"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"
FREEDOM DAY IN UKRAINE
REVOLUTIONARIES TO SPEAK IN MAIDAN
A light morning snow has fallen in Kyiv
Freedom Day Rally will end with Victor Yushchenko's speech
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 605
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
FROM: KYIV, UKRAINE, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2005
--------INDEX OF ARTICLES--------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. REVOLUTIONARIES TO SPEAK IN MAIDAN
Freedom Day Rally will end with Victor Yushchenko's speech
Press office of President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
2. UKRAINE ASSESSES 'ORANGE' YEAR
Economic woes, political battles have roiled the nation
since last year's revolution.
By Fred Weir, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, MA, Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005
3. FANS, CRITICS, START DESCENDING ON UKRAINE'S
CAPITAL FOR ORANGE REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY
By Mara D. Bellaby, Associated Press, Monday, November 21, 2005
4. UKRAINE: SEVEN LESSONS FROM THE ORANGE REVOLUTION
FROM FORMER VICE PRIME MINISTER MYKOLA TOMENKO
URA-INFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, November 21, 2005
5. UKRAINIAN WOMAN CAMPAIGNS FOR PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO
Korolyuk has become most recognizable veteran of the Orange Revolution
By Natasha Lisova, Associated Press Writer
AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
6. WHY ARE UKRAINIANS DISAPPOINTED WITH THE
ORANGE REVOLUTION?
By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, November 21, 2005
7. UKRAINE CHERISHES ORANGE SOUNDS
By Kateryna Khinkulova, BBC News, Kiev
BBC News, United Kingdom, Monday, Nov 21, 2005
8. UKRAINE'S 'ORANGE PRINCESS' YULIA TYMOSHENKO
STILL A MAJOR POLITICAL FORCE
"In the economy, Tymoshenko is a communist," Oleg Rybachuk,
Yushchenko's chief of staff, told AFP.
Agence France Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday Nov 20, 2005
9. UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO SUFFERS DISENCHANTMENT A
YEAR AFTER ORANGE REVOLUTION
Reporter: Emma Griffiths, Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC)
Australia, Tuesday, 22 November, 2005
10. UKRAINIAN FORMER PRIME MINISTER YULIYA TYMOSHENKO
SAYS PRESIDENT 'TOO WEAK' TO CANCEL REFORM
INTERVIEW: With Former PM Yuliya Tymoshenko
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 21 Nov 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Nov 21, 2005
11. UKRAINIANS, GEORGIANS SEE FEW SOCIAL, ECONOMIC
IMPROVEMENTS AFTER REVOLUTIONS
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, 21 November 2005
12. 'ORANGE REVOLUTION' A BLOW AND WAKE-UP
CALL FOR KREMLIN
Turkish Daily News, Sunday, Nov 20, 2005
13. BUSH ADMINISTRATION URGES US HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES ACTION ON UKRAINE TRADE STATUS
REUTERS, Washington, D.C., Monday, Nov 21, 2005
14. AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: LIFTING JACKSON VANIK
WILL BOOST U.S.-UKRAINE RELATIONS
Urges U.S. House of Representatives to also vote in support
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
New York, New York, Monday, November 21, 2005
15. TOP RUSSIAN OFFICIAL "BEWILDERED" BY U.S. LIFTING
SOVIET-ERA CURB OFF UKRAINE
MosNews, Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 21, 2005
16. UKRAINE JACKSON-VANIK: LUGAR BILL PASSES U.S. SENATE
Text of the Lugar Senate Bill, S. 632
United States Senate, Washington, D.C., Friday, November 18, 2005
17. UKRAINIAN LAWMAKERS REFUSE TO RECONSIDER BILL
ON SCRAP-METAL EXPORTS, THOUGH NEEDED TO JOIN WTO
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, November 18, 2005
18. VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH TOPS UKRAINE'S POLLS
ANALYSIS: By Peter Lavelle, United Press International (UPI)
Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 21, 2005
19. HOLODOMOR EXHIBITION: THE FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE
What Ukrainians were forced to eat to defy death by hunger
By E. Morgan Williams, Publisher & Editor
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, November 22, 2005
20. UKRAINE: STALIN DOCUMENT 'SMOKING GUN'
Quebec professor says new data proves dictator's genocide intent
By David O'Brien, Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Sunday, November 20th, 2005
21. REQUIEM-SERVICE HELD AT NYC'S ST PATRICK CATHEDRAL
IN COMMEMORATION OF 1932-1933 FAMINE VICTIMS
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
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1. REVOLUTIONARIES TO SPEAK IN MAIDAN
Freedom Day Rally will end with Victor Yushchenko's speech
Press office of President Victor Yushchenko of Ukraine
Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
KYIV - President Victor Yushchenko met with leaders of all political
forces that had taken part in the Orange Revolution to formulate a plan to
celebrate Freedom Day.
On November 22, they will all appear on the stage installed in Kyiv's
Independence Square to address the people. The rally will end with Victor
Yushchenko's speech.
It will last more than two hours (6 PM - 8:20 PM). The so-called field
commanders of the Orange Revolution, Roman Bezsmertny, Volodymyr
Filenko, Yuriy Lutsenko, Mykola Tomenko, and Taras Stetskiv will speak
first.
Then Yuriy Kostenko (Ukrainian People's Party), Borys Tarasyuk (People's
Movement of Ukraine), Victor Pynzenyk (Party of Reforms and Order),
Oleksiy Ivchenko (Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists), Volodymyr
Stretovych (Christian People's Union), Vladislav Kaskiv (PORA), Anatoly
Matviyenko (Sobor), Anatoly Kinakh (Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs of Ukraine), Oleksandr Moroz (Socialist Party of Ukraine),
Yuliya Tymoshenko (Bloc of Yuliya Tymoshenko) and Yuriy Yekhanurov
(People's Union Our Ukraine) will make their statements. -30-
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2. UKRAINE ASSESSES 'ORANGE' YEAR
Economic woes, political battles have roiled the nation
since last year's revolution.
By Fred Weir, Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor
The Christian Science Monitor, Boston, MA, Tuesday, Nov 22, 2005
KIEV, UKRAINE - All through the election night of Nov. 21 the rumors
flew, by telephone, Internet, and word of mouth.
"People were saying, 'The election has been stolen, the fraud is massive.' "
recalls Maxym Savanevsky, an activist in last year's Orange Revolution,
which shook Ukraine from its formerly docile, post-Soviet mold.
In the next morning's cold dawn, as early returns seemed to put pro-
Moscow presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovich far in the lead, people
began streaming into Kiev's central square, Maidan, to protest.
"Everyone had orange flags, scarves, ribbons," says Mr. Savanevsky.
"Someone started putting up tents, and we knew it wasn't going to be over
soon.... On that first night we feared the police would storm us. We'd never
confronted the authorities like this before.
"By the next day, people began arriving from the regions. More people than
I've ever seen," he says. "It was then I thought: 'Hey, this is a
revolution!' "
Ukrainians are marking the first anniversary of their orange upheaval this
week with an odd mix of pride, disillusionment, and apprehension.
The tense weeks of protest, keeping the pressure on until opposition
candidate Viktor Yushchenko was overwhelmingly elected in fresh,
democratically run polls on Dec. 26, changed the country forever, says
Yaroslav Vedmid, another participant in the protests.
"No matter who comes to power in future, they will fear the peoples' anger,"
he says. "People have learned that they can make change happen."
But in recent months the revolution's two leaders, Mr. Yushchenko and Yulia
Tymoshenko, have fallen out amid bitter mutual recriminations, causing a
deep split in the ruling orange coalition.
Under their management, Ukraine's economic growth has plunged to 4 percent
this year from a bubbly 12 percent in 2004. A recent survey found 68 percent
of Ukrainians "disappointed" in current authorities. Meanwhile, the party of
the defeated Mr. Yanukovich, whom many accuse of rigging last year's vote,
is in the lead for parliamentary polls expected to take place next March.
"The revolution raised society's consciousness and created very high
expectations," says Vadim Karasov, director of the independent Institute for
Global Strategy in Kiev. "Things have cooled off, and people now say they
are disillusioned, but this reflects the contrast between their hopes and
current reality. They still support the goals of the revolution, but perhaps
have lost faith in individual leaders."
Last September, a leading official went public with allegations of massive
corruption within the president's inner circle. Yushchenko responded by
firing the entire government, including the firebrand prime minister, Ms.
Tymoshenko, and brought in a Russian-born technocrat, Yuriy Yekhanurov.
The crisis stunned many Ukrainians. "The speeches of our leaders were what
raised our hopes and kept us going at times when we were fearful we might
lose," says Mr. Vedmid. Tymoshenko declared her alliance with Yushchenko
"dissolved" and swore to run against his party in the parliamentary
elections.
Even more jolting for many was Yushchenko's decision to do a deal with
Yanukovich's party in order to win Mr. Yekhanurov's parliamentary
ratification as prime minister. Among the concessions made, Yushchenko
pledged to drop an official investigation into last year's electoral fraud.
Surveys also suggest that little has been done to heal the rift between
Ukraine's Russian-speaking eastern regions, whose industries rely on trade
links with Russia, and the largely agricultural, Ukrainian-speaking west,
where many want economic integration with Europe.
A poll by the Ukrainian Institute of Social Research found that Yanukovich's
Regions Party, which draws its strength from the east, is supported by 20
percent of committed voters. Tymoshenko's had 13.8 percent support,
followed by Yushchenko's Our Ukraine Party with 12.3 percent.
For some of last year's revolutionaries, the disarray suggests a need for
ongoing grass-roots pressure. "We don't trust the ruling circles," says
Sergiy Yevtushenko, deputy chair of Pora, the student movement that
provided much of the determination and most of the round-the-clock
protesters. "They promised much, but aren't necessarily ready to deliver.
They need a watchdog."
Pora has split into two wings. One wants to remain a street-level pressure
group. The other hopes to transform itself into a political party in time to
contest the March elections. Both want their constituency - students - to
stay involved in political struggle.
