"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"
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has promised to hold a
referendum in Ukraine to change the constitution and make Russian the
second official language. Speaking at a congress of the Ukrainian Diaspora
in Moscow, he also promised to introduce dual citizenship for Ukrainians
living in Russia. [article four]
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" Year 04, Number 187
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, MONDAY, October 11, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT KUCHMA TELLS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
PUTIN HE IS CONCERNED AT WHAT PATH UKRAINE WILL TAKE
My path which has yielded results or path that will revise everything
backwards; Kuchma and Putin obviously strongly support Viktor Yanukovych
Source: UT1 State TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
2. PUTIN MEETS UKRAINIAN LEADERS KUCHMA, YANUKOVYCH
ONCE AGAIN, PRAISES UKRAINE'S DEVELOPMENT
Kuchma says Putin has views in common with him
Source: Channel One TV, Moscow, in Russian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
3. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN HOSTS UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT
KUCHMA AND PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH
Putin warmly greets Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych
The Associated Press, Moscow, Russia, Sat, October 9, 2004
4. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER PROMISES REFERENDUM TO
MAKE RUSSIAN SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND INTRODUCE
DUAL CITIZENSHIP FOR UKRAINIANS LIVING IN RUSSIA
Speaks at a Congress of Ukrainian Diaspora in Moscow
Source: One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 8 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Oct 08, 2004
5. ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN UKRAINIANS CRITICIZES
UKRAINIAN NGOS IN RUSSIA FOR THEIR CALL TO BACK
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sun, October 10, 2004
6. PATRIARCH ALEXY II MEETS WITH UKRAINIAN PRIME
MINISTER VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH IN MOSCOW
Alexy wants Russian as a state language in Ukraine and restoration of
the unity of Orthodoxy under Moscow's leadership
ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, Sat, October 9, 2004
7. UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ARE COORDINATING THEIR ACTIONS
ON JOINING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
ACCORDING TO UKRAINIAN PM VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
8. RALLY FOR UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR
YANUKOVYCH FAILS TO DRAW BIG CROWD DESPITE FREE VODKA
Anna Melnichuk, AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
9. A LEADER OF THE PEOPLE'S STRENGTH COALITION YULIYA
TYMOSHENKO ACCUSES PUTIN AND KUCHMA OF APPLYING
PRESSURE TO HER BY PUTTING HER NAME ON WANTED LIST
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat. Oct 09, 2004
10. ABOUT 20,000 MEET YULIYA TYMOSHENKO WHO IS OUT
CAMPAIGNING IN WESTERN UKRAINE FOR VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
11. DIRTY CAMPAIGNING TAINTS RACE FOR UKRAINE'S PRESIDENCY
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Worldstream, Kyiv, Friday, Oct 08, 2004
12. FARCE AND DRAMA MIX AS ELECTION DAY NEARS IN
FIERCE UKRAINE RACE
Steven Lee Myers, New York Times
International Herald Tribune, Sunday, October 10, 2004
13. UKRAINIAN PAPER SAYS AUTHORITIES ARE PLANNING
MASSIVE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FRAUD IN DONETSK REGION
Local business, government and criminal groups are acting together
Viktor Bespalko, Ukrayina Moloda, Kiev, in Ukrainian 23 Sep 04, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Oct 08, 2004
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
========================================================
1. UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT KUCHMA TELLS RUSSIAN PRESIDENT
PUTIN HE IS CONCERNED AT WHAT PATH UKRAINE WILL TAKE
My path which has yielded results or path that will revise everything
backwards. Kuchma and Putin obviously strongly support Yanukovych
Source: UT1 State TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
KIEV - [Presenter] The idea of creating a Single Economic Space [SES]
between Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan does not need any proof,
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said at a meeting with his Russian
counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow today. Maksym Drabok reports by
phone from Moscow about other topics that the two presidents discussed.
[Correspondent] Putin and the [Russian] prime minister [Mikhail Fradkov]
met the high guests - Leonid Kuchma, [Ukrainian Prime Minister] Viktor
Yanukovych and [Kuchma's chief of staff] Viktor Medvedchuk - at the
entrance to [Putin's] residence in Novo-Ogarevo. Kuchma arrived in
Moscow not only to greet Putin on his birthday.
The two leaders discussed prospects for the development of Ukrainian-
Russian relations, international issues and the creation of the SES
tete-a-tete and together with the two prime ministers. The topic of the
[Ukrainian October] presidential election was not bypassed either.
[Kuchma, in Russian] I am concerned not so much at who [will be Ukrainian
president] as what will be after the presidential election. I mean what path
Ukraine will take - the path that has yielded results, and those results are
probably not felt that much by our fellow countrymen, or the path that will
revise what has been done in these 10 years and will cast doubt on
everything. And when doubt is cast, this is at least a halt or, maybe,
movement in the opposite direction, the result of which is certainly known.
[Putin, in Russian] The Ukrainian presidential election is not merely a
formal legal act since the Ukrainian people will have to select the path of
future development, as the Ukrainian president has just said, the future
development of their country. A decision will have to be made on whether
the positive trends in the development of the [Ukrainian] economy will be
sustained. And we record that there have been such positive changes of
late and they are considerable. Ukraine can certainly be proud of such
developments.
We particularly treasure all that President Kuchma has laid as the basis
of the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations. The future of
Russian-Ukrainian relations will depend on how the future Ukrainian
leadership will shape its policy.
