"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"
"Addressing students at the Kiev Shevchenko National University, Bush [Sr.]
denied allegations that in 1991 he called on Ukraine to remain part of the
Soviet Union. I only called on the Ukrainian and the Union authorities not
to make mistakes and give the people an opportunity to choose for themselves
how to live further, Bush [Sr.] said. On the contrary, the 41st US president
warmly welcomes Ukraine's achievements in reforming its economy and
establishing democracy. He is pleasantly surprised by the fact that many
negative foreign reports on Ukraine are not true." [article four]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 85
Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, SUNDAY, May 23, 2004
INDEX OF ARTICLES
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1.UKRAINIAN SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT WANTS PRIVATIZATION
SUSPENDED TILL AFTER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Embezzlement of the state by oligarchs should stop
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
2. UKRAINE WAITING FOR USA TO CANCELL JACKSON-VANIK
AMENDMENT AND GIVE UKRAINE MARKET ECONOMY STATUS
Ukrainian Prime Minister tells former US President George Bush
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
3. FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS UKRAINE LOOKS
MORE CONFIDENT
Associated Press Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
4. GEORGE BUSH SENIOR PRAISES UKRAINE'S ROLE IN
COMBATING TERRORISM
"Bush denied allegations that in 1991 he called on Ukraine to remain part of
the Soviet Union. I only called on the Ukrainian and the Union authorities
not to make mistakes and give the people an opportunity to choose for
themselves how to live further, Bush said."
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
5. VICTOR YUSHCHENKO, YULIA TIMOSHENKO AND
OLEKSANDER MOROZ MET WITH GEORGE BUSH SR.
"Our Ukraine" Press, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
6. BORIS TARASYUK: THE EU STRESSES THE NECESSITY OF
HOLDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE IN
ACCORDANCE WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS
Press service of the People's Rukh of Ukraine
"Our Ukraine Website," Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 20, 2004
7. COMMUNISTS ACCUSE U.S., GERMAN NGO'S OF
FUNDING UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
8. ALLY OF UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT KUCHMA ACCUSES U.S.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF ATTEMPTING TO
MANIPULATE THIS AUTUMN'S PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
9. IRAQ ISN'T THE ONLY BATTLEGROUND FOR DEMOCRACY
"In recent months the media crackdown in Ukraine
has reached chilling proportions."
COMMENTARY: D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Wall Street Journal Europe
Brussels, Belgium, New York, NY, Friday, May 21, 2004. pg. A.11
10. MAJOR UKRAINIAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INDUSTRIAL UNION
OF DONBASS, SETS UP CONSORTIUM TO MANAGE ASSETS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
11.OPPOSITION JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN WESTERN UKRAINE
Evidence against him may have been planted by authorities
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
12. BYKIVNJA: VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO COMMEMORATED VICTIMS
OF POLITICAL REPRESSIONS AT REQUIEM HELD IN
BYKIVNJANS'KY FOREST NEAR KYIV, UKRAINE
We came to honour the memory of the thousands who were murdered
"Our Ukraine" Press, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 16, 2004
13. UKRAINIAN PLANT SHOWS OFF NEW ARMOURED JEEP
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
14. UKRAINE: MILITARY DEPOT BLAST LATEST IN SERIES OF
TRAGIC BLUNDERS BY ARMY
COMMENTARY: By Askold Krushelnycky
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, May 20, 2004
========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
Politics and Governance, Building a Strong, Democratic Ukraine
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
========================================================
1.UKRAINIAN SPEAKER OF PARLIAMENT WANTS PRIVATIZATION
SUSPENDED TILL AFTER PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Embezzlement of the state by oligarchs should stop
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
KANIV, Ukraine - The speaker of the Ukrainian Supreme Council [parliament],
Volodymyr Lytvyn, has called for suspending big privatization until the
presidential campaign is over. Lytvyn said this commenting to journalists on
the privatization plan for the Sverdlovantratsyt [coal mining] state
company.
Lytvyn said that it is necessary to wait until the election is over, a new
cabinet and the whole structure of government are formed, after which it
should be analysed what has been privatized, what revenues have been
received and what should be privatized next.
"I said and keep saying that the embezzlement of the state should stop. We
should not have oligarchs who embezzle the state, who have not built
anything except for their offices and country residences, and at the expense
of what?" Lytvyn said. Order should be brought to this realm, he stressed.