"Most influenced by the revolution were youths; they were deeply shaped by
that moment of achieving freedom and fairness," says Mr. Yevtushenko, who
intends to run for parliament. "Youths are the force who will be most active
in future in defending civic rights and deepening the democratic process."
A sweeping constitutional compromise, which ended last year's confrontation,
takes effect in January and could set the stage for fresh political crisis.
Under the deal, many former presidential powers will be handed to
parliament, including the right to name the prime minister and cabinet.
But, says Mr. Karasov, "no matter who wins the March elections, as long
as they are free and fair, it will testify that the main goal of the orange
revolution - democratization - was successfully achieved. Even if
Yanukovich became prime minister, he could never return Ukraine to
the past. We are already a different country." -30-
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LINK: http://www.csmonitor.com/2005/1122/p06s02-woeu.html
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REPORTERS ON THE JOB: FRED WEIR
UKRAINIAN ROOTS: Correspondent Fred Weir was born in Canada, and
lives in Moscow, but his grandparents are Ukrainian. So he's always had
a special interest in the country. But he adds, "I thank God my grandparents
had the wisdom to emigrate to Canada and avoid Ukraine in the 20th century."
Still, what Fred saw and heard during his latest trip to Kiev was
encouraging.
"Ukraine has diverged from its Soviet past. It kept its parliamentary
democracy through the 1990s when so many former Soviet republics went
for strong presidents. For all the talk of disillusionment over the dashed
expectations of the Orange Revolution, it's very clear now that the
political culture of Kiev is open, democratic, and above all, optimistic,"
he says.
"People talk freely and truly believe elections can change things," Fred
says. "There's a lot of excitement, as well as apprehension, over the March
elections. But people are involved in the civic and political life in a way that
they stopped being involved in Russia a decade ago. Something quite
different is happening there." David Clark Scott, World editor
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3. FANS, CRITICS, START DESCENDING ON UKRAINE'S
CAPITAL FOR ORANGE REVOLUTION ANNIVERSARY
By Mara D. Bellaby, Associated Press, Monday, November 21, 2005
KIEV, Ukraine - Supporters and critics of President Viktor Yushchenko began
descending Monday on the Ukrainian capital to mark the first anniversary of
the Orange Revolution amid complaints that he has not kept his promises.
Festivities were due to begin on Tuesday, but as workers put the finishing
touches on a giant stage on Independence Square, the curious, the supportive
and the angry began to gather.
"Last year's revolution was about freedom, about standing up and being proud
of who we are," said Oleksandr Samulyn, 35, who came with a large group from
western Ukraine, a pro-Yushchenko stronghold.
However, results from an opinion poll released Monday showed that 55 percent
of Ukrainians did not support having a big celebration to mark the start of
the massive protests of election fraud that helped usher Yushchenko into
power and became known as the Orange Revolution.
Disappointment has taken hold, and many complain that Yushchenko has not
lived up to his Independence Square pledges to fight corruption, restore
trust in the government and improve living standards after the decade-long
rule of his predecessor, Leonid Kuchma.
Yushchenko was elected in December in a repeat presidential election runoff
ordered by the Supreme Court.
Some veterans of last year's pro-Yushchenko tent camps once again erected a
dozen of the structures on Independence Square, but this time as a sign of
protest.
"We wanted to stake out a place for the people because this should be our
chance to ask questions and the government to answer," said Oleh Bondarenko,
35, who said he helped secure the opposition's stage during last year's
protests. "What went wrong?"
Oleksandr Chuprina, 23, a student from the central Ukrainian city of
Chernihiv, toured an exhibition that opened Monday of photographs taken
during last year's mass rallies.
"I'm looking at the photos with tears in my eyes because they betrayed the
people's dreams," he said. "They dirtied their hands with corruption."
Petro Poroshenko, a tycoon who was one of Yushchenko's closest aides, told
The Associated Press on Monday that he understood the disappointment, but
insisted the Orange Revolution had resulted in some great achievements.
"The government is much more open now, and much more depends on people,"
said Poroshenko, who resigned from his powerful state security post in
September after being accused of corruption. The charges were later
dismissed.
Meanwhile, Yushchenko's chief of staff ordered the metal barriers outside
the presidential administration to be opened Monday, a symbolic gesture as
this country prepares to mark the opposition movement's anniversary.
"The gates are open," said Oleh Rybachuk, ordering back riot police as
activists from the Pora youth movement massed outside.
The gates were opened by the new government in a similarly symbolic move
shortly after Yushchenko came to power, but were later closed again. The
government had blamed repair work. -30-
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4. UKRAINE: SEVEN LESSONS FROM THE ORANGE REVOLUTION
FROM FORMER VICE PRIME MINISTER MYKOLA TOMENKO
URA-INFORM, Kyiv, Ukraine, November 21, 2005
KYIV - Ex-vice Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko stated: "We stood in the
Maydan for the country to be proud of".
According to Tomenko's press service, in his today's press conference
summing up the first Maydan's anniversary he named the seven lessons of the
orange revolution.
The FIRST conclusion of the last year's November, according to him, is the
fact that the revolution was made not by the politicians but the citizens of
Ukraine that gathered around the values and ideas.
"SECOND, the main aim of the revolution was changing of the country, its
ideology and power, and only then, election of the President, Tomenko noted.
THIRD, the last year confirmed that the authorities should be formed on the
basis of decency and professionalism, not devotedness and totalitarism,"
UNIAN communicates.
The FOURTH lesson, according to Tomenko, is the fact that the election
program and "the orange team" promises after the revolution are not just a
electoral promotion tool but the obligation to be fulfilled.
The FIFTH is the public policy and freedom of speech became the reality in
Ukraine that means publicity and responsibility of the new authority and all
politicians.
The SIXTH lesson of the revolution, according to Tomenko, showed that
without separation of the business from the authority it is no use to hope
for increase of trust to the Yushchenko's team.
"And the SEVENTH lesson on the first anniversary of the revolution is the
following: the next election is not so much the test on the orange
revolution values support, as on the people's trust to the revolution
leaders," noted Tomenko. -30-
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LINK: http://en.ura-inform.com/archive/?/2005/11/21/~/45952
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5. UKRAINIAN WOMAN CAMPAIGNS FOR PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO
Korolyuk has become most recognizable veteran of the Orange Revolution
By Natasha Lisova, Associated Press Writer
AP, Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
KIEV, Ukraine - When Praskoviya Korolyuk fought her way through a
crowd last fall to kiss Viktor Yushchenko's hand, the politician didn't
even notice her. A year later, the 66-year-old milkmaid is on a first-name
basis with the Ukrainian president.
Korolyuk has become the most recognizable veteran of the Orange
Revolution - the massive protests that erupted after a fraudulent
presidential election and forced a rerun that Yushchenko won.
She regularly captures headlines for her tireless travels around the country
to bolster support for Yushchenko, whose popularity has plummeted since
he came to power.
"She is a pure soul, very naive ... she worries about Ukraine's future so
sincerely," said Yushchenko's spokeswoman, Irina Gerashchenko.
Korolyuk, affectionally called Baba (Grandma) Paraska, says her adventure
began when reports of election fraud filtered into her village in the
western Ternopilsky region, where residents share one phone line. She left
her three grown daughters and hopped a train to Kiev, joining hundreds of
thousands of protesters in the capital.
"I felt sorry for him and pledged not come back home without victory for
him," Korolyuk said in a recent interview, a tiny portrait of the president
pinned to her dress and her hair covered in a flowery orange scarf.
As the protests wore on, the demonstrators set up camp in downtown Kiev,
and Korolyuk spent her nights in a tent with 20 others, braving freezing
temperatures. "I almost did not feel cold and had no time to be sick," she
said. "I rallied with young people and felt I am young."
When Korolyuk wanted to get close to Yushchenko last year, she squeezed
between the legs of the crowd. These days, she marches right up to the big,
metal gates outside his offices and waits for a word with her hero, a tactic
that doesn't always work.
After the Supreme Court annulled the vote and ordered the rerun, Korolyuk
remained in the tent camp on Kiev's main avenue, staying there until
Yushchenko's inauguration two months after the protests broke out.
In recent months the country became increasingly disillusioned with the new
president amid rising prices, slowing economic growth and corruption
scandals, Korolyuk came back to help.
She took her one-woman cheerleading show around the country, often catching
a night's sleep on a railway station bench before heading into meetings with
regional leaders.
"Many of our politicians should follow the example of our revolution's
symbol, Baba Paraska," said Dnipropetrovsk Governor Mykola Shvets, who
welcomed her when she came to town.
Korolyuk is eager to unite the ruptured Orange Revolution team, which split
up in September when Yushchenko fired his prime minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko.
"I am even ready to spend the whole of my $120 pension to make small gifts
to all of them," she said. Her main goal, though, is to keep alive the
revolution's pro-democracy ideals. "I am ready to give my heart and health
for Yushchenko," she said. "I just ask people to give him a little more
time." -30-
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6. WHY ARE UKRAINIANS DISAPPOINTED WITH THE
ORANGE REVOLUTION?
By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Free Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, November 21, 2005
Ukrainians are expected to converge on Kyiv's Independence Square
(Maydan Nezalezhnosti) tomorrow (22 November) to mark the first
anniversary of the Orange Revolution, which installed Viktor Yushchenko
as Ukraine's president.
One year ago, tens of thousands of people came to the square to protest
against what they saw as a rigged second election round in favor of
Yushchenko's rival, then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Weeks of peaceful protests in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities led to a
repeat runoff on 26 December, which was won by Yushchenko with 52
percent of the vote.
The Orange Revolution, which has drawn comparisons to the Solidarity
movement in Poland in the 1980s and the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia
in November 1989, was a time of immense social optimism and activism in
Ukraine. However, one year later a majority of Ukrainians say they are
disappointed with the current course of events in their country.
According to a poll taken earlier this month, more than half of Ukrainians
say the new government has failed to keep the promises that were made on
the square. Today just one in seven Ukrainians fully supports President
Yushchenko, compared to nearly 50 percent declaring such support shortly
after his inauguration in February.
What are the main reasons for this general disappointment?
