"UKRAINE REPORT 2003"
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU, DECEMBER 25, 2003
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL OF YOU, JANUARY 7, 2004
[Ukrainian Christmas, Julian Calendar]
FROM
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com INFORMATION SERVICE (ARTUIS)
E. MORGAN WILLIAMS
Postcards Over the Past 100 Years Send
Greetings for a Merry Christmas, for Joyful
Holidays and Announce Christ Is Born
http://www.artukraine.com/postcards/xmaspost1.htm
"UKRAINE REPORT 2003," Number 117
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, morganw@patriot.net
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2003
INDEX OF ARTICLES:
1. SUPREME RADA OK'S UKRAINE'S ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
BY PARLIAMENT
Prime-Tass, Moscow, Russia, December 24, 2003
2. UKRAINE PARLIAMENT FAVORS ELECTION CHANGE
By Anna Melnichuk, Associated Press Writer
Kiev, Ukraine, December 24, 2003
3. UKRAINIAN COMMUNIST LEADER DEFENDS CONSTITUTION
VOTE BY A SHOW-OF-HANDS VOTE
Channel One TV, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
4.UKRAINIAN MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT SPLIT OVER LEGITIMACY
OF CONSTITUTIONAL VOTE TODAY IN UKRAINE
ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
5. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO PROMISES
TO CONTINUE BLOCKING PARLIAMENT TO PREVENT
ILLEGITIMATE VOTING
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 24, 2003
6. UKRAINIAN DEPUTY SPEAKER QUITS MAJORITY OVER
CONTROVERSIAL VOTING
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
7. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION TO APPEAL CHANGES TO
CONSTITUTION IN EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
8. PUTIN AND KUCHMA DISCUSS SEA DISPUTE IN UKRAINE
AP Online; Kiev, Ukraine, Dec 24, 2003
9. UKRAINE WILL BAN IMPORT OF US BEEF "AUTOMATICALLY"
www.AgriMarket.Info, Wednesday, December 24, 2003
10. 'THEY SAID THEY WOULD TAKE ME TO A FOREST
AND BURY ME ALIVE."
FULL PAGE ADVERTISEMENT
Paid for by the Friends of Ukraine, Washington, D.C.
The New York Times, Friday, December 19, 2003, Page A35.
11. FREEDOM HOUSE SAYS BELARUS IS 'NOT FREE,'
UKRAINE 'PARTLY FREE.'
Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic
RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 7, No. 238, Part II, 19 December 2003
12. WESTERN NIS ENTERPRISE FUND ANNOUNCES SALE OF ITS
STAKE IN LEADING UKRAINIAN CERAMIC BRICK MANUFACTURER
Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Kyiv, Ukraine, December 23, 2003
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. SUPREME RADA OK'S UKRAINE'S ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
BY PARLIAMENT
Prime-Tass, Moscow, Russia, December 24, 2003
KIEV, Dec 24 (Prime-Tass) -- Ukraine's parliament, the Supreme Rada, voted
in favor of amending the Ukrainian Constitution Wednesday, allowing
parliament to elect the country's president, ITAR-TASS reported.
In this first round, 276 deputies voted for the bill, 50 more than the
required 226. The second round requires that 300 legislators back the
amendment.
The bill suggests that in 2006 the Ukrainian parliament will elect the
president, as well as that the Supreme Rada deputy term be extended to five
years from the current four.
It is proposed that the next nationwide presidential elections will take
place in Ukraine on the last Sunday in October 2004, as scheduled, but the
new president's power will expire in 2006 when the first-ever election of a
president by parliament will be held.
The president must be elected by a two-thirds majority, or by at least 300
deputies of the Supreme Rada. It is planned that the 2006 parliamentary
elections will be held under the proportional election system.
The Communist Party leader Pyotr Simonenko and Viktor Medvedchuk, chairman
of the Social Democratic Party of Ukraine (United) and head of the
presidential administration, proposed the bill on the amendments to the
Constitution. Two other bills were also proposed.