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
=========================================================
2. UKRAINE WAITING FOR USA TO CANCELL THE JACKSON-VANIK
AMENDMENT AND GIVING UKRAINE MARKET ECONOMY STATUS
Ukrainian Prime Minister tells former US President George Bush
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine is waiting for the USA to give signals confirming a trend
towards deepening mutual understanding and in particular cancelling the
Jackson-Vanik amendment and giving Ukraine market economy status, Ukrainian
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych told former US President George Bush Senior
today.
Yanukovych's press service said that the meeting also discussed Iraq and the
next presidential elections in Ukraine and the USA. George Bush Senior
shared his impressions of Ukraine's economic growth. He also said that he
was keen to learn whether or not the economic growth had improved the living
standards of ordinary Ukrainian citizens. Yanukovych said that pensions
would rise by 20 per cent in Ukraine by this autumn.
On behalf of incumbent US President Bush Junior, Bush Senior thanked Ukraine
for its stand on fighting terror. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: 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
=========================================================
3. FORMER PRESIDENT BUSH SAYS UKRAINE LOOKS
MORE CONFIDENT
Associated Press Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
KIEV - Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush said on Friday that
Ukraine seems "more confident, more dynamic" and more focused on the
future than when he was last here in the final months before the Soviet
Union's collapse.
The 41st president of the United States arrived in the capital Kiev on
Thursday for a two-day private visit at the invitation of Viktor Pinchuk,
the son-in-law of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. Pinchuk is also a
lawmaker and a powerful businessman in this ex-Soviet republic.
Kuchma praised Bush, who was last in Ukraine 13 years ago for a meeting
with then Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, for "laying the foundations for
strategic relations" with the United States, which recognized Ukraine as an
independent state during Bush's presidency.
Bush, meanwhile, thanked Ukraine for its contribution to peacekeeping
operations in Iraq, a move that helped improve Ukrainian-U.S. ties,
aggravated by Kuchma's alleged involvement in sales of sophisticated radar
systems to Saddam Hussein's regime in violation of U.N. sanctions. Ukraine
has the fourth-largest non-U.S. contingent in Iraq.
Bush also urged Ukraine to ensure free and fair presidential elections this
fall, strengthen the rule of law and to use the "magic of the democratic
process"... to achieve its goal of closer integration with Europe and the
West.
Kuchma's critics say democracy has suffered during his 10 years in office,
accusing his administration of using its power to slant elections.
Also Friday, Bush met Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych,
nominated by Kuchma's allies as their candidate for the Oct. 31 presidential
election, and with Ukraine's opposition, whose leader Viktor Yushchenko is
also an expected candidate.
"I wish you well, as you attempt to write the next chapter in the epic story
that is Ukraine," Bush said at the end of a speech to university students
later Friday. (am/mb) (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: 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. GEORGE BUSH SENIOR PRAISES UKRAINE'S ROLE IN
COMBATING TERRORISM
"Bush denied allegations that in 1991 he called on Ukraine to remain part of
the Soviet Union. I only called on the Ukrainian and the Union authorities
not to make mistakes and give the people an opportunity to choose for
themselves how to live further, Bush said."
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
[Presenter] Official Kiev received George Bush Senior today. The 41st US
president paid an unofficial visit to Ukraine. The father of the incumbent
US president was invited by the well-known Ukrainian businessman,
philanthropist [Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's son-in-law] and MP
Viktor Pinchuk.
George Bush Sr met Ukraine's leaders and addressed students at the Kiev
Shevchenko National University. The accents placed by the important US guest
seem to have been in unison with those put by well-known US political
scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski. Ukraine is worth living in Europe but it
needs to boost democracy and to make the lives of ordinary Ukrainians
better. The first opportunity to do so is to hold a fair presidential
election.
[Correspondent] Kiev has warmly welcomed the diplomatic recognition of
Ukraine by the USA when Bush Senior was in office, [Ukrainian] President
Leonid Kuchma said at the beginning of the talks.
[Kuchma] You have recognized Ukraine. You have laid the foundations for
relations which have then developed into strategic relations.
[Correspondent] After meeting Kuchma and the leaders of the Ukrainian
opposition, Viktor Yushchenko [of the Our Ukraine bloc], Yuliya Tymoshenko
[of the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc] and Oleksandr Moroz [of the Socialist
Party], George Bush said that all parties to the political process need to
work for an open, transparent and democratic presidential election. All
European structures have a clear-cut position on this and expect a fair
election, Bush said. Relations with the USA will also depend on this.
