"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 111
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, July 9, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE'S MAJOR TV STATIONS TAKES SIDES AS
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RACE KICKS OFF
BBC Monitoring Service Research, UK, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
2. YUSHCHENKO PLANS NATIONWIDE DOOR-TO-DOOR
CAMPAIGN TO COUNTER STATE'S MEDIA BLOCKADE
Our Ukraine Update, Issue 17, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 8, 2004
3. UKRAINE'S KUCHMA PROMISES HE'LL TRY TO ENSURE
THE COUNTRY'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS TRANSPARENT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
4. ALMOST HALF OF UKRAINIANS EXPECT DIRTY CAMPAIGN
TRICKS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ACCORDING TO POLL
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 5 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Jul 05, 2004
5. UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS UNION CALLS FOR MEDIA TO
PROVIDE UNBIASED NEWS OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 6 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004
6. UKRAINE JOINS RUSSIA AND OTHER EX-SOVIET STATES
TO REBUKE DEMOCRACY WATCHDOG OSCE
REUTERS, Vienna, Austria, Thursday, July 8, 2004
7. MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT PREDICTS "TOTAL
FALSIFICATION" IN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE ACCORDING TO PLAN
WORKED OUT UNDER LEADERSHIP OF VIKTOR MEDVECHUK
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
8. "ILL-TEMPERED SUMMIT LEAVES UKRAINE AND EU
DEADLOCKED ON HUMAN RIGHTS"
EU cannot consider Ukraine a market economy yet
COMMENTARY by Stephen Castle in Brussels
The Independent, London, United Kingdom, Friday, July 09, 2004
9. UKRAINE WANTS STRONGER TIES WITH EU, UKRAINIAN
PRESIDENT KUCHMA SAYS AT SUMMIT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
10. "UKRAINE: STUCK IN BETWEEN"
COMMENTARY By Margreet Strijbosch, Radio Netherlands
Hilversum, The Netherlands, Thursday, 8 July 2004
11. KUCHMA SAYS EU NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY NOT
IN UKRAINE'S INTEREST
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
12. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VETOES LAW PROLONGING
BAN ON LAND SALES TILL 2007
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jul 08, 2004
13. UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR LAMBASTES UK PAPER
AND JOURNALIST OVER ARTICLES ON GONGADZE MURDER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 08 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
14. UKRAINE TO ALLOW RUSSIAN CRUDE OIL SHIPMENTS
TO FLOW IN REVERSE FROM BRODY TO ODESSA
By Anna Melnichuk, Associated Press Writer
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2004
15. WILL CONTRADICTIONS UNDERMINE YANUKOVYCH'S
ELECTION CAMPAIGN?
By Taras Kuzio, Eurasia Daily Monitor
The Jamestown Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, 8 July 2004 - Volume 1, Issue 47
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. UKRAINE'S MAJOR TV STATIONS TAKES SIDES AS
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION RACE KICKS OFF
BBC Monitoring Service Research, UK, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
KIEV - As the Ukrainian presidential election race got under way on 3 July,
major TV channels have displayed a clear slant in favour of either of the
two frontrunning candidates.
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whose candidacy is supported by most
propresidential forces, has dominated the news on state-run and
progovernment stations. Reporting by the only nationwide opposition-minded
channel TV 5 Kanal was more balanced. Still, it appeared to favour the
candidacy of Viktor Yushchenko, the leader of centre-right opposition bloc
Our Ukraine. Other presidential candidates received significantly less
coverage.
PROGOVERNMENT STATIONS
Yanukovych's bid was most actively supported by state-run UT1 and channels
associated with presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk and his
United Social Democratic Party (Inter and One Plus One). Another
enthusiastic supporter was Ukrayina TV, based in his industrial and
predominantly Russian-speaking home region of Donetsk.
The channels' news programmes were dominated by upbeat reports featuring
Yanukovych, which often occupied several top slots in the bulletin.
On 4 July, when the prime minister was nominated to run for president, UT1,
Inter and One Plus One carried extensive coverage of the congress in
Zaporizhzhya which fielded Yanukovych. The reports focused on Yanukovych
telling the congress he was sure how to make life better in Ukraine and on
delegates praising him. Groups of cheering locals were also shown.
Later in the week, the prime minister was shown or quoted as promising to
clear wage arrears, raise salaries and pensions, keep food and fuel prices
down, connect all Ukrainian villages to gas supply networks and build new
roads.
There were also numerous reports of various political figures or NGOs coming
out in support of Yanukovych's election bid.
For instance, UT1 said at 1600 gmt on 5 July that "almost all Ukrainian
women's NGOs" have joined an election association supporting Yanukovych,
which was set up by Women For the Future, an NGO. Its leader, Family,
Children and Youth Minister Valentyna Dovzhenko, told the programme that
"the vast majority of Ukrainian women" hail Yanukovych as their favourite.
In contrast, the channels gave scant or negative coverage to Yushchenko's
presidential bid.
For instance, reporting about a 4 July rally in Kiev where Yushchenko
announced his decision to run for the presidency, Inter's evening news
programme at 1700 gmt on 4 July depicted it as a highly disorderly event. A
correspondent said that Our Ukraine was "busy trying to stop its supporters
from having fun in places where they were not supposed to go and to catch
and neutralize provocateurs and those who had come for the promised cheap
vodka". The report focused on people drinking beer with loud music playing
in the background, while video showed a poster offering cheap vodka. Also
shown was a statue of Lenin in central Kiev with slogans "Communists get out
of Ukraine" and "Yushchenko is our president" spray-painted across it.