The opposition parties continue to protest against amending the Constitution
and disabled the voting system in the Supreme Rada, which, however, did not
prevent the majority and the communists from voting by a show of hands.
Meanwhile, recent polls, conducted by Ukraine's Razumkov center of economic
and political research, show that 86.5% of Ukrainians think that the
president should be elected by direct popular vote, and only 4.7% of
respondents back the idea of the country's president being elected by the
Supreme Rada.
Some 4.4% favor electing the president by a popular vote in 2004 and then
switching to the new system in 2006. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
=========================================================
2. UKRAINE PARLIAMENT FAVORS ELECTION CHANGE
By Anna Melnichuk, Associated Press Writer
Kiev, Ukraine, December 24, 2003
KIEV, Ukraine -- Overcoming a noisy opposition protest, Ukraine's parliament
on Wednesday gave initial approval to constitutional amendments that would
have the nation's president elected by the legislature instead of a popular
vote.
The 450-seat Verkhovna Rada approved the amendments in an open vote, with
276 lawmakers supporting the measure. The vote was held with a show of hands
after opposition deputies broke the electronic voting system on Tuesday.
The amendments must still pass in a second vote, which requires a two-thirds
majority for approval. That final vote has not yet been scheduled.
The opposition has complained that the amendments are an attempt to extend
President Leonid Kuchma's term, which expires next year, or have a loyalist
succeed him. The next presidential election is set for October, and the
current constitution prohibits Kuchma from seeking a third term.
Under the amendments proposed by Kuchma's chief of staff Viktor Medvedchuk,
the president will still be elected by popular vote in 2004, but would serve
only a two-year term instead of the usual four years. Then starting in 2006,
parliament would elect the president in this former Soviet republic.
Members of the opposition factions blocked debate on the amendments on
Tuesday and spent a sleepless night in the parliament's session hall. Early
Wednesday, they barricaded entrances to the hall, but later relented and
opened the doors. The opposition kept up their protest, however, by blaring
horns inside the chamber.
In a final attempt to block the vote, opposition lawmakers rushed to the
podium Wednesday to snatch a microphone out of speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn's
hand, and a shoving match ensued. Pro-government lawmakers then formed a
protective ring around Lytvyn.
After the vote, Lytvyn adjourned the session until Thursday, but some
opposition lawmakers remained in parliament and warned they would block the
parliament's work until the current session ends in January.
Yuriy Kostenko of the opposition Our Ukraine faction called the vote a
"political farce" in televised comments. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
=========================================================
3. UKRAINIAN COMMUNIST LEADER DEFENDS CONSTITUTION
VOTE BY A SHOW-OF-HANDS
Channel One TV, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
KYIV......Ukrainian Communist leader Petro Symonenko has defended the
use of a show-of-hands vote in favour of constitutional change in Ukraine,
which would allow the president to be elected by parliament instead of by a
popular vote, Russian Channel One TV reported on 24 December.
Symonenko was shown speaking in Russian as follows: "The constitution
requires us to vote in person and in public. Because the system we use to
vote is not functioning, we proposed that each of us who was in the chamber
should raise his hand." (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
=========================================================
4. UKRAINIAN MP's SPLIT OVER LEGITIMACY OF CONSTITUTIONAL
VOTE TODAY IN UKRAINE
ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
[Presenter] It seems that constitutional reform has become reality today. I
has been reported that 276 MPs have supported the changes to the Ukrainian
constitution. However, the opposition doubts that the voting was honest,
saying that the number of those who voted was smaller. Our parliamentary
correspondent, Viktor Soroka, has been in parliament for the last 24 hours.
He is on a live linkup with the studio.
Good afternoon, Viktor. Is it true that there were fewer votes and can we
consider the result of the voting valid?
