"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"
WE BRING YOU GREETINGS FROM KYIV, UKRAINE
The clock is ticking and the official countdown will begin shortly.
The time to leave for Kyiv is now!
Do not miss this historic inauguration.
POSSIBLE VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO INAUGURAL PROGRAM
(Information heard around Kyiv at this time, subject to change)
DAY ONE-----Saturday, January 22 (exact date not set yet)
Unification Day: 86th anniversary of the Unification Act of Ukrainian
People's Republic (Eastern Ukraine) and Western Ukrainian People's
Republic on January 22, 1919.
1. Presidential Swearing-In Ceremony at the Rada - a.m.
2. Armed Forces Event in front of Mariyinskiy Palace - a.m.
3. Inaugural Speech and Concert on the Maidan - p.m.
Over one million people expected at this event. Will you be
one of them? This is a special moment not to be missed.
4. Diplomatic Events - Mariyinskiy Palace - p.m.
5. Inaugural Concert & Reception, "Ukraina" Palace - p.m.
DAY TWO-----Sunday, January 23 (exact date not set yet)
1. Event at one or more of Kyiv's Cathedrals - a.m.
2. Laying of flowers at various monuments- a.m.
3. Meeting with Our Ukraine leaders from across Ukraine- p.m.
4. Privately Sponsored Social Functions - p.m.
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT" - Number 413
morganw@patriot.net, ArtUkraine.com@starpower.net
FROM: KYIV, UKRAINE, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19, 2005
-----INDEX OF ARTICLES-----
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO INAUGURATION CLEARS MORE
HURDLES IN UKRAINE
Oleg Rybachuk said the inauguration could take place on Saturday,
Ukraine Unity Day, which would serve as an important symbol after a
months-long election campaign split the nation into two polarized camps.
Agence France Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
2. MYKOLA TOMENKO: THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
IN UKRAINE MIGHT TAKE PLACE ON THE UNIFICATION DAY
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan 17, 2005
3. UKRAINE'S SUPREME COURT PERMITS PUBLICATION OF CEC
RESOLUTION ON VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO'S VICTORY IN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AFTER WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Tue, January 18, 2005 (17:20)
4. YUSHCHENKO FACES EARLY TEST OF LEADERSHIP
By Tom Warner in Kyiv, Financial Times
London, UK, Tuesday, January 18 2005
5. UKRAINE OFFICIAL AT ODDS OVER SECRET SERVICE'S
ROLE IN PROTESTS
Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 18 Jan 05, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jan 18, 2005
6. BORYS TARASYUK: UKRAINE COULD WELL ASPIRE TO
PLAYING FIRST FIDDLE IN EUROPE
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 14, 2005
7. PROFILE OF UKRAINIAN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
COMMITTEE HEAD BORYS TARASYUK
BBC Monitoring research in English 18 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Tue, Jan 18, 2005
8. UKRAINE: ANATOLII KINAKH READY TO WORK AS PREMIER
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
9. STEVEN SPIELBERG AND VIKTOR PINCHUK TO MAKE A
FILM IN UKRAINE ABOUT THE BABYN YAR TRAGEDY
The Day Weekly Digest in English, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, 18 Jan 2005
10. UKRAINE AGRICULTURE CONFEDERATION PRESIDENT
KOZACHENKO CRITICIZES CREATION OF AGRARIAN FUND
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
11. "NERVOUS TYCOONS IN UKRAINE"
New President Yushchenko Must Balance Promises, Opponents
Alan Cullison, Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, January 14, 2005, Page A7
12. PETRO POROSHENKO SAYS BUSINESS INTERESTS NO
OBSTACLE TO BEING UKRAINE'S PRIME MINISTER
Interview with Petro Poroshenko by Serhiy Leshchenko
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 11 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, in English., Wed, Jan 18, 2005
==========================================================
1. VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO INAUGURATION CLEARS MORE
HURDLES IN UKRAINE
Oleg Rybachuk said the inauguration could take place on Saturday,
Ukraine Unity Day, which would serve as an important symbol after a
months-long election campaign split the nation into two polarized camps.
Agence France Presse (AFP), Kiev, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
KIEV - Viktor Yushchenko's inauguration cleared several hurdles in Ukraine,
when the supreme court told his defeated rival to stop delaying the final
appeal over his election and lifted its ban on publishing the results of the
poll. The rulings show that the court will likely soon reject the appeal by
former prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, enabling pro-Western Yushchenko
to assume power after weeks of political upheaval in the strategic ex-Soviet
nation, observers said.