Our Ukraine accused the authorities of hiring provocateurs to pose as the
bloc's supporters and cause mayhem in the Ukrainian capital.
Progovernment TV channels also portrayed Viktor Yushchenko as an
anti-Russian politician supported by extreme Ukrainian nationalists. The
same report by Inter on 4 July said that the only party supporting
Yushchenko was the nationalist movement Svoboda.
Stations linked to President Leonid Kuchma's son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk
(ICTV and STB) showed fewer and shorter reports featuring Yanukovych.
Correspondingly, their treatment of opposition candidate Yushchenko was
more balanced, as many neutral and factual mentions of him were made.
PRO-OPPOSITION TV 5 KANAL
The station is owned by MP Petro Poroshenko, a member of the Our
Ukraine parliamentary faction. Its election campaign reporting appeared to
favour Viktor Yushchenko to an extent, but also contained many neutral
and balanced reports about Prime Minister Yanukovych.
On the morning of 4 July, the channel's news broadcasts focused on the start
of the presidential election campaign. Their prominent feature were live
correspondent reports from the Our Ukraine rally in Kiev. In contrast to
progovernment channels' reporting, Yushchenko was depicted as a popular
politician supported throughout all regions including eastern Ukraine. One
live correspondent's report from the rally showed a man captioned as
Oleksandr from Donetsk, who, in Russian, explained why he supports
Yushchenko.
TV 5 Kanal's news reports on 4 July also gave extensive coverage of what
was described as police efforts to prevent Yushchenko supporters from all
over Ukraine from turning up at the rally (something not mentioned by
progovernment TV).
Also on 4 July, the channel's main news programme at 1800 gmt was moved
back in the schedule to make room for a 15-minute recording of Yushchenko
addressing the rally. After delivering his speech (which was shown in full)
to the cheering thousands of supporters, Yushchenko was shown kissing
Ukraine's national flag, embracing smiling Orthodox priests and picking a
little girl up into his arms.
Later in the week, TV 5 Kanal's coverage of the election campaign was fairly
balanced and contained many neutral reports about Yanukovych's activities.
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
=========================================================
2. YUSHCHENKO PLANS NATIONWIDE DOOR-TO-DOOR
CAMPAIGN TO COUNTER STATE"S MEDIA BLOCKADE
Our Ukraine Update, Issue 17, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, July 8, 2004
KIEV - "This will not be a standard election campaign," said Yushchenko
campaign chairman Oleksandr Zinchenko. Efforts will be focused on making
sure that "each Ukrainian family knows the truth about Yushchenko," he said.
Confirming the campaign's strategy of mobilizing a nationwide door-to-door
grassroots campaign to counter the state's media blockade of Yushchenko,
Zinchenko said, "one question will be put to voters - what do you know about
Yushchenko from Yushchenko himself?"
The three most popular nationwide television channels - controlled by
President Leonid Kuchma's top aide Viktor Medvedchuk - made (if they made
any mention at all) only brief references to Viktor Yushchenko's campaign
announcement before a rally of 70,000 supporters in central Kyiv on July 4.
Prime time television coverage was instead given to soviet-style gatherings
organized for Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich, communist leader Petro
Symonenko and socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz. The top three nationwide
channels portrayed the peaceful gathering of families and middle-aged
Yushchenko supporters as drunks and vagrants coming to the rally for free
alcoholic beverages - a far cry from reality.
ACCESS TO STATE-CONTROLLED AIRWAVES DENIED
"Every day those in power chant to the West about their readiness to conduct
free and honest elections. Concurrently, the president predicts that these
elections will be the dirtiest ever while state media controlled by Kuchma,
Yanukovich and Medvedchuk demonstrate daily and hourly that there can be
no talk about a level playing field for candidates," Viktor Yushchenko told
reporters from the www.glavred.info web-portal.
At a neighboring rally of communist sympathizers, police detained a group of
phony Yushchenko supporters dressed in off-colored yellow campaign t-shirts
who were provoking and screaming obscenities at older communists. Police
found no ties between the group and the official Yushchenko campaign.
"Black PR-tactics are the job of others, let them continue it," Zinchenko
said. "Viktor Yushchenko and his supporters will conduct their campaign
effort within the letter and spirit of the presidential election law,
regardless of provocations from political opponents and the ruling regime."
In stark contrast to other Yushchenko rallies, the July 4 assembly in
central Kyiv was held without government interference. Yushchenko promised
supporters a brighter future including improved wages and pensions, access
to health care and an end to corruption.
He urged supporters not to be afraid of those in power and called on them to
fight the attempts of "criminal authorities" to steal their votes.
By-elections to local and national offices held during the past four months
in Ukraine's Mukacheve city and Poltava were fraught with voter fraud,
ballot stuffing, voter coercion and intimidation. Law enforcement
investigations into criminal allegations proved to be a whitewash, as
nobody was brought to justice. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
==========================================================
3. UKRAINE'S KUCHMA PROMISES HE'LL TRY TO ENSURE
THE COUNTRY'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IS TRANSPARENT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 1304 gmt 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has assured EU leaders that
the Ukrainian authorities will do everything they can to ensure the
country's presidential election is transparent.
Speaking at the plenary session of the eighth Ukraine-EU summit in The Hague
on Thursday [8 July], Kuchma said, however, that Kiev expects from the EU
"an objective assessment of events in Ukraine and accurate reporting of
these events to the world community".
