"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"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 109
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, WEDNESDAY, July 7, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AND VIKTOR YANUKOVICH
ENTER UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Jul 04, 2004
2. UKRAINE'S CENTRAL BANKER APPOINTED TO RUN
PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVICH'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 4 Jul 04
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 4 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Jul 04, 2004
3. PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL YUSHCHENKO VISITS HOME VILLAGE
Novyy Kanal television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, Jul 03, 2004
4. CONFIDENT OF VICTORY IN UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Text of Viktor Yushchenko's Announcement for the Presidency
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 4 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Jul 04, 2004
5. UKRAINE'S CABINET REVERSES POLICY, OPENS KEY
PIPELINE TO RUSSIAN OIL
AP Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Jul 06, 2004
6. YUSHCHENKO SAYS CABINET OF MINISTERS HAS INEPTLY
FAILED TO ENSURE THE DIRECT FLOW OF OIL TO EUROPE
www.yuschenko.com.ua, Victor Yushchenko's private website
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 6, 2004
7. IMI IN KYIV UKRAINE RECEIVES IQA ACCREDITATION
Features - Business Education
By Linda Anderson, Financial Times, London, UK, Monday, Jul 05, 2004
8. KUCHMA APPROVES AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK
ON USD195 MILLION LOAN FOR LAND REFORM
By Viktor Riasnyi, Ukrainian News, Kiev, Ukraine, Monday, July 5, 2004
9. EBRD APPROVES $US42 MILLION LOAN TO IMPROVE SAFETY
FOR UKRAINE'S TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS
AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004
10. UKRAINIAN GIANT'S HORIZONS EXPAND AFTER ATTENTION
By Anna Melnichuk, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, WednesdayJul 07, 2004
11. LEADER OF UKRAINIAN INDUSTRIALISTS ANATOLIY KINAKH
PROFILE: BBC Monitoring research in English 1 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, July 1, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO AND VIKTOR YANUKOVICH
ENTER UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
By Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Jul 04, 2004
KIEV - More than 40,000 people rallied Sunday in Kiev to support Ukraine's
most popular politician, opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, as he
submitted his candidacy papers for the Oct. 31 presidential race, widely
seen as a crucial election for the sprawling ex-Soviet republic.
Ukraine's powerful Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich-Yushchenko's main
opponent and President Leonid Kuchma's hand-picked choice- also formally
announced Sunday that he will enter the presidential race.
Columns of supporters of Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party, mainly bused in
from the regions, waved the party's orange flags and chanted "Long live
Yushchenko!" as they massed in Kiev's picturesque Spivoche Pole, or Singing
Field, just outside the city center.
Yushchenko, 50, Ukraine's former prime minister who later became a bitter
opponent of Kuchma, said he is entering the campaign with the "clear aim to
win the vote, for the sake of our children and our parents."
Kuchma's decade-long tenure has been plagued by scandals, widespread
corruption and the mysterious deaths of journalists and political opponents.
Ukraine's economy has never really taken off, hobbled by excessive
bureaucracy.
Western-leaning Yushchenko lashed out at Kuchma and his allies, accusing
them of "corruption, arrogance, and irresponsibility." "Our national wealth
is going to the pockets of oligarchs and their clans ... the criminal
government is to blame," he told the cheering crowd.
Lubomyr Borsuk, 70, said he traveled more than 500 kilometers (300 miles)
from the western city of Lviv because "only Yushchenko can fulfill our hopes
for better life." "We want to live in a democratic state ... I want to earn
my living honestly," said Viktor Nazar, 30, from the southwestern town of
Khmelnitsky.
Yushchenko led the protesters to Ukraine's Election Commission where he
submitted his candidacy papers. He has said that will run as an independent
candidate since he has received backing from several political
organizations, including another key opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko.
The protest ended peacefully after about three hours.
Also Sunday, Yanukovich told his supporters at his Regions of Ukraine party
convention that his goal was to eliminate poverty, increase salaries and
pensions and reform Ukraine's lumbering military. "I wound never decide to
run for the presidency without the proper strategy," he said. Kuchma backed
Yanukovich in April, after repeatedly saying that he will not seek a third
term.