FIRST, the Yushchenko government has failed to exploit the backing it
gained during the Orange Revolution to institute coherent reforms. Such
a scenario could have set Ukraine on a path of irreversible transformation
from the current oligarchic-capitalism system to a more market-oriented
economic model.
Instead, Yushchenko resorted to a populist and expensive increase in wages
and pensions, apparently to keep the electorate satisfied until the 2006
parliamentary elections. After several months of relative social
contentment, this move was followed by increased inflation and a rise in
costs of living.
At the same time, economic growth rate in Ukraine has slumped from 12
percent in 2004 to some 3 percent today. As a result, Ukrainians justifiably
view their economic prospects as bleak.
SECOND, Yushchenko has failed to fulfill his revolutionary pledge to
eradicate endemic corruption and "send all bandits to jail." True, the
government has annulled more than 4,000 regulations in business
registration, which was a breeding ground for corrupt practices.
However, the general view is that corruption in Ukraine has remained no less
acute than it was during the reign of Yushchenko's predecessor, Leonid
Kuchma. No senior official from Kuchma's regime has been brought to court
on charges of corruption or abuse of office.
THIRD, Yushchenko was constrained to dismiss Prime Minister Yuliya
Tymoshenko's cabinet in September, after some high-ranking government
officials accused several top presidential aides of corrupt practices.
The crisis served to severely damage the Yushchenko camp by fueling
arguments that the Orange Revolution was not so much a popular revolt as
a rebellion of pro-Yushchenko "millionaires" against pro-Yanukovych
"billionaires."
FOURTH, Yushchenko made an ill-advised deal with Yanukovych in late
September to secure the approval of a new cabinet. In particular, Yushchenko
obliged himself to draft a bill on amnesty for those guilty of election
fraud in 2004.
In other words, Yushchenko not only reneged on his vow to "send all bandits
to jail," but also undermined one of the primary motivations of those who
supported the Orange Revolution. Many of Yushchenko's former supporters
and sympathizers were taken aback by this move, and some accused him of
"betraying" the revolution.
FIFTH, prior to the cabinet crisis in September, Yushchenko could hardly
be credited as a strong-willed and objective-driven leader. For example, he
involved himself in an embarrassing public argument with Tymoshenko
regarding the scale of reprivatization in Ukraine.
While the president wanted to review some 30 dubious privatizations, the
prime minister called for a much broader effort -- saying their number must
be at least 3,000.
For several months Yushchenko also tolerated the existence of two "parallel
governments" in the country, one centered on Tymoshenko's cabinet and
another on the National Security and Defense Council headed by Petro
Poroshenko. To resolve this controversy, he eventually dismissed both of
them.
SIXTH, there is also a growing feeling in Ukraine that Yushchenko came
to power with hardly any coherent or long-term
economic program. For many commentators this was illustrated by the
much publicized reprivatization of the Kryvorizhstal steel mill. In October,
the government sold Kryvorizhstal to a Dutch steel conglomerate for some
$4.8 billion -- six times the amount Kuchma's government received for it
in 2004.
Initially, Yushchenko said the money would be spent in the social sphere
to improve the lives of ordinary Ukrainians. However, he recanted on this
promise and announced that the sum would be primarily invested in
Ukrainian industries. Meanwhile, lawmakers have reportedly drafted no
fewer than 20 bills on how to spend the Kryvorizhstal windfall.
This seems to indicate that decision makers in Ukraine remain fairly
confused regarding the country's development priorities or economic
course after the Orange Revolution.
For most Ukrainians, the above-mentioned drawbacks of the
postrevolutionary government in Ukraine seem to outweigh the benefits
that derived from Yushchenko's coming to power.
This is unfortunate, as it is difficult to ignore or to discredit the
accomplishments of the Orange Revolution.
FIRST, Ukrainian media now operate in an incomparably freer environment
than they did during the Kuchma era.
SECOND, the Orange Revolution has given rise to vibrant civic activism,
pulling Ukrainians out of the public passivity that is characteristic of
many post-Soviet societies.
And THIRD, the Orange Revolution has introduced a political reform that
will soon transform the country into a parliamentary-presidential
republic -- that is, objectively a more democratic political system than most
post-Soviet governments.
It is these achievements that should be most remembered on Independence
Square on 22 November. -30-
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http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/11/0C50EE37-AC34-4135-8755-4508B3B25605.html
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7. UKRAINE CHERISHES ORANGE SOUNDS
By Kateryna Khinkulova, BBC News, Kiev
BBC News, United Kingdom, Monday, Nov 21, 2005
KIEV - When sub-zero temperatures tested the endurance of the Orange
Revolution crowds in Kiev a year ago the country's rock bands came to
the rescue, performing almost non-stop.
The revolution not only surprised the West - it was also quite a shock
for Ukrainians, who could not believe they had the power to mass on
the streets and fight for what they thought was right.
A stage was erected on Independence Square - known as Maidan in
Ukrainian - in the centre of Kiev and a tent city mushroomed around it.
The crowds demanded a re-run of the widely criticised presidential
election, which had denied liberal candidate Viktor Yushchenko
victory.
Vopli Vidopliasova, Okean Elzy and TNMK were just a few of the top
Ukrainian bands who roused the crowds with their music.
ORANGE GLOW
TNMK - which stands for Tanok Na Maidani Kongo (Dance in the Square
of Congo) - have been bringing an alternative style of music to the
Ukrainian mainstream since 1997. They rapped in Independence Square
about pomaranchi (oranges), using a sample of Viktor Yushchenko's voice.
The word "Ukrainians!" punctuated the song: "This is non-human, non-
freedom, non-pleasure / This is non-love, not something-to-treasure. /
Ribbons of orange, the colour we chose / Keep it up, people, victory's
close!"
Mr Yushchenko's campaign slogan Tak! (Yes) became the motto of
the uprising.
Amid widespread disillusionment in Ukraine now, a year after the Orange
Revolution, TNMK singer Oleg Mykhailuta says the "those who won the
elections underestimate the role of the musicians - they don't really
understand how much musicians contributed to their victory."
TNMK's DJ, Tonique, says the Maidan's great achievement was to make
ordinary people believe they could influence political processes in Ukraine.
"People now perceive the future in a completely different way. A year ago
this process started and, probably, to change people completely will take a
long time, but it means that Ukraine will keep getting better."
BUSINESS WOES
The revolution's impact on the Ukrainian music industry and pop scene
not been dramatic, but still significant.
A music producer, Vitaly Bardetsky, manager of the Prom-Ocean agency,
says the amount of Ukrainian music broadcast has increased, compared
with the much more common Russian pop.
"We hear more Ukrainian music on TV and radio, which is very important. It
should help our musicians to make more money from record sales and from
gigs."
Many new bands appeared in Ukraine in the early 1990s, after the collapse
of the Soviet Union. But in the past eight years things have slowed down,
partly because of the general economic malaise, with record companies
reluctant to invest in new musicians.
There is also a problem with piracy, complains Dmytro Prykordonny of
Ukraine's largest record company, Ukrainian Records.
"What makes the Ukrainian music industry different is the fact that here we
have 80% piracy and in Europe it's 20%. Another thing is that in Europe a
music CD costs on average 12-13 dollars, while here it's four. So it's easy
to see how hard it is to do business here."
Ukrainian musicians are hardly known in the West, but TNMK is among
those trying to change that. Last year they recorded their hit "Voseny" (In
Autumn) in French and now plan to record some of the songs from their
new album in English.
TNMK's Oleg Mykhailuta has no regrets about the Orange Revolution.
"We were fighting for hope. Did we make history or not? Hard for me to
say: time will tell." -30-
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LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4456858.stm
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8. UKRAINE'S 'ORANGE PRINCESS' YULIA TYMOSHENKO
STILL A MAJOR POLITICAL FORCE
"In the economy, Tymoshenko is a communist," Oleg Rybachuk,
Yushchenko's chief of staff, told AFP.
Agence France Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Sunday Nov 20, 2005
KIEV - With her trademark braid, good looks, iron will and charisma, "orange
revolution" heroine Yulia Tymoshenko remains a powerful political force in
Ukraine nearly three months after being sacked as prime minister.
Her dismissal by President Viktor Yushchenko may have split the revolution's
dream team, but failed to dent the ratings of Ukraine's most colorful
personality whose political bloc is among the top three contenders to win a
crucial parliamentary election next March.
"She was, is and always will be a serious player," said Vadim Karasyov, a
political analyst in Kiev. "She is trying to create a myth of a Ukrainian
political Joan of Arc," he said. "A young woman against a corrupt, male,
macho political elite. And all this makes her accessible, recognizable, and
loved by many in society."
The businesswoman-turned-politician attracts frenzied media attention in her
homeland -- the crowd of reporters who showed up for her daughter's
wedding in early October rivaled those during the "orange revolution"
protests.
Critics say the media spotlight is a result of savvy self-marketing.
Tymoshenko says it's because her life at times resembles a soap opera.
"Maybe because I've travelled such a hard road ... that elicits people's
interest ... and many people want to see how the film ends," she told AFP
in an interview.
The life of the 44-year-old could indeed be the stuff of a novel -- born in
the pro-Moscow, Russian speaking Ukrainian east, her base of support is
in the nationalist, Ukrainian-speaking west of the country.
Having risen to the heights of, and made a lot of money in, Ukraine's
notoriously corrupt energy sector in the mid 1990s, she received laurels for
reforming it as deputy prime minister in 2000.
Her opposition credentials to the former regime were cemented after she
spent some 40 days in jail on what she said were fabricated charges
following her firing from the government in 2001.
Her discipline and willpower have earned her the nickname Ukraine's "Iron
Lady", and her stylishness "Lady Yu". Her monicker of "gas princess" earned
during her time in the energy sector turned into "orange princess" during
last year's protests. Most of the time, she is known simply as "Yulia".
Her hair is always impeccably coiffed, her nails manicured, her fashionable
outfits -- among her favorite marks is Louis Vuitton -- chosen to a tee, and
her responses to journalists carefully prepared.
