"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 197
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, THURSDAY, October 21, 2004
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. EUROPE HOPES TO CARVE A NEW ROLE IN WORLD AFFAIRS
THROUGH "RING OF FRIENDS"--NOW CRAFTING A WIDER EUROPE
Robert Wielaard, AP Worldstream, Brussels, Belgium, Thu, Oct 21, 2004
2. EU FACES STRATEGIC CHOICE ON UKRAINE AS UKRAINE
FACES STRATEGIC CHOICE ON ITS OWN FUTURE
Ukraine faces a decisive moment in its history
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Thu, Oct 21, 2004
3. "TIME FOR ROMANTICISM IS OVER"
The authorities in Ukraine never intended to hold free and fair elections.
By Taras Kuzio, The Ukrainian Weekly
Ukrainian National Association (UNA)
Parsippany, New Jersey, Sunday, 17 October 2004
4. U.S. AND SPAIN ALLOW VOTING IN UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS OUTSIDE CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES
Australia, Moldova, Russia and Vietnam recently authorized outside voting
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, October 20, 2004
5..UKRAINIAN MEDIA BEING TOLD SOME FOREIGN PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION OBSERVERS MY BE SPIES AND TIED TO FOREIGN
SPECIAL SERVICES, SEVERAL WILL BE IDENTIFIED TO THE PRESS
Parents are not to let children associate with suspect, extremist groups
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 19 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Oct 20, 2004
6. CEC HAS NOW REGISTERED 2,354 FOREIGN OBSERVERS
FOR THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, October 20, 2004
7. UCCA TO SEND THIRD LARGEST DELEGATION TO MONITOR
UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
By Tamara Gallo Olexy, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
New York, New York, Friday, October 15, 2004
8. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN TO VISIT UKRAINE
THREE DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Thu, Oct 21, 2004
9. TV DETAILS CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UKRAINIAN
PM/PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
MADE BY FORMER MAJOR MYKOLA MELNYCHENKO
Former major accused Viktor Yushchenko of collaborationism.
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 20 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Oct 20, 2004
10. STATEMENT OF APPEAL: CIVIL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS
Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations and the
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
From: Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations
and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
Ukraine, Thursday, October 21, 2004
11. DR. HENRY KISSINGER ARRIVES IN KYIV, UKRAINE
To speak in Kyiv on Friday
E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
The Action Ukraine Report, Washington, D.C., Thu, Oct 21, 2004
12. "SOROS FOR BREAKFAST"
Writer doubts sincerity of Henry Kissinger visit on eve of election
COMMENTARY: By Viktor Strysh
Svoboda, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 19 Oct 04; p 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Oct 20, 2004
13. TV 5 KANAL LEADERS CLAIM THEY WILL GO ON HUNGER-
STRIKE IF THE CHANNEL IS SUPPRESSED
UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, October 21, 2004
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER ONE
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1. EUROPE HOPES TO CARVE A NEW ROLE IN WORLD AFFAIRS
THROUGH "RING OF FRIENDS"-NOW CRAFTING A WIDER EUROPE
Robert Wielaard, AP Worldstream, Brussels, Belgium, Thu, Oct 21, 2004
BRUSSELS, The 25-member European Union - now comprising eight ex-
communist nations and considering membership for Muslim-dominated Turkey
- is busily crafting a "Wider Europe" as well. It would stretch far beyond
the EU's formal borders and aim to lock nearby lands into democracy and
good neighborly relations through tailor-made programs of trade and
assistance.
But the blueprint for a "ring of friends" making Europe's neighborhood safe,
secure and prosperous comes with complications: There is Israel and its
nuclear ambiguity and security morass. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus show
creeping authoritarianism. Libya may be emerging from the cold, but it is
still a dictatorship. The Balkans remain a scary doorstep.
In many ways, however, this may be the very point.
The EU's outreach program to sometimes dangerous places beyond its
borders marks a dramatic shift in Europe's perception of how it can play
a key - perhaps central - role in world affairs: The strategy is one of
exploiting economic clout to both achieve influence on the world stage and
shape the rim of Europe. Perhaps Europe might even school America -
and its many Euro-cynics - in the merits of persuasion rather than force.
"We want to strengthen the instruments available to us to become a dynamic
protagonist in the world. The EU has a leading role to play in securing
human rights and democracy," said Austrian Foreign Minister Benita
Ferrero-Waldner, who is set to take over as the EU external relations
commissioner on Nov. 1.
If the United States has in the post 9/11 era become ever more willing to
use its overwhelming military might as a stick to bring nations into line,
the EU appears to be awakening to the possibility that the lure of "Old
World" good life can be a comparably persuasive carrot in provoking
change in areas of chaos and repression.
To see that go-softly approach in action, consider Turkey.
A decade ago, the notion that outside interference might succeed in
convincing Turkey to implement meaningful democratic reforms, dismantle a
system of judicial repression based largely on torture, curb the power of a
military that had dominated society for decades, and loosen state control
over the economy would have seemed remote.
But those objectives have largely become a reality. And the reason, of
course, is the strict conditions _ based on human rights as well as fiscal
soundness _ that Europe imposed on Turkey to win even a prospect of
EU membership.
In economic terms at least, Europe is a genuine superpower.
The EU's enlargement last May added 75 million consumers, creating a single
market of 450 million people, compared to 420 million for NAFTA _ the
countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Its total GDP _
euro8,800 billion (US$11,017 billion) in 2003 _ outstrips, by today's
exchange rate, that of the United States _ euro8,787 billion (US$11,000
billion).
It is already the world's biggest trader, home to one of the world's most
sought-after currencies and _ defined as a single unit _ is the world's
biggest donor, spending more than euro500 million a month in assistance
projects on all five continents.
In the decades following World War II, Europe clamored for the need for
multilateralism in world affairs as a balance to U.S. might, while relying
heavily on the U.S. nuclear umbrella to nurture standards of living that
would eventually become the envy of the world. Now, however, there
are signs it's hoping to offer a serious alternative to American influence
in world affairs.