Addressing students at the Kiev Shevchenko National University, Bush denied
allegations that in 1991 he called on Ukraine to remain part of the Soviet
Union. I only called on the Ukrainian and the Union authorities not to make
mistakes and give the people an opportunity to choose for themselves how to
live further, Bush said. On the contrary, the 41st US president warmly
welcomes Ukraine's achievements in reforming its economy and establishing
democracy. He is pleasantly surprised by the fact that many negative foreign
reports on Ukraine are not true.
Bush also highly praised Ukraine's contribution to combating terrorism and
the presence of the Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent in Iraq. He fully
supports his son's policy aimed at toppling Saddam Husayn's regime. [Audio
and video available. Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk]
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
5. VICTOR YUSHCHENKO, YULIA TIMOSHENKO AND
OLEKSANDER MOROZ MET WITH GEORGE BUSH SR.
"Our Ukraine" Press, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
KYIV - Victor Yushchenko's press secretary Iryna Gerashchenko reported
that members of the opposition Victor Yushchenko, Yulia Timoshenko, and
Oleksander Moroz met today with an ex US president George Bush who is
making an informal visit to Ukraine.
During a meeting, which lasted for almost an hour, interlocutors discussed
political situations in Ukraine and the World. It was particularly noted
that the democratization of society was still the issue of the day in
Ukraine since the facts of persecution for political motives are still
prevalent and the situation with the freedom of speech remains very
difficult.
Today, on Georgi Gongadze's birthday, members of the opposition noted that
there had been no progress made in the investigation of his murder for over
the last few years. [LINK to Our Ukraine website: www.razom.org.ua]
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
=========================================================
6. BORIS TARASYUK: THE EU STRESSES THE NECESSITY OF
HOLDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN UKRAINE IN
ACCORDANCE WITH EUROPEAN STANDARDS
Press service of the People's Rukh of Ukraine
"Our Ukraine Website," Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, May 20, 2004
KYIV - The head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on European integration
Borys Tarasyuk participated in a meeting of the Council on Ukraine-EU
cooperation, which was held on May 18 in Brussels. The council on
cooperation is the highest institution created for the fulfillment of a
treaty on partnership and cooperation between Ukraine and the EU.
"The meeting was held in the wake of the EU expansion. There were numerous
questions from our partners in the EU concerning the President's signing and
joining a Treaty on the Common Economic Zone, numerous criticisms concerning
undemocratic tendencies that have been observed in Ukraine by various EU
organizations," reported Borys Tarasyuk.
He noted that members of the Council, which consists of representatives of
Ukrainian government and of the EU institutions, took a report by the
Committee on parliamentary cooperation, which co-chairman is Borys Tarasyuk,
into consideration. Particularly were noted the Committee's recommendations
and conclusions: criticism of the President of Ukraine in connection to the
events in Mukachevo, and the government's attitude towards the closing of
"Silski Visti" (Rural News) newspaper, radio "Freedom" etc.
"A report with such critical observations was taken into consideration by
both Ukrainian and the EU sides," stressed the people's deputy. "During the
meeting, however, the Ukrainian side did not hear answers to the questions
that worried us. The European Union did not promise to recognize Ukraine as
a country with market economy and to increase quotas for exporting metal
from Ukraine to EU member states. Ukraine did not receive clear signals
about its prospects for membership from the EU either. The timeline for the
adoption of an action plan for cooperation between Ukraine and the EU has
also remained undetermined," stressed Borys Tarasyuk.
"At the same time, the EU stressed the necessity of holding presidential
elections in Ukraine in accordance with European democratic standards and
values. Furthermore, our EU partners stressed that, if that does not happen,
relations between Ukraine and EU will be influenced in a negative way. It
was also stressed that the freedom of mass media had to be ensured and that
members of the opposition were to receive access to them.
EU members pointed out the imperfection of Ukrainian legislation concerning
bankruptcy and the government's interference into the regulation of mineral
fertilizers. A lot of attention was paid to the elections, ensuring the
supremacy of law and the functioning of democratic institutions," reported
the deputy.
He noted that in his speech he had pointed out the development of
anti-democratic tendencies in Ukraine, which influence the realization of
their constitutional rights and freedoms by the citizens. "The repeat
mayoral elections in Mukachevo on April 18 were a proof of that. Such
tendencies worry Ukrainian democratic forces especially in the light of the
approach of the electoral campaign and the elections themselves.