Political watchers have said that Ukraine's powerful coal and steel magnates
will likely offer their financial support to Yanukovich, who may also be
able to use his powerful connections to dominate television coverage.
Communist Petro Symonenko and Oleksandr Moroz, the leader of the
Socialist party, have also announced they will join the race but their
chances are considered slim. Parties have until July 27 to nominate their
candidates.
Recent opinion polls have shown that more than 30 percent of Ukrainians
would support Yushchenko, compared to some 20 percent favoring
Yanukovich. A runoff will decide the election if no candidate receives 50
percent of the vote in the first round. (av/nl/mb) (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. UKRAINE'S CENTRAL BANKER TYHYPKO APPOINTED TO RUN
PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH'S ELECTION CAMPAIGN
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 4 Jul 04
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 4 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Jul 04, 2004
KIEV - National Bank of Ukraine head Serhiy Tyhypko has been appointed to
run Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's election campaign. The
Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on 4 July that Yanukovych, who also
leads the Party of the Regions, announced the decision at a news conference
in Zaporizhzhya on the same day, after the party's congress fielded him as a
candidate in the October presidential election.
Tyhypko was also appointed Yanukovych's proxy, the agency added. Speaking
after the announcement, Tyhypko said that Yanukovych's campaign will cost
10m hryvnyas (under 2m dollars), according to a report by the Ukrainian news
agency UNIAN.
The agency quoted Tyhypko as saying that most of the sum will be spent on
renting offices for campaign workers and on advertising. Tyhypko also said
that no Russian spin doctors will be involved in Yanukovych's campaign,
UNIAN added. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL YUSHCHENKO VISITS HOME VILLAGE
Novyy Kanal television, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, Jul 03, 2004
KIEV - On the official opening day of the presidential election campaign on
3 July, a Ukrainian TV channel has shown opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
visiting his home village in Sumy Region (eastern Ukraine). Novyy Kanal
reported that, in accordance with old Ukrainian tradition, Yushchenko asked
his mother's blessing before a major undertaking.
The video shows Yushchenko, his US-born wife Kateryna Chumachenko, their
baby child and Yushchenko's mother in the garden of her house, and
Yushchenko's mother presenting her son with an icon and an embroidered
towel.
Novyy Kanal is widely believed to be controlled by President Leonid Kuchma's
son-in-law, businessman and MP Viktor Pinchuk. Channels linked to Pinchuk
have in recent months been giving some neutral or sympathetic coverage to
Yushchenko, whereas the channels more strongly influenced by the
presidential administration have been uniformly negative in their treatment.
[Audio and video available. Please send queries to kiev.bbcm@mon.bbc.co.uk]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. CONFIDENT OF VICTORY IN UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Text of Viktor Yushchenko's Announcement for the Presidency
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 4 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Jul 04, 2004
KIEV - Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of the centre-right opposition Our
Ukraine bloc, has told his supporters that he is confident of victory in
this autumn's presidential election. Announcing his decision to run in front
of a mass rally in Kiev on 4 July, Yushchenko pointed to his record as
chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine and as prime minister, and pledged
to end corruption and bring greater prosperity and social justice if he is
elected. Yushchenko earlier submitted registration documents to the Central
Electoral Commission. Our Ukraine said that 50,000 people attended the
rally.
The following is the text of Yushchenko's speech, which was carried live by
Ukraine's 5 Kanal TV:
[Yushchenko] Hello, dear friends! Esteemed community! Dear compatriots! My
friends!
We have come here today to the slopes above the Dnipro from all over
Ukraine. Today we are standing shoulder to shoulder. We are citizens of
Ukraine. We are united by our love for Ukraine and concern for its fate. Our
country stands on the border between the past and the future. We have
gathered here because the time has come to make a choice that will change
our lives. Today all Ukraine from Luhansk to Lviv, from Chernihiv to Crimea,
is demanding change.
TIME FOR A CHANGE
Our fathers and mothers long for change. They have worked their whole lives,
but today they live in want. They have lost their savings. Their low
pensions condemn them to poverty. In their old age, our parents want respect
and peace. They deserve it.