Even her enemies admit to her intellect, shrewdness and a legendary capacity
for work -- during her premiership she was rumored to have at times slept in
her office.
But while Tymoshenko says her sole motivation is reforming Ukraine, critics
charge that she is driven by a thirst for power, and investors are wary of
her populist leanings and an aggressive stance on reviewing questionable
privatizations conducted under the former regime.
"In the economy, Tymoshenko is a communist," Oleg Rybachuk,
Yushchenko's chief of staff, told AFP. "She is a very firm manager, a
strong administrator, a one-woman show in the economy ... a populist."
Most analysts, and Yushchenko following her firing, blamed the policies of
her government for Ukraine's significant economic slowdown this year -- the
economy is expected to grow only by 3.8 percent, compared with 12.1 percent
in 2004 -- and warn of a similar trend should she become prime minister
again after a parliamentary election next March.
"Western investors look at the dismissal of Tymoshenko as a step away from
the 'orange revolution,' toward normality ... so I think that any sign of
bringing Tymoshenko back into the government ... would send a signal that
Yushchenko was taking a step backward rather than a step forward," said
Roland Nash, head of research with Renaissance Capital brokerage.
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9. UKRAINE: YUSHCHENKO SUFFERS DISENCHANTMENT A
YEAR AFTER ORANGE REVOLUTION
Reporter: Emma Griffiths, Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC)
Australia, Tuesday, 22 November, 2005
TONY EASTLEY: Today marks the anniversary of the beginning of
Ukraine's orange revolution. A year ago, protestors filled the streets of
the capital, Kiev, calling for political change.
But the dream has begun to sour. The followers of President Viktor
Yushchenko are disenchanted and the President himself, pockmarked
and scarred after his bizarre brush with dioxin poisoning, is depressed.
Moscow Correspondent Emma Griffiths reports.
EMMA GRIFFITHS: Since the euphoria of the orange revolution it's
been a downhill slide for Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko.
His popularity has taken a beating, he's been embarrassed by the lavish
lifestyle of his son, and he's sacked his entire government, marking a split
in his orange team.
This university student says Yushchenko has betrayed the sacred ideals
of truth and morality.
An old woman selling framed photos of Yushchenko's political rival says
he wouldn't have behaved the way he did if he thought more about Ukraine.
Viktor Yushchenko's hero image is bruised, but according to one close
political confidante, it's the scars and pock marks still riddling the
President's face that cause him great personal grief.
Presidential Chief of Staff, Oleg Rybachuk.
OLEG RYBACHUK: Obviously what happened to him has depressive
effect, because he tells me privately that every time he looks into the mirror
he would like to cry, because he is. the way his face looks now, the kind
of problems he has.
EMMA GRIFFITHS: Mr Rybachuk says the President's vital organs have
recovered from the severe dioxin poisoning he suffered during last year's
presidential campaign. The doctors' best guess about his skin is that it
will take several years to clear up.
There's been little progress in the police inquiry into the poisoning. As
Oleg Rybachuk reveals, that's because Ukraine's Attorney-General never
even started a formal investigation. He's now been sacked.
OLEG RYBACHUK: Actually, Yushchenko was never formally
interrogated as the victim of poisoning, so legally speaking his case was
not even registered.
Only on the ninth of November in accordance with legal procedures, Viktor
Yushchenko has submitted samples of his blood to expert (inaudible). Now
all those samples have been duly certified and delivered to three world
leading laboratories in three different countries of the world.
EMMA GRIFFITHS: At the time, Viktor Yushchenko claimed his political
enemies had tried to kill him. Nowadays it's less certain exactly who they
are.Former allies have been sacked, and former enemies have been wooed.
The divide may become clearer in the next few months, as Ukrainians again
prepare to go to the polls. This time they'll be voting for a new
Parliament, in an election seen as a test for both Ukraine's President and
his orange ideals.
This is Emma Griffiths reporting for AM. -30-
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1513210.htm
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10. UKRAINIAN FORMER PRIME MINISTER YULIYA TYMOSHENKO
SAYS PRESIDENT 'TOO WEAK' TO CANCEL REFORM
INTERVIEW: With Former PM Yuliya Tymoshenko
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 21 Nov 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Nov 21, 2005
Former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko has said that President Viktor
Yushchenko and his team are too weak to abolish constitutional reform due
on 1 January 2006 which will cut presidential powers in favour of the prime
minister and parliament.
In an interview with a Ukrainian news agency, Tymoshenko insisted that a
new constitution should be passed through a nationwide referendum, as the
imminent constitutional changes were hastily approved to resolve the
deadlocked presidential election in 2004.
She said that local councillors' immunity should be abolished and local
councils should be formed only by parties which get into parliament in order
to strengthen the central government's role following the reform. The
following is an excerpt from the report by the Interfax-Ukraine news agency;
subheadings have been inserted editorially:
KIEV, 21 November: The leader of the Fatherland party and former prime
minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, has said that it is necessary to pass a new
constitution, possibly through a referendum, after the 2006 [parliamentary]
election.
Tymoshenko said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine: "All
changes to the constitution and amendments to the election law were made by
means of lobbying and compromise. Some lobbied while others then pictured
some kind of ugly compromise."
CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM CRITICIZED
Tymoshenko harshly criticized the constitutional amendments due to come into
force from 1 January 2006, saying that the new structure of government is
"not a parliamentary model but a lack of any system".
"The negative aspects include a lack of monitoring, a lack of responsibility
and concentration of power in one set of parliamentary hands," Tymoshenko
said, adding that "several leaders of parties will simultaneously appoint
the executive, the chief prosecutor, the Accounting Chamber and the
leadership of the legislature".
Tymoshenko described as a "pleasant aspect" the fact that "apart from
electing the president in a nationwide election, citizens will also be able
to elect the prime minister, as it is obvious that the political force which
will muster the majority of votes in the parliamentary election will form
the executive, the parliamentary majority and all other areas.
At the same time, Tymoshenko said that the prime minister will have a
limited influence on members of a coalition government.
"This is a unique situation when it is unclear in what way will the prime
minister lead her diverse team, as each minister will have several bosses.
This is primarily the party leader, and also, on the other hand, the speaker
of the Supreme Council [parliament].
The prime minister will come third as a minister's supervisor, while the
president will occupy no place at all," Tymoshenko said.
She added that after the election the main responsibility for the situation
in the country will rest with MPs who "will de facto manage the country on
an everyday basis".
Tymoshenko did not rule out the possibility that the majority that will be
created after the election "may be created just to be created again in six
months' time and to be created yet again in another six months' time, which
will also entail changes in the government".
LOCAL COUNCILLORS' IMMUNITY MUST BE SCRAPPED
She also said that the outcome of holding local elections on a proportional
basis [on party lists], combined with local councillors' immunity, may lead
to "Ukraine's disintegration".
"Parties of local importance may get into all local councils. On the other
hand, all those who will get there will have immunity, that is, they will be
immune to any actions by security structures. Third, there already exists
the experience of creating executive committees in regional and city
councils, which practically finalize the self-contained nature of this chain
of authority. What does this mean?
This means that there will remain virtually no central influence on local
governments, because a strong city council, district council and regional
council will put any governor and any head of a state district
administration in their place within three minutes' time," Tymoshenko said.
In this respect, she insisted on the abolition of local councillors'
immunity and on the return to the first-past-the-post system in local
elections, and "if this is impossible, on the formation of local councils
only by parties which overcome a [three-per-cent] barrier to the Supreme
Council".
"I see with a sinking heart what will happen after this parliamentary
election if we fail to make at least elementary amendments to centralize
power," Tymoshenko said.
But she expressed "absolute confidence" that political reform will come into
force on 1 January, "because the president and his team are too weak at
present to change so radically the course of political events and abolish
the reform".
"Should the president have retained the unity of the team, society's trust
would have been retained at a level it was during the revolution and there
would have been enough political will and strength to prove that this reform
was introduced not quite legally," Tymoshenko said. [Passage omitted:
Tymoshenko insisted on a referendum on constitutional amendments.]
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11. UKRAINIANS, GEORGIANS SEE FEW SOCIAL, ECONOMIC
IMPROVEMENTS AFTER REVOLUTIONS
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Monday, 21 November 2005
On 22 November, Ukrainians will mark the first anniversary of the Orange
Revolution. A day later is the second anniversary of Georgia's Rose
Revolution. Presidents Mikheil Saakashvili of Georgia and Viktor Yushchenko
of Ukraine both rose to power on a combination of factors, including public
anger at rampant corruption in the then-ruling regimes.
But there are concerns that the new leaders in both countries have not done
enough to fight graft or to revive the stagnant economies. Ordinary citizens
seem somewhat disillusioned with their new leaders.
Prague, 21 November 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko has signed a decree making 22 November a public holiday.
Not everyone agrees with the idea. On 20 November, hundreds of leftists
rallied in Kyiv decrying the proposed Day of Freedom. They called for the
president's resignation, saying he had sold the country out to the West.
The last year has not been smooth sailing for Ukraine.
President Yushchenko has said that nearly half of Ukraine's economy
remains tied to "shadow" enterprises that fall outside government control
and contribute no state taxes.
In September, the government faced a political crisis, triggered by public
allegations of corruption in the presidential entourage and the sacking of
the cabinet of Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko.
Government officials under Tymoshenko -- who many Ukrainians saw as
the heroine of the Orange Revolution -- were accused of pursuing private
interests while implementing Ukraine's new privatization program. But, for
many Ukrainians, the legality of their leaders' financial activities is not
their biggest worry.
Andriy Bychenko, who heads the sociology department at the Oleskandr
Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies in Kyiv, says Ukrainians
are more concerned with the general state of the economy: "In the view of
the population, the main problem in Ukraine today is that the salaries and
pensions remain low while prices are going up."
Bychenko says his department in August conducted an opinion poll that shows
most Ukrainians believe their economic situation has not improved since last
year's Orange Revolution: "Twenty-one percent of our respondents think the
overall economic situation has improved, compared to 42 percent who believe
it has deteriorated.