"The supreme court decision to publish the results means a formal
legalization (of the election)," Oleg Rybachuk, a deputy and one of
Yushchenko's closest aides, told AFP. Yanukovich's staff said the decisions
showed that the high court was prejudiced against their candidate, who is
asking the justices to throw out Yushchenko's December 26 victory on the
grounds of fraud and set a new ballot.
"This is a brutal violation of our rights. Now we know what the final
verdict of the court will be," said Nestor Shuffrich, an aide. In its
decisions Tuesday, the court refused to hear any more procedural complaints
in the case, which sped up the proceedings, and said that the results of the
rerun election could be published in official government papers from
Thursday.
Last week, the court banned the publication pending its review of
Yanukovich's complaint. The publication normally would allow parliament to
set an inauguration date, though Yushchenko's team said the ceremony would
not take place until the court issues its final ruling.
"Of course nobody is going to hold the inauguration before the supreme court
issues its ruling, since we need a legitimate president," said Mykola
Poludyonnyi, a Yushchenko lawyer. Rybachuk said the inauguration could
take place on Saturday, Ukraine Unity Day, which would serve as an important
symbol after a months-long election campaign split the nation into two
polarized camps.
Yanukovich supporters warned that Yushchenko's legitimacy could be put
under question if the ceremony takes place before the high court ruling.
"The whole country and the court are hurrying to have the inauguration but
it would be more useful to wait the end of the process so that the country
has no doubts about the president's legitimacy," said Mikhailo Dobkin, a
pro-Yanukovich deputy.
Yushchenko won the December ballot by more than 2.2 million ballots with
52 percent of the vote. The repeat election was set after the supreme court
said a previous November runoff, won by Yanukovich, was marred by massive
fraud and threw it out. In the final appeal, Yanukovich has filed a myriad
of procedural motions in what Yushchenko's team says is a deliberate attempt
to delay the proceedings, charges that the justices backed in their ruling
on Tuesday.
"The content and character of these motions show that Yanukovich
representatives are taking advantage of their procedural rights, which is
hindering the case from being examined within a timeframe determined by
law," the court said. "The court has decided to cease hearing these motions
and to proceed to opening arguments," chief presiding justice Anatoly Yarema
said. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==========================================================
2. MYKOLA TOMENKO: THE PRESIDENTIAL INAUGURATION
IN UKRAINE MIGHT TAKE PLACE ON THE UNIFICATION DAY
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan 17, 2005
KYIV - The head of the parliamentary committee on the freedom of speech
and information Mykola Tomenko predicts the inauguration for the end of
this week. "It may happen if the Supreme Court makes a ruling prior to 19
January," noted Tomenko.
"To me, as a patriot of Ukraine, inauguration on 22 January - the Day of
Unification of the Eastern and Western Ukraine - would have been very
symbolic," said Tomenko. The people's deputy thinks that that would have
been a worthy answer to the separatists.
Commenting on the court proceedings in the Yanukovych appeal case, Mykola
Tomenko called in "an abuse of court." "Yanukovych's Swiss lawyers ought to
have come earlier to prepare a more professional appeal," noted the people's
deputy. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==========================================================
3. UKRAINE'S SUPREME COURT PERMITS PUBLICATION OF CEC
RESOLUTION ON VIKTOR YUSHCHENKO'S VICTORY IN
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AFTER WEDNESDAY JANUARY 19
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Tue, January 18, 2005 (17:20)
KYIV - The Supreme Court of Ukraine has allowed publication in the
Governmental Courier and Voice of Ukraine newspapers of its decision to
declare Our Ukraine Coalition leader Viktor Yuschenko the president-elect in
the Governmental Courier and Voice of Ukraine newspapers after January 19.
Chief judge Anatolii Yarema read out this court decision following the
discussion of the petition filed by Yuschenko's representatives.
The Supreme Court handed down its ruling today, thus meeting the five-day
deadline for consideration of the Yanukovych complaint, which expires on
January 19. The Supreme Court found no grounds to prohibit publication
of the voting results after January 19.
Yuschenko's representative at the court, MP Yurii Kliuchkovskyi said that
this verdict is absolutely logical. "I am delighted with this ruling by the
Supreme Court," Kliuchkovskyi said.
In his words, having set the same deadline for the ban on the publication as
for the complaint consideration procedure, the Supreme Court did very well.
Thus the Supreme Court, according to Kliuchkovskyi demonstrated to the
representatives of Yanukovych that procrastination is not to their benefit.
According to Kliuchkovskyi, if the Central Electoral Commission verdict is
published on January 20, this or next day the Rada may set the date of
inauguration of the President-elect. Yuschenko's other representative at the
court, MP Mykola Katerynchuk, noted that this definition of the Supreme
Court leaves no impact on its final verdict on the Yanukovych complaint.
