ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR
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In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis and Commentary
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YUSHCHENKO AGREES TO NOMINATE YANUKOVYCH
President will not disband Parliament
"I decided to nominate Victor Yanukovych to be the Prime Minister of
Ukraine. I understand all the complexity of this decision, for both
the East and West of Ukraine. I appeal to the nation to accept this
with an understanding that we have a unique chance to unite people on
both sides of Dnipro. Ukraine has a polarity which cannot be resolved
with another election." [1:56 a.m. Kyiv time Thursday, August 3, 2006]
President Yushchenko confirmed that the Universal for National Unity
was ratified by himself, speaker Oleksandr Moroz, the leader of
Regions Party Victor Yanukovych.
"To this moment, ratification of the Universal has started. So far the
Universal has been signed by the Speaker of the Parliament, leader of
Regions Party, leader of Our Ukraine, Prime Minister of Ukraine [Yuri
Yekhanurov] and the President", said Yushchenko in a briefing at night
between Wednesday and Thursday.
According to him, "more parties will join the ratification in the morning".
"Tomorrow we will have the official ratification of the Universal and
I will give a detailed commentary", affirmed Yushchenko.
Yushchenko explained his desire to sign the Universal by the
importance to implement the agenda with which he was elected as the
President. Therefore it is important to uphold the course of Ukraine's
foreign policy toward Euro-Atlantic integration and SES
membership, as well as WTO accession.
"I was an optimist that the Universal would bring the answers to the
issue of unity of Ukraine, because I am convinced that in reality
nobody wants to divide Ukraine, nobody wants federalism and
separatism", said Yushchenko.
According to him, problems regarding these issues were just "speculation".
"The political parties must publicly renounce those [views]",
emphasized Yushchenko and said that this concerns the issues of the
internal policy, language, land policy.
"I would like to announce this assertion and take it as the basis for
our future course", added Yushchenko.
http://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2006/8/3/45516.htm
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR - NUMBER 744
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
PUBLISHED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006
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PRESIDENT YUSHCHENKO AGREES TO NOMINATE ARCH-RIVAL
VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH TO BE PRIME MINISTER
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, August 3, 2006
KIEV, Ukraine - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Thursday that
he is nominating his former Orange Revolution foe, Viktor Yanukovych, to
become prime minister.
The decision puts an end to four months of political uncertainty sparked by
parliamentary elections in which no party won a majority.
Yushchenko made the announcement in an early morning address, two hours
after the constitutional deadline formally passed for him to decide on
Yanukovych's candidacy. He said the decision was made after Yanukovych
agreed to sign a memorandum on national unity that preserves the president's
foreign and domestic policies.
"I ask people to understand that we have a unique chance about which we
talked on Independence Square, about which we dreamed," Yushchenko said,
referring to the 2004 Orange Revolution mass protests, which followed
Yanukovych's fraud-marred grab at the presidency. He said the move was a
chance to unite both sides.
The March parliamentary election, in which Yanukovych's party won the
most votes, reinforced the deep divisions in this ex-Soviet republic. The
Russian-speaking east, which looks to Moscow, strongly backed Yanukovych.
But many in the Ukrainian-speaking west and central Ukraine warned a
Yanukovych premiership would be a betrayal.
Initially, the three parties that backed the Orange Revolution protests
against election fraud put together a coalition. But it fell apart when the
Socialists defected. Yanukovych scooped up the Socialists and the Communists
to form a parliamentary majority, which put him forward to be premier.
The president said he was aware his decision might be unacceptable to some
Ukrainians. The president also had the option of dissolving parliament and
calling new elections, but that threatened to simply prolong political
paralysis into the new year.
"Whatever decision the president makes, it would not have been accepted by
part of the population or it will cause some misunderstandings," Yushchenko
said. "But I think that now is the very moment when we must unite Ukraine."
He said parliament now has a chance to work stably for five years.
Yushchenko did not say whether his party would join Yanukovych's coalition.
But he noted his party had also signed the national unity accord, together
with Yanukovych and Parliament Speaker Oleksandr Moroz, who leads the
Socialist Party. Yushchenko said it was open to other parties to sign.
"Today, great ideas must unite us for the prosperity of Ukraine," Yushchenko
said. "We have a historical chance."
The decision to name Yanukovych premier marks a stunning comeback for
the man who left politics in disgrace after Ukraine's Supreme Court threw out
his fraud-marred presidential win in 2004 and Yushchenko won the
court-ordered revote.
Yanukovych bounced back in the March election, adopting Western-style
campaign tactics as he spent countless months in get-out-the-vote rallies in
eastern and southern Ukraine. He also hired American advisers to sharpen up
his image.
Yanukovych has emphasized a softer position in recent days, saying he
supports cooperation with NATO, joining the World Trade Organization and
membership in the European Union. He, however, has refused to back down from
his support for Russian language speakers and his insistence that membership
in NATO could only be decided by a public referendum.
Yushchenko implied that Yanukovych had adopted the president's pro-western
and reformist policies, but he gave no details.
Parliament was expected to vote on Yanukovych's candidacy - a mere
formality - on Thursday, and quickly begin putting together the new
government.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR - NUMBER 744
PUBLISHED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2006
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PUBLISHER AND EDITOR - AUR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs
Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer
Emerging Markets 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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Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely.
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