[Correspondent] Greetings, Oleksiy. First, I would like to say that the war
in parliament is already over and the absolute majority of centre-right and
Communist MPs emphasize that there has been no vote rigging. They do not
doubt the legitimacy of today's voting. They say that 276 MPs supported
changes to the Ukrainian constitution. Only the opposition doubts that, in
particular three factions - Our Ukraine, Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc and the
Socialist Party. They say they counted only 100 hands raised in favour of
the bill on changes to the Ukrainian constitution. Representatives of the
parliamentary majority emphasize that the opposition's harsh and aggressive
behaviour left them no other option.
[Leonid Kravchuk, pro-presidential MP] Taking into account that the Rada
[parliamentary voting] system was broken and the rostrum was blocked, we
approved a resolution on changing the voting procedure. It reads that the
voting can be held openly using named ballot papers or by a show of hands.
Everything is in line with the parliamentary procedure. [Passage omitted:
Correspondent says opposition is frustrated]
[Yuriy Kostenko, opposition MP] A political farce called passing the first
reading of constitutional amendments has taken place in parliament. This
shows how the Ukrainian parliament will elect the next president. [Passage
omitted: Correspondent says the voting was legitimate.]
[Petro Symonenko, Communist Party leader] We think that we voted
intentionally in support of the bill No 4105 publicly, without hiding our
position, without leaving the [parliamentary] session hall.
[Correspondent] However, the chief Communist paid for his statement. MPs
from Our Ukraine immediately began to call his using swearwords and even
resorted to sheer hooliganism - they sprayed him with water. [Passage
omitted: Opposition blocked parliament before the voting.] (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
WELCOME TO UKRAINE MAGAZINE IN ENGLISH
Issue Number Four for Year 2003 Just Issued. Best Magazine in English
http://www.artukraine.com/travel/wumagazine.htm
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
=========================================================
5. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION LEADER YUSHCHENKO PROMISES
TO CONTINUE BLOCKING PARLIAMENT TO PREVENT
ILLEGITIMATE VOTING
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Dec 24, 2003
Kiev, 24 December: The opposition will continue blocking the parliamentary
session on Wednesday [24 December] to prevent illegitimate voting on
constitutional amendments, leader of the [opposition] Our Ukraine faction
Viktor Yushchenko told journalists.
He emphasized that the procedure of collecting signatures for voting on the
draft constitutional reform with ballot papers was illegitimate. To hold the
voting a parliamentary session must be opened and a relevant resolution must
be put to vote, Yushchenko noted.
"What is this? They came out of toilets, brought improper ballot papers and
said that they had voted," he said.
Answering questions from journalists, Yushchenko said that the three
opposition parties are constantly holding talks with the Communist faction
within a working group, but they have not reached any result yet.
Yushchenko also confirmed that the talks between representatives of all the
factions of the [pro-presidential] parliamentary majority and the opposition
are currently holding talks on further parliamentary work.
[The parliamentary majority has collected 227 signatures to vote on
constitutional amendments with ballot papers, majority coordinator Stepan
Havrysh said, according to Interfax-Ukraine, Kiev, in Russian 0716 gmt 24
Dec 03. About opposition 50 MPs and 20 TV journalists spent last night in
parliament after they blocked the voting on constitutional amendments on 23
December, according to Interfax-Ukraine, Kiev, in Russian 0407 gmt 24 Dec
03.] (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
=========================================================
6. UKRAINIAN DEPUTY SPEAKER QUITS MAJORITY OVER
CONTROVERSIAL VOTING
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
Kiev, 24 December: Ukrainian deputy parliament speaker Oleksandr Zinchenko
has recalled his signature under the document on his participation in the
parliamentary majority.
Zinchenko told Interfax-Ukraine that he had taken the decision because he
"categorically opposes the logic of solving the current parliamentary
crisis." [Parliamentary majority supported changes to the Ukrainian
constitution today by a show of hands. The opposition questions the
legitimacy of the voting.]
