"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"
"But his young wife believes she knows why Yaroslav Zlochevsky died in the
Iraq war launched by the faraway American superpower. Officially, she has
been told he was killed in an ambush near the Iraqi city of Kut, his legs
and one arm torn off his body. On the news, she heard a Communist Party
official say he died 'in the interests of an alien empire.'
In reality, she said, 'he died for money.'" [article twelve]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 92
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, FRIDAY, June 4, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1.UKRAINE FIRM WINS US TENDER ON RE-EQUIPMENT OF IRAQI
ARMY ACCORDING TO DEFENSE MINISTER MARCHUK
UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 4, 2004
2. FORMER NATO GENERAL WESLEY CLARK PRAISES UKRAINE'S
GROWTH, PEACEKEEPING, BELIEVES IT WILL JOIN NATO
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 2 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jun 02, 2004
3. UKRAINE'S EX-LEADER CONVICTED IN SAN FRANCISCO
Jury finds former prime minister Lazarenko guilty of fraud, money laundering
By Josh Richman, Staff Writer
Alameda-Times Star, Oakland, CA, Friday, June 4, 2004
4. U.S. GOV'T STILL BACKS ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE,
REJECTS KAZAKHSTAN-IRAN ONE
AFX Europe (Focus), Baku, Azerbaijan, Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004
5. UKRAINE AND AZERBAIJAN SIGN NEW OIL AGREEMENT
Supply oil necessary to load the Odessa-Brody pipeline to Ukraine
UPI, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, June 3, 2004
6. UKRAINE'S INDUSTRIAL GROWTH FASTEST RATE IN CIS
Interfax, Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 4, 2004
7. VISITING PACE RAPPORTEURS SAY UKRAINE HAS BASIS
FOR HOLDING FAIR AND HONEST ELECTION
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 03, 2004
8. VICTOR YUSHCHENKO MET WITH EUROPEAN MONITORING
PARLIAMENTARIANS SEVERINSEN AND VOLVEND
Victor Yushchenko Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 3, 2004
9. EDITOR OF WEEKLY UKRAINIAN NEWSPAPER BEATEN UP
Reporters Without Borders, Reporters sans Frontieres
Paris, France, Thursday, June 3, 2004
10. BORYS TARASYUK: UKRAINE HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL
IN THE CREATION OF THE EUROPEAN DEFENSE AGENCY
Press service of the People's Rukh, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 4, 2004
11. THE WASHINGTON GROUP (TWG) LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
"TWG at 20: Reflection, Renewal and Celebration."
Friday, June 11 - Sunday, June 13, 2004, Arlington, Virginia
By George Masiuk, TWG Conference Chairman
The Washington Group (TWG), Washington, D.C., June 2, 2004
12. WAR WIDOW'S LAMENT: 'HE DIED FOR MONEY'
Iraq Duty Had Lure for Poor Ukrainians
By Susan B. Glasser, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Friday, Jun 04, 2004
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF VIKTOR
MEDVEDCHUK WARNS WEB SITE OVER "DEFAMATION"
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Russian 2 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Jun 02, 2004
========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
========================================================
1.UKRAINE FIRM WINS US TENDER ON RE-EQUIPMENT OF IRAQI
ARMY ACCORDING TO DEFENSE MINISTER MARCHUK
UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 4, 2004
KYIV - Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk confirms that Ukraine
has won a tender of the United States on re-equipment of the Iraqi army.
According to an UNIAN correspondent, in particular, today, in the course of
a "hot telephone line" in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, Ye.Marchuk
has underscored that the winning of a Ukrainian company in this tender is a
serious step. He has also emphasized that, though the firm, which won the
tender, is not Ukrainian by 100%, but it is a juridical person of Ukraine.
According to a USA Embassy to Ukraine spokesman, the contract on the
re-equipment of the Iraqi army has been won by ANHAM joint enterprise, its
sum is $120.1 million. At the same time, Ukraine will fulfill 65% of works
on this contract, the rest will be done by Romania and UK.
In line with the contract, the Ukrainian company will have to equip 15
battalions and 6 brigades. The works are to be finished by September 30,
2006. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
=========================================================
2.FORMER NATO GENERAL WESLEY CLARK PRAISES UKRAINE'S
GROWTH, PEACEKEEPING, BELIEVES IT WILL JOIN NATO
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 2 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jun 02, 2004
KYIV - [Presenter] Ukraine has received a fresh portion of compliments from
an influential American. Ex-general [and former commander of NATO troops in
Europe] Wesley Clark, who is on a visit to Kiev, called Ukraine a key state
in Europe. He believes that Kiev will become a NATO member in the future.