One prominent scholar, Robert Kagan _ author of "Of Paradise and Power,"
a widely acclaimed analysis of trans-Atlantic alienation _ believes the
divergences are deep, and threaten to be lasting. "On major strategic and
international questions today, Americans are from Mars and Europeans are
from Venus: They agree on little and understand one another less and less,"
Kagan writes in the opening of his book.
By Nov. 2, the EU hopes to have deals with Ukraine, Moldova, Morocco,
Tunisia, Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority under its "New
Neighborhood Policy." Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia,
Lebanon, Libya, Syria and Tunisia are next. In some cases the relationship
is new; in others, like that of Israel, it amounts to an expansion of
existing association agreements.
The aim is, where needed, to steer neighbors toward more democracy,
sounder economic policies, sensible defense spending, respect for
minorities, sustainable development and peaceful settlement of ethnic
disputes. Their reward: More aid, trade, regular political consultations
and _ importantly _ easy access to the EU market of 455 million consumers.
"We must never forget European integration is not about milk quotas and
customs duties," says Guenter Verheugen, the EU commissioner for
expansion matters. "It is about peace, stability and prosperity ..."
Negotiations with the first seven candidates have gone fairly well, except
for Israel, which complains the EU uses the bonanza of trade and aid to
simply grab a more prominent role in the Mideast peace process. Long wary
of what it considers pro-Arab views in Europe, Israel wants the EU to
continue to play second fiddle to the United States in Middle Eastern
diplomacy.
Russia, meanwhile, has brushed aside any suggestion of being part of
multi-nation deal, insisting on special treatment that would reflect its
image of itself as a global power. The EU has proposed an alternative
"strategic partnership" with Russia that focuses on four areas: Trade and
investments, cooperation in law enforcement and nonproliferation issues,
settling border disputes with EU members Estonia and Latvia and visa-free
travel for Russians in Western Europe. The EU and President Vladimir Putin
hope to sign the accord Nov. 11, though prospects are uncertain. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER TWO
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2. EU FACES STRATEGIC CHOICE ON UKRAINE AS UKRAINE
FACES STRATEGIC CHOICE ON ITS OWN FUTURE
Ukraine faces a decisive moment in its history
Polish News Bulletin, Warsaw, Poland, Thu, Oct 21, 2004
WARSAW - Last week saw a historical premiere in Luxembourg:
Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz and Joschka Fischer, the foreign ministers of
Poland and Germany, proposed that following the Ukrainian presidential
elections on October 31, the EU should send Kiev a "decisive signal," write
Anna Rubinowicz-Grundler from Berlin and Robert Soltyk from Brussels in
Gazeta Wyborcza. A confidential memo handed over by the Poles and
Germans to the EU ministers in Luxembourg contains the two countries'
agreed policy towards Ukraine.
Cimoszewicz wants France to support it actively as well, even though it is
Russia that has so far been France's key partner in the east. Poland, write
Rubinowicz-Grundler and Soltyk, made far-reaching concessions to persuade
Berlin to become involved on Kiev's behalf ? the memo speaks nothing of
Ukraine's EU membership prospects. But it acknowledges that Ukraine
"faces a decisive moment in its history," "remains a key neighbour," and in
the future "may become a key partner."
According to the memo, Ukraine:
- should, together with Russia, play an "active role" in solving the
conflict between Moldova and the Dnestr enclave;
- will remain a country of "fundamental importance" for Europe's energy
security;
- could be helpful in "preventing illegal migration, the smuggling of people
and narcotics, illegal arms trade, and other forms of organised crime,"
which is a priority for the EU.
The European Commission is expected shortly to present an "action plan"
that it has agreed with Kiev ? which experts say is a not very ambitious
document stemming from commissioner Guenther Verheugen's
"neighbourhood policy."
The fact that the EU perceives Ukraine on par with the Mediterranean
countries, Israel, the Palestinian Authority, and Moldova, at a time when
Serbia and Montenegro and Albania are on their way towards full EU
membership, has irritated and disappointed Kiev. That is why Germany
and Poland believe that "with the success of the process of Ukraine's
transformation towards democracy and free-market economy, it is vital
for the EU to go beyond the action plan.'" And that this has to be decided
soon after the October 31 elections.
Fischer and Cimoszewicz postulate that the EU does the following:
- complete the talks on awarding Ukraine the status of a free-market
economy;
- start free trade negotiations;
- ease the visa regime;
- accelerate the perspective of Ukraine's participation in the single
market and the creation of a free trade zone;
- sign a strategic partnership treaty.
On October 31, the Ukrainians will go to the ballots to decide whether they
want to steer towards Europe (the choice of Yushchenko) or drift towards
Russia (the choice of Yanukovich). Can the Polish-German ideas for the EU
to discuss arouse their enthusiasm? There is talk of neither allowing more
Ukrainians to work legally in the EU, nor of raising Ukraine's steel export
quota. No one speaks of lifting the visa regime, nor of a vision of
Ukraine's membership. And Verheugen's aides admit that the "door to the
EU will close for long upon Turkey's accession."
Is a common policy towards Ukraine really in Poland's and Germany's
interest? In a study presented in Berlin, Mateusz Falkowski of the Public
Affairs Institute (ISP) in Warsaw and Kai-Olaf Lang of the German Institute
of International Security and Foreign Policy claim that the two countries
have different approaches, and that the German strategy is unclear and
defensive.
For Poland, an independent Ukraine is of supreme strategic importance. In
Germany, there is no debate on Ukraine's role at all. "Germany tends to
consider above all the views and policies of Russia. The question of the
risk involved in the former Soviet countries' potential reintegration is,
unlike in Poland, not being asked at all," say Falkowski and Lang.
Poland believes that giving Ukraine a prospect of EU membership would
encourage reforms. The Germans regard this as unrealistic, and some fear
Russia's opposition or the prospect of the EU "stretching" itself too much
following Turkey's likely accession in 2015. The Germans are disappointed
with the post-1991 changes in Ukraine, seeing a lot of corruption,
instability, and so on. Poland sees that too, but it partly blames the
situation on the West's indifference.