Zinchenko said he had already informed parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr
Lytvyn and the parliamentary majority coordinator, Stepan Havrysh, about his
decision. [Zinchenko's decision could lead to his dismissal from the
position of deputy speaker.] (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
=========================================================
7. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION TO APPEAL CHANGES TO
CONSTITUTION IN EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 24 Dec 03
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Dec 24, 2003
Kiev, 24 December: Three opposition factions are preparing to appeal to the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council if Europe over what they describe as
rigging of the vote in parliament on the bill to amend the constitution of
Ukraine.
[The bill approved today by a show of hands envisages the Ukrainian
president elected by parliament rather than by a popular vote, effective
from 2006.]
The leader of the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc, Yuliya Tymoshenko, said this at
her joint news conference with Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko and
acting leader of the Socialist Party, Yosyp Vinskyy.
PACE is entitled to judge the procedure of constitutional amendments and may
not accept the amendments to the constitution of Ukraine and the government
bodies formed on their basis. [Passage omitted: Opposition to work out a
joint action plan.]
[Tymoshenko said a video film of the proceedings shows little more than 100
hands raised in favour of the bill, according to Interfax-Ukraine 0859 gmt
24 Dec 03. The pro-presidential majority says the bill was supported by 276
votes. ] (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
=========================================================
8. PUTIN AND KUCHMA DISCUSS SEA DISPUTE IN UKRAINE
AP Online; Kiev, Ukraine, Dec 24, 2003
KIEV.......Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart
Leonid Kuchma arrived in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Kerch on Wednesday to
discuss a long-standing dispute between the two ex-Soviet republics over
control of a key shipping route.
Since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia and Ukraine have been
locked in a dispute over the Azov Sea, which has busy shipping routes and
rich fishing resources. Some experts say there are also potentially rich oil
fields on the sea floor.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine flared in October after Russia began
building a dike from the Russian mainland to Ukraine's Tuzla Island. The
move drew angry protests from Ukraine, which suspected Russia of trying to
seize control of the Kerch Strait linking the Black and Azov Seas.
Following tense high-level talks last month, Russia stopped construction
about 100 meters (yards) from Tuzla but demanded that Ukraine withdraw its
border guards from the island. Ukraine drew Moscow's ire by beefing up its
presence on Tuzla instead.
Ukrainian-Russian talks on dividing the Azov Sea have failed to reach any
immediate progress. Russia wants to draw the dividing line on the seabed and
rejects Ukraine's push to delimit its surface, fearing that would allow
Ukraine to control shipping routes.
Russia's Vremya Novostei reported Wednesday that Putin and Kuchma were
expected to sign a framework agreement on mutual use of the sea, which will
be considered an internal body of water by both countries. But details about
how to divide the sea _ by the surface or seabed _ remain to be decided, the
newspaper said.
The two presidents are also expected to discuss the fledgling international
gas consortium to upgrade Ukraine's ailing Soviet-era pipeline network, news
reports said. (am/mb/vi/ji) (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
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http://www.artukraine.com/primitive/artmagazine.htm
A Great Magazine in Ukrainian....Excellent Ukrainian Magazine
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
========================================================
9. UKRAINE WILL BAN IMPORT OF US BEEF "AUTOMATICALLY"
www.AgriMarket.Info, Wednesday, December 24, 2003
KYIV........A representative of Ukraine's veterinary inspectorate has stated
that Ukraine will "automatically" stop imports of American beef, as soon as
it gets official confirmation of the "mad cow disease" case, detected in the
country, web-server Korrepondent.net has informed.
The import will be suspended immediately on receipt of official notification
from the US authorities about detection of spongiform encephalopathy in the
United States, the veterinary inspector said. The same position is also held
by Russia.
US Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman informed Tuesday about a suspected case
of "mad cow disease" in a slaughtered animal from a farm in Washington
state.
Import of American beef has already been banned by Japan, South Korea and
Hong Kong. The closure of the borders against the American beef supplies is
also being considered by the EU.
The occurrence has already inflicted much of the damage to the United
States. The stocks of beef producing companies and also those of restaurant
and cafe networks are falling in the stock market. Experts say the country
is at anger of a serious financial crisis if the situation worsens.