President Leonid Kuchma said at a meeting with Clark that Ukraine is willing
to constructively cooperate with the alliance. The ex-general is not the
first time in Ukraine. He was surprised at the changes that have taken place
here. Andriy Hetman has the details of the visit.
[Correspondent] Retired NATO general Wesley Clark has made a forced
march to a political Ukraine. He described his vision of Ukraine's future
clearly, as a military man would do. He says he first visited Kiev back in
1964 as a 19-year-old cadet. But at that time he could not even think that
the Ukrainian capital would become a capitalist city.
He could not imagine in the mid-90s that Ukraine would be viewed as a
full-fledged NATO partner. He says that he read many differing views on
Ukraine. He wanted very much to see everything with his own eyes, which was
why he welcomed the invitation of [Kuchma's son-in-law], a businessman and
MP Viktor Pinchuk [who owns the ICTV channel]. Clark says that Ukraine has
already achieved a lot.
[Clark, in English, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] I have seen
significant economic progress. The Ukrainian economy has been growing
rapidly. Employment and production have been on the rise.
[Correspondent] Clark is confident that Ukraine is potentially a most
powerful political player on the international arena. Ukraine should become
the basis for stability in eastern Europe and should also become a NATO
and EU member. Everything depends on its efforts.
[Clark, in English, overlaid with Ukrainian translation] Ukraine has the
central position in Europe both politically and geographically. Your country
is as large as Italy or Great Britain. It is also among few countries with
powerful military capabilities. NATO, for its part, is greatly interested in
cooperation with Ukraine.
[Correspondent] The general thanked Ukraine for its decision to send troops
to Iraq. He said that Ukraine was an important element in the international
antiterrorist coalition and that the West pinned great hopes on Kiev.
Ukraine, along with the international community, should stop the expansion
of Islamic radicalism. He believes that our country could serve as an
example to its neighbours of how wellbeing could be reached by means of
democracy and economic growth.
[Ukrainian Defence Minister Yevhen Marchuk] Clark has given several pieces
of - I would say - useful advice concerning the tactics of our possible
initiatives. He is Ukraine's sympathizer. But on the other hand, being a
Democrat who is taking part in [US presidential candidate John] Kerry's
election campaign, he is a promising figure to Ukraine.
[Counter reading: 1125-1358. Video shows Clark and Pinchuk talking at a
reception, Clark meeting Ukrainian officials and parliament members, former
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk kissing Clark, Clark and
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostyantyn Hryshchenko giving a news conference
and Marchuk being interviewed.] (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
Ukrainian Culture Gallery: http://www.ArtUkraine.com/cultgallery.htm
=========================================================
3. UKRAINE'S EX-LEADER CONVICTED IN SAN FRANCISCO
Jury funds former prime minister Lazarenko guilty of fraud, money laundering
By Josh Richman, Staff Writer
Alameda-Times Star, Oakland, CA, Friday, June 4, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO -- Ukraine's former prime minister was convicted Thursday
of money laundering and fraud charges connected to business scams he ran
while running his homeland.
Pavel Lazarenko, 51, was Ukraine's prime minister from May 1996 to August
1997 and is only the second foreign former head of state to be tried in U.S.
courts; the first was Gen. Manuel Noriega of Panama.
After more than 10 weeks of trial and four days of deliberations, a federal
jury Thursday found Lazarenko guilty of 29 counts -- 11 counts of
transporting stolen funds into the United States, 10 counts of wire fraud,
seven counts of money laundering and one count of conspiring to launder
money.
The jury believed prosecutors' argument that Lazarenko milked his official
capacity for money. For example, he extorted $30 million from a businessman
by demanding half of his business' ownership and profits in order to operate
in Ukraine, and defrauded Naukovy State Farm, a Ukrainian state-owned
enterprise, of $12 million.
Lazarenko then hid this money from the Ukrainian public, transferring it
through bank accounts in Switzerland and Antigua and ultimately into
accounts and property in the United States. He bought an 18-acre Novato
estate, formerly owned by comedian and actor Eddie Murphy, worth almost
$7 million.
Lazarenko denied all the charges, claiming he had made his fortune
legitimately while his nation's economy was in chaos following the collapse
of the Soviet Union. He claimed the charges against him were set up by
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, a political rival.