Another key difference is that Poland is interested in an open border with
Ukraine, while Germany wants the border to be as tight as possible. The
above differences notwithstanding, Poland and Germany should be interested
in Ukraine being a stable, democratic, free market-oriented, and credible
partner on the EU's eastern border. Genuine involvement from Warsaw, and
particularly from Berlin, is necessary for the EU's emerging neighbourhood
policy to prove "anything but a paper tiger."
Moreover, the Polish-German dialogue on Ukraine could help restore
confidence between the two countries, i.e. appease Poland's fears related to
German-Russian dialogue, and overcome the current Polish-German crisis
thanks to joint initiatives.
The lack of a prospect of Ukraine's EU accession, conclude Falkowski and
Lang, makes it possible to avoid a Polish-German dispute, and will neither
create false hopes in Kiev nor discourage it from continuing reforms. The
experts propose a list of specific tasks for Warsaw and Berlin:
- exerting pressure on Kiev to implement the reforms necessary for Ukraine
to join the World Trade Organisation;
- offering political support for the planned Odessa-Brody oil pipeline with
an extension to Plock;
- improving the situation on Ukraine's borders and making sure it signs
readmission agreements with the Schengen group countries;
- offering support to Ukraine's civic society organisations, including by
creating a Polish-German-Ukrainian civic society fund in the vein of the
Polish-US-Ukrainian PAUCI initiative.
According to Falkowski, the moment is favourable for Poland to pull Germany
into a policy towards Ukraine because there are a number of issues where
Berlin needs Poland's support, such as the idea of a permanent seat for
Germany in the UN Security Council. But whether the Polish-German ideas for
Ukraine will be carried out by the EU depends on the choice the Ukrainians
make themselves, conclude the experts. Poland, which for nearly 10 years was
one of the few countries supporting the idea of a permanent UN Security
Council seat for Germany, has now changed its tack; while it does not say no
to Berlin's ambitions, it is certainly not going to offer its support for
free, reports Rzeczpospolita.
The issue surfaced during the recent EU-Asia summit in Hanoi, Vietnam, where
Germany secured the support of 13 leading Asian countries, while Italy,
Spain, and, reportedly, Poland, refused to back Berlin's UN ambitions,
according to sources close to chancellor Gerhard Schroeder cited by
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Polish diplomats called the news exaggerated, speaking even of "provocation"
aimed at extracting an official denial from Warsaw that would represent a
clear proof of Poland's support for the German efforts. While Poland was not
opposed to the idea of a permanent Security Council seat for Germany, it
would certainly not offer its unconditional support for it, they said.
What could Poland expect in return? Polish diplomats mention, among other
things, the question of German claims for the property left in the current
Polish territories after 1945, possible support for Poland's accession to
the Schengen treaty, or even for Poland's eurozone accession. The exchange
would of course be of informal nature. Asked whether Poland supports a
permanent Security Council seat for Germany, Aleksander Checko, the foreign
ministry spokesman, says only that Poland "understands the need for making
the Security Council more representative." -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER THREE
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3. "TIME FOR ROMANTICISM IS OVER"
The authorities in Ukraine never intended to hold free and fair elections.
OP-ED, By Taras Kuzio, The Ukrainian Weekly
Ukrainian National Association (UNA)
Parsippany, New Jersey, Sunday, 17 October 2004
The current election campaign in Ukraine can only lead to one conclusion.
That this is not an election and that the authorities (i.e. President Leonid
Kuchma) never intended to hold free and fair elections. This conclusion is
now being reached by the U.S., Canada, Western Europe and international
organizations such as the EU, NATO, and Council of Europe.
The attempted assassination through poisoning of Viktor Yushchenko
represents proof, if there was still need for this, that the Ukrainian
authorities never had any intention of holding a free election. Violations
are too numerous to list here but readers can find them in my articles
re-printed regularly by The Ukrainian Weekly.
We should not only be concerned by gross election violations and the
threats still hanging over Yushchenko's life. The Ukrainian authorities are
seemingly willing to sell anything (Sevastopol, factories, Ukraine's
sovereignty) to obtain Russian support for Viktor Yanukovych's election.
As American-Ukrainians should you not be angry at the sale of Ukrainian
arms to Cuba and Venezuela? Sending these on the eve of the elections is
a calculated and direct snub to the Bush administration.
You should be even more aghast at the unrelenting anti-American campaign
underway in Ukraine. Only in the last week millions of leaflets and posters
have been found in Kyiv that portray President Bush in a disgusting manner
and Yushchenko drawn as Uncle Sam. If I was an American-Ukrainian I
would be very perturbed at these developments (putting it diplomatically).
The vociferous and violent anti-American campaign has been initiated by the
authorities in an attempt at undermining Yushchenko. Yushchenko's wife is
constantly attacked on television for being American. Secret instructions
(temnyky) sent by the presidential administration advise editors to ignore
articles published in the US media on Ukraine, such as recent ones by
Anders Aslund and Richard Holbrooke, Jan Kalicki and Mark Brzezinski
(see http://www2.pravda.com.ua/archive/2004/october/1/2.shtml).
Nevertheless, American and Canadian-Ukrainians have not reached a
conclusion that arises from the above; namely, that they need to change
their views about Ukrainian diplomatic representatives abroad. American
and Canadian-Ukrainians have until now looked upon Ukrainian diplomats
merely as representatives of Ukraine.
It is this view that now needs to change. Ambassadors are appointed by
presidents and are therefore directly linked to the regime that the
president rules over.
American and Canadian-Ukrainians failed to draw the necessary conclusions
from Anton Buteiko who as Ukraine's Ambassador to the USA refused to do
Kuchma's bidding and was sent home. Other former Ambassadors are also
highly displeased with current policies. Long time Ambassador to Israel, USA
and Canada Yuriy Shcherbak is now a critic of Kuchma's policies.
Currently, American and Canadian-Ukrainians are following a contradictory
policy. On the one hand, apart from a nationalist fringe they are highly
critical of developments in Ukraine. On the other hand, they continue to
hold events in Ukrainian embassies and to invite Ukrainian Ambassadors to
give talks at their functions. American and Canadian-Ukrainians fail to see
how the latter policy undermines the former.