According to Katerynchuk, setting of the inauguration date does not restrict
the Supreme Court in any way, should it decide to satisfy the Yanukovych
appeal.
As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Mykola Poludennyi, who represents
Yuschenko at the Supreme Court, submitted a motion asking the court to
cancel its ruling that prohibited publication of the resolution of the CEC
to declare Yuschenko the winner of the Ukrainian presidential elections in
the Governmental Courier and Voice of Ukraine newspapers. On January 11,
the Supreme Court prohibited publication of the voting results in the said
newspapers pending consideration of the complaint. -30-
==========================================================
4. YUSHCHENKO FACES EARLY TEST OF LEADERSHIP
By Tom Warner in Kyiv, Financial Times
London, UK, Tuesday, January 18 2005
Viktor Yushchenko looks set to become president of Ukraine on Saturday
after the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the election results could be
published on Thursday.
Publication of the results, a key step in the handover of power, had been
held up by an appeal against Mr Yushchenko's victory in last month's re-run
presidential election, which his opponent, Viktor Yanukovich, insists was
spoiled by fraud. But the court confirmed the embargo on publication would
expire at midnight on Wednesday night regardless of whether it had dealt
with the appeal.
Now the western-leaning president-elect faces the tough task of choosing a
prime minister from among his closest allies. He tried last week to let the
leaders of his "People Power" coalition decide who should get the job while
he took a holiday outside Kiev.
But their meeting only ended in deadlock. Mr Yushchenko's tactics have
provoked criticism that he is prevaricating.
The contest has narrowed to three main candidates: Yulia Tymoshenko, the
charming but fiery former "gas princess" who helped lead the Orange
Revolution protests in November and December; Petro Poroshenko, the
softly-spoken "chocolate prince" whose television channel brought the
protests into the homes of millions of Ukrainians; and Olexander Zinchenko,
Mr Yushchenko's campaign manager.
Mr Zinchenko is a relatively recent recruit to the Yushchenko camp. He was
previously head of the Inter television channel and a leading member of the
Social Democratic Party, the grouping headed by Viktor Medvedchuk, president
Leonid Kuchma's chief of staff.
Oleh Rybachuk, a leading Yushchenko aide, said that Mr Zinchenko could be a
compromise candidate who could prevent a split between the "heavyweight"
candidates, Ms Tymoshenko and Mr Poroshenko.
Ms Tymoshenko raised the stakes at the weekend by declaring that she
expected Mr Yushchenko to choose her. But people close to the talks said Mr
Poroshenko remained the front-runner.
Mr Poroshenko, the 39-year-old chairman of parliament's budget committee,
lacks Ms Tymoshenko's personal popularity and has relatively little
experience addressing the public. However, he commands broad respect among
the members of Mr Yushchenko's Our Ukraine political movement and is seen to
have proved himself as an effective manager as head of his own business
empire.
Mr Poroshenko's Roshen confectionery company - Ukraine's largest -
reported $274m (Euro 210m, £147m) of sales last year. His business group
also includes Mriya Bank, Channel 5 television, a car plant in Lutsk and a
shipyard in Kiev.
Ms Tymoshenko says Mr Yushchenko promised her the prime minister's job
when he sought her support before the elections. But while she says it would
be "unprecedented" for such an agreement to be broken, Mr Poroshenko has
appeared more cool, arguing that Mr Yushchenko's team is united as ever.
Ms Tymoshenko, 44, was previously head of United Energy Systems of Ukraine,
a private gas trading company. The company became the country's biggest gas
trader when, controversially, the government of then-prime minister Pavlo
Lazarenko granted UESU a lucrative regional monopoly on supplies of gas to
large areas of central and eastern Ukraine in 1996.
But Ms Tymoshenko lost the business after Mr Lazarenko was sacked in 1997.
She entered politics as a supporter of Mr Lazarenko, but in 1999 she teamed
up with Mr Yushchenko, who was named prime minister at the end of that
year.Mr Yushchenko made her deputy prime minister and energy minister, a
position in which she won support from western donors for her attacks on
corruption.
However, Ukraine's president, Leonid Kuchma, saw Ms Tymoshenko as self-
promoting and sacked her in early 2001. Soon afterwards, she was briefly
jailed for alleged fraud in connection with her former gas-trading business,
but re-emerged as leader of a centrist opposition bloc that won 7 per cent
of the vote in 2002 parliamentary elections.
Ms Tymoshenko has been repeatedly accused of corruption in what she insists
have been politically motivated attempts to repress a popular opposition
leader.