If all the facts of the government's attacks on the democratic rights and
freedoms are examined together, reasons for concern not only by Ukrainian
society and Ukrainian democratic forces but also by the entire international
community will arise over the fate of the presidential elections in
Ukraine," noted Borys Tarasyuk. [Link: www.razom.org.ua ]
======================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
The Story of Ukraine's Long and Rich Culture
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
=========================================================
7. COMMUNISTS ACCUSE U.S., GERMAN NGO'S OF
FUNDING UKRAINIAN OPPOSITION
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
KIEV - [Presenter] Parliament is hearing a report by an ad hoc investigative
commission on activities of NGOs existing on donations from abroad.
Parliamentarians are keen to learn who and controls financial flows in the
heat of election campaigns and how. Over to our parliament correspondent,
Viktor Soroka.
[Correspondent] The report by the special commission which you just have
mentioned was preceded by a lengthy exchange of fire between the Communist
and Our Ukraine factions. These two former opposition allies increasingly
often quarrel in parliament. The commission's report today became yet
another reason for a quarrel between the Communists and Our Ukraine.
[Communist MP] Valeriy Mishura is the head of the special commission which
investigated the instances of foreign states' unlawful interference in
financing election campaigns [in Ukraine]. Mishura said that he knows about
these cases. The Communists prepared this report quite carefully. However,
the report has turned out to be the private and isolated opinion of Valeriy
Mishura rather than the commission's report.
Parliament investigators established that US and German NGOs most frequently
interfered in Ukraine's domestic political affairs. These NGOs are
reportedly most keen to support the two right forces, Viktor Yushchenko's
[opposition] Our Ukraine block and the [opposition] Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc.
The Communists have even described this as open spying. Mishura said that
the CIA was most secretly doing this sort of business some 20 years ago. The
Communists are extremely alarmed by what is going on in Ukraine and accuse
the current authorities of tolerating the NGOs which are allegedly involved
in spying on our state.
Our Ukraine MPs have rejected all accusations and dismissed them as
politically motivated. [Passage omitted: other issues heard] (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
8. ALLY OF UKRAINE'S PRESIDENT KUCHMA ACCUSES U.S.
NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS OF ATTEMPTING TO
MANIPULATE THIS AUTUMN'S PRESIDENTIAL VOTE
Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, May 21, 2004
KIEV (AP)--In a move likely to aggravate already sensitive relations with
Washington, an ally of Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma on Friday accused
U.SO. non-governmental organizations of attempting to manipulate this
autumn's presidential vote.
"American grants are spent to control the (upcoming) elections and
information gathering about the political situation and the activities of
... authorities," Valerie Mishear, a lawmaker and Kuchma's ally in
parliament, told reporters.
"The key aim of American influence" is to help Viktor Yushchenko, a
pro-Western politician and the key opposition leader, to oust Kuchma's
hand-picked successor, Mishura said.
Yushchenko is seen by many as a likely winner of the upcoming presidential
vote scheduled for Oct. 31. Kuchma said he won't run, but backed instead his
key lieutenant, Ukraine's Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich.
Mishura, who heads a parliamentary investigative committee, also criticized
the Our Ukraine party, loyal to Yushchenko, and another opposition bloc
loyal to Yulia Tymoshenko for receiving financial aid from the U.S. National
Democratic Institute for International Affairs. The Washington-based NDI is
a nonprofit organization headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
The NDI has been criticized in the former Soviet republic of Uzbekistan for
allegedly meddling in internal affairs, and the new president of the
ex-Soviet republic of Georgia, Mikhail Saakashvili, said the NDI sponsored a
trip he made last year to Belgrade to study the anti-Slobodan Milsovic
protests. Later, Saakashvili led streets protests in Georgia that toppled
its leader, Eduard Shevardnadze.
Relations between Ukraine and the U.S. deteriorated years ago over Kuchma's
alleged involvement in sales of sophisticated radar systems to Saddam
Hussein's regime in violation of U.N. sanctions.
Western governments including the U.S. have also repeatedly criticized
Kuchma for his crackdown on the independent press and political opponents.
Seeking an improvement of relations with the West, Kuchma deployed 1,650
soldiers in Iraq as a part of the U.S.-led coalition there. (END)
========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: 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. IRAQ ISN'T THE ONLY BATTLEGROUND FOR DEMOCRACY
In recent months the media crackdown in Ukraine
has reached chilling proportions
COMMENTARY: D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Wall Street Journal Europe
Brussels, Belgium, New York, NY, Friday, May 21, 2004. pg. A.11
In recent months, the media crackdown in Ukraine has reached chilling
proportions. On Feb. 17, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's (RFE/RL) popular
Ukrainian-language programs were removed from the Dovira FM radio network.