It is time for American and Canadian-Ukrainians to go beyond seeing
Ukrainian Ambassadors as representatives of a mythical, romantic Ukraine and
to recognize them for what they are: representatives of President Leonid
Kuchma (and Yanukovych if he wins by fraud). Instead of maintaining contacts
with Kuchma's representatives abroad, American and Canadian-Ukrainians
should stand shoulder to shoulder with Ukrainian voters, only 12 percent of
whom believe there will be free elections, with Yushchenko who has
experienced an assassination attempt organized by the "vlada", and with the
Ukrainian parliament, which has without precedent created a committee to
seek free and fair elections.
American and Canadian-Ukrainians should now bring their attitudes towards
diplomatic representatives of President Kuchma in line with their natural
disgust at what his regime is doing during these so-called elections. -30-
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Taras Kuzio is a Visiting Professor, at the Institute for European
Russian and Eurasian Studies, Elliott School of International Affairs,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Ukrainian Weekly, Editor-in-chief, Roma Hadzewycz, P. O.
Box 280, Parsippany, N.J. 07054. The Ukrainian Weekly Archive:
www.ukrweekly.com. E-mail: staff@ukrweekly.com.
NOTE: We recommend subscribing to The Ukrainian Weekly.
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER FOUR
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4. U.S. AND SPAIN ALLOW VOTING IN UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS OUTSIDE CONSULATES AND EMBASSIES
Australia, Moldova, Russia and Vietnam recently authorized outside voting
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, October 20, 2004
KYIV - The United States and Spain have authorized voting in this year's
Ukrainian presidential elections to be held outside the Ukrainian consular
and diplomatic missions located on their territories. The press service of
the Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry disclosed this to Ukrainian News.
The ministry has provided information about this to the Central Electoral
Commission, which will make the decision on opening additional polling
stations in these countries. According to the press service, the Foreign
Affairs Ministry is continuing its efforts aimed at creating the necessary
conditions for voting in the Ukrainian presidential elections at polling
stations located abroad.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Australia, Moldova, Russia, and
Vietnam recently authorized voting in this year's Ukrainian presidential
elections to be held outside the Ukrainian consular and diplomatic
missions located on their territories.
Moldova has also authorized the opening of additional polling stations
for the Ukrainian presidential elections in the areas where Ukrainian
citizens are concentrated on the territory of the self-declared
Transdniestrian Moldovan Republic.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry is expecting an increase in the number of
polling stations installed abroad for voting in this year's Ukrainian
presidential elections.
1,457 Ukrainian citizens, including 153 representatives of the presidential
candidates, will work at election commissions abroad. The Central
Electoral Commission has created 113 election commissions abroad for
this year's Ukrainian presidential elections. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER FIVE
Your comments about the Report are always welcome
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5.UKRAINIAN MEDIA BEING TOLD SOME FOREIGN PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION OBSERVERS MY BE SPIES AND TIED TO FOREIGN
SPECIAL SERVICES, SEVERAL WILL BE IDENTIFIED TO THE PRESS
Parents are not to let children associate with suspect, extremist groups
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 19 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wednesday, Oct 20, 2004
KIEV - The Ukrainian presidential administration is telling news outlets
under its control to tell viewers that foreigners coming to observe the
presidential election may have ties to foreign special services, an
opposition web site has said.
The article said the site has a copy of unofficial instructions to
television channels, which said observers are to be discredited while
Ukraine's food pricing crisis is to be balanced up with reports on similar
problems in the EU.
The article said that the instructions highlighted the dangers parents face
in letting their children associate with suspect groups which news media
are told to brand as extremist.
The following is the text of the unattributed article, entitled "A leak of
coverage instructions: the sights are set on international observers and
'extremists'", published on the opposition Ukrainian web site Ukrayinska
Pravda on 19 October:
Ukrayinska Pravda has got hold of fresh temnyks [instructions to media on
how to cover news], which allow us to draw conclusions on new turns in the
information war against the opposition on television channels [controlled by
presidential chief-of-staff Viktor] Medvedchuk.
These are not the hourly temnyks which are disseminated by the presidential
administration during the course of the information day. These are
analytical notes on reports which pro-incumbent channels are directed to
prepare.
It is interesting that international observers are also among those to be
discredited. Television is to try to level the food crisis in Ukraine by
showing reports on problems in Western Europe.
They [the temnyks] are given in the original and without comment:
ANALYTICAL NOTES: 17-23 October 2004; Prospective topics:
7. Foreign observers have arrived in Ukraine to witness the election of a
new president of our country.
Commentary. The topic is important and topical for news programmes in the
coming week. Analysts expect reports will be prepared in which specific
observers from Western countries will be identified by name along with their
previous places of work and the countries in which they have already been
observers (the observers' possible links to foreign special services will be
demonstrated); the provisions of legislation which regulate the work of
observers, their rights and responsibilities (an observer can only observe,
but does not have the right to criticize, talk to voters or members of the
commissions or comment the course of the election for the media) will be
reported.
8. Prices have risen considerably on the markets of many countries in the
European Union (especially in new EU-member states).
Commentary. The topic is important and topical for the course of the
coming week.
9. Our Ukraine and the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc are against holding a
celebratory parade in Kiev on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of
Ukraine being freed from German-Fascist occupation.
Commentary. The topic is important and topical for the course of the
coming week.
ANALYTICAL NOTES: 17-23 October 2004
Statements on acts of provocation during the election:
...[ellipsis as published] on 15 October, in the office of the so-called
public organization Pora, which is located on Pochaynynska Street, 35, in
Kiev, armed law-enforcement officers carried out a search and found
explosives similar to two devices which were exploded at the Darnytskyy
district court in the capital in February of this year. The weight of the
explosives was 2.4 kilograms.
The public organization Pora has declared mass acts of disobedience "in
case of the falsification of the Ukrainian presidential election".