Mr Poroshenko is untainted by accusations of corruption. But many of Mr
Yushchenko's team fear such a prominent industrialist will find it difficult
to put the interests o of the state above his own business interests. He
says he has put his business interests into a trust, but questions have been
raised about whether he has entirely separated himself from his commercial
activities. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service}
==========================================================
5. UKRAINE OFFICIAL AT ODDS OVER SECRET SERVICE'S
ROLE IN PROTESTS
Segodnya, Kiev, in Russian 18 Jan 05, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Tue, Jan 18, 2005
KIEV - The commander of Ukraine's internal troops and a senior security
service official have offered contradictory comments on an article in The
New York Times suggesting that the secret service, the SBU, had thwarted
the use of force by internal troops against opposition protesters during the
"orange revolution", the Ukrainian tabloid Segodnya has said.
Interior Troops commander Serhiy Popkov said he was "surprised" by the
US paper's interpretation of the events, and insisted that the deployment of
troops outside Kiev was a drill, according to Segodnya. But the chief of the
SBU's military counterintelligence department, Vitaliy Romanchenko,
apparently confirmed The New York Times' claims, Segodnya said.
The following is an excerpt from the article entitled "Military
counterintelligence chief averted bloodshed in Kiev?.." published in the
Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya on 18 January; subheadings inserted
editorially:
New information has emerged about whether there was a possibility of the
use of force against the "orange revolution" in Kiev. Officials of the
Interior Troops deny it, the SBU confirms it.
"How Top Spies in Ukraine Changed the Nation's Path", read the headline in
The New York Times yesterday. The paper published its own version of the
possible crackdown against the "orange revolution" in Kiev. [Passage
omitted: summary of the New York Times article, which said that Popkov
ordered combat-armed internal troops to move to Kiev, but called them off
after frantic efforts by the SBU and other key players.]
POPKOV
In a [16 December] interview to Segodnya, [Lt-Gen Serhiy] Popkov said that
calling the drill was his own initiative - he just wanted to check the
troops' combat readiness. He said no-one was going to actually use the
troops to disperse the protesters.
Yesterday we contacted Gen Serhiy Popkov again. He was very surprised by The
New York Times' interpretation of the events. Popkov stood by everything he
said in his 16 December interview with Segodnya and refused to comment any
further, citing urgent business.
Popkov's press secretary Svitlana Pavlovska, who also attended the meeting
with American journalists, said the following: The questions asked to Mr
Popkov really did concern the events of 28 November. The commander clearly
said that it had been his personal decision to put troops on alert as part
of a drill. The aim was to selectively check the combat-readiness of his
units in case the situation escalated after calls had been made to storm the
presidential administration. These calls had been aired by TV 5 Kanal and
they could not be ignored.
Having made sure that the Interior Troops units based in Vasylkiv had done
everything by the book and formed a column of trucks - which, incidentally,
did not leave its temporary location - the commander ordered the troops to
stand down.
Svitlana Pavlovska said that her boss gave the orders on the mobile phone.
[Pavlovska] Initiating a drill, as well as ordering troops to stand down
from a drill, is a right and indeed an obligation of the commander, so
everything was within the law... Neither [SBU chief] Ihor Smeshko nor [SBU's
military counterintelligence department chief] Vitaliy Romanchenko were
mentioned during the meeting with US journalists. In general, Serhiy Popkov
was trying to avoid mentioning any names. He told the journalists about the
special task force's duties of maintaining order near the presidential
administration building, showed them how special task force fighters worked.
As far as I know, apart from the commander, the New York Times journalists
also interviewed [Ukrainian President] Leonid Kuchma, [Interior Minister]
Mykola Bilokon and [Kuchma's son-in-law and business magnate] Viktor
Pinchuk. On Sunday, 16 January, the journalists called us to clarify some
details concerning the future article. I thought they were very happy with
the interview. One of the Americans made a compliment to Serhiy Popkov,
saying that "in Europe he is believed to be the most important player in the
November events in Kiev".
SBU
Another key player who can either confirm or deny the assertions made in the
article is the head of the [SBU's] Military Counterintelligence Department,
Vitaliy Romanchenko. We managed to get in touch with him by phone yesterday.
He only said a few words, but what words! "Statements in the article in the
US newspaper are true," Romanchenko said.