An official of US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday that the meat
of the ill cow might have been consumed, perhaps, in the form of hamburger.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
=========================================================
10. 'THEY SAID THEY WOULD TAKE ME TO A FOREST
AND BURY ME ALIVE."
FULL PAGE ADVERTISEMENT
Paid for by the Friends of Ukraine, Washington, D.C.
The New York Times, Friday, December 19, 2003, Page A35.
[NOTE: In The New York Times advertisement the Friends of Ukraine
state they are a Washington, D.C. based advocacy organization organized
to promote the growth of multi-party democracy, a free market economy,
and the rule of law in Ukraine. They state their address is 1275
Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.C. E-Mail:
info@friendsofukraine.com.]
The text of the full-page advertisement is as follows:
"THEY SAID THEY WOULD TAKE ME TO A FOREST
AND BURY ME ALIVE"
[At the top of the advertisement is a photograph of a forest]
For nine months, prominent businessman Konstantin Grigorishin said he
endured repeated threats from Victor Medvedchuk, chief of staff to the
president of Ukraine, and his close business associate, Gryhoriy Surkis. (1)
Konstantin remembered them saying, "We will not allow you to do business
in Ukraine. We will take everything and you will be imprisoned." (2) When
Medvedchuk's demands were refused, Konstantin recalled, "They said they
would take me to a forest and bury me alive." (3) In October 2002,
Konstantin was arrested and thrown in jail. Six months later, "he had
nothing but memories left of most of his businesses." (4)
Medvedchuk, who denies the charges, is now seeking to be Ukraine's next
president. The people of Ukraine have sacrificed too much, for too long,
to allow their country to return to the nightmares of the past. While
things are not perfect, life is improving. Scars are healing. Much is
being accomplished. There's hope for a better tomorrow.
But all will be lost if Medvedchuk becomes president. The harrowing tale
above is but one reason Ukrainians must join together to defeat Medvedchuk
and his business cronies. The Friends of Ukraine urge your support for a
united campaign against Victor Medvedchuk and the path of darkness he
represents. Here are other reasons to fear Medvedchuk:
- Criminal Charges - While at law school in 1973, Victor Medvedchuk
and two friends severely beat up a minor. Medvedchuk was sentenced to
two years in jail by the Lenin District Court in Kyiv. But months later the
charges were mysteriously reversed and the case was dismissed. (5)
- Jailing Opponents - "What distinguished Medvedchuk from other
oligarchs is that, as a lawyer and advisor to Kuchma in judicial matters, he
has a strong influence on law enforcement organs," wrote Slavic Research
Center Professor Kimitaka Matsuzato. "He is able to jail, or at least
blackmail to jail, his political antagonists whenever he wants." (6)
- Vast Wealth - In an article on the 25 richest people in Central and
Eastern Europe, "Ranked third among Ukrainians was the chief of the
Presidential Administration Victor Medvedchuk, with $800 million." (7)
- Kyiv Seven/Violence - "Surkis and Medvedchuk were the pillars of the
'Kyiv Seven,' " according to "Zarkalo Nedeli." (8) "They got their start in
trade and real estate but then moved into the more lucrative gas industry,"
(9) "In 1994, 'The Seven' founded the 'Slavutich' concern and expanded
into the agricultural and metallurgical sectors, using violence to assure
profits in these chaotic but lucrative markets," explained Ivan Lozowy of
the Network of Independent Journalists. (10)
- KGB Agents - "According to the conversation between Leonid
Kuchma and Leonid Derkach, Medvedchuk and Surkis were KGB agents
of the USSR with long-term experience....There is no evidence whatsoever
to support the point that he has discontinued working for them....In other
words, the Presidential Administration of Ukraine has been run by a foreign
special services agent." (11) Medvedchuk called the charges an absurdity.
- Father's Background - Medvedchuk claims his family was expelled to
Siberia because his father supported Ukrainian nationalists during WWII.