On 16 October, the Kiev prosecutor opened a criminal case against those
detained, and later released, in the Pora office under the articles on
"terrorist acts" and "establishing illegal armed formations". The
Prosecutor-General of Ukraine has opened a criminal case on abuse of
office by law-enforcement officials who "released the detained without
reason"...[ellipsis as published] A material investigation "give reliable
proof a group of people setting up an armed formation not envisioned by
the law, and whose task is to commit acts of terror aimed at destabilizing
the situation in the country, including using explosives capable of leading
to mass death and the destruction of buildings", the prosecutor-general's
press office reports.
Commentary. The topic is important and topical. Analysts expect media
will not create the impression of the possibility of civil war or serious
conflicts in Ukraine (avoid the use of the word "conflict").
The authorities are in complete control of the situation and are reacting
quickly to information from citizens who fear for their safety. This is
illustrated by the events in the Pora office on the night of 15-16 October.
The authorities and law-enforcement agencies are rigidly stopping any
attempt to illegally store or use explosive devices.
Moreover, these events show that parents should control their underage
children and protect them from the influence of "older comrades" who are
trying to pull them into the activities of suspect organizations. Attention
is drawn to the fact of how quickly MPs from the Our Ukraine bloc arrived
to protect their "subordinates" from the extremist organization.
It is known that Pora unites young people who are specially prepared to
carry out mass disorder using the youth's inclination to protest, a passion
for "changing the world" and striving towards "war-games" of "Zarnysta" and
"conspiracy". They are being prepared by experienced foreign instructors
who have already organized mass disorder in Serbia and Georgia (see the
next sub-topic).
Without question, youth have the right to acts of malcontent opposition.
However, when they cross the line of the law, as was the case in the Pora
office, law-enforcement agencies will use appropriate legal actions. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER SIX
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome
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6. CEC HAS NOW REGISTERED 2,354 FOREIGN OBSERVERS
FOR THE UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Wed, October 20, 2004
KYIV - The Central Electoral Commission has registered [an additional]
546 foreign observers in the Ukrainian presidential elections, thus
increasing their total number to 2,354. The CEC passed this decision at
its meeting on Wednesday, October 20.
Particularly, the CEC registered monitors from the Parliamentary Assembly
of the Council of Europe, the National Democratic Institute [USA], the
International Republican Institute [USA], Moscow's International Discussion
Club, the International Human Rights Assembly, the Commonwealth of
Independent States, international organization For Fair Elections, the
Interparliamentary Assembly of CIS member-countries, international
organization Freedom House, the World Congress of Ukrainians [Toronto
and New York] and the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America [USA].
As Ukrainian News reported previously, on July 3, Ukraine invited
representatives of international organizations to take part in monitoring
her presidential elections.
In June, President Leonid Kuchma stated that Ukraine expects foreign
observers to objectively assess the elections and provide accurate
information about them. On July 3, Ukraine launched the election campaign
that must end the day before the voting day of October 31. -30-
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER SEVEN
Suggested articles for publication in the Report are always welcome
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7. UCCA TO SEND THIRD LARGEST DELEGATION TO MONITOR
UKRAINE'S PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
By Tamara Gallo Olexy, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
New York, New York, Friday, October 15, 2004
New York - The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (UCCA)
is fielding one of the largest delegations of International Election
Monitors to observe the October 31 presidential elections in Ukraine.
In an effort to assist in the democratic process and to help thwart any
possible violations, over 150 individuals will be traveling to Ukraine
this month to monitor the presidential elections -- the third largest
delegation officially registered by Ukraine's Central Election Commission.
Members of the UCCA and Ukrainian Canadian Congress, as well as
individuals from Italy, Great Britain, Australia and Poland, have joined the
UCCA's delegation of international election observers. Although some
members will be observing Ukraine's elections for the first time, the
majority of the observers have long-term experience in monitoring the
election process, dating back to the 1994 elections.
In an effort to assist in the election process, the UCCA will conduct
pre-election seminars on October 27th and October 28th that will provide
practical information on how best to serve as International Election
Monitors. During the seminars the delegation will be briefed on Ukraine's
Election law by the Committee of Voters of Ukraine and equipped with all
the necessary documentation and forms to assist them on Election Day.
Working with Freedom of Choice Coalition and other Ukrainian NGOs,
the UCCA monitors will be paired with local Ukrainian election experts
when visiting polling sites on Election Day. The UCCA expects that
delegations will be dispatched to all 25 of Ukraine's oblasts.
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America is the national coordinating
body representing the interests of America's 1.5 million ethnic Ukrainians
for over sixty years. - 30 - [The Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No. 197: ARTICLE NUMBER EIGHT
Letters to the editor are always welcome
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8. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN TO VISIT UKRAINE
THREE DAYS BEFORE THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Wed, Oct 21, 2004
KIEV - Russian President Vladimir Putin is to visit neighboring Ukraine
next week, three days ahead of the former Soviet republic's presidential
election, officials said. The visit, ahead of the Oct. 31 vote, is tied to
the 60th anniversary of Kiev's liberation from the Nazis in World War II,
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's office said Wednesday. But
opposition supporters see the planned visit as a gesture of support for the
Kremlin-backed candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
The Kremlin has all but officially endorsed his candidacy, and the support
could be decisive in a country with an ethnic Russian community numbering in
the millions. Yanukovych welcomed Putin's visit, saying "he would be
grateful" for the support. "If it is (Putin's) backing, I will forever be
grateful," Yanukovych said in the eastern city of Sumy, Ukrainian media
reported Thursday. Yanukovych is running neck and neck with Viktor
Yushchenko, the western-leaning opposition leader.
Ukraine's election campaign has been wracked by allegations from Yushchenko
supporters and human rights watchdogs of official abuse and interference,
including the alleged poisoning of Yushchenko by Yanukovych allies.
On Thursday, Freedom of Choice, a Ukrainian watchdog, urged all
international human rights organizations and Western governments to
"condemn the government crackdown" on Pora, a pro-opposition student
group. Earlier this week, the Ukrainian secret service launched a terrorism
investigation against several Pora members following the alleged discovery
of explosives in the group's office in downtown Kiev.