Lazarenko fled from Ukraine to Switzerland in 1998; he said he'd faced
assassination attempts, although Ukrainian officials were starting to
examine his business dealings. He was arrested by Swiss authorities but
released on bail, only to be arrested soon after that in New York for visa
problems.
Lazarenko was convicted in June 2000 of money laundering by a court in
Switzerland, which sentenced him to an 18-month suspended prison term. That
same month, a federal grand jury indictment against Lazarenko was unsealed
in San Francisco.
U.S. District Judge Martin Jenkins last month dismissed 24 of the 53 counts
against Lazarenko, ruling prosecutors had failed to make their case on those
charges.
Lazarenko remains free on $86 million bail pending his sentencing, which
hasn't been scheduled yet. His attorneys intend to file a post-trial motion
seeking nullification of the verdict, and Jenkins will hold a hearing on
that in September.
Each count of interstate transportation of stolen property is punishable by
up to 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine; each wire fraud count
by up to five years and a $250,000 fine, and each money laundering count, by
up to 20 years and a $500,000 fine. Federal sentencing guidelines, however,
won't permit a massive cumulative sentence. Lazarenko also might have to
pay restitution and forfeit any assets involved in his crimes.
"The jury's verdict should serve as a warning to corrupt public officials at
home and abroad that the United States will zealously prosecute them if they
seek to conceal and invest their ill-gotten gains through American financial
institutions," said U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
Current Events Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/events/index.htm
=========================================================
4. U.S. GOV'T STILL BACKS ODESSA-BRODY OIL PIPELINE,
REJECTS KAZAKHSTAN-IRAN ONE
AFX Europe (Focus), Baku, Azerbaijan, Tuesday, Jun 01, 2004
BAKU (AFX) - Ukraine's Odessa-Brody oil pipeline, which has not been
used since it was built two years ago, remains commercially viable, said
Steven Mann, the US government's special envoy on Caspian basin energy
issues.
Washington is keen for oil from the region to be exported but wants it to
bypass Russia. The pipeline links Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa to the
western town of Brody, near Ukraine's border with Poland. It has never begun
pumping crude because it has failed to sign any contracts with oil
exporters.
"We believe there is real interest in using Odessa-Brody to ship Caspian oil
to Europe and that this makes good economic sense," Mann told reporters in
the Azerbaijan capital. "I am aware that there are serious commercial
discussions underway about the possibility of using Odessa-Brody to ship oil
into Europe," Mann said on the sidelines of the annual Caspian Oil and Gas
conference.
"This is a very good project and my government has supported this for a
number of years," he added, but would not say whether any contracts had
been signed or when the pipeline might start pumping oil.
Mann also underlined Washington's opposition to a French-backed plan for a
pipeline to be built from Kazakhstan to Iran. "The US is firmly opposed to
this pipeline, for reasons both of law and policy," Mann said. "Commercially
speaking, I think there are better alternatives," added Mann.
Kazakhstan's government, together with Total, has been studying the
feasibility of building a pipeline to ship crude from Kazakhstan to Iran,
and from there to tanker terminals on the Persian Gulf.
sab-clo/zak/hd/jsa/pav/ (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Check Out the News Media for the Latest News From and About Ukraine
Daily News Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/newsgallery.htm
=========================================================
5. UKRAINE AND AZERBAIJAN SIGN NEW OIL AGREEMENT
Supply oil necessary to load the Odessa-Brody pipeline to Ukraine
UPI, Kiev, Ukraine, Thursday, June 3, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine and Azerbaijan have signed a new agreement on oil industry
cooperation, RosBusinessConsulting reported Thursday. The deal was signed
"in the course of a visit of Azerbaijani President Ibrahim Aliyev to
Ukraine," RBC said.
"According to the document, Azerbaijan assumes responsibility to supply oil
necessary to load the Odessa-Brody pipeline to Ukraine on a commercial,
nondiscriminatory basis," the news agency said. "The parties have agreed to
ensure unlimited oil transportation through their territories."
Ukraine is rich in other resources but is dependent on Russia and other
countries for its supplies of oil and gas. Azerbaijan is a major oil
producer but is seeking to develop new routes to export its oil resources
to the markets of the European Union. (END)
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
The Genocidal Famine in Ukraine 1932-1933, HOLODOMOR
Genocide Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/famineart/index.htm
=========================================================
6. UKRAINE'S INDUSTRIAL GROWTH FASTEST RATE IN CIS
Interfax, Moscow, Russia, Friday, June 4, 2004
MOSCOW - The CIS Statistics Committee reported on Friday that
Ukraine's industrial output had grown at the fastest rate, 17.8%, among
CIS member nations from January-April 2004.