Dovira's new owner, a political supporter of Mr. [Leonid Kuchma], claimed
that RFE/RL was taken off the air for commercial reasons -- but in fact
Dovira's listenership, as measured by U.S. international broadcasting
surveys, was at its highest when RFE/RL's programs were on the air. And
within days of throwing RFE/RL off the air, Dovira was rewarded with four
additional FM stations in four separate media markets.
As a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees U.S.
international broadcasting (including RFE/RL), I traveled to Ukraine last
month in order to present Mr. Kuchma with a proposal: that he authorize the
return of RFE/RL programs to Ukrainian State Radio. (Before RFE/RL went on
Dovira about five years ago, it was broadcast by state-owned transmitters.)
I wanted to point out that such a step would bring immediate resolution of
the problem of Ukrainians being deprived of easy access to RFE/RL's popular
programming. However, although I had been given indications by Mr. Kuchma's
inner circle that I would meet with the president and his chief-of-staff,
Viktor Medvedchuk, when I reached Kiev both men declined to see me.
While the world's attention is focused on the struggle to bring democracy to
Iraq, Afghanistan and other parts of the Muslim world, equally important
battles between freedom and tyranny are quietly taking place in Eastern
Europe, a region that was front and center of the global stage in the Cold
War. In Russia, President Vladimir Putin has consolidated something
resembling one-party rule, while in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenka runs
Europe's most repressive state.
But perhaps no country exemplifies both the promise and the heartbreak of
Eastern Europe more than Ukraine. A nation of 50 million people that was
once known as "the breadbasket of Europe," it emerged from the collapse of
the Soviet Union positioned to become one of the great nations of the
Continent. Instead, it has seen the hope of independence and freedom give
way to the despair of political crime and corruption.
Ukraine now stands at a crossroads. Presidential elections will take place
in October, and while the man largely responsible for the country's
problems, President Leonid Kuchma, cannot run for a third term himself, he
is determined to install a friendly face as his successor. As part of its
effort to ensure such an outcome, Mr. Kuchma's government has been doing its
best to keep the electorate in the dark by harassing independent media.
The reality, of course, is that RFE/RL was targeted because it has the
freedom to do what many domestic Ukrainian media outlets are too afraid to
do: Tell the truth about Ukraine's government.
On March 3, Radio Kontynent, a commercial FM station in Kiev that had
begun to air RFE/RL programming two days earlier, was raided and closed by
Ukrainian authorities. The station's equipment was seized and three
employees were briefly detained, allegedly because Kontynet had an expired
broadcast license. However, as many local reports noted, the licence expired
back in 2001, raising questions as to why it became an issue for authorities
only three years later.
Radio Kontynent also carried the programs of other international
broadcasters, including the Voice of America, BBC and Deutsche Welle.
Serhiy Sholokh, the owner of Radio Kontynent, has fled to Poland and is
seeking political asylum.
Also on March 3, a RFE/RL representative was scheduled to meet in Kiev
with Heorhiy Chechyk, the owner of an independent FM station in Poltava,
to finalize a contract to broadcast RFE/RL programs. The director was killed
in an automobile accident en route to this meeting. As yet, no official
investigation results of this accident have been released. Although there is
no proof of foul play, Ukraine's continued harassment of journalists has
spawned speculation about Mr. Chechyk's death.
Obviously, Ukraine's government is in no mood to talk about issues of
democracy and civil society, and we at the BBG do not expect its
recalcitrance to change before the October elections.
Thomas Jefferson, America's third president and a drafter of the Declaration
of Independence, once wrote, "If it were left to me to decide whether we
should have a government without a free press or a free press without a
government, I would prefer the latter." It is precisely because a free press
is the oxygen that nourishes democracy and civil society that the BBG is
determined to bring objective news and information to Ukraine.
Yet President Kuchma, with a nervous eye on the coming elections, is
determined to prevent the people of Ukraine from listening to RFE/RL. As the
independent human rights monitoring group Freedom House notes, Ukraine's
media are not free -- due, among other things, to state censorship of
television broadcasts, the harassment of independent media outlets and a
failure to adequately investigate attacks against journalists. Ukraine's
actions against RFE/RL contrast with the situation in Russia, where the
media also is judged to be not free, but where the government has extended
an official license to Radio Liberty in Moscow.
If the international community wants to prevent the birth of a dictatorship
in the heart of Europe, it must unite in calling on the Ukrainian government
to protect the freedom of the press, so that the people of Ukraine can be
fully informed when they cast their ballots this fall. The U.S., the
European Union, and the United Nations should warn President Kuchma that
he will purchase a manipulated electoral victory at the price of diplomatic
ostracism and economic malaise.
The stakes could not be higher: The elections in October will determine
whether Ukraine follows the path of freedom or the path of tyranny. The
brave people of Ukraine have come too far, and suffered too much, to be
thrown back into the abyss of Soviet-style repression. (END)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Mr. Hirschberg is a member of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the U.S.
federal agency that oversees all international broadcasting, including the
Voice of America; Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty; Radio Free Asia; and
the Middle East Television Network.
========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: 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. MAJOR UKRAINIAN FINANCIAL GROUP, INDUSTRIAL UNION OF
DONBASS, SETS UP CONSORTIUM TO MANAGE ASSETS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 21 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Friday, May 21, 2004
KIEV - The Industrial Group consortium was set up to manage the assets of
the Industrial Union of Donbass corporation [close to former Deputy Prime
Minister for Fuel and Energy Vitaliy Hayduk]. The consortium incorporates
the Dniprovskyy steelworks named after Dzerzhinskiy, the Alchevsk coke
plant, the Odessa-based Misto-Bank and the Avtoalyans 21st Century
asset-management company.
Forming the consortium will make it easier to modernize and reconstruct the
corporation's current assets, as well as purchase more assets, the
Industrial Union of Donbass director in charge of corporate rights and
investment, Oleksandr Pylypenko, told Interfax-Ukraine today. [Passage
omitted: The Industrial Group undecided about bidding for the privatization
of the Kryvorizhstal steelworks.]
Other partners can also join the Industrial Group by entering a closed
non-diversified venture corporate investment fund called the Eastern
European Investment Fund, Pylypenko said. It is managed by Avtoalyans
21st Century and is also a part of the consortium.
The Industrial Union of Donbass was founded in 1995. It is an industrial
association which owns big stakes in leading Ukrainian mining companies. It
has also launched projects in the coal and energy industries.
The corporation's turnover last year amounted to 9.3bn hryvnyas [over 1.7bn
dollars] (daughter companies not included), which is 85 per cent more than
in 2002. The corporation's taxable profit in 2003 was 361m [hryvnyas, over
67m dollars], its net profit reached 139.5m hryvnyas [over 26.1m hryvnyas].
In 2003, the Industrial Union of Donbass was the winning bidder for a
98.81-per-cent state-owned stake in the Dzerzhinskiy plant and a
42.26-per-cent stake in the Dnipropetrovsk-based Petrovskyy steelworks. It
also won the right to purchase 79.48 per cent of shares in the Dunaujvaros
steelworks from the Hungarian group Dunaferr.
The Industrial Union of Donbass is also a major stake holder in the Alchevsk
coke plant and the Alchevsk steelworks. It was reported earlier that the
Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine this week allowed the creation of the
Industrial Group consortium. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Major Articles About What is Going on in Ukraine
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
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11. OPPOSITION JOURNALIST ARRESTED IN WESTERN UKRAINE
Evidence against him may have been planted by authorities
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
KIEV - A member of the coalition of Ukrainian NGOs "Freedom of choice",
which monitored [controversial] mayoral elections in [western Ukrainian town
of] Mukacheve, has been arrested in Mukacheve on suspicion of possessing
explosives, the press service of the [opposition] Our Ukraine bloc's
regional headquarters has said.
Journalist Kostyantyn Sydorenko, who has been monitoring events in
Mukacheve, was invited to visit the Mukacheve town police station, the press
service said. The aim of the invitation was to give him back the video
camera and camera which were stolen a few days ago.
"However, on his way to the police station, policemen detained Sydorenko,
knocking him down on to the road. Suddenly a package in which the policemen
found, quite by chance, three explosive devices, appeared out of the blue
beside Sydorenko," the press service said.
"Sydorenko is in custody at the moment. He is suspected of possessing
explosives and preparing possible explosions in the future," the press
release said.
Sydorenko himself rejected all the accusations, as he was heading for the
police station, with no package in his hands.