In recent weeks, Pora activists have also repeatedly complained of
harassment and beatings by the police in other Ukrainian cities. Western
governments including the United states have repeatedly warned that the
vote could fall short of international standards and expressed concern
over possible election fraud. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER NINE
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9. TV DETAILS CORRUPTION ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UKRAINIAN
PM/PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH
MADE BY FORMER MAJOR MYKOLA MELNYCHENKO
Former major accused Viktor Yushchenko of collaborationism.
TV 5 Kanal, Kiev, in Ukrainian, 20 Oct 04
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Oct 20, 2004
[Presenter] A former major of the Security Service of Ukraine, Mykola
Melnychenko, and former MP Oleksandr Yelyashkevych have said they
have legal evidence implicating Prime Minister [Viktor] Yanukovych in
corruption. They were referring to new excerpts from the so-called
Melnychenko recordings which they demonstrated to the press in Warsaw.
Both political emigres surprised [journalists] not only with their
sensational exposes of Mr Yanukovych, but also with sharp criticism of
Viktor Yushchenko [his main rival in the presidential race] and his
entourage. Andriy Saychuk was listening to the political refugees.
[Correspondent] Before describing the essence of the new fragments of the
famous recordings, Maj Melnychenko complained in his introductory remarks
that in fact neither the Ukrainian authorities nor the opposition were
actually interested in his audio files. However, several new fragments were
made public yesterday.
Former MP Yelyashkevych says that the major's archives contain recordings
compromising certain opposition politicians. Melnychenko promised to devote
his next news conference to presidential administration chief [Viktor]
Medvedchuk.
This time, the former major accused Viktor Yushchenko of collaborationism.
[Melnychenko, in Russian, addressing Yushchenko] If you or your political
force had made the tiniest move, which you knew was necessary, to speed up
the legal process abroad regarding Kuchma and his gang, the criminals would
have never poisoned you or set KAMAZ [lorries] on you.
[Yushchenko has been treated for symptoms of severe poisoning, which he
says had been plotted by the government. He was also involved in a traffic
accident, which his supporters said was an attempt to force his car off the
road.]
[Correspondent] However, the main characters in the published episodes were
the well-known voice resembling that of Kuchma and a new protagonist of the
recordings - a voice resembling that of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.
The voices discuss bribing MPs, ways of suppressing freedom of the press,
including violence, and reigning in independent businessmen using the state
repression machine.
[Male voice, in Russian] We have already had our fingers burnt with [name
indistinct], and the Communists deceived us, yeah. Listen to this: they take
the money, yeah, and then (?do) the opposite.
[Correspondent] The former major and former deputy are planning to hand
over the recordings to the head of the [parliamentary] Committee for
Combating Corruption, Volodymyr Stretovych and the head of the commission
investigating the murder of [opposition journalist Heorhiy] Gongadze,
Hryhoriy Omelchenko. They hope this will bring about the resignation of the
Yanukovych cabinet.
[Yelyashkevych] We have not told you anything new. But for the first time,
we have legal evidence to prove what everybody has known: what has become
of Ukraine under Kuchma, Yanykovych and Medvedchuk.
[Correspondent] Mykola Melnychenko and Oleksandr Yelyashkevych were
granted political asylum in the USA four years ago after the ex-major made
public the first part of the recordings allegedly made in Leonid Kuchma's
office. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER TEN
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10. STATEMENT OF APPEAL: CIVIL, POLITICAL, HUMAN RIGHTS
Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations and the
Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
FROM: Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations
and the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
Ukraine, Thursday, October 21, 2004
STATEMENT OF APPEAL TO THE:
UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention,
European Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT),
International Human Rights Groups.
The Presidential election campaign, which is under way in Ukraine, is mired
with grave violations of the fundamental human rights and basic freedoms.
The recent events demonstrate that the Ukrainian authorities have resumed
persecution of independently minded people, using law-enforcement agencies
as a tool of the political struggle.
Significant resources of the law-enforcement agencies are used for
harassment of the opposition-leaning citizens and forgery of criminal cases
against activists of the opposition movements.
On 16, 17, and 18 October 2004, police officers carried out unauthorized
searches on the premises used by youth civic information campaign "Pora!"
[It's time!], "Studentska Khvylya" [Student Wave], "Studentske Bratstvo
Lvivshiny" [Fraternity of the Lviv Region], and the National University
"Kyiv-Mohila Academy." Earlier, there were searches in several regional
headquarters of the opposition Presidential Candidates. The searches were
conducted under far-fetched pretexts, such as search for explosive devices
or examination of anonymous information claiming that those organizations
were involved in terrorist activities.
Several activists of those organizations were detained throughout Ukraine.
The most of the detainees were released in a few hours. According to them,
during the interrogations, they were questioned about the contents of the
distributed publications, critical to the current authorities.
During the search of a Kyiv office of the All-Ukrainian youth civic
information campaign "Pora!" police officers allegedly found an explosive
device. That finding became a basis for taking Yaroslav Godunok, the
premises' tenant and a member of the opposition Ukrainian People's Party,
into custody. It is very doubtful, whether that explosive device ever
existed or belonged to the organization, because it had not been found
during an earlier close search with the use of a police dog and at the
presence of Members of the Parliament. The device was found only when
the police officers remained alone in the room, where the previous search
had failed to discover anything.
It demonstrates a high probability of the deliberate provocation committed
by the law-enforcement agencies. In the room, there were also 3 tons of the
opposition literature, which was left sealed after the search. Although only
that rather questionable evidence had been found, the All-Ukrainian
organization was publicly proclaimed a paramilitary formation, charged with
terrorism. On these grounds, a great number of oppositionists are being
persecuted.
The next day there was held a press conference at the General Prosecutor's
Office, where conclusions as to the possible connection of the political
opposition to the terrorist acts were made public. This way the General
Prosecutor's Office does more than breaches a presumption of innocence
of those, who are being charged. The reckless disclosure of the
"confidentiality of investigation," disclosure of which is a criminal act,
demonstrates that the activities carried out by the law-enforcement agencies
in this instance aim not at the maintaining of law and order, but at the
supply of compromising information for the benefit of certain political
forces.
Most Ukrainian TV channels produce their news programs following
press releases issued by the state authorities (so called "temnyky"). The
published "temnyky" demonstrate that the authorities try to create in the
society an impression of terrorist nature of activities carried out by youth
opposition organizations "Pora!" and "Chista Ukrayina" [Clean Ukraine].
