study and appropriate enumeration
of the burial places of victims of political repressions, as well as on the
erection of monuments and memorial's;

with the assistance of schoolchildren and students organize work on the
search for mass grave sites of victims of political repressions and famines;

support the establishment of museums, the formation of museum collections,
the organization of permanent expositions of historical events connected
with political repressions and famines in Ukraine.

4. To the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine with the assistance of
non-governmental organizations that carry out research on political
repressions and famines, also with the assistance of representatives of
the Ukrainian community abroad :

in accordance with the established order arrange the measures on the
activization of the search for and investigation of mass grave sites of
Ukrainians on the territories of foreign countries who died as a result of
political repressions .

V. Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
Kyiv, July 11, 2005; N 1087/2005
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: According to information in Kyiv last week the interdepartmental
working group on the creation of the Ukrainian National Memory Institute
has not yet been appointed. Editor
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6. UKRAINE DEREGULATION: MORE THAN JUST TALK

LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR:
By Patrick Rader, Kyiv, Ukraine
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No. 560, Article 6
Washington, D.C., Thursday, September 15, 2005

Dear Morgan: I would like to respond to two articles that appeared
on the AUR. I would be honored if you were able to post my response.

I would like to offer an alternative opinion of the Government of Ukraine's
efforts to deregulate the economy since January 2005 by responding to Dr.
Aslund's critiques "The End of the Orange Revolution" and "UKRAINE:
FROM REVOLUTION TO EVOLUTION - Why Tymoshenko's Figures
Didn't Add Up".[AUR #557 and #558 respectively].

The following quotes are misleading: "So far, no significant deregulation
has occurred in spite of much talk about it." and "SECOND, a long prepared
draft omnibus law abolishing some 3,600 regulations is ready to be sent to
parliament." I'll address the second statement first by saying that no such
law exists.

However, the law "On the Business Permit System" was adopted by Ukraine's
parliament on September 6, 2005. President Yushchenko should sign this law
any day now and one of the results will be that roughly 1,500 regulations
will be reviewed during the six months after its publication and they will
be either repealed or amended.

Deregulation or regulatory reform is best done using a systemic approach
and this law is a fine example.

Regarding the first statement, foreign media and "experts" have been
consistently ignoring the most rapid and innovative regulatory reform effort
currently operating in the world.

Dr. Aslund is not the only expert to mischaracterize the Government of
Ukraine's (GOU) efforts as all talk and no action but his two articles are
the catalyst for this response. Interestingly enough, the Ukrainian press
has been vigorously and accurately reporting the facts and the potential
impact on the business environment.

Here a few undisputed facts:

7 regions of Ukraine began to implement quick deregulation efforts with the
private sector by order of governors and mayors between March and May
of 2005.

In May and June 2005, President Yuschenko signed Decree No. 779 "On
Liberalization of Entrepreneurial Activity and State Support for
Entrepreneurship" and Decree No. 901 "On Measures to Ensure
Implementation of State Regulatory Policy" which in effect applied to the
national level and remaining oblast authorities the quick deregulation
methodology being used in the 7 regions.

The President's decrees were followed by a series of instructions from the
Prime Ministers office and the Cabinet of Ministers that reinforced the
decrees and set a deadline of August 31, 2005.

The objective of the GOU's actions was to undertake a quick review of
current regulations from June through August with regard to their
consistency with principles of Ukraine's Law on Regulatory Policy in the
Sphere of Economic Activity - a law that is consistent with OECD best
practices for regulatory policy - and eliminate unnecessary and ineffective
regulations to rapidly improve the business environment.

This is a necessary first step in what should probably be a three tier
review. National and local regulatory authorities, local self-governance
authorities, representatives of business, employer, and consumer
associations, and academic institutions were all involved in the review
process.

After reviewing over 9,866 regulations, 5,599 (56.8%) were found not to be
consistent with the Law on Regulatory Policy and will be amended or
repealed by the government. In addition, 66 Presidential Decrees were
found to be inconsistent with Ukraine's regulatory policy and all of them
should be repealed.

At the municipal level, 5,100 local regulations were reviewed and
authorities will repeal or amend 1,753 (34.3%) of them. I would characterize
these results as more than talking about deregulation.

Moreover, Ukraine's national and local government should be applauded for
their heroic effort during what is supposed to be a slow period in their
part of the world. They should be encouraged and supported by foreign
experts and media in their effort to undertake the next steps in this
process, not discouraged by unfounded criticism and, what seems to be,
deliberate failure to recognize what they have accomplished.

If foreign experts or media want detailed facts about the GOU's
accomplishments on regulatory reform this summer and plans for the future,
they might want to interview Andrey Dashkevitch, Head of the State
Committee for Regulatory Policy and Entrepreneurship and Ksenia Lyapina,
Head of the Council of Entrepreneurs under the Cabinet of Ministers,
Member of Parliament, and Advisor to President Yushchenko.

They and their respective teams have been spearheading Ukraine's
regulatory reform effort since February 2005.