A sensation? So Romanchenko really did call Popkov? And they were really
talking about preparations for the use of force against the "orange"? We
hope that in the next few days the key players in this story will clarify
the situation. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=========================================================
6. BORYS TARASYUK: UKRAINE COULD WELL ASPIRE TO
PLAYING FIRST FIDDLE IN EUROPE
Our Ukraine Website, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, January 14, 2005
KYIV - "Everybody has to understand that, if we wish to live as well as
those in the thriving countries of the European Union, we have not only to
dream but also to work as hard as those living the EU member-states. We
must understand that it is not permitted to litter in the streets, or to
cross the street on red light - these are the elements of a legal culture
that we, unfortunately, still lack," noted the head of the parliamentary
committee on European integration Borys Tarasyuk in an interview to
the "Ukrainskie Itogi."
He noted that those used to doing business in the shadow would have to
change: "Those used to dealing with the CIS partners are scared by the
European Union because of its transparent rules of economic activity."
The deputy is convinced that, based on the political activity and political
culture, Ukraine could aspire to play the first fiddle in Europe. An
influential Polish magazine "Wprost" has named Victor Yushchenko the
Person of 2004 - that was the second time in 14 years the magazine
named a foreign politician.
Borys Tarasyuk noted that the Poles had admitted in conversations that, if
there was a popularity contest held in Poland at this time and Yushchenko's
name were entered in it, he would be named the most popular person in
Poland.
"It all proves that not only the Ukrainian society, not only the new
political reality, which did not exist for a long time - Ukrainian political
nation - but also the new citizens of Ukraine have developed. These citizens
will never allow any government to rule over them and to ignore their will,"
stressed the parliamentarian. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
==========================================================
7. PROFILE OF UKRAINIAN EUROPEAN INTEGRATION
COMMITTEE HEAD BORYS TARASYUK
BBC Monitoring research in English 18 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Tue, Jan 18, 2005
Many in Ukraine view Borys Tarasyuk, 56, who chairs the committee for
European integration in parliament, as president-elect Viktor Yushchenko's
main candidate for the post of foreign minister. Tarasyuk, a career diplomat
and foreign minister in 1998-2000, has been a leading proponent of the
pro-EU and pro-NATO course. His Euroatlantic zeal, viewed by President
Leonid Kuchma as excessive, is believed to have cost him the post of foreign
minister in September 2000.
Since his dismissal Tarasyuk has been promoting his ideas as founder of the
Kiev-based Institute for Euroatlantic Cooperation. Since his election to
parliament in 2002, Tarasyuk has been actively involved in party politics.
In 2003 he was elected leader of the People's Movement of Ukraine (PMU), a
major right-of-centre party and a core element in Yushchenko's Our Ukraine
bloc.
Tarasyuk was born on 1 January 1949 in the town of Dzerzhynsk in Ukraine's
north-central Zhytomyr Region. He served in the diplomatic service since his
graduation from the Kiev Shevchenko University in 1975 with a diploma in
International Law until his joining the opposition in the run-up to the 2002
parliamentary elections. In 1975-1986 he worked at the Ukrainian Soviet
Republic's Foreign Ministry in Kiev and at Ukraine's UN office in New York.
He served a brief stint at the Ukrainian Communist Party's central committee
in 1987-1990 as an official in charge of foreign relations.
Tarasyuk returned to the Foreign Ministry in 1990. As a deputy foreign
minister, he supervised Ukraine's nuclear disarmament and joining the
Council of Europe in 1992-95. In 1995-98 Tarasyuk was Ukraine's ambassador
to the Benelux countries. He was in charge of Ukraine's mission to NATO in
Brussels in 1997-98. In April 1998 Tarasyuk replaced the ageing Henadiy
Udovenko as foreign minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Valeriy
Pustovoytenko, and continued on under Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko.
President Kuchma dismissed him in September 2000 "without explanation", as
Tarasyuk would later complain. The Ukrainian and foreign media, commenting
on Tarasyuk's dismissal, wrote that his pro-EU and pro-NATO course had
disturbed Moscow.
The dismissal prompted Tarasyuk to join the opposition. In January 2001 he
joined the Reforms and Order party of market liberals close to Yushchenko.
In March 2002 he was elected to parliament as No 9 on Yushchenko's
centre-right Our Ukraine bloc's list. By the time of the election, Tarasyuk
had founded the Institute for Euroatlantic Cooperation, joined the national
council for the adaptation of Ukraine's legislation to EU standards, and was
the director of the Social Studies and International Affairs school at the
Kiev-based Interregional Academy of Personnel Management (IAPM).
In May 2003 Tarasyuk moved further to the right of Ukraine's political
continuum, and was elected by the nationalist PMU as its leader. Tarasyuk
played an active role in Yushchenko's election campaign, often seen in his
orange coat behind Yushchenko addressing crowds of his supporters on
Kiev's Independence Square in November-December 2004.