Those who think their personal welfare has increased are 17 percent, while
39 percent think it has deteriorated. The rest either think there hasn't
been any changes, or cannot answer."
There are similar sentiments and concerns in Georgia.
On 23 November, Georgia will mark the second anniversary of the Rose
Revolution that toppled the government of former Soviet Politburo member
Eduard Shevardnadze.
Results of a study conducted in May by the U.S.-based InterMedia Survey
Institute show 66 percent of Georgians remain dissatisfied with the economy,
with more than half saying their life has not improved since the revolution.
The survey also shows Georgians' primary concerns remain unemployment
and corruption.
Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli has backed a number of controversial
decisions, including a move to ban street peddlers and collective taxis from
the center of Tbilisi and other Georgian cities. The ban triggered street
protests in a country where the unemployment rate is believed to have
soared past 30 percent.
Noghaideli said in August that budget constraints would force his cabinet to
postpone until next year the payment of wage arrears and the launching of a
relief program to help the poorest of Georgia's 4 million residents.
Official statistics seem to give credence to popular concerns in Ukraine.
Government figures show Ukraine's gross domestic product in August 2005
was lower than that in August 2004 -- the first such decline since 1999.
Industrial production and investments have been steadily shrinking in the
past few months.
The Georgian economy has fared a little better. Noghaideli told journalists
in September that Georgia registered 7.5 percent economic growth in the
first half of 2005, compared to 6.2 percent in the corresponding period the
previous year.
Perceptions of political and economic inertia have created a sense of
disillusionment among members of both countries' political elite who
supported the revolution.
Davit Zurabishvili, a one-time human-rights activist, joined Saakashvili's
party at the time of the change of political leadership. He went on to
become a deputy chairman of the progovernment majority group in
parliament.
In an interview with RFE/RL for the first anniversary of the Rose Revolution
in November 2004, he said the political upheaval had mixed results: "The
main achievement of the Rose Revolution is that a genuine democratic
statehood is now in the making.
The process has been launched, so to speak. Under Shevardnadze --
particularly during the last two to three years of his rule -- we had
reached deadlock. State structures were decaying, the economy was
crumbling, and corruption was taking on considerable proportions.
This is a fact. In principle, the Rose Revolution helped us get out of
this deadlock."
Zurabishvili said he regretted a lack of progress on human-rights issues.
But among the positive achievements of the new leadership, he cited the
ousting of Aslan Abashidze, the rebellious leader of the autonomous
republic of Adjara, and efforts made to improve conditions for soldiers
serving in the country's armed forces.
However, in August Zurabishvili publicly resigned from the parliament
majority. He subsequently joined the parliamentary opposition, effectively
becoming one of its leaders.
Zurabishvili has linked his resignation to the controversial arrest of
television journalist Shalva Ramishvili on charges of blackmailing
pro-government deputy Koba Bekauri.
Critics say Ramishvili's arrest is another episode in what they say is the
new Georgian leadership's battle against independent media.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Georgian Service recently, Zurabishvili said he had
become disillusioned with Saakashvili: "He made the wrong strategic
choices, provided we can talk of 'strategic choices' in a country where
chaos is prevailing and where there is no clear-cut policy. His main
strategic goal is [to restore] Georgia's territorial integrity.
He believes that to achieve this we need to build up a strong army and
concentrate all powers in a few hands and that all the rest is secondary. I
believe it should be the other way around. We cannot settle the territorial
integrity issue without first making Georgia a democratic and economically
strong country."
Future elections should determine whether Georgians and Ukrainians have
had enough of their current leaders -- and if they're prepared to give their
old leaders another chance.
Ukraine will hold parliamentary elections in March 2006. Georgia will hold
parliamentary elections in 2008 and a presidential election the following
year.
Sociologist Andriy Bychenko says his recent opinion poll shows that only 37
percent of Ukrainians believe their new leaders are better than the previous
ruling team. Twenty-eight percent believe they are not different. Another 21
percent say that they are worse.
And in a poll conducted by the Razumkov Center in early November, 59
percent of respondents said Ukraine is on the wrong track. Of those polled,
18.3 percent said the country was on the right track.
In Georgia, Ghia Nodia, the chairman of the Tbilisi-based Caucasus
Institute for Peace, Democracy, and Development, recently noted in an
article for RFE/RL that Saakashvili remains widely popular among Georgians,
however autocratic his rule may seem.
It is unclear, however, whether his team enjoys the same popularity. There
are enough politicians waiting in the wings, ready to push themselves back
into power.
Earlier this month, former Georgian Foreign Minister Salome Zurabishvili (no
relation to Davit Zurabishvili) set up her own civic movement with a view to
challenging the government in future elections.
And in Ukraine, former security chief Oleksandr Turchynov -- a member of
Tymoshenko's team -- said recently that corruption would dominate the
upcoming election campaign: "We see ourselves heading for victory. The real
power that we will seize will help us stem corruption and bring order in the
country."
Ukrainians and Georgians have heard such words before. Now they want
them to ring true. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Tamar Chikovani of RFE/RL's Georgian Service and RFE/RL's Luke Allnutt
contributed to this report.)
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12. 'ORANGE REVOLUTION' A BLOW AND WAKE-UP
CALL FOR KREMLIN
Turkish Daily News, Sunday, Nov 20, 2005
For Russia, like many other post-Soviet regimes, Ukraine's "orange
revolution" proved a terrible blow that pushed the Kremlin out of a stupor
into defending, and regaining, the remains of its old Soviet empire,
analysts say.
The triumph of Kiev's protests, led by an opposition leader vowing to steer
Ukraine away from centuries-old Russian influence and toward Europe, will
be "Russia's Sept. 11, with a revolutionary impact on its thought and foreign
policy," Bulgarian academician Ivan Krastev wrote
Change of direction:The change of direction in Ukraine suddenly made the
European Union into a menace in Kremlin's eyes, as "now it is perceived as
an instrument for Washington's and Warsaw's ambitions rather than an
obstacle to U.S. hegemony," he wrote on the Open Democracy website
The defeat of the candidate openly backed by Moscow during last year's
presidential elections in Ukraine and fears of new "color" revolutions in
other ex-Soviet republics has prompted Moscow to review its policies in
the former Soviet Union, analysts say
If before Russia was content to offer passive support to conservative
post-Soviet regimes, it considerably activated such efforts following
Ukraine's revolution/
In May, Moscow backed Uzbekistan's President Islam Karimov as he
violently put down a revolt in the eastern city of Andijan. In turn, Karimov
has established closer ties with the Kremlin and demanded that the United
States pull out its military forces, who have used a base in Uzbekistan
since the war on the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan.
Moscow has also sought to aggressively expand its gas export routes to
the European markets -- currently all of Russian gas exports pass through
Ukraine.
"The decision to build a gas pipeline underneath the Baltic Sea (to supply
western Europe while bypassing Ukraine and Poland) is also a reaction to
Ukraine events," said Fyodor Lukyanov, chief editor of the Moscow-based
magazine Russia in the Global Politics.
With an alternate route for its gas exports, Moscow will be freer to use the
"stick" of its foreign policy toward Ukraine -- the threat of turning off
Kiev's gas supplies, the vast majority of which either come directly from
Russia or transit through its territory.
"It is not always easy to punish someone by cutting him off from gas if one
does not have an alternative" to transit on foreign territory, Lukyanov
said.
In domestic affairs, "the Ukrainian example certainly helped boost street
rallies" of Russian pensioners protesting the cutbacks in benefits inherited
from the Soviet Union, said Nikolai Petrov, a political analyst with
Moscow's Carnegie Center.
Methods: At the same time, the Kremlin has picked up some of the "orange
revolution" methods, setting up a "civil chamber" to control
non-governmental organisations and backing a pro-Kremlin youth movement,
Nashi -- both NGOs and youth groups played key roles in the success of
Ukraine's revolution.
According to Lukyanov, leaders of other ex-Soviet republics, like
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev, learned lessons from the "orange
revolution," by "carefully studying revolutionary technologies and
minimizing their impact" ahead of a Nov. 6 legislative election
His Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko also took care to eliminate
several danger factors, such as foreign aid to the opposition and the
elite's malcontent
As for Russia's influence in Ukraine, the game is not over yet --
legislative elections next March will determine the make-up of the new, much
more powerful parliament and analysts in Kiev and Moscow agree that the
Kremlin will seek to support pro-Russian forces during the campaign (Asia
Intelligence Wire) -30-
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13. BUSH ADMINISTRATION URGES US HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES ACTION ON UKRAINE TRADE STATUS
REUTERS, Washington, D.C., Monday, Nov 21, 2005
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration urged the U.S. House of
Representatives on Monday to follow the Senate's lead and lift a
three-decades-old Cold War restriction on trade relations with Ukraine.
The Senate voted on Friday to extend permanent normal trade relations with
Ukraine by exempting it from the 1974 Jackson-Vanik law. It ties U.S. trade
relations with many former communist countries to the rights of their
citizens to emigrate freely.
"We're hopeful that the Congress will graduate Ukraine from Jackson-Vanik
this year," said Matt Niemeyer, assistant U.S. trade representative for
congressional affairs. Ukraine has "been in compliance (with emigration
provisions) for a number of years now."
Ukraine, which is about to mark the first anniversary of its "Orange
Revolution," and Russia remain subject to the Jackson-Vanik provision
even though the White House routinely waives it on the grounds that both
countries are complying with the law.
But many lawmakers have favored keeping the restriction in place to give
Congress the chance to vote of the terms of Moscow's and Kiev's accession
to the World Trade Organization, as they did with China in 2000.
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican,
praised Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko for resisting parliamentary
impulses toward protectionism and urged the House to follow the Senate's
move soon.
"Compared to the situation in Ukraine just one year ago, I think the
progress they've made is impressive," Grassley said in a statement. "I wish
all our trading partners demonstrated that kind of respect for the rule of
law."
Ukrainian officials have said they believe they can clinch entry at the
WTO's December ministerial conference, and Yushchenko told Reuters
in Kiev on Monday that he planned intensive talks this week to that end.
The U.S. nod to Ukraine comes as it continues to apply pressure on Russia
to reinforce intellectual property rights. The House last week passed a
resolution saying Russia "must dramatically improve" its intellectual
property rights safeguards before it is accepted into the WTO.
Grassley said Ukraine also "has much work to do" before joining the world
trading bloc, which Russia and Ukraine have sought to do for a decade.
WTO chief Pascal Lamy said last month that Kiev could no longer meet
deadlines to enter by the end of the year, and said Russia was still
negotiating about membership, with talks due to take place early next year.
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14. AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE: LIFTING JACKSON VANIK
WILL BOOST U.S.-UKRAINE RELATIONS
Urges U.S. House of Representatives to also vote in support
American Jewish Committee (AJC)
New York, New York, Monday, November 21, 2005
NEW YORK - The American Jewish Committee welcomes the U.S. Senate
vote to lift the trade restrictions on Ukraine that were imposed on the Soviet
Union in 1974 when Congress adopted the Jackson-Vanik Amendment to
press for freedom of emigration.
AJC, an advocate for strengthening democracy in the former communist
countries of Central and Eastern Europe, sent a letter to all members of
Congress in August urging the "graduation" of Ukraine from the Jackson-
Vanik Amendment.
"Our hope is that the United States Congress will seize the appropriate
legislative and other opportunities to help foster closer bilateral ties
between Kiev and Washington and to recognize and encourage the deep
yearning for a modern, Western-oriented society," wrote AJC Executive
Director David A. Harris after returning from a visit to Kiev in July.
The AJC delegation met with senior government officials, leaders of civic
institutions and representatives of the Jewish community. "Graduation from
the Jackson-Vanik Amendment is a goal we fully share," Harris wrote.
AJC now will urge the U.S. House of Representatives to vote in support of
lifting the restrictions on Ukraine, so the measure can be delivered to the
White House for signature by President Bush. -30-
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LINK: http://www.ajc.org/
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15. TOP RUSSIAN OFFICIAL "BEWILDERED" BY U.S. LIFTING
SOVIET-ERA CURB OFF UKRAINE
MosNews, Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 21, 2005
MOSCOW - The head of the international affairs committee of the Russian
State Duma, Konstantin Kosachev, has described the U.S. Senate's decision
to lift the Jackson-Vanik amendment with regard to Ukraine as bewildering,
Interfax reported Sunday.
Commenting on this decision by the U.S. Senate in an interview with
Interfax, Kosachev noted that it is not final as the matter still has to be
considered by the House of Representatives, and then by the U.S. president.
Kosachev said that to him this decision by U.S. senators was "not a matter
of surprise, but of bewilderment, as it is perfectly clear that the
amendment is a political instrument for putting pressure on states in
post-Soviet space and the decision to lift it is adopted on the basis of the
Americans' political assessment of the foreign policy of individual states".
According to the MP, this is directly demonstrated by the statement
contained in the American Senate resolution on this matter to the effect
that the amendment is being lifted in view of the democratic process in
Ukraine and its support for U.S. policy.
"One gets the impression that this is some sort of reward to Ukraine for
surrendering its sovereignty and a pat on the back in return for its
authorities' willingness unconditionally to follow in the wake of American
foreign policy," Kosachev noted.
He said that the Senate decision was also bewildering because "by all
accounts, the Americans intend to apply a similar approach to Russia,
expecting us to renounce a portion of our national interests".
By way of example, Kosachev noted the intention of certain congressmen to
link Russian cooperation with Iran and Syria to the possibility of repealing
the Jackson-Vanik amendment. At the same time, he described this approach
as "politically a complete dead-end".
"For us, the lifting of the amendment is not an aim in itself, for the sake
of which we are ready to barter away our interests in foreign policy.
Russian MPs take the view that the amendment will be repealed in association
with the completion of Russian-American talks on our country's accession to
the World Trade Organization," Kosachev said.
He noted that an accord on this was reached in the course of a recent joint
session of the international committees of the Russian and U.S. parliaments
in Washington.
Kosachev recalled that the Jackson-Vanik amendment was imposed against the
Soviet Union in 1974 in connection with the obstacles that were then being
placed in the path of Jews leaving permanently for abroad.
The amendment prevents a regime of normal trade relations from developing,
although in the recent past, Kosachev noted, the U.S. president has been
annually issuing decisions to suspend the impact of the amendment on Russia.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.mosnews.com/news/2005/11/21/kosachevsays.shtml
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[return to index ] [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
========================================================
16. UKRAINE JACKSON-VANIK: LUGAR BILL PASSES U.S. SENATE
Text of the Lugar Senate Bill, S. 632
United States Senate, Washington, D.C., Friday, November 18, 2005
Title: A bill to authorize the extension of unconditional and permanent
nondiscriminatory treatment (permanent normal trade relations treatment) to
the products of Ukraine, and for other purposes.
SPONSOR: Sen Lugar, Richard G. [R-IN] (introduced 3/16/2005)
Cosponsors: 10
Committees: Senate Finance
RELATED BILLS: H.R.885, H.R.1053, H.R.1170, S.46
LATEST MAJOR ACTION: 11/18/2005 Passed/agreed to in Senate.
Status: Passed Senate without amendment by Unanimous Consent.
SPONSOR: Sen Lugar, Richard G. (Chairman, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee) [R-IN]
COSPONSORS:
Sen Brownback, Sam (Chairman, U.S. Helsinki Commission) [R-KS];
Sen DeMint, Jim [R-SC]; Sen DeWine, Mike [R-OH]; Sen Durbin,
Richard [D-IL]; Sen Graham, Lindsey [R-SC]; Sen Lautenberg,
Frank R. [D-NJ] ; Sen McCain, John [R-AZ]; Sen Obama, Barack [D-IL];
Sen Santorum, Rick [R-PA]; Sen Sununu, John E.[R-NH]
S 632 ES, 109th CONGRESS: 1st Session, S. 632
AN ACT
To authorize the extension of unconditional and permanent nondiscriminatory
treatment (permanent normal trade relations treatment) to the products of
Ukraine, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United
States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that Ukraine--
(1) allows its citizens the right and opportunity to emigrate, free of any
heavy tax on emigration or on the visas or other documents required for
emigration and free of any tax, levy, fine, fee, or other charge on any
citizens as a consequence of the desire of such citizens to emigrate to the
country of their choice;
(2) has received normal trade relations treatment since concluding a
bilateral trade agreement with the United States that entered into force on
June 23, 1992, which remains in force and provides the United States with
important rights;
(3) has been found to be in full compliance with the freedom of emigration
requirements under title IV of the Trade Act of 1974 since 1997;
(4) has committed itself to ensuring freedom of religion and preventing
intolerance;
(5) has committed itself to continuing its efforts to return religious
property to religious organizations in accordance with existing law;
(6) has taken significant steps demonstrating its intentions to build a
friendly and cooperative relationship with the United States including
participating in peacekeeping efforts in Europe; and
(7) has made progress toward meeting international commitments and
standards in the most recent Presidential runoff elections, including in
the implementation of Ukraine's new elections laws.
SEC. 2. TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV OF THE
TRADE ACT OF 1974 TO UKRAINE.
(a) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATIONS AND EXTENSION OF
UNCONDITIONAL AND PERMANENT NONDISCRIMINATORY
TREATMENT- Notwithstanding any provision of title IV of
the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 2431 et seq.), the President may--
(1) determine that such title should no longer apply to Ukraine; and
(2) after making a determination under paragraph (1) with respect to
Ukraine, proclaim the extension of unconditional and permanent
nondiscriminatory treatment (permanent normal trade relations treatment)
to the products of that country.
(b) TERMINATION OF APPLICATION OF TITLE IV- On and after
the effective date of the extension under subsection (a)(2) of
nondiscriminatory treatment to the products of Ukraine, chapter 1 of title
IV of the Trade Act of 1974 shall cease to apply to that country.
Passed the Senate November 18, 2005. Attest: Secretary.
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[return to index ] [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
17. UKRAINIAN LAWMAKERS REFUSE TO RECONSIDER BILL
ON SCRAP-METAL EXPORTS, THOUGH NEEDED TO JOIN WTO
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, November 18, 2005
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukrainian lawmakers on Friday refused to reconsider a
bill lifting a ban on scrap metal exports, one of a series of measures this
ex-Soviet republic must take to join the World Trade Organization.
Parliament's refusal to even take up the measure is another setback for
Ukraine's membership bid, but doesn't bury the country's hopes. Another
attempt could be made to reintroduce the bill at a future session.
Opposition to WTO membership remains strong in the 450-member parliament,
led by Communists and Socialists. Lawmakers fear admission will put
Ukrainian industry and farmers at a disadvantage, and critics say the
government's impatience to join by the year's end have prompted it to make
too many concessions.
President Viktor Yushchenko has pledged that membership in the powerful
body, which sets global trade rules, would bring the country significant
economic gains. Among them, he says, would be the creation of new jobs
and new markets for Ukraine's metals, machine-building, textiles and
agricultural industries.
But so far he has failed to get through parliament the full package of laws
that Ukraine needs to join the WTO. Ukraine is also scrambling to complete
the few remaining bilateral agreements it needs ahead of the WTO's planned
meeting in Hong Kong next month, making membership this year increasingly
unlikely.
Friday's vote on whether to reconsider the export metal bill proceeded
calmly in comparison with previous WTO debates that ended in brawls and
seizures of the speaker's platform. -30-
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18. VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH TOPS UKRAINE'S POLLS
ANALYSIS: By Peter Lavelle, United Press International (UPI)
Moscow, Russia, Monday, November 21, 2005
MOSCOW - Ukrainians will elect a new parliament in March and one-time
prime minister and former presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych heads
the political party leading the polls.
The "Orange Revolution" that delivered Viktor Yushchenko to the presidency
is in disarray, and has given Yanukovych an election platform full of irony:
Campaigning against the corruption and incompetence of the ruling elite.
According to a recent public opinion poll conducted by the Razumkov Center,
Yanukovych's Party of the Regions tops voter preference for the slated March
26 parliamentary election with 17.5 percent.
The People's Union-Our Ukraine electoral bloc that includes Yushchenko as
its honorary chairman is second with 13.5 percent and the Batkivshchina
(Fatherland) Party of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko close behind at
12.4 percent.
Ukraine's other parties represented in parliament -- Communist Party of
Ukraine, the Socialist Party of Ukraine and the People's Party of speaker of
parliament Volodymyr Lytvyn -- polled above the necessary 3 percent to wins
seats in the next legislature. Other polls put the blocs that support
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko in a dead heat or the latter slightly ahead.
Topping the polls and connecting with the electorate have never been as
important for Ukraine's political parties. As part of the behind
closed-doors negotiations during last December's "Orange Revolution,"
Ukraine will, as of Jan. 1, change from being a semi-presidential political
system to one dominated by a parliamentary-presidential form of government.
With Yushchenko and Tymoshenko now political opponents, Yanukovych
seeks to take advantage of the split in the "orange" coalition.
Parliament will determine who occupies government ministries and who will be
prime minister -- currently decisions made by the president. The parliament
also may be able to force the president to hand over many of the powers that
have slowly fallen to the presidency over the years, though they legally
belong to parliament or the prime minister. There should be no doubt that
Yanukovych and his allies have been patiently waiting for these changes
New parliamentary rules mandate the party that garners the most votes will
have the right to determine who will be named prime minister. This may or
may not happen if Yanukovych's Party of the Regions wins the largest number
of votes. Irrespective of the rule, Yanukovych is angling to make a
political come back with popular support.
In September, Yushchenko fired the entire Cabinet, replacing Prime Minister
Tymoshenko and his former comrade-in-arms with Dnipropetrovs'k Gov. Yuri
Yekhanurov. Yushchenko's government had been severely criticized for not
addressing what the "Orange Revolution" was supposed to end: Endemic
corruption and political favoritism.
Yushchenko's chief of staff, Olexander Zinchenko, who resigned and initiated
the Cabinet shake-up, has accused national security secretary Petro
Poroshenko of bribery, media intrusion and obstructing the justice system.
Poroshenko resigned, but remains a political insider Yushchenko appears
unwilling or unable to shake-off. This is Yushchenko's biggest problem,
Tymoshenko's issue to manipulate and Yanukovych's very passive message to
tell voters, "I told you so."
Yushchenko has shown himself to be an indecisive and incoherent politician.
Kiev's voters would probably consider his greatest accomplishment to be
ridding the city of its corrupt traffic cops, but that was not what the
"Orange Revolution" was all about.
The "Orange Revolution" was originally about Ukrainians demanding something
be done about the country's worst malady -- corruption in the political
elite as the result of a few oligarchs controlling the economy and state.
When she was prime minister, Tymoshenko played the anti-corruption and
nationalist card to the detriment of the economy. Her calls to revisit
thousands of privatization deals of state assets scared off foreign
investors and the dramatic increase of social payments stoked inflation.
During Tymoshenko's tenure in office, Ukraine's GDP annual growth
nose-dived from 12 percent to 4 percent.
Yanukovych is sitting pretty and has good reason to do so. Waiting on the
sidelines and watching the former opposition -- now divided -- appeal to the
electorate, Yanukovych is slowly consolidating his support as the leader of
the Regions of Ukraine party.
He was partially rehabilitated when Tymoshenko's government was
dismissed and his September "Memorandum of Understanding" with
Yushchenko returned him to public eye in a positive way and damaged
Yushchenko's reputation among his core supporters.
Accusing both Tymoshenko and Yushchenko of running a lawless government,
many Ukrainians disappointed with the "Orange Revolution" appear to be
listening. -30- (Peter Lavelle is a Moscow-based analyst.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.upi.com/InternationalIntelligence/view.php?StoryID=20051121-091605-4500r
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[return to index ] [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
19. HOLODOMOR EXHIBITION: THE FIGHT TO STAY ALIVE
What Ukrainians were forced to eat to defy death by hunger
By E. Morgan Williams, Publisher & Editor
The Action Ukraine Report (AUR)
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, November 22, 2005
KYIV - On Friday, November 25, the President of Ukraine will open an
exhibition at the Ukrainian House in Kyiv about the Ukrainian Genocide -
the Holodomor- Famine-Terror Death for Millions, of 1932-1933 imposed
on the Ukrainian nation by the Soviet government of Josef Stalin.
Part of that major exhibition will feature a series of 85 graphics, linocuts,
by Mykola Mykhaylovych Bondarenko, Ukrainian graphic artist from the
village of Dmytrivka in the Sumy Oblast.
The artworks answer the question as to what people, when their entire
normal supply of food was stolen away by the Soviets were forced to
eat in their frantic attempt to defy death by hunger. This will be the
first exhibition of these artworks in Ukraine. Mr. Bondarenko, born in
1949, will be present at the Holodomor Exhibition.
Oleksander Kapitonenko, Simferopol, in a preface to a book about
the Bondarenko graphics, published by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church
of the USA wrote: "From early childhood, Mykola Mykhaylovych
(Bondarenko) loved to listed to the old people reminiscing about village
life in the olden days.
Having learned about the famine, he attempted to reproduce it graphically,
but was not satisfied with the few sketches he made. The artist wished to
tell about this tragedy in his own, different way.
He considered the fact, that although entire families and entire villages
were annihilated by the famine, some individuals managed to survive.
What was it that helped them defy death by hunger?
He went around [for five years from 1988-1993] questioning the old-
timers [famine survivors in his district] who told him about their
unbelievable "menu".
Thus he found the answer to his question; he decided to portray not
the emaciated [dying] peasants, but rather the "food" which they were
forced to ingest in order to [attempt] to survive.
At first he tried to paint several of the more common weeds which
were consumed by the starving people, raw or prepared. Then he
turned to producing a series of graphical depictions of other
vegetation.
His sketchbooks contain drawings from nature of coughgrass, clover,
hemp, sweet-flag, burdock, rush (cane), nettle, thistles, lime tree and
acacia buds, from which engravings have been made.
Almost each engraving depicts a window, the cross-like frame of which
symbolizes the heavy cross, carried by those condemned to death.
Every windowpane symbolized the hope to survive the famine.
On such a background are depicted weeds and some other plants
consumed by the starving people during those horrible times. On
the right windowpane is the "recipe" for preparing this ersatz food.
Several of the engravings show the self-made tools, which helped
the peasants to chop, grind, sieve, squeeze, and other prepare the
weeds [most of them not really digestible in natural form]. To own
such tools meant risking one's life.
The most touching and alarming for the viewer are the depictions
of domestic animals - a cat, or a dog, fleeing to who knows where,
so that they would not be caught and eaten; carcasses of dead cows
or horses, which the starved populace did not hesitate to eat, and the
panicked eyes of fledgling birds in a nest, which is about to be robbed
by the hand of a starving person.
Noticeable is these engravings is the absense of any accusations of
those who wrote the scenario of the famine, and of those who only
too eagerly helped in this criminal action.
Only the sickles and hammers on the iron rods with which the
village activists [many sent to Ukraine by Stalin for this purpose]
probed everywhere in, looking for hidden food of the peasants,
point to the cause of the famine. [There are also two very small
red stars near the bottom of each side of every graphic which gives
another clue as to the perpetrators of the genocide against the
Ukrainian people.]
And, also, the blood on the knife blade [found in one of the graphics]
reminds the viewer that we are dealing with a horrible crime." [by
Oleksander Kapitonenko, Simferopol in 2003]
The Exhibition of the artworks by Bondarenko is being sponsored by
the Dr. James Mace Holodomor Memorial Fund of the Ukrainian
Federation of America, Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson; Vera M.
Andryczyk, President; Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania; The Bleyzer
Foundation, Michael and Natasha Bleyzer and the Bleyzer Family,
Houston, Texas and Kyiv, Ukraine; Ukrainian Orthodox Church of
the USA, Archbishop Antony, South Bound Brook, New Jersey;
David Holpert, W J Grain, Kyiv; David and Tamara Sweere,
Kiev-Atlantic, Kyiv; Eugenia Dallas; Helen and Alex Woskob;
and the Bahriany Foundation, Anatol Lysyj, Chairman.
The Bondarenko Exhibition is being arranged by Morgan Williams,
SigmaBleyzer, on behalf of the International Ukrainian Genocide-
Holodomor Committee and designed by Volodymyr and Irina
Veshtak, expert graphic artists, Kyiv, Ukraine.
The exhibition at the Ukrainian House will feature several hundred
other works about the Holodomor including paintings, posters,
photos, documents, and other graphic material. -30-
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: A book showing the Bondarenko artworks, "Ukraine
1933; A Cookbook, Linocuts by Myklola Bondarenko" published by
the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA, South Bound Brook,
New Jersey in 2003, in remembrance of the millions of Ukrainians
who perished during the Great Famine of Ukraine in 1932-1933 is
still available. For information about how to purchase the book please
send an e-mail to ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: The Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA) is accepting
donations to assist in the cost of the genocide/holodomor/famine
commemorations in Kyiv this month. The Federation needs
to quickly raise several thousand more dollars for expenses related
to the Holodomor Exhibition to be held in the Ukrainian House.
Donations can be made to the Ukrainian Federation of America
and sent to the Federation at 930 Henrietta Avenue, Huntingdon
Valley, PA 19006. Please designate your donation for the Dr.
James Mace Memorial Holodomor Fund. EDITOR
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[return to index] [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
========================================================
20. UKRAINE: STALIN DOCUMENT 'SMOKING GUN'
Quebec professor says new data proves dictator's genocide intent
By David O'Brien, Winnipeg Free Press
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, Sunday, November 20th, 2005
WINNIPEG - THE Ukrainian Famine that killed seven million people in
1932-33 is clearly a tragedy, but there is still not universal acceptance that
it was genocide, or the intentional killing of a target people, a historian
said yesterday.
However, professor Roman Serbyn says a "smoking gun" has been found
that shows the famine was a deliberate attempt by Soviet leaders to destroy
the Ukrainian peasantry.
Serbyn, of the University of Quebec, said a document found in the Russian
archives about 10 years ago proves that Soviet dictator Josef Stalin
attempted to eliminate a large number of Ukrainian peasants through an order
forbidding them from leaving the land to find food.
Serbyn said the document has not been widely distributed or discussed, even
though it adds weight to the argument the famine was created to destroy
Ukraine as a nation.
He said the United Nations has still not recognized the famine as genocide,
which it defines as acts "committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in
part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group."
Serbyn discussed his conclusions on the famine last night in a seminar at
the Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral of St. Mary The Protectress on Burrows
Avenue.
In an interview, he said there is significant "circumstantial evidence" the
famine was genocide, but documents showing intent have been hard to find.
Serbyn said Stalin closed the borders not only to Ukrainians in Ukraine, but
also to Ukrainians living in areas adjacent to it.
He noted than when parts of the Soviet Union, including Ukraine, suffered a
famine in 1920-21, the dictatorship appealed for outside aid.
But no help was allowed into Ukraine for the second famine, Serbyn said.
The very idea that a massive famine that killed millions of people had
occurred was not widely accepted in the West until the 1980s, he said.
In fact, several journalists were still writing articles at that time
questioning the claims of Ukrainian survivors, Serbyn said.
"It was the last stand of famine-genocide denial," he said.
Serbyn said Stalin wanted to crush the Ukrainian peasantry because "they
were the backbone of Ukrainian" nationalism and identity.
Ukrainians were the largest single group, other than Russians, within the
Soviet Union and there were concerns a nationalist revival could lead to
demands for independence, he said.
Serbyn doesn't believe Stalin wanted to eliminate every Ukrainian because
he needed people to work the collective farms and provide labour else-
where. Instead, the dictator wanted the peasantry reduced and weakened
to the point it would not be a threat, he said. -30-
(dave.o'brien@freepress.mb.ca)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: Our thanks to Leonard Krawchuk and Orysia
Tracz for alerting us to this article and sending us a copy. EDITOR
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: You will find below a translation in English by Professor
Roman Serbyn from the original Russian of the important document
mentioned in the article above. EDITOR
[DECREE OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY AND THE SOVIET
GOVERNMENT PROHIBITING THE DEPARTURE OF STARVING
PEASANTS FROM UKRAINE AND THE KUBAN']
[On 22 January 1933, a secret circular was telegraphed from Moscow to
Kharkiv, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, and to Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh,
Stalingrad, Samara, Smolensk and Minsk < administrative centres of Russian
and Belarusian regions bordering on Ukraine. The document, recently
discovered in Soviet archives, shows the national character of the genocidal
policy pursued by the Kremlin. The target of the induced famine was the
peasantry of Ukraine and the ethnically Ukrainian Kuban region of Northern
Caucasus. - RS]
The Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party and the Council of
Commissars of the USSR have received information that in the Kuban and
Ukraine a massive departure of peasants "in search of bread" has begun into
the [Russian] Central-Black Earth region, the Volga region, the Western and
Moscow regions, and into Belorussia. The Central Committee of the
All-Russian Communist Party and the Council of Commissars of the USSR do
not doubt that this departure of peasants, like the departure from Ukraine last
year, was organized by the enemies of Soviet power, the Socialist
Revolutionaries and the agents of Poland, with the goal of agitation
"through the peasants" in the northern regions of the USSR against the
collective farms and against Soviet power as a whole. Last year the Party,
Soviet and Chekist organs of Ukraine were caught napping by this
counter-revolutionary trick of the enemies of Soviet power. This year we
cannot allow a repetition of last year's mistake.
First. The Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party and the
Council of Commissars of the USSR order the Regional Committees of the
Party, the Regional Executive Committees and the Plenipotentiary of the OGPU
[political police] of Northern Caucasus not to allow massive departure of
peasants from the Northern Caucasus into other regions, or the entry into
the Northern Caucasus from Ukraine.
Second. The Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party and the
Council of Commissars order the Central Committee of the Ukrainian SSR, as
well as V. A. Balitskii [Moscow's OGPU agent in Ukraine] and [S. F.] Redens
[head of the Ukrainian GPU], not to allow a massive outfow of peasants from
Ukraine into other regions or the entry into Ukraine of peasants from the
North Caucasus.
Third. The Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party and the
Council of Commissars order the Plenipotentiary of the OGPU of the Moscow
region, Central-Black Earth region, Western region, Belarus, Lower and
Middle Volga regions, to immediately arrest all "peasants" of Ukraine and
the North Caucasus who have broken through into the north and, after
separating out the counter-revolutionary elements, to return the rest to
their places of residence.
Fourth. The Central Committee of the All-Russian Communist Party and the
Council of Commissars order Porokhov of the Transport Section of the GPU
to give a similar order to the OGPU transport organs.
Chairman of the Council of Commissars of the USSR: V. M. Molotov
Secretary of the Central Committee of the Pan-Russian Communist Party:
J. Stalin [The original bears Stalin's signature only.]
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21. REQUIEM-SERVICE HELD AT NYC'S ST PATRICK CATHEDRAL
IN COMMEMORATION OF 1932-1933 FAMINE VICTIMS
Ukrinform, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, November 21, 2005
KYIV - New York City's St Patrick Cathedral was the venue of a requiem
service in commemoration of millions of Ukrainians who were starved to
death in the 1932-1933 devastating famine, which the totalitarian regime
orchestrated, according to the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.
The mourning event was sponsored by the Ukrainian Congress Committee of
America, the Ukrainian Permanent Representation to the UNO, the Ukrainian
Consulate General in New York City and was attended by Ukrainian community
members and American public figures.
Ukraine's Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Valeriy Kuchynskyi
read out President Viktor Yushchenko's message to the service's attendants, in
which the Head of State thanked the people of America who were the first to
recognize the famine's appalling dimension.
The Ukrainian President referred to the famine of 1932-1933 as a tragedy of
European dimensions and aired his hope that this fact will be recognized by
the international community. According to Viktor Yushchenko, the truth and
memory will be the guarantee of preventing such tragedies in the future.
Addressing the audience, Ambassador Kuchynskyi reminded them about
Ukraine's 2003 initiative to endorse UN's joint statement on the occasion of
the famine's 70th anniversary, in which, for the first time, the 1932-1933
famine was qualified as the Ukrainian people's national tragedy, caused by
the Soviet totalitarian regime's brutal policies.
Chairman of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Mykhailo Savkiv
briefed the audience about President George Bush's address, which says that
millions of Ukrainians suffered from the Stalin totalitarian regime's
persecutions and the devastating 1932-1933 famine. The world, the US
President's message said, will always remember those who sacrificed their
lives to fight the evil.
The US President's address also noted that since Ukraine gained its
independence in 1991 the people of Ukraine have demonstrated their
commitment to the ideals of freedom, and the Orange Revolution has set
a powerful paradigm of democracy in action.
In the person of President Yushchenko the people of Ukraine have a brave
leader. America is proud to call Ukraine its friend, the US President's
address said.
New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg sent a message to the attendants,
which said that November 19 had been declared in New York City Day of
commemoration of the genocide's victims. -30-
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NOTE: The new book, "Day and Eternity of James Mace"
published by The Day in Kyiv, in English or in Ukrainian, is available
from the www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service. If you are
interesting in finding out how to order the new book please send an
e-mail to ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. EDITOR
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"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR" - SPONSORS
"Working to Secure & Enhance Ukraine's Democratic Future"
1. THE BLEYZER FOUNDATION, Dr. Edilberto Segura, Chairman;
Victor Gekker, Executive Director, Kyiv, Ukraine; Washington, D.C.,
http://www.bleyzerfoundation.com.
Additional supporting sponsors for the Action Ukraine Report (AUR) are:
2. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA), Zenia Chernyk,
Chairperson; Vera M. Andryczyk, President; Huntingdon Valley,
Pennsylvania
3. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel
Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 298 7275 in Kyiv,
kau@ukrnet.net
4. ESTRON CORPORATION, Grain Export Terminal Facility &
Oilseed Crushing Plant, Ilvichevsk, Ukraine
5. Law firm UKRAINIAN LEGAL GROUP, Irina Paliashvili, President;
Kiev and Washington, general@rulg.com, www.rulg.com.
6. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC., Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman,
Minneapolis, Minnesota
7. VOLIA SOFTWARE, Software to Fit Your Business, Source your
IT work in Ukraine. Contact: Yuriy Sivitsky, Vice President, Marketing,
Kyiv, Ukraine, yuriy.sivitsky@softline.kiev.ua; Volia Software website:
http://www.volia-software.com/ or Bill Hunter, CEO Volia Software,
Houston, TX 77024; bill.hunter@volia-software.com.
8. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent,
Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson
9. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C.,
Dr. Susanne Lotarski, President/CEO; E. Morgan Williams,
SigmaBleyzer, Chairman, Executive Committee, Board of Directors;
John Stephens, Cape Point Capital, Secretary/Treasurer
10. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL (UACC),
Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, New York
11. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj
McConnell, President; John Kun, Vice President/COO; Vera
Andruskiw, CPP Wash Project Director, Washington, D.C.; Markian
Bilynskyj, VP/Director of Field Operations; Marta Kolomayets, CPP
Kyiv Project Director, Kyiv, Ukraine. Web: http://www.USUkraine.org
12. WJ Grain, Kyiv, Ukraine, David Holpert, Chief Financial Officer,
Chicago, Illinois.
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"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" is an in-depth, private,
independent, not-for- profit news and analysis international newsletter,
produced as a free public service by the non-profit www.ArtUkraine.com
Information Service (ARTUIS) and The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring
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PUBLISHER AND EDITOR - AUR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs
Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Private Equity Investment Group
P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013, Tel: 202 437 4707
Mobile in Kyiv: 8 050 689 2874
mwilliams@SigmaBleyzer.com; www.SigmaBleyzer.com
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Director, Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA)
Coordinator, Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC)
Senior Advisor, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
Chairman, Executive Committee, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council
Publisher, Ukraine Information Website, www.ArtUkraine.com
Member, International Ukrainian Holodomor Committee
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Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
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