Kuchma pointed out that the presidential campaign "is accompanied by stormy
discussions and confrontations between different political forces". "The
existence of pluralism of opinions in society and clashes between opposing
views and programmes is in itself an important attribute of democracy,"
Kuchma said.
He said the nature of the campaign would be defined above all by the
political culture of the opponents. "It's in the interests of Ukraine and
the European community as a whole for the political forces of our country to
act as bearers of alternative paths and programmes for social development,
rather than the authors of plans for destruction. As for the authorities,
they will do everything they can to ensure the election is conducted in the
most transparent and civilized way possible, in line with current Ukrainian
legislation and recognized democratic standards," Kuchma said.
He said that with this aim in mind he'd ordered the government and local
authorities to take the necessary measures and assist official observers
from foreign states and international organizations at the election in
October this year. Kuchma again invited EU representatives to take part
in observing the election process.
Kuchma said this campaign was noteworthy because "today not a single
political force can ignore the European idea, which has become a significant
factor when shaping the state's foreign policy and a stimulus for its
domestic development". "Public consensus is forming around it in Ukraine,"
he said.
Answering journalists' questions after the session, Kuchma said "Some
people in the West are forming the impression that if the opposition does
not win, it means the election was not fair." He again called for
objectivity and lack of prejudice when assessing the situation in Ukraine.
Kuchma pointed out that Kiev had invited a large number of observers from
foreign states and international organizations to the presidential election.
"I'm convinced there'll be more observers at the Ukrainian presidential
election than voters," he said. [Passage omitted: Dutch PM's comments]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: Ukrainian election observers in Kyiv, Brussels, London, Ottawa,
Washington and elsewhere in Europe all agree that so far assurances from
the Ukrainian government to guarantee a free, fair and democratic
presidential election have been in words only, not in concrete actions.
Almost all concrete actions so far by the authorities indicate strongly and
clearly Ukraine's presidential election will not be free, fair or
democratic.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. ALMOST HALF OF UKRAINIANS EXPECT DIRTY CAMPAIGN
TRICKS IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION ACCORDING TO POLL
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 5 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Jul 05, 2004
KIEV - Almost half of Ukrainians (46 per cent) are certain that dirty
campaign techniques will be used to a greater or lesser degree during the
presidential election campaign.
This was the result of a national opinion poll by the Razumkov Centre 28
May-2 June. A total of 2,020 people were surveyed. The margin of error is
2.3 per cent.
Around a third (35 per cent) think that these techniques will be used
sometimes. Only around 5 per cent are certain that dirty techniques will
hardly be used at all, and 14 per cent could not give an answer. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
=========================================================
5. UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS UNION CALLS FOR MEDIA TO
PROVIDE UNBIASED NEWS OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 6 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Jul 06, 2004
KIEV - The secretariat of the National Union of Ukrainian Journalists has
called on its colleagues to cover the presidential election campaign within
the bounds of the law, "abiding by the rules of professional ethics, to
provide honest, unbiased information to their readers, viewers and
listeners". The press service of the journalists' union said this on Tuesday
[6 July].
"Supporting the initiative of [Ukrainian parliamentary speaker] Volodymyr
Lytvyn that all presidential candidates should sign the joint statement or a
declaration which would define the boundaries and terms of the election
contest and confirm the refusal to use dirty technologies and `black PR' in
the process, the secretariat of the Ukrainian National Union of Journalists
considers it necessary that the document contains a statement clarifying
that candidates to the highest state post should not drag journalists and
media linked to them into a `war of compromising materials'", the statement
says. The presidential campaign started on 3 July and the election will be
held on 31 October. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
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6. UKRAINE JOINS RUSSIA AND OTHER EX-SOVIET STATES
TO REBUKE DEMOCRACY WATCHDOG OSCE
REUTERS, Vienna, Austria, Thursday, July 8, 2004
VIENNA, Austria - Russia and eight other ex-Soviet states accused
Europe's biggest security and human rights watchdog Thursday of failing
to respect their sovereignty.
The 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe,
whose activities include monitoring elections, has chided former the Soviet
states for ballots [elections] it says failed to live up to democratic
standards.
"In part (the OSCE) does not respect such fundamental principles ... as
non-interference in internal affairs and respect of national sovereignty,"
said a statement signed by Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan.
Russia has long complained of double standards at the OSCE, which it
says criticizes human rights and democracy failings east of Vienna, where
the organization is based, but does not denounce similar shortcomings to
the west. Of the OSCE's 18 field activities, 12 are in the former Soviet
Union.
The OSCE said Russia's presidential election in March was well
administered but fell short of democratic standards, particularly where
the state media was concerned. President Vladimir Putin swept to a
second term with 71 percent of votes in that election.
"It is of concern that OSCE field missions focus not on their mandated role
to help the authorities of the receiving state ..., but exclusively on
monitoring human rights and democratic institutions," the CIS statement
added.
The European Union issued a statement expressing its "serious concern" at
some of the CIS states' comments. (Additional reporting by Richard Ayton
in Moscow)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
=========================================================
7. MEMBER OF UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENT PREDICTS "TOTAL
FALSIFICATION" IN PRESIDENTIAL VOTE ACCORDING TO PLAN
WORKED OUT UNDER LEADERSHIP OF VIKTOR MEDVECHUK
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
KIEV -Oleksandr Turchynov, an MP and deputy chairman of the
Fatherland party (Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc faction), thinks that there
will be "total falsification" of the results of voting in the Ukrainian
presidential election according to a mechanism that was worked out
during the Mukacheve mayoral election [hit by allegations of vote-rigging
and violence - see Ukrainian TV 5 Kanal 1200 gmt 8 June 2004 and
other reports].