Tarasyuk makes no secret of his intention to return to the post of foreign
minister. In a 18 January interview to the Russian Vremya Novostey
newspaper, Tarasyuk named EU membership Ukraine's main foreign political
goal. "I think it is realistic to achieve this in 10 years," he said. "I
would not focus attention on NATO," Tarasyuk said, probably trying to soothe
Russian fears about a radical change in Ukraine's foreign course under
Yushchenko. Tarasyuk pledged to respect agreements with Moscow on the
Russian Black Sea Fleet's base in Crimea and reconfirmed Ukraine's interest
in the establishment of a free-trade zone with Russia.
He, however, made it clear that the Single Economic Space agreement with
Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan should be revised "on the basis of national
interests". Tarasyuk also suggested that Ukraine, whose economy depends on
fuel supplies from Russia and Turkmenistan, should start to buy fuel also in
the Caspian region, the Middle East and Norway. -30-
==========================================================
8. UKRAINE: ANATOLII KINAKH READY TO WORK AS PREMIER
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
KYIV - Leader of the Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of Ukraine
Anatolii Kinakh has announced his readiness to work as the Prime Minister in
the new government. He said this on the Tonis TV channel on Monday evening,
January 17. At this, he believes that the new Cabinet of Ministers should be
formed of professionals, regardless of their political views.
"I am ready to work as Premier of Ukraine, but only in a team, which is
formed under criteria of professionalism, high morality level and having
people with such features regardless of their political views," Kinakh said.
He does not agree with the opinion of some politicians and experts that the
premier will be appointed temporarily for overcoming of negative economic
aftereffects of the presidential campaign.
"No, there should be no such opinion [that the premier is a transition,
temporary person]... The Prime Minister, the government should work both
on the settlement of current issues on the basis of effectiveness and
professional approach and for at least a medium-term prospective," he
believes. At the same time, Kinakh noted that the new premier will receive a
heavy heritage, as the economy has been misbalanced in 2004, because the
previous government headed by presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych
made a lot of populist decisions, inflation in 2004 reached over 12%,
industrial price index - over 24%, Pension Fund deficit being UAH 12
billion.
Kinakh said that in case of his work in the new government, he is going to
fulfill high social commitments given during the election campaign, first of
all by means of creation of favorable working terms for industry and
entrepreneurs, holding better tax policy and creation of equal terms for
business. Kinakh called his work as premier in 2001-2002 a positive
experience.
In case he is not appointed to the post, this will not make him go to the
opposition to the new power, he added. Kinakh said he will go to the
opposition only if the new power makes decisions or efforts in conflict
with people's trust.
As Ukrainian News reported earlier, the Our Ukraine coalition's leader
and presidential candidate Viktor Yuschenko, who was announced the
president-elect by the CEC and his supporters started drafting the
principles for forming the next Cabinet of Ministers.
Now the CEC resolution has been suspended by the Supreme Court, which is
considering presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych's appeal. Yuschenko
considers that leader of namesake coalition Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the
Socialist Party Oleksandr Moroz, leader of the Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs of Ukraine Anatolii Kinakh, or chairman of the Verkhovna
Rada's budget committee, deputy chairman of his election campaign HQ Petro
Poroshenko as candidates for the post of the Prime Minister. Earlier, Kinakh
announced he is ready to work at the new Cabinet of Ministers at any level.
Tymoshenko believes that according to the People's Power coalition agreement
signed in June 2004, Yuschenko, has to name her candidature for the post of
premier. She forecasts that the Verkhovna Rada will support her candidature
for the post. Moroz also said in December he is ready to work at the new
Cabinet, which will be formed after the presidential election process
completion, in case Yuschenko wins the vote. -30-
==========================================================
9. STEVEN SPIELBERG AND VIKTOR PINCHUK TO MAKE A
FILM IN UKRAINE ABOUT THE BABYN YAR TRAGEDY
The Day Weekly Digest in English, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, 18 Jan 2005
The Oscar-winning US movie director Steven Spielberg is going to make
a documentary about Ukraine, which will be co-produced with People's
Deputy Viktor Pinchuk, a well-known Ukrainian businessman and art
patron, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
Mr. Pinchuk says he met Spielberg several times in the US and they made a
deal for the director to shoot a film on the Babyn Yar tragedy. Spielberg
has already set the ball rolling in Los Angeles, while his assistants are
gathering material in Kyiv. In late September - early October 1941 the Nazis
shot more than 30,000 Jews in Kyiv's Babyn Yar area. For two years the Yar
("ravine") was the site of mass-scale executions that claimed over 150,000
people of various ethnic origins.