But Dmytro Chobit, a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament, published
a pamphlet in 2001 that alleges Medvedchuk's father actually served in the
German police and "had been directly involved in forced deportations from
Ukraine of over two thousand of his fellow countrymen." (12)
- Media Repression - "The National Interest" alleges Mr. Medvedchuk
"is trying to get the already subdued media completely under heel. (13)
The head of the Supreme Council's Committee on Freedom of Speech
and Information called on President Kuchma to "immediately dismiss the
head of the presidential administration Victor Medvedchuk or order an
investigation....under Article 171 of Ukraine's code of criminal
proceedings, which envisages criminal liability for interference in
journalistic activity." (14)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
This material is distributed by the Friends of Ukraine, a Washington,
DC-based advocacy organization. Friends of Ukraine is organized to
promote the growth of multi-party democracy, a free market economy,
and the rule of law in Ukraine. For more information contact: Friends
of Ukraine, 1275 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, 9th Floor, Washington, D.
C. Email: info@friendsofukraine.com.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. "Ukrainian Weekly Says Battle for Power Behind Businessman's Arrest."
BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union, 11/1/02.
2. "Businessman says he was framed," Roman Woronowycz, "The Ukrainian
Weekly,"October 27, 2002.
3. "Scare Tactics On the Rise in Ukraine" Sharon LeFraniere, "The
Washington Post," December 18, 2002. "Tycoon Freed," Peter Byrne,
"Kyiv Post," 10/24/02.
4. "Ukrainian Weekly Says Battle for Power Behind Businessman's Arrest,"
op. c/t.
5. "Narcissus; The Strokes of the Political Portrait of V. Medvedchuk,"
Prosvita, 2001.
6. "Elites and the Party System of Zakarpattya Oblast," Kimitaka
Matsuzato, Europe-Asia Studies, Dec. 2002.
7. "Ukrainian top politician in a sulk with his brother over inheritance -
paper," BBC Monitoring 7/01/03.
8. "Ukrainian Political Parties, Part IV, The Social Democratic Party
(United)," Serhiy Rakhmanin and Yulia Mostovaya, "Zerkalo Nedeli,"
3/16/02.
9. "Left Behind: Ukraine's Uncertain Transformation." Anders Aslund,
"The National Interest," Fall, 2003.
10. "Who's Afraid of the SDPU(e):" Ivan Lozowy, "Network of
Independent Journalists Weekly Service," 2/23/03
11. "Kuchma: Medvedchuk - a KGB Agent. Who are you: Leonid
Kuchma?" "Antenna" 10/01/02
12. "Narcissus" op c/t
13. "Left Behind": op c/t
14. "Ukrainian Media MP Calls for Dismissal of President's Chief of Staff,"
BBC Monitoring. 1/28/03 (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
Editor's Note: The Friends of Ukraine advocacy group in Washington, D.C.
started a daily e-mail newsletter which contained news articles about
Ukraine several months ago. We were on their list for a few weeks but do
not receive it any longer. We do not know if the newsletter is still being
issued. The several e-mails we sent them at the time went unanswered.
In checking around a good number of sources who are very knowledgeable
on Ukraine matters in Washington, D.C. we were not able to find anyone who
knew anyone who was a member of this advocacy group or who is behind it..
It is not known who paid for the very expensive full-page advertisement that
appeared in The New York Times last Friday. Several persons thought the
advocacy group was being run by a Washington, D. C. based public relations
organization who is being paid for their services by someone.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
=========================================================
11. FREEDOM HOUSE SAYS BELARUS IS 'NOT FREE,'
UKRAINE 'PARTLY FREE.'
Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic
RFE/RL Newsline, Vol. 7, No. 238, Part II, 19 December 2003
The New-York-based NGO Freedom House classified Belarus as "not free"
and Ukraine as "partly free" in its annual survey of freedom and democracy
around the world, released on 18 December. Belarus is the only country in
Europe ranked in the "not free" category, which comprises 48 countries
worldwide. "There are two of the 12 former Soviet countries [in which],
despite the difficulties, there is some possibility of forward momentum,"
Freedom House analyst Adrian Karatnycky told RFE/RL.
"One is, of course, Georgia. The second one, paradoxically, is Ukraine.
If Ukraine goes through this [coming] year and this election cycle with a
relatively clean process, it is possible that the trends toward
authoritarianism could be averted and reversed." JM (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT 2003, No. 117: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
=========================================================
12. WESTERN NIS ENTERPRISE FUND ANNOUNCES SALE OF ITS
STAKE IN LEADING UKRAINIAN CERAMIC BRICK MANUFACTURER
Western NIS Enterprise Fund, Kyiv, Ukraine, December 23, 2003
Kyiv, Ukraine - December 23, 2003 - Western NIS Enterprise Fund (WNISEF)
announced today that agreement was reached regarding the sale of its 100%
stake in Slobozhanska Budivelna Keramica (SBK), the leading premium façade
ceramic brick manufacturer in Ukraine. Raiffeisen Investment AG of Austria
(RIAG), along with MARA Beteiligungsverwaltungs GmbH (a holding company of
RIAG) purchased the stake. The sale is subject to the approval of the
Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine.
SBK anticipates revenues in excess of $8 million in 2003. The Company
produces premium façade ceramic bricks in over 40 shapes and 4 colors, and
is one of the most recognized brand names in the Ukrainian construction
materials industry. It operates two modern production facilities in
Ukraine.
Commenting on the sale, President and CEO of WNISEF Natalie A. Jaresko said:
"WNISEF is very pleased that SBK was able to attract such a buyer. This is
a tribute to the efforts made and value created by Management and the
Shareholders since WNISEF's original investment in SBK in 1997. We are
certain that SBK will continue to grow and further expand its position as
the market leader for years to come."
WNISEF (www.wnisef.org) is the region's leading private equity fund that
invests in small- and medium-sized private enterprises in Ukraine and
Moldova. WNISEF's seeks to identify and invest in securities of private
enterprises with outstanding growth potential and the ability to build
competitive advantages in the marketplace. WNISEF provides its portfolio
companies with capital and the necessary management tools to evolve from
entrepreneurial ventures into professionally managed companies. Since
inception, the cumulative investment commitment of WNISEF totals $85.5
million to 27 companies in Ukraine and Moldova, employing over 15,000
people.
RIAG (www.riag.at) is an investment banking subsidiary of the Raiffeisen
Banking Group, which is focused on M&A, corporate finance, and privatization
transactions in the Central and Eastern European regions. In this
transaction, RIAG and its holding company are acting as financial investors,
and expect to continue building on the successful business development
accomplished to date by WNISEF.
In this transaction, FinPoint LLC, an independent investment-banking firm
represented in Ukraine by Sergey Budkin, advised WNISEF. FinPoint LLC
assisted WNISEF in the planning and execution of a divestment strategy that
enabled WNISEF to widen the circle of potential buyers and evaluate multiple
offers from prominent international and domestic investors.
For additional information, please contact:
Andrew Petriwsky, Investment Manager, Western NIS Enterprise Fund
Phone : +380 44 490 5580, Fax : +380 44 490 5589
e-mail: apetriwsky@wnisefk.com
Viacheslav Yakymuk, Managing Director, Raiffeisen Investment Ukraine
Phone: +380 44 290 6899, Fax: +380 44 490 6897
e-mail: riu@riu.kiev.ua
Dr. Wolfgang Putschek, Director, Raiffeisen Investment AG
Phone: +431 710 54 00, Fax: +431 710 54 0039
e-mail: w.putschek@riag.at (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
. "UKRAINE REPORT 2003," No. 117: WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2003
MERRY CHRISTMAS, DECEMBER 25, 2003
MERRY CHRISTMAS, JANUARY 7, 2004
[Ukrainian Christmas, Julian Calendar]
Postcards Over the Past 100 Years Send
Greetings for a Merry Christmas, for Joyful
Holidays and Announce Christ Is Born
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