"We've learned from reliable sources close to the presidential
administration and the law-enforcement and security structures that a
fundamentally new and extremely cynical scenario for falsifying the 2004
Ukrainian presidential election has been worked out," Tyrchynov told a
news conference on Thursday [8 July].
He said "a special group in the presidential administration under the
personal leadership of Viktor Medvechuk (head of the presidential
administration) will be the nerve centre and developers of this
falsification strategy, and special operational units of the Interior
Ministry, SBU [Security Service of Ukraine] and Prosecutor-General's
Office have been assigned to the group.
Under the plan, Turchynov says, it's envisaged that certain "makeweight
[Russian: tekhnicheskie] candidates for president" will be nominated so that
electoral commissions are predominantly composed of pro-government
forces [candidates get a say in who sits on the commissions].
Just before the election, he said, electoral commission protocols will be
prepared with genuine signatures and stamps, but the signatures of the
opposition's commission members "will be forged", Turchynov said. He said
it's also planned to prepare ballot papers "to go with the protocols
prepared earlier". "After the vote count is finished and the polling
stations are closed by the security officials responsible for guarding
election materials, the package of ballot papers and supporting
documentation will be switched," he said.
He said "the CEC [Central Electoral Commission], most of whose members
are subordinates of the presidential administration, will quickly announce
the election result in favour of the authorities' candidate on the basis of
the forged protocols". Turchynov said the CEC members will, in
contradiction of legislation, be forbidden to sign copies of the protocols,
so the opposition will have no grounds to appeal against the results in
court.
Also, he said, public opinion polls "will also be offered up" during the
campaign to support this result. Voters will also be prepared for the result
using the media, he said.
Turchynov said "the opposition's financial resources are limited", which is
why it can't provide an alternative plan involving the nomination of
"makeweight candidates".
However, he said he was sure of victory for Viktor Yushchenko, the
candidate of the united popular democratic forces and leader of the Our
Ukraine bloc. For this to happen, the opposition is prepared to "turn into
a fortress" every polling station, he said. "We will have one main aim: the
real protocols should end up at the CEC, so we will fight to accompany
them", Turchynov said.
Answering journalists' questions, he said he didn't rule out that
Yushchenko's registration would be cancelled under some pretext, or that
he might be physically eliminated. However, he said, "the authorities will
be afraid" to take such a step, which is why they've worked out the
falsification plan. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
========================================================
8. ILL-TEMPERED SUMMIT LEAVES UKRAINE AND EU
DEADLOCKED ON HUMAN RIGHTS
EU cannot consider Ukraine a market economy yet
COMMENTARY by Stephen Castle in Brussels
The Independent, London, United Kingdom, Friday, July 09, 2004
BRUSSELS - A confrontation over Ukraine's dismal human rights record
dominated a summit between its President and European Union leaders
yesterday. They failed to reach any new deals on economic and political
ties.
Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which holds the EU
presidency, said he had called in "frank" terms for "a free and independent
media in the run-up to the elections" scheduled for October.
Challenged over investigations into the murder of an anti-government
journalist, whose headless body was found in Ukraine four years ago, the
President, Leonid Kuchma, compared the case to unsolved murders in EU
nations. The response from Mr Kuchma, who has been linked to the killing,
was described by one official as "robust" and provoked sharp criticism from
diplomats. "We have gone as far as we can," one EU official said.
Last month The Independent reported on leaked confidential documents
showing that senior Ukrainian government officials tried to wreck
investigations into the murder of the journalist, Heorhiy Gongadze, who was
allegedly killed on the orders of Mr Kuchma. The cover-up involved the
killing of a witness while in custody.
A committee investigating the murder in September 2000 recommended criminal
proceedings against Mr Kuchma. Opposition MPs want to impeach him.
When the issue was raised yesterday by Mr Balkenende and the European
commissioner for external relations, Chris Patten, Mr Kuchma took an
aggressive stance. "It was the usual reaction," said one source, "that this
issue is subject to an investigation and that Ukraine should not be faulted
because of the lack of a prosecution. He argued that there are many examples
in EU countries of unsolved murder."
The Gongadze case is only the best-known abuse of power attributed to Mr
Kuchma. During his 10 years in office the President has been accused often
of violating human rights and presiding over a corrupt regime.
Although the Ukrainians have agreed to accept election monitors in October,
possibly including a delegation from the EU, European officials are
sceptical that the elections will be free and fair.
Although Mr Kuchma won approval from a constitutional court to seek a third
term as President, he has said he will not run. In June, the parliament
adopted constitutional changes that would allow him to be appointed by MPs
rather than chosen by the electorate.
Even aside from human rights there was little meeting of minds at
yesterday's meeting. Ukraine, which prizes the idea of eventual membership
of the EU, is unenthusiastic about the alternative on offer: a European
neighbourhood policy to extend economic and other assistance. "They are
dragging their feet and failing to accelerate negotiations," one diplomat
said.
Mr Kuchma said such a policy would pigeonhole Ukraine as a neighbour
of the EU, which "may lead to a freezing of relations". While he
acknowledged that his country was not ready for EU membership now,
he predicted that "the EU will not stop at its current borders".
Mr Balkenende said the EU was still waiting for Mr Kuchma's government to
amend its bankruptcy laws and draw up a "transparent pricing policy" for
exports. Until that happened, the EU could not consider Ukraine a market
economy, he added. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
========================================================
9. UKRAINE WANTS STRONGER TIES WITH EU, UKRAINIAN
PRESIDENT KUCHMA SAYS AT SUMMIT
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
THE HAGUE - Ukraine is in favour of simplifying European Union visa
requirements, with the aim of eventually dropping the requirement for visas
altogether, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has said.
"Ukraine thinks that a so-called Schengen wall should not arise at the EU's
current borders. We need to preserve active human and intergovernmental
contacts. The long-term aim of our relations should be to gradually simplify
the visa process and abolish EU visa requirements," Kuchma said speaking at
the opening of the plenary session of the 8th Ukraine-EU summit on Thursday
[8 July] in The Hague.
Kuchma said Ukraine links the future of its European integration efforts to
the successful completion of EU reform as a result of its expansion. "We
note with pleasure that, despite all the changes and difficulties caused by
expansion, the EU is demonstrating a striving to deepen relations with
neighbouring countries, including Ukraine," he said.
Kuchma said Ukraine would like to strengthen cooperation with the EU,
particularly by integrating into the EU internal market and provision of
access to industry programmes and new financial instruments.
Kuchma said people in Ukraine understand well that EU expansion will bring
not only advantages, but also "certain challenges". "Ahead of us lies the
task of how to lessen their negative effects on our work together," he said.
Kuchma said Ukraine also hopes for constructive discussion of current issues
in Ukrainian-EU cooperation in the areas of trade and the economy and
energy. "For Ukraine this means, above all, granting our country the status
of a market economy within the framework of EU anti-dumping legislation, and
the resolution of issues linked to working together in the field of nuclear
security," he said.
Kuchma said Ukraine also wants to see a deepening of dialogue with the EU in
foreign and security policy. "We think that working together more actively
on these issues will strengthen united Europe's geopolitical role and will
help it transform into a new global centre of international influence," he
said. (END)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
========================================================
10. UKRAINE: STUCK IN BETWEEN
COMMENTARY by Margreet Strijbosch, Radio Netherlands
Hilversum, The Netherlands, Thursday, 8 July 2004
The establishment of good neighbourly ties is the main thought behind
Thursday's meeting between the European Union and Ukraine in The Hague.
The enlargement of the EU on 1 May means that the two are now next-door
neighbours. With the Netherlands currently holding the presidency of the
union, it's the Dutch prime minister who gets to shake the hand of the
Ukrainian president.
One of the main subjects of discussion for Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma
and Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende is Ukraine's obtaining
"market-economy" status. Such status is regarded as a key step on the path
to membership of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), in which the EU plays
a major role. According to Dutch MEP Jan Marinus Wiersma, however,
Ukraine still has some way to go before it gets "market-economy" status:
"I think there are still some questions to be answered concerning the market
status. First they have to reduce state influence on the economy, secondly
they have to shrink the state sector in the economy - state subsidies are
not allowed under free trade rules - and third, the economy has to become
more transparent, with a reliable judicial system, so that the rules will
not be changed on the order of one or another group."
NEW NEIGHBORS
At present, Ukraine is a "controlled democracy", where three groups of
oligarchs hold sway. Press freedom is limited and corruption is rife.
Nonetheless, it's important for the European Union to build up a lasting
relationship with Ukraine, the more so since the two became immediate
neighbours on 1 May.
The EU put the finishing touches to its new "neighbourhood policy" just last
year. John Löwenhardt of the Dutch Clingendael Institute of International
Relations explains:
"The European neighbourhood policy is aimed at creating a ring of friends
around the EU, so stability just outside the borders of the EU. And in that
context, the neighbourhood policy holds out the prospect of the closest
possible integration with the EU, except for membership."
SANDWICH FILLER
The restricted level of democracy in Ukraine, combined with the level of
poverty and corruption in the country, make it an unstable factor on the
outer borders of the EU. And Ukraine's geographic location - sandwiched
between the EU and Russia - adds more complication. In diplomatic terms,
Ukraine would be described as having the potential to play a "bridging
role". In practice, it's simply stuck in the middle. MEP Jan Marinus Wiersma
confirms this:
"Ukraine is and has been on the fence between Russia and the EU. The
relationship with Russia has normalized, particularly since 1999 when the
friendship treaty between Russia and Ukraine was signed and Vladimir Putin
recognized Ukraine as an independent state. In spite of this, Russia wants
to maintain its influence in Ukraine. It's highly investing in Ukraine,
using the fact that Ukraine is still not very interesting for western
investors.
It wants to create economic levers to influence Ukrainian policy, which is a
normal realistic foreign policy. One should realize that Ukrainian
dependence on Russia is very high. It has a very high number of Russian
speakers among its population, it is for 80% dependent on Russian energy,
so it will never be totally separate from Russia."
Therefore, looked at from the European perspective, the EU's going to
have to make quite some effort to ensure it doesn't push Ukraine and
Russia even closer together. All the more so given that, where democracy
and human rights are concerned, the Russians don't make any demands
of their neighbour at all. (END)
=========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
=========================================================
11. KUCHMA SAYS EU NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICY NOT
IN UKRAINE'S INTEREST
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
THE HAGUE - The European Neighbourhood Policy in respect to Ukraine
is not in its interests, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma told a news
conference after the Ukraine-EU summit in The Hague on Thursday [8 July].
"Solidifying Ukraine's status as an EU neighbour is more likely to freeze
the relations rather than help to develop them," the president said.
Speaking at the plenary session of the summit, Kuchma said that the Wider
Europe - New Neighbourhood initiative "has caused varied reactions in
Ukraine from the very outset".
Ukraine has proceeded and proceeds from the fact that the [Ukraine-EU]
action plan should not be a simple systematization of the existing
cooperation areas but should open up "realistic prospects for expanding four
freedoms in Ukraine - free movement of goods, services, capital and people",
Kuchma said. "The action plan will otherwise not contain new good
opportunities for cooperation between Ukraine and the EU," the president
added.
Kuchma said that Ukraine is willing to continue work on the draft action
plan and is willing to undertake serious commitments "but only if the
document contains additional opportunities that could open up the prospects
for our further progress". During the summit Kuchma handed over to EU
representatives "the fundamental aspects of Ukraine's position towards
filling the action plan with substance as part of European Neighbourhood
Policy".
He said in that connection that Ukraine wants the action plan to envisage
the signing of a new reinforced agreement when the action plan is fulfilled.
Kuchma also said that Kiev sees as a matter of principle the coordination of
a plan of measures to set up a free trade zone between Ukraine and the EU,
to gradually liberalize the visa process, to facilitate the employment and
social protection of Ukrainian labour migrants, and to minimize the
consequences of EU expansion in the areas of trade and the economy.
Kuchma said that Kiev also wants the action plan to reflect the further
development of cooperation in the areas of veterinary, phyto- and sanitary
controls, trade in steel products, and in bringing Ukrainian legislation
into line with European standards.
"The lack of relevant provisions in the action plan will create imbalance in
its text, which will lead to its negative perception in Ukrainian society as
a result", Kuchma said. (END)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
=======================================================
12. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VETOES LAW PROLONGING
BAN ON LAND SALES TILL 2007
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 8 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Jul 08, 2004
KIEV -Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has vetoed a law on prolonging the
moratorium on trading in land until 1 January 2007. The news was posted on
the web site of the Ukrainian Supreme Council [parliament].
As UNIAN reported previously, parliament made changes to the Land Code in
June, prolonging the ban on the buying and selling agricultural land for
citizens and legal entities till 1 January 2007. In accordance with the
current Land Code, the validity of the moratorium ends on 1 January 2005.
The law also envisages extending the validity of the ban on introducing the
right for land plots to be incorporated into authorized capital funds of
agricultural enterprises from 1 January 2005 to 1 January 2007.
The State Committee for Land Resources appealed to President Kuchma with a
proposal to place a veto on the law on prolonging the moratorium on the sale
of land till 1 January 2007. (END)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
========================================================
13. UKRAINIAN PROSECUTOR LAMBASTES UK PAPER
AND JOURNALIST OVER ARTICLES ON GONGADZE MURDER
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 08 Jul 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Thursday, Jul 08, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Henadiy Vasylyev has accused
The Independent newspaper and journalist Askold Krushelnycky of an
attempt to disrupt investigation into the murder of journalist Heorhiy
Gongadze. Vasylyev reacted to a series of articles published in The
Independent in June accusing the Ukrainian authorities of dragging their
feet over the investigation.
The following is an excerpt from the report by Ukrainian news agency
UNIAN:
KIEV - Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Henadiy Vasylyev reckons that
Askold Krushelnycky's article on the [slain journalist Heorhiy] Gongadze
case, which has been published in the British newspaper The Independent,
"was based on a biased attitude to the investigating team, incorrect facts,
dishonest estimation of the developments, and unjust attitude to many
people and intrusion into their private life. To put it short, it fully
negated the code of honesty in journalism".
In an open letter to the newspaper, the prosecutor-general wrote: "Lack of
bias, precision, honesty and fairness, as well, as nonintrusion into private
life are the main principles of the code of journalism, according to which
the world-known British TV company BBC works. These principles are
essential for every independent and professional journalist. Are these
principles worth nothing for the British newspaper The Independent?"
Vasylyev wrote that such thoughts were prompted by Krushelnycky's article
in the newspaper, "an article that shocked with the cynicism and brazenness,
with which real events and facts were twisted. This article inflicted an
irreparable damage to the investigation of a case of utmost importance for
Ukraine and endangered the lives of many people".
"Which goal did this article pursue?" the prosecutor-general wonders. "Who
does it target? The names of [former Interior Minister Yuriy] Kravchenko,
[police general Oleksiy] Pukach, and [police driver] Yaroshenko do not say
anything to British readers. And in Ukraine the English-language newspaper
The Independent has, to put it mildly, a limited readership. Obviously,
Krushelnycky's article is not aimed at the public interest, but it aims to
solve specific tasks. It is rather easy to figure out which tasks those are,
reading in-between the lines, as the publication was prepared in a rather
brutal and awkward way. Real facts were not just twisted, but literally
turned upside down.
"Take the fragment in the article, where the author tries to show that
General Pukach was arrested at Ukrainian Prosecutor-General [Svyatoslav]
Piskun's orders and freed after Vasylyev's appointment. It suffices to just
check the real dates of the mentioned events (they were mentioned in the
media many times) to understand that the author openly deceives the reader
and doctors the data. The prosecution has nothing to do with the fact that
General Pukach was freed. He was freed from custody by a court. This
happened on 5 November last year. And I was appointed only on 18
November.
"After the general had been released from custody, the Prosecutor-General's
Office continued to investigate his case. And when in February 2004 a court
ruled to close this criminal case, we appealed against this verdict and we
used in our appeal exactly the documents mentioned in the publication. For
this reason, the British newspaper's claims that the prosecution wants to
hide and destroy the documents are absolutely unfounded and hard to
understand," Vasylyev wrote.
Also, he wrote, "The information about the fact that Heorhiy Gongadze was
under surveillance prior to his disappearance has been at the disposal of
the Supreme Council [parliament] ad-hoc investigation commission for a long
time. I knew about this information when I worked in the commission in
2000-02 [when Vasylyev was an MP]. We then requested the prosecutors to
conduct an appropriate investigation. Incidentally, the publicized protocols
show that investigation was conducted in this direction. Therefore it is, to
put it mildly, not serious to say that the published information is a
sensation!"
The prosecutor-general believes, however, that "It is very serious that the
author of the article not just disclosed the names of many people, but also
attributed to them words that they never said. From the beginning, the
protocols contained only the fact that Gongadze was followed." [Passage
omitted: repetition]
"As to the investigation itself, nobody could damage it more than that.
Because of the fact that important investigation data were exposed,
important investigation activities have been disrupted. Was this, perhaps,
the main goal pursued by the article?
"This is a question to the newspaper. Why was this attempt at disrupting the
investigation into this important case made? Perhaps, somebody is worried by
the efficient steps made by the investigation team? Perhaps somebody would
like the investigation into the Gongadze case to last as long as possible?
"The author of the article claims he pursued no selfish ends. Which motives
did he have then? Perhaps political ones? Does he know about these motives
and, the main thing, does the editorial office of The Independent share
them?" the prosecutor-general wondered. [Passage omitted: Vasylyev says
this is not only his personal point of view]
The prosecutor-general would like "to say the following: no attempts to
disrupt the investigation and drag the criminal case into Gongadze's murder
into the political field will be successful. The Prosecutor-General's Office
will continue a comprehensive investigation, implementing all the needed
search actions, and it will not take part in political squabbles, leaving
this to politicians". (END)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
========================================================
14. UKRAINE TO ALLOW RUSSIAN CRUDE OIL SHIPMENTS
TO FLOW IN REVERSE FROM BRODY TO ODESSA
By Anna Melnichuk, Associated Press Writer
Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, June 8, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's state-owned pipeline operator authorized its directors
Thursday to sign an agreement with a Russian-British oil company and
begin oil shipments through a long-idled pipeline.
The decision came just days after the Cabinet agreed to open the
Odessa-Brody pipeline for shipments of Russian oil, reversing an earlier
decision that limited the pipeline solely to Europe-bound oil shipments
from the Caspian Sea region.
The draft agreement between Ukrtransnafta and TNK-BP foresees
annual shipment of some 9 million tons of Russian crude from the western
border town of Brody to the Black Sea port of Odessa for shipment to
southern Europe during the next three years, Ukrtransnafta said in a
statement.
Also Thursday, Ukrtransnafta directors were authorized to create a
joint venture with a Polish oil company, Przyjazn, to extend
Ukraine's existing pipeline nearly 300 miles to the Polish town of
Plotsk. The pipeline extension would cost more than $500 million.
Ukraine built the 413-mile pipeline linking the Black Sea port of
Odessa with Brody in western Ukraine in 2001, but it has remained
largely idle amid bickering over whether to accept Russian or
Caspian oil.
Exporters of oil from Russia's Ural Mountains have lobbied Kiev for
months to allow their lower-grade oil to flow in reverse, from Brody
to Odessa. Such a decision would enable them to take advantage of
high oil prices to increase exports to southern Europe and
potentially close out competition from Caspian suppliers.
The United States has strongly opposed sending Russian oil from
Brody to Odessa, saying it will increase Ukraine's dependence on
energy from Moscow and increase chances of an oil spill as more oil
tankers travel from the Black Sea through Turkey's clogged Bosporus
strait. (END)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 111 ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
========================================================
15.WILL CONTRADICTIONS UNDERMINE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH'S
ELECTION CAMPAIGN?
By Taras Kuzio, Eurasia Daily Monitor
The Jamestown Foundation, Washington, D.C.
Thursday, 8 July 2004 - Volume 1, Issue 47
When Viktor Yanukovych was appointed Ukraine's prime minister in November
2002, he immediately became the heir-apparent for the 2004 presidential
election. He was duly made the pro-presidential candidate when the campaign
season formally opened on July 4. Initially, his inevitability was not
considered significant, because presidential advisors believed that the
constitutional changes launched by President Leonid Kuchma in August 2003
would be adopted the following year. These changes sought to transfer power
from the executive to prime minister, making it irrelevant who would be
elected to the now-ceremonial presidency in October 2004.
But this strategy never went off as planned. In April, parliament failed to
approve the constitutional changes contained in Bill 3105. The pro-Kuchma
camp did not give up, and in June deputies voted in favor of Bill 4180,
which is nearly identical to 3105. A second reading, which requires more
than 300 votes, will be held in September.
The pending changes would allow Kuchma to continue in power until the 2006
parliamentary elections by becoming prime minister. Alternatively, they
would permit Yanukovych to continue as prime minister. In either case, the
prime minister would possess greater power than the newly elected president.
These last-ditch efforts to amend the constitution only one month before the
elections indicates that the pro-Kuchma camp fears Viktor Yushchenko will
win the elections and inherit Kuchma's powers. Panic now overshadows the
pro-Kuchma camp's concerns about Ukraine's possible suspension from the
Council of Europe, which advised in January and again in June to not make
constitutional changes during an election year.
Continued attempts to railroad though constitutional changes also reflect
the pro-presidential camp's lukewarm approach to Yanukovych's candidacy.
Although on the surface there is unity, underneath there is widespread
dismay that Yanukovych was chosen as their "joint candidate." One strike
against Yanukovych is his criminal record: he has been sentenced to prison
twice: once for robbery and once for violence. Polls indicate that 69% of
Ukrainians will not vote for a candidate with a criminal record (Ukrayinska
pravda, June 3) and 61.8% would back a law prohibiting convicted criminals
from standing for president (Zerkalo nedeli, June 5-11).
Former Soviet political prisoner Vasyl Ovsienko has called upon his fellow
Ukrainians to not allow the election of the "immoral" Yanukovych (Ukrayinska
pravda, July 6). Ovsienko cited Article 5 of the constitution, which permits
Ukrainians to use any means to remove those who take power after having lost
the election.
Ovsienko's emotional remarks reflect the brittle election atmosphere, which
is the most explosive in Ukraine's post-Soviet history. The potential threat
of instability and violence is higher than in 1994, when the U.S. National
Intelligence Council released a highly exaggerated report warning of
Ukraine's impending collapse. Ten years later, the authorities now have far
more to lose. Now they actually fear an opposition victory.
The main opposition to Kuchma and Yanukovych revolves around Viktor
Yushchenko. Yushchenko's candidacy was launched on July 4 with a mass rally
of 50,000 Ukrainians, one of the largest demonstrations in Kyiv since 1992.
The demonstrators ended their vigil at the Central Election Commission. "Our
Ukraine" deputy Taras Stetskiv warned that, after voting on election day,
Yushchenko supporters would return and stay until the "right result" was
announced.
Stetskiv's comments were a tacit threat to repeat the Georgian and Serbian
revolutions should Yushchenko be declared the winner. However different
Ukrainians are from Serbs and Georgians, the authorities nevertheless fear
history repeating itself. Parliamentary Speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn suggested
that perhaps it would be better to have the opposition win the presidency
rather than face an anti-oligarch revolution.
This prevalent mood is a product of two factors. First, Ukrainians fear
widespread election fraud. In the April mayoral elections in Mukachiv, the
Our Ukraine candidate won, but the Territorial Election Commission declared
a pro-Kuchma candidate victorious. Despite the adoption of two critical
parliamentary resolutions, not a single person involved in the Mukachiv
fraud has been punished.
Not surprisingly, three-quarters of Ukrainians do not believe the
presidential elections will be free and fair. To prevent a repeat of
Mukachiv, Yushchenko's supporters believe they need to win in the first
round and avoid a run-off. If the authorities repeat their Mukachiv tactics,
violence between opposition observers and skinheads deployed to disrupt the
balloting will be inevitable.
Second, there are at least two reasons to doubt that Yanukovych will win.
One reason is that he is the authorities' candidate in a country where the
authorities are widely despised. Within Ukraine and abroad it is widely
believed that Yanukovych could only win in a rigged election. Lytvyn advised
Yanukovych that it would have been better if he was an independent
candidate, rather than supported by the authorities.
Another reason is Yanukovych himself. Yanukovych's circle in Kyiv consists
of the same cronies he had as governor of Donetsk from 1997 to 2002. These
"advisors" were involved in numerous highly unscrupulous activities. The
July 2001 murder of Donetsk journalist Ihor Alexandrov, who had uncovered
high-level corruption, is still unresolved. Opposition deputies believe the
Donetsk state administration, Prosecutor's Office, and Interior Ministry
continue to cooperate with organized crime. Alexandrov's murder took place
when Yanukovych was Donetsk governor and the current state prosecutor,
Hennadiy Vasilyev, was head of the Donetsk Prosecutor's office (Ukrayina
moloda, July 7). Vasilyev is also involved in covering up the murder of
opposition journalist Heorhiy Gongadze in fall 2000.
Yanukovych's claims, and those of his Party of Regions, to support free and
fair elections, oppose the use of "administrative resources," battle
corruption (which he described as higher than in the "worst African
countries"), reduce the shadow economy, ensure that everyone is equal before
the law, and support media freedom are met with total disbelief (Ukrayinska
pravda, July 5). These, "remain, as before, empty words" (Zerkalo nedeli,
July 3-9).
Yanukovych is also using "administrative resources" by refusing to go on
leave as prime minister. He benefits from continued attacks on the
opposition, both public (i.e. attempts to indict Yushchenko's ally, Yulia
Tymoshenko) and in the form of provocations (i.e. fake leaflets, fascists
told to trumpet their support for Yushchenko). A new book launched to
coincide with the election campaign includes unfounded allegations of
Yushchenko's corruption (temnik.com.ua, July 7). Despite the illegality of
foreigners working for election candidates, Russian "political
technologists" are very actively working for the Yanukovych camp.
These fundamental contradictions in Yanukovych's campaign could be his
ultimate undoing. (END)
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Taras Kuzio is visiting professor at the Elliot School of International
Affairs, George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
=======================================================
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