The news agency Haryacha Liniya said that Sydorenko videoed the destruction
of a protest tent, the arrest of activists of the It Is Time campaign
outside the building of the Transcarpathian regional state administration
and an opposition protest in Uzhhorod on 21 May. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Ukraine's History and the Long Struggle for Independence
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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12. BYKIVNJA: VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO COMMEMORATED VICTIMS
OF POLITICAL REPRESSIONS AT REQUIEM HELD IN
BYKIVNJANS'KY FOREST NEAR KYIV, UKRAINE
We came to honour the memory of the thousands who were murdered
"Our Ukraine" Press, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, May 16, 2004
KYIV - Today Viktor Yushchenko has commemorated the victims of political
repressions. The leader of "Our Ukraine" took part in requiem meeting that
was held in Bykivnjans'ky forest in the environs of Kiev. During his speech
Yushchenko noted, "The Ukrainian historical calendar is made up of a great
number of tragic pages". He expressed regret that the society had to be
waiting for a long time to learn the terrible truth about Bykivnja and to
see the memorial or the nameboard at least at the mass burial place.
"Today we have gathered at such a beautiful place, at the utterly
picturesque corner that was destined to become the symbol of the terrible
drama of Ukrainian people. We came to honour the memory of thousands
of shot people. Unfortunately, presently there are little people near this
commemoration mark. And it has already become a tradition that the
authorities of Ukraine failed to honour the memory of the repressed people.
Government is conspicuous by its absence there where the people's tragedy is
present- in Baturyn, Kruty and Bykivhja. Such negligence towards our history
is very telltale since those who want to rob people of their future try
first and foremost to wipe out memory. If people are oblivious of their past
they become a rolling stone without kith or kin, history, language and their
own values,"- noted Yushchenko in his speech.
At the same time he expressed his firm belief that wise Ukrainian people
despite the unpatriotic and short-sighted government policy will preserve
the memory about their history and notably such tragic pages as Bykivhja.
"Present meeting is the confirmation of that fact and though there are
little people at this place but it abounds with youth,"- Yushchenko noted.
["Our Ukraine Website: www.razom.org.ua] (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
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13. UKRAINIAN PLANT SHOWS OFF NEW ARMOURED JEEP
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 22 May 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, May 22, 2004
KIEV - The Kharkiv tank plant will now be producing military jeeps. The
Ukrainian Merkuriy off-road vehicle, which was produced at the order of the
Defence Ministry, surpasses the American Hummer, the Kharkiv designers say.
Its technical specifications are better and it costs only half as much. The
cabin holds five people including a machine-gunner, and the body six more.
The vehicle can carry a load of more than 2 tonnes. It uses 15 litres of
diesel to travel 100 kilometres off-road. The armoured jeep can withstand
the explosion of an anti-personnel mine and a close-range machine-gun burst,
the designers say.
The fathers of the Ukrainian Hummer hope that the off-road vehicle will be
of interest not just to the military, but also to oil companies and farmers.
These vehicles are prototypes, but if there are orders the plant is ready to
produce up to 1,000 Merkuriys a year.
[Counter reading 0120-0205: Video shows Merkuriy driving around, troops
boarding, machine gun moving, interior of cabin, dashboard.] [Audio and
video available. Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk]
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 84: ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
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
=========================================================
14. UKRAINE: MILITARY DEPOT BLAST LATEST IN SERIES OF
TRAGIC BLUNDERS BY ARMY
COMMENTARY: By Askold Krushelnycky
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, May 20, 2004
An accidental fire at a huge ammunition dump in Ukraine earlier this month
triggered explosions which killed five people and wounded more than 20.
The accident was the latest in a series of tragic blunders by the Ukrainian
Army, which have killed more than 150 of civilians in recent years. RFE/RL
talks to an expert on the Ukrainian military about the parlous state of
Europe's largest armed forces.
Prague, 20 May 2004 (RFE/RL) -- Ukraine has tried to use its army to
promote the country in a positive light.
It has sent peacekeeping missions to the former Yugoslavia and Africa. It
also maintains one of the largest coalition contingents in Iraq, with 1,600
troops.
But despite such efforts, its record has been blighted again and again by
horrific accidents with tragic consequences.
Earlier this month, on 6 May, a fire began at a military depot in Melitopol,
a city in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhya. The fire touched off
eight days of explosions which brought death and havoc to an area covering
400 square kilometers."If you consider NATO criteria for joining -- like
high combat readiness, high salaries, and good social guarantees [housing,
etc.] for servicemen, and effective, competent civil democratic control --
then you find that almost everyone is in favor of NATO membership"
The initial fire sparked explosions that ripped through 900 of the 4,800
railroad wagons that are stored at the base and which contain Soviet-era
artillery shells awaiting decommissioning.
Hundreds of the shells were launched in every direction, killing five
people, wounding some 20 others, and forcing the evacuation of 30,000 people
from surrounding villages. An estimated $450 million in damage was done by
the time the explosions died down.
An investigation has been launched. It is expected to conclude, like other
investigations in recent years, that the tragedy was a result of human
error.
Three soldiers at the base have already been arrested and charged with
smoking while handling live ammunition.
The list of Ukraine's military catastrophes includes the explosion of
another ammunition dump last October, in a blast that killed a teenage girl
and destroyed much of the base where the ammunition was stored.
It also includes the accidental strike on a Kyiv apartment block with a Scud
missile. And a Ukrainian missile that inadvertently shot down a Russian
civilian airliner, killing all 78 people aboard. And the crash of a fighter
plane performing stunts at an air show, which killed 76 spectators.
The bad news continued in March, when Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhen
Marchuk announced several hundred missiles were unaccounted for.
Observers say lack of funds are to blame for the dangerously neglected state
of the Ukrainian armed forces.
Ukraine's military, with 355,000 men and women, is Europe's largest army
and the world's 13th biggest. But it ranks 126th in the world in terms of
funding per capita.
It's a situation that has led to shabby standards and corruption.
Leonid Polyakov is a military expert at the Rozumkov Center, an independent
think tank in Kyiv. He says no army is hazard-free and that soldiers die in
accidents in armies around the world.
But he concedes that Ukraine has particular problems -- among them, a large
portion of the former Soviet Union's huge, and rapidly decaying, military
arsenal. "When Ukraine became independent, it acquired a very large,
negative, legacy. It is easier to recognize, after 13 years of independence,
that this legacy acquired by Ukraine -- and which she previously was even
proud of, the large quantity of military equipment, ammunition, weapons --
has caused more problems than benefits," Polyakov said.
Polyakov says Ukraine can decommission about 23,000 tons of ammunition
each year but needs to double or triple that capacity --something that
Ukraine's feeble economy does not allow.
But he said the lack of funding for the military is not the biggest problem.
Rather, he says, it is a lack of clarity among Ukraine's leaders about the
country's future, and the role of the military in that future. "Why is
Ukraine helpless? We have our own specific reasons: simply that the national
elite, which could be of benefit now, was destroyed during Soviet times.
The post-Soviet expert elite proved itself, on the whole, unable to jettison
its customary corruption, links to the criminal world and its totalitarian
attitudes. The new elite has not yet come to the fore and has not begun
combat with the old Soviet legacy and Ukraine's new criminal legacy,"
Polyakov said.
Polyakov said that corruption pervades the military and that high-ranking
officers are rarely appointed on merit. That, he says, leads to a
deterioration in the quality of leadership, which in turn has a corrosive
effect on the entire military structure.
"We see that top positions are given to people in the military and other
security structures not because of their professionalism or patriotism, but
often because of their personal loyalty," Polyakov said.
Defense Minister Marchuk has also suggested that corruption is at work in
military.
He cited warehouses where much of the stores, such as sophisticated
missiles, include components made out of silver, gold, and platinum which
provide tempting prizes for illicit scrap dealers.
He has also complained that the military has not been able to shed its
Soviet-era attitudes and mode of operating.
Marchuk has promised reforms aimed at eventually turning Ukraine's huge
conscript army into a compact, professional force. Such reforms are
essential if Ukraine is to stand a chance of joining NATO, an ambition
declared by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma two years ago.
Last week, Kuchma outlined a plan to pare the military down from its present
size of 355,000 men and women to 285,000 by the end of 2005, and to
200,000 by end of 2006.
Polyakov is skeptical that the timetable can be achieved:
"To be honest I'm concerned whether it's going to be possible to keep to
this plan effectively. If you remember, the military leadership last year
wanted the reduction to 200,000 to be achieved by 2005. So now the time
has been extended by a year to 2006 but I think it's realistic to talk about
such a reduction only by 2008," Polyakov said.
He says the biggest problem is that there has been an inability to
restructure the army, which has remained shackled by the doctrines and
failings of the old Soviet Army that preceded it.
"It was only around 2000 that current concepts about the need to concentrate
on rapid reaction forces rather than large armies came to the fore,"
Polyakov said.
But Polyakov believes the majority of senior military officers and
politicians favor their country joining NATO -- something that could give
reforms a boost:
"If you consider NATO criteria for joining -- like high combat readiness,
high salaries, and good social guarantees [housing, etc.] for servicemen,
and effective, competent civil democratic control -- then you find that
almost everyone is in favor of NATO membership," Polyakov said.
However, he says, the problem is that few people believe the country's
leadership is ready to take the necessary steps to fulfill the criteria to
join NATO. (END)
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