"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"
NOT READY TO GIVE UP THE FAIRY TALE
Commenting on the shifting Ukrainian political landscape, former U.S.
National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski recalled a young Ukrainian
girl telling him that the Orange Revolution was "like a fairy tale."
"And I said to myself, 'There's a Prince Charming in it. There's a very
pretty princess in it,'" referring to Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.
Brzezinski warned, "But a fairy tale, when you wake up, can turn into a
nightmare. It is terribly important to demonstrate that the Orange
Revolution was not just a fairy tale." [article nineteen]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 569
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, SATURDAY, September 24, 2005
--------INDEX OF ARTICLES--------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. "THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED"
COMMENTARY: By Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Ph.D.
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Published by The Ukraine List (UKL) #363
Compiled by Dominique Arel
Chair of Ukrainian Studies, U of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Friday, 23 September 2005
2. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, OPPOSITION PARTY SIGN COOPERATION PACT
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 22 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Sep 22, 2005
3. OLEH RYBACHUK SAYS YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH MEMORANDUM
WILL NOT PREVENT CRIMINALS FROM LEGAL PUNISHMENT
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
4. UKRAINE'S ELECTION CHIEF YAROSLAV DAVYDOVYCH WELCOMES
PROPOSED VOTE-RIGGING AMNESTY
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1026 gmt 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
5. YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH DEAL REACTION: SOME SAY
GOOD POLITICS, SOME CALL IT TREASON
By Aleksandra Nenadovic, FirsTnews
Kyiv, Ukraine, September 23, 2005
6. UKRAINIAN CIVIC PARTY PORA HITS OUT AT PRESIDENT'S PACT
RELIEVING PEOPLE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRIMES
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
7. YANUKOVICH REFUSES TO BE UNFRIENDLY WITH YUSHCHENKO
Timoshenko wins from confirmation of new prime minister
COMMENTARY: By Mikhail Zygar; Mustafa Naiem, Kiev
Kommersant, Russia's Daily Online
Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
8. UKRAINE PRESS FEARS FOR REVOLUTION
BBC NEWS, BBC Monitoring Service
United Kingdom, Friday, September 23, 2005
9. UKRAINE POLITICS: BEYOND THE KIEV VOTE
Country Briefing: The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited
London, United Kingdom, Friday, September 22, 2005
10. SPEAKER SAYS YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH MEMORANDUM IS
NOT BETRAYAL OF MAIDAN IDEALS
Tetiana Vesna, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
11. UKRAINE'S ORANGE REVOLUTION SAID TO HAVE CONCLUDED
WITH 'POLITICAL ROTATION.'
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, September 23, 2005
12. CONCESSIONS YUSHCHENKO MADE TO RESOLVE
UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CRISIS
ANALYSIS: By Peter Lavelle, RIA Novosti Political Commentator
RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TURNS TO ORANGE REVOLUTION FOE
TO GET PREMIER APPROVED
By Anna Melnichuk, AP Worldstream
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
14. UKRAINE: AGREEMENT WITH YANUKOVYCH MAY RESULT IN
POLITICAL FIRESTORM FOR YUSHCHENKO
Viewed by his most vociferous supporters as a betrayal
of Orange Revolution principles
NEWS AND COMMENTARY: By FirsTnews
FirsTnews, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
15. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TURNS TO A RIVAL
Election Foe Backs Choice for Premier
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service in Moscow
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 23, 2005; A15
16. YUSHENKO OWES POLITICAL DEBT
Moscow is fine with this course of events. From now on, it doesn't see
Yushenko as dangerous as he was during the "orange revolution."
COMMENTARY: By Sergey Strokan, Columnist
Kommersant, Russia's Daily Online
Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
17. MOSCOW UNDECIDED POLICY TOWARD CRISIS-STRICKEN UKRAINE
COMMENTARY: By Igor Torbakov, Eurasia Daily Monitor
Vol. 2, No. 177, The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 23, 2005
18. UKRAINIAN EX-PREMIER'S PARTY EXPELS SIX MP'S
FOR BACKING NEW PRIME MINISTER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1024 gmt 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Friday, September 23, 2005 (10:24)
19. PEELING AWAY UKRAINE'S 'ORANGE REVOLUTION'
Can the beleaguered president weather the latest crisis?
ANALYSIS: By Alexa Chopivsky, Reporter, NBC News
MSNBC, New York, New York, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005
20. MAJOR CONFERENCE ON UKRAINE BEING HELD IN WASHINGTON
UKRAINE'S QUEST FOR MATURE NATION STATEHOOD ROUNDTABLE VI
WASHINGTON, D.C, SEPTEMBER 27 & 28
THERE ARE STILL A FEW PLACES OPEN AT THE CONFERENCE
PLEASE REGISTER IMMEDIATELY
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No 569, Article 16
Washington, D.C., Saturday, September 24, 2005
21. ILLINOIS SENATOR OBAMA TOURS THE FORMER SOVIET UNION,
INCLUDING UKRAINE, MONITORS THE DESTRUCTION OF COLD WAR
MUNITIONS, WITH SENIOR STATESMAN SEN DICK LUGAR
By Jeff Zeleny, Tribune correspondent
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
=============================================================
1. "THE DAY THE MUSIC DIED"
COMMENTARY: By Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Ph.D.
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, Kyiv, Ukraine
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Published by The Ukraine List (UKL) #363
Compiled by Dominique Arel
Chair of Ukrainian Studies, U of Ottawa
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Friday, 23 September 2005
Today, I think I understood the emotions Don McLean felt when he wrote his
famous ballad in honor of Buddy Holly: experiencing the death of one's
beliefs is not easy.
It could be argued that my (and thousands of others') faith in the values of
the Orange Revolution was idealistic-but was the quixotic conviction that
"better" leaders would bring a better future for Ukraine really so
misplaced?
Didn't Kyiv's Maidan shake the world in November and December 2004?
Or was it all just one heck of a party?
Remember the music? "Falsifications -NO! Machinations -NO! No to Lies!"
Well today, the music died.
September 22, 2005 will go down in history (perhaps as a footnote?) as the
date that Ukraine's Parliament confirmed Yuriy Yekhanurov as the country's
Prime Minister by a vote of 289 in favor.
I have no particular objection to Yekhanurov's candidacy: based on his track
record as an administrator (former Head of the State Property Fund, First
Deputy Prime Minister when Yushchenko was Prime Minister), he is likely to
be a very successful PM.
He will serve (quietly) in this post until a new government is formed
following the March 31 2006 Parliamentary elections. During his term in
office he is likely to show himself to be a capable economic reformer and
political stabilizer.
My problem is not with Yekhanurov, but rather with the way his boss pressed
the new Prime Minister's confirmation through Parliament. Last Tuesday, the
President's man received 223 votes-three short of the required 226 for
confirmation.
Today, Yushchenko re-submitted the acting PM's candidacy to Parliament,
and lobbied hard to have Yekhanurov confirmed. This "lobbying" effort led to
Yushchenko signing a deal that bought him the 50 votes of the Party of
Regions faction, but in the process led to the President's betrayal of the
most basic demand of the Orange Revolution protests: to punish the
perpetrators of electoral fraud in Ukraine.
Nine months after leading hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians into the
streets to protest against falsified elections, the President signed a
"Memorandum of Understanding" with his former adversary during the 2004
Presidential campaign, Viktor Yanukovych-the nominal leader of the Ukraine's
Party of Regions (financed and effectively led from behind the scenes by
Ukraine's richest man, System Capital Management owner, Renat Akhmetov)
in which he agreed to support the drafting of a law that grants amnesty to
all those who committed or were complicit in falsifying the results of
Ukraine's November 2004 vote!
Yushchenko's agreement to effectively betray the Orange Revolution is
proudly displayed on the first page of the Party of Regions website:
www.partyofregions.org.ua.
The text of this memorandum commits the President and the new Prime
Minister to support the introduction of a draft "Law on Amnesty" for those
charged with violating Articles 157 and 158 of Ukraine's Criminal Code.
Respectively, these articles prohibit "Interference with the exercise of the
right to vote", and "Improper use of ballots, tampering with electoral
documents, improper vote counting, inaccurate publication of voting
results".
In each case, Ukraine's Criminal Code institutes sentences of no less than
2-3 years imprisonment (in some cases up to 12 years) for anyone found
guilty of violating Articles 157 and/or 158 (Ukrainian text of Criminal
Code: www.crime.org.ua).
In the short time since the Criminal Code was enacted in 2001, no one has
yet been successfully prosecuted for electoral violations in Ukraine, and it
would seem that Yushchenko has no desire to change this anytime
soon-regardless of the fact that several criminal investigations of gross
electoral fraud having taken place in November 2004 are currently ongoing.
So much for "Falsyfikatsiyam-NI!" ("Falsifications-NO!")
A careful examination of the Memorandum signed by Yushchenko,
Yanukovych and Yekhanurov reveals another "insurance clause" for any
former instigators of electoral fraud (or other crimes).
The text of the agreement commits each of the signatories to support the
enactment of changes to the "Law on the Status of Local Council Deputies"
granting such individuals the same immunity from criminal prosecution
currently enjoyed by members of the national Parliament of Ukraine.
Effectively, such an amendment would entail tens of thousands of Ukrainian
citizens (every village, town and city in Ukraine elects a council) being
placed "above the law" since any prosecution of a local deputy would
require the prior consent of the council to which that deputy was elected.
So much for "Makhinatsiyam-NI!" ("Machinations -NO!")
And ironically, all of these concessions turned out to be completely
unnecessary: Yekhanurov was confirmed as Prime Minister by 289 votes in
favor-50 of which were from the Party of Regions faction. He only needed 226
votes to win, and there is little doubt that Yekhanurov would have obtained
these today even without the Yushchenko-Yanukovych deal.
Virtually all Parliamentarians agreed that Yekhanurov's candidacy was the
only possible one that would pass-even though the Communists and Social
Democrats would not support it on principle. With respect to the
"non-opposition" factions however, Yekhanurov was the only alternative.
After former State Secretary Zinchenko's resignation and accusations of
high-level corruption within Yushchenko's inner circle, Ukraine's Orange
Revolution leaders found themselves irreparably split.
In the days following Zinchenko's catalytic press conference, the President
fired Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's government, and forced the
resignation of Security Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko and others from
his inner circle. Thereafter, supporters of both the President and former PM
publicly voiced scathing accusations (or corruption, of foreign campaign
financing, etc.) at each other.
Given the ongoing "divorce proceedings" between Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko, the neutral Yekhanurov became perhaps the only possible
candidate capable of gaining majority support (required for confirmation to
Ukraine's second highest office) within a fiercely divided Parliament.
For many in Ukraine, last week's official split between Yushchenko and
Tymoshenko (and subsequent war of words-with extremely serious
accusations flying from both sides) represented the end of the Orange
Revolution.
Although it was shocking to watch the leaders of the Maidan go through a
very messy public political divorce, the unraveling of their "rainbow
coalition" was somewhat predictable.
It was much less predictable, however, that the President of Ukraine (and
ultimate hero of the Orange Revolution) would emerge from the "divorce"
proceedings feeling that his position had been weakened to such an extent,
that he had to agree to compromise on satisfying the one public demand
that can be attributed to having brought him into office in the first place:
punishing electoral fraud.
Yushchenko and his handlers are doing their best to portray today's
confirmation of Yekhanurov as a victory. Mr. President: have you
completely forgotten the music of Maidan? "Ni brekhni!" = "No to lies!"
An excellent article was published recently on the Ukrayinska Pravda
website which describes Yushchenko's deep religious convictions
(http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2005/9/12/33318.htm).
I understand that as a devout Christian, the President may believe that one
should forgive the sins of one's fellow man - including falsification of
electoral results and other criminal acts.
However, nowhere in any religious text does it state that absolution from
sin equals a blanket amnesty, nor should forgiveness by Yushchenko
personally (unless the label "Messiah" - popularly placed upon him in the
past, proves true), entail immunity from prosecution in a secular court of
law.
But, now I'm getting into a philosophical argument-better to just quote Don
McLean:
And the three men I admire most,
The Father, Son and The Holy Ghost,
They caught the last train for the coast
The day the music died...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The Day the Music Died" by Mychailo Wynnyckyj Ph.D.
Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, 22 September 2005, mychailo@kmbs.com.ua
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Published by The Ukraine List (UKL) #363, Compiled by Dominique Arel
Chair of Ukrainian Studies, U of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Friday,
23 September 2005, www.ukrainianstudies.uottawa.ca, darel@uottawa.ca
==============================================================
2. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, OPPOSITION PARTY SIGN COOPERATION PACT
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 22 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Sep 22, 2005
KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a cooperation pact with
opposition party leader Viktor Yanukovych, his main rival in last year's
presidential election, apparently in exchange for his parliament faction's
support for Yushchenko's choice of prime minister.
The Yanukovych-led Regions of Ukraine faction voted in favour of confirming
Yushchenko's nominee, Yuriy Yekhanurov, as prime minister in a vote on 22
September.
The memorandum provides for an end to "the persecution of the opposition",
facilitating the adoption of a law on the opposition and granting the
opposition the right to head a number of key parliamentary committees.
The following is the text of the report by the Ukrayinska Pravda web site on
22 September, which includes the text of the memorandum:
This memorandum was signed a few hours before the vote on Yuriy
Yekhanurov's candidacy for the post of prime minister. It was this document,
MPs from the faction of the Party of Regions [the Regions of Ukraine
faction] said, which paved the way for their participation in the vote.
The document did not contain any promises of portfolios [in the new
cabinet], [Ukrainian President Viktor] Yushchenko's now former supporters
said, but guarantees that political persecution will be stopped.
[Text of the memorandum]
Realizing responsibility before the Ukrainian people in the time of a
political crisis which poses a threat to the future of the country, we
consider the beginning of a constructive dialogue between the government
and the opposition to be our patriotic duty.
The main subject of this dialogue is to cooperate on working out a strategy
for resolving the crisis and to take Ukraine to the road of developing
thriving society, civil accord and consolidation of political forces mindful
of the country's needs.
We view the provisions of this memorandum as adding specific content to
the declaration on unity and cooperation for the sake of Ukraine's future
[signed by leaders of parliamentary groups and factions on 13 September
ahead of the first vote on Yekhanurov's candidacy], as a mechanism to carry
out the declaration's terms, as a step forward in restoring understanding
between the sides and as our wish for constructive dialogue for the good of
the Ukrainian people.
To this effect, we deem necessary and agree on the following:
1. Political reform [which would delegate some power from the president
to the government and parliament] should be implemented.
2. Political persecution of the opposition should stop.
3. A draft law of Ukraine "On amnesty" covering Articles 157 and 158 of the
Criminal Code of Ukraine [punishing vote-rigging as a criminal offence]
should be submitted.
4. The law on amendments to the law of Ukraine "On the status of people's
deputies of local councils", which would establish procedures for charging
people's deputies of local councils with committing offences, should be put
into effect immediately.
5. The adoption of the law of Ukraine "On the status and rights of the
opposition" (which would provide for the opposition retaining the posts of
heads of the following parliamentary committees - the committee for freedom
of expression and information, the budget committee, the committee for
combating organized crime and corruption and the special controlling
committee of the Supreme Council of Ukraine [parliament] for privatization)
should be speeded up.
6. The adoption of the laws of Ukraine "On the Cabinet of Ministers of
Ukraine" and "On the president of Ukraine" should be speeded up.
7. The cabinet should be formed transparently on the principles of
professionalism and separation of power from business.
8. The issue of legal guarantees of ownership rights should be resolved.
9. Pressure on the judiciary should be precluded.
10. Neither the government nor government officials should intervene in the
process of preparation for the parliamentary election and the election of
people's deputies of all levels on 26 March 2006. The government machinery
should not be used for electoral purposes.
The complete and unconditional fulfilment of the agreement is evidence of
the possibility of a consensus between the government and the opposition
and the ability to put people's interests ahead of personal ambitions.
[Signed by acting Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov, Viktor Yanukovych on
behalf of the Party of Regions and Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.]
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3. OLEH RYBACHUK SAYS YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH MEMORANDUM
WILL NOT PREVENT CRIMINALS FROM LEGAL PUNISHMENT
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
KYIV - In Oleh Rybachuk's opinion the Yushchenko-Yanukovych Memorandum
will not prevent criminals from being punished. Mr Rybachuk referred to what
the media have dubbed an non-aggression pact as a political decision, which
does not rule out investigating into crimes.
Replying to the journalists' questions during his Friday news briefing, Oleh
Rybachuk said those guilty of the 2004 elections' irregularities had been
basically ordinary citizens, who had been forced to commit misdeeds. So,
the President has stated his readiness to amnesty them.
Under Leonid Kuchma no such document was possible. This move has
made Viktor Yushchenko the entire nation's President, Oleh Rybachuk
stressed. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
4. UKRAINE'S ELECTION CHIEF YAROSLAV DAVYDOVYCH WELCOMES
PROPOSED VOTE-RIGGING AMNESTY
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1026 gmt 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
KIEV - The head of the Central Electoral Commission, Yaroslav Davydovych,
welcomes the idea of an amnesty for those prosecuted for violating election
legislation during the presidential election in 2004.
"I believe this is the right approach," Davydovych said to journalists
today, commenting on the provisions of the memorandum signed on Thursday
[22 September] by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and the leader of
the Party of Regions [Yushchenko's main election rival], Viktor Yanukovych.
One of the memorandum's provisions says that a draft law on an amnesty that
would specifically address articles 157 and 158 of the Criminal Code of
Ukraine [liability for vote-rigging] should be submitted to the Supreme
Council [parliament].
Davydovych recalled that "several thousand criminal cases" relating to
violations of the election legislation were opened after the presidential
election of 2004. In his view, "on one hand, this would be a rather brave
step for Ukraine as part of Europe, but on the other - this is a complex
issue and the world's reaction would not be simple".
"It is not correct that a teacher from a local electoral commission is
charged with committing a criminal offence, while others manage to escape
this," Davydovych said.
He added that "the state is not ready" for this, as there was "too much of
permissiveness during the election", when "illegal PR-technologies were
widely used".
Davydovych recalled that a draft law providing for milder punishment for
vote-rigging had been forwarded to the Supreme Council. "I believe they
have learnt a very serious lesson," he said. -30-
=============================================================
5. YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH DEAL REACTION: SOME SAY
GOOD POLITICS, SOME CALL IT TREASON
By Aleksandra Nenadovic, FirsTnews
Kyiv, Ukraine, September 23, 2005
President Viktor Yushchenko’s deal with his old nemesis, Viktor Yanukovych,
brought forth a variety of responses from those surveyed on Friday by
FirsTnews.
On one extreme, some demanded Yushchenko’s resignation. Many more
said they felt betrayed, and even the more politically sophisticated
wondered if Yushchenko really needed the Faustian deal with the
Donetsk-centric Regions faction.
In the long run Yushchenko may survive politically but, at least for some
time to come, among his most vociferous supporters he is no longer St.
Viktor of Maidan, but the man who made the deal with Yanukovych.
KYIV, Sept. 23 (FirsTnews) -- The appointment of Yuriy Yekhanurov as
Ukraine's new prime minister sparked a variety of reactions that rather
starkly demonstrate the split in the country's public and political
structures.
Many former opposition politicians who fiercely backed Yushchenko during
last year's Orange Revolution described the pact with their arch enemy,
former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych as treason.
Others praised Yushchenko move as a good strategy aimed at settling crisis
that threatened to drag Ukraine back to the economic and political quagmire
of 1990s.
Mykola Martynenko, leader of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine faction in the
country's parliament, said that moves that have led to Yekhanurov's
appointment, including the pact with Yanukovych, represented the "necessity
for beginning the process of economic and political stabilization in the
country."
Also, Yuriy Kliuchkovsky, a lawmaker from Our Ukraine, said that the deal
with Yanukovych would require firm legal foundations before it becomes
reality since it is "a political and not a legal move." Yushchenko has only
expressed "his wishes and intentions which represent his political position,
however we are not a monarchy," he said.
Earlier, Mykola Tomenko, a former deputy prime minister loyal to Tymoshenko,
described Yushchenko's move as "a rotation in the power structure."
"Yanukovych and (Leonid) Kuchma now took Tymoshenko's place," he said.
Also on Friday, Ivan Denkovych, the head of Tymoshenko's Fatherland Party
from the Western city of Lviv that overwhelmingly voted for Yushchenko last
year demanded the president's resignation. Denkovych said that "with his
signature (on the memorandum) Yushchenko took part in the repression in
Ukraine."
PORA, the organization that played a key role in the Orange Revolution, also
criticized Yushchenko's move and said it believes that the "enemies of the
[Orange] revolution will participate in the new government.
"The memorandum cannot erase responsibility of people involved in various
crimes," PORA said in a statement.
However, Yaroslav Davydovych, the head of the Central Election Commission
has backed the part of the deal with Yanukovych that envisions amnesty for
people charged for setting up the fraudulent presidential vote last year.
"It is a right move," Davydovych told reporters.
Meanwhile, Kuchma said that with Yekhanurov's appointment Yushchenko "has
opted for the best one." In an interview with Kyiv's weekly, Power of Money
(Vlast Deneg), Kuchma said that Yekhanurov "will appoint ministers by their
professionalism" and not by their loyalty to "the (Independence) Square."
Viktor Medvedchuk, the head of Socialist Democratic Party of Ukraine
(United) and Kuchma's former top lieutenant, also said he hopes Yushchenko
will follow the pact with Yanukovych to the letter. "I hope that the
president will abandon his plans to delay implementation of the
constitutional reforms," he said.
Ordinary Ukrainians had mixed feelings about Yushchenko's move. "He
acted as a real life politician and not as a futile idealist," said Lena
Hvorothko, a student from Kyiv.
"Yushchenko betrayed all his and our goals, all those freezing days on the
square. I don't know whether I will vote for him next time," said her
friend, Yuriy Myskyn. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://firstnews.com.ua/en/article.html?id=102140
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6. UKRAINIAN CIVIC PARTY PORA HITS OUT AT PRESIDENT'S PACT
RELIEVING PEOPLE OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR CRIMES
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
KIEV - The Pora civic party has expressed its concern at the fact that
opponents of the "orange revolution" are to play a direct role in the
formation of the new government.
The party's press service said today that party officials were unhappy with
the conditions of the memorandum of understanding signed by the authorities
and the opposition [on 22 September]. The memorandum proposes an
amnesty and the introduction of immunity from prosecution for deputies in
local councils.
Pora says that the memorandum should not relieve people of responsibility
for crimes they have committed and demands that the document be officially
published.
Pora also expresses its disagreement with the actions of "a number of MPs
who, despite not having any fundamental ideological disagreements with the
president's political programme, frustrated the vote [for the new prime
minister] for their own ambitious reasons". -30-
==============================================================
7. YANUKOVICH REFUSES TO BE UNFRIENDLY WITH YUSHCHENKO
Timoshenko wins from confirmation of new prime minister
COMMENTARY: By Mikhail Zygar; Mustafa Naiem, Kiev
Kommersant, Russia's Daily Online
Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
THE STRUGGLE FOR POWER
The Supreme Rada of Ukraine confirmed Yury Ekhanurov as prime minister
yesterday on the second attempt. This end to the two-week old governmental
crisis is far from a victory for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko.
Quite on the contrary, it is a personal service performed by his long-time
enemy Viktor Yanukovich.
It was the deputies from his faction who were responsible for the successful
vote in the Rada. But Yanukovich won't benefit from Ekhanurov's election as
much as former prime minister Yulia Timoshenko will.
VIKTOR YANUKOVICH'S BIG TURNAROUND
Yushchenko's supporters were visibly nervous yesterday morning. All sick
and vacationing deputies were forcibly returned to Kiev and delivered to the
Rada.
The pro-presidential Our Ukraine faction was doing all it could to prevent a
repeat of Tuesday's confusion, when it came up three votes short of the 226
necessary to confirm the new prime minister.
"We will get more than 255. That's for sure," Our Ukraine deputy Boris
Bespaly told Kommersant confidently.
Yushchenko already knew that his deputies' worries were needless. After
the Rada session had already began, he met secretly with his former sworn
enemy Yanukovich and Raisa Bogatyreva, the head of Yanukovich's faction
in parliament. It is curious that the president's supporters were not told
of that meeting.
Deputies from the Party of the Regions faction did know about it. Regions
deputy Vitaly Khomutynnik told the Kommersant correspondent in advance
that Yushchenko and Yanukovich intended to sign a special memorandum
on mutual understanding.
Yushchenko and Bogatyreva appeared in the Rada almost simultaneously,
during the break before the vote on the prime minister. At the request of
speaker Vladimir Litvin, the deputies agreed to consider Ekhanurov's
confirmation under the short procedure, without discussion or the appearance
of Ekhanurov himself.
The only thing that was left in the procedure was the speech by the
president. Yushchenko began with the phrase that has become habitual with
him in the last few days, "Let's put away the battleaxe." This time he
improvised further "and forget where we buried it."
When the results of the vote were announced, many deputies were shocked.
Few expected 289 votes in favor of Ekhanurov. Fewer still could believe that
the entire Party of the Regions faction supported the president without
dissent.
Our Ukraine members were ecstatic and declared that the vote was proof that
"Ukraine will become a democratic country." Other deputies, even those who
voted for Ekhanurov, however, alarmed.
"There is an element of late-night bargaining here. No behind-the-scenes
agreements ever lead to anything good," socialist deputy Mykola Rudkivsky
told Kommersant.
"Nothing is eternal in politics, there are no friends forever, nor enemies,"
noted Our Ukrainian Yury Karmazin. "Not long ago, he was a bandit and
criminal. Or did I forget or confuse something? It wasn't that long ago,
seven months," asked Andrey Shkil of the Yulia Timoshenko Bloc.
THE YULIA TIMOSHENKO GAME
In spite of the minimal participation of Timoshenko in yesterday's events in
the Rada, she can be considered the big winner from the complex
parliamentary operation. Almost everyone else come out of it with their
images considerably beaten up.
It is worth recalling that, on the day after her dismissal, Timoshenko
pulled Yanukovich out of his political hibernation. She was already wearing
two ribbons, orange and blue, when she made her farewell television address,
a hint to viewers that the Ukrainian flag is made up of both of them.
Yanukovich was clearly flattered by the mention of his disgraced
presidential campaign and began to make his readiness to cooperate with
her more noticeable.
Then the former Orange Princess and former "successor to Kuchma" began
consultations. It was Timoshenko who told Yanukovich that what he should
demand from Yushchenko - prompt implementation of the political reforms that
will weaken the president and strengthen the prime minister and parliament.
Obviously, the great advantage of this goes to the person who has the
greatest chance of becoming prime minister after the March elections, and
that is Timoshenko. No matter what showing Yanukovich's Party of the Regions
makes in the elections, he won't be prime minister. But he still decided to
play the game as dictated by his new ally.
Thus the Party of the Regions and the Yulia Timoshenko Bloc suddenly began
to make identical demands of Yushchenko. They want the reforms kicked off by
October 1. Their argumentation is simple. When the executive branch is so
weak and unstable, the legislative needs to be strengthened.
While Timoshenko and Yanukovich met out of the public eye, thus without
doing damage to their Orange and Blue images, Yushchenko had to meet
with his former opponent and ask him for help in front of everyone.
After the Timoshenko Bloc and Party of the Regions humiliated the president
by not confirming his candidate for prime minister the first time,
Timoshenko's advisers began raising the stakes on what they want from
Yushchenko.
They said that the only possible compromise would be the return of
Timoshenko to the prime minister's post. Meanwhile, Yanukovich was pushing
for political reform.
Timoshenko put the last dots on all here i's just before the vote, when she
presented herself as a peacemaker and Yushchenko as an incendiary. The
president had called a meeting of the heads of the factions. Two more people
showed up in addition to them: Timoshenko and Yanukovich.
To the surprise of all, Timoshenko suggested to Yushchenko that they "become
one team again," by which she meant making her prime minister again.
Yanukovich stubbornly insisted on political reform and did not ask for any
post for himself.
The president chose the lesser of two evils, coming to an agreement with his
former enemy in exchange for his support in passing Ekhanurov.
From the point of view of the Revolution, the president's behavior looked
like a final betrayal when he refused the olive branch held out by
Timoshenko in preference for the loathsome Yanukovich.
Thus, on the eve of the vote, everyone knew Yushchenko and Yanukovich had
made an agreement and Ekhanurov would be confirmed. The Yulia
Timoshenko Bloc decided not to support him any way.
Timoshenko's aim was obviously to make sure that Ekhanurov's support did
not top her own record for parliamentary support. And so it was. Ekhanurov
passed with 289 voted, not surpassing Timoshenko's one-time 373-vote mark.
LONELY VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
After Ekhanurov's confirmation, Yushchenko confessed that "the last 12 days
have been the hardest of my life," since he had to choose between the
interests of the state and the interests of his friends. "I am happy that I
made my choice in favor of Ukraine. I am convinced that my friends will
understand the cost of that choice," he said.
His level treatment of his friends has effective ended those friendships.
The system of high state posts, which was specially devised for the victors
of the Orange Revolution, was revamped again yesterday. After his
inauguration, Yushchenko faced the challenge of finding places for his
closest advisers without offending them.
Three people, Timoshenko, Petr Poroshenko and Alexander Zinchenko,
had pretenses to being prime minister. In order to eliminate the latter two,
Yushchenko embarked on a flight of fantasy and pumped up the authority of
the secretary of the Security Council for Poroshenko, giving Timoshenko
grounds to say that two administrations existed in Ukraine.
The position of state secretary was invented for Zinchenko out of the post
of head of the presidential administration.
Now that for whom the posts were created have left them, Yushchenko has
decided to put them back in their places. Yesterday, he signed an order
depriving the secretary of the security council of the former
super-authority, and silently admitting that Timoshenko's accusations were
justified. In addition, he ordered a reform and reduction of his
administration.
Oleg Rybachuk, saying that he doesn't care for the title "state secretary,"
has thought up a new name for the former presidential administration. Now
it is the secretariat of the president. At the same time, he ordered all his
subordinates to submit their resignations.
"It seems strange to me that several of the comrades [working there] have
been here since 1917. Neither prayers nor radiation could get them out of
here. They had better immune systems than cockroaches," he commented
on the dispersal of the staff.
There is one more point to the administrative reform Yushchenko and
Rybachuk have undertaken. Until now, the powerful state secretary and
secretary of the Security Council counterbalanced the powerful prime
minister. The president's system had checks and balances that would
help it weather political reform.
That is, in the event of a transition form presidential republic to
parliamentary, the president would still keep a little power and still
control many important functions. Now that he is reforming his own
associates, he is denying himself the protection from political reform that
Poroshenko had thought up for him.
The memorandum signed by Yushchenko and Yanukovich envisages the
beginning of political reform on January 1, 2006. That means that the
president begins to lose power on that day. The memorandum also
guarantees that the authorities will not impose political repression and
that there will be freedom of speech in the election campaigns.
That is likely to be enough to guarantee that Ekhanurov's successor as
prime minister is no friend of Yushchenko's. Probably someone named
Yulia.
UKRAINE'S ELEVEN PRIME MINISTERS, 1990-2005
[1] VITVOLD FOKIN, Nov. 14, 1990 (confirmed by the Supreme Council of
the Ukrainian SSR) to Sept. 30, 1992; Deputy speaker of the Rada until
May 1994, the chairman of the supervisory board of the Devon Co.
[2] LEONID KUCHMA, Oct. 14, 1992 to Sept. 21, 1993. President of
Ukraine 1994-2004, now head of the Ukraina philanthropic foundation
[3] VITALY MASOL, June 16, 1994 to March 1, 1995 Retired, headed
the supervisory board of a Ukrainian philanthropic organization
[4] EVGENY MARCHUK, June 8, 1995, appointed by President Leonid
Kuchma under a constitutional agreement to May 27, 1996. Deputy in the
Rada 1996-1998, Took fifth place with 8.13 percent of the vote in
presidential elections in 1999. Secretary of the Security Council 1999-
2003. Minister of Defense 2003-2004. Now head of the Freedom Party
[5] PAVEL LAZARENKO, July 10, 1996 to July 2, 1997. Moved to the
United States, where he was found guilty in June 2004 of money laundering,
corruption and embezzlement of $300 million. Currently under house arrest
[6] VALERY PUSTOVOITENKO, July 16, 1997 to Nov. 30, 1999.
Presidential adviser, secretary of the president's political council and
chairman of Naftogaz Ukrainy in 2000. Minister of Transport 2001-2002.
Now deputy in the Rada and head of the People's Democratic Party of
Ukraine
[7] VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO, December 22, 1999 to April 26, 2001.
Deputy in the Rada 2002-2004. Elected president December 26, 2004
[8] ANATOLY KINAKH, May 29, 2001 to Nov. 16, 2002. Deputy in the
Rada beginning in 2002. Took sixth place with 0.93 percent of the vote in
the 2004 presidential elections. First deputy prime minister (currently in
an acting capacity) since Feb. 2005. Leader of the Party of Industrialists
and Entrepreneurs
[9] VIKTOR YANUKOVICH, Nov. 22, 2002 to Dec. 31, 2004. Leader
of the Party of the Regions, witness in a number of criminal cases
[10] YULIA TIMOSHENKO, Feb. 4, 2005 to Sept, 8, 2005. Leader
of the Yulia Timoshenko Bloc
[11] YURY EKHANUROV, Sept. 22, 2005 -30-
[Editing by The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=1&id=611477
==============================================================
8. UKRAINE PRESS FEARS FOR REVOLUTION
BBC NEWS, BBC Monitoring Service
United Kingdom, Friday, September 23, 2005
A day after Ukraine's parliament approved President Viktor Yushchenko's
choice of prime minister, Yuri Yekhanurov, newspapers wonder if the ideals
of the Orange Revolution have been compromised.
Several commentators note that the vote followed a deal between the two
former election rivals, the pro-West Mr Yushchenko and the Moscow-favoured
Viktor Yanukovych.
Others say Mr Yekhanurov's appointment will deepen the rift between
President Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko, his former prime minister and
close partner during the Orange Revolution.
[1] Oleksandr Polokhalo in pro-government Ukrayina Moloda
Today we are talking about strategic, political and tactical co-operation
between the former presidential candidates - Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor
Yanukovych... This alliance will dismay many supporters of both Yushchenko
and Yanukovych.
One of these politicians symbolises democracy, the other authoritarianism.
This means that, once more, east and west, business and power will be mixed
up. Many of those who stood on Independence Square will view this as a
betrayal.
[2] Yevhen Ikhelzon and Yaroslav Malyuta in opposition Segodnya
The implementation of the deal [between the president and the opposition] in
effect buries the new authorities' plans for a radical shake-up of Ukrainian
politics and the economy. So, is the revolution over? That was the mood
yesterday among Yushchenko's firm supporters.
[3[ Leonid Shvets in pro-Tymoshenko Gazeta Po-Kiyevski
One feels sorry for Mr Yekhanurov. It was his big day, he became Ukraine's
14th prime minister. But he wasn't the hero of the day. There were no
heroes... The epoch of heroes is over. Viktor Yushchenko, who became a
revolutionary against his nature, has returned to his psychological comfort
zone.
Stability is on the agenda. He promises not to touch the opposition, or at
least those who share the values of [former President Leonid] Kuchma.
There's an amnesty for those who rigged the election. Reprivatisation?
Forget it. The president forgives everyone.
[4] Ksenia Vasylenko in independent Den
The outcome of the parliamentary vote, which exceeded all expectations, was
made possible by the [pro-Yanukovych] Regions of Ukraine faction. Some may
see this as a sensation, but in Ukrainian politics it is something of a rule
that yesterday's "enemies" become "friends" today. Two Viktors, two former
presidential candidates, first held a heated discussion and then peacefully
signed an agreement on friendship and co-operation.
[5] Vadym Karasyov in Ukrayina Moloda
The appointment of Yekhanurov ends much of the tension... But two
destabilising factors remain. First, the campaign for parliamentary
elections [in early 2006]. Second, the weakness of the presidential team.
The latest events have demonstrated that weakness.
To reach an agreement means to make concessions. And these agreements
were reached not from a position of strength, but from weakness and
indeterminacy. The radical opposition will play on this. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press,
news agencies and the Internet from 150 countries in more than 70
languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaus abroad
==============================================================
9. UKRAINE POLITICS: BEYOND THE KIEV VOTE
Country Briefing: The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited
London, United Kingdom, Friday, September 22, 2005
After a crisis following his sacking of Ukraine's Prime Minister, President
Yushchenko managed to get her successor approved by parliament on 22
September - considerably sooner than had been expected.
As a result of the deal, which came much sooner than expected, the
nomination of the President's choice, Yuri Yekhanurov, sailed through the
parliament, the Rada. This eases the immediate crisis, but how far the
agreement goes is uncertain - a Regions of Ukraine representative said
the party would not receive any ministerial post in the new Cabinet.
Yekhanurov - seen as a compromise candidate and a reform-minded
professional - is expected to form his government within two weeks. He has
promised to replace two thirds of the ministers, choosing them for
competence rather than for their role in the overthrow of the old regime in
Ukraine at the beginning of this year.
The investment climate should improve as a result though the country faces
major questions.
The week before Tymoshenko went saw a tide of resignations by Cabinet
members, who accused one another of corruption. Behind this, was growing
tension as the outgoing Premier stepped up her campaigning for the March
election, and threatened the economy and investment climate with populist
policies.
The deal opens up the prospect of a period of horse trading which the
President can count on his own Our Ukraine group, the Popular Party of the
Rada speaker, Volodymyr Lytvyn, the Socialists and several small pro-
president factions. But this will not give him a clear majority.
As shown on 22 September, Yushchenko's best hope of gaining effective
parliamentary support lies in winning over old regime parties associated
with the previous era of ex-President Kuchma, which the Orange Revolution
ousted.
As well as Yanukovych's group, these include Social Democrats headed by
Kuchma's former Chief of Staff, Viktor Medvedchuk.
COURT
But reneging on the constitutional changes by appealing to the court would
destroy his credibility as a democratic leader. His Our Ukraine party would
be punished at the polls in March, while Tymoshenko's party would pick up
votes. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
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==============================================================
10. SPEAKER SAYS YUSHCHENKO-YANUKOVYCH MEMORANDUM IS
NOT BETRAYAL OF MAIDAN IDEALS
Tetiana Vesna, Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
LUMLIA, ZHYTOMYR REGION - According to Verkhovna Rada Chairman
Volodymyr Lytvyn, there are no grounds whatsoever to view the Yushchenko-
Yanukovych Memorandum as a betrayal of the Maidan (Independence
Square) ideals. It would have been so if the Maidan had called for
perpetuating societal tensions and discord, Mr Lytvyn noted.
Touching on the budgetary process, the Speaker said that during the bill's
polishing for the first reading amendments may be made, which will
contradict the Government's opinion,
Nonetheless, Mr Lytvyn noted, the Government and the Parliament will have to
find an acceptable median, otherwise the budget bill's chances for adopted
will be pretty bleak.
As Mr Lytvyn commented on the new Government's formation, its members'
professionalism will be judged by their deeds, rather than slogans.
Volodymyr Lytvyn was evasive on what parliamentary factions may be viewed
as a likely destabilizing factor. The Parliament will be a stable and
predictable organ, so any regrouping of forces can be safely ruled out,
Mr Lytvyn, stressed. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
=============================================================
11. UKRAINE'S ORANGE REVOLUTION SAID TO HAVE CONCLUDED
WITH 'POLITICAL ROTATION.'
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, September 23, 2005
KYIV - Mykola Tomenko, former deputy prime minister in the recently sacked
cabinet of Yuliya Tymoshenko, told journalists in Kyiv on 22 September
that the memorandum signed earlier the same day between President
Yushchenko and former Prime Minister Yanukovych marks the beginning
of a new stage in Ukraine that "will definitely not be linked to the Orange
Revolution," the "Ukrayinska pravda"website (http://www.pravda.com.ua)
reported. "
A political rotation took place in Viktor Yushchenko's team, in consequence
of which the place of Yuliya Tymoshenko was taken by [former President]
Leonid Kuchma and [former Prime Minister] Viktor Yanukovych," Tomenko
said.
"The presidential team, because of moral and ethical considerations,
should now eliminate references to the values of the revolutionary
Maydan [Kyiv's Independence Square] from its public vocabulary,
inasmuch as the key slogan on the Maydan was 'Down with Kuchma and
Yanukovych!' not 'Yes for Kuchma and Yanukovych!'" Tomenko added. JM
=============================================================
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==============================================================
12. CONCESSIONS YUSHCHENKO MADE TO RESOLVE
UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CRISIS
ANALYSIS: By Peter Lavelle, RIA Novosti Political Commentator
RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
MOSCOW - For Viktor Yushchenko's nominee, Yury Yekhanurov, to be
confirmed as Ukraine's prime minister on Thursday, he made the following
political concessions and institutional changes.
1. Viktor Yushchenko and his former opponent for the presidency Viktor
Yanukovych, head of the Regions of Ukraine political party, agreed to a
"non-aggression" pact that weakens the anti-Yushchenko opposition and
puts political forces supporting former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko
on the defensive.
2. Vitalii Khomutynnyk from the Regions party told media Yushchenko had
promised not to pursue any political persecution of his opponents and would
refrain from any steps aimed at the repeat privatization of enterprises, as
well as not to support the opening of criminal cases related to the 2004
presidential elections.
3. For this "non-aggression" pact, the Regions' will receive in return the
establishment of a new and powerful position of deputy prime minister for
inter-regional affairs, to be taken by a Regions faction nominee.
4. Neither former Economy Minister Serhiy Teriokhin nor Deputy Prime
Minister/Minister of Culture Mykola Tomenko will hold portfolios in the new
government.
Teriokhin was the leading voice in the Tymoshenko Cabinet against stronger
economic cooperation with Russia under the umbrella of the Common
Economic Space (the proposed Russia-centric economic zone comprising
some former Soviet states). Teriokhin is widely seen as a strong Tymoshenko
ally.
5. Before parliament's vote on Yekhanurov's candidacy, Yushchenko signed
a directive strengthening the Presidential Secretariat, with powers being
transferred to that office of powers that were formerly held by the National
Security and Defense Council formerly headed by the president's ally and
"oligarch" Petro Poroshenko.
6. The position of first assistant to the president, held by the
controversial and accused of corruption Oleksandr Tretyakov, was abolished.
The convention wisdom is that Tretyakov will not return to government any
time soon.
7. Yushchenko established the post of Head of the Presidential Secretariat,
abolishing the post of State Secretary - formerly headed by Oleksandr
Zynchenko, the politician who first claimed that corruption was rife within
Yushchenko's inner circle. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20050923/41487327.html
==============================================================
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TURNS TO ORANGE REVOLUTION FOE
TO GET PREMIER APPROVED
"This could be seen as the firm sign that the Orange Revolution is
finished," said Markiyan Bilinskyi, an analyst with the Kiev-based
U.S.-Ukraine foundation.
By Anna Melnichuk, AP Worldstream
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko pushed his nominee for prime minister
through parliament, but at the cost of forging an awkward pact with an arch
enemy of last year's Orange Revolution.
With just six months remaining before parliamentary elections, the move in
support of Yuriy Yekhanurov now puts Yushchenko in the uncomfortable
position of having to justify his truce with the political forces he so
bitterly opposed.
The 450-member parliament on Thursday voted 289-0 to confirm Yekhanurov,
well above the necessary 226 votes. Some four dozen lawmakers, however,
did not vote, and many others were absent from their seats.
The extra backing came after Yushchenko signed a formal truce with the
political party of Viktor Yanukovych, the losing candidate in last year's
bitterly contested presidential vote. That helped offset the defection of
some Orange Revolution allies after the Sept. 8 ouster of former Prime
Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
"It's time to bury the war hatchet and to forget where it lies," Yushchenko
said before the vote.
As deputies applauded, Yushchenko, who had come to the session, stood
up and hugged Yekhanurov. He said later that a "unique understanding" had
been found.
Yekhanurov, a former governor from eastern Ukraine, said he would unveil the
composition of his Cabinet next week in the eastern city of Dnipropetrovsk _
a highly symbolic measure in a region that overwhelmingly backed Yanukovych
over Yushchenko in last year's heated race.
Yekhanurov said that at least one-third of his new appointments would be
technocrats free from politics.
The agreement between Yushchenko, Yekhanurov and Yanukovych was tailored
to give greater rights to the opposition and pushes forward implementation
of reforms that would give most presidential powers to parliament.
The deal also would give more power to local authorities, including immunity
from prosecution for regional legislators. It also calls for an amnesty for
those convicted of election violations.
The new vote came two days after parliament barely failed to approve
Yekhanurov's candidacy. After a series of consultations, Yushchenko won a
safe victory with an additional 50 votes from Yanukovych's party, which had
abstained on Tuesday.
"This could be seen as the firm sign that the Orange Revolution is
finished," said Markiyan Bilinskyi, an analyst with the Kiev-based
U.S.-Ukraine foundation.
Vira Nanivska, director of the International Center for Policy Studies, said
however that the alliance showed revolutionary fervor was being replaced
with pragmatism. Many lawmakers called Yekhanurov, an economist, the right
choice. Others complained that he will just be a caretaker leader ahead of
March's elections.
Critics also said that the intense struggle to get Yekhanurov approved was
achieved only with behind-the-scenes horsetrading.
Petro Poroshenko, a top Yushchenko ally and the former head of the powerful
Security Council, denied those allegations.
Yushchenko "presented a prime minister with the widest powers to pick his
team, (someone) who doesn't have any obligations to any political forces,"
Poroshenko told reporters. "I want to confirm that the president didn't
trade away even one ministerial job."
Poroshenko, who had long feuded with Tymoshenko, is currently being
investigated for abuse of office, charges he called "totally groundless."
The allegations against him led to the breakup of the Orange Revolution
team.
Last year's presidential battle between Yushchenko and Yanukovych was a
bitter fight that culminated in the Orange Revolution mass protests and the
Supreme Court's decision to invalidate Yanukovych's fraudulent victory.
==============================================================
14. UKRAINE: AGREEMENT WITH YANUKOVYCH MAY RESULT IN
POLITICAL FIRESTORM FOR YUSHCHENKO
Viewed by his most vociferous supporters as a betrayal
of Orange Revolution principles
NEWS AND COMMENTARY: By FirsTnews
FirsTnews, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, September 23, 2005
KYIV - On Tuesday of this week, President Viktor Yushchenko, freshly
returned from his triumphal tour of the United States, saw the first act of
a vastly different situation begin to play itself out on the Ukrainian
political stage.
However, the initial defeat and later resurrection of the nomination as
prime minister of Yuriy Yekhanurov has become almost a sideshow to the
main act.
Yushchenko was able to accomplish Yekhanurov’s acceptance only by signing
an agreement with his old enemy Viktor Yanukovych that first became public
on Yanukovych’s Regions of Ukraine website.
The publication of this agreement, which will be viewed by many of his most
vociferous supporters as a betrayal of Orange Revolution principles, is
expected to generate a firestorm of protest that may complicate Yushchenko’s
political maneuverability for some time to come.
KYIV, Sept. 23 (FirsTnews) – The failure of the nomination of Yuriy
Yekhanurov to gain approval on Tuesday resulted in frantic maneuvering by
the forces of President Viktor Yushchenko.
By Thursday, an agreement reached by Yekhanurov, former Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych and President Viktor Yushchenko allowed a repeated vote
that saw Yekhanurov’s nomination approved by 289 votes, a margin of 63
votes more than the 226 required, with most of that coming in a massive
shift in support by Regions of Ukraine faction members.
The complete text of the Yekhanurov/Yanukovych/Yushchenko agreement may
be found at:
http://www.firstnews.com.ua/ni_upload/Ukraine-tripartite-political-agreement-050922.doc
The newly sworn in Prime Minister Yekhanurov said late Thursday that he
would announce his complete list of nominations for cabinet posts next week
in Dnipropetrovsk.
At this time the list of nominees is still not complete and a great deal of
bargaining between Yekhanurov and various parliamentary factions is in
progress. However, certain outlines and themes have become apparent.
All signs so far point to the most certain high level departures from the
original cabinet being those of Serhiy Teriokhin, former economy minister,
and Mykola Tomenko, former deputy prime minister for humanitarian affairs.
Neither is believed to have any chance of accommodation in the new
Yekhanurov government.
There is one familiar face, but not from an earlier government, not that of
Tymoshenko. FirsTnews has learned from sources we consider absolutely
reliable that Leonid Kozachenko will return to his old position as deputy
prime minister for agrarian policies.
We also have reason to believe that all three Socialist ministers in the
Tymoshenko government, Yuriy Lutsenko at Internal Affairs, Stanislav
Nikolayenko at Education, and Oleksandr Baranivskiy at Agrarian Policies
will be renominated.
Yuriy Kostenko, former presidential candidate and head of the Ukrainian
People’s Party (formerly Rukh), is said to be under consideration as
minister of emergency situations.
We will provide updates as justified by events in this highly fluid
situation. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR0 Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
15. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT TURNS TO A RIVAL
Election Foe Backs Choice for Premier
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service in Moscow
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 23, 2005; A15
MOSCOW, Sept. 22 -- President Viktor Yushchenko of Ukraine won
parliamentary backing Thursday for his choice to become prime minister,
but only by securing support from the man he once accused of trying to
steal the presidency from him.
"It's time to bury the war hatchet and to forget where it lies," Yushchenko
said.
Before the vote, he signed an agreement with the Party of Regions, which is
led by Viktor Yanukovych, Yushchenko's opponent in the battle for the
presidency last year. Yanukovych defeated Yushchenko in balloting that was
widely condemned as fraudulent and that sparked massive street protests,
leading to a new vote that Yushchenko won easily.
The president entered into the unlikely alliance to solve a political crisis
that began this month when he dismissed his prime minister and onetime
close ally, Yulia Tymoshenko.
Yushchenko, 51, nominated Yuriy Yekhanurov to replace her, but in a
parliamentary vote Tuesday, Yekhanurov failed to muster enough votes to win
appointment.
On Thursday, Yanukovych swung his party's 50 parliamentary votes behind
Yekhanurov, 57, a regional governor and Yushchenko loyalist.
Yanukovych's party will not become part of the government, but the two
leaders agreed to a 10-point memorandum that includes clauses on political
reform, free access to the media for all parties, and guarantees of no
widespread reexamination of state property sales.
The new prime minister said that he expects to name a government next week
and that at least a third of the ministries will be headed by technocrats
rather than politicians.
He said his accession signified "the reconciliation of Ukrainian elites in
the east and the west." That was a reference to last year's presidential
fight, in which Yanukovych drew much of his support in the country's east
while Yushchenko swept the west and the capital.
The coalition that led last year's Orange Revolution has fallen apart amid
charges of corruption in the presidential administration and in the
government. Tymoshenko, 44, and her supporters publicly supported the
allegations.
The appointment of Yekhanurov could be only a brief moratorium in the clash
between Yushchenko and Tymoshenko. Parliamentary elections are scheduled
for March, and Tymoshenko, who remains very popular with the public, will be
seeking to return to the office of prime minister after the vote.
Yushchenko's agreement with Yanukovych is likely to be a prominent subject
in the campaign. The issue of corruption may also linger. Ukraine's
prosecutor general said this week that he has opened an investigation into
at least five accusations of official misconduct against members of the
administration. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
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16. YUSHENKO OWES POLITICAL DEBT
Moscow is fine with this course of events. From now on, it doesn't see
Yushenko as dangerous as he was during the "orange revolution."
COMMENTARY: By Sergey Strokan, Columnist
Kommersant, Russia's Daily Online
Moscow, Russia, Friday, September 23, 2005
After yesterday's voting in Supreme Rada, a lot of people would think that
the confirmation of new Ukrainian Prime Minister was the main event of the
day. They would be wrong. The main news in Kiev was not the one that people
voted Yuri Ekhanurov in.
The most amazing was the fact of who gave their voices for Ekhanurov and
thus saved Viktor Yushenko from another political blow - the fatal one. It
was not Yulia Timoshenko who changed the balance on the weights in favor
of Yushenko.
It was no other than Viktor Yanukovich - the main antagonist of current
Ukrainian president. This was the main news and that can effectively change
today's Ukrainian political map by mixing the orange, yellow-blue and other
colors in a strange combination.
However, the combination looks strange only from the first glance. The logic
of the events pushed two Viktors to this necessary for both of them union.
And now, the political fates of Yushenko and Yanukovich depend on this
union.
Several weeks after Yushenko took presidential office he found out that
there are many obstacles on the way of his beautiful, even if a little bit
abstract, idea of making a world to rediscover a new Ukrainian nation.
If this idea, which gathered thousands of people on the streets, would die -
the Yushenko's political death would follow right after.
And it wouldn't even matter if he still would be sitting in presidential
chair or if he would keep his powers after the political reform. Now, after
receiving a chance to move forward, President Yushenko will still remain in
the eyes of Ukrainians as their national leader.
The political survival of Viktor Yanukovich also depends of Yushenko, and
not of his recent sponsor Rinat Akhmetov, Donetsk's billionaire, or the
Leonid Kuchma's associates, or even the Kremlin. To be in hard opposition
to the president would not benefit Yanukovich or pay him political
dividends.
The empty niche of the number one in Ukrainian political opposition was
already taken by Yulia Timoshenko. And she was not planning to make any
kind of alliances with Yanukovich. The alliance with Yanukovich would
compromise former prime minister's "orange idea."
Besides, charismatic Timoshenko is able to create her own political future
without any help from the former Kuchma's cadre. She might need him only
as a target for her electoral campaign.
Not finding a place for himself neither at the power, nor in opposition,
Viktor Yanukovich ended up in political vacuum. However, now he got the
leverage to influence new Ukrainian politics. Yushenko has a debt to pay to
Yanukovich and big one too.
Moscow is fine with this course of events. From now on, it doesn't see
Yushenko as dangerous as he was during the "orange revolution."
[The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.kommersant.com/page.asp?idr=520&id=611448
================================================================
17. MOSCOW UNDECIDED ON POLICY TOWARD CRISIS-STRICKEN UKRAINE
COMMENTARY: By Igor Torbakov, Eurasia Daily Monitor
Vol. 2, No. 177, The Jamestown Foundation
Washington, D.C., Friday, September 23, 2005
The gloating heard in the Kremlin over Kyiv's political troubles is giving
way to concern and apprehension. While fully realizing the utmost importance
of the current Ukrainian events, Russian strategists appear to be at a loss
as to how exactly Moscow should act in order to take full advantage of the
political crisis in the neighboring Slavic country.
There seems to be a consensus among Russia's policymakers and pundits
that the turbulent political processes that are unfolding in Ukraine these
days deserve their closest attention and most serious analysis. As one
commentary bluntly put it, "There are no developments more important
for Russia than those in Ukraine today."
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his top political advisors were
undoubtedly very pleased when the first news about discord within Ukraine's
Orange camp reached Moscow. Such an emotional reaction is quite
understandable: the Kremlin was deeply involved in last year's political
struggle in Ukraine and severely traumatized by the results and perceived
strategic loss.
The feeling of satisfaction, however, is diminishing, as some Russian
analysts characterize the situation in Ukraine as "not just a political
crisis but the decomposition of [state] power as such."
While welcoming the general weakening of the "Orange regime" in Kyiv, the
Kremlin at the same time is wary of the crisis spiraling out of control and
resulting in political chaos. For Russia, says Gleb Pavlovsky, the Kremlin's
leading political technologist, "the [biggest] risk is the second revolution
in Ukraine" and the eruption of all-out war among the country's fractious
political elites.
But the problem is that Moscow simply does not know which policy vis-à-vis
Ukraine to take. "At the moment, Russia does not have a solid strategic
position with regard to Ukraine. That is why it is still unclear which
developments in that country correspond, or do not correspond, with our
interests," acknowledges Sergei Markov, the Kremlin-connected director of
the Institute of Political Studies.
Moscow's first impulse likely was to take a harsh line and try to pressure
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko into changing his Western-leaning
policies by using Russia's powerful energy leverage. There is a school of
thought within Russia's policymaking community that vociferously advocates
teaching Kyiv a good lesson on geopolitical loyalty by hiking the price for
Russian gas deliveries up to the world level.
The ongoing crisis that seemingly makes Ukraine an easy target, the hawkish
commentators argue, is the best possible timing for turning to a tough
policy. This is a surest way, they say, to make Ukraine sober up quickly and
return to Russia's orbit.
But the opponents of this argument rightly point to the mutual dependency of
the Russian and Ukrainian economic systems. If Moscow's "disciplinary
measures" send the already faltering Ukrainian economy into a nosedive, many
businesses in Russia will also be negatively affected.
Furthermore, the deepening of Ukraine's economic mess, some Russian
experts note, would lead to a drastic devaluation of property in the
neighboring country, including a good number of lucrative companies that
currently belong to Russian industrialists.
In addition, Russia's rude economic pressure would likely strengthen the
hand of Ukraine's anti-Moscow and pro-Western political forces, which might
eventually result in their strong showing at the upcoming - and politically
crucial - parliamentary elections in the spring of 2006.
On the other hand, the more perceptive Russian observers are slowly coming
to understand that in the aftermath of last year's political turmoil, "There
is not any other Ukraine but the 'Orange' one." The values that were born in
Kyiv's Independence Square are those that are currently being shared by both
the new powers that be and the new opposition.
These values and ideals form the foundation on which the new Ukrainian
society is being built. By the same token, all the influential political
forces in Ukraine, save for the really marginal groups, will likely support
the country's pro-Western, Europe-oriented, vector of geo-strategic
development.
Proceeding from these assumptions, some Russian analysts argue, it would
be the Kremlin's fatal mistake to continue clinging to the old stereotypes
that are completely irrelevant to the new situation on the ground in Ukraine
and, in one commentator's phrase, to try "to resurrect the political corpses
of the past."
Thus, the attempts at building a big pro-Russian political bloc in Ukraine
will be counter-productive for Moscow. One of the Orange Revolution's most
significant outcomes is that Ukrainians reached a qualitatively new level of
political development that markedly differs from that of their Russian
neighbors. Consequently, the argument goes, it is simply impractical to
"return" them to Russia by resorting to economic and/or political pressure.
Remarkably, even Pavlovsky, who, as the Kremlin's principal point man in
Kyiv during Ukraine's 2004 presidential campaign, was personally humiliated
by the Yushchenko victory, admitted in a recent interview that "in politics,
it is a decidedly erroneous behavior to succumb to the desire to settle the
old scores and let the old grudges define your strategy."
It remains to be seen, though, whether this time the Kremlin succeeds in
suppressing its "basic instinct" to dominate the weaker partners. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Rossiiskaya gazeta, September 22; Izvestiya, APN.ru, Politcom.ru,
September 21; Murkowski komsomolets, Nezavisimaya gazeta, Vremya
novostei, September 20, Kompaniya, September 19)
==============================================================
Send in names and e-mail addresses for the AUR distribution list.
==============================================================
18. UKRAINIAN EX-PREMIER'S PARTY EXPELS SIX MP'S
FOR BACKING NEW PRIME MINISTER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1024 gmt 23 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, Friday, September 23, 2005 (10:24)
KIEV Six MPs have been expelled from the Yuliya Tymoshenko
Bloc's [parliamentary] faction, a UNIAN correspondent reports. Supreme
Council [parliament] first deputy speaker Adam Martynyuk announced the
expulsions in parliament.
The following MPs have been expelled from the faction: Mykola Budahyants,
Serhiy Holovatyy, Anatoliy Kozlovskyy, Ihor Smiyanenko, Mykola Soloshenko
and Enver Tskitishvili.
Yesterday these MPs voted in favour of Yuriy Yekhanurov's candidacy for
prime minister, although the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc faction had decided not
to vote for Yekhanurov. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
==============================================================
19. PEELING AWAY UKRAINE'S 'ORANGE REVOLUTION'
Can the beleaguered president weather the latest crisis?
ANALYSIS: By Alexa Chopivsky, Reporter, NBC News
MSNBC, New York, New York, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2005
NOTE: The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No. 568, yesterday published
this article. Alexa Chopivsky contacted to me and said that while reading
her article on The Action Ukraine Report she realized that part of the
article was missing.
Alexa then checked the MSNBC website and found that there had been
an error and that her article on the website was not complete. She then
had the article changed on the MSNBC website. Here is the complete
text of the article as it now appears on the MSNBC website. EDITOR
NEW YORK - On a visit here for the United Nations 60th anniversary summit, a
week after he fired his government, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko
compared the atmosphere in Ukraine to "the spirit that comes after a big
rain and thunderstorm, when you have so much fresh air that you can't breath
enough of it."
Just one week later, there is a new storm brewing - one that threatens to
flatten the existing political landscape and make Yushchenko, the hero of
the "Orange Revolution," a lame-duck president.
But, for the moment, he seems to have weathered the maelstrom after
securing his choice for prime minister on Thursday.
POLITICAL INFIGHTING
In what was said to be an effort to root out corruption and quash infighting
among top leaders, Yushchenko abruptly dismissed his government on Sept.
8. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, a fiery leader who played a key role in
uniting demonstrators on Kiev's Independence Square during the Orange
Revolution last winter, was among those sacked.
Only a day after losing her job, Tymoshenko announced she was forming an
opposition that will run against Yushchenko in Ukraine's March 2006
parliamentary elections. Yushchenko rejected Tymoshenko's subsequent call
to be reinstated as his number two, plunging Ukraine into further political
chaos.
But, on Thursday, just two days after an initial 'no' vote, Yuri Yekhanurov,
Yushchenko's replacement for prime minister, was approved in Parliament.
Yushchenko secured Yekhanurov's approval only after making a deal with his
former Orange Revolution foe Viktor Yanukovich, who helped propel
Yekhanurov over the top.
Securing the stability of a loyal prime minister was vital to Yushchenko
ahead of the critical parliamentary elections coming up in March, but the
threat from the opposition still exists.
'HURRICANE YULIA'
"At the moment it's a very fluid situation. Yushchenko has a chance to pull
something together but it will be a real test of his political skill. In the
past few months he hasn't been demonstrating that skill," said Columbia
University Professor Mark von Hagen.
"My fear is that Tymoshenko is a political animal, and Yushchenko isn't,"
said Taras Kuzio, a visiting professor at George Washington University.
"You've heard of Katrina. This is 'Hurricane Yulia.'"
An energetic orator, Tymoshenko is known for her political smarts, as well
as good looks that are distinguished by her signature braided hairstyle.
Forbes magazine recently ranked her third on its 100 Most Powerful
Women list. Elle magazine put her on its May cover.
"Many people think Tymoshenko will win in March. She was like a mother
symbol on Maidan [Independence Square]," said Ukrainian television
journalist Maryana Voronovych.
DISILLUSIONMENT
Ukrainians have expressed increasing frustration at the slow pace of reforms
that were promised during the Orange Revolution.
"The Orange Revolution gave the people hopes for a better life and a new
relationship between citizens and authorities. Society gave a clear signal:
apart from bread and butter, the people wanted a different attitude from
officials, policemen, judges, and communal service," wrote Yulia Mostovaya
in a Kiev-based weekly publication, "Zerkalo Nedeli."
There is a sense that the Orange Revolution offered an opportunity for
change that was never seized upon. With little movement on the promised
reforms, there is now a fear that the pervasive mistrust of government is
tarnishing Yushenko's image.
Yushchenko's "biggest problem is that the public will come to see him like
all the others," said Kuzio. "Kuchma [the former Ukrainian president] had
his oligarchs, now Yushchenko has his oligarchs. What's changed? The
people saw in Yushchenko someone who was different."
AMERICAN SUPPORTERS STAND BY THEIR MAN
Yushchenko explained why he had dismissed his government last week to a
group of American based supporters at a New York event for The Orange
Circle, a group dedicated to continuing the ideals of the Orange Revolution
and founded by prominent democracy activist Adrian Karatnycky.
"We saw Ukraine losing momentum, we saw Ukraine's ideals that were
cherished on the Maidan [Independence Square] falling into jeopardy," the
president said.
"At the end of the day, the conflict between several government leaders
could have led to a serious national crisis and conflict," Yushchenko said
"This was the way we passed the test of self-purification. We proved that
we're still responsible to the people."
Despite the political turmoil at home, Yushchenko received a warm welcome
at the Orange Circle event and maintains the support of the group's founder,
Karatnycky. "Yushchenko is that honest leader Ukraine has needed since its
independence," he said.
But Kuzio from George Washington University believes that the upcoming
months will be tough ones. "Many people say that he's naïve, he's not a
hands-on leader. They say he only acts in a crisis, when it's already too
late."
Professor Alexander Motyl, Deputy Director of the Center for Global Change
and Governance at Rutgers, agrees with Kuzio. "His primary challenge is to
persuade the electorate that his government is not 'like them,'" said Motyl,
referring to former President Kuchma's regime.
Motyl went on to say that Yushchenko needs to show Ukrainians that his
government "is still fully committed to the ideals of the Orange Revolution,
and that it is capable of changing things for the better."
NOT READY TO GIVE UP THE FAIRY TALE
Commenting on the shifting Ukrainian political landscape, former U.S.
National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski recalled a young Ukrainian
girl telling him that the Orange Revolution was "like a fairy tale."
"And I said to myself, 'There's a Prince Charming in it. There's a very
pretty princess in it,'" referring to Yushchenko and Tymoshenko.
Brzezinski warned, "But a fairy tale, when you wake up, can turn into a
nightmare. It is terribly important to demonstrate that the Orange
Revolution was not just a fairy tale."
For now, Yushchenko is determined to hang on and his victory on Thursday
shows that he has no intention of giving up easily. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9428617/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: The Action Ukraine Report congratulates Alexa Chopivsky
on her fine article. I visited with her briefly in Washington, D.C. on
Monday, September 19th at CSIS where Ukraine's Foreign Minister
Borys Tarasyuk made a presentation.
Alexa grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. She mentioned on Monday
she is being assigned to the NBC office in London. We also offer her
congratulations and best wishes on her new assignment.
Alexa's mother, Mrs. Laryssa Courtney, has been involved in the
Washington, D.C. area Ukrainian activities for many years and most
recently served as chair of The Washington Group's Cultural Committee,
helping promote Ukrainian art and culture in the region. Alexa's
grandmother was held as a Ukrainian prisoner in a German camp
during WWII.
Alexa's father, George Chopivsky, has been active regarding Ukrainian
matters for many years and has been a businessman and investor in
Ukraine for the past ten years. George's grandfather's were both high-
level officials in the new Ukrainian government in Kyiv during the brief
period of independence after WWI. One of his grandfather's was later
arrested and imprisoned by the Soviets and died in a prison camp in
Siberia.
Alexa Chopivsky; Alexa.Chopivsky@nbcuni.com. EDITOR
==============================================================
20. MAJOR CONFERENCE ON UKRAINE BEING HELD IN WASHINGTON
UKRAINE'S QUEST FOR MATURE NATION STATEHOOD ROUNDTABLE VI
WASHINGTON, D.C, SEPTEMBER 27 & 28
"Ukraine's Transition To An Established National Identity"
THERE ARE STILL A FEW PLACES OPEN AT THE CONFERENCE
PLEASE REGISTER IMMEDIATELY
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR), No 569, Article 16
Washington, D.C., Saturday, September 24, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The sixth conference in the Ukraine's Quest for
Mature Nation Statehood Roundtable Series will be held in Washington,
D.C., September 27-29, 2005, under the title 'Ukraine's Transition To An
Established National Identity' according to an announcement by the
chairman of the conference's steering committee, Michael Sawkiw,
Jr., President of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA).
The two-day conference, during the course of four regular sessions, will
feature twelve topical panels, four focus sessions, two working lunches and
a Conference reception. The conference will be held at Washington's
Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in the Pavilion
Room.
The gathering will bring together key government and non-government
representatives of Ukraine, the United States and several of Ukraine's
neighbors as well as experts from academia to evaluate Ukraine's ability to
develop a "firm center of gravity as a nation/state" and to define Ukraine's
"distinct sense of place in global affairs", particularly in the aftermath
of the historic Orange Revolution which took place in the fall of 2004,
resulting in the election of Viktor Yushchenko as president of Ukraine.
CONFERENCE FEATURES OVER SEVENTY SPEAKERS
Over 70 speakers, a veritable Who's Who from the American, Ukrainian
and European governmental, NGO and private sectors, have been invited
to provide their insights regarding the domestic and foreign policies of
Ukraine's current government and their impact on the development of a
new global face for Ukraine.
The Roundtable series began when a number of Ukrainian and American
organizations convened in April of 2000 to consider ways of encouraging a
more engaged level of dialogue between the United States and Ukraine,
according to the program coordinator for the Roundtable series, Walter
Zaryckyj, Executive Director/Center for US-Ukrainian Relations/Associate
Professor of Social Sciences/New York University.
These deliberations led to a commitment to convene an annual conference
to monitor Ukraine's progress towards fuller integration into the Euro-
Atlantic community and assist in developing stronger bilateral relations
with the U.S, according to Zaryckyj (waz1@nyu.edu).
Such conferences are vital for and have proven extremely successful in
opening up lines of communication and strengthening bilateral relations
between the United States and Ukraine.
CONFERENCE REGISTRATION
_______________________________________Name
_______________________________________Title
_______________________________________Affiliation
Information will appear on the conference's official list of participants
REGISTRATION FEE SCHEDULE:
____ I will attend the proceedings both days, Sep 27 & 28
$250 [8 panels, 6 focus sessions, 2 working lunches
Both Days & conference reception]
____ I will attend the proceedings on September 27th only
$125 [4 panels, 3 focus sessions & 1 working lunch]
____ I will attend the proceedings on September 28th only
$150 [4 panels, 1 working lunch, 3 focus sessions & conference
reception]
All checks & money orders should be made out to "UCCA- RTVI."
Please submit your response card with appropriate registration fee to:
Ukraine's Quest For Mature Nation Statehood - Roundtable VI
C/o Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, 203 Second
Avenue, New York, NY 10003.
For complete information on registration contact Tamara Gallo, Executive
Coordinator, 212 228-6840, fax: 212 254-4721, or e-mail: ucca@ucca.org.
HOTEL RESERVATIONS
Information sent by the executive coordinator to The Action Ukraine Report
stated a block of rooms have been reserved for the conference at The
Churchill Hotel, 1914 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, at a
discounted rate. For information about hotel reservations please contact
Ms. Daria Tomashosky, Hamalia Travel at: hamaliasouth@aol.com or
(941) 426 2542. -30-
==============================================================
21. ILLINOIS SENATOR OBAMA TOURS THE FORMER SOVIET UNION,
MONITORS THE DESTRUCTION OF COLD WAR MUNITIONS -
TAKES NOTES FROM SENIOR STATESMAN SEN. LUGAR
By Jeff Zeleny, Tribune correspondent
Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Illinois, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
DONETSK, Ukraine -- Sen. Barack Obama ducked his head, stepped over a
puddle of oil and slowly walked down the dark corridor of a giant weapons
factory. A blast of heat made the room feel like a scorching furnace. "Don't
touch the orange stuff," warned a worker. "Don't worry," Obama replied.
The orange stuff was TNT. A crew of three men, their faces covered by white
masks, were melting piles of ammunition. Their job was to extract explosives
and render the Soviet-era weapons--some relics from World War II--weapons
no more.
After watching for a minute or so, Obama walked to a workbench in a nearby
building where three women were taking apart artillery shells with their
gloved hands. The large munitions, crafted here by generations before them,
soon would be reduced to scrap metal.
"All of the workers have masks on. Why don't we?" Obama said, looking over
thousands of dirty gray weapons that had been discarded into a heap. "This
doesn't breed a lot of confidence."
The junior senator from Illinois had come to this cavernous industrial
plant, tucked away in the forests of eastern Ukraine, to see and to learn.
He had come to this dilapidated, rusty factory, not far from the Russian
border, for a lesson about how weapons of the past can present a danger for
the future. He had come here, in his first foreign trip since taking office,
as one of the requisite stops in the making of a senator.
But for all of his acclaim in the Senate's freshman class, on this trip
Obama assumed a different role: The political understudy.
The chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Sen. Richard Lugar
(R-Ind.), was taken by Obama's interest in the subject of arms control.
Shortly after Obama's election, the two traded phone calls. And Lugar
invited his Democratic colleague, 29 years his junior, to join his annual
trip inspecting weapons sites across the former Soviet Union.
In his campaign last year, Obama talked at length about the urgency of
securing and eliminating vast stockpiles of weapons--nuclear, biological and
conventional--to prevent terrorism. But it wasn't until he saw the weapons
for himself, until he touched an old shell casing, looked warily at a deadly
vial of anthrax and watched the dismantling of a nuclear missile, that he
could speak with authority.
"It's one thing when you're reading about a nuclear site in a book. It's
another thing to be able to describe what I've seen," Obama said. "You
realize as a senator there are so many issues out there tugging on people,
you've got to make things vivid for them in order to capture people's
attention."
So now, after a recent weeklong trip to Russia, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, he
can tell the story of taking a seat on a bus, with curtains covering the
windows, and being whisked to a secret nuclear storage site where only a
handful of Americans have been. Or the story of seeing the potential threat
from deadly vials of plagues that are secured by little more than a padlock
a child would use on a school locker.
Or the story of being under heavy surveillance by Russian authorities as he
peeked into a building where an SS-25 missile, once aimed at the United
States, waits to be dismantled. This is one chapter in the education of a
senator.
A year ago, Obama's world was composed of a far narrower set of issues in
the Illinois legislature. Now, as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee, his portfolio is global. And on this trip, he was able to study
at the elbow of Lugar, one of the mandarins of U.S. foreign policy.
They shared vodka toasts with foreign leaders and local dignitaries. (Obama
discreetly asked for water in his shot glass.) They were detained for more
than three hours by Russian border guards. (Obama paced a bit, but
ultimately joined Lugar in taking a nap until the ordeal ended.) They met
British Prime Minister Tony Blair at 10 Downing Street in London. ("They let
me sit in Winston Churchill's reading chair!" Obama declared.)
When you're a freshman senator, particularly in the minority party, a mentor
or tour guide is critical. Lugar, a frequent visitor to Russia and other
former Soviet republics since becoming an advocate for nuclear disarmament
14 years ago, not only served that role but did something that might be
unthinkable in America: He overshadowed Obama.
Seldom can Obama go anywhere in the United States, at least in political
circles, without being stopped for a photograph or autograph. But on this
foreign trip, he was barely recognized. While Lugar breezed through security
at a top-secret Russian nuclear site, Obama was stopped for identification.
"I very much feel like the novice and pupil," conceded Obama, 44, looking
out the window as he flew over the Russian countryside from Moscow to Perm.
WORDS MEASURED WITH PRECISION
It had been more than five years since Obama had been outside the United
States. His blue tourist passport, which he had taken across Asia, Australia
and Africa as well as most of Europe, was replaced by a burgundy one that
designates him an official of the U.S. government.
Motorcades have replaced motorbikes and bodyguards have replaced tour
guides. (In Moscow, embassy officials were sufficiently concerned about
Obama's safety to place an extra bodyguard by his side.)
And never before has he been an envoy of the United States, where his words
are measured with consequential precision. It is not appropriate, for
example, to turn up your nose when being served fish gelatin by a Russian
host. It is not advisable to speak critically.
As Obama stood in front of more than a dozen Ukrainian reporters at the
weapons destruction site, he declared: "I'm extremely impressed with the
facility." A few moments later, when pressed in a Tribune interview, he
said: "I'm being polite. The place speaks for itself. This is a somewhat
run-down and not a spick-and-span factory."
He said he was attempting to be diplomatic. "Some of that means that in your
public statements," Obama said, "you end up trafficking in public platitudes
more than you'd want to do at home."
Indeed, the education of a senator calls for considerable sensitivity and
tact, along with a keen awareness of local culture and a solid grasp of
their issues.
Yet repeatedly, Obama referred to the country as "The" Ukraine. The U.S.
State Department advises Americans to simply call the country "Ukraine,"
which Lugar and others did. While the difference might seem slight, adding
"the" suggests a failure to recognize its status as a sovereign country that
no longer is part of the Soviet empire.
But in the next breath, the senator spoke in a way that appealed to everyone
who was listening, painting a broad picture of the global need to
disassemble weapons. It sounded not only senatorial, an official traveling
with the group said, but decidedly human and free of wonkish details.
"These shells behind us, these casings, are a testimony to the decades that
have been spent creating weapons of destruction," Obama said, speaking at a
news conference here. "The hopes in the programs that have been discussed
today are that we can start using our resources to dismantle these arms and
create a more peaceful and safe future for the people of Ukraine and for
people all around the world."
The biography of Obama, with a black father from Africa, a white mother from
America and years of childhood spent abroad, brings a unique worldview to
the Senate. Intrigued by his background, Lugar encouraged Obama to seek a
Foreign Relations Committee seat.
When Obama sketched out his first year in office, he selected nuclear
proliferation as a priority. Then he took care not to make his agenda sound
too international, reminding people in nearly three dozen town meetings
across Illinois that it was a local issue too.
"We could have a nuclear bomb going off in the middle of the Chicago Loop,"
Obama declared in January, speaking to a few hundred residents of Lockport,
Ill., many of whom wore startled looks on their faces. "Without
fear-mongering, if we don't keep nuclear devices out of the hands of
terrorists, it could just kill hundreds of thousands of people."
DISMANTLING MISSILES
The tour bus chugged across a winding, rutted highway toward a nuclear
weapons destruction site outside the Russian city of Perm. Obama was
engrossed in the new book by Graham Allison, "Nuclear Terrorism: The
Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe." He barely looked up as a barren soccer
field, toppled statues of Soviet icons and closed factories passed by the
tinted window.
When a Russian security official boarded the bus and began reading a roll
call of the American visitors, Obama put the book aside. He listened
intently during the safety briefing. "Don't forget to grab the metal handle
and ground yourself when you walk in," the official said, reminding that
electromagnetism and nuclear reactors don't mix.
Obama, a step or two behind Lugar, walked into a metal building that looked
like a Midwestern manufacturing plant. Inside, a dark-green missile, about
one-third the size of a football field, waited to be disassembled. "There
are 10 warheads in that one container?" Obama asked.
American tax dollars are paying for missiles to be transported from
elsewhere in Russia--across new roads, over new railroad tracks and into new
buildings--and consultants from U.S.-based Washington Group International
are eager to show the senators around. And part of the official mission is
to judge whether the money is being well-spent.
Obama climbed 28 steps--wooden two-by-fours attached to round tree
branches--to a platform that overlooked a clearing in the forest with
several huts containing nuclear weapons. Among Russian guards and
uniformed plant workers, he stood with Ray-Ban sunglasses, a blue golf
shirt and Gap khakis, taking in the surroundings where missiles are
dismantled, broken down and sliced apart.
"Do they have forest fires around here?" Obama asked.
The senator doesn't write down the answers, but he seems to listen
attentively. He asks questions that are more practical than technical: It
wouldn't take more than a tire iron to break the windows of this anthrax
storage lab, would it? Aren't these weapons vulnerable to sabotage? Are
these shell casings being recycled?
Obama does not pretend to be an expert. Often aides hand him scraps of
paper with additional facts, just in case the senator needs more details. It
does, however, create the occasional moment of awkwardness.
At a news conference in Moscow, Andrey Lebedev, a correspondent for the
Russian newspaper Izvestia, asked Obama: "Some months ago, you stated that
some Russian nuclear facilities are poorly guarded with doors ajar, sentries
walking around with no ammunition. Where did you take that information from?
It has been consistently denied by Russian military."
The senator paused for a few moments, before saying: "I have to confess I
don't know the quote you're referring to. I'd have to actually see it. I
don't recall that particular statement."
In fact, the quote was repeated nearly word for word from a speech Obama had
delivered May 25 on the Senate floor to highlight his interest in nuclear
proliferation. After the news conference, the senator's director of foreign
policy, Mark Lippert, quickly approached the reporter and explained that the
information was taken from a report in the National Journal and had not been
refuted.
As Obama neared the end of the trip, he seemed to grow bolder in his
questioning. The delegation had reached Azerbaijan, a former Soviet republic
on the Caspian Sea, where the discovery of oil has injected a new stream of
wealth into the country. (Not for everyone, Obama learned the night before
at dinner, considering doctors here average only about $700 a year.)
For about 90 minutes one morning, Lugar, Obama and a dozen aides listened
to a presentation by executives from BP, the international oil giant. In the
middle of the discussion, after they showed a slide of oil prices and
consumption, Obama raised his hand and interrupted.
"You need to do a little update," he said, pointing to their chart that
showed prices for a barrel of oil long before they skyrocketed. "Somebody
is getting rich. I don't want anyone to think you were going to lose your
shirt."
SOME PAROCHIAL QUESTIONS
From Russia to Ukraine and Azerbaijan to Britain, the senators met dozens of
dignitaries. Many officials welcomed Lugar as a member of the family,
trading hugs and kisses. When it was time for his introduction, Obama bowed
respectfully and extended a hand, seemingly taking a few leaders off guard
because of his age.
The meetings, over either a lingering lunch or a private dinner, were
consumed by discussions of the regional economy or global arms control. But
when Obama met Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliev, he presented two questions
that were slightly more parochial: Why is McDonald's having difficulty
opening restaurants in Baku? And why is Boeing shut out of selling planes to
the state-owned airline?
"They are two Illinois companies who want to do business and expand," Obama
explained, "but they are having roadblocks."
He didn't walk away with a concrete answer. He could, however, report back
to constituents that he voiced concern at the highest levels of government.
While the education of a senator entails learning protocol, being a diplomat
and even conducting a bit of business, it comes with the added benefit of
seeing a slice of history. And all observations are not quite so serious.
It was nearing sundown one evening as Obama walked through Red Square in
central Moscow. He passed by the imposing Kremlin, the colorful domes of St.
Basil's Cathedral and the immense GUM department store, which he noted
looked like the Russian equivalent to Chicago's Merchandise Mart.
When Obama reached Lenin's tomb, a guide told a story about the bodies
buried near the Kremlin wall. Several of the women, according to legend,
were his lovers. "I didn't know Lenin was a player," Obama said, cracking a
wide smile.
As the tour moved forward, the senator pondered how much the world had
changed since he studied international relations in college. It's hard to
fathom, he said, that the Soviet Union and the United States invested so
much into trying to destroy the other.
"It's a good reminder of the fact that highly rational people can be engaged
in a highly irrational purpose," Obama said. "I'm reminded what Einstein
said: Our wisdom has not caught up with our technology."
Trips like this are successful if they evoke such big-picture sentiments,
Lugar said, in addition to providing a "profound, gut feeling about the
place of the United States in the world--strength and vulnerability."
"He has profited from it. It becomes capital in the bank, in terms of
knowledge," Lugar said, reflecting on Obama's first foreign trip as a
senator. "I hoped he would be on the Foreign Relations Committee. This
was an important decision in shaping his career."
At the end of a 13-hour day, as Lugar settled in for an espresso in the bar
of his hotel, a longtime staff member handed him a copy of a Russian
newspaper that announced his arrival in Moscow. It featured an old picture
of the Indiana senator's short-lived 1996 presidential campaign. "That's for
Barack," Lugar chuckled. "I'm beyond that now."
Still, a senator only eight months into his Washington career always has
something to learn. Especially when his traveling mentor has been in the
Senate since Obama was 15.
In the final hours of the trip, Lugar and Obama arrived in London to meet
with the prime minister. As a van took them to 10 Downing Street, there
was one unexpected lesson.
When an embassy official pointed out that a bronze statue of Abraham
Lincoln stood near Westminster Abbey, both senators turned to catch a
look. Lugar proudly noted that Lincoln, who is always thought of as a son
of Illinois, spent his formative years in Indiana.
As Obama challenged his older colleague, Lugar playfully pushed back,
saying: "You better believe it," pointing out that the nation's 16th
president lived in Indiana from age 7 to 21. Obama didn't say a word. The
education of the senator continues. jzeleny@tribune.com
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