Regards,

Patrick Rader, Kyiv, Ukraine (orader@yahoo.com)
=============================================================
7. TELENOR'S VIMPELCOM BUYS UKRAINIAN RADIO SYSTEMS
FOR 205 MILLION USD

AFX Europe (Focus), Moscow, Russia, Thu, Sep 15, 2005

MOSCOW (AFX) - Telenor ASA's 29.9 pct-owned Russian affiliate
VimpelCom late Wednesday bought Ukrainian RadioSystems for 206.5
mln usd.

"VimpelCom's shareholders have agreed overwhelmingly with management's
proposals to expand into Ukraine by voting in favor of the company's
acquisition of the Ukrainian telecommunications company Ukraine Radio
Systems (URS)," the statement said.

The purchase had long been delayed owing to a disagreement between
VimpelCom's two main shareholders, Russia's Alfa Group and Norway's
largest telecom operator Telenor, which is 53.2-pct owned by the
Norwegian state.

Telenor, which controls Ukraine's second largest mobile phone operator
Kyivstar, was opposed to VimpelCom's acquisition of URS, while Alfa
Group was backing it. -30-
=============================================================
8. RADISSON SAS OPENS KIEV HOTEL

By Roger Bray, Financial Times
London, UK, Thu, September 15 2005

Kiev has a new hotel. Radisson SAS claims to be the first worldwide
chain to open a property in the Ukraine capital. The 255-room hotel is
in the city's diplomatic district.

Rooms have internet connections and satellite television. Conference
facilities include a main room with space for 230 delegates in a
theatre-style layout. The hotel also has parking, two restaurants and a
fitness centre. -30-
=============================================================
9. RUSSIA'S ALFA GROUP CLAIMS VICTORY IN
UKRAINE TELECOMS BATTLE

By Arkady Ostrovsky inMoscow and Paivi Munterin Stockholm
Financial Times, London, UK, Thu, September 15 2005

Alfa Group, one of Russia's largest and most aggressive investors, yesterday
claimed an important victory in its battle with Telenor, Norway's telecom
operator, over the expansion into Ukraine of Vimpelcom,
Russias second-largest mobile operator.

Alfa, which controls 33 per cent of Vimpelcom, said minority shareholders
had backed its proposal to expand into the Ukrainian market and had approved
Vimpelcom''s $200m acquisition of Ukraine Radio Systems, a mobile operator.

Telenor, which owns 26 per cent of Vimpelcom as well as a majority stake in
Kiyevstar, a leading Ukrainian operator, had tried to block the acquisition
arguing the price was too high.

Alfa alleged that Telenor was trying to protect its market share in the
Ukrainian market and had acted against the interests of other Vimpelcom
shareholders.

To resolve the dispute, Alfa had called an extraordinary general meeting
where it gained 51.2 per cent of votes supporting its argument for buying
URS. Alexei Reznikovich, the head of Alfa Telecom, the telecommunications
arm of Alfa Group, said: "This is a victory won not by using 'Russian
methods' but by acting in a civilised and legal way in a dispute with a
western partner." He said Vimpelcom had a pre-arranged option to buy URS
for $206m and assume its $26m of debt.

However, Telenor yesterday disputed the result of the EGM, alleging that it
did not comply with Russian law and should have been called by the board of
directors, rather than by one of the shareholders. "We sent a letter to
Vimpelcom management and to the EGM, saying that the meeting was not
convened in accordance with Russian law."

David Haines, the chairman of Vimpelcom's board of directors, said: "I
regret Telenor's current refusal to accept the decision of our
shareholders." Mr Haines has called a board meeting tomorrow to discuss
the EGM's decision and Telenor's protest.

Alexei Yakovitsky, a telecom analyst for UFG, a Moscow-based brokerage, said
that while the purchase of URS made strategic sense for Vimpelcom, "the EGM
vote may well create more problems than it will resolve and cannot be viewed
as the optimal way of overcoming the current differences between the two
strategic shareholders". -30-
=============================================================
10. JUSTICE MINISTRY RECOMMENDING THAT PGO FILE LAWSUIT
DEMANDING THAT PRYVATBANK GROUP RETURN 26% OF
NIKOPOL FERROALLOY PLANT TO THE GOVERNMENT

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, Sep 14, 2005

KYIV - The Justice Ministry is recommending that the Prosecutor-General's
Office (PGO) file a lawsuit demanding that the Pryvatbank group return
ownership of the 26% stake in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant that is presently
under the control of the group to the state. Acting Justice Minister Roman
Zvarych announced this in an interview with the Kommersant Ukraina
publication.

"26% of the shares in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant are in the hands of the
Pryvat group, and the ministry is convinced that it should also be returned
to the state," Zvarych said.

According to him, the Justice Ministry prepared a draft of the relevant
lawsuit in August and sent it to the Prosecutor-General's Office with the
recommendation that the lawsuit be filed. Zvarych said that the
Prosecutor-General's Office has not yet done so.