The Jewish theme is nothing new for Spielberg. The director was awarded an
Oscar for the film Schindler's List, about a German who rescued Jews from
death camps during the Second World War. Mr. Pinchuk announced that the
new movie would be released in eighteen months. The tycoon has committed
himself to fund the film production, but he refused to answer any questions
about the exact cost of this project.
Mr. Pinchuk also said he would not be running for a seat in parliament in
2006 "if the new leadership doesn't harass big business." He is not going to
work in the new cabinet and is also prepared to accept the re-privatization
of the Kryvorizhstal steel mill - on one condition: "If it is going to be a
law-abiding action, not a political show." -30-
==========================================================
10. UKRAINE AGRICULTURE CONFEDERATION PRESIDENT
KOZACHENKO CRITICIZES CREATION OF AGRARIAN FUND
Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Tue, January 18, 2005
KIEV - Leonid Kozachenko, president of the Ukrainian Agriculture
Confederation, criticizes the creation of the Agrarian Fund. He announced
this at a press conference. In his words, the Agrarian Fund only
monopolizes the situation in the market. Thus, the law on the creation of
the Agrarian Fund must be revised or annulled.
"It is necessary either to put off implementation of this law or annul it...
There must be no monopolization in the agro-industrial sector... The results
are possible only with intensive competition," Kozachenko said.
As Ukrainian News reported, the State Committee for Material Reserves
(the State Reserve) supported the Agricultural Policy Ministry's intention
to create the Agrarian Fund in 2005 for regulating the foodstuff market.
The Agrarian Fund will be a structural unit of the Ministry of Agricultural
Policy and will deal with holding interventions and collateral purchases of
food products. The money in the Agrarian Fund will be used for buying
some sorts of grain and sugar in 2005.
The draft national budget of Ukraine for 2005 envisages UAH 1.2 billion for
the creation and functioning of the Agrarian Fund. The Agrarian Fund plans
to use private and state capacities for the storage of food products (Khlib
Ukrainy, State Committee for Material Reserve). -30-
==========================================================
11. "NERVOUS TYCOONS IN UKRAINE"
New President Yushchenko Must Balance Promises, Opponents
Alan Cullison, Staff Reporter Of The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY, January 14, 2005, Page A7
KIEV, Ukraine -- Viktor Pinchuk agrees he is the type of businessman that a
few supporters of Ukraine's Orange Revolution would like to see stripped of
some wealth after their victorious candidate is sworn in as president. But
the 43-year-old billionaire, who has close family and financial ties to
departing President Leonid Kuchma, is hoping cooler heads prevail.
How President-elect Viktor Yushchenko handles the country's politically
connected tycoons will be a critical test of whether he can balance the
mandate for change that brought him to office against the need to make peace
with the millions who supported his opponent. At stake is Europe's
fastest-growing economy, a France-size country on the European Union's
eastern border.
"If they try to take away something, to reprivatize something, then not only
businesses will lose, but the whole country as well," said Mr. Pinchuk,
sitting on the cushion of a spacious couch, in a wood-paneled office adorned
by Impressionist paintings. "We need to move forward, not back."
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ukraine's economy has largely fallen
under the sway of a handful of so-called industrial clans, and critics say
they have sapped state revenues by demanding -- and getting -- unnecessary
tax exemptions and subsidies. Mr. Yushchenko campaigned on a promise to
curb their influence and cut ties between big business and politics.
Russian President Vladimir Putin came to power with a promise similar to Mr.
Yuschenko's, and authorities there hounded some magnates out of the country
and jailed others in a campaign that has sapped business confidence and
spurred capital flight. That experience has raised fears among Mr.
Yushchenko's political rivals that his Western-sounding economic designs
could mean a Russian-style witch hunt for uncooperative oligarchs. At the
same time, his own allies aren't interested in a protracted fight that could
slow the country's progress.
Mr. Yushchenko has tried to allay such fears, saying he has no interest
in a wholesale redistribution of property. "I don't like the word
'reprivatization' or 'nationalization,' " he said in an interview last week.
"There will be no political persecution of business people."
Yushchenko ally Yulia Tymoshenko, who made a fortune in the 1990s when
she had close ties to the government, also promises caution. "We just need
to separate power from capital, and capital from power, because during the
last 12 years in our country they have been Siamese twins," she said.
"Everyone thinks it is not possible to perform surgery. ... But I think we
can do it, under good anesthesia."
But Mr. Yushchenko said prosecutors will indeed be looking into some
privatizations managed by Mr. Kuchma's administration -- including the sale
of Ukraine's largest steel plant, Kryvorizhstal. The plant was bought by Mr.
