"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"The Art of Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
STALIN, 60 YEARS AGO TODAY, STARTED DEPORTING TATARS
"More than 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported from their homeland, mainly
to Central Asia, in an operation beginning on 18 May, 1944. This was carried
out on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who had accused them of
collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. Consistently denied their rights
throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, many Tatars have returned to
Crimea since 1991 only to find themselves at the heart of more political
controversy." [articles eleven, twelve, thirteen]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 82
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, TUESDAY, May 18, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. BUNGE LIMITED ENTERS INTO JOINT VENTURE WITH ESTRON
CORPORATION TO BUILD OILSEED CRUSHING PLANT
IN THE PORT OF ILYICHEVSK, UKRAINE
Bunge Limited is an integrated, global agribusiness and food company
Bunge Limited, White Plains, NY, Monday, May 17, 2004
2. PRESIDENT KUCHMA, USA FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT ZBIGNIEW
BRZEZINSKI DISCUSS UKRAINE'S EUROINTEGRATION PROSPECTS
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 14, 2004
3. MEMBERSHIP OF UKRAINE, RUSSIA IN EU IS NEEDED
FOR EUROPE'S SAFETY, US EXPERT BRZEZINSKY SAYS
www.PRAVDA.com.ua, Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 15, 2004
4. FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UKRAINE'S FUTURE IS IN EUROPE
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 15 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 15, 2004
5. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SEES CRIMEA SUMMIT IN LATE MAY
AS NEXT STEP TOWARDS FREE TRADE WITH UKRAINE
Putin meets with Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 15 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 15, 2004
6. POLL: UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER'S POPULARITY DIPS
AFTER CONTROVERSIAL MAYORAL RACE IN MUKACHEVE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 14, 2004
7. UKRAINIAN OPPPOSITION WEB SITE, UKRAYINSKA
PRAVDA, FACES LIBEL CHARGES
Internet publication sued for the first time in its history
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 13 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Thursday, May 13, 2004
8. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION SUPPORTS INTERNET PUBLICATION
UKRAYINSKA PRAVDA, LAWSUIT MAY BE PART OF MEDIA
REPRESSION PROGRAM
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 14, 2004
9. UKRAINIAN POLITICAL LEADER VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
CONGRATULATES SINGER RUSLANA ON HER VICTORY
IN THE "EUROVISION" SONG CONTEST
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 16, 2004
10. UKRAINE COMMENTS ON EUROVISION JOY
AND WHAT IT BRINGS FOR THE FUTURE
Singer Ruslana Brought Ukraine Victory in the Eurovision Song Contest
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, May 17, 2004
11.CRIMEAN TATAR DEPORTATION ANNIVERSARY BACKGROUNDER
Tatar Deportation From Crimea Under Stalin Began on May 18, 1944
BBC Monitoring Research Service, United Kingdom, Sun, May 16, 2004
12. TATARS: UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH
UNVEILS CRIMEAN TATAR MONUMENT
"The Rebirth of the Crimean Tatar People"
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 17 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, May 17, 2004
13. TATARS: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT KUCHMA CONDEMNS
CRIMEAN TATAR DEPORTATION BY STALIN IN 1944
Kuchma drew a parallel between the Crimean Tatar deportation
and the artificial famine in the 1930s in Ukraine
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 14, 2004
14.RULE OF LAW: THE STRANGE CAREER OF PAVLO LAZARENKO
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Stands Trial in San Francisco
COMMENTARY By Matthew Kaminski
The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, May 17, 2004; Page A21
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
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1. BUNGE LIMITED ENTERS INTO JOINT VENTURE WITH ESTRON
CORPORATION TO BUILD OILSEED CRUSHING PLANT
IN THE PORT OF ILYICHEVSK, UKRAINE
Bunge Limited is an integrated, global agribusiness and food company
Bunge Limited, White Plains, NY, Monday, May 17, 2004
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Bunge Limited
an integrated, global agribusiness and food company, today announced that
its European operating arm, Bunge Europe, has entered into a 50-50 joint
venture with Estron Corporation to build an oilseed crushing plant in the
port of Ilyichevsk, Ukraine. The new plant is adjacent to the grain export
terminal owned by Estron Corporation.
The plant's projected crushing capacity is 600,000 tons per year, and it is
expected to be operational in early 2005. The plant, as a client of the
terminal, will have access to the terminal's expanded capacity of 240,000
tons of storage space with two panamax vessel loaders.
"Bunge's strategy is to be the leading agribusiness and food company in
the higher growth markets. This investment reflects the confidence of the
joint venture partners in the long-term agricultural potential of the
Ukraine," said Jean-Louis Gourbin, CEO of Bunge Europe. "The port of
Ilyichevsk is ideally suited as a logistics gateway to service and supply
the Black Sea, Mediterranean, and Near East vegetable protein and oil
markets," noted a spokesperson for Estron Corporation.
The grain terminal will benefit from additional turnover tonnage, combined
with its long-standing, high-quality client mix. The products from the new
plant will be marketed by Bunge, leveraging its global customer base.
Sunseed and other oilseeds for processing will be originated locally by
Suntrade, Bunge's Ukrainian origination company, which has been active in
the region since 1998.
ABOUT BUNGE LIMITED:
Bunge Limited (http://www.bunge.com) is an integrated, global agribusiness
and food company operating in the farm-to-consumer food chain. Founded in
1818 and headquartered in White Plains, New York, Bunge has 23,000
employees and locations in 30 countries. Bunge is the world's leading
oilseed processing company, the largest producer and supplier of fertilizers
to farmers in South America and the world's leading seller of bottled
vegetable oils to consumers. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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2. PRESIDENT KUCHMA, USA FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT ZBIGNIEW
BRZEZINSKI DISCUSS UKRAINE'S EUROINTEGRATION PROSPECTS
Interfax-Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 14, 2004
KYIV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has discussed with US political
analyst Zbigniew Brzezinski, counselor of the US Center for strategic and
international studies, the perspectives of Ukraine's integration into
Europe, particularly, its place after European Union's enlargement, and the
role in the Russia-Ukraine-Europe triangle.
During their meeting in Kyiv Thursday, the parties also touched on the
subject of Ukraine's EuroAtlantic course, the presidential press service
reported.
Other subjects for the debate were the future presidential election in
Ukraine and bilateral cooperation with the US.
At the beginning of the meeting, Kuchma presented to Brzezinski his book
"Ukraine Is Not Russia." (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Check Out the News Media for the Latest News >From and About Ukraine
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
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3. MEMBERSHIP OF UKRAINE, RUSSIA IN EU IS NEEDED
FOR EUROPE'S SAFETY, US EXPERT BRZEZINSKY SAYS
www.PRAVDA.com.ua, Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, May 15, 2004
KYIV- Prominent US political analyst, Zbigniew Brzezinski, says that if
Europe loses Ukraine in its integration processes, it will also lose Russia.
Addressing students of the Kyiv Mohyla Academy, he expressed confidence
that if Ukraine and Russia do not enter the EU in the perspective, security
in the European region will essentially reduce.
Brzezinski also said that Ukraine might join the European Union within ten
years, commenting on statements by European leaders, including European
Commission President Romano Prodi, that Ukraine will fail to win EU
membership even in 20 years.
At the same time, he noted, Ukraine must create on her own objective
conditions for entry in the European Union, rather than wait for an
invitation there. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Major Articles About What is Going on in Ukraine
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
Become a financial sponsor of The Action Ukraine Program Fund
========================================================
4. FOREIGN MINISTER SAYS UKRAINE'S FUTURE IS IN EUROPE
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 15 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 15, 2004
KIEV - [Presenter] Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko congratulated
Ukrainians on Europe Day [celebrated in Ukraine on 15 May]. He said that
this year's Europe Day is a special celebration because the European Union
became a neighbour of Ukraine in May. Europe Day gives an opportunity to see
how the EU countries live.
Ukraine has declared EU membership to be its strategic goal, and more and
more Ukrainians are accepting this choice. Hryshchenko said that the new
united Europe is mostly occupied with internal issues at the moment.
However, we have common cultural values, and Europeans do not doubt that
Ukrainians belong to Europe.
[Hryshchenko] We are celebrating our European character, our belonging to
Europe. And our future will certainly be in this Europe. There is a lot that
still needs to be improved, and brought into line with European standards.
But we are doing this for ourselves, in our own interest. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Exciting Opportunities in Ukraine: Travel and Tourism Gallery
http://www.ArtUkraine.com/tourgallery.htm
==========================================================
5. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT SEES CRIMEA SUMMIT IN LATE MAY
AS NEXT STEP TOWARDS FREE TRADE WITH UKRAINE
Putin meets with Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 15 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 15, 2004
NOVO-OGAREVO, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin believes the
forthcoming Crimea summit planned for the last 10 days of May will see the
completion of the first stage in the creation of a single economic space
between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, he said at a meeting with
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych today.
Also taking part in the meeting was Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov,
who held separate talks with the Ukrainian guest in the morning.
"[Ukrainian President] Leonid Kuchma and I constantly return to the question
of the normal functioning of the free trade zone, bearing in mind that this
work is proceeding in parallel with the creation of a single economic
space," Putin said. "In order to bring the first stage of this work to
completion we will meet in Crimea in the very near future. We will continue
to carry out constructive work on the creation of a free trade zone on this
basis." [Passage omitted]
Putin gave a high assessment of the successes of the Ukrainian economy and
congratulated Yanukovych on the good results of his government's work in the
first quarter of 2004. "Just over 10 per cent economic growth and, on this
basis, a five-per-cent rise on average in salaries is a good result," he
told Yanukovych. "Congratulations."
The meeting between Putin, Fradkov and Yanukovych was held at the Russian
presidential residence in Novo-Ogarevo. The talks have been going on for
about 90 minutes and have still not finished. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
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6. POLL: UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER'S POPULARITY DIPS AFTER
CONTROVERSIAL MAYORAL RACE IN MUKACHEVE
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 14, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainians would cast 36.3 per cent of votes for [opposition] Our
Ukraine bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko and 26.4 per cent of votes for Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovych, if the second round of [presidential] elections
[scheduled for 31 October] took place on 23-30 April 2004, on the day of the
recent opinion poll conducted by the Democratic Initiatives Fund and the
Kiev international institute of sociology.
The poll results were made public today at a round-table meeting called
"Public opinion of the Ukrainian population-May 2004", which was attended by
the fund's scientific head and senior researcher at the Institute of
Sociology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Iryna Bekeshkina,
and the president of the Kiev international institute of sociology and
professor of the National University Kiev-Mohyla Academy, Valeriy Khmelko.
According to their data, the previous poll, held a month ago, showed that
Yushchenko would have mustered some 36.4 per cent of votes, while Yanukovych
32.4 per cent of votes in the second round. Khmelko said a trend towards a
wider gap between the ratings of Yanukovych and Yushchenko emerged after
events in [western Ukrainian town of] Mukacheve [a controversial mayoral
poll in which Western observers and the Ukrainian opposition say the vote
was rigged in favour of a progovernment candidate]. [Passage omitted:
changes in Yushchenko and Yanukovych's ratings across Ukrainian regions]
Those attending the meeting also made public possible ratings of
presidential contenders in the first round, if the election were held on the
day of the poll (23-30 April). In particular, 27.3 per cent of Ukrainians
would vote for Yushchenko, 17.8 per cent for Yanukovych, 10.4 per cent for
[Communist leader] Petro Symonenko, 7.8 per cent for [Socialist leader]
Oleksandr Moroz, 3.3 per cent for [Progressive Socialist Party leader]
Nataliya Vitrenko. Some 11.7 per cent would vote against all candidates, 8.5
per cent would abstain from voting and 13.3 per cent failed to give any
answer.
The Democratic Initiatives Fund and the Kiev international institute of
sociology polled 2,025 people, covering Ukraine's adult population across
all Ukrainian regions according to the main socio-demographic indicators,
with a deviation of no more than 2.2 per cent. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
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7. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION WEB SITE, UKRAYINSKA
PRAVDA, FACES LIBEL CHARGES
Internet publication sued for the first time in its history
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 13 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Thursday, May 13, 2004
KIEV - [Presenter] The Internet publication Ukrayinska Pravda has been sued
for the first time in its history. The plaintiffs are journalist Valeriy
Vorotnik and lawyer Mariya Sambur, whom Ukrayinska Pravda has dubbed, I
quote, agents of the USDPU [United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine led by
presidential administration head Viktor Medvedchuk] in the media realm.
The two demand a refutation of the claim they had a role in high-profile
political scandals around Radio Kontynent and the so-called Honcharov
letters. [The authorities seized Radio Kontynent's transmitter and premises
after it began to rebroadcast Radio Liberty in what is believed a
politically motivated case. Kontynent chief Serhiy Sholokh has fled abroad,
citing threats. Ihor Honcharov was a witness in the murder case of
opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze].
In addition, Vorotnik and Sambur suggest that the court seize the property
and funds of the Internet publication. Founded by Heorhiy Gongadze,
[Ukrayinska] Pravda is the most popular political web site in the Ukrainian
Internet and is well known for its articles critical of the authorities.
[Serhiy Leshchenko, captioned as Ukrayinska Pravda journalist, by phone] We
don't know how the judge will behave in this case because you saw the
violations that were committed when this legal suit was accepted. That is
why we cannot rule out any more violations being committed.
[Presenter] One of the plaintiffs, Valeriy Vorotnik, has refused to comment
on his actions to 5 Kanal. We are hoping to get in touch with Ms Sambur
later. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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8. UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION SUPPORTS INTERNET PUBLICATION
UKRAYINSKA PRAVDA, LAWSUIT MAY BE PART OF MEDIA
REPRESSION PROGRAM
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, May 14, 2004
KIEV - Opposition representatives, particularly [centre-right bloc] Our
Ukraine and the Fatherland party, have come out in support of the
[opposition] Internet publication Ukrayinska Pravda, against which a lawsuit
was filed.
Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko has expressed concern over the
situation surrounding the publication, calling "surprising" the demands [by
plaintiffs] that "the property and bank accounts owned by the defendant and
kept by the defendant or other persons should be arrested in the course of
pre-trial preparations", the Our Ukraine press service said.
Viktor Yushchenko believes that the Internet as a whole and Ukrayinska
Pravda in particular are islands of freedom of speech in Ukraine's media
space. "This kind of acts of repression in the run-up to the [October
presidential] election and the stepping-up of pressure on the authoritative
Internet publication linked to the killed journalist Heorhiy Gongadze will
do nothing to improve the image of the Ukrainian authorities. Evan without
this, in Ukraine and far beyond they have the reputation of oppressors of
freedom of speech," Yushchenko stressed.
The Fatherland party said in a statement obtained by UNIAN that it sees the
lawsuits against Ukrayinska Pravda "as the start of a punitive campaign
against freedom of speech and free and independent journalism".
For a long time, the authorities were forced to refrain from persecuting the
opposition publication. However, this has become a new challenge to press
freedom, the Ukrainian public and the whole of the democratic world ahead
of the presidential election, the statement said.
"This is not the first time that lawsuits on dreamt-up charges have been
used to create problems for the media in Ukraine and put them in conditions
which make creative work impossible," the Fatherland party said.
It added that it will not allow "the destruction of the outpost of free
journalism in Ukraine". The party also declared solidarity with Ukrayinska
Pravda staff and voiced its "support in fighting for free and independent
speech".
As UNIAN reported earlier, the editor of the Cherkasy-based newspaper
Antena, Valeriy Vorotnik, and a former lawyer of the Institute of Mass
Information, Mariya Sambur, filed a lawsuit against Ukrayinska Pravda with
the Pechersk district court in Kiev.
The plaintiffs demand that the web publication retract a number of articles
mentioning them, Ukrayinska Pravda reported. The articles refer to the
situation surrounding the [independent] Radio Kontynent and say that
Vorotnik is linked to threats received by Kontynent director Serhiy Sholokh.
Each of the plaintiffs demands 10,000 hryvnyas [about 2,000 dollars] in
damages, Ukrayinska Pravda said. [Passage omitted: more details of the
lawsuit]
[Some progovernment analysts in Ukraine accused Ukrayinska Pravda of
favouring Viktor Yushchenko and Fatherland leader Yuliya Tymoshenko.]
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
Support "The Action Ukraine Report"...Send A Check Today
=========================================================
9. UKRAINIAN POLITICAL LEADER VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
CONGRATULATES SINGER RUSLANA ON HER VICTORY
IN THE "EUROVISION" SONG CONTEST
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 16, 2004
KYIV - Viktor Yushchenko confessed that Saturday night while the Eurovision
Song Contest was being broadcast live from Istanbul, Turkey, his family and
he were watching the process of voting and "rooting for" the Ukrainian
representative.
"I'm sincerely delighted that the most praiseworthy competitor has won the
"Eurovision-2004" contest- Viktor Yushchenko noted. "The victory gained at
such an authoritative contest is undoubtedly the result of backbreaking
work.
Perhaps the European public gave Ruslana a cordial welcome not only because
of her talent but also owing to the fact that she performed her composition
"Wild Dances" with wafting wild energy and plenty of authenticity.
The present globalized world has a special approach to originality and
authenticity. It's highly important that thanks to Ruslana the world has
learned about the ancient, original and at one time very modern Ukrainian
culture"- Viktor Yushchenko emphasized. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
If The Action Ukraine Report is beneficial to you, support it.
=========================================================
10. UKRAINE COMMENTS ON EUROVISION JOY
AND WHAT IT BRINGS FOR THE FUTURE
Singer Ruslana Brought Ukraine Victory in the Eurovision Song Contest
BBC Monitoring Research Service, UK, Kyiv, Ukraine, Mon, May 17, 2004
KYIV - The whole world loves a winner, and Ukraine's media are ardent in
their praise of Ruslana, the singer who brought Ukraine victory in the
Eurovision song contest on Saturday. But there are also worries that the
triumph brings the potential headache of staging next year's event.
Ruslana's mother Nina Arkadyevna is no mood for gloom however. She tells the
Segodnya newspaper that Ruslana also captured the hearts of her competitors
in Istanbul. "Everyone here has fallen in love with Ruslana," Nina
Arkadyevna gushes.
"During her 10 days in Turkey, she has managed to charm everyone and make
them love her - the Turks and everyone else." "The Serbian guy simply
adores her... The Greek guy was inseparable from her - it was impossible to
get him away from her."
EUROVISION CAUTION
But Ruslana's producer Oleksandr Ksenofontov tells the paper that Eurovision
will not necessarily bring the singer instant international success.
"Eurovision doesn't give anyone anything. It hasn't helped any of the
winners in their careers."
"Celine Dion made her career thanks to her contract with a Canadian
producer. Abba became stars, but they were already popular before the
competition," he says. "In general, Eurovision only helps to break down
some walls. And Ruslana and I still have plenty of problems. And our
sponsors let us down, as usual."
TOUGH TEST
The Segodnya daily also warns that, along with the prestige of hosting next
year's Eurovision, Ukraine will face a tough test in making what will be the
50th anniversary contest a fitting occasion. "It is fortunate that the
organizing committee provides the winning country with a sizable amount of
money to hold the next final... Now it is up to Ukraine to prove that it is
a true European country."
State-owned UT1 television says Ukraine faces real problems in meeting this
challenge. "We do not have a proper venue to host such an event, and experts
say that we will need to do a major overhaul of the Sports Palace in Kiev or
to build an entirely new facility."
The One-Plus-One TV channel agrees: "Ukraine's leaders have a new headache -
how not to miss this chance to gain a foothold in Europe."
'HEART OF EUROPE'
One-Plus-One's flagship analytical programme Epicentre puts a political spin
on Ruslana's triumph, saying EU Commission President Romano Prodi's
recently-expressed scepticism about Ukraine's prospects of joining the
European Union has been put in its place:
"The gloom from Romano Prodi that Europe has no room for Ukraine was smashed
last night... Ruslana and her 'Wild Dances' have proven to us and to the
whole world that we can get what we deserve in Europe - if only in singing,
for now."
UT1 agrees: "Ruslana's victory is not as much a victory in a singing contest
as a powerful statement about our state." It says: 'This is us, we are a
country at the heart of Europe, we want, we can, we will'."
Ruslana's fellow musicians also find a political angle. Singer Mariya
Burmaka tells Novyy Kanal TV: "Ukraine has been told that it won't get into
the European Union anytime soon." " Now one person, Ruslana, has shown that
Ukraine has the potential not just to be a European country, but that it is
potentially one of the best." (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
The Rich History of Ukrainian Art, Music, Pysanka, Folk-Art
Arts Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/artgallery.htm
Support "The Action Ukraine Report"...Send A Check Today
==========================================================
11.CRIMEAN TATAR DEPORTATION ANNIVERSARY BACKGROUNDER
Tatar Deportation >From Crimea Under Stalin Began on May 18, 1944
BBC Monitoring Research Service, United Kingdom, Sun, May 16, 2004
More than 200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported from their homeland, mainly
to Central Asia, in an operation beginning on 18 May, 1944. This was carried
out on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, who had accused them of
collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. Consistently denied their rights
throughout the remainder of the Soviet period, many Tatars have returned to
Crimea since 1991 only to find themselves at the heart of more political
controversy.
DECLINE AND EXILE
The Crimean Tatars occupied the peninsula in the 13th century and built up a
wealthy empire, which fell to Turkish rule in the 17th century and was
eventually conquered by Russia in 1783. The Crimean War for possession of
the peninsula and subsequent Tsarist repression led many Tatars to emigrate
to Turkey, but a significant population remained on the fertile southern
coast and in the mountains.
Soviet rule granted the Tatars nominal self-government and considerable
cultural freedom as the titular nationality of the Crimean Autonomous
Republic within Russia in 1921, but Stalin's unjustified accusation of
collective collaboration brought the republic to an end with the brutal
deportations of 1944, in which many Tatars died of disease and malnutrition.
The Soviet government settled Crimea with large numbers of Russians and the
peninsula reverted to being a region of Russia until 1955, when the then
Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev gifted it to Ukraine to mark the tenth
anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Russians have formed the
majority of the population ever since - 60 per cent according to the 2001
census.
A decree in 1967 finally absolved the Tatars of charges of collaboration
after a long campaign, but the Soviet government did not allow them to
return to Crimea or compensate them for loss of life or property. The
leaders of the campaign combined links with the larger Soviet dissident
movement with traditional Muslim fund-raising and organizational methods.
Many of them are prominent in Crimean Tatar public life today, such as the
leader of the Crimean Tatar Majlis - a self-styled parliament - Mustafa
Dzhemilyov.
RETURN TO CONTROVERSY
Dzhemilyov was elected the nominal leader of the Crimean Tatar community at
a Kurultay (congress) in Moscow in 1991, and the Majlis was formed on its
basis after the break-up of the Soviet Union later that year.
The pro-Russian local authorities in Crimea sought to secede from Ukraine,
but their efforts had been quelled by 1995 through the granting of
autonomous status and Ukraine's abolition of the local separatist
constitution. Dzhemilyov's refusal to accept an apparent offer by elements
in the Russian government to restore Tatar autonomy in support for the
transfer of Crimea back to Russia led to accusations of "betrayal" and the
formation of the National Movement of Crimean Tatars, which opposes his
leadership.
Although small groups of Tatars had made their way home at great risk in the
1970s, the mass movement to Crimea began only after 1991 and the
re-establishment of Ukrainian independence. On their return to Crimea,
Tatars found their houses and lands occupied by Russian settlers, villages
renamed and mosques and cemeteries in ruins. The inevitable stand-off led to
clashes on the coast, where companies from Russia own much of the lucrative
tourism industry. Sudak and Alushta became notorious for ethnic tensions,
with the "Crimean Cossacks" pro-Russian paramilitaries patrolling Crimean
villages and pro-Russian elements in the local media playing up to
anti-Tatar sentiment.
LAND INVASIONS
The Crimean autonomous government allowed Tatars to live in so-called
"compact settlements" - camps with few facilities located in the Crimean
steppes and far from the southern coast. The Tatars received some aid from
Turkey, but most of the 25,000 remaining exiles in Central Asia have been
unable to return if only for financial reasons. Tatars are not allowed to
settle in the coastal resort of Yalta, officially on security grounds
because it is the summer residence of the Ukrainian president and the venue
for international meetings.
Many frustrated Tatars, often with the support of their local Majlis
organizations, launched organized invasions of land plots on the southern
coast and established squatter settlements called "protest tent camps" on
land owned by Russian companies. Tatar leaders demanded the return of
these land plots on the grounds that the sale of land to foreigners was
still illegal in Ukraine at that time.
The governments of Crimea and Ukraine began to address Crimean Tatar
problems more seriously after a protest tent camp was set up near Yalta
during Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's holiday there in August 2003.
Ahead of this year's 60th anniversary of the deportation, President Kuchma
announced assistance to improve the living conditions of the Tatars in
Crimea and to help those still in Central Asia to return and settle. In
return the Crimean Tatar Majlis announced a moratorium on protest rallies
and land seizures until after 18 May.
PROGRESS AND CHALLENGES
The Tatars have made considerable political progress in Crimea, having seven
members of the 100-strong local parliament and, according to one newspaper
report, they make up 14 per cent of all local councillors. They have not
totally abandoned hope of re-establishing some form of national autonomy in
Crimea, gaining restitution for their losses and the return of their
property, but they are racing against time.
The sale of land to foreigners will be made legal in Ukraine on 1 January
2005, and major companies are likely to move into the lucrative Crimean land
and property market. The Tatars, who at about 250,000 people make up only
13 per cent of the Crimean population, will then stand even less chance of
gaining anything like their former status. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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12. TATARS: UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH
UNVEILS CRIMEAN TATAR MONUMENT
"The Rebirth of the Crimean Tatar People"
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 17 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, May 17, 2004
SIMFEROPOL - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych today unveiled a
monument entitled "The Rebirth of the Crimean Tatar People" at the State
Engineering and Teaching University in Simferopol.
During his speech at the opening ceremony, Yanukovych proposed that the
monument should become a symbol of the forgetting of old injuries. "I
believe that the national culture of the Crimean Tatars will live on, and
their spirit, which totalitarianism was unable to overcome, will live on,"
he said.
The cost of the monument was 1.6m hryvnyas, 600,000 hryvnyas of which
came from the Crimean budget and the remainder from donations from
Ukrainian and Uzbek citizens.
The monument contains a time capsule that is to be opened on 17 May 2104.
[The 60th anniversary of the start of the deportation of more than 200,000
Crimean Tatars, mainly to Central Asia, will be marked on 18 May. Many
Tatars have returned to Crimea since 1991.] (END)
==========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Major Articles About What is Going on in Ukraine
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
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13. TATARS: UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT KUCHMA CONDEMNS
CRIMEAN TATAR DEPORTATION BY STALIN IN 1944
Kuchma drew a parallel between the Crimean Tatar deportation
and the artificial famine in the 1930s in Ukraine
UT1, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 14 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 14, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has condemned the deportation
of Crimean Tatars 60 years ago as a crime by the Stalin regime, calling it
the greatest tragedy in the history of the Crimean Tatar people.
Kuchma was addressing a memorial meeting in Kiev to mark the 60th
anniversary of the deportation of about 300,000 Tatars and members of other
ethnic groups from Crimea. The meeting was broadcast live by Ukrainian
television.
Kuchma drew a parallel between the Crimean Tatar deportation and the
artificial famine in the 1930s in Ukraine, which was staged by Bolsheviks
and claimed millions of lives. He said Ukrainians understood very well the
pain of Crimean Tatars, who had been exiled from their land: "All of Ukraine
is in mourning together with representatives of the deported ethnic groups."
"To a Crimean Tatar the word deportation sounds just as horrible as the
artificial famine to a Ukrainian. They were in essence manifestations of the
same thing: the intention of the Communist regime to bring all the peoples
in the Soviet empire to their knees and to hold them in fear and
submission," Kuchma said.
Kuchma described the return of Tatars to Crimea as a "restoration of
historical justice", saying Ukraine was guided purely by "Christian motives"
in welcoming Tatars back. He stressed that Ukraine had no part in the
repression against Tartars: "The present-day Ukrainian state has no
connection whatsoever to this evil act; no legal or moral responsibility for
this rests with Ukraine."
Kuchma welcomed the integration of Tatars into Ukrainian society:
"Independent Ukraine, which was sincerely greeted by the Crimean Tatar
community, opened a way home for the deported people. Despite all the
difficulties of the transition period, the state has shouldered the full
burden of responsibility associated with the return of settlers back to
their homeland.
Crimean Tatars are coming back into Ukraine's fold, integrating into
Ukrainian society and taking active part in civic life."
Kuchma called on all ethnic groups to unite efforts in building a strong
Ukraine as Tatars and other deported people become an "inalienable part"
of contemporary Ukraine. "Today, Ukraine is proud of its ethnic and cultural
capital," Kuchma added. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 82: ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
If The Action Ukraine Report is beneficial to you, support it.
==========================================================
14. RULE OF LAW: THE STRANGE CAREER OF PAVLO LAZARENKO
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Stands Trial in USA
COMMENTARY By Matthew Kaminski
The Wall Street Journal, NY, NY, Monday, May 17, 2004; Page A21
SAN FRANCISCO--Seen from the witness stand, Pavlo Lazarenko makes
a jarring second impression. The smug self-assurance and rough charm of our
only previous meeting, in 1997, are gone. The 51-year-old looks puffy and
tired, as would be expected from a wealthy but disgraced politician facing
serious criminal charges far from home.
The name won't ring bells outside his native Ukraine. But Mr. Lazarenko is
the first head of a foreign government put on trial in the U.S. since Manuel
Noriega. Not long ago, the stout Ukrainian was a U.S. ally in a tough
neighborhood. He served as prime minister when Ukraine was the third-biggest
recipient of U.S. foreign aid and a linchpin in America's grand plan to
bring prosperity and democracy to the former Soviet Union.
Mr. Lazarenko helps explain why this project fell short. Like other powerful
men in the region, his heart wasn't in building free-market institutions. He
preferred to mix business and politics. Now, after a bizarre odyssey brought
him here in 1999, Mr. Lazarenko defends himself against money laundering
and wire fraud charges.
The government alleges that he illegally extorted millions, depositing at
least $114 million in U.S. banks.
Future historians will thank the prosecutors. The indictment, if true,
provides a fascinating peek behind the scenes in post-Soviet Ukraine and
Russia. We all assumed powerful people made millions. No one could ever
show precisely how -- until now.
Born to an influential family in Leonid Brezhnev's old power base of
Dnipropetrovsk, Mr. Lazarenko headed up a collective farm at the tender age
of 24. In a free Ukraine, the young Communist easily adjusted, taking over
the governorship of the industrial region. Peter Kiritchenko, the
prosecution's star witness, testified that early on Mr. Lazarenko demanded
half the profits and half the ownership of entrepreneurs who wanted his
blessing. As master of a virtual personal fief, he could make life difficult
or easy. The economy went from bad to worse, and Mr. Lazarenko's bank
accounts filled up with millions.
The indictment solves another mystery: How United Energy Systems (UES),
a little-known Dnipropetrovsk firm, in 1996 claimed revenues of $11 billion,
amazingly a fifth of Ukraine's then-shrinking $50 billion GDP. (It later
turned out that UES paid only about $11,000 in taxes that year, and
Enron-like soon went bust.)
Thanks to Mr. Lazarenko, now in the capital Kiev, and his ties with Russia's
giant Gazprom, UES got a lucrative monopoly to sell natural gas in Ukraine.
According to the indictment, companies controlled by UES transferred at
least $217 million into Mr. Lazarenko's accounts in 1996-97; Itera, an
offshoot of Gazprom, allegedly gave him $25 million.
The gas monopoly was one Lazarenko-era policy that upended U.S.-funded
efforts to revive Ukraine's economy. As democracy sputters in the region,
policymakers can learn from past errors. Many Ukrainians are shocked by
the revelations. But all this glides over a niggling question: Exactly why
is Mr. Lazarenko on trial in America for, as the indictment states,
"depriving the people of Ukraine of his honest and faithful services"?
Ukrainian prosecutors want him extradited. The current case might
reasonably strike one as judicial overreach.
The U.S. government claims jurisdiction since the alleged crimes were
committed here. It clearly also wants to send a strong message about
corruption in the ex-USSR and money laundering into the U.S. In short,
beware. Four years ago, the Bank of New York was embroiled in a $10-billion
laundering probe. This month, a U.S. court indicted Michael Rakita on
charges that the Russian émigré moved $680 million through U.S. banks.
So far, though, the Lazarenko case shows that American courts will be
circumspect. The presiding judge, Martin J. Jenkins, ruled that the U.S.
must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr. Lazarenko broke Ukrainian
as well as American law. That's a high bar to clear. Ukrainian law was at
best confusing. The California judge and jury must wade through testimony in
different languages about events that happened thousands of miles away. Many
Ukrainian witnesses, including the president, refused to testify -- boosting
the accused's claims that it's a show trial staged in America by his many
enemies back home.
Then there's the basic issue of whether Mr. Lazarenko faces "a jury of his
peers" here. I didn't get that impression. The government compelled me, by
subpoena, to testify about comments attributed to Mr. Lazarenko in articles
I wrote in 1997. I'd asked him to confirm or deny corruption allegations,
then widespread, and he gave me the pat denial. His income statement, after
all, reported a yearly salary of about $5,000 and no declared business
interests.
Defense lawyers pressed repeatedly to weaken the denial in
cross-examination. I later learned that the defense claims that Mr.
Lazarenko never denied, in the words of his lawyer, taking advantage of
"enormous business opportunities" available to him, and everyone in his
position did the same. The denials in my stories apparently buttressed the
prosecution's argument that he was concealing the cash.
I've no interest here. But baffled by this revisionism, I rang Serhei
Holovaty, who as justice minister in the Lazarenko government launched a
"Clean Hands" anti-corruption drive. "Corruption was illegal, and it is
still illegal," he told me. "At the time, I was not aware" of the Lazarenko
millions, said the independent MP who heads the Ukrainian Legal Foundation.
Even in Ukraine, politicians don't brag about their sudden fortunes.
A fortnight ago, after the prosecution rested its case, Judge Jenkins
dismissed 24 of the 53 charges, including the most serious, saying the
prosecution failed to prove the money was earned illegally in Ukraine. No
judge wants to have a conviction from his court overturned on appeal. Judge
Jenkins has played it strictly by the book.
Mr. Lazarenko, who faced 20 years or more on the original indictment, could
walk away with 5 or less, if convicted. His political career looks to be
over, but he owns a $6.7 million home in Marin County, just north of San
Francisco. The previous tenant was Eddie Murphy. (END)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Kaminski is an editorial page writer for The Wall Street Journal Europe.
He was the Kiev correspondent of the Financial Times from 1994-97.
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