In Georgia, the rate was 14.9%; in Moldova, 14.1%; in Belarus and
Kyrgyzstan, 11.3%; in Tajikistan, 11.2%; in Kazakhstan, 9.3%; in
Russia, 7.4%; in Armenia, 7.1%; in Azerbaijan, 3.8%. No data is
available on Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, the committee reported.
The CIS industrial output growth averaged 9% and GDP increased by an
average of 8%, the report said. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
=========================================================
7. VISITING PACE RAPPORTEURS SAY UKRAINE HAS BASIS
FOR HOLDING FAIR AND HONEST ELECTION
ICTV television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jun 03, 2004
KYIV - The rapporteurs on Ukraine [of the monitoring committee] of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE], Hanne Severinsen
and Renate Wohlwend, today met MPs from the parliamentary majority and
the opposition. And reporting on the results of their visit, they said that
Ukraine has all the prerequisites to hold a fair and honest presidential
election [in autumn].
Hanne Severinsen also expects that Kiev will investigate the falsification
of the mayoral election in Mukacheve in a full and comprehensive manner and
punish the culprits. The two PACE rapporteurs called on Ukrainians to be
active at the presidential election and to consciously choose their future.
At the same time, they also pointed to unresolved problems with freedom of
speech and said they are satisfied with the situation with the protection of
the rights of ethnic minorities.
After visiting Crimea and the Transcarpathian Region, Renate Wohlwend is
convinced that there are no reasons for inter-ethnic conflict in Ukraine.
[Audio and video available. Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk]
========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
http://www.artukraine.com/buildukraine/index.htm
========================================================
8. VICTOR YUSHCHENKO MET WITH EUROPEAN MONITORING
PARLIAMENTARIANS SEVERINSEN AND VOLVEND
Victor Yushchenko Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 3, 2004
KYIV - On June 3, 2004, Victor Yushchenko met with Hanne Severinsen and
Renata Volvend, co-reporters of the monitoring committee of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. The main topic of the
meeting was the upcoming presidential campaign. Members of the PACE think
that the latest elections in Odesa and Mukachevo have exposed the need for
updating the records of Ukrainian electors. Yushchenko noted that 60 million
hryvnyas was set aside in this year's budget for creating a unified register
of voters and providing computers for polling stations.
The Central Electoral Committee, however, has adopted a different position
and is not planning on launching these projects in the nearest future. The
leader of "Our Ukraine" stressed that his faction was ready to raise the
issue of supplying money for these purposes once again; it is necessary,
however, for the government to take responsibility for updating the records
of voters.
During the meeting, Victor Yushchenko also raised the issue of Ukrainians
abroad. "Millions of our countrymen nowadays are working for a living
abroad and, the ones officially registered there, have to have an
opportunity to vote. It is the responsibility of local governments and
embassies to open enough polling stations to ensure such opportunity,"
stressed Victor Yushchenko.
The issue of appointing a special PACE representative for carrying out
meticulous monitoring of the transparency and legality of the presidential
elections in Ukraine was also raised at the meeting.
Volvend and Severinsen declared that Europe would watch closely to ensure
that all candidates have equal access to mass media and equal rights for
assembly. PACE hopes that the government will fulfill its obligations
concerning mass media audits during the electoral campaign.
"Mukachevo is an example that the government is not yet ready to pass the
test on democracy," said Victor Yushchenko, reminding about the situation
with the mayoral elections. He stressed the important role played by
international observers and the position held by PACE during those elections
in particular. It was international presence that prevented open
falsifications prior to the elections and at the polling stations. That was
why it was done by night at the building of the territorial electoral
committee.
The regional office of public prosecutor, however, is yet to start
investigating falsifications at the polling stations and has adopted a
different position - delaying the case for as long as possible. "The
government does not really want to name those responsible for the events
but is trying to save face while playing badly," added Victor Yushchenko.
The leader of "Our Ukraine" thinks that the matter for Ernest Nuser's
resignation "was not his bothering conscience. It was rather the matter of
Kuchma being invited or not to the NATO summit in Istanbul," added
Yushchenko. LINK: www.yuschenko.com.ua (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. EDITOR OF WEEKLY UKRAINIAN NEWSPAPER BEATEN UP
Reporters Without Borders, Reporters sans Frontieres
Paris, France, Thursday, June 3, 2004
PARIS - Reporters Without Borders today urged Ukrainian interior minister
Mykola Bilokon to make a "thorough and open investigation" into an attack by
three unknown men on Petro Kobevko, editor of the weekly Chas, in the
western town of Chernivtsi. It called the 28 May attack "very alarming" in
view of the presidential election due this autumn.
Kobevko, who is still in hospital, was badly bruised on the head and face
after a man came to his office, said he had compromising information about a
member of parliament and asked him to follow him. As Kobevko left the
office, the man hit him and two other men were waiting outside.
The editor said the attack was not linked to any particular article but to
the paper's general position. Since it was founded, it has been prosecuted
48 times for articles it has published.
The press freedom situation in Ukraine has been very worrying since the
beginning of the year, with two online journalists jailed in the space of
two weeks. Reporters Without Borders said in its 2004 annual report that
physical attacks on journalists increased further last year and that
investigations into the murder of several of them were getting nowhere.
=========================================================
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. BORYS TARASYUK: UKRAINE HAS SIGNIFICANT POTENTIAL
IN THE CREATION OF THE EUROPEAN DEFENSE AGENCY
Press service of the People's Rukh, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, June 4, 2004
KYIV - The head of the Verkhovna Rada committee on European integration,
the head of the People's Rukh Borys Tarasyuk is participating in the 50th
session of the Assembly of the Western-European Union, which is being held
June 2 through 4 in Paris.
While speaking at the session, Borys Tarasyuk expressed thanks to the
members of the Assembly on the behalf of Ukrainian delegation for elevating
the delegation's status in the work of the Western-European Assembly. The
people's deputy also expressed hope that this would be a step on the way to
full membership for Ukrainian parliamentarians in this Assembly (the
Assembly unites parliamentarians from WEA member-states).
Commenting on the report about the creation of the European Defense Agency,
Borys Tarasyuk was confident that its establishment presented interest for
Ukrainian parliamentarians since its goal was promoting the development of
autonomous European security and defense policy, thus strengthening the
stability in Europe.
Borys Tarasyuk noted: "Ukraine belongs to those countries - members of the
European Union and Assembly of the Western-European Union - that have
significant potential, which is, perhaps, even greater than that of some
member-states, in the creation of European Defense Agency." Ukrainian
parliamentarian gave Ukraine's significant air-transport capabilities as an
example, which, in case of joining European partners, would double EU
capabilities in the sphere of air transportation of personnel and equipment.
Borys Tarasyuk noted that Ukraine could actively contribute to the united
European defense industry due to its high technology capabilities, which is
proven by Ukraine's participation in the "Sea Start" satellite project along
with USA, Norway, and Russia. Advanced positions have been also reached
in air-transport aviation, as well as in the areas of electronic, space, and
rocket building.
Borys Tarasyuk's speech called forth numerous commentaries in the speeches
of members of the WEU Assembly. Chairperson Manuela Aguiar (Portugal), in
particular, greeted Ukrainian delegation and wished it success on the way to
gaining full membership in the Assembly. Numerous speakers noted Ukraine's
significant military-industrial potential, which could be useful in creating
European Defense Agency.
The head of the People's Rukh of Ukraine Borys Tarasyuk visited Parisian
Montparnasse Cemetery on June 3, 2004. There he laid flowers on the grave of
a prominent Ukrainian political and public figure Symon Petlyura, the head
of the Directorate of Ukrainian People's Republic and Ataman-in-Chief of the
army of Ukrainian People's Republic, whose 125th birthday was commemorated
on 17 May 2004. (END)
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THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Historical Gallery: http://www.artukraine.com/histgallery.htm
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11. THE WASHINGTON GROUP (TWG) LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
"TWG at 20: Reflection, Renewal and Celebration."
Friday, June 11 - Sunday, June 13, 2004, Arlington, Virginia
By George Masiuk, TWG Conference Chairman
The Washington Group (TWG), Washington, D.C., June 2, 2004
WASHINGTON - The Washington Group (TWG) is celebrating the 20th
anniversary of its founding by hosting a Leadership Conference titled, "TWG
at 20: Reflection, Renewal and Celebration." The conference will be held at
the Key Bridge Marriott hotel in Arlington Virginia, Friday, June 11-Sunday,
June 13.
The conference will feature addresses by the Ukrainian Ambassador to the
U.S. Mykhailo Reznik and former Ukrainian Defense Minister, Kostyantyn
Morozov. The conference will have an Ambassadors' Forum (Amb.Oleh
Bilorus, Amb.William G. Miller, and Amb. Steven Pifer will participate.), a
roundtable discussion on "Ukraine on the Eve of Elections," and a panel, on
"Improving our Professionals' Organizations."
The conference will provide the opportunity for socializing and
entertainment by hosting a Friday evening reception at the Ukrainian Embassy
in Georgetown, a Saturday evening banquet and Zabava to the music of
TEMPO, and a Sunday brunch followed by traditional East European folk
music.
For information call George Masiuk at (202) 863-7317 (d) or (703) 960-0043
(e) or e-mail: GMasiuk@AOL.com. The TWG conference schedule, pricing
information and registration form can be found at the following link:
http://www.TheWashingtonGroup.org or you can use the one published in The
Ukrainian Weekly newspaper in prior weeks. (END)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: The Washington Group (TWG) is an association of Ukrainian-American
professionals with a worldwide network of members.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Your financial support for The Action Ukraine Report is needed.
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12. WAR WIDOW'S LAMENT: 'HE DIED FOR MONEY'
Iraq Duty Had Lure for Poor Ukrainians
By Susan B. Glasser, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Friday, Jun 04, 2004
VINKIVTSI, Ukraine -- Irina Zlochevskaya is 19 years old, and a widow. They
brought her husband's corpse home to her on May Day. Along with the body in
American-issue camouflage came a new DVD player he had bought, a roll of
film -- undeveloped -- and a death certificate from the Ukrainian Defense
Ministry. The cause of death was left blank.
But his young wife believes she knows why Yaroslav Zlochevsky died in the
Iraq war launched by the faraway American superpower. Officially, she has
been told he was killed in an ambush near the Iraqi city of Kut, his legs
and one arm torn off his body. On the news, she heard a Communist Party
official say he died "in the interests of an alien empire."
In reality, she said, "he died for money."
The abandoned child of an alcoholic raised in an orphanage, Zlochevsky had
tried, and failed, to continue his education after high school. He had
tried, and failed, to find work in the big city, away from the poverty of
the grim hamlet in western Ukraine where the young couple lived, six people
crammed into her family's sour-smelling apartment.
At 23, he finally found a job.
For $670 a month, he signed up to serve in Iraq, part of Ukraine's
1,650-member military contribution to the U.S.-led occupation. He arrived in
Iraq in late February after telling his family he would be a peacekeeper,
handing out humanitarian aid. "He had no idea it's a real war there," said
his wife. "No idea at all."
Zlochevsky was killed on April 28. Kostyantyn Mykhalev, another son of
western Ukraine, born just three days after Zlochevsky, died with him.
Mykhalev had also sought education and work but found no possibilities that
did not involve wielding a gun. They became the fifth and sixth Ukrainians
killed while serving in Iraq, adding to a roster that now includes 109
non-American troops.
The news of the deaths of the two young men came as a jolt to a place that
had largely forgotten the Iraq war. And it served as a reminder that the
conflict's toll has been felt not only in the United States but in Poland
and Bulgaria, Italy and Estonia. Ukraine has one of the largest contingents
in Iraq after the U.S. and British forces, but its soldiers are poorer, less
adequately equipped and more uncertain about their country's mission there
than the Americans whose occupation they serve.
The last time Ukraine sent its young men to die in war, the conflict was in
Afghanistan in the 1980s and the superpower waging it was the Soviet Union,
of which Ukraine was a part. This time, Ukraine's soldiers went as
volunteers after President Leonid Kuchma enlisted his independent but
economically struggling country in the U.S.-led "coalition of the willing"
for Iraq.
To a Ukrainian public that overwhelmingly opposed the war, Kuchma explained
the mission as peacekeeping, while his critics accused him of signing up to
rehabilitate an image tarred by accusations of illegal arms sales to Saddam
Hussein before his ouster as Iraq's president. But as the sector of southern
Iraq where the Ukrainians were stationed erupted into rebellion this spring,
the new realities turned the job from peace to war.
In March, the Ukrainians were forced to retreat from Kut after a takeover by
Shiite militiamen loyal to the rebel cleric Moqtada Sadr. One soldier was
killed. In late April, the ambush that claimed the lives of Zlochevsky and
Mykhalev aroused a new political debate about the troops' presence in Iraq,
as Ukrainians saw the charred remains of one of their armored personnel
carriers on television and heard military experts say the Ukrainian convoy
had not been properly protected.
Kuchma rebuffed Communist demands for the troops' immediate withdrawal as
"brazen cynicism," and the pro-presidential majority in parliament has
blocked efforts for a vote. But Kuchma's defense minister has acknowledged
"frequent attacks and a worsened situation" for Ukrainian troops and pledged
to provide them better equipment, communications and security.
The families of the dead soldiers are to receive $105,000 each in
compensation -- an unprecedented sum for the Ukrainian military, which has
struggled to reduce its force after the Soviet collapse but still has about
310,000 men in uniform. Many are poorly paid conscripts who have inadequate
food and housing and outdated weapons and equipment.
Here in the green farmland of western Ukraine where Zlochevsky and Mykhalev
were born, the young men's decision to go to Iraq was just another case of
economic desperation. "Nobody needed a war here. Our children just wanted to
live, to have a future," said Galina Korzhenevska, the bookkeeper for
Berezivka, Mykhalev's home town on the banks of the Dnister River. "The
state fell apart, the village is dying. Nobody has seen a salary here in 10
years."
Berezivka today feels more like a ghost town than a farming outpost. A
decade ago, about 1,000 people lived there, most of them employed at a
collective farm left over from the Soviet era. Mykhalev's mother worked
feeding calves; his stepfather drove a horse-drawn cart making deliveries
for the farm.
Today, most of the farm's decayed brick buildings are abandoned. The
official population of Berezivka is 750 -- and unofficially much lower,
according to village officials -- because anyone who is able leaves to work
as an illegal migrant in Western Europe. Horses are still the standard mode
of transportation. When Mykhalev graduated from high school in 1998, there
were 13 in his class; this year, just three children started first grade at
the town's one school.
A sports enthusiast who loved soccer and volleyball, Mykhalev went off to
the regional center of Kamyanets-Podilskyy to study to be a gym teacher. His
best friend since childhood, Roman Chorny, went with him to study
agriculture. Both dropped out and served their mandatory military service.
With neither of his parents working and a brain-damaged epileptic younger
brother in need of medical care they could not afford, Mykhalev went to the
capital, Kiev, in search of a job. He found one as a security guard but was
never paid the wages he was promised, said his mother, Lyudmila
Mykhalevskaya. After six months, he came home.
"Kostya for that family was the only hope," said Anatoly Shevelyov, the
school principal.
Last fall, Chorny came up with a plan for them -- join the Iraq-bound 6th
Brigade. Both young men had to persuade skeptical parents who, despite the
lure of what by local standards was an enormous salary, initially refused
permission. Both then threatened to arrange fake marriages, according to
their families, and get their supposed new wives to sign the necessary
papers. "He said it would only cost less than $60," said Chorny's father,
Viktor.
The recruiters showed them a video in which young Ukrainian soldiers were
portrayed seeing the world and placidly manning checkpoints, the families
said. "They made it seem as if they were going to a health resort," said
Mykhalev's mother. "Of course it was deception -- all these kids were
fooled. They took them to war and they knew it."
"They were lied to," said Chorny's mother, Galina, a $50-a-month math
teacher. "They were not told the truth."
Once in Iraq, the mission became clearer. In one of his phone calls home,
Mykhalev, who had been trained as a sniper, told his mother that "they shot
so much in Iraq" that it was "more than in his entire two years of military
service" as a conscript.
Now, the people of Berezivka are waiting to see whether Chorny will be
allowed to come home early. His parents have not spoken with him since the
ambush. Both said they did not blame the United States for Mykhalev's death,
but rather their own country. "I have never seen America, and I will never
see it," said Chorny's father. His mother added, "It's here we have
trouble."
In nearby Vinkivtsi, Zlochevsky's widow, Irina, was struggling with the same
questions, as their 2-year-old son Dima squirmed on the couch. Her husband
was persuaded to go to Iraq by her brother Alyosha. He is still there.
"I don't have anything against America. But our authorities should just tell
people the truth," she said. "Let them say we are preparing people for war,
and if you want to go, you can go."
She has developed the film that came back with Zlochevsky's body and put the
pictures in an album. In one photo, he is shown wielding his machine gun on
top of an armored personnel carrier. In another, he is sitting in his
underwear at a table with his friends, drinking a toast. At the end of the
album are other pictures, of her at his funeral, dressed in black, holding a
picture of Yaroslav. (END)
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 92: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Your financial support for The Action Ukraine Report is needed.