Pinchuk, who is married to Mr. Kuchma's daughter, and by Donetsk-based
steel-and-coal magnate Rinat Akhmetov. Both Messrs. Pinchuk and Akhmetov
supported former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in the November
presidential election, whose results were deemed fraudulent by Ukraine's
Supreme Court.
Mr. Pinchuk says criticism of the Kryvorizhstal privatization -- some of the
world's biggest steel companies said they would have paid more if they had
been allowed to bid for the business -- is "mostly political." Mr. Pinchuk
denies any wrongdoing, and says the privatization was "absolutely legal."
Analysts say the three oligarch groups in Ukraine who backed Mr. Yanukovych
in the recent campaign -- he lost to Mr. Yushchenko in a Dec. 26 revote --
are also on edge because of the tough rhetoric of some Yushchenko
supporters. Mr. Kuchma's head of presidential administration, Kiev tycoon
Viktor Medvedchuk, who pulled strings in the bitter presidential campaign,
is probably at the greatest risk, "because he is the only one today who
seems to be at odds with Yushchenko in public, and says he will not work
with him as president," said Andriy Dmytrenko, head of research at Dragon
Capital brokerage house in Kiev. Mr. Medvedchuk declined to be interviewed
for this article.
Mykola Tomenko, a lawmaker and ally of Mr. Yushchenko, has called on Mr.
Kuchma to keep round-the-clock guard on Mr. Medvedchuk and other top
members of the presidential staff to ensure they are available to "testify
about everything that happened in this country."
Some tycoons are trying to make amends with the new administration. Mr.
Akhmetov invited Ms. Tymoshenko to visit Donetsk -- a city previously
considered too dangerous for her to enter because of its fervid allegiance
to Messrs. Kuchma and Yanukovych. The trip came off without a hitch, but
analysts say Mr. Akhmetov nonetheless could suffer from Mr. Yushchenko's
anticipated revamping of the coal sector. Mr. Akhmetov declined to be
interviewed for this article.
Mr. Yushchenko, who was prime minister from December 1999 to April
2001, drafted a coal-sector restructuring plan that promised to shutter
unprofitable mines, reduce state subsidies to the sector and launch social
programs to retrain miners for other professions. He lost his government
post before the restructuring was finished, said Mr. Dmytrenko, the
brokerage analyst, adding that "I am sure he will want to finish the job."
Analysts say Mr. Pinchuk might have problems beyond the Kryvorizhstal
privatization. Mr. Pinchuk, who made his fortune making industrial pipe, has
seen his empire grow into banking, insurance and media. During the
presidential campaign, one of Mr. Pinchuk's television stations cast doubt
on Mr. Yushchenko's contention that he was poisoned by his political
enemies, and suggested Mr. Yushchenko was covering up some medical
problems and exaggerating others. Doctors eventually determined Mr.
Yushchenko had been poisoned by dioxin, probably planted in some
of his food.
Today, Mr. Pinchuk said he doesn't like to talk about the campaign or his
decision to support Mr. Yanukovych. His television station's broadcasts on
Mr. Yushchenko's poisoning, he says, mostly look bad in hindsight, but back
then, there were serious doubts about the facts of the case.
Mr. Pinchuk said he too expects some changes in the way business gets done,
but he is confident his business empire will survive. "I'm happy that
everything ended as it did, peacefully and democratically. I will support
Yushchenko if he supports the rule of law," he said. -30-
==========================================================
12. PETRO POROSHENKO SAYS BUSINESS INTERESTS NO
OBSTACLE TO BEING UKRAINE'S PRIME MINISTER
Interview with Petro Poroshenko by Serhiy Leshchenko
Ukrayinska Pravda web site, Kiev, in Ukrainian 11 Jan 05
BBC Monitoring Service, in English., Wed, Jan 18, 2005
MP Petro Poroshenko, a wealthy businessman and close ally of president-elect
Viktor Yushchenko, says that he has "distanced himself" from his business
interests and they do not present an obstacle to his becoming prime
minister. In an interview with an opposition web site, Poroshenko says that
during the four years he was in opposition he lost two thirds of his assets.
Poroshenko hints that he would not serve in a government led by Yuliya
Tymoshenko, his main rival for the premiership. Poroshenko says that he has
no influence over the content of 5 Kanal TV and denies that he is the
channel's major shareholder.
The following is an excerpt from the interview with Serhiy Leshchenko's
interview titled "Petro Poroshenko: My programmes do not coincide with those
of Tymoshenko", which was posted on Ukrayinska Pravda on 11 January 2005;
subheadