"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
An International Newsletter
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 131
The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC), Washington, D.C.
Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA), Huntingdon Valley, PA
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net (ARTUIS)
Washington, D.C.; Kyiv, Ukraine, WEDNESDAY, August 4, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN SHOWS
EARLY SIGNS OF ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT MANIPULATION
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
2. RUSSIA BELIEVES YANUKOVYCH WILL SOON OVERTAKE
YUSHCHENKO IN UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE
AND WILL WIN THE LATE OCTOBER ELECTION
Kommersant, Moscow, Russia, in Russian 2 Aug 04 p 9
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
3. TV 5 KANAL OFF AIR IN PARTS OF EASTERN UKRAINE
Actions by pro-government authorities suspected
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 4 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004
4. MAVERICK TV CHANNEL 5, UNDER GUN IN UKRAINE
[Fighting to stay on the air in a presidential election year]
By Vlad Lavrov, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jul 22, 2004
5. YUSHCHENKO ELECTION HEAD ACCUSES YANUKOVYCH
OF USING STATE ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES FOR HIS
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN UKRAINE
Wants live debates on TV between Yuschenko and Yanukovych.
Inna Sokolovska, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Aug 3, 2004
6. UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE YUSHCHENKO
MAINTAINS LEAD IN OPINION POLLS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 3 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
7. 46% OF UKRAINIANS THINK YANUKOVYCH WILL EMERGE
AS WINNER OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - POLL INDICATES
Only 16.5% think Viktor Yushchenko will emerge as the winner
Daria Hluschenko, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Aug 3, 2004
8.UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH U.S. CONGRESSMAN
CURT WELDON AND GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER
Interfax News, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
9. IMF RAISES FORECAST FOR UKRAINE'S 2004 GDP
GROWTH FROM 6% to 12.5%
Viktor Riasnyi, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Aug 3, 2004
10. IMF CRITICIZES UKRAINE'S HIKE IN SPENDING
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
11.EU SHRUGS OFF KUCHMA'S STRATEGIC MANEUVERINGS.
By Ahto Lobjakas, RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report
A Survey of Developments in Belarus and Ukraine by the
Regional Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic
Vol. 6, No. 27, Tueday, 3 August 2004
12. UKRAINE HARVESTS HALF OF THIS YEAR'S GRAIN CROPS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 2 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Aug 02, 2004
13. "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
The Action Ukraine Program, Washington, D.C., Mon, August 2, 2004
14. TEAM OF YOUNG ADULTS LEAVES USA FOR UKRAINE
TO WORK WITH TWO ORPHANAGES IN KIRIVOHAD
AND IVANO-FRANKIVSK PROVINCES
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of the USA)
South Bound Brook, New Jersey, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
15. COUPLE HOPES NEW COOKBOOK HELPS BRING AN
ADOPTED DAUGHTER TO IOWA FROM UKRAINE
"Recipes from the Heart: Bringing Forever Families Together"
By Alma Gaul, Quad Cities Times
Davenport, Iowa, USA, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131 ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN SHOWS
EARLY SIGNS OF ILLEGAL GOVERNMENT MANIPULATION
Officials in several sectors are illegally abusing public institutions
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
Vienna, Austria, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
VIENNA - The International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF)
is appealing to Ukrainian authorities to observe international standards for
free and fair elections, as reliable evidence suggests that governmental
officials in several sectors are illegally abusing public institutions to
manipulate the outcome of the 31 October 2004 presidential election.
Coverage of the campaign in state-controlled television channels is heavily
biased in favor of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who is
seeking the presidency with the backing of current President Leonid
Kuchma, according to independent monitoring organizations and well as
representatives of the National Union of Journalists. State-controlled
television channels routinely convey negative portrayals of opposition
candidate Viktor Yushchenko.
Newspapers published by local Oblast administrations, which are financed
with public funds and available to poor rural populations - some of them
without charge - contain strongly propagandistic materials in favor of Mr.
Yanukovych.
The IHF has received numerous reports of citizens being intimidated by
authorities when they have demonstrated their support for the opposition
candidate, for example being filmed by undercover police officers. As in
recent Belarusan elections, factory workers are being pressured into
supporting the government-backed candidate, with threats to their jobs if
they do not cooperate. The heads of regional administrative bodies have
been threatened with dismissal if elections results do not meet government
goals.
The IHF has also received reports of university students being threatened by
university deans to support Mr. Yanukovych, and to avoid attending electoral
rallies of opposition candidates (e.g. Nezhne Pedagogical University in
Chernihiv Oblast).
The opposition campaign charges that the government monitors and disrupts
mobile telephone communications, made possible when communications firms
provide state authorities with the needed eavesdropping capabilities, which
is a precondition to qualify for licenses to operate GSM networks in
Ukraine.
Serious observers of the electoral process are concerned by evidence that
government agents might seek to provoke ethnic tensions, for example
between Tatars and Russians in Crimea and by allowing extremist groups
to incite ethnic hatreds. A fringe chauvinist party lead by Eduard Kovalenko
was recently allowed to hold a rally in downtown Kiev, permission for which
would have been routinely denied by authorities to any independent NGO.
This new "party" made grossly racist statements, and then claimed to be
supporting the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko. Observers believe
this to be an attempt to compromise the opposition candidate by presenting
him as a racist.
The Ukrainian human rights community is impaired from monitoring the
balloting on 31 October 2004 by a law that makes it impossible for local,
independent observers to do so. In view of the alleged gross falsification
of the recent mayoral elections in the West Ukraine town of Mukachevo,
NGOs and independent observers fear that the authorities might use any
means they can to ensure that the election is won by the current Prime
Minister.
The IHF is concerned by the numerous allegations of abuse in a campaign
that has barely begun. It appeals to the Ukrainian authorities to ensure
equal access of all candidates to the state controlled media; full freedom
for all candidates and their campaigns to address voters and present their
platforms; a total ban on using tax-payers' money and state resources in
general to support the campaign of the Prime Minister and to obstruct any
other candidates; and renewed access by independent Ukrainian observers
to monitor the elections at all stages.
The IHF therefore calls upon Ukraine to meet legal obligations under the
European Convention on Human Rights to respect the right of all citizens to
free elections and to equal access to information from all political parties
and public groups; and to fulfill its commitments as a signatory to the
Helsinki Final 'Act of 1975 and the Copenhagen Document (1990) adopted
by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information: Aaron Rhodes, IHF Executive Director, 43.1.408.88.22,
or 43.676.635.66.12; Vladimir Weissman, IHF Consultant, 45.22.33.05.66;
or Yuri Murashov, Ukrainian Helsinki Committee, 380.67.278.21.12;
e-mail, office@ihf-hr.org; internet: http://www.ihf-hr.org.
FOOTNOTE: The information in this report was collected by an IHF fact
finding mission that returned from Ukraine at the end of last week. (Editor)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. RUSSIA BELIEVES YANUKOVYCH WILL SOON OVERTAKE
YUSHCHENKO IN UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL RACE
AND WILL WIN THE LATE OCTOBER ELECTION
Kommersant, Moscow, Russia, in Russian, 2 Aug 04 p 9
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
Even just a few weeks ago it was hard to believe that the tussle for the
presidency in Ukraine [elections take place 31 October] would be so
dramatic, but the confrontation between Viktor Yushchenko [Our Ukraine,
opposition leader] and Viktor Yanukovych [currently prime minister] may
ultimately be just as dogged as the battle between the giants that George
Bush and John Kerry are waging today [in the USA]. Let me remind you
that throughout recent years Viktor Yushchenko had remained the most
popular Ukrainian politician.
But the near-impossible is happening literally before our very eyes. Its
innumerable cogwheels spinning frantically, the Ukrainian administrative
resources machinery has swung into action. An army of journalists, PR
men and image-makers working for Viktor Yanukovych is on the march.
Finally, one piece of news followed another - Sergey Dorenko [Russian
TV presenter] is going to work for Ukrainian TV at this busy time, and
apparently Vladimir Putin recently looked with favour on Viktor
Yanukovych - and the poll numbers of the candidate of the party of
power went up.
No, they still do not match those of the main opposition candidate, who
has nothing except the broad support of the people who are unhappy
with President [Leonid] Kuchma's regime. But any day now they will
match them. Events are heading in that direction.
Describing Viktor Yushchenko recently as a "pretender", President
Kuchma essentially called on his protege, Viktor Yanukovych, to embark
on a final decisive battle. What is at stake is not merely the post of head
of state. The fate of the Ukrainian oligarchic capitalism established under
Leonid Kuchma will be decided in the confrontation between the two
Viktors.
Unlike the former prime minister, who has had an irrevocable parting of the
ways with the present regime, the incumbent prime minister cannot conceive
of his future without it. Which of these two candidates will be entrusted by
voters with the helm of the state is a question whose answer will determine
what the second decade of Ukrainian independence will be like. Will the
country march on "with Kuchma" or "without Kuchma", even if Leonid
Kuchma will never be president again?
It is no secret that in the last decade Ukraine has become pretty tired of
the president and his entourage. What has become established within
society is the idea that the regime headed by President Kuchma and
the oligarchs is to blame for all the ills of the era of independence. And
in contrast to present-day Russia, where the authorities are "wasting"
the oligarchs or making them "toe the line", in Ukraine the terms "regime"
and "oligarchs" are now inseparable. Polls show that for most of the
population the oligarchs are people who are "plundering Ukraine with
the help of the authorities".
Viktor Yushchenko offers a different direction of development and very
probably a different model for relations with Moscow. But, secretly afraid
of losing Ukraine if he wins, Moscow is not giving much thought to what
kind of Ukraine. Russia is not entirely aware of the stakes for it in
deciding, finally and irrevocably, which of the two Ukraines, that of
Yanukovych or Yushchenko, is better for it, or worse. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. TV 5 KANAL OFF AIR IN PARTS OF EASTERN UKRAINE
Actions by pro-government authorities suspected
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 4 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Aug 04, 2004
KIEV - We begin with some unpleasant news for us that has reached us
from Dnipropetrovsk Region [eastern Ukraine, an area largely controlled by
progovernment authorities]. Since yesterday viewers have not been able to
watch 5 Kanal. The Falstaff cable operator [untraced] is responsible for
rebroadcasting 5 Kanal in the region, and more than 60,000 subscribers use
its service.
At the leadership of the company we were told off the record that the
reasons why the channel was switched off were definitely not technical. We
are hoping to receive clarification from the director of the cable company
about the real reasons for the switch-off.
We have also been told that this morning the residents of Simferopol
[Crimea] woke up without 5 Kanal. We have been told that there are no
[suspicious] reasons for the switch-off, the Simferopol cable operator
genuinely had technical problems, and that they had been sorted out by 1100.
And that means that, in addition to Dnipropetrovsk, viewers in Donetsk
[another eastern region] have not been able to watch 5 Kanal for more than
a month. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. MAVERICK TV CHANNEL 5, UNDER GUN IN UKRAINE
[TV Channel 5 fighting to stay on the air in a presidential election year]
By Vlad Lavrov, Kyiv Post Staff Writer
Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Jul 22, 2004
KYIV - "People often ask me why we are called Channel 5," says the
channel's general director, Ivan Adamchuk. "I simply like the number five.
It's a very positive number." Adamchuk, who relies on cigarettes and
coffee to get through his day, isn't being ironic.
Even though Channel 5 is friendly to the opposition in a media environment
in which television stations tend to be mouthpieces for pro-presidential
causes, the channel has managed to stay on air for nearly a year. For
Adamchuk and his staff, that's no small feat.
However, Channel 5's luck just might be running out. Until recently, the
channel was broadcast across 40 percent of Ukrainian territory, but that
figure is decreasing. "We've been removed from the cable networks in
Donetsk oblast. I assume that's one of [Prime Minister Viktor] Yanukovych's
birthday gifts," he says. The prime minister's birthday was July 9.
Adamchuk says he also heard reports out of Dnipropetrovsk oblast that a
regional cable company that broadcasts Channel 5 had been harassed by
local authorities. He seems amused at the suggestion that the channel press
legal charges against Donetsk's cable operators for breaking broadcasting
agreements. ."They cannot be blamed for this," he says. "Removing our
channel is the only way for them to stay in business." Ukrtelemerezha, a
Donetsk-based regional association of cable operators, would not confirm
or deny whether Channel 5 had been removed from regional networks.
SIGNAL-JAMMING
Meanwhile, in parts of Ukraine where the channel continues to be broadcast,
General Producer Yury Stets says that Channel 5 experiences systematic
problems with sound and picture quality. "It's strange that in some parts
of the country we disappear from the air exactly at the time when our
evening news program begins," says Stets, adding that the authorities who
regulate Ukraine's airwaves haven't explained why this is the case.
The most striking example of funny business occurred during an evening news
interview in late 2003 with Hanne Severinsen, a co-rapporteur for the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe who has been critical of the
Ukrainian authorities in PACE reports about the political and human rights
situation here. Broadcast interference made it impossible for viewers to
hear her interview. "People reported this problem in certain parts of Kyiv,
but what could we tell them?" remarks Adamchuk. "The problem was not with
our transmitters; most likely, we were being jammed."
The station has been unable to obtain broadcast licenses in economically
powerful eastern cities like Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv. Adamchuk
says his attempts to get additional licenses from the National Council for
Television have failed, for reasons unknown to him.
WHAT'S ALL THE CONTROVERSY ABOUT?
Some media watchdogs say Channel 5's editorial policy and affiliation with
the opposition may have jeopardized its future. Channel 5 is a "thorn in the
eye of the authorities," says Serhy Taran, director of the Institute of Mass
Media. Channel 5 is "not afraid to provide different points of view," while
most television channels are in "a state of war" over their political
coverage.
Although Channel 5 receives opposition support - it's backed by tycoon
Petro Poroshenko, an Our Ukraine deputy and close political ally of
presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko - the International Media Institute
has called its coverage balanced and objective in comparison with other
Ukrainian TV outlets, which often answer to businessmen and politicians
in President Leonid Kuchma's circle.
Parliament deputies within Yanukovych's Regions of Ukraine faction agree
that the channel is fairly unbiased in the way it covers the news. Liudmyla
Khariv, the faction's press secretary, says the general view within the
faction is that Channel 5's team of journalists does its best to cover
political events objectively.
Channel 5 Chief Editor Andry Shevchenko says his journalists are not
required to report news with a particular spin, nor are their reports
censored. That makes its content far stronger than that of channels that are
used as "propagandist bludgeons," he adds. "We teach our journalists to
report what they actually see, without considering whether it would be
favorable for the opposition or the government."
And that, he adds, isn't always easy. The channel's journalists have
encountered obstacles - like the fact that they are not invited to
accompany the president and prime minister on official visits, as are
other television crews, whose trips are paid for by the state.
TO INTERFERE, OR NOT TO INTERFERE
Channel 5 owners, managers and editors are party to a non-interference
agreement that forms the foundation of the station's editorial policy.
According to the agreement, "the owners trust the journalists'
professionalism" and don't meddle in "production of...informational
content." However, Channel 5's owners have allegedly tried to break the
agreement on at least one occasion.
"Last October, when Our Ukraine was banned from holding a meeting in
Donetsk, the channel's owners were outraged by the idea that Channel 5 would
report both sides of the situation; the owners pressured journalists to
cover the story in a pro-Our Ukraine way," recalls Oksana Lysenko of the
Internet-based media watchdog Telekritika.kiev.ua. Shevchenko would not
deny Lysenko's claims.
"I'm 100 percent certain that Poroshenko would like the channel to promote
his own political interests," he says. But, nine months after the Donetsk
incident, he says the non-interference agreement is still in place.
Shevchenko, a former news anchor at New Channel, resigned in September
2002 from that station in protest against what he termed its biased news
coverage.
LIVING ON CREDIT
Although the channel has been praised for its content, it isn't known for
its camerawork. Channel 5's news programs can be compared with the radio,
says Lysenko: The channel often lacks video footage for its reports because
there are no resources to produce quality footage. The channel cannot
compete with large television channels for major ad revenues because it is
broadcast in less than half of the country.
Channel 5's affiliation with Poroshenko, meanwhile, might also be taking its
toll on the channel's business. Some companies with ties to the president
have pulled their ads from the channel, says Adamchuk, adding that many
television and radio stations refuse to broadcast Channel 5's promotional
advertising.
The channel earns enough to cover expenses, although Adamchuk admits he
has taken out loans to keep the Channel going. Nonetheless, revenues have
been growing since last September, a fact that makes Adamchuk, who
declined to disclose financial figures, optimistic about the channel's
future. "It all depends upon expansion of our coverage," he concludes.
Channel 5 attracted criticism several months ago when it hired Ihor
Slisarenko, a journalist with a reputation for his xenophobic and
anti-Semitic views. Vladyslav Lyasovsky, Channel 5's chairman, says that
Slisarenko - who denies that he is an anti-Semite - was hired on condition
that his personal views, whatever they may be, remain separate from his
work. Lyasovsky says the channel has no reason to regret hiring him.
(http://www.kpnews.com) (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. YUSHCHENKO ELECTION HEAD ACCUSES YANUKOVYCH
OF USING STATE ADMINISTRATIVE RESOURCES FOR HIS
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN IN UKRAINE
Wants live debates on TV between Yuschenko and Yanukovych.
Inna Sokolovska, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Aug 3, 2004
KYIV - Oleksandr Zinchenko, the head of the election campaign head-
quarters of the Our Ukraine coalition's leader and presidential candidate
Viktor Yushchenko, has accused Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych of
using resources for his presidential election campaign.
Zinchenko made the accusation while addressing journalists. "It [the
election campaign of Yanukovych] is total administrative resources,"
Zinchenko said.
According to Zinchenko, Yanukovych's campaign is presently unsuccessful.
In particular, Zinchenko said that the Big Boards carrying Yanukovych's
campaign advertisements are unsuccessful. "His Big Boards have already
prompted a lot of mockery," Zinchenko said.
He also accused Yanukovych of using administrative resources to bribe
voters. "The social package of Yanukovych is the usual method of the
authorities. Citizens are being offered bribes," Zinchenko said.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Serhii Tihipko, the head of the
Yanukovych's election campaign headquarters and chairman of the National
Bank of Ukraine, recently expressed opposition to the use of administrative
resources in this year's presidential elections.
"We are insisting on organizing and holding of live debates on TV between
Yuschenko and Yanukovych. Let the people decide for themselves who is
worthy," he said. The main requirement for these debates is that they are
broadcast live and with independent presenters.
Zinchenko confirmed his readiness to clash in debates with NBU Chair
Serhii Tihipko, a campaign manager of Yanukovych. As Ukrainian News
earlier reported, Tihipko forecasts that Yanukovych's ratings will rise
after televised debates with Yuschenko.
Zinchenko said that real difference in ratings between candidates Yuschenko
and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych is 8-10%. "According to our data,
the difference is 8-10%," he said. Zinchenko called on journalists to pay
attention to results of opinion polls and ratings of presidential
candidates. He added that real difference in ratings could be traced if only
to compare data of different polls.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, 40.4% of Ukrainians polled by the
Democratic Initiatives Foundation on July 23 were prepared to vote for
Yuschenko in the second round of elections while 31.1% said they would
give their votes to Yanukovych. At the same time, 26.3% polled by the same
organization on the same date completely trust Yuschenko as politician, and
only 15.8% indicated trust in Yanukovych.
The Central Election Commission registered Yuschenko and Yanukovych as
presidential candidates on July 6. The election campaign in Ukraine kicked
off on July 3. The voting day is scheduled for October 31.
(http://www.ukranews.com) (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Ukrainian Information Website: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
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6. UKRAINE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE YUSHCHENKO
MAINTAINS LEAD IN OPINION POLLS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian, 3 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine's two main presidential candidates, opposition leader Viktor
Yushchenko and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, have seen their poll
ratings grow in July, with Yushchenko's lead shrinking from 7.4 to 6.8 per
cent, according to the Razumkov centre, one of Ukraine's leading pollsters.
The poll was conducted on 22-28 July, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency
said on 3 August.
In the first round of the election, 27.9 per cent of those polled were ready
to support Yushchenko and 21.1 per cent Yanukovych. The figures for late
June were 25.2 and 17.8 per cent, respectively. Communist leader Petro
Symonenko came third with 9.8 per cent, and Socialist leader Oleksandr
Moroz fourth with 6.5 per cent.
In the run-off between Yushchenko and Yanukovych, 37.1 per cent would
vote for Yushchenko and 29.4 per cent for Yanukovych. Some 12.7 per
cent would vote against all, 12.5 per cent were undecided and 8.4 per cent
would not vote at all.
The fastest growth in the number of Yushchenko supporters was registered in
central Ukraine, where the share of the voters ready to support him in the
second round rose from 40 per cent in April to 44 per cent in June and 50.9
per cent in July, according to Razumkov. The figure has reached 65.6 per
cent in western Ukraine, 29.9 per cent in the south, and 15.3 per cent in
the east of Ukraine.
Yanukovych would get 47.4 per cent of the vote in the east, 37.4 per cent in
the south, 17.2 per cent in central Ukraine and 12.2 per cent in the west,
according to Razumkov figures. The election is scheduled for 31 October.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
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7. 46% OF UKRAINIANS THINK PM YANUKOVYCH WILL EMERGE
AS WINNER OF PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - POLL INDICATES
Only 16.5% think Viktor Yushchenko will emerge as the winner
Daria Hluschenko, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, August 3, 2004
KYIV - 46.3% of Ukrainians in a poll conducted by the Kyiv International
Institute of Sociology believe that Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will
become the next President of Ukraine.
According to the poll's results, which Ukrainian News has obtained, 16.5%
of Ukrainians reckon that presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko, who is
the leader of the Our Ukraine coalition of political party, will emerge as
the winner of the presidential elections.
1.5% of respondents view Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko as the
future President of Ukraine. The Kyiv International Institute of Sociology
polled 2,002 people in all regions and the Crimea from 19 to 27 July 2004.
The poll has a margin of error of less than 2.4%.
As Ukrainian News reported previously, the campaign in this year's
presidential elections in Ukraine started on July 3. The presidential
elections are set for October 31. The Central Election Commission registered
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who is the leader of the Regions of
Ukraine Party, as a presidential candidate on July 6.
(http://www.ukranews.com) (END)(ARTUIS)
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FOOTNOTE: Some election experts in Ukraine have raised serious
questions about the accuracy of the way this poll was taken. If we
receive further information about this poll we will publish it. (Editor)
======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Ukrainian Information Website: http://www.ArtUkraine.com
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8. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT MEETS WITH U.S. CONGRESSMAN
CURT WELDON AND GEORGIAN PRIME MINISTER
Interfax News, Kiev, Ukraine, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
KIEV - On August 1, Ukraine's President Leonid Kuchma, who is
currently on his vacation in the Crimea, discussed bilateral cooperation
with U.S. Congressman Curt Weldon [R-PA] and with Georgian Prime
Minister Zurab Zhvania
During his meeting with Weldon, Kuchma discussed bilateral cooperation
and world problems.
Kuchma and Zhvania shared information on interior political and economic
situation in Ukraine and Georgia, and discussed the issues of bilateral
relations' development, particularly the state and prospects of trade and
economic cooperation, the presidential press service reported. The sides
also touched upon the issue of the two countries' interaction within the
GUUAM and international problems. (END) (ARTUIS)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131 ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
Send The Action Ukraine Report to your friends in Ukraine
=======================================================
9. IMF RAISES FORECAST FOR UKRAINE'S 2004 GDP
GROWTH FROM 6% to 12.5%
Viktor Riasnyi, Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, Aug 3, 2004
KYIV - The International Monetary Fund, which forecast earlier this year
that Ukraine's GDP would grow by 6% this year, has raised this growth
forecast to 12.5%. The International Monetary Fund announced this in a
statement at the end of its mission's visit to Ukraine from July 20 to
August 2.
The IMF said it improved the growth forecast because of an increase in
Ukraine export volumes and an increase in investments. The IMF also notes a
significant increase in the National Bank of Ukraine's gold and currency
reserves, which presently amount to the equivalent of 3.5 months of imports.
The mission reviewed the economic situation in Ukraine within the framework
of the "precautionary" standby loan agreement. As Ukrainian News earlier
reported, the board of directors of the IMF approved the "precautionary"
standby loan program for Ukraine on March 29.
The agreement on the "precautionary" standby loan program provides for
disbursement of USD 605 million for 12 months (until March 28, 2005) to
Ukraine under special circumstances and at the special request of Ukraine.
According to the IMF, the aim of the "precautionary" standby loan is to
support economic growth, control inflation, and reduce the Ukrainian
economy's susceptibility to various risks. (http://www.ukranews.com)
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.131: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
Please send us names from Poland for the Report's distribution list
=======================================================
10. IMF CRITICIZES UKRAINE'S HIKE IN SPENDING
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 3 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tuesday, Aug 03, 2004
KIEV - A mission of the International Monetary Fund, which has been
working in Ukraine from 19 July to 3 August, has concluded that the
Ukrainian government has failed in its obligations under the Standby
Arrangement programme [approved on 29 March for 12 months], says
a press statement by the IMF office in Ukraine received by UNIAN.
"It has not been possible to complete the review of the standby arrangement
due to changes in fiscal policy implementation, structural measures in the
tax and budget sector and in banking and due to accumulation of new debt
in VAT refunds," the document says.
The IMF mission believes that to complete the review the Ukrainian
government must supply evidence that its fiscal policy, including the 2005
budget, will continue in line with the obligations under the standby loan
agreement. In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers must take steps to ensure
Ukraine meets the structural criteria of effectiveness and the "beacons"
that determine the programme's effectiveness.
In particular, the IMF mission says the changes to the 2004 budget
[increasing government spending by 8bn hryvnya, which is widely considered
an election ploy] have increased budget deficit to 2.75 per cent of GDP
against the target of 1.75 per cent of GDP set under the standby programme.
Meanwhile, prospects for VAT revenue are unclear as VAT receipts in the
first six months were low, the mission believes.
The mission says the government is looking forward to additional revenue
from privatization, however as the new spending plan is not due until
September, the amount of spending and therefore deficit has not been
determined. "The mission believes the weakening of the fiscal policy, even
if limited to the amounts specified in the context of amendments to the
budget, is not appropriate," the statement says.
The document expresses concern at the fact that the increase in budget
deficit increases inflationary pressure, while additional revenue from
privatization is better spent on structural reform. In this connection, the
mission does not recommend increasing the roof of the budget deficit
above 1.75 per cent of GDP.
At the same time, the mission welcomes the latest steps by the National
Bank to prevent inflation surges, but recommends a more active monetary
policy and a more flexible currency exchange regime. [Passage omitted:
other recommendations concerning bank loans] (http://www.unian.net)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131 ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11. EU SHRUGS OFF KUCHMA'S STRATEGIC MANEUVERINGS.
By Ahto Lobjakas, RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report
A Survey of Developments in Belarus and Ukraine by the
Regional Specialists of RFE/RL's Newsline Team
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, Czech Republic
Vol. 6, No. 27, Tuesday, 3 August 2004
The European Union has reacted coolly to reports that Ukrainian
President Leonid Kuchma has removed EU and NATO membership
as strategic aims in his country's defense doctrine.
Ukraine has long pursued the idea of membership in the bloc, but with
no luck. President Leonid Kuchma recently declined to sign an "action
plan" to map out Kyiv's participation in the EU's European Neighbor-
hood Policy, saying it offers nothing new to his country.
Kuchma's apparent decision to give up EU and NATO membership
as strategic objectives is seen as another reaction to cold-shouldering
by Brussels.
Commenting on relations with both Ukraine and Russia, chief
European Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen said on 27 July
that the EU seeks closer ties, but is not offering membership. "Insofar
as our relationship with Ukraine and Russia is concerned, we have
good and close relations with both countries, and we hope they will
be even closer in the future. Membership of the European Union
has never been in the offing for either of those countries, nor has
it formally been discussed as a prospect," Kemppinen said.
Kuchma's decree replacing EU and NATO membership in Ukraine's
defense doctrine with the more vague aim of "Euro-Atlantic
integration" was posted on the Ukrainian government's website on
26 July. The decree substitutes a new goal of "deepening" Kyiv's
relations with the blocs for its earlier goal of "joining" them.
Oleh Shamshur is Ukraine's deputy foreign minister. "This
amendment [to Ukraine's defense doctrine] was made because
neither NATO nor the EU at this moment are ready to give a clear
signal about the timeframe [for Ukraine's entry into NATO],"
Shamshur said.
But Shamshur said Kyiv has not radically changed course. "We do
not see any reasons for claims that Ukraine has changed its European
and Euro-Atlantic course, since the ultimate goal of European
integration has not changed, is not changing, and I don't think it
will change. The key word about European integration is still there
[in the defense doctrine]," Shamshur said. Kuchma's decree coincides
with a visit to Kyiv by Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin used
a speech on 26 July to warn foreign "agents" not to work against
the integration of Russia and Ukraine.
Observers in Brussels note Kuchma has long tried to play off
Russia against the EU. Last year, the EU sharply criticized
Ukraine's moves toward setting up a free-trade zone with Russia and
Kazakhstan, among others. EU officials then said it could compromise
Ukraine's future ties with the bloc.
Officials in Brussels now indicate this should be read as the EU
limiting its offer to Ukraine to joining the bloc's neighborhood policy.
Emma Udwin, an external relations spokeswoman at the European
Commission, said the offer could add a "great deal" to existing
relations. She also made clear Ukraine is not seen as a case deserving
special treatment.
"We are currently pursuing links with Ukraine through our
neighborhood policy -- through the European Neighborhood Policy --
which is a policy that closes no doors but which concentrates on the
current situation, which is that Ukraine is one of our neighbors --
post-enlargement -- and which offers a great deal to any one of our
neighbors that wishes to take up the offer and work with us," Udwin
said. Udwin stressed that "there are plenty of things that can be
offered outside of [EU] membership."
Speaking privately, one EU diplomat noted the bloc sees
significant shortfalls in the use Ukraine has made of its current
Partnership and Cooperation Agreement with the bloc. Kyiv's
desire for closer ties -- perhaps an association agreement, which is
generally seen as a precursor to membership -- is therefore seen as
unwarranted.
The European Neighborhood Policy offers EU neighbors a chance
to integrate their markets so that they can eventually fully benefit
from the bloc's four core freedoms -- the free movement of goods,
capital, services, and people. Only political decision-making would
remain a closed-off area for the neighbors.
Officials in Brussels attribute the EU's relative coolness towards Kyiv
largely to the questionable democratic and human rights record of the
Kuchma administration. One source noted that the EU is "more
interested in what countries do than what they say." (END) (ARTUIS)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report" is prepared by Jan Maksymiuk
on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by "RFE/RL
Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed every
Tuesday. Direct comments to Jan Maksymiuk at maksymiukj@rferl.org.
Back issues are online at http://www.rferl.org/reports/pbureport/
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131 ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Now a major source of Ukrainian news for thousands around the world
=======================================================
12. UKRAINE HARVESTS HALF OF THIS YEAR'S GRAIN CROPS
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian, 2 Aug 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Monday, Aug 02, 2004
KIEV - Ukraine has harvested 17.914m tonnes of early grain and leguminous
crops as of 30 July, with the yield of 30 centners per hectare. Early grain
and leguminous crops have been harvested on the area of 6.441m hectares,
which is 54 per cent of the total.
The crops have been threshed on the area of 5.978m hectares (50 per cent of
the total), the Business World programme of the First National TV channel
[UT1] said, quoting sources in the Cabinet of Ministers. [Passage omitted:
other figures]
The government forecast the 2004 grain harvest to be about 32-35m tonnes,
with 7-9m tonnes (mostly grain fodder) to be exported in the 2004-05
marketing year. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131 ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
========================================================
13. "THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"
A Publication Supported Financially By Its Readers
The Action Ukraine Program, Washington, D.C., August 3, 2004
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT"-04, is an in-depth news and
analysis international newsletter, produced by the www.ArtUkraine.com
Information Service (ARTUIS). The report is now distributed to several
thousand persons worldwide FREE of charge using the e-mail address:
ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net. This is the 130th Report issued so
far in year 2004.
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" is supported through The Action
Ukraine Program Fund. Financial support from readers is essential to
the future of this Report. You can become a financial sponsor of The
Action Ukraine Program Fund. Individuals, corporations, non-profit
organizations and other groups can provide support for the expanding
Action Ukraine Program by sending in contributions.
Checks should be made out to the Ukrainian Federation of America,
(UFA), a private, not-for-profit, voluntary organization. The funds should
be designated for the Action Ukraine Program Fund (AUPF), and
mailed to Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson, Ukrainian Federation of
America (UAF), 930 Henrietta Avenue, Huntingdon Valley, PA
19006-8502.
For individuals a contribution of $45-$100 is suggested. Your contribution
to help build The Action Ukraine Program to support Ukraine and her
future is very much appreciated. (END) (ARTUIS)
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131 ARTICLE NUMBER FOURTEEN
========================================================
14. TEAM OF YOUNG ADULTS LEAVES FOR UKRAINE TO WORK
WITH TWO ORPHANAGES IN KIRIVOHAD AND
IVANO-FRANKIVSK PROVINCES
Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA (UOC of the USA)
South Bound Brook, New Jersey, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
SOUTH BOUND BROOK - On July 30, after a day briefing at the Church
Center, a team of faithful of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.
(UOC of the USA) left for Ukraine. Nine young adults and college students,
led by Father Taras Naumenko of Palos Park, IL, will spend two weeks
working at the two orphanages which are sponsored by our Church, helping
with basic repairs to the facilities, assisting the staff with basic care,
and providing comfort to the needy children.
The UOC of the USA has taken on the sponsorship of two orphanages in
Ukraine, through the coordination of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund.
One children's home is in Znamianka of the Kirivohad Province and the other
in Zaluchya in Ivano-Frankivsk Province. The latter is home to many
handicapped children that probably will never be adopted. This is the second
time that our Church has sent such a mission team to work at these two
orphanages.
The United Orthodox Sisterhoods, St. Andrew's Society, the Ukrainian
Orthodox League and individual parishes through a multitude of civic funds
have provided for the needs of children, especially the orphans in Ukraine.
The nuclear disaster in Chornobyl, Ukraine on April 26, 1986 and the
collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe has brought disarray within the
economic and social fabric of Ukraine. Most vulnerable during these trying
times have been the elderly, the handicapped and the orphaned children.
Since Ukraine's declaration of Independence in 1991, the UOC of the USA
has been supportive in aiding Ukraine's children.
Five years ago, the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund and the Ukrainian
Orthodox Church here in America coordinated an effort to establish a
Neo-natal Unit at a Children's Hospital in Chernihiv, Ukraine, just 60 miles
from Chornobyl.
Please pray for the welfare of the orphaned and handicapped children of
these orphanages, and pray for the success of our missionary efforts.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.ukrainianorthodoxchurchusa.org, FatherVZ@aol.com
UOC of the USA, P. O. Box 495, South Bound Brook, NJ 08880
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 131 ARTICLE NUMBER FIFTEEN
========================================================
15. COUPLE HOPES NEW COOKBOOK HELPS BRING AN
ADOPTED DAUGHTER TO IOWA FROM UKRAINE
"Recipes from the Heart: Bringing Forever Families Together"
By Alma Gaul, Quad Cities Times
Davenport, Iowa, USA, Tuesday, August 3, 2004
.
CALAMUS, Iowa - Penny and Jerry Smith of Calamus, Iowa, are the
parents of two wonderful little boys, but they want to add a daughter to
their family. After much soul-searching and discussion, they have decided
to adopt a special-needs child from the Ukraine.
.
The process will cost about $12,000, mainly for air fare to the Ukraine and
back and to hire a facilitator to guide them around and translate. Other
costs include accommodations and money to hire a baby-sitter while they are
gone.
.
The Smiths believe they were led to adoption by God. "To me, this has been
our path," Penny Smith says. "Even when there's insecurity, it's been made
clear that this is what we should be doing. God has smiled on us."
.
To avoid going into debt, the Smiths are organizing various fund-raisers and
have pinned their hopes on a 340-page cookbook titled "Recipes from the
Heart: Bringing Forever Families Together." They compiled the book via the
Internet.
.
The Smiths are members of a Yahoo! e-group called Fundraising for Adoption.
Of the 250 some people from across the country who are members of this
group, 18 other families who are in the adoption process got together with
the Smiths to create the book.
.
They each collected and submitted recipes, then divvied up duties, such as
proofreading and formatting. In the end, each family got a CD of the recipes
to print and distribute in any way they wanted. The Smiths took their CD to
Brennan Printing in Deep River, Iowa, ordering 1,000 copies that were
delivered last month.
.
Talk about operating on faith! If they sell all copies they will make
$8,000. If they don't, well, "I can't even think about if it won't happen,"
Penny Smith says. "We have 60 days to meet our goal before we have to
pay the printer." The book sells for $15, plus $2.50 for shipping. Of that,
the Smiths will get a little over $8 and the printer will get $6.
.
Among Penny Smith's favorite recipes is Grasshopper Cake, which she likes
to make with her boys. (You'll find a selection of recipes from the book,
including the cake, Fried Green Tomatoes and Crockpot Pizza on Page XX.)
Other fund-raisers have included garage and jewelry sales, and there is an
upcoming band benefit.
.
The Smiths expect to travel to the Ukraine in September to pick out a child
who could be as young as 14 months. Although their child will be designated
as having a "special need," that doesn't mean the need will be severe or of
the type that will require nursing care.
.
"It just means the child is not perfectly healthy," Penny Smith said. The
need might be a partial limb, a cleft palate, a crossed eye or a joint
disease. In some cases the problem might eventually be corrected with
surgery or treatment.
.
The Smiths decided to adopt in the Ukraine because the wait generally is
less than in the United States - a matter of about nine months rather than
several years. And the cost is not as high as in some other countries such
as China.
.
There are more than 50,000 orphans in 150 orphanages across the Ukraine,
Penny Smith says. By the age of 18, five of nine will be turned out on the
streets and most will be fending for themselves.
.
In choosing adoption, the Smiths are motivated by a desire to give a good
home to a child who might not otherwise have one, "but in the end, she's
going to be our daughter," Penny Smith says. "This is just a different way
to expand our family."
.
The Smith family also has been touched by adoption themselves. Penny
Smith was an adopted child who grew up "happy in a great family" and
who has never tried to find her birth parents. On the other hand, her
husband's mother gave up a child who is now back in the family's lives.
.
Penny Smith, 35, works part-time at Trinity Medical Center's Birth Place at
the 7th Street Campus, Moline, and is studying to be a nurse. Jerry Smith,
34, is a software engineer for Sedona Technologies. Their boys are Gavin, 3,
and Gabriel, 16 months. The Smiths have completed all the paperwork and
reviews for the adoption, and Penny Smith is now filling a play crib with
dolls. All that's left is to fly to the Ukraine . and to sell cookbooks.
. TO ORDER THE COOKBOOK
.Send a check for $17.50 ($15 for the book and $2.50 for shipping) payable
to Penny or Jerry Smith to P.O. Box 115, Calamus, Iowa 52729. (Be sure to
include your name and address.)
.The book also is being sold at the Davenport Farmers Market from 8 a.m. to
noon Wednesdays and Saturdays in the parking lot at River Drive and Western
Avenue near the Freight House. This is the Mississippi Valley Growers
Association market. (The Davenport Farmers Market will relocate to the lot
at 19th and Grant Streets in Bettendorf on Wednesday, from 8 a.m. to noon,
due to the campaign visits in downtown Davenport.)
You also may phone Penny Smith at (563) 246-2638 or e-mail to
AdoptionCookbook@aol.com. Journalist Alma Gaul may be contacted at
(563) 383-2324 or at agaul@qctimes.com
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1032459&l=1&t=Food&c=13,1032459
========================================================
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B. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA),
Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson; Vera M. Andryczyk, President; E.
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Kyiv vs. Kiev----SPELLING POLICY--Chornobyl vs.Chernobyl
THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" uses the spelling KYIV (Ukrainian)
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control. We do not change the way journalists, authors, reporters, the
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Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Executive Director, Ukrainian Federation of America
(UFA); Coordinator, The Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC);
Senior Advisor, Government Relations, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF);
Advisor, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council, Washington, D.C.;
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========================================================
"POWER TENDS TO CORRUPT,
ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY"
An observation that a person's sense of morality lessens as his or
her power increases. The statement was made by Lord Acton, British
historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
True then, true today, true always.
========================================================