=========================================================
13. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT'S CHIEF OF STAFF VIKTOR
MEDVEDCHUK WARNS WEB SITE OVER "DEFAMATION"
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Russian 2 Jun 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Jun 02, 2004
Ukrainian opposition web site Ukrayinska Pravda has published a letter it
received from presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk. He says
the web site carried a deliberately misleading report mentioning a criminal
case opened against Medvedchuk when he was young. The report said the case
had been closed because Medvedchuk's offence was insignificant, but the
presidential administration chief says he did not commit any offence at all.
Medvedchuk also warns Ukrayinska Pravda against publishing "defamatory"
material about him and says that author Dmytro Chobit, who had alleged in a
book that Medvedchuk and his father committed crimes, was convicted of libel
and fined. The following is the text of the report published by Ukrayinska
Pravda on 2 June:
Ukrayinska Pravda has received a letter from the head of the presidential
administration, Viktor Medvedchuk. He denies reports about a criminal case
brought against him in his youth. Agreeing with Medvedchuk's right to
publish his point of view, Ukrayinska Pravda is releasing the full text of
his letter.
We would only like to add that Ukrayinska Pravda has never referred to
Viktor Medvedchuk's father in a negative context, about which he writes in
his letter. On the contrary, during an interview with Medvedchuk in 2001,
Ukrayinska Pravda politely asked about it, and he had the opportunity to
deny the rumours that existed. Medvedchuk also expressed gratitude for
being able to bring clarity to this aspect.
In the hope that this text will also be read by Viktor Medvedchuk himself,
we once again from the pages of our publication ask him to give an interview
to Ukrayinska Pravda, which he personally promised to a correspondent of
our web site a year ago in the Austrian town of Salzburg. It will not be
difficult for him to find the contact numbers.
Here is Viktor Medvedchuk's letter: To Ukrayinska Pravda readers,
In connection with the fact that the web site regularly carries false
material about me, my friends and family members, which denigrates human
honour and dignity and also casts a shadow on the bright memory of my
father, I am forced to remind you of the following.
By a resolution of the deputy prosecutor-general of the USSR, S.I. Gusev,
criminal case No 15-100 was closed because of lack of corpus delicti
[preceding four words emboldened in original] in the activities of Viktor
Medvedchuk and others.
This fact is also mentioned in the decision of the Pecherskyy district court
in Kiev of 7 April 04. It related to my lawsuit against the author of a
book, Dmytro Chobit [who alleged gross wrongdoing by Medvedchuk]. I
ask you to remember this legal term, which is fundamental for my biography
and essentially means that there had been a judicial error in the past.
Without considering the letter of the law, Ukrayinska Pravda continues to
publish an invented interpretation [preceding two words emboldened in
original] of the court ruling. Thus, in the item "[Prime Minister Viktor]
Yanukovych's convictions, KGB trace and analogies with Medvedchuk" of 14
May 2004, writer Volodymyr Boyko says that "the criminal case against V.
Medvedchuk was closed because of the insignificance of what was committed"
[phrase in quotation marks emboldened in original.
I consider that this writer's inaccuracy was done deliberately in order to
justify rumours about my alleged connections with the KGB, which allegedly
was concerned about my further fate. Apart from that, such a non-existent
version of the court sentence leaves my opponents the right to continue
puffing up the exhausted theme of "Medvedchuk's conviction".
I publicly warn Ukrayinska Pravda about the unacceptability of continuing to
disseminate deliberate disinformation about me.
Court fines writer of a book about Medvedchuk
As is known, the author of the book about me, D. Chobit, in accordance with
a decision by Kiev's Pecherskyy district court, is already "making apologies
to Viktor Volodymyrovych Medvedchuk for disseminating reports about him
that do not correspond to reality" [phrase starting with the word Chobit
emboldened in original].
Chobit, I recall, among other things, blackened the memory of my father,
slandering the deceased. Having considered the case in open court, the
Pecherskyy court established that "he had nothing to do with the forced
deportation of people from Ukraine to Germany", but was convicted for
"counter-revolutionary nationalist activity".
Apart from that, "he was not accused of aiding and abetting the German
occupiers", despite Chobit's claim in his book.
The court decision also speaks about compensation for moral damage inflicted
on me - Chobit was fined 100,000 hryvnyas [over 18,000 dollars] and the
publisher that published his book 50,000 hryvnyas [over 93,000 dollars]. The
money will be sent to children's pre-school establishments.
I hope that Ukrayinska Pravda will correct the mistake and will not in
future use unverified facts about my family and me.
Yours sincerely, Viktor Medvedchuk (END)
=========================================================
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