"UKRAINE REPORT" 2004
In-Depth Ukrainian News and Analysis
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"To sum-up, the attractiveness of ultimate European integration for Ukraine
is great since it would fulfill the aspirations of great majority of its
population to enjoy full political freedoms, economic well-being, social
justice and a healthier physical environment. This can be attained if Kyiv,
Brussels and Warsaw respond adequately to their respective challenges."
[article nine]
"UKRAINE REPORT" 2004, Number 15
U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF)
www.ArtUkraine.com Information Service (ARTUIS)
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Kyiv, Ukraine and Washington, D.C., Wednesday, January 28, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
1. RUSSIA PUSHES UKRAINE ON ODESA-BRODY
"It meets the strategic interests of both Russia and Ukraine."
Eastern Economist Daily (EED), Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004
2. KUCHMA INSTRUCTS UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR IN
WASHINGTON TO STEP UP EFFORTS TO DEEPEN U.S. TIES
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 26, 2004
3. NOTHING THREATENS DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE
ACCORDING TO PRESIDENT LEONID KUCHMA
The Day Weekly Digest in English, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tues, Jan 27, 2004
4. UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS INDICATE THE NEW PRESIDENT
OF GEORGIA WAS APPOINTED BY THE USA
Communists say Yushchenko is trying to create a pretext for
direct interference by the USA in the situation in Ukraine.
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1900 gmt 27 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; Jan 27, 2004
5.YUSHCHENKO RULES OUT GEORGIAN-STYLE REVOLUTION
Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi, Georgia, in Georgian, 26 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 26, 2004
6. "DARK AS A DUNGEON"
Since Independence 3,700 people have died in Ukrainian coalmine accidents
By Michael Willard, The Ukrainian Observer, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 2004
7. RUSSIAN DUMA DEPUTIES REACT AGAINST PACE'S
REVIEW OF UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS
ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, January 26, 2004
8. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL TO NUDGE
RUSSIA ON DEMOCRACY AND THEIR ASSERTIVENESS
WITH GEORGIA, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
By Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, Tbilisi, Georgia, January 25, 2004
9. ATTRACTIVENESS OF ULTIMATE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
FOR UKRAINE IS GREAT, FULLFILL ASPIRATIONS
"European Prospective of the Title for Ukraine, Challenges for Kyiv,
Brussels and Warsaw"; Presentation by Bohdan Hawrylyshyn,
International Conference on Ukraine's European Aspirations
Belweder, Poland, December 18, 2003
10. "IN PRAISE OF GALICIA"
Once called the backbone of Ukraine
By Prof. James Mace, Consultant to The Day
The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004
11. APPLES ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN LVIV
These apples are sold only to men as gifts for their sweethearts
By Iryna Yehorova, The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Tues, Jan 27, 2004
12. A 'TRUE FRIEND OF UKRAINE' TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
IN FOCUS, Complied by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
RFE/RL, (UN) CIVIL SOCIETIES, 26 Jan 2004, Prague, Czech Republic
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
=========================================================
1. RUSSIA PUSHES UKRAINE ON ODESA-BRODY DECISION
"It meets the strategic interests of both Russia and Ukraine."
Eastern Economist Daily (EED), Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004
KYIV/MOSCOW. Russia and Ukraine are working out the issue of a long-term
agreement on the transit of Russian crude oil via Ukraine's territory to
European countries, Russian Power Industry Minister Igor Yusufov told
reporters in Kyiv. "Our countries signed the protocol on cooperation in the
field of the fuel and energy complex for this year, where the supply of
crude oil to the Ukrainian market and refineries was increased. The transit
of Russian oil via Ukrainian is also envisaged," the Russian Minister said.
In his words, this agreement is calculated for 15 years. "We are finalizing
the only question of possible shipments of Russian oil from Brody to Odesa.
This issue needs further coordination. It meets the strategic interests of
both Russia and Ukraine," Yusufov added. "Ukraine has quite just and
reasonable wish to prolong the pipeline from Brody to the Polish territory
to get free ports, but realization of this project will take nearly three
years," he said.
Yet, in his opinion, before that time the pipeline from Brody to Odesa
"should not be standing idle, as Ukraine is missing the chance to get extra
funds from tariffs, which also could be spent on financing the prolongation
of the pipeline from Brody to Polish ports."
The volume of trade between Ukraine and Russia in 2003 has reached a
record-high level over the last seven years. According to the preliminary
information of the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, this index increased by
26% in comparison with 2002 and exceeded US $15.3bn. Herewith,
Ukraine's export amounted to US $6.4bn, and import - US $8.9bn.
Russia purchases in Ukraine metal and goods of it, as well as
machine-building and agricultural products. Russia's main export consists of
oil and gas. To preserve the reached rates of growth of bilateral turnover,
the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy has developed draft measures of increasing
its export to Russia. Last year the sides coordinated the terms of a
stage-by-stage cancellation of withdrawals from the bilateral regime of free
trade.
A corresponding protocol is to be signed in the first quarter of this year.
It is planned to cancel import duties on tobacco goods in 2006, and on
sugar - - in 2007. Ukraine has agreed to exclude a withdrawal from the free
trade agreement with regard to Russian confectionery in 2004. Russia is
ready to import spirit free of duty from Ukraine beginning from 2012.
(Podrobnosti /itar-tass, Jan. 23) (END) (ARTUIS)
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EDITOR'S NOTE: One of the most critical decisions Ukraine will make
in 2004 is their decision about the Odesa-Brody pipeline. Will they decide
to tie themselves to Europe or to Russia? Key experts who have studied
very carefully the economics and politics of this decision say there is no
question whatsoever but that it is in Ukraine's best short-term and
long-term interest to tie themselves to Europe and not to Russia regarding
the use of the Odesa-Brody pipeline. We shall see what Ukraine decides to
do. This decision will be a key signal to the world as to whether Ukraine is
at all serious when they say their key goal is to integrate into Europe. Is
this talk real or just smoke and mirrors? With the Odesa- Brody decision
Ukraine will cast a major vote. Will Ukraine vote for or against
integration with Europe?
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
=========================================================
2. KUCHMA INSTRUCTS UKRAINE'S AMBASSADOR IN
WASHINGTON TO STEP UP EFFORTS TO DEEPEN U.S. TIES
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 26, 2004
Kyiv--Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has instructed Ukraine's
ambassador in Washington to step up efforts to deepen ties with the US,
including economic, scientific, humanitarian and interdepartmental
cooperation.
Kuchma issued the instruction during a meeting on 26 January in Kyiv
with ambassador Mykhailo Riznyk, according to the president's press
service.
During the meeting, Kuchma and Riznyk discussed the state of bilateral
relations and future prospects. The president noted the importance of
extensive relations with the US. Both men underlined the significance of
US support for Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic integration.
Riznyk was appointed ambassador to the US on 10 November 2003.
Before this, he had served as ambassador to China. From 1994-1997, he
also headed Ukraine's trade mission in the US. (END)(ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
=========================================================
3. NOTHING THREATENS DEMOCRACY IN UKRAINE
ACCORDING TO PRESIDENT LEONID KUCHMA
The Day Weekly Digest in English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 27, 2004
President Leonid Kuchma believes that Ukraine does not need to be persuaded
about the benefits of democracy. Today, in his words, nothing threatens
democracy in Ukraine. These are quotes from his interview with Interfax
Ukraine agency.
Asked about his attitude toward the leader of the Our Ukraine bloc Viktor
Yushchenko's initiative to create a special PACE Monitoring Committee in
Ukraine to permanently study issues of the constitutional and political
reforms and various political forces' actions, President Kuchma said, "We
don't need to be persuaded of the advantages of democracy. We need democracy
in Ukraine more than any West European country where far from everybody are
aware that this country exists at all. There is nothing we strive more than
living by European rules. We understand that only this can bring us
prosperity.
"We gratefully take advice from the representatives of democracies that are
more developed than ours. However, we can also feel very well where advice
becomes intervention in our domestic affairs. I am not sure that everybody
visiting us with mandates from, say, the European Council, can feel this
boundary equally well.
"What did they tell us last time, for instance?" the president asked a
rhetorical question. "The whole country could see that it was impossible to
discuss and adopt the draft Constitutional reform in the normal order. It is
public knowledge that this was made impossible by the opposition's
hooliganism. The minority wanted the majority to capitulate. The majority
has found a way to vote for the project. They voted by raising their hands
and also in writing.
"And now these people from the European Council come here and say, 'You have
to vote again. Otherwise, we will expel you from the European Council.' They
don't want to know what had happened, what the whole Ukraine has witnessed."
"In this connection I have to say the following," Leonid Kuchma stressed.
"First, we realize that the European Council needs Ukraine no less than
Ukraine needs the European Council. This makes any ultimatums inappropriate.
You should not follow the example of our opposition. Our opposition is only
a decade old, while you are much older and should behave in a grownup way.
Second, nothing is going on in Ukraine that could strongly jeopardize
democracy. Today domestic peace prevails in the country. The opposition's
attempts to break it are under control. There are no hostilities in
Ukraine's
territory or any signs of public disorders. Our guests from the European
Council are well aware that there are places in Europe where their
activities would be more to the point. They know how many people who are
really suffering and waiting for them.
"Third, the opposition is threatening us with some European sanctions,
referring to their people in the European Council. They really shouldn't say
so. Our answer to this will be the answer that any country respecting itself
would have given.
"This is what Ukrainian authorities will say first of all as soon as it sits
at a round table with the opposition. I must say I hear such things from my
supporters... This can be read in the messages I receive. People say, 'They
call you criminal regime, and you fuss over them, talking to them like they
were serious people. What happened to your pride?' I tell them, 'My pride is
in my strength. I know my strength, this is why I tolerate this," the
president said. (END) (ARTUIS)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
=========================================================
4. UKRAINIAN COMMUNISTS INDICATE THE NEW PRESIDENT
OF GEORGIA WAS APPOINTED BY THE USA
Communists say Yushchenko is trying to create a pretext for
direct interference by the USA in the situation in Ukraine.
UT1, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 27 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 27, 2004
KYIV.......The press service of the Communist Party of Ukraine released a
statement today containing comments on the inauguration of the president of
Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili.
It says that the latest events are proof not so much of the election of the
new president of Georgia as of his appointment by the USA.
Also, and I quote: Ukrainian rightist, nationalist forces headed by [Our
Ukraine bloc leader] Viktor Yushchenko, are trying to destabilise the
situation in the country in order to create a pretext for direct
interference by the USA in the situation in Ukraine, as was the case in
Georgia. End of quote.
In the commentary, which is entitled "Nashism should not prevail" [play on
the word "our", which is in the rendering of Our Ukraine's name in
Ukrainian, and fascism], activists of Our Ukraine are also accused of
holding talks with the USA, and, in particular, with Colin Powell. (END)
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
=========================================================
5. YUSHCHENKO RULES OUT GEORGIAN-STYLE REVOLUTION
Rustavi-2 TV, Tbilisi, Georgia, in Georgian, 26 Jan 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jan 26, 2004
TBILISI.......[Presenter] [Passage omitted] A news conference held by [the
leader of the opposition Our Ukraine bloc] Viktor Yushchenko at the Marriott
Hotel in Tbilisi has just ended. [Passage omitted] Yushchenko is not going
to copy the [Georgian] experience of [November 2003] rose revolution. He
said that Ukraine should take its own path.
[Viktor Yushchenko, addressing the news conference in Russian] I am not a
supporter of the idea of exporting some kind of (?Georgian) analogy into the
current socio-political situation in Ukraine. Such things do not happen.
This may happen only in a soap opera or a jolly myth. Of course, Georgia
gave its own answer to the question of how to resolve the situation, and
Ukraine will give its own answer.
However, it is perhaps very important to stress - this is a very important
side of the Georgian experience - that democracy gives the best answers to
such questions.
This is the most fundamental matter. As regards the painful syndromes which
have been accompanying the countries with limited democracy, they of course
deprive us of many possibilities.
Georgia's example has demonstrated that if we look honestly at the choice of
the future, if we let the people make this choice, this would be the best
way of resolving gravest national conflicts or a crisis of the authorities.
========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2005, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
========================================================
6. DARK AS A DUNGEON
Since Independence 3,700 people have died in Ukrainian coalmine accidents
By Michael Willard, The Ukrainian Observer
The Willard Group, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 2004
"It's dark as a dungeon and damp as the dew
The danger is doubled and the pleasures are few
Where the rain never falls and the sun never shine
It's dark as a dungeon, way down in the mine."
- Merle Travis
You never hear of a happy coal mining song.
There are only laments about darkness, dampness and death, and owing one's
soul to the company store. About loading 16 tons of No. 9 coal "and what do
you get, another day older and deeper in debt."
Since Ukraine's independence 12 years ago, more people have died in
Ukrainian coalmine accidents, 3,700, than people were killed in the
horrendous terrorist attack Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center in New
York. It is an understatement to say these miners need not have died. Modern
mining is not about picks and shovels. It's about technology and safety,
though it will always be a dangerous occupation.
My affinity for the job of coal mining is mostly cerebral. One would not
catch me in one of those dog-tail mines. The closest I came was a journey
several hundred feet down to a virtual cavern, a modern, West Virginia mine
and that was years ago. At the time, I was then as now a PR guy, and my
client was A.T. Massey, one of the largest mineral resources companies in
America. Before going down, however, I had to take a basic safety course
that lasted half a day, just for a chaperoned experience.
After being geared-up with a menagerie of safety equipment, I rode the
man-way, a train with small cars attached, deep into the side of a mountain,
and then took a large elevator to the mining site. I had plenty of headroom,
and the air was damp but adequate. Once there, I saw where it took only four
men to actually do the work. The remainder of the employees monitored the
mining conditions from above ground, and worked on computers analyzing the
quality of the coal.
Deep in the mine, one employee would operate the continuous miner, a machine
that tears into coal seams, loosens the mineral and extracts it. Another
miner loaded it, and two miners worked on roof-bolting to secure the slate
in place. Throughout the coal mining country of the United States, spirited
safety contests are held between miners each year. There is a coal mining
safety academy in Raleigh County, West Virginia. The emphasis is clearly on
protecting the miner.
It wasn't always that way. I was covering a Kentucky coal mining strike as a
young wire service reporter in 1973 when I first heard the words to the song
above, sung by a woman whose angular and creased face seemed carved from the
Appalachian Mountains from which she came. Her haunting voice was thin as a
reed. Her hair was as black as the coal taken from the narrow seams of the
Brookside mine in Harlan, KY. It was a 13-month strike against an old symbol
of corporate America, the powerful Duke Power Co.
The strike began with the deaths of two miners, and the Eastover Mining
Company's (a subsidiary of Duke) apparent disregard for certain basic safety
standards. This was an era where coal miners still lived in shacks without
running water, and truly owed their soul to the company store. Though not as
bloody as previous Harlan County labor disputes (Bloody Harlan they called
it), the Brookside strike gained national attention as the United Mine
Workers of America sought to unionize a mine under what was, in essence, a
company union.
In the end, and after one company guard had been killed with a shotgun
blast, a judge ruled the Duke Power had violated various labor laws, and a
truce was called. The UMW was considered a victor in this landmark labor
action later chronicled in the Academy Award winning documentary "Harlan
County: USA."
Miners in Ukraine and Russia do not have the strength of a national union.
Arguably, the rather high sulfur coal they mine would be cheaper to keep in
the ground, certainly less dangerous to the environment.
And when 13 miners were trapped at Novoshakhtinsk, Russia, recently (11
were miraculously rescued) , there was a certain irony to the fact that the
government said they would pay the victims families $400 dollars each --
this when they had not received a pay check for six months.
Currently, worldwide funding organizations simply don't want to lend or
grant money to Eastern Europe's coal mining industry for safety. The reason
given is that, because of the corruption, the money would end up in another
black hole. This is a shame. They need to get over it.
Miners in former Soviet countries work under safety conditions of thirty
years ago. Last year, 300 miners were killed in Ukraine. Seventy-five per
cent of the country's mines are considered highly prone to methane blasts.
Certainly, convincing Ukrainian authorities to close dangerous,
nonproductive mines is a step, but this movement should be equally backed
up with funds to move the country into the 21st Century on the safety front.
I don't ever expect to hear a happy coal mining song, but then, the final
verse of Dark as a Dungeon is haunting:
"Oh when I am dead and the ages shall roll
My body will blacken and turn into coal
Then I'll look from the door of my heavenly home
And pity the miner a-digging my bones."
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LINK: http://www.ukraine-observer.com
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
=========================================================
7. RUSSIAN DUMA DEPUTIES REACT AGAINST PACE'S
REVIEW OF UKRAINE'S PARLIAMENTARY CRISIS
ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, January 26, 2004
MOSCOW, January 26 (Itar-Tass) -- Many deputies of the Russian State
Duma have reacted to PACE decision to put the constitutional crisis in
Ukraine on the agenda of PACE debates as an act of interference into
the internal affairs of a sovereign state, according to the results of a
blitz poll conducted by Itar-Tass.
Deputy chairman of the Duma committee for affairs of the CIS Andrei
Savelyev said that the discussion of this problem at PACE would be a
direct interference into the affairs of a foreign state. "Whatever critical
my personal attitude to President Kuchma might be, I have much more
criticism of part of the opposition that is acting against Kuchma who
confronts direct destroyers of Ukraine's statehood and enemies of
Russia," Saveleyev said.
Natalia Narochnitskaya, an expert in the international law and deputy
chairwoman of the Committee for international affairs, said that PACE
should not interfere into the internal affairs of any state - either Russia
or Ukraine. The Council of Europe is an exclusively ideological organization
that seeks uniform legal and ideological order; it is a kind of the IY
Liberal International, she said.
Any member of the international community can express concern over
this or that problem, but the point is how that should be done, she noted.
As for the Council of Europe, "this organisation is not distinguished by
proper tact, and it puts forward ideas, including on matters of our home
politics, that are unthinkable in classical international relations,
Narochnitskaya said.
Aleksei Mitrofanov, the MP from the LDPR bloc, declared that the
Ukrainian problem on PACE agenda was an" interference into Ukraine's
internal affairs." This is especially inadmissible because at issue is a
peaceful settlement of the crisis in Ukraine. The West should better show
more interest in the situation in other countries, such as Albania, that has
much more problems as far as democracy is concerned, than Ukraine,
Mitrofanov said. (END) (ARTUIS)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR'S NOTE: Give us a break. What country has interfered more
in Ukraine's political and governmental matters throughout history than
Russia? And most of the Russian interference was oppressive, destructive
and criminal. Surely the Russian Duma deputies do not think anyone is going
to take their ranting and raving seriously. The reaction by the Russian
Duma deputies indicates Russia would once again like to dominate Ukraine.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
=========================================================
8. U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL TO NUDGE RUSSIA
ON DEMOCRACY AND THEIR ASSERTIVENESS WITH
GEORGIA, MOLDOVA AND UKRAINE
By Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, Tbilisi, Georgia, January 25, 2004
TBILISI (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said on
Saturday he would urge Russia to put its democracy on a more solid
foundation and would raise its recent assertive dealings with
neighbours like Georgia and Moldova.
Powell made the comments as he flew to the inauguration of Georgian
President-elect Mikhail Saakashvili in Tbilisi, before heading for
Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign
Minister Igor Ivanov on Monday.
Washington has been troubled recently by internal developments in
Russia, including the December Duma elections that swept Russia's
main liberal parties from the parliament and last year's arrest of
billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
U.S. officials have criticised the fact that Russia's state-
controlled media gave little air time to the liberal parties before
the elections and have suggested that Khodorkovsky's treatment was
politically motivated.
"On the issue of what is often referred to as 'managed democracy', I
am sure we will have open and candid conversations about our view of
some of the actions that we have seen in recent months," Powell told
reporters.
"It is clear that there are issues to talk about in some depth and
that's why I'm coming here," Powell added, alluding the importance of
unbiased media coverage of elections and of openness and basic
fairness in the legal system.
"It's important that the Russians do everything to put their
democratic system on a solid base that has the normal tools and
institutions of democracy that will serve it well in the future," he
said.
Washington is also worried about Moscow's increasingly assertive
dealings with its neighbours, including a territorial dispute with
Ukraine over part of the Sea of Azov and the continued presence of
Russian troops in Moldova and Georgia.
Analysts say Russia's behaviour raises questions about whether
elements of its elite want more influence over the neighbouring
former Soviet Republics.
Powell said he would repeat the U.S. demand that Russia keep its
promises on withdrawing from its last two military bases in Georgia.
"He (Putin) has concerns about what they call their 'near-abroad' and
we will talk about Moldova and we will talk about Georgia and we'll
talk about Central Asia," Powell said. (END) (ARTUIS)
=======================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
=========================================================
9. ATTRACTIVENESS OF ULTIMATE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
FOR UKRAINE IS GREAT, FULLFILL ASPIRATIONS
"European Prospective of the Title for Ukraine,
Challenges for Kyiv, Brussels and Warsaw"
Presentation by Bohdan Hawrylyshyn
International Conference on Ukraine's European Aspirations
Belweder, Poland, December 18, 2003
I. ATTRACTIVENESS OF EU MEMBERSHIP---
1. Economic. High living standard through free access to the biggest
market, inflow of investments from EU with contemporary know-how of
technology, management, world markets. Grants from Regional Development
Fund, other programmes for structural changes of Ukraine's economy and, of
course, harmonized economic legislation.
2. Political. National security, genuine democracy, free choice of
political system (from constitutional monarchy through presidential to truly
parliamentarian), safeguarding of the nation state.
3. Cultural - linguistic. Inclusion and interaction with world culture,
enhancing thereby its own, spreading and affirmation of the Ukrainian
language, hence greater individual and collective self respect and respect
by other nations.
II. CHALLENGES TO KYIV---
1. Must pursue with determination and competence, the single vector
Foreign Policy for integration into EU rather than moving in two different
directions simultaneously.
2. Objective and effective information of the population about the
positive aspects of European Integration, showing how some poor European
countries have become rich and free by joining EU, in order to create a
strong pro-EU integration constituency.
3. Citizens on being well-informed about the wisdom of the above choice
would, in turn, demand from the government, the pursuit of this objective,
because Ukraine needs to evolve from the oligarchic economic and political
system to a democratic one, through reduction and consolidation of political
parties, harmonization of legislation, strengthening of independence,
competence and power of the judicial system, elimination of corruption
(political and monitory), and upgrading of the competence of the
Administration.
The above can be done only through fair elections, access to power of
younger people with less soviet heritage and finally, proper implementation
of all treaties, obligations, particularly vis-à-vis EU and all its
member-states.
III. CHALLENGE FOR BRUSSELS---
1. More positive, clearer signals to Ukraine that it is a European
country and has undeniable right to be a candidate for membership in EU
and then a member provided it fulfills the Copenhagen criteria as reaffirmed
in
Article 57 of the Convention. It should follow it up with extending more
assistance for Ukraine, so it could become a candidate state.
2. It should follow up on its commitment to Ukraine and not use double
standards, e.g. Chornobyl, status of market economy.
3. Give stronger and more generous assistance as it did to recent
candidate-states for legislative and institutional transformations.
IV. CHALLENGE TO WARSAW---
1. To pass on to Ukraine its experience of how to go through various
stages towards the membership by passing on all relevant documents but also
working in Ukraine with politicians, experts on elaboration of the plans for
necessary actions and for their implementation.
2. To continue the lobbying process at all levels of the EU structures
for the need for EU to integrate Ukraine into its fold as it is being done
with such determination and skill by President Kwasnewski at his level.
3. To broaden and deepen the interdependence between Poland and
Ukraine in the fields of trade, investment, military cooperation. The above
challenge for Warsaw is now somewhat complicated, not only by difficult
political situation in Ukraine but its own, hopefully temporary,
difficulties with at least bigger members of the European Union.
V. SUMMARY---
To sum-up, the attractiveness of ultimate European integration for Ukraine
is great since it would fulfill the aspirations of great majority of its
population to enjoy full political freedoms, economic well-being, social
justice and a healthier physical environment. This can be attained if Kyiv,
Brussels and Warsaw respond adequately to their respective challenges.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Bohdan Hawrylyshyn was born in western Ukraine and is one of
the leading Ukrainian-Europeans who has worked tirelessly for many years
to achieve a strong, independent, and prosperous Ukraine. He is the founder
of the International Management Institute (IMI) in Ukraine and an advisor to
many leading political and governmental officials in Ukraine.
=========================================================
UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
=========================================================
10. IN PRAISE OF GALICIA
Once called the backbone of Ukraine
By Prof. James Mace, Consultant to The Day
The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Ukraine, January 27, 2004
I always love reading anything that Volodymyr Zdoroveha has to say. He is
not only my wife's mentor in the skills of journalism, which she taught me
largely from what he taught her, but he is one of the lions of Galicia, a
land that the late Ivan Lysiak-Rudnytsky, also a friend albeit departed,
once called the backbone of Ukraine. Petliura also recognized that through
the act of unifying the East and West of this nation, European Galicia could
pull Eurasian Dnipro Ukraine into Europe.
The Act of Unification on January 22, 1919, was timed to coincide a year
later with the Fourth Universal of the Ukrainian Central Rada, declaring the
independence of Ukraine from Russia. It essentially tried to put right the
preceding Third Universal, which I for one consider one of the truly stupid
acts of Ukraine's political history. Essentially what it did was to create
the Ukrainian People's Republic that, without separating with Russia,
intended to call upon the Buriat-Mongols and other national minorities to
save Russia from the Russian Bolsheviks and set up a government of all
socialist parties to rule Russia as a federation.
Of course, all this produced was a congress of nationalities that dutifully
elected Mykhailo Hrushevsky as its president and called down the wrath of
Lenin's Red Guards on Kyiv, who shot on sight anybody in the street they
found speaking Ukrainian. Galicia has always given the needed word that
Ukraine will not save Russia, but it can save itself. Rudnytsky was right:
Galicia is Europe, and the rest of us can only get to Europe through the
splendors of Lviv. Russia is something else, and let it live its own life
without Ukraine's participation.
The Act of Unity did not lead to a truly united Ukraine because urban
society in the West was more heterogeneous and did not elect a socialist
government, while in Eastern Ukraine it was practically impossible to
imagine a Ukrainian who was not a socialist. Socialism is by no means a
simple ideology, but when everybody is a socialist, I suspect that this
indicates a simplified view of the world in which nobody feels that they
have anything to lose.
Yet, Prof. Zdroveha said that Western Ukraine cannot imagine a Ukraine
without Kyiv. I, for one, cannot imagine Ukraine without the old city of
Lviv. Incidentally, they have a couple of good places for pizza, should the
honored professor be interested. My wife loves him, as do I. Ukraine is made
of people, not of land . And Prof. Zdoroveha is among their best. (END)
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UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. APPLES ON THE CHRISTMAS TREE IN LVIV
These apples are sold only to men as gifts for their sweethearts
By Iryna Yehorova, The Day
The Day Weekly Digest, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, January 27, 2004
How many big red apples can you hang from a Christmas tree some three
meters tall? It does not bend under their weight and remains straight and
beautiful? The answer is 600 apples weighing 130 kg. Every such apple is
carefully selected at Lviv's bazaars or contributed by residents who know
that the Christmas tree is an invariable element of the feast of the
Epiphany at the city's Palace of Art, marking the end of the Christmas
festivities.
This feast was first publicly celebrated in Lviv in 1991. That time
enthusiasts decorated a Christmas tree with apples at the Opera House and
carried it all the way to the City Hall where the feast of the Epiphany was
celebrated, whereupon everyone could pick an apple and pay some money
for it. 800 rubles thus collected was transferred to the local Student
Brotherhood.
That year Lviv did not have the Palace of Art, but after it was built this
feast has been celebrated there for eight years in a row.
"This tradition originates from Husakiv, a village in Mostysk district, Lviv
oblast," says Roman Nakonechny, manager of the Palace of the Arts. "My
mother was born there and I remember my grandmother Kateryna preparing
for the holiday. Actually, the whole village was. It was so festive, so
nice!"
"The idea was conceived by the Prosvita Society in the 1920s (we have
studied church records and archives) to raise funds for a village library,
church, or perhaps as an amateur performance. The community would
decide on the priority, and the tradition continued to be observed even
under the Soviets.
"There was a brotherhood of young men under church auspices, young
unmarried men who traditionally maintained law and order in the village.
They would spend the night on the eve of the Epiphany decorating the
Christmas tree, singing carols, visiting village homes, wishing Merry
Christmas, and being treated to food and drink. Incidentally, doing this
takes certain skills. Try to decorate a fir tree with so many apples and
keep it gracefully straight!
"After lunch the next day the Christmas tree would carried through the
village to the church. There it received solemn blessings and was then
carried to the village club where the festivities would begin. Actually, the
village is still celebrating it and all of Husakiv residents are dancing
round the apple-clad Christmas tree."
But why the apples?
"That's something attributed to Epiphany. Our people treated the Jordan
water with utmost respect and observed Lent until the water was sanctified.
Lent meant not only restrictions on food. People were not supposed to dance
or marry. After the holiday all restrictions would be lifted. The apple in
this sense is a symbol of love. Eve tempted Adam with an apple, not a pear.
"The most honored guest receives the Apple. There is also the Apple of
Honor, it goes to the highest bidder who is also provided with a special
certificate reading that so-and-so has been awarded the Apple of Honor on
such- and-such a date, in return for which so-and-so has paid such-and-such
a sum.
"And there is the Apple of Temptation. Five pretty girls are selected and a
young man can join his sweetheart and get the apple and bite it. After that
the rest of the guests are invited to buy apples.
"By the way, girls have no right to buy apples, only their boyfriends can.
This might seem a good cause to discuss male chauvinism. Or to heave a sigh
of relief, being aware of yourself as a real young charming lady for whose
sake men embark on daring ventures. You are presented not with the world,
but with an apple shaped like the globe, fresh, juicy, delicious. But if
your man doesn't buy you an apple, you won't be allowed to dance..."
Such are the rules of the feast of the Epiphany in Lviv and the residents
are proud, because no one else practices it anywhere else, so people try to
get to the city in time for the holiday. Indeed, there are more impressive
and entertaining events where the admittance fee is actually twenty times
that of the Lviv Epiphany. But it's not what all those artists, singers,
Galician intellectuals need as they cultivate a select circle of the
like-minded.
They get together for merrymaking and they enjoy it immensely (funds are
raised for creative projects). People come from Kyiv to take part in the
festivities. This year the Sich Duet came from the capital specially to sing
carols. Also, there are always puppet shows, among them the winner of the
Christmas puppet contest (this year it was the puppet theater of School No.
47).
Most actors perform on this occasion free of charge. Singing in front of
this audience is a matter of honor and great delight. There are no posters
or billboards, as every resident of the city if well aware of the occasion.
Only five posters are printed by the organizing committee for the annals, so
the posterity will know about this interesting and proud tradition. (END)
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UKRAINE REPORT-2004, No. 15: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
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12. A 'TRUE FRIEND OF UKRAINE' TELLS IT LIKE IT IS
IN FOCUS, Complied by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
RFE/RL, (UN) CIVIL SOCIETIES
RFE/RL Analytical Reports, Volume 5, Number 3
26 January 2004, Prague, Czech Republic
A Ukrainian-born American judge who helped draft Ukraine's first post-Soviet
constitution and who was awarded two presidential awards for his help in
rebuilding Ukraine is now vocally criticizing the recent ruling of Ukraine's
Constitutional Court granting President Leonid Kuchma a third term. The
decision enables Kuchma to run in the October presidential elections.
Judge Bohdan Futey, born in Ukraine in 1939, is a federal judge on the U.S.
Court of Federal Claims. In an article for "Ukraine Report," a publication
of ArtUkraine.com, the judge said that Ukraine's Constitutional Court
decision is "unsupportable". The first constitution, passed in 1996, limited
the presidential term to two five-year periods. But on 30 December 2003, the
Constitutional Court ruled that the limit did not relate to Kuchma's first
term, which began in 1994, before the constitution was ratified. Futey
believes this was a mistake, made under pressure.
Futey is a member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and the
Ukrainian American Bar Association, and has consulted for various programs
to promote the rule of law since 1991. He received Ukrainian presidential
awards in 1995 and 1999 for his work in helping to reform Ukraine's judicial
system. In a ceremony on 8 December 1999, President Kuchma called Judge
Futey "a true friend of Ukraine" for his assistance to Ukraine after its
independence, "Ukrainian Weekly" reported at the time.
"---------------------------------------------------------"
NOTE: To read the entire, important, analytical article by Catherine A.
Fitzpatrick, catfitz@verizon.net, click on the following link:
http://www.rferl.org/reports/ucs/
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