We all want change. We, citizens of Ukraine, are sick of living with
constant price rises, without a chance of getting decent housing, without
hope of medical treatment. We want jobs and we want to work honestly. We
are convinced that our minds and our hands can sustain us.
Our children want change. We are ready to do everything for their sakes,
though today they are defenceless in the face of injustice, poverty and
spiritual corruption. Many children are forced to wait years for their
parents, who have gone abroad to try and earn a living. Like all of you, and
I am a father of five children, I want the young Ukrainian generation to
have a future in their country. [applause, cheers]
All citizens of Ukraine demand change. My heart, like yours, aches to see
how the authorities are plundering our country's wealth, how they are
selling out our national interests. Our country is worthy of a decent place
in the world, of respect in all the world's capitals.
THE AUTHORITIES ARE TO BLAME
We are being told that Ukraine is seeing economic growth, that economic
stability has been achieved, that effective integration into Europe is
taking place. Then why are our social standards so far behind those of our
neighbours. Can it really be that we are unable to create an affluent life
for ourselves by honest work? Are we really missing something that our
neighbours possess?
Let us look at Ukraine once more from these Kiev hills. We see fertile land
and rich mineral resources. We see millions of Ukrainians who are working
every hour of every day digging coal, smelting metal, growing grain. We see
scientists developing the most up-to-date technologies, which are able to
compete on all the world's markets. We have everything that is needed to
become an affluent and flourishing European country.
Let us look at our history. Its tablets bear witness to the indomitable
nature of the Ukrainian people. After the most severe trials - famines,
wars, Gulags, Auschwitzes - its sons and daughters raised Ukraine up from
the ruins.
I believe that love for one's country and love for freedom lives in all of
us. Our people, its courage, its history, its culture and language - this is
Ukraine's most precious treasure.
Today the national wealth is going to fill the pockets of the oligarchic
clans. Access to social goods is not the right of all, but the privilege of
the few. And it is the criminal authorities that are to blame for this.
Today a citizen is not free in his country, since he is helpless in the face
of the lawless behaviour of officials, tax officials, police or prosecutors.
Investigations have become a farce. Humiliation has become the norm. A
person cannot find justice in the courts. It is the irresponsible, corrupt
authorities who are to blame this.
Today the united Ukrainian people is being divided into easterners and
westerners, is being divided by ethnicity and language, by history and
faith. Here again it is the cynical authorities that are to blame. In fact,
there is only one conflict in Ukraine - and that is between the authorities
and the people. [applause]
It is the authorities themselves who are sowing discord in society. They
want us to fight against each other and not against them.
I repeat once more what is obvious. One thing - and only one thing - is
needed in order to get Ukraine onto the right track - honest, responsible
and effective Ukrainian authorities. [applause, cheers]
ACHIEVEMENTS AND INFLUENCES
Dear friends. I have been compelled repeatedly to show how the Ukrainian
authorities should act. I recall how the National Bank of Ukraine, which I
managed, gave Ukraine a stable hryvnya [national currency]. The government I
led returned debts to people, and raised the minimum wage and pensions by 50
per cent in a year. We removed the fetters that forced the national economy
into the shadow, and it started to grow. We created new jobs and kept prices
under control. Elementary order was brought to the budget sphere. Mass power
cuts were stopped. The main thing, perhaps the most important thing, was
that we achieved all this without borrowing anything from anyone. [applause,
cheers]
I was not allowed to complete what was begun. But I said then on the steps
of the Ukrainian parliament that I was leaving in order to return. Three
years have passed in political work [applause], in journeys across Ukraine.
Just like today, I have met hundreds of thousands of people. I know that my
work has the sincere support of my people.
In the most difficult moments, I remembered with what faith the eyes of our
children and our grandmothers looked into my eyes and the eyes of my
political comrades. Your belief gave me strength.
I have a programme for Ukraine, which will allow all that is planned to be
realized. I have a team that is able to implement this programme.
I remember everything that I was taught by my father - Andriy Andriyovych
Yushchenko - a simple school teacher from the village of Khoruzhivka in Sumy
Region - a prisoner of the Dachau, Buchenwald and Auschwitz concentration
camps - his camp number was 11367. I remember everything that my mother
told me.
Everything that my comrades and political friends told me. Everything I
heard from you and read in your letters. Not in an office - but with you,
with all Ukraine - I found the ideas that will determine our country's new
future.
A BETTER FUTURE
Within a year [applause], within a year, Ukraine will be different. We will
create a country where work will be given to the hands and minds of
everyone. Nobody will be forced to seek a better life abroad. Pensions and
wages will ensure a decent life for all. Every citizen will have access to
the medical treatment they need. And every child will have the chance to
obtain a decent education.
The authorities will work for the people. There will be an end to
corruption. Everyone will be equal before the law. The bandits will be put
in prison. [applause, cheers] Rural Ukraine, which is the cradle and soul of
our people, will recover.
I see Ukraine as a country that is respected and valued by its own citizens,
who will be treated with respect in the east and in the west. I see a
Ukraine that, in the words of the great [film-maker and writer] Oleksandr
Dovzhenko, will live by God's law and in a human way.
I know that the road to our victory will not be easy. The authorities wanted
to steal your electoral right. We defended it in the Ukrainian parliament.
The authorities wanted to steal your billions from the budget. [applause]
We forced them to return them to the budget. [applause]
Election may not be fair
The authorities are afraid of honest, transparent and free elections, since
they will be a verdict on them. Huge amounts of money, theft, administrative
resource - all this has been thrown in to prevent the people expressing its
will. But we are not afraid of the authorities. It is they who are afraid of
us. They fear their own people. [applause] They fear the truth and freedom
that is in the heart of all of us.
I have neither TV channels, nor prosecutors, nor the tax administration. I
rely on the strength of the people. I believe in my strength and your
strength. I ask God to show his favour and grace to Ukraine. [applause] I
have decided. I will run for president. There is my announcement. [applause,
whistles, chants of "Yushchenko!"]
I will win the election. This will be a victory for all of us. [Voice over a
loudspeaker: "Viktor Yushchenko! Together we will win!"]
Tell... [applause] Please... When you return home, tell everyone: I believe
in Ukraine, I know my duty, together we will win. Glory to all of you! Glory
to Ukraine! [applause, cheers, chants of "Yushchenko!", drums] (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. UKRAINE'S CABINET REVERSES POLICY, OPENS KEY
PIPELINE TO RUSSIAN OIL
AP Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Jul 06, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's Cabinet agreed to open a never-used pipeline to shipments
of Russian oil, reversing an earlier decision to limit the pipeline to
Europe-bound shipments from the Caspian Sea region, officials said Tuesday.
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych said the pipeline-from the Black Sea port
of Odessa to the western border town of Brody-could also be used in "other
directions" that would be "economically favorable" for Ukraine, a spokesman
for Yanukovych quoted him as saying.
The US$500 million pipeline has been at the heart of a tug-of-war between
Russia and Western countries over whether it should carry Caspian oil or oil
from Russia's Ural Mountains.
The Cabinet in February voted to use the pipeline to move oil only from
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan to Western Europe, a decision that came despite
high-level Russian lobbying. President Leonid Kuchma called the Cabinet
decision a "dead end" for Ukraine and he later fired Energy Minister Serhiy
Ermilov, who played a pivotal role in the Cabinet's initial decision.
Ukraine and Russia are set to sign an agreement to ship some 9 million tons
of Russian oil from Brody to Odessa by Aug. 1, the ITAR-Tass news agency
reported. Ukrainian Cabinet officials refused to either confirm or deny the
report. American officials said that shipping Caspian oil to central Europe
would be more profitable for Ukraine and decrease its dependence on Russia
for energy. (am/me/jh) (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
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6. YUSHCHENKO SAYS CABINET OF MINISTERS HAS INEPTLY
FAILED TO ENSURE THE DIRECT FLOW OF OIL TO EUROPE
www.yuschenko.com.ua, Victor Yushchenko's private website
Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 6, 2004
Victor Yushchenko saw the decision about the possibility of reversing the
flow of the "Odesa-Brody" oil pipeline by Yanukovych's government as yet
another example of the lack of professionalism and consistency from the
Cabinet of Ministers, its inability to secure Ukraine's national interests.
"The Cabinet of Ministers," according to him, "has ineptly failed to ensure
the direct flow of oil." "The sitting ministers have failed to find partners
among the Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan oil suppliers and among consumers in
Central and Western Europe," noted Yushchenko. "The question, therefore, is
this: did the government want to find oil for transporting to Europe? Was
there political will to do that?" stressed he. The leader of "Our Ukraine"
thinks that the situation was also damaged by the fact that the potential
partners were receiving mixed signals from the current government about the
possibility of reversing the flow while the highest officials publicly
doubted the idea of the direct use of the "Odesa-Brody" pipeline.
Victor Yushchenko also pointed out that the decision about the possibility
of reversing the flow "was adopted by Yanukovych's government secretly, as
always, without providing any economic foundation." "Several months ago an
independent study was supposedly conducted and the Cabinet of Ministers was
ascertaining that the European direction was the most advantageous from the
economic standpoint. Today, however, it was abandoned for all intents and
purposes without any explanations to the public," stressed Yushchenko.
Such actions of the government, according to him, "prove its lack of
professionalism, its inconsistency, and extreme politicization of the use of
the oil pipeline. This hearts Ukraine's national interests since foreign
investors do not want to deal with an unpredictable government, which makes
one decision and [then reverses it] several months later. The premier is the
master of his word: he gives it, he takes it back. And this is not the first
example of deception: Yanukovych's government promised to raise the
minimum salary in December of last year and did not do it."
"The government did not draw any conclusions from the fuel crisis, which,
under a professional government, would not have gained such extraordinary
proportions. Fuel prices rose the most in Ukraine; in no other European
state there was such increase in gasoline cost because there the governments
evaluate the situation and implement appropriate measures on time," stated
the leader of the "Our Ukraine." He said that the situation "when the
government makes economic decisions based on electoral situation while the
officials are ready to give up the country's national interests, the
interests of common people in order to satisfy their private or corporate
interests" was unacceptable. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
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7. IMI IN KYIV UKRAINE RECEIVES IQA ACCREDITATION
Features - Business Education
By Linda Anderson, Financial Times, London, UK, Monday, Jul 05, 2004
LONDON - IMI-Kiev has become the first business school in Ukraine (and
only the third school in the former USSR) to receive the IQA, the
accreditation certification developed by Ceeman, the Central European
Management Development Association, writes Kester Eddy.
"Following a peer review in early April, we have unconditional accreditation
for a five-year period," says Oksana Kukuruza, head of public relations at
IMI.
IMI implemented a number of measures to meet the accreditation requirements,
including a formalised research policy (with guidelines on time and
resources allocated), and provision of additional faculty development
programmes, with more promotion of PhDs for young faculty.
Relationships with corporate partners have also been given a more
standardised policy, and in international relations emphasis has been moved
to the creation of joint programmes together with other business schools,
rather than simple exchange visits for students and faculty.
"We anticipate that will promote an increase in MBA applicants. "We think
that many who want an internationally recognised programme will now choose
IMI-Kiev rather than a western school," says Ms Kukuruza. www.ceeman.org
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
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8. KUCHMA APPROVES AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK
ON USD195 MILLION LOAN FOR LAND REFORM
By Viktor Riasnyi, Ukrainian News, Kiev, Ukraine, July 5, 2004
KIEV - President Leonid Kuchma has signed the agreement between Ukraine
and the World Bank on provision of a loan of USD 195.13 million for issuance
of land deeds in rural areas and development of a national cadastre, which
the parliament has already approved. The presidential press service
disclosed this to Ukrainian News. The parliament ratified the agreement by
290 votes; only 226 votes were required for its ratification.
The agreement provides for provision of the loan at the interest rate of 1%,
with the interest on it payable on January 15 and July 15 of every year.
Ukraine undertook to annually pay the WB a duty equal to 75% of 1% of the
loan principal.
The agreement provides for financing privatization of state and collective
land through transfer of land parcels to employees and pensioners of
enterprises.
The agreement also provides for allocation of land parcels to employees and
pensioners of agricultural enterprises, issuance of state deeds for land to
them.
The agreement also provides for using the loan to finance the restructuring
of agricultural enterprises into more efficient units, finance development
of a national cadastre, and establish property rights for land.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the WB signed an agreement with the
State Committee for Land Resources in 2003 on providing a loan of USD
195.13 million for establishing a national cadastre and title registry
system in Ukraine, as well as for drawing up a cadastral map of the entire
territory of Ukraine and issuing government land deed in rural areas.
The loan was provided for 20 years at an interest rate equal to the LIBOR
rate for single-currency loans. The State Committee for Land Resources has
issued state deeds for land to 4 million farmers or 59% of holders of land
ownership certificates. Ukraine has 41.8 million hectares of agricultural
land (69.3% of the entire Ukrainian territory), including 33 million
hectares of arable land. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. EBRD APPROVES $US42 MILLION LOAN TO IMPROVE SAFETY
FOR UKRAINE'S TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS
AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004
KIEV - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on Tuesday
approved a $US42 million loan to modernize and improve safety at two nuclear
reactors under construction in Ukraine.
Reactor No. 2 at the Khmelnytskyi and No. 4 at the Rivne plants should be
completed this year according to international safety standards, said bank
spokesman Anton Usov in Kiev. The European Union has approved another
$US83 million to modernize safety systems at the plants.
International concerns over Ukrainian nuclear reactors' safety soared after
the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant, which sent a huge radioactive
cloud across much of Europe in the world's worst nuclear accident. Chernobyl
was closed for good in 2000. (am/jh) (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. UKRAINIAN GIANT'S HORIZONS EXPAND AFTER ATTENTION
By Anna Melnichuk, AP Online, Kiev, Ukraine, Wednesday, Jul 07, 2004
KIEV - His extraordinary height trapped Leonid Stadnik in a tiny Ukrainian
village for years, but now the 2.53-meter (8-foot-4) man is seeing his
horizons expand to match his size. Until this spring, the 33-year-old
Stadnik had spent almost all his days here in Podoliantsi, a poor village in
northwestern Ukraine.
As he grew, his life seemed to be shrinking. He had to stop working as a
veterinarian on a cattle farm three years ago after his feet were
frostbitten because he couldn't afford proper shoes. Living on a 160-hryvna
(US$30) monthly pension, he tried to fill his days by gardening and helping
out at his mother's cramped house.
Then journalists, including The Associated Press, found out about him and
one of the stories caught the notice of a German who claimed to be a distant
relative and invited him for a visit. The German, who asked to be identified
only as Volodymyr, came to pick up Stadnik in a van suitable for his
sprawling frame.
The trip to Volodymyr's home near Baden Baden in southwestern Germany
took a grueling 25 hours and, once there, Stadnik had to sleep on a billiard
table. But, Stadnik says, it was worth every discomfort.
He got to sample frog legs in an elegant restaurant. He saw a roller coaster
in an amusement park. "I saw so much in that month, as never before in my
life," he says. That included seeing himself in the swirl of attention, with
German teenagers asking him for autographs and doctors seeking to examine
him.
Stadnik, whose growth spurt started at age 14 after a brain operation
apparently stimulated his pituitary gland, is still growing. There's no
indication yet whether he might top the 2.72-meter (8-foot-11) reached by
Robert Wadlow of Alton, Illinois, the tallest man known to history and who
died in 1940.
Recent measurements show Stadnik is already 17 centimeters (7 inches) taller
than Radhouane Charbib of Tunisia, listed by the Guinness Book of World
Records as the tallest living man.
Guinness isn't planning any change, at least for now. "At the moment we
still have the Tunisian guy as the record holder," Guinness spokeswoman Kate
White said. "We have contacted Stadnik, but he seems like a very shy guy. He
doesn't want us around. So we have to stick to what we have."
All the attention has perplexed Stadnik. During his visit to Germany, he
recalls, his host once reprimanded pestering teens: "Leave him in peace. He
is not a bamboo; he doesn't growth four centimeters a day.
There were some disappointments on the trip. At a shoe shop for big men,
they couldn't find a pair that would hold Stadnik's 17-inch (43-centimeter)
feet. "It's nice, but I don't like the color," he joked about one short
pair.
Finally becoming homesick, he decided to come back to help his mother,
Halyna, with the summer routine of country life. "It's wrong to be idle
while my loved ones are working so hard," Stadnik says, even though he
suffers from constant knee pain from carrying around his 200-kilogram
(440-pound) bulk.
His mother says her son returned a new man. "I don't remember him so
inspired," she says. "Before, he was concentrated on himself and his
problems, while now he looks as if he got a second wind."
When Stadnik got back he found a new bed, made by furniture workers in the
area. Before, he slept on two beds joined lengthwise. He also found that his
blue and yellow parakeet Kesha had learned to imitate the telephone ring,
from the frequent calls that have accompanied Stadnik's newfound celebrity.
But what moved him the most was a new pair of athletic shoes that actually
fit. They were sent by Jason Neswick, a New Yorker who had read of Stadnik's
plight.
"It is said that we live in such an age with advanced technology, medicine,
and breakthroughs, yet fall short of helping someone with no apparent reason
for suffering ...," Neswick wrote. (END)
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 109: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. PROFILE OF LEADER OF UKRAINIAN INDUSTRIALISTS
ANATOLIY KINAKH
BBC Monitoring research in English 1 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service-United Kingdom; Jul 01, 2004
Anatoliy Kinakh, 49, is the chairman of the Ukrainian Union of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and leader of this industrial lobby
organization's political wing, the Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs. He is also a possible contender for the Ukrainian presidency.
Kinakh was born in Moldova. He graduated from Leningrad Shipbuilding
Institute with a diploma in engineering and worked at various shipyards
across the Soviet Union. Kinakh became an MP in 1990-92, served as the
presidential envoy to Mykolayiv Region in 1992-94, and as chairman of the
regional council in 1994-95. He moved on to the position of deputy prime
minister for industry in the cabinet of Yevhen Marchuk in 1995-96. After his
dismissal from the government in September 1996, Kinakh became leader of the
Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs.
He returned to the government in May 2001, succeeding reformist Yushchenko
as Kuchma's choice for prime minister. His was a "technical" cabinet,
appointed in the wake of the tape scandal, in which President Leonid Kuchma
was accused of ordering the kidnapping of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. The
largely apolitical Kinakh succeeded in consolidating the ruling elite during
the difficult period, but failed to build a strong political team of his own
to maintain the position.
Economic growth continued under his premiership, and the For a United
Ukraine bloc, on whose list Kinakh ran as number two in the spring 2002
parliamentary election campaign, succeeded in forming the largest faction in
the legislature. But Kinakh, who is not affiliated with any group or
"oligarch" in President Kuchma's entourage, had to go in November 2003,
replaced by Donetsk Region governor Yanukovych. Though not an MP himself,
Kinakh preserved some influence in parliament. A group of his supporters
joined forces with Working Ukraine, one of the largest pro-government
parties, in the Working Ukraine-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs
parliamentary group.
Kinakh has remained loyal to Kuchma, but recently he has been showing
reluctance to support the presidential administration. In April the Party of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs issued a statement condemning violations of
democratic procedures in the by-election to parliament in Mukacheve, where
an ally of presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk was
proclaimed the winner. In May Kinakh's people in parliament broke with
Working Ukraine and joined the faction of another former prime minister,
Valeriy Pustovoytenko, whose relations with Medvedchuk have long been
strained.
On 5 June Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs recommended the party's
congress, which is scheduled for mid-July, to nominate Kinakh for president.
Kinakh's chances of becoming president are viewed as slim, and his ratings
in popular opinion polls have hardly exceeded 2 per cent since his dismissal
as prime minister. Some analysts believe that Kinakh will bow out of the
race at an early stage to support a strong candidate of the government in
return for favours for his party. (END)
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