We receive information from all regions of Ukraine that the Security Service
of Ukraine calls for questioning activists of those organizations,
predominantly young people, who have never been noticed in illegal
activities.
It is becoming a routine practice of the law-enforcement agencies to detain
scores of public activists during visits by Viktor Yanukovich, Presidential
Candidate and Prime Minister, to various regions of Ukraine. According to
our information, just for the last two days, October 18 and 19, during his
visits to Chernihiv and Poltava, 17 people, who took part in disseminating
of printed materials critical to the Prime Minister, were detained.
In most cases, during the detention, no detention reports are compiled. The
detained activists are advised to stay aside of politics. In some incidents,
they are threatened to face criminal prosecution. For instance, in
Chernihiv, Oleksandr Kovalenko, the detained member of "Pora!" was
accused in distributing false money. Others were threatened to face
accusation in stealing mobile phones and rapes.
Outrageous violations of the code of criminal procedure take place during
searches and detentions. Relatives are not informed on the detentions and
lawyers are not allowed to meet their client's right after detention. For
instance, the lawyer of Oleksandr Kovalenko was allowed to meet his
client only 6 hours after the detention of the latter.
On October 19 the office of the youth civic information campaign "Pora!" in
Chernihiv was searched. Tetyana Pekur, a representative of "Pora!", was
beaten by police officers when she tried to phone and tell about the search.
The search resulted in finding of counterfeit currency and explosives. The
activist of the aforementioned organization Oleksandr Lomak was detained.
Similarly to the finding of explosives in the Kyiv office of "Pora!", it is
obvious that these explosives are a result of provocation on the part of
law-enforcement agencies. It is a general knowledge that Ukrainian police
has a huge experience in framing criminal cases based on "finding" drugs,
arms, and counterfeit currency.
We believe that these simultaneous, systematic, and mass actions carried out
by the law-enforcement agencies would have not been possible, unless they
were sanctioned by the leadership of the Ministry of Interior, General
Prosecutor's Office and Security Service.
We believe that the practice of these mass and simultaneous short-term
arrests of oppositionists, which last up to 72 hours (until a deadline for
bringing a formal accusation), has nothing to do with a free election
campaign, has nothing in common with the principles of democracy, and
has to be terminated immediately.
The above facts, in our opinion, unequivocally demonstrate that the
activities carried out by the Ukrainian law-enforcement-agencies clearly
constitute the political persecution of the civic activists, violate the
law, contradict the premises of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (CCPR) and European Convention on Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR).
We appeal to international organizations to officially warn the government
of Ukraine that it is inadmissible to violate the human rights in order to
reach one's political aims.
We appeal to international and foreign non-governmental organizations to
support the actions carried out by the Ukrainian human rights organizations
as to the protecting rights of persons, who fell victims to the arbitrary
detentions, arrests, and other forms of political persecution carried out by
the Ukrainian law-enforcement agencies.
Ukrainian Association of Public Organizations
"Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union"
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Short information about "Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union"
The purpose of creating and functioning of the Association is provision and
protection of the rights and fundamental freedoms through ensuring of
practical execution of the humanitarian articles of the Helsinki Final Act
(1975) of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OCSE),
other documents adopted as its follow-up, and all other obligations taken by
Ukraine in the field of human rights and fundamental freedom.
Members of the Association:
1. Vinnytsya City Public Organization "Vinnytsya Human Rights Group"
2. Ukrainian Community of Political Prisoners and Repressed, including
Committee "Helsinki-90".
3. Public Committee for Protection Citizens Rights and Freedoms
(Lugansk)
4. Ecological Club "EOL" (Odessa region)
5. Economic and Social Problems Institute "Respublika" (Kyiv)
6. Congress of National Communities of Ukraine
7. Youth Public Organization Legal and Political Research Centre " SIM"
(Lviv)
8. City Public Organization "For Professional Help" (Poltava Region)
9. Sevastopol Human Rights Group
10. Kharkiv Regional Union of Soldiers Mothers
11. Kharkiv Human Rights protection Group
12. Kherson City Reporter's Association "Pivden"
13. Kherson Regional Organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine
14. Centre of Regional Politics Research
15. Chernihiv Public Committee of Human Rights Protection
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER ELEVEN
Additional names for the distribution list are always welcome
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12. DR. HENRY KISSINGER ARRIVES IN KYIV, UKRAINE
To speak in Kyiv on Friday
E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
The Action Ukraine Report, Washington, D.C., Thu, Oct 21, 2004
WASHINGTON - Dr. Henry Kissinger, former U.S. Secretary of State,
Nobel Prize winner, author, and founder/chairman of Kissinger Associates
in New York City, arrived in Kyiv, Ukraine on Thursday and will speak
in Kyiv on Friday as part of an international lecture series.
Dr. Henry Kissinger is the guest of Viktor Pinchuk, member of the
Ukrainian Parliament, a leading industrialist who is the owner of several
large businesses in Ukraine including the ICTV Channel. Mr. Pinchuk
is married to Olena Franchuk, daughter of Ukrainian President
Leonid Kuchma. Olena Franchuk recently started a foundation in
Ukraine to fight the spread of HIV-AIDS.
MP Viktor Pinchuk started and is funding an international lecture series in
2004. Guests for his lecture series have included former U.S. President
George Herbert Walker Bush who spoke in Kyiv on May 21, former
U.S. general and former commander of NATO troops in Europe, Wesley
Clark, who gave a lecture in Kyiv on June 2, and Richard Holbrooke,
former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and presently a foreign
policy advisor to Democratic presidential contender John Kerry, who
made a presentation in Kyiv on July 9, 2004.
Dr Kissinger has long taken an interest in Ukrainian matters. He met
with Ukraine's former foreign minister Anatoliy Zlenko in New York on
January 21, 2004. During the meeting Kissinger noted the importance
of further deepening the partnership relations between Ukraine and the U.S.
Kissinger also noted the favorable economic growth in Ukraine and stated
Ukraine is " a factor of stability in the European continent," according to
Interfax-Ukraine.