Zvarych also said that the Justice Ministry possessed documents
demonstrating that 50% + 1 share in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant presently
belongs to the State Property Fund, as a result of which he is surprised by
the position of the State Property Fund's Chairwoman Valentyna Semeniuk,
who denies this fact.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Supreme Court refused on September
8 to consider Prydniprovia's appeal against the High Economic Court's ruling
that the sale of 50% + 1 share in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant to the
Prydniprovia consortium was illegal.

The High Economic Court declared on August 26 that the privatization of 50%
+ 1 share in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant by the Prydniprovia consortium was
illegal and ruled that the agreements between the State Property Fund and
the Prydniprovia consortium on sale of 50% stake + 1 share in the plant to
the Prydniprovia consortium were invalid from the moment they were signed in
2003.

The State Property Fund sold 25% of the shares in the Nikopol ferroalloy
plant to the Prydniprovia consortium for UAH 205 million in May 2003 and
sold 25% + 1 share in the plant to it for UAH 205.5 million in August 2003.
The Interpipe corporation, which was founded by businessman and
Parliamentary Deputy Viktor Pinchuk, controls Prydniprovia.

Bipe Co. Ltd. (Dnipropetrovsk), which has links with Interpipe, bought 26%
of the shares in the Nikopol ferroalloy plant from the State Property Fund
for UAH 53 million in July 2003 and later sold 13% of the shares in the
plant to the Pryvatbank group. -30-
=============================================================
11. PRESIDENT CHARGES STATE SECRETARY OLEH RYBACHUK AND
FIRST DEPUTY STATE SECRETARY IVAN VASIUNYK TO DRAFT
PROGRAM TO IMPROVE UKRAINE'S PRESIDENCY

Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, September 15, 2005

KYIV - President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko charged State Secretary
Oleh Rybachuk with drafting a program on improvement of Ukraine's
presidency before January 1, 2006.

First deputy State Secretary Ivan Vasiunyk was commissioned to head
a working group to elaborate the above-mentioned document and table
proposals to coordinate the activity of the President's Secretariat office.

This group will be joined by President's advisers, chiefs of main services
of the President's Secretariat, think tanks' representatives and
international experts. -30-
===========================================================
12. USA READY TO ASSIST UKRAINE IN ITS MEETING EUROPEAN
NORMS AND STANDARDS, US UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE PAULA
DOBRIANSKY NOTES WHILE MEETING WITH BORYS TARASYUK

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 15, 2005

KYIV - Within the framework of the 60th jubilee session of the UN General
Assembly in New York acting Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk met with US
Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Paula
Dobriansky, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry's press service told Ukrinform.

Borys Tarasyuk briefed Ms Dobriansky about the internal political situation
in Ukraine, having noted that Ukraine's foreign political priorities, that
is, membership in the European and Euro-Atlantic institutions, integration
with the world economy and active regional politics remain unchanged.

The sides discussed a wide range of matters of bilateral relations,
particularly, ways of the USA's further assistance in implementing reforms
in Ukraine. Paula Dobriansky stated US readiness to comprehensively
assist Ukraine in its meeting European norms and standards. -30-
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13. ROMAN ZVARYCH CALLS LEONID KRAVCHUK'S STATEMENT ON
BORIS BEREZOVSKY FINANCING ELECTION CAMPAIGN
OF VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AS MISINFORMATION

Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 15, 2005

KYIV - Acting Justice Minister Roman Zvarych called "very strange
misinformation" a Wednesday statement by SDPU(U) faction leader
Leonid Kravchuk on Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky's financing the
election campaign of Viktor Yushchenko.

As Roman Zvarych told journalists on Thursday, he was very surprised over
the statement and said that Leonid Kravchuk must provide materials to
confirm his statements.

According to the acting Justice Minister, the supposition that Berezovsky,
who resides in England, could have financed the presidential campaign in
Ukraine is an absolute nonsense. May be, the story is about transfer of
means to aid the orange revolution, but anyway, documents proving this fact
must be given.

Concerning Mr Kravchuk's conviction that if his information is confirmed,
the Verkhovna Rada will start the procedure of Viktor Yushchenko's
impeachment, Roman Zvarych noted that the impeachment procedure is
based on rulings by an ad hoc investigation commission of the Parliament
and a decision by the Supreme Court, which is passed on the basis of
materials proving a crime, in compliance with the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

Taking into consideration, that there is no crime from the juridical point
of view, the statement on impeachment is absolutely groundless, Roman
Zvarych disclosed.

Mr Berezovsky in an interview to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper on
Wednesday denied the statement by Leonid Kravchuk. -30-
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14. FIRST LADY KATERYNA YUSHCHENKO VISITS BURN CENTER
Lack of antiseptic boxes, respiration equip, blood preparations
International assistance needed

Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, September 12, 2005

KYIV - Accompanied by Ute-Henriette Ohoven, UNESCO Special
Ambassador for the Children in Need, Fransoise Pinzon-gil, UNESCO
Program Expert, Tetyana Izhevska, Deputy Head of the National UNESCO
Committee, and Mykola Polishchyuk, acting Health Minister, Kateryna
Yushchenko visited the children's ward at the Kyiv Burn Center.

The guests inspected the center and spoke with doctors, little patients, and
their parents. The President's wife presented an icon depicting Virgin Mary
to the center "so that she should guard all children and doctors."

This visit is consistent with Victor Yushchenko's intentions to build a
network of modern burn centers throughout Ukraine. The aim of the visit is
to analyze needs of the center and find ways to internationally support the
initiative to improve existing centers and found new ones. According to
WHO experts, Ukraine currently needs about 6-8 regional centers.

The children's ward of the Kyiv Burn Center has 35 beds. Every year, 600
children undergo treatment there. Today, about 80% of the patients come
from different regions of Ukraine. The biggest problem of the center is the
lack of special antiseptic boxes, respiration equipment, blood preparations
and cell materials.

The Ukraine 3000 Foundation regularly helps the center. Every year, almost
10.5 thousand Ukrainian kids suffer from burns. -30-
=============================================================
15.UKRAINE, INTERNATIONAL LABOUR ORGANIZATION SIGN AGREEMENT
ON FIGHTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING, ILLEGAL MIGRATION

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1058 gmt 14 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Sep 14, 2005

KIEV - Acting Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko and the head of the
International Labour Organization [ILO] mission in Ukraine, Jeffrey
Labovitz, today concluded an agreement on cooperation in preventing the
illegal transport of migrants into Ukraine and human trafficking.

The agreement also foresees [2] the voluntary repatriation of illegal
migrants from Ukraine and [3] the voluntary repatriation of Ukrainian
victims of human trafficking from abroad; [4] the collection, use and
distribution of information on migration; [5] the holding of joint
conferences, seminars and other technical cooperation events on migration
issues; [6] the holding of training courses on preventing human trafficking
and illegal migration for officials and individuals undergoing training in
Interior Ministry bodies; [7] the formation and operation of consulting
centres for migrants.

This agreement is concluded for two years and is automatically extended to
the next two-year period unless one of the sides informs the other in
writing through diplomatic channels of its decision to suspend it at least
six months before it elapses.

Lutsenko expressed the hope that the agreement signed by the two sides
will open new prospects and benefit both sides.

Labovitz said that, thanks to the efforts of the new leadership of the
Interior Ministry and Yuriy Lutsenko in particular, Ukraine has made more
progress in resolving the issue of combating human trafficking and
preventing illegal migration than under his predecessors.

Labovitz assured the Ukrainian side that the ILO would do its utmost to help
Ukrainian law enforcers to resolve the problem areas mentioned above.
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16. UKRAINE'S FIRST LADY VISITS ONCOLOGY INSTITUTE CLINIC
Lack of equipment to diagnose cancer in early stages
International assistance needed

Press office of the President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 13, 2005

KYIV - Kateryna Yushchenko visited the children's ward of the Oncology
Institute Clinic in Kyiv to study its problems and find ways to
internationally help the Institute.

She was accompanied by Ute-Henriette Ohoven, UNESCO Special
Ambassador for the Children in Need, Fransoise Pinzon-gil, UNESCO
Program Expert, Tetyana Izhevska, Deputy Head of the National UNESCO
Committee, Serhiy Shalimov, Director of the Oncology Institute, Dmytro
Kayukov, Chief Doctor of the Oncology Institute Clinic, and Hrygoriy
Klymnyuk, Head of the Children's Ward.

The UNESCO representatives are visiting Ukraine to analyze existing
problems to develop specific programs to help the children. The guests
inspected the children's ward. They spoke with several patients and their
parents.

Answering Kateryna Yushchenko's questions, the doctors told her their
biggest problem was the lack of equipment to diagnose cancer in early
stages. Very often, parents and school doctors find tumors because
pediatricians do not pay attention to such alarming symptoms.

About 3.500 patients from all corners of Ukraine undergo treatment at the
Oncology Institute Clinic every year. About 400 patients with malignant
tumors of liver, kidney and brain are operated on there. The state budget
provides for only fifteen hryvnyas on one bed.

The clinic has outdated diagnostic equipment and bad laboratories for
immune-chemical tests. -30-
=============================================================
17. WESTERN UKRAINE TO GET NEW HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL
Tribute to the many Jews shot to death here by Nazi forces

Federation of Jewish Communities of the CIS
Moscow and New York, Friday, September 9, 2005

IVANO-FRANKOVSK, Ukraine - Not far from the city of Ivano-Frankovsk in
western Ukraine, a new Holocaust memorial is soon to be inaugurated.

The opening ceremony is to take place on October 16th in the village of
Solotvino, at which time participants will pay tribute to the many Jews who
were shot to death here by Nazi forces during World War Two.

According to Rabbi Moshe Kolesnik, the Chief Rabbi of Ivano-Frankovsk
and a Chabad Lubavitch emissary, this project was initiated by Mr. Taik,
who is currently residing in Moscow. The donor's relatives were among
those who fell victim to the Holocaust.

"They died at the hands of Fascist extremists, having been viciously shot to
death in their native village," explained Rabbi Kolesnik. "This monument is
being erected in their honor and in memory of those souls lost to those
tragic events."

The memorial will be installed next to the building that formerly housed the
local Synagogue, on the main square in nearby Solotvino.

The Jewish community of Ivano-Frankovsk is a member of the Federation
of Jewish Communities of Ukraine. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.fjc.ru/news/newsArticle.asp?AID=311531
=============================================================
18. UKRAINE'S FORMER STATE SECRETARY OLEKSANDR ZINCHENKO
SEES PRO-YUSHCHENKO MOVEMENT IN DECLINE

INTERVIEW: with former State Secretary Oleksandr Zinchenko
By Oleksandr Chalenko, Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 10 Sep 05; p 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Sep 15, 2005

President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine People's Union (OUPU) is not a
political force, but a business club, former State Secretary Oleksandr
Zinchenko has said in an interview with an opposition daily. He denied ever
having been a member of the party.

Zinchenko declared that Yushchenko should not have dismissed the entire
cabinet, but he praised caretaker Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov as "a very
good administrator and a sound economic manager". Zinchenko named
various officials whose conduct was not, in his view, beyond reproach.

The following is the text of the interview, conducted by Oleksandr Chalenko
and published in the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya on 10 September under
the title "Oleksandr Zinchenko: 'The president acted inappropriately.' The
former state secretary tells Segodnya about Poroshenko's corruption, the
punch-up in the secretariat and Yushchenko's mistake"; subheadings have
been inserted editorially:

Oleksandr Zinchenko has given the Prosecutor-General's Office and the SBU
[Security Service of Ukraine] the first package of documents on corruption
among Viktor Yushchenko's closest associates.

Let us recall that the former state secretary has accused Petro Poroshenko,
secretary of the NSDC [National Security and Defence Council] of corruption,
as well as Mykola Martynenko, head of the [propresidential] Our Ukraine
faction in the Supreme Council [parliament] and Oleksandr Tretyakov, the
president's principal aide (currently suspended during an investigation - up
to 20 September).

A Segodnya correspondent managed to talk to Zinchenko himself yesterday
and to question him about the details of the corruption scandal, about the
dismissal of the government and about how the former state secretary sees
his own future.

FORMER SECURITY SUPREMO TO FACE EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION

[Chalenko] Oleksandr Oleksiyovych, what actually prompted you to blow the
whistle?
[Zinchenko] One could have turned a blind eye towards the processes that
were in progress around the president. They could be camouflaged as various
"friendly gestures", but, obviously, they were developing. All this led to
the beginnings of conflict. It's just that some of my colleagues decided
that they could venture to use their official position to further their
business interests.
The cynicism and crudeness with which Poroshenko, a civil servant, exerted
pressure on the courts, for example, (such instances have been recorded)
left me with no option other than to tell the truth about that and to do it
publicly. Let the prosecutor's office deal with it now. I confirm, Mr
Poroshenko, that today there exist not just documents, but also the evidence
of people who are prepared to give testimony.

[Chalenko] Are you now prepared to name them?
[Zinchenko] No, because they would immediately come under tremendous
pressure.

YUSHCHENKO'S FIRST AIDE SAID TO THROW HIS WEIGHT AROUND

[Chalenko] Let's talk about the punch-up provoked in the president's
residence by his aide Oleksandr Tretyakov. What happened there?
[Zinchenko] Let me put it this way. In the spring, when one of the
bodyguards tried to speak to Mr Tretyakov and ask him to show his ID, the
officer was beset not only by foul language, but also by physical action.
That can also be confirmed.

[Chalenko] Didn't the officer have the bruises photographed?
[Zinchenko] My point is this: is it really a question of the blows? I
maintain, as a matter of principle, that it's not a question of blows or
bruises. The point lies elsewhere. Just imagine: it is the principal aide
of - I stress - the president (!) who permits himself to behave in this way!
I want to say that that officer will also testify in the case.

[Chalenko] Did you report the incident to the president?
[Zinchenko] Yes.

[Chalenko] And what was his reaction?
[Zinchenko] The president's reaction was negative, but, it would seem, not
enough to make Mr Tretyakov change his language or behaviour, since he
has used foul language not only to this officer, but to other people too.

YUSHCHENKO ACTED "INAPPROPRIATELY" IN BACKING OFFICIALS

[Chalenko] The president has stated that, in his opinion, your claims about
corruption are unfounded... [ellipsis as published].
[Zinchenko] The president shouldn't have said in public that there is no
such evidence. That should be said not by him, but by a court, a prosecutor
or an SBU investigator. This "predetermination" is impermissible in any
official, and even more so in the case of the president. They may well try
to get the case dropped.

[Chalenko] Why, in fact, has he sided with Poroshenko, Martynenko and
Tretyakov in this quarrel?
[Zinchenko] I said at the press conference that I trusted the president and
still do trust him. But, in this instance, the president has acted
inappropriately in defending his officials.

OUPU IS JUST A "BUSINESS CLUB"

[Chalenko] What do you think of the OUPU and the statement made by the
presidium of its political council warning all political forces against
cooperating with you if they want to have anything to do with the OUPU? Are
you actually a member of that party or not?
[Zinchenko] As for that statement, it was conceived in the spirit of 1937
[i.e. the Stalinist period]. The OUPU is an example of how not to build a
party. It isn't a political force, but a business club that accumulates
influence, including administrative influence, but doesn't develop the
political instruments.
I've never been a member of that body. I haven't written any application to
the OUPU [to become a member] and haven't got a membership card.

YUSHCHENKO SHOULD HAVE FIRED SEVERAL MINISTERS,
NOT WHOLE GOVERNMENT

[Chalenko] What do you think about the dismissal of the government?
[Zinchenko] It was unwarranted. The president should have fired several
key figures.

[Chalenko] Who precisely?
[Zinchenko] Let me put it this way. I don't subscribe to any positive
appraisals of the functioning of the Transport Ministry... [ellipsis as
published]

[Chalenko] [Yevhen] Chervonenko. That's one... [ellipsis as published]
[Zinchenko] I think we have problems in the humanitarian area... [ellipsis
as published].

[Chalenko] You mean [Mykola] Tomenko [the former deputy prime minister
for social and humanitarian policy]?
[Zinchenko] No, I mean the Culture Ministry.

[Chalenko] Oh, I see - Oksana Bilozir [the culture and tourism minister].
[Zinchenko] In fact, seven or eight ministers should have been fired, as
well as a number of governors. I don't want to name everyone, but it was
necessary to dismiss them either because they lacked professionalism or
because they were combining business interests with state service.

PRAISE FOR CARETAKER PREMIER: NEW COALITION EXPECTED

[Chalenko] What do you think of [Yuriy] Yekhanurov [the acting prime
minister]?
[Zinchenko] He's a very good administrator and a sound economic manager,
and has proved his worth previously in various state posts. But I should
like to warn him as a member of the OUPU political council not to succumb
to the temptation of using budget money in the election campaign.

[Chalenko] What about your political future? Who will you go into the
elections with - [former Prime Minister Yuliya] Tymoshenko or Pora [a former
pro-Yushchenko youth movement, now a political party]?
[Zinchenko] The political spectrum will change dramatically in September
and October. A coalition will come into being. You can call it whatever you
like - a coalition of the progressive, patriotic or healthy forces in
society that will set themselves very precise tasks.

[Chalenko] In other words, it may also be a coalition of [Tymoshenko's
party] Fatherland, Pora and others... [ellipsis as published].
[Zinchenko] Absolutely.

[Chalenko] What do you think about cooperation with [the presidential
election loser Viktor] Yanukovych's Party of the Regions?
[Zinchenko] As far as the Regions are concerned, there are normal people
there as well as some who aren't that normal - just as there are in the
OUPU.

[Chalenko] Will political reform be carried out?
[Zinchenko] No doubt about it. It's inevitable. We must do everything
possible to see that it doesn't go into reverse.

[Chalenko] Do you think the authorities will manage to raise the voting
threshold [for entry into parliament] to 7 per cent?
[Zinchenko] No, because, if they do, the OUPU won't get through it, since
its popularity is falling steeply. -30-
[The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service Formats]
=============================================================
19. INTERVIEW WITH JAMES SHEER FOR DEFENCE EXPRESS

INTERVIEW: With James Sherr
Defence Express, Interview on August 20, 2005
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, September 6, 2005

1. How do you assess the activity of the deliberative body of the
President, the National Security and Defence Council, from the time that
Petro Poroshenko was appointed Secretary? Is it not the case that the
NSDC has been transformed from a body obliged to solve problems of
national security into a Council of National Insecurity?

'Council of National Insecurity' is a good turn of phrase, but things are
not as bad as that. Nevertheless, they are not good. The root of the
problem stems from the President's decree of 19 February, which gives
unprecedented powers to the Secretary of the NSDC. He cannot possibly
exercise all of these powers, at least not effectively, but he is being
tempted to exercise them, and you don't have to read between the lines to
see that this is causing a good deal of trouble.

On the one hand, the Secretary now has licence to intrude into general
economic policy, the core sphere of prime ministerial responsibility. In my
view, if the President and Prime Minister cannot agree about economic
policy, they need to 'have it out', and if they still cannot agree, the
President needs to assert his authority. But this most un-Soviet of
presidents should not resort to the Soviet stratagem of balancing one
ambitious individual against another. In practice, such a 'balance'
produces paralysis, not to say intrigue, confusion, demoralisation and, in
the end, total uncertainty as to what the policy of the state really is.
Hasn't Ukraine had enough 'administrative order' of this kind?

On the other hand, the expanded role of the NSDC takes it away from one of
its traditional, core tasks: coordinating the programmes and activities of
the country's force structures. Not surprisingly, this is not being
addressed with sufficient coherence and focus. One should not forget that
the job of the NSDC is to provide high-level coordination. This is the
opposite of intrusion into departmental minutiae, not to say more serious
matters that should be left to ministers.

The NSDC should be the rudder of a defence and security system-the
stabiliser that keeps its motors, the country's force structures, pulling
together rather than separately. There can be no coordination without a
division of labour. The NSDC needs to respect this division of labour as
much as anyone else. [Volodymyr] Horbulin [NSDC Secretary from 1996-9]
understood this perfectly, but it seems that several people in power today
do not understand it.

2. In your opinion, is it well founded of Poroshenko to state that the
force structures and law enforcement bodies of Ukraine are not capable of
responding to new threats and that they sometimes create threats to national
security themselves? Do we really need fundamental changes in Military
Doctrine and strategy?

Where the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces are concerned, Poroshenko's
recent comments accurately describe conditions at the close of the Kuchma
era, despite the fact that between 1999-2004 there were spurts of genuine
reform. But I don't think they fairly take account of what has been done
since January 2005. Grytsenko is both a radical reformer and a thorough
professional. As a result, he has been wise enough to amend the programmes
he inherited, rather than tear them up.

Under Marchuk, many areas of reform-notably force reductions and
professionalisation-were very radical indeed, but they were not always
realistic in the time scales programmed and within given financial
constraints. Grytsenko's amendments to goals and time-scales have, in my
view, been measured, prudent and realistic.

At the same time, where the he could afford to be radical, he has been.
Moreover, he has focused on concrete changes, rather than doctrinal ones.
Since 1991 there has been too great a focus on plans and programmes and
far too little on substance. So, whilst the Military Doctrine is certainly
open to criticism-and I have criticised it myself-effort is now being
placed where it belongs.

3. Earlier in one of your interviews, you said that the struggle for power
at the top weakens the role of the NSDC and, more importantly, complicates
the coordination of reforms in the defence and security sector. Do the
latest declarations of Poroshenko and actions of NSDC members suggest
that your prognosis has come true?

It gives me no pleasure to say that, so far at least, my prognosis has been
right. But before Yushchenko came to power, I was far more optimistic about
what might be accomplished in the first year-so I have been wrong, too!
Apart from what I have already said about the debilitating effects of this
bor'ba za vlast' [struggle for power], there are two other key points.

First, the tasks of high-level leadership are not just to lead and
coordinate, but to provide good ministers with firm, unequivocal and public
support. When it's not provided, conservative, not to say deeply
reactionary interests inside the MOD and other force structures conclude,
'it's OK boys, we can work "normally": i.e., stall, intrigue and sabotage
policy. Criticism and dissent are exceptionally beneficial things, not only
for democracy, but good policy.

But the honourable course for critics is to put their case openly to their
superiors inside their departments. If that doesn't resolve matters, then
the honourable course is to resign and put the case openly before the
parliament and public. Neither the President nor NSDC Secretary should keep
the door open to intriguers lobbying behind the backs of their superiors.

Second-and it is not the first time this point has been made-the challenges
of defence and security sector reform are so arduous that without support
from the highest level, the enterprise will certainly fail. So whatever the
shortcomings of the Secretary of the NSDC, he should not become a scapegoat.
Without active support from the President and Prime Minister, the odds of
success are grim.

4. How do you assess the confrontation between Poroshenko and Tymoshenko
and also between Poroshenko and Grytsenko? To what degree is it serious
from the point of view of national security, and how is this confrontation
likely to unfold?

With respect, I have no interest in it. The duty of outsiders like me, as
well as Ukrainians not embroiled in these disputes, is to focus on the
issues and keep the protagonists focused on them. As long as politics
exists, these sorts of disputes will exist. But in Ukraine and many other
Central European countries, the political process is often hostage to these
disputes. We need to make the process stronger and the role of individual
interests weaker.

5. Have you seen evidence in recent months that the Ukrainian leadership
has the will, ability and competence to conduct in-depth, coordinated and
systematic reforms in the defence sector?

Obviously, they have not proved this yet. But the disappointments of the
past eight months don't prove the opposite either. First, a number of
senior figures have shown commitment, perspective, realism and skill-and
the same is true at mid-level. Second, there is a huge reservoir of talent
still waiting to be tapped. Lamentably, very few departments have
established a systematic personnel policy designed to identify promising,
talented, competent individuals and give them real authority.

Personnel policy needs to be a strategic priority. All regimes that have
been successful in implementing radical change-democratic regimes and
authoritarian regimes-have started with personnel. So, the potential in
Ukraine remains strong, and the realities are not entirely bad. For these
reasons, I am not ready to write off the country's leadership, let alone the
country's prospects.

6. Are defence reforms bringing Ukraine closer to NATO? How do you assess
the activity of the new Minister of Defence, Anatoliy Grytsenko and his team
in reforming the Armed Forces?

I claim no special insight, but I suspect that the professionals inside NATO
are favourably impressed-and for the reasons I have already mentioned. But
they will also be interested to see what degree of presidential,
governmental and parliamentary support Grytsenko receives when he starts to
run into resistance (as I believe he will) from commercial interests who
have a lot to lose from real reform.