[Counter reading: 0740-1026. Video shows Kuchma and Putin kissing,
Yanukovych and Putin kissing, the two presidents and the two prime
ministers sitting at a table and Kuchma and Putin speaking.] -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
=======================================================
2. PUTIN MEETS UKRAINIAN LEADERS KUCHMA, YANUKOVYCH
ONCE AGAIN, PRAISES UKRAINE'S DEVELOPMENT
Kuchma says Putin has views in common with him
Channel One TV, Moscow, in Russian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Oct 09, 2004
MOSCOW - [Presenter] At this moment Vladimir Putin is meeting the
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
Earlier this week the head of the Russian state had invited Kuchma and
Yanukovych to attend his birthday. The president said today that the
invitation was but a pretext to compare notes on a range of bilateral
issues.
[Putin talking to Kuchma] You know that we have always wanted Ukraine
to be a strong, self-sufficient and vigorously developing country. And this
is exactly what is happening now. In the last few years a lot has changed
indeed. Of course, perhaps, not all ordinary citizens notice this, because
many people are still living in fairly difficult conditions.
We are aware, how ever, of positive tendencies in the development of
the Ukrainian economy, something that is very important for us too because
Ukraine is one of our major trade and economic partners. I hope we will
be able to discuss all this today, along with a number of other issues, such
as coordinating our efforts in the international arena.
[Kuchma in Russian] I accepted your invitation with pleasure in order to
have an opportunity to personally congratulate you on your birthday. But
this is really a pretext indeed to exchange views on many and many issues.
Some of them are at a bilateral level, but everything that is happening
around us and in the world on the whole cannot escape our attention. I
think that our common position - and I am convinced that we have views
in common - makes it easier to defend our interests. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
========================================================
3. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT PUTIN HOSTS UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT
KUCHMA AND PRIME MINISTER YANUKOVYCH
Putin warmly greets Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych
The Associated Press, Moscow, Russia, Sat, October 9, 2004
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin used a meeting with his Ukrainian
counterpart Saturday to express Moscow's close interest in Ukraine's
upcoming presidential election.
The campaign for Ukraine's Oct. 31 vote to replace outgoing President
Leonid Kuchma has been tense, with top candidates Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko running neck and
neck.
Russia "is not indifferent to the choice that the people of Ukraine will
make in the presidential election," Putin told Kuchma, Interfax reported.
"Ukraine's presidential election is not simply an official, legal act. The
Ukrainian people must determine the future development of their country,"
Putin was quoted as saying.
Yanukovych, who has Kuchma's backing, has called for stronger ties with
Russia, and Moscow has not been shy about favoring him. Yushchenko
advocates stronger ties with the West.
"A decision must be made about whether the positive tendencies in the
development of the Ukrainian economy will be secured. We think that there
is progress and it is significant," Putin said. He emphasized, however, that
Russia will respect whatever choice Ukraine makes.
State television showed Putin warmly greeting Viktor Yanukovych, who
accompanied Kuchma to Moscow for the talks. Putin and Kuchma also
were expected to endorse efforts on easing travel across their shared
border.
A rally in support of Yanukovych in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday failed
to attract the thousands that organizers had promised despite free vodka and
porridge. Police said that about 500 people turned out on the mild autumn
day, far thinner numbers than the 10,000 that organizers had expected.
Yushchenko, who sought medical treatment in Austria after claiming he was
poisoned, said Saturday he was feeling much better and would likely return
to his homeland in a few days.
Yushchenko told Austrian television he was feeling much better "thanks to
the Austrian doctors" treating him at Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus
clinic. -30- (Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
========================================================
4. UKRAINIAN PRIME MINISTER PROMISES REFERENDUM TO
MAKE RUSSIAN SECOND OFFICIAL LANGUAGE AND INTRODUCE
DUAL CITIZENSHIP FOR UKRAINIANS LIVING IN RUSSIA
Speaks at a Congress of Ukrainian Diaspora in Moscow
One Plus One TV, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 8 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Fri, Oct 08, 2004
KIEV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has promised to hold
a referendum in Ukraine to change the constitution and make Russian the
second official language. Speaking at a congress of the Ukrainian Diaspora
in Moscow, he also promised to introduce dual citizenship for Ukrainians
living in Russia. The following is the text of report by Ukrainian One Plus
One TV on 8 October:
[Presenter] Ukraine should participate in building the European security
architecture but it cannot do it by itself, without both Russia and Europe.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych talked about this and the
prospects of double citizenship in Moscow at a congress of Ukrainian public
organizations in Russia. The participants adopted a resolution supporting
the prime minister at the presidential election. Russian President Vladimir
Putin welcomed the congress and mentioned the spiritual kinship of
Ukrainians and Russians.
[Correspondent] Viktor Yanukovych told the Russian Ukrainians that he
came to them as a person, a politician and a compatriot. About 1,000
representatives from public organizations of the Ukrainian Diaspora gathered
for the congress, which was held in the column hall of the House of
Councils. According to official statistics, over 3m ethnic Ukrainians have
Russian citizenship. That is why their activists who came to the congress
liked Yanukovych's idea of adopting a law on dual citizenship in Ukraine.
[Yanukovych] I think dual citizenship is a matter of the immediate future.
I will raise the issue and we should give this right to our citizens.
[Correspondent] Yanukovych also talked about another important issue -
recognizing Russian as the second state language in Ukraine. He promised
that, if need be, Ukrainians will even hold a referendum, because
introducing a second [state] language requires changes to the constitution.
Yanukovych described the political situation in Ukraine as extremely tense.
He has not lost hope to win the first round of the presidential election and
to return trust in the authorities. He devotes 30 per cent of his time to
the election campaign, he said.
Russian politicians also attended the congress of Ukrainians, including
Russian presidential administration chief Dmitriy Medvedev, CIS Executive
Secretary Vladimir Rushaylo, and Moscow mayor Yuriy Luzhkov. Luzhkov,
in particular, made public his support for Yanukovych.
[Luzhkov] I have listened to Viktor Fedorovych [Yanukovych]. All these
figures, the volumes he mentioned, sounded like music to me. We talk a
lot with him. He is really a man of business.
[Correspondent] Both Yanukovych and Luzhkov quoted [famous Russian
poet Aleksandr] Pushkin in their speeches. The Ukrainian prime minister -
about love for the motherland which is far away, the Moscow mayor
artistically recited - quiet is Ukraine's night. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
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5. ASSOCIATION OF RUSSIAN UKRAINIANS CRITICIZES
UKRAINIAN NGOS IN RUSSIA FOR THEIR CALL TO BACK
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Sun, October 10, 2004
KIEV - The Association of Ukrainians of Russia and the Federal National
Culture Autonomy called Ukrainians of Russia are critical of the call to
support presidential candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych voiced
at the congress of Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations in Russia.
Ukrainian News has obtained a copy of the statement made by these
organizations.
More than 80 officially registered and acting federal organizations of
Russian Ukrainians had nothing to do with the congress, the statement reads.
The NGOs do not understand the principal in accordance with which the
delegates have been sent to the congress: whether they came because they
were elected and what organizations did they represent at the congress?
The Association of Ukrainians of Russia stated that every Russian citizen
of Ukrainian ethnic origin has the right to political likes and dislikes,
but Ukrainian organizations in Russia do not think they have the right to
interfere in the election campaign in Ukraine because election of members
of power is the internal business of Ukraine and its people.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, representatives of Ukrainian NGOs in
Russia came to the congress on Friday and called on Ukrainians to support
the candidacy of Yanukovych at the elections as the only contender who is
able to unite the nation and guarantee the economic growth in the country.
Yanukovych left for a two-day visit to Moscow on Friday.
The Central Election Commission qualified the prime minister for the
presidential race on July 6. On July 3, Ukraine launched the election
campaign that must end the day before the voting day of October 31. -30-
=======================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
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6. PATRIARCH ALEXY II MEETS WITH UKRAINIAN PRIME
MINISTER VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH IN MOSCOW
Alexy wants Russian as a state language in Ukraine and restoration of
the unity of Orthodoxy under Moscow's leadership
ITAR-TASS, Moscow, Russia, Sat, October 9, 2004
MOSCOW - Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and all Russia met
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich on Saturday to discuss
the status of the Russian language in Ukraine and the restoration of
the unity of Orthodoxy in the country.
Alexy II thanked Yanukovich for granting the status of the state
language to the Russian language.
The patriarch told Yanukovich about the results of the Assembly of
Hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Alexy II noted the active
part in the Assembly by Ukraine's episcopacy, which includes 40
hierarchs.
Yanukovich stressed, "As a believer I'm pleased with strengthening the
Ukrainian Orthodox Church and contribute to the consolidation of
Orthodoxy in Ukraine."
Alexy II presented Yanukovich the icon of Our Lady of Vladimir, which
symbolises the unity of historical roots of the Russian and Ukrainian
peoples. -30- (Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
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7. UKRAINE AND RUSSIA ARE COORDINATING THEIR ACTIONS
ON JOINING THE WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION (WTO)
ACCORDING TO UKRAINIAN PM VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
ITAR-TASS news agency, Moscow, in Russian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
Moscow, 9 October: Ukraine and Russia are constantly coordinating their
actions on joining the World Trade Organization (WTO), according to
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. He was speaking about the
results of a meeting with Russian Federation Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov.
According to Yanukovych, "the issue of coordinating our countries' entry
into the WTO is constantly within our field of vision". He added that "there
is understanding on this issue" at the level of working groups. Yanukovych
noted that trade between Russia and Ukraine had increased by 35 per cent
in the recent past and "we are confidently heading towards the volume of
trade and economic relations that we defined in the programme for joint
relations".
For his part, Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov announced that a session of
several working groups would take place in the next few days at the level
of experts, who are to complete work on a number of remaining issues.
The Russian prime minister confirmed Russia's readiness for close
cooperation and coordination with Ukraine on WTO entry. -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOOTNOTE: Coordinating with Russia for Ukraine most of the time
means Ukraine is doing what Russia wants with Russia in the dominate
position calling the shots. (EDITOR)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 187: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
========================================================
8. RALLY FOR UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR
YANUKOVYCH FAILS TO DRAW BIG CROWD DESPITE FREE VODKA
Anna Melnichuk, AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
KIEV - A rally in support of presidential candidate Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday failed to attract the
thousands that organizers had promised despite free vodka and porridge.
Police said that about 500 people turned out on the mild, autumn day, far
thinner numbers than the 10,000 that organizers had earlier expected.
Yanukovych, who has the backing of outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, is
in a neck-in-neck race with opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, ahead of
the Oct. 31 vote, which is seen as a crucial test of democracy in Ukraine.
Those attending Saturday's rally _ mostly students and the retired _ were
treated to a folk dance, as well as free vodka and porridge. "I will vote
only for Yanukovych," said Olga Kondratyeva, a pensioner. She added:
"We lived under Communists, we lived under democrats, now let's try to
live under bandits."
Yanukovych was sentenced to two prison terms in the 1970s for robbery,
assault and battery, but the court later annulled both convictions, citing a
lack of evidence.
Two 18-year-old students, who gave only their first names, Sveta and Katia,
said their school dean recommended they attend the rally for Yanukovych,
who was on a working visit to Moscow on Saturday. Both were eating from
steaming plates of free porridge.
Earlier this week, Ukraine's Voters Committee, a group of independent
analysts monitoring the vote, accused authorities of pressuring Ukrainians
to support Yanukovych. The opposition and human rights watchdogs have
accused Yanukovych and his allies of bare-knuckle policies and abuse of
power, including blocking opposition access to the media.
Yushchenko, a Western-leaning reformer, remains hospitalized in an Austrian
clinic, and his allies say he was poisoned. On Friday, doctors in Vienna
said that international experts will help investigate whether Yushchenko was
poisoned.
His campaign chief alleges he was made ill by the type of toxins found in
biological weapons, though investigators say they had no firm evidence of
this. Yushchenko is expected to return to Ukraine on Sunday. Kuchma on
Friday called on Ukraine's health and law enforcement ministries to seek
international help in investigating Yushchenko's illness. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. A LEADER OF THE PEOPLE'S STRENGTH COALITION YULIYA
TYMOSHENKO ACCUSES PUTIN AND KUCHMA OF APPLYING
PRESSURE TO HER BY PUTTING HER NAME ON WANTED LIST
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat. Oct 09, 2004
KIEV - A leader of the Ukrainian opposition election coalition, Yuliya
Tymoshenko, has accused the Ukrainian and Russian presidential
administrations of applying pressure on her by putting her name on an
international wanted list. However, ambassadors from several European
countries have assured her that she is free to travel through their
territory, Tymoshenko said. The following is the text of the report by
Ukrainian news agency UNIAN:
Lutsk, 9 October: The co-head of the People's Strength [opposition]
coalition, Yuliya Tymoshenko, has said that putting her on an international
wanted list is a PR move against her, which was organized by the head of
the Ukrainian presidential administration, Viktor Medvedchuk.
She said this at a news conference for local media in Lutsk today.
Tymoshenko thinks that putting her on the international wanted list is a
"planned move" to reduce trust in her in Ukraine's east. "For objective
reasons, only I can work in Ukrainian eastern regions in the absence of
[opposition presidential candidate Viktor] Yushchenko [who is undergoing
treatment in an Austrian hospital]," Tymoshenko said. There is no need to
explain to voters in western Ukraine that "these moves are made under an
agreement between Medvedchuk and Putin's administration".
There is absolutely no grounds to search for her because she - first - is in
her home country and - second - sent an open letter to the Russian
prosecutor-general saying that, according to Ukrainian and Russian laws
and international conventions "they have to come to Ukraine and question
her", Tymoshenko said. If they have "any questions" then, according to
international conventions, "they have to transfer all the cases to Ukraine",
Tymoshenko said.
"They have not done this because they need a PR event rather than real
things," Tymoshenko said. Interpol, "judging by the information on its web
site", has not done what the Russian military prosecutor's office asked,
"which is another proof that this is a PR move", Tymoshenko said.
Tymoshenko also said that after she was put on the international wanted
list she was approached by ambassadors of European countries, who
said that "she is free to travel in their countries and they do not accept
this political persecution during the election campaign".
The Russian Main Military Prosecutor's Office summoned the former director
of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine corporation and former deputy prime
minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, via the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office
on 16 September. On 20 September Tymoshenko said she had not received
any summons from the Russian Main Military Prosecutor's Office. Statements
made by the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office, saying that she received
the summons in person on 16 September, "are not true", she said.
On 21 September, the official representative of the Russian Main Military
Prosecutor's Office, Mikhail Yanenko, said that the Russian investigators
were going to charge Tymoshenko with bribing five officers of the Russian
Defence Ministry. The Russian military prosecutors intended to put her on
the international wanted list because she had not come to the Russian
prosecutor's office, Tymoshenko said. She thinks that this was the main goal
of the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office. The recent events around her
are caused by "agreements between [Ukrainian President Leonid] Kuchma
and Putin reached in Crimea", she said. The aim of this is to eliminate the
people who are working to help Viktor Yushchenko become Ukrainian
president, Tymoshenko said.
On 23 September, the head of the investigation department of the Russian
Main Military Prosecutor's Office, Maj-Gen Volodymyr Samusev, announced
that Tymoshenko had been put on the international wanted list. "In addition,
following our request, a court today chose arrest as a preventive measure
against her," he said. The former head of the United Energy Systems of
Ukraine corporation did not come on the appointed time for familiarizing
herself with the charges and for questioning, Samusev said. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. ABOUT 20,000 MEET YULIYA TYMOSHENKO WHO IS OUT
CAMPAIGNING IN WESTERN UKRAINE FOR VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian, 9 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sat, Oct 09, 2004
LUTSK - About 20,000 people have come to meet the leader of the
[opposition] People's Strength coalition [made up of the Our Ukraine bloc
and the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc], Yuliya Tymoshenko, in Lutsk [western
Ukraine]. Tymoshenko is on a tour in support of presidential candidate
Viktor Yushchenko.
Tymoshenko told a news conference that Yushchenko is getting better and
will soon resume active campaigning and will continue his campaign tour of
Ukrainian towns and cities.
Tymoshenko also said that, due to Yushchenko's illness, she would tour all
Ukrainian regions and not only those she had earlier planned to visit. She
is touring western Ukrainian regions at the moment and the tour will
continue in eastern and southern Ukraine closer to the presidential
elections [polling day is 31 October], she said.
[Yushchenko had to interrupt his election campaign in early September when
he fell victim to a mystery illness and was taken to a Vienna hospital for
treatment. Yushchenko said that he had deliberately been poisoned by the
authorities.] -30- (Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
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11.DIRTY CAMPAIGNING TAINTS RACE FOR UKRAINE'S PRESIDENCY
Aleksandar Vasovic, AP Worldstream, Kiev, Friday, Oct 08, 2004
KIEV - The apparent front-runner has been out of action for weeks due to
a mysterious illness. His close rival was hospitalized after an assault and
later spooked by warnings that he could be killed. Chaos and suspicion reign
in the final weeks of Ukraine's presidential race, overshadowing campaign
issues in the contest for who will lead the strategically important country
that alternately leans Westward and cultivates closer ties to Russia.
Ukraine's 47 million people have lived for more than a decade amid some
of the ex-Soviet Union's most frenzied and tense politics, where legislators
break the parliament's voting machine and barrage each other with
allegations of corruption, depravity and murder.
But even for Ukraine, the past few weeks have been extraordinary. Lame-
duck President Leonid Kuchma recently complained the campaign had
turned into a "theater of the absurd" _ a criticism countered by allegations
that he's encouraging the entropy as part of a byzantine strategy to hold on
to power.
The escalation of tensions began Sept. 6, when candidate Viktor
Yushchenko, the opposition politician seen by most polls as the narrow
favorite, disappeared. Four days later, he was rushed to an Austrian clinic
for treatment of what his allies claimed was a poisoning attempt. Haggard
and with his face partially paralyzed, Yushchenko resumed campaigning in
mid-September but returned to the clinic for more treatment. He was
expected back in Ukraine by Sunday.
Yushchenko's detractors sneered that he'd just been laid low by eating bad
sushi and drinking cognac and a parliamentary investigation commission said
Thursday it had found no evidence he was poisoned. But that finding was
denounced by some of the members of the commission itself. And Yush-
chenko's campaign chief alleged Thursday that doctors at the clinic
suspected the possible use of a "biological weapon" _ a contention the
clinic declined comment on.
Yushchenko's top opponent, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, also has
suffered from politics Ukrainian-style. In September, he was hospitalized
after being hit during a campaign appearance with an object that his allies
claimed was a camera battery or other metallic item, but which the
opposition said was just an egg.
This week an opposition lawmaker claimed that Kuchma's allies and "another
country" are plotting to assassinate Yanukovych as an excuse for imposing a
state of emergency and postponing the elections. The country allegedly
involved wasn't specified, but Ukrainians were likely to understand the
claim as pointing to Russia, Ukraine's giant eastern neighbor which
alternately provokes and curries favor with the country.
Russia became a factor in the campaign last month after its prosecutors
demanded the extradition of Yulia Tymoshenko, a key Yushchenko ally, for
questioning over her alleged involvement in a mid-1990s corruption scandal.
Tymoshenko, a former deputy prime minister, reportedly is suspected in the
bribing of Russian defense officials to buy Ukrainian materiel. But
Tymoshenko claims the summons was part of a Kremlin plot to tarnish the
pro-Western opposition's reputation ahead of the vote.
The array of mysteries and allegations, which also include reported plots by
anti-Semitic ultranationalists to express support for Yushchenko to try to
turn liberals away from him, appear to have seriously undermined Ukrainians'
trust in the political process. Recent polls by the Democratic Initiatives
Foundation, a Kiev-based think-tank, show that 74 percent of Ukrainians
believe that the vote will be unfair.
Experts say that the campaign, marred with strange turns, salvos of
accusations and counteraccusations, could create wide mistrust in the new
president, no matter who wins. "The campaign begins to look like a farce,"
said Oleksandr Lytvynenko, an analyst at the Kiev-based Razumkov think-tank.
Parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn said the chaos appeared to be "a part
of a plot to undermine the vote." "A couple of incidents more _ and it'll be
easy to declare the vote a failure" which could give Kuchma an opportunity
to run for the third term, since "as any responsible leader, he could not
leave the nation destabilized," the analyst Lytvynenko said.
Kuchma this year won a controversial court decision that would have allowed
him to seek a third term in office. After the ruling, he said he had no
intention of running again, but many observers doubt he genuinely wants to
relinquish power. It was not immediately clear if a legal mechanism exists
for declaring the vote a failure, but Ukrainian courts frequently issue
rulings that appear capricious.
Meanwhile, the two key contenders have refused to appear in a TV debate
with other 22 candidates. Yanukovych argued that "the number of people was
too big for a meaningful discussion," and Yushchenko said he wants to meet
"with Yanukovych only."
Less spectacular daily developments however, have prompted opposition
and human rights organizations to accuse the Prime Minister and his allies
of bare-knuckle policies and abuse of power to advance Yanukovych's
electoral goals. They cited frequent police harassment and detention of
campaign activists, confiscation of electoral material, beatings of
campaigners, regional officials preventing electoral meetings, authorities
blocking opposition's access to the media and cracking down on
independent press.
Yanukovych's pledges that he will secure free and fair vote did little to
convince Western governments including the United States, and the European
Union, as well as international and domestic human rights groups, who have
warned of possible fraud in the Oct. 31 balloting.
U.S. ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst was recently quoted in local media
as saying that "everyone knows how senior provincial officials abuse their
position to force people to support one of the candidates." -30-
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
========================================================
12. FARCE AND DRAMA MIX AS ELECTION DAY NEARS IN
FIERCE UKRAINE RACE
Steven Lee Myers, New York Times
International Herald Tribune, Sunday, October 10, 2004
KIEV - An alleged poisoning has consumed one leading candidate. A
thrown egg did more than smear the coat of another. A mysteriously
rescheduled military parade has fueled rumors of plans for a state of
emergency. Attack ads have redefined what is known here as "black
propaganda."
.
"It's like 'The Matrix'," said Andrei Gurin, who was not the only voter here
to describe Ukraine's presidential campaign as something close to cinematic.
"Nothing to trust, nothing to believe."
.
President Leonid Kuchma's decision not to seek a third five-year term -
after maneuvering around the Constitution to let himself, if he wanted to -
has opened a fierce and increasingly nasty presidential campaign whose
leading candidates offer starkly different visions, especially in foreign
relations.
.
Polls suggest a tight race in the Oct. 31 election between the most
prominent of two dozen candidates: Viktor Yushchenko, a former prime
minister and now the leader of the anti-Kuchma opposition, and Viktor
Yanukovich, the current prime minister, who promises to carry out much
of Kuchma's legacy.
.
The race has turned farcical at times and ominous at others, but it is one
of the most competitive in a former Soviet state, and its outcome could
significantly alter the course of a country with 47 million people at an
important crossroads of Europe.
.
Yushchenko, who appears to hold a slight lead in the polls, has promised to
steer Ukraine toward a more open and democratic society, ending what he
calls the cronyism and corruption of Kuchma's 10 years in power. He vows to
improve economic and political relations with the European Union and NATO,
while withdrawing Ukraine's 1,600 troops from Iraq. Like many here, he
argues that Kuchma dispatched the force largely to improve tattered ties
with the Bush administration.
.
Yanukovich's economic and social pledges echo his opponent's, but in his
view Ukraine's future depends on closer relations with Russia, the country's
largest trading partner. He remains more reserved about Europe and the
United States, but has vowed not to withdraw the Ukrainians from Iraq until
democratic elections are held there.
.
Both sides have used foreign policy to attack the other. Falsified posters
confiscated by Yushchenko's supporters last week depicted the candidate
as a tool of the United States. One showed President George W. Bush
riding Ukraine like a horse under Yushchenko's campaign logo. Yushchenko's
supporters in turn deride Yanukovich of seeking to appease Russia.
(Yanukovich gave his opponents ammunition with a trip to Moscow that
included a meeting on Saturday with President Vladimir Putin.)
Whether the candidates' competing visions decide the vote remains very much
an open question - largely because they have been overshadowed by the
strange twists of the campaign. Yushchenko has spent much of the last month
in a hospital in Austria, after falling ill on Sept. 6 from what he and his
supporters called an attempt to poison him. After returning to Kiev to
resume campaigning on Sept. 18, Yushchenko accused Kuchma's government
of an assassination attempt. "You will not poison us," he said to the
government at a large rally of supporters in Kiev that day. "You do not
have enough bullets and trucks to break us."
On Sept. 30, however, he returned to Austria for treatment of his ailments,
including paralysis in the left side of his face. "The illness is much worse
than we thought," said Oleksandr Zinchenko, a member of Parliament and
chairman of Yushchenko's campaign. In his absence, surrogates have
stumped on Yushchenko's behalf, even as the Parliament, controlled by a
coalition opposed to Kuchma, authorized an investigation into his
accusations.
The hospital in Vienna, Rudolfinerhaus, first issued a statement discounting
the possibility of poisoning, only to retract it last week.
.
On Thursday, the chairman of the Parliament's investigation committee,
Volodimir Sivkovich, stunned Yushchenko's supporters by declaring before
Parliament that there was no evidence to suggest an assassination attempt.
.
Yanukovich's supporters have leveled their own accusations of an attempted
assassination. On Sept. 24, Yanukovich collapsed while campaigning in
Ivano-Frankivsk. His aides said at the time that he was struck in the head
by a blunt object and blamed radicals supporting Yushchenko. A video,
however, clearly shows an egg striking him in the right breast as he stepped
off his campaign bus. After two or three seconds, he clutched his breast and
collapsed into the arms of his aides, who whisked him to a hospital.
The attack, like all of Yanukovich's campaign events, received prominent
attention on the country's television networks, all but one of which is
owned or controlled by the government. The abundant and largely positive
coverage has prompted accusations that the government is using all its
resources to favor Yanukovich. A parade to celebrate the 60th anniversary
of Kiev's liberation from Nazi Germany on Nov. 6, 1944 has been moved
forward to Oct. 28, three days before the election. Opponents see that as
an election ploy or, worse, evidence for a military crackdown.
Sergei Vasiliyev, chief spokesman for Kuchma's administration, insisted that
the election would be free and fair. He said Yanukovich's dominance in news
reports reflected his duties as prime minister. The egg attack appears to
have engendered little sympathy, prompting ridicule and at least one joke. A
grandmother goes to the market, the joke goes, and when finished with her
shopping sees an official portrait of Yanukovich. "Oy," she says, "I forgot
to buy eggs." Yanukovich's opponents have reported more serious violations
of election laws. So have Ukrainian and international election observers.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe reported recently
that campaign events have been disrupted, while students and public
employees have been pressured to support Yanukovich's candidacy. Neither
front-runner is expected to win an outright majority. A runoff is scheduled
for Nov. 21. -30- LINK: http://www.iht.com/articles/542899.html
========================================================
ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.187: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome
========================================================
13. UKRAINIAN PAPER SAYS AUTHORITIES ARE PLANNING
MASSIVE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION FRAUD IN DONETSK REGION
Local business, government and criminal groups are acting together
Viktor Bespalko, Ukrayina Moloda, Kiev, in Ukrainian 23 Sep 04, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Fri, Oct 08, 2004
The Ukrainian pro-opposition newspaper Ukrayina Moloda has said
that the authorities are planning massive ballot rigging in the presidential
elections in Donetsk Region, the base of Prime Minister and candidate
Viktor Yanukovych. It said that local business, government and criminal
groups are closely connected in this, and that the local electoral
commission representatives of minor candidates are in fact placemen for
Yanukovych. "Sub-DONs Elections and Corruption in Donetsk: Two
Sides of the Same Medal"
The following is the text of the article by Viktor Bespalko, entitled
in Ukrayina Moloda on 23 September. Original subheadings retained:
When people speak about the elections in the "Big Don's Land", the
usual implication is mainly not putting voting papers in the ballot box, but
large-scale falsification of voting results. This is why it is not
surprising that the Donbass authorities do not pay much attention to the
efficiency of campaigning for their candidate during the current
presidential race, but rather outline three priority objectives for
themselves: training electoral commissions to change the election results in
the needed direction, intimidating voters, and engaging administrative and
criminal resources. Sometimes it is difficult even for a specialist to find
the difference between them. The question is that both administrative
authorities and criminal groups are using similar methods.
It is worth paying attention to the following peculiarity of this "great
race" in Donetsk Region: if the regional news media were preoccupied with
active "whitewashing" of Viktor Yanukovych's image from May to July, they
returned to their usual method of work at the end of the summer. The major
tasks put before them were as follows: to mention the elections as little as
possible; if they are mentioned, to depict Yanukovych as a "practical
economic manager" who is less concerned with electoral intrigues and who
night and day attaches much more importance to governing the state and
increasing the people's welfare; to report the opposition only when they
hinder the "practical guy" from making the people happy; and to say that
Yanukovych is backed by Putin and Russia, and [opposition presidential
candidate Viktor] Yushchenko is allegedly the protege of "US imperialists".
Thus, a fall in public interest in the elections has been achieved. The
major bulk of work has begun at the level of taking control of polling
stations and local electoral commissions. Representatives of so-called
"auxiliary" candidates united their ranks in support of the one, "because he
is fair". So the number of people representing the authorities at the lower
level of electoral commissions in Donetsk Region now reaches 50-90 per
cent.
"AUXILIARY" CANDIDATES WORKING FOR YANUKOVYCH
In particular, the Internet publication Ostrov [Island] reported the
following facts. For example, two years ago the head of the territorial
electoral commission in constituency 41, Lyubov Kudinova, was still a
member of the Party of Regions and was included in the electoral
commission on the Party of Regions' submission.
And suddenly, in the very den of the Regionalists, she states her support
for Anatoliy Kyrylovych Kinakh. So it is not worth speaking about the
predominance of administrative resource in Donbass. Mykola Vitchynikov
(constituency 46) who was the aide to the Director-General and a member of
the Party of Regions two years ago, staked on [minor candidate] Oleksandr
Rzhavskyy during these elections. Yuriy Vichok from the 47th constituency,
his fellow party member and, by the way, also a director of something, has
taken the astonishing decision to work in the commission in favour of the
[minor breakaway] Communist Oleksandr Yakovenko.
The fact that another director and a Party of Regions member (as she was
two year ago) Natalya Zhmudska (constituency 49), and the private business-
woman and "Regionalist" Rayisa Bukryeyeva (constituency 50) represent
Bohdan Boyko from the [nationalist] Rukh God save you from saying this in
Donbass! - in commissions during these elections, seems to be equally
surprising. By the way, this is far from the first time that Rayisa
Mykolayivna Bukryeyeva has become head of the territorial commission
covering the greater part of Yenakiyeve, Viktor Yanukovych's native town.
Not all "Regionalists" who took part in the 2002 parliamentary elections
could be found on the lists of the electoral commissions working on the
current presidential race, but there are only about three active members of
the Party of Regions from among 14 members of electoral commissions who
stayed true to Viktor Yanukovych. Others have joined commissions
representing [various minor candidates] Kinakh, Rzhavskyy, Yakovenko,
Bazylyuk and Nechyporuk. Another, even more surprising thing is the fact
that [pro-government United Social Democratic Party] USDPU members with
electoral experience have decided to use it not in favour of the candidate
recently supported by their party congress (Yanukovych Author).
Oleksandr Bashkatov (constituency 42) has decided to work for candidate
Nechyporuk, Rayisa Kartamysheva (head of the commission, constituency 44)
who was a USDPU member and a school headmaster at least two years ago,
has suddenly supported Communist Yakovenko. But, quoting Lenin, the action
of a Social Democrat (in case he did not join the Yabluko [party of
anti-Yanukovych candidate and Kiev businessman Mykhaylo Brodskyy] in the
course of the last two years) Yevhen Kuslyvyy (constituency 46) who has
become a territorial commission member representing candidate Mykhaylo
Brodskyy the sworn enemy of the USDPU seems to be "strange and surprising"!
Social Democrats support [minor nationalist candidates] Chornovil, Rzhavskyy
and Kozak the same way. And no one from among Social Democrats of the
2002 parliamentary elections vintage has expressed any desire to work for
Viktor Yanukovych's candidacy.
Maybe [broadly pro-government] People's Democratic Party members will
support their protege? Let everyone missed by us during our comparison of
the previous and forthcoming election lists forgive us, but the state of the
PDP is also strange: only one People's Democrat from among eight working on
commissions has been proposed to represent candidate Viktor Yanukovych.
Despite the fact that the PDP leader Valeriy Pustovoytenko heads the
coalition "Together for the Future!" in support of Yanukovych, his party
activists are predominantly engaged in protecting the "rears" of absolutely
different candidates. "PDPisits" have "donated" two electoral committee
members to Yakovenko, Boyko and Bazylyuk each. Only one People's
Democrat has been received by Nechyporuk.
It can be said that these are the major players in pre-electoral preference.
Besides the Party of Regions, USDPU and PDP, reliable personnel has been
shared with little-known candidates by the "Women of the Future", the Party
of Muslims of Ukraine, the Democratic Union and other parties which had
supported Yanukovych's candidacy. It would be naive to admit that all of
them are going to work against the single candidate representing the
authorities. Moreover, having joined electoral commissions on behalf of
anyone, they have already begun to work in Yanukovych's favour.
Thus, judging by the commission members representing them, it turns out that
the Communist Yakovenko, Boyko from Rukh for Unity and Andriy Chornovil,
to say nothing of Bazylyuk, Rzhavskyy, Kozak and Nechyporuk, are purely
"auxiliary" candidates. "Thanks" to the heads of their local headquarters,
they are working for the authorities' protege Viktor Yanukovych. And because
our elections are won not by those in whose favour votes had been cast, but
by those in whose favour voting papers are "correctly" counted, Yanukovych's
prospects in his patrimony seem to be quite bright.
EXPECTATIONS OF INCREDIBLE FALSIFICATIONS
Political scientists calculate that administrative methods can give the
candidate supported by the authorities an additional 10 per cent of votes.
But Ukraine is unique, as its administrative resources are closely fused
with criminal resources. No one has calculated its possible contribution to
falsifying the people's will, but the events in Mukacheve demonstrated that
its "contribution" can exceed even 50 per cent level [reference to
controversial mayoral election in western Ukraine, where the opposition
has alleged massive fraud and intimidation].
For this reason, speculation [by Yushchenko] that the results of the
elections allegedly cannot be falsified by more than 12 per cent are
inapplicable in Ukraine. Being aware of this, opposition candidates should
also realistically assess their chances and the role of the Donbass in their
future.
The fact that the Donetsk authorities are preparing large-scale
falsification is confirmed by the case reported by the aforementioned
opposition Internet publication. A man who did not succeed in becoming
the head of an electoral commission turned to an Ostrov correspondent.
He has told him that he had been invited for discussions to the district
executive committee and had been told something along the lines of "Voters'
participation in the elections is expected to be about 60-65 per cent. We
need to have 95 per cent. What is your opinion of gerrymandering?" The
answer was "negative", and another person was appointed head of the
commission that afternoon.
As we can see, the idea expressed by Yukhym Zvyahilskyy in his statement
at the launch of Yanukovych's regional headquarters in Donetsk that the
authorized representatives ought to achieve 90-per-cent voter turnout at
polling stations, which seemed not to make any sense, can be fulfilled. But
not due to any drastic increase in the political activity of Donetsk Region
residents but obviously due to the same reserves which ensured 88 per cent
turnout at the notorious 2000 presidential referendum.
Anyone who was asked that ridiculous April answered that he did not vote,
but it can be said that turnout was unprecedented for Donetsk Region. As
can be seen from the analysis of all preceding and subsequent voting, the
average official (i.e. already including gerrymandering) of turnout in
Donetsk polling stations does not exceed 70 per cent. And this is even
during the elections. In the year 2000, the issue was related not even to
the people's representatives in administrative authorities, but purely to
political issues which were almost incomprehensible to the public.
During the 1999 presidential elections, when not only Kuchma's future but
also the future of the "Donetsk group" was decided, local authorities and
criminal organizations controlled by some of their shadow leaders did not
stand aside from the elections. But even then the first-round turnout was
only 66.1 per cent. [Communist Party leader] Petro Symonenko was
leading in the region.
During the interval between the first and the second rounds, the president
arrived in Donetsk. There are speculations that in Makiyivka he simply
shouted at Yanukovych, then the head of the Regional State Administration,
using bad language. The Donetsk elite has got a powerful incentive for
"campaigning" in Leonid Danylovych's [Kuchma] favour: at that time the
president had clearly outlined the future of the "Donetsk people" in the
event of his defeat in the region but victory in Ukraine. And due to the
fact that no one had any doubt about Kuchma's victory over Symonenko the
second round turnout in Donetsk Region was already 78.9 per cent.
At the same time, analysis of the voting "shows" that not only supporters of
Kuchma's antagonist Oleksandr Moroz voted for him in the second round but
also Petro Symonenko's supporters. Until now, these were the most surprising
elections in Donbass. And now the "Dons'" own protege is running, and these
elections are much more important to the "Donetsk group" than the previous
ones.
Previously, both the national and the Donetsk press used to write a lot of
the events in the region during the elections. Let us recall several facts.
The investigation of the falsification of the Khartsyzsk mayoral elections
has been underway for two years. Despite desperate resistance, the regional
prosecutor's office opened a criminal case into falsification in November
2002.
This happened after the visit of the Supreme Council Committee for Fighting
Corruption and Organized Crime to Donetsk. Then regional prosecutor
Pshonka, who was later promoted to the Prosecutor's Office in Kiev, publicly
promised the head of the Parliamentary Committee, Volodymyr Stretovych of
[main opposition party] Our Ukraine, to complete the comprehensive
investigation by the end of the year.
The investigation has dozens of documents and video recordings indicating
the mechanisms and circumstances of falsifying the elections at its
disposal. But the case does not move forward. It should be presumed that
instructions to drag out the investigation were received from the highest
offices. The case has not yet been passed to the judicial authorities.
One of the Donetsk "Governor's" deputies has an unquashed conviction.
Ostrov reports that the building of the court where the case files had been
kept burned down when he became mayor of one of the region's big cities.
The culprits have not been found.
Uhledar Mayor Viktor Khanin has also been charged with abuse of power,
but he has somehow managed to evade responsibility and to become mayor
again. An endless number of examples of "non-political" facts concerning the
Donbass criminal circles can be provided. The significant thing for us is
that an important conclusion can be drawn on their basis, that
administrative resources in the region are closely fused with criminal
circles.
Both law-enforcement organizations judicial authorities have had close links
with the criminal world for a long time. This is why they will be unable to
prevent falsification of the elections. Moreover, they will become one of
the basic factors in achieving it. -30- (Action Ukraine Monitoring Service)
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