The prime minister of Poland Marek Belka met with Dr. Kissinger in
Warsaw on May 6, 2004, and they discussed the political and economic
situation in Eastern Europe, including Poland's interest in Ukraine's
further progress in its interest in Euro-Atlantic Integration. Dr. Kissinger
participated in the international conference entitled, "New Geopolitics of
Central and Eastern Europe, Between the European Union and the United
States."
In additional to giving the lecture Dr. Kissinger is expected to meet with
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Prime Minister and presidential
candidate Viktor Yanukovych, former Prime Minister and presidential
candidate Viktor Yushchenko and other government and political officials
in Ukraine.
Dr. Kissinger was born in Fuerth, Germany, came to the U.S. in 1938
and was naturalized a U.S. citizen in 1943. He served in the Army from
1943 to 1946. He graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College
in 1950 and received M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University
in 1952 and 1954 respectively.
>From 1954 until 1971 he was a member of the Faculty of Harvard University,
both in the Department of Government and the Center for International
Affairs. Kissinger served as Secretary of State under Presidents Nixon and
Ford. He was also a key negotiator of the withdrawal of American forces
from Vietnam, for which the won the Nobel {Peace Prize in 1973. After
leaving government service he founded Kissinger Associates, an international
consulting firm, of which he is chairman. -30- (The Action Ukraine Report)
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER TWELVE
Your financial support for The Action Ukraine Report is important
======================================================
12 "SOROS FOR BREAKFAST"
Writer doubts sincerity of Henry Kissinger visit on eve of election
COMMENTARY: By Viktor Strysh
Svoboda, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 19 Oct 04; p 2
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Wed, Oct 20, 2004
KIEV - A Ukrainian opposition weekly has doubted the sincerity of the
coming visit to Ukraine by former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger
at the invitation of magnate Viktor Pinchuk, the Ukrainian president's
son-in-law. It said the visit comes on the eve of the election and in the
wake of a recent visit by US philanthropist and financier George Soros.
It said Kissinger could be used for propaganda purposes to benefit the
authorities presidential candidate, Viktor Yanukovych, possibly in exchange
for business privileges. The following is the text of the article by Viktor
Stryzh entitled "Soros for breakfast", published in the Ukrainian opposition
weekly Svoboda on 19 October:
As of this summer, US financier George Soros is a business partner and
almost a friend of President Kuchma's son-in-law, [magnate and MP] Viktor
Pinchuk. Both of them are reportedly establishing a network of legal advice
centres for Ukrainian citizens.
However, this does not prevent Pinchuk's ICTV channel from strong attacks
not only against Viktor Yushchenko, but against the US, democratic values,
etc. In violation of Ukrainian laws which prohibit foreign citizens to
campaign, [presenter] Dmitriy Kiselev is the major "attacking force" at the
channel. And its owner Pinchuk has "cheated" Ukrainian people of at least
1bn dollars during the privatization of Kryvorizhstal [major Ukrainian steel
plant] which was conducted with flagrant violations of the law.
A question to George Soros who presents himself as a passionate advocate
of democracy, rule of law and progress: is the legal advice service named
after Soros and Pinchuk ready to help Ukrainians to stop the outrage of
ICTV channel and to get the aforementioned billion out of Pinchuk's
pockets?
Similar emerging questions can be addressed not only to George Soros.
Ex-US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is supposed to visit Ukraine
this week at the invitation of the same Pinchuk. The programme of the
visit envisages him meeting with Kuchma, Yanukovych and Yushchenko.
Ukrainian television will undoubtedly use Kissinger's visit for campaigning
in Yanukovych's favour, and "temniks" [instructions to the media on how to
cover news] will give instructions to ignore his meting with Yushchenko.
Why does Kissinger, a qualified political analyst and politician, actually
play into Yanukovych's and Kuchma's hand at the final stage of the election
campaign? Why does he deal with Viktor Pinchuk, whose actions are far
from sincere in the human sense?
There might be several variants of an answer to this question. Soros and
Kissinger are ignorant of Ukrainian realities to the extent that they afford
dubious personalities to manipulate them. Soros, Kissinger and those backing
them have put stakes on Yanukovych in exchange for promises of unlimited
preferences being granted in Ukraine to certain US businessmen. There is
ethnic solidarity between the three mentioned persons of Jewish origin.
Soros and Kissinger have been bought for dirty money "obtained" by
Pinchuk in Ukraine thanks to his closeness to Kuchma.
The author will be most grateful to anyone who suggests a more likely
variant of explanation. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
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ACTION UKRAINE REPORT-04, No.197: ARTICLE NUMBER THIRTEEN
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13. TV 5 KANAL LEADERS CLAIM THEY WILL GO ON HUNGER-
STRIKE IF THE CHANNEL IS SUPPRESSED
UNIAN, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, October 21, 2004
KYIV - The leadership of TV 5 Kanal claims that they will go on a
hunger-strike if their demands to allow the channel normally work are
not fulfilled. The letter dealing with it was read during a live press
conference at TV 5 Kanal yesterday evening by channels' chairman
of board Roman Skrypin.
He noted that they would not request, but demand the Pecherskiy
district court of Kyiv to remove the arrest from the channel's assets.
They turned to lawmaker Volodymyr Sivkovych with a demand to
publicly apologize to 5 Kanal for its being used for blackmailing his
political opponents. (As it is known, V.Sivkovych sued lawmaker
Petro Poroshenko demanding his apologizes. The court resolved
to arrest the assets of TV 5 Kanal until P.Poroshenko apologizes.)
More than that, the television demands the National Council for TV
and Radio Broadcasting to hold an extraordinary meeting, announcing
TV 5 Kanal the final winner of broadcasting at 48th wave in Kyiv,
and to accord regional licensing of 5 Kanal.
R.Skrypin called on Kyiv residents to call by phone to the channel if
they see that the TV is cut off in Kyiv. Andriy Shevchenko, chief of
the channel's informational service, claimed that 5 Kanal will turn to
international structures, in particular, Reporters Without Borders,
and hopes for their support. -30- (www.unian.net/eng/)
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