After all, the MOD is one of the country's major landowners, and in the past
it has served as a shelter for legal as well as illegal business-not all of
it connected to weapons export. NATO will also be interested to see what
happens to Ukraine's defence budget. In the formative period of reform,
there is no compelling need to increase the budget.

But once the process is truly underway-say in two years time-steady, staged
increases in budget allocations-allocations, not just authorisations-will be
essential. We shouldn't forget that the army is still in a parlous state,
and as this minister knows better than anyone, it is not sustainable in its
present form.

And so, NATO will be interested in two other questions: the creation of
transparent oversight mechanisms-executive and parliamentary-to ensure that
allocations (e.g. for housing) are spent as they should be; and finally,
success of the government's economic policy-which in my view hinges upon
legal reform, tax reform and curbing the power of the country's meddlesome,
rent-seeking bureaucracy.

7. We would like to know your views about Ukraine's attempts to reform the
special services. First of all, is it justifiable to create in the Ministry
of Defence still another intelligence service, based in the General Staff?

If the question relates to military counter-intelligence, then I think a
change of subordination (from the SBU to the MOD) makes sense. The
current subordination dates from the formative days of the VeCheka,
when the osobisti [military counter-intelligence 'specialists'] were first
established.

The target then, during the period of the Civil War, was not so much
external enemies as the Armed Forces themselves. Yet even after the Soviet
power was conclusively established, the scheme survived, and it became one
of the institutionalised expressions of the 'divide and rule' ethos that
characterised the Soviet regime. It always had a deleterious operational
cost, and it fostered distrust between the country's force structures and
within the army itself.

What purpose does such an arrangement serve in a democratic state?
The second reason for changing it is that the prevalent NATO practice-not
uniform, but prevalent-is to place military CI within the Ministry of
Defence or General Staff. If Ukraine is interested in Euro-Atlantic
standards-and eventual NATO membership-then why not adopt this one?

8. Have events confirmed your earlier anxiety that the Chairman of the SBU,
Aleksandr Turchinov, is concentrating power in this service, instead of
weakening and democratising it?

To put things in perspective, three very positive features are apparent in
Turchinov's style and focus. First, he radiates a spirit of
professionalism. Second, he is seriously committed to the fight against
corruption. The SBU's investigation of trans-national criminal structures
in the energy sector is of urgent and paramount importance. Third, he has
been impressively prolific and revealing in his often lengthy commentaries
to the media.

But there is some basis for reflection and even anxiety. First, it is not
clear how the Chairman interprets the legacy of the KGB or whether he is
greatly troubled by it. The unspoken assumption in many of his interviews is
that the SBU already comprises a soundly functioning body of professionals
whose departures from decent standards were due entirely to the pressures
placed upon it by others-by shadow structures and the Kuchma regime-rather
than by its history and the world view and methodology it inherited.

He has a lot to say about reform, but the better part of it is about new
threats and organisational restructuring, rather than practical steps to
overcome the ethos and working culture of the KGB. Decentralising and
democratising power must be a key aspect of this. But so must personnel
policy. To be sure, the overwhelming majority of younger professionals in
the SBU have no KGB background, but 14 years after the collapse of the
USSR, how could it be otherwise?

The question is who their superiors are and what the younger ones learn from
them. In his interview for Zerkalo Nedeli (18-24 June), the Chairman makes
the observation that 'the tasks of defending the country's security have
always stood before the Service. And I believe that inside it there are
specialists who are capable of implementing them; they worked on these
tasks before and wish to do so now'. Is that necessarily a good thing?

There is a practical reason for asking such intrusive questions: NATO will
ask them. It asked them of every candidate country, and the discussions
that took place before their accession were very specific and intrusive
indeed. After all, the Alliance is an alliance. If Ukraine submits an
application to join NATO, there will be questions about the background,
careers and work of senior and mid-level professionals in the service.
And if someone says, 'these are our internal affairs', then in my opinion
Ukraine will be left at peace with its internal affairs and declined
membership.

Then there is a second issue, though it is closely related to the first.
Under the previous regime, Ukraine not only became a deeply corrupt state,
it became (and the term is not mine) a 'blackmail state'. Few in Ukraine
would deny that corrupt relationships-relationships outside or on the
fringes of the law-were inescapable for large numbers of people, especially
for those who sought prosperity or power. After all, if the air is bad, you
still have to breathe! And if corruption was inescapable, so was kompromat.

Who understood the links between official structures, shadow structures and
private individuals better than the SBU? No one. And therefore, collecting
and using kompromat became a basic tool of intelligence, security and
dealing with 'problematic' persons, as it had been in the days of the KGB
UkSSR and USSR. Given the history, skills and knowledge of the SBU, is
there any room to doubt that its future has a direct bearing on the future
of the country?

9. Do you think that, all considered, the reform of the special services
and the creation of an intelligence community will take place on the basis
of democratic principles?

Before answering this, I would be curious to see whether my previous
comments arouse hostility or constructive replies and discussion. -30-
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: James Sherr is a Senior Fellow at the Conflict Studies Research
Centre, UK Defence Academy. The views expressed are those of the
author and not necessarily those of the UK Ministry of Defence.
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