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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"

President Yushchenko's Nominee
YURIY YEKHANUROV ELECTED PRIME MINISTER

"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 567 Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, THURSDAY, September 22, 2005

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

1. NEW PRIME MINISTER ELECTED, BREAKDOWN OF THE YES VOTES TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0800 gmt 22 Sep 05 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Sep 22, 2005 (08:00)

2. RADA APPROVES YEKHANUROV AS PRIME MINISTER
Breakdown of voting for Yekhanurov Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005

3. YUSHCHENKO'S PICK FOR PRIME MINISTER OK'D
By Mara D. Bellaby, Associated Press Writer AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, September 22, 2005

4. YURY YEKHANUROV APPROVED AS PRIME MINISTER IN
REPEATED VOTE: 289 IN FAVOR
ANALYSIS: FirsTnews, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 11:37 AM

5. REGIONS OF UKRAINE SAYS IT BACKED YEKHANUROV BECAUSE
OF AGREEMENT WITH PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO
Ten-item memorandum signed by Yushchenko and Yanukovych Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005 (12:51)

6. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SIGNS COOPERATION PACK
WITH OPPOSITION LEADER YANUKOVYCH UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0916 gmt 22 Sep 05 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, September 22, 2005 (09:16)

7. PARTY LEADER VIKTOR MEDVEDCHUK FORECASTS TYMOSHENKO
WILL GO INTO THE OPPOSITION Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005

8. YUSHCHENKO ORDERS RYBACHUK, FIRST DEPUTY SECRETARY
VASIUNYK TO LEARN ABOUT CLAIMS OF EACH FACTION Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 (09:41)

9. YUSHCHENKO INTRODUCES POST OF PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARIAT
HEAD INSTEAD OF STATE SECRETARY Ukrainian News Agency, Date: September 22, 2005 (12:44)

10. KRAVCHUK INITIATING CREATION OF THE KRAVCHUK BLOC FOR
2006 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 (12:34)

11. UKRAINE, CHINA AGREE ON TERMS OF UKRAINE'S JOINING WTO Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005

12. UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ACCUSED IN REPORTER DEATH By Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press Writer AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday September 21, 2005 1:16 PM

13. UKRAINE: PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION BLAMES LYTVYN IN
GONGADZE'S DEATH By Aleksandra Nenadovic, FirsTnews Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, September 21, 2005 06:17 PM =============================================================
1. NEW PRIME MINISTER ELECTED, BREAKDOWN OF THE YES VOTES

TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0800 gmt 22 Sep 05 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thu, Sep 22, 2005

KYIV - Parliament has supported President Viktor Yushchenko's nominee for prime minister. The acting prime minister, Yuriy Yekhanurov, was confirmed in the post with the backing of 289 MPs in the 450-seat chamber.

The vote came immediately after Yushchenko urged MPs to vote for stability in Ukraine by supporting his nominee. The proceedings were carried live by 5 Kanal television.

The parliament session adjourned immediately after the vote. The following is the breakdown of the Yes votes by party:

Communist Party: 0
Regions of Ukraine party: 50
Our Ukraine: 44
People's Party: 45
Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc: 7
Socialist Party: 25
Ukrainian People's Party: 23
United Ukraine: 3
United Social Democratic Party: 0
Forward, Ukraine: 20
Reforms and Order: 7
Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs: 15 People's Movement of Ukraine (Rukh): 15 People's Democratic Party-Working Ukraine: 13
Unaffiliated: 22
=============================================================
2. RADA APPROVES YEKHANUROV AS PRIME MINISTER
Breakdown of voting for Yekhanurov

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada has approved nomination of Yurii Yekhanurov to the post of the Prime Minister. A total of 289 parliamentary deputies voted in favor of the relevant bill submitted by Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko, with 226 necessary votes.

Yekhanurov's candidacy was backed by the:

[1] Communist Party faction (0 out of 56 votes of MPs),
[2] Regions of Ukraine (50 out of 50),
[3] People's Party (45 out of 47),
[4] Our Ukraine People's Union (44 out of 45),
[5] Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc - (7 out of 41),
[6] Socialist Party (25 out of 25),
[7] Ukrainian People's Party (23 out of 23),
[8] Forward Ukraine! Party (20 out of 20),
[9] Social-Democratic Party of Ukraine (united) (0 out of 20),
[10] Unified Ukraine (3 out of 16),
[11] Reforms and Order party (7 out of 15), [12] Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (15 out of 15), [13] Narodnyi Rukh of Ukraine (15 out of 15), [14] People's Democratic Party and Labor Ukraine Party (13 out of 13) [15] 22 non-partisan MPs out of 28.

During the first voting on September 20, Yekhanurov was supported by all 45 MPs from Our Ukraine, all 25 MPs from the Socialist Party, all 44 MPs from the People's Party, all 15 MPs from the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, and all 20 MPs from Forward Ukraine!

Yekhanurov also received one vote from the Block of Yulia Tymoshenko (from Serhii Holovatyi) out of 40 MPs in this faction, 4 of 19 from the United Ukraine party, 22 of 23 from the Ukrainian People's Party, 14 of 15 from the Narodnyi Rukh of Ukraine, 6 of 15 from Reforms and Order, 3 of 52 from Regions of Ukraine (from Yukhym Zviahylskyi, Volodymyr Boiko and Serhii Matvienkov), 11 of 14 from the People's Democratic Party and Labor Ukraine, and 13 of 26 from non-faction deputies.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on September 8 Yuschenko dismissed the entire Cabinet of Ministers led by Yulia Tymoshenko and appointed chairman of the Dnipropetrovsk regional state administration Yekhanurov as acting Prime Minister. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service] =============================================================
3. YUSHCHENKO'S PICK FOR PRIME MINISTER OK'D

By Mara D. Bellaby, Associated Press Writer AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, September 22, 2005

KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko won parliamentary approval Thursday to name his choice for prime minister on the second try, securing crucial support from the man he defeated in last year's bitter presidential race.
Lawmakers gave Yuriy Yekhanurov 289 votes, well above the 226 he needed to become premier.

The extra backing came from losing presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions, help that Yushchenko needed to offset the defection of some of his Orange Revolution allies after the ouster of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.

The parliamentary hall erupted into applause, and Yushchenko, who had come to the session to make one final plea, stood up and warmly hugged Yekhanurov.

Yushchenko dismissed Tymoshenko on Sept. 8., but he failed on Tuesday to win approval for Yekhanurov. Tymoshenko had pleaded to return as prime minister, but Yushchenko stuck by Yekhanurov, an economist and moderate.

The new vote came after a series of consultations between Yushchenko and parliamentary faction leaders. Yanukovych's Party of the Regions gave Yekhanurov 50 votes, enough to push him over the required limit. In Tuesday's vote, Yanukovych's party abstained.

Yushchenko resubmitted Yekhanurov's candidacy late Wednesday after four-hour consultations with the party leaders, and he met again Thursday morning with Yanukovych. The president had appealed to Ukraine's diverse political forces to unite behind Yekhanurov, asking them to avoid any moves that would destabilize the country.

Yushchenko sacked Tymoshenko's government after members of the Orange Revolution team began bickering over corruption accusations.

While Yushchenko has championed the dismissals as a fresh start, the near daily accusations between the former allies and the president's inability to get a new Cabinet approved have given the appearance of grounding government work to a halt in this nation of 48 million.

Yushchenko failed to convince Tymoshenko's 40-lawmaker bloc or the 56- member Communists to support Yekhanurov, and he didn't win significant results from two smaller parties.

But Yushchenko's turn to his former foe proved decisive. Before the vote, Yushchenko promised to liquidate the post of state secretary and the first presidential aide - two jobs that critics said were used to block access to Yushchenko.

The Russian-born Yekhanurov is widely seen as a moderate candidate. But with parliamentary elections that could redraw Ukraine's political landscape just six months away, some lawmakers have complained his would be an ineffective, transitional government.

When Tymoshenko was approved as prime minister after the opposition's triumph in last year's presidential race, she won a record-breaking 373 votes. For many Ukrainians, Tymoshenko symbolized their revolution, being a charismatic orator with charm and trademark hairstyle that expressed her nationalist pride. -30- =============================================================
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4. YURY YEKHANUROV APPROVED AS PRIME MINISTER IN
REPEATED VOTE: 289 IN FAVOR

ANALYSIS: FirsTnews, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 11:37 AM

KYIV - Yury Yekhanurov has been approved as Ukraine's prime minister in a repeated vote with 289 in favor. The major shift appears to have been negotiations with Yanukovych's Regions of Ukraine faction that contributed three yes votes first time around, 55 yes votes second time around.

For FirsTnews analysis of today's events, see below: .

Based on events today in the Verkhovna Rada, the following impressions and opinions emerge:

1. The obvious rapprochement between Yushchenko and Yanukovych seriously weakens the position of the anti-Yushchenko opposition.

2. There has been no official announcement yet but there are what we believe to be well-founded rumors that Regions' price for supporting Yekhanurov will be the establishment of a new and powerful position of deputy prime minister for inter-regional affairs, obviously to be filled by a Regions faction nominee.

3. Again no announcement yet made public, but it is widely accepted that neither Economy Minister Serhiy Teriokhin nor Deputy PM/Culture Mykola Tomenko will be nominated in the new government.

4. In his remarks before the vote, President Yushchenko said that he has signed an order that strengthens the Presidential Secretariat, with powers being shifted to that office of powers that were formerly held by the National Security and Defense Council.

5. The position of first assistant to the president, held by the controversial Oleksandr Tretyakov, has been abolished. There was no announcement as to whether or not Tretyakov would be retained in some
other position. -30-
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LINK: http://firstnews.com.ua/en/article.html?id=101552
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5. REGIONS OF UKRAINE SAYS IT BACKED YEKHANUROV BECAUSE
OF AGREEMENT WITH PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO
Ten-item memorandum signed by Yushchenko and Yanukovych

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005 (12:51)

KYIV - The Regions of Ukraine faction says it has voted for Yurii Yekhanurov's candidature to the post of Prime Minister because an agreement was concluded with President Viktor Yuschenko. Member of the faction Vitalii Khomutynnyk told this to journalists.

As he put it, as a break until 11:30 a.m. was announced in the Verkhovna Rada, Yuschenko and leader of the Regions Party Viktor Yanukovych held talks. As a result, a ten-item memorandum was signed following the talks.

Khomutynnyk said the memorandum foresees the political reform's obligatory effect, the holding of fair and transparent elections to the parliament and local councils, the adoption of laws on opposition and the Cabinet of Ministers, as well as some other legal acts, in the shortest possible time.

In the signed memorandum, Yuschenko also promised not to conduct any political persecution of his opponents, to give up any steps aimed at the repeat privatization of enterprises.

Apart from this, Yuschenko pledged himself to not permitting opening criminal cases on the results of the 2004 presidential elections.

As Ukrainian News reported, on September 22, the Verkhovna Rada approved nomination of Yurii Yekhanurov to the post of the Prime Minister.

Before this, on September 20, MPs failed to back Yekhanurov's candidature to the post. Of all factions that refused to vote for Yekhanurov on September 20, only Regions of Ukraine faction changed its position on September 22.
==============================================================
6. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO SIGNS COOPERATION PACK
WITH OPPOSITION LEADER YANUKOVYCH

UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 0916 gmt 22 Sep 05 BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, September 22, 2005 (09:16)

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a cooperation pact with opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych, his main rival during last year's presidential election, apparently in exchange for his parliament faction's support for his choice of prime minister.

The entire Regions of Ukraine faction voted to confirm Yushchenko's nominee, Yuriy Yekhanurov, as prime minister in a vote on 22 September. However, a representative of the faction said that Yanukovych's party would not be represented in Yekhanurov's cabinet.

The following is the text of a report by Ukrainian news agency UNIAN:

Kiev, 22 September: President Viktor Yushchenko and the leader of the Party of Regions [Yushchenko's main rival during the 2004 presidential election] Viktor Yanukovych have signed a memorandum on cooperation between the government and the opposition, and the [parliamentary] faction of the Party of Regions [the Regions of Ukraine faction] supported the candidacy of Yuriy Yekhanurov for the post of prime minister, a representative of the Regions of Ukraine faction, Oleksandr Peklushenko, has said to journalists.

He said the memorandum establishes conditions for cooperation between the opposition and the government. Peklushenko added that Regions of Ukraine was never in opposition to people and their problems and that the memorandum would allow Regions of Ukraine to make proposals on resolving the complex political and economic situation.

Peklushenko added that it would be impossible to resolve the economic crisis without settling the political one. He confirmed that Regions of Ukraine would not take part in forming the new cabinet.

UNIAN reported earlier that today, on 22 September, the Supreme Council [parliament] confirmed Yuriy Yekhanurov as prime minister. Of 339 MPs registered in the parliament's assembly hall, 289 MPs voted in favour of the president's nominee. The entire faction of the Party of Regions, Regions of Ukraine comprising 50 MPs, voted in support of the candidacy. -30- ==============================================================
7. PARTY LEADER VIKTOR MEDVEDCHUK FORECASTS TYMOSHENKO
WILL GO INTO THE OPPOSITION

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thu, September 22, 2005

KYIV - The Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united)'s leader Viktor Medvedchuk is forecasting that the Batkivschyna party's leader and former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko will go into opposition. This is stated in a statement by Medvedchuk, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained.

According to Medvedchuk, the dismissal of Tymoshenko's Cabinet of Ministers has resulted in a departure of members of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko and the political parties close to it from President Viktor Yuschenko, thus resulting in an outflow of electoral sympathy.

Medvedchuk believes that this will weaken the position of the Our Ukraine People's Union as the party of power.

Moreover, according to Medvedchuk, Yuschenko won the 2004 presidential elections largely because of the voters that voted against his opponent Viktor Yanukovych and not because of those who voted for him. According to him, such voters account for up to 8% of all voters.

"The camp of government opponents will not be made up of not only the parties that supported Viktor Yanukovych last year, but also the sympathizers of Tymoshenko," Medvedchuk stressed.

Medvedchuk forecast victory for opposition forces in the 2006 parliamentary elections. "And this [flock of voters to the opposition] will ensure victory for opposition political forces during the parliamentary elections under any circumstances," Medvedchuk said.

At the same time, he forecast that the authorities would bet on using the state's administrative resources and attempts to delay political reform during the parliamentary elections.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Yuschenko called for reconciliation with Tymoshenko on September 21. Earlier on September 21, Tymoshenko proposed forming a new Cabinet of Ministers together with Yuschenko.

After Yuschenko's consultations with the leaders of parliamentary groups and factions in the evening on September 21, the BYT faction's leader Oleh Bilorus said that the faction's position on Yurii Yekhanurov's candidacy for the post of prime minister remained unchanged and that the faction would not back it. Yuschenko re-nominated Yekhanurov for the post of prime minister in
the evening on September 21. -30-
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8. YUSHCHENKO ORDERS RYBACHUK, FIRST DEPUTY SECRETARY
VASIUNYK TO LEARN ABOUT CLAIMS OF EACH FACTION

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 (09:41)

KYIV - President Viktor Yuschenko has ordered State Secretary Oleh Rybachuk and his first deputy Ivan Vasiunyk to take from each faction of the Verkhovna Rada a list of disputable situations, which they would like to regulate. Yuschenko made the statement at a meeting with faction leaders.

"I appoint my representative Oleh Rybachuk and his first deputy Ivan Vasiunyk to receive the faction's lists of five or eight points that need regulation," Yuschenko said.

He said he understands that for the past years a lot of decisions were taken in contravention of the law and now they can be regulated only at the political level because of complexity and argumentativeness.

"I know there is a list of issues that can be settled by reaching an amicable agreement, changing some procedures of extra charge or specifying a governmental resolution, which means a mechanism of good will. One can stand on the letter of the law and fail to ever solve the problems," the President said.

He admitted that the judicial system, which could resolve these situations, remains corrupt and called to help normalize the work of courts, the Prosecutor General's Office and local prosecutor's offices.

"We face conflicts on many issues, because a lot of cases are bought and sold," the President said. As Ukrainian News reported earlier, on September 21, Yuschenko held consultations with factions on the premier's candidacy.
==============================================================
9. YUSHCHENKO INTRODUCES POST OF PRESIDENTIAL SECRETARIAT
HEAD INSTEAD OF STATE SECRETARY

Ukrainian News Agency, Date: September 22, 2005 (12:44)

KYIV - President Viktor Yuschenko has introduced the post of Head of the Presidential Secretariat instead of the post of State Secretary.
Yuschenko announced this in an address to the parliament, citing the presidential decree entitled "On Certain Issues Involving the Activity of the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine."

"Establish that the Secretariat of the President of Ukraine is headed by its head. The head of the secretariat has two deputies, including one first deputy," he said.

In connection with this, Yuschenko abolished the post of state secretary, the two posts of first deputy state secretary, and the four posts of deputy state secretary.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, State Secretary Oleh Rybachuk recently said that he intended to dismiss some employees of the Presidential Secretariat, thus reducing the leadership officials there to 70. Yuschenko
appointed Rybachuk as the state secretary on September 7. -30-
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NOTE: Oleh Rybachuk will be the head of the secretariat and Ivan Vasiunyk will be first deputy.
==============================================================
10. KRAVCHUK INITIATING CREATION OF THE KRAVCHUK BLOC FOR
2006 PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005 (12:34)

KYIV - Leonid Kravchuk, the leader of the parliamentary faction of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (united), is initiating creation of an election bloc named after him for contesting the 2006 parliamentary elections. Kravchuk announced this in an interview with the Den newspaper, a text of which Ukrainian News obtained.

"Taking into account an analysis of the current situation, results of opinion polls, I believe that a Kravchuk bloc should be created," he said.
Kravchuk said that his political counterparts are also inclined toward such a decision.

At the same time, he stressed that the name of the bloc would be determined at a congress of the parties that back his forum, which is called "Let's Unite Ukraine." Moreover, Kravchuk said he did not yet want to name the parties that could join his election bloc.

"I am presently studying the opinion of my friends, colleagues, we are conducting a serious analysis in all regions, we have involved polling services," he said.

According to Kravchuk, a list of candidates will be compiled based on the desire of the parties that will make up the bloc. He stressed that the main principles that would guide him during approval of the list are ability to perform one's duty professionally in the parliament and criminal/moral cleanliness. "Of course, we will not select angels. Where will we find them?" Kravchuk said.

As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Kravchuk initiated creation of the Let's Unite Ukraine public forum in July with the aim of overcoming the tendency for a split in Ukraine that emerged after the 2004 presidential elections.
The next parliamentary elections will take place in March 2006. -30-
==============================================================
11. UKRAINE, CHINA AGREE ON TERMS OF UKRAINE'S JOINING WTO

Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, September 22, 2005

KYIV - Ukraine and China have completed the talks on coordination of terms of Ukraine's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Vasyl Filipchuk, reported this to Ukrainian News.

According to him, Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Li Zhaoxing said this to Ukraine's acting Foreign Minister Borys Tarasiuk during a bilateral meeting in New York, the U.S., within the 60th Session of the UN General Assembly.

Li voiced hope that Ukraine will become WTO member yet in 2005. The Ukrainian and Chinese ministers discussed the prospects of Ukraine-China relations, international problems and outcome of the UN summit.

They agreed with the necessity to strengthen the UN's role in the world. The sides also agreed on mutual visits at top level. As Ukrainian News reported earlier, Ukraine expects to join the WTO in December 2005. -30- ==============================================================
12. UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENT SPEAKER ACCUSED IN REPORTER DEATH

By Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press Writer AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday September 21, 2005 1:16 PM

KIEV, Ukraine - A commission investigating the kidnapping and killing of a journalist five years ago has accused parliament's speaker of instigating the slaying, a Web site with the panel's findings said Wednesday.

Heorhiy Gongadze, an Internet journalist who wrote about high-level corruption, was kidnapped and killed in 2000. His decapitated body was found in a forest outside Kiev.

Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn had ``instigated the abduction,'' said the legislative commission. Its findings stemmed from recordings in which voices resembling those of Lytvyn, former President Leonid Kuchma and other officials are heard allegedly conspiring against Gongadze, according to a report posted on a parliamentary Web site Wednesday.

The parliamentary commission also accused Kuchma and 16 of his allies and police officials, including former Interior Minister Yury Kravchenko of masterminding Gongadze's abduction and death. Kravchenko, a key witness and reportedly the one given the order to deal with the journalist, committed suicide in March, hours before he was to be questioned about Gongadze's slaying.

Kuchma has repeatedly questioned the authenticity of the tapes, secretly recorded by his former bodyguard.

In an address to parliament Tuesday, the head of the commission Hrihoriy Omelchenko demanded Lytvyn's resignation and a no-confidence vote for Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun.

Lytvyn, Kuchma's former chief of staff, dismissed the commission's report as "a provocation aimed at diverting attention from the real culprits'' for Gongadze's death. In the past, Lytvyn has dismissed the allegations,
saying: "I wasn't brought up that way.''

The reporter's death sparked months of opposition protests that ultimately led to last year's Orange Revolution, which brought pro-Western politician Viktor Yushchenko to office. The opposition accused Kuchma and his allies of masterminding Gongadze's death, an accusation he has denied.

A month after Yushchenko's inauguration in January, prosecutors indicted three former policemen for Gongadze's death. A fourth suspect is at large and being sought on an international warrant.

Gongadze got into what he thought was a taxi, and then was joined by three others and driven outside Kiev, according to evidence given by the suspects.
The 31-year-old journalist was beaten and strangled, and his body was
doused with gasoline and burned. -30-
==============================================================
13. UKRAINE: PARLIAMENTARY INVESTIGATION BLAMES LYTVYN IN
GONGADZE'S DEATH

By Aleksandra Nenadovic, FirsTnews
Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, September 21, 2005 06:17 PM

A lengthy and exhaustive parliamentary investigation in the death of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze has ended with the head of the special investigative commission, MP Hryhory Omelchenko, accusing former Kuchma chief of staff and now parliamentary leader Volodymyr Lytvyn as having instigated the Gongadze slaying.

KYIV, Sept. 21 (FirsTnews) -- In its final report, an interim parliamentary commission investigating the kidnapping and killing of Internet journalist Heorhiy Gongadze five years ago has accused the parliament's speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn of instigating the slaying.

Hryhory Omelchenko, the head of the parliamentary commission said, quoting the findings in the report, that Lytvyn had "instigated the abduction of Gongadze."

The commission’s findings derived from the secret recordings made in former President Leonid Kuchma’s office in which voices resembling those of Lytvyn, then presidential chief of staff, Kuchma and other officials are heard conspiring against Gongadze.

The Omelchenko commission also accused Kuchma and 16 of his cronies and key police officials, including late Interior Minister Yury Kravchenko and former head of Ukraine’s State Security Leonid Derkach of masterminding Gongadze's abduction and death.

Kravchenko, a key witness who reportedly ordered four police officers to “take care” of the journalist, committed suicide in March only hours before he was to be questioned by the prosecutors about Gongadze's death. His death sparked much speculation after his body was found with two gunshot wounds in the head, but investigators insisted it was a clear-cut suicide.

Kuchma, who was also interrogated over Gongadze’s death, has repeatedly questioned the authenticity of the tapes, secretly recorded by his former bodyguard, police Major Mykola Melnychenko, who after the revelations of the recordings fled the country and took all the original tapes with him.

Melnychenko’s escape was aided by Oleksandr Moroz, the head of Ukrainian Socialists, and several other politicians. He was granted political asylum in the United States.

Omelchenko demanded Lytvyn's resignation and a no-confidence vote for Prosecutor General Svyatoslav Piskun for apparent sluggishness in dealing with the Gongadze investigation.

Lytvyn dismissed the commission's report as "a provocation aimed at diverting attention from the real culprits" in Gongadze's death.
“I would rather focus on who organized the eavesdropping (of Kuchma’s
office) and who aided Melnychenko’s escape,” Lytvyn said.
Omelchenko’s commission said it verified the authenticity of Melnychenko tapes.

Ukrainian media has repeatedly speculated that Yevhen Marchuk, a former KGB general and also a former defense minister organized Melnychenko and several other people to eavesdrop on Kuchma’s conversations.

Gongadze, an Internet journalist and the editor of the website Ukrainska Pravda, who wrote about high-level corruption and links between Kuchma’s regime and organized crime, was kidnapped in downtown Kyiv and killed five years ago. His headless body was found in the Tarashcha forest well outside the Ukrainian capital.

The reporter’s remains still lie in a Kyiv morgue since his mother demanded another DNA test for the final identification. Recently, a German laboratory confirmed that the body was indeed that of the missing journalist.

The furor over Gongadze’s death led to a serious decline in the standing of the Kuchma administration in world public opinion. Many believe that the Gongadze death played a substantial role in the events that ultimately ended in last year's mass protests dubbed the Orange Revolution.

The wave of protests that followed a fraudulent presidential vote helped then pro-Western opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko to become Ukraine’s third president.

During the protests and afterwards, Yushchenko said that the resolution of the Gongadze case would be his top priority.

Soon after Yushchenko’s inauguration in January, prosecutors indicted three former policemen for abducting and killing Gongadze.

A fourth suspect, Oleksiy Pukach, who is reported to have personally strangled Gongadze to death, is at large and being sought on an international warrant. At the time of the death, Pukach was a major general of militia and head of the militia criminal investigations division.
Ukrainian media has reported that he is now hiding in Israel.

The suspects in custody admitted that they lured Gongadze, who got into a car disguised as a taxi, and took him outside Kyiv where he was beaten and strangled. His body was then doused with gasoline and burned.

Prosecutors later revealed that they had separated the investigation into two parts - the pursuit of those who carried out the killing, and the pursuit of the masterminds. The revelation outraged Gongadze's friends and relatives, who claimed it would allow the masterminds to avoid responsibility.

The parliament on Tuesday dissolved Omelchenko’s commission and ordered it to hand over all the findings to prosecutors and investigators.

The commission also investigated the 2001 death of Ihor Aleksandrov, the owner of TOR TV in Donetsk.

After a series of interviews about corruption in the region, a group of criminals led by former policemen ambushed Aleksandrov in front of his office. He was beaten to death. The culprits are currently on trial. -30-
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LINK: http://firstnews.com.ua/en/article.html?id=101010
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"WELCOME TO UKRAINE" & "NARODNE MYSTETSTVO" MAGAZINES UKRAINIAN MAGAZINES: For information on how to subscribe to the "Welcome to Ukraine" magazine in English, published four times a year and/or to the Ukrainian Folk Art magazine "Narodne Mystetstvo" in Ukrainian, published two times a year, please send an e-mail to:
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"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR" - SPONSORS
"Working to Secure & Enhance Ukraine's Democratic Future"

1. THE BLEYZER FOUNDATION, Dr. Edilberto Segura, Chairman; Victor Gekker, Executive Director, Kyiv, Ukraine; Washington, D.C., http://www.bleyzerfoundation.com.
2. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 298 7275 in Kyiv, kau@ukrnet.net 3. ESTRON CORPORATION, Grain Export Terminal Facility & Oilseed Crushing Plant, Ilvichevsk, Ukraine 4. Law firm UKRAINIAN LEGAL GROUP, Irina Paliashvili, President; Kiev and Washington, general@rulg.com, www.rulg.com.
5. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC., Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman, Minneapolis, Minnesota 6. VOLIA SOFTWARE, Software to Fit Your Business, Source your IT work in Ukraine. Contact: Yuriy Sivitsky, Vice President, Marketing, Kyiv, Ukraine, yuriy.sivitsky@softline.kiev.ua; Volia Software website:
http://www.volia-software.com/ or Bill Hunter, CEO Volia Software, Houston, TX 77024; bill.hunter@volia-software.com.
7. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent, Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson 8. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA), Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson; Vera M. Andryczyk, President; Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania 9. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C., Dr. Susanne Lotarski, President/CEO; E. Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer, Chairman, Executive Committee, Board of Directors; John Stephens, Cape Point Capital, Secretary/Treasurer 10. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL (UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, New York 11. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell, President; John Kun, Vice President/COO; Vera Andruskiw, CPP Wash Project Director, Washington, D.C.; Markian Bilynskyj, VP/Director of Field Operations; Marta Kolomayets, CPP Kyiv Project Director, Kyiv, Ukraine. Web: http://www.USUkraine.org 12. WJ Grain, Kyiv, Ukraine, David Holpert, Chief Financial Officer, Chicago, Illinois.
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"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" is an in-depth, private, independent, not-for- profit news and analysis international newsletter, produced as a free public service by the non-profit www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS) and The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service The report is distributed in the public's interesting around the world FREE of charge. Additional readers are always welcome.

If you would like to read "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR"
please send your name, country of residence, and e-mail contact information to morganw@patriot.net. Additional names are welcome. If you do not wish to read "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" around five times per week, let us know by e-mail to morganw@patriot.net. If you are receiving more than one copy please contact us and again please contact us immediately if you do not wish to receive this Report.
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PUBLISHER AND EDITOR - AUR Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013, Tel: 202 437 4707 Mobile in Kyiv: 8 050 689 2874 mwilliams@SigmaBleyzer.com; www.SigmaBleyzer.com
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Director, Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA) Coordinator, Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC) Senior Advisor, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) Chairman, Executive Committee, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council Publisher, Ukraine Information Website, www.ArtUkraine.com Member, International Ukrainian Holodomor Committee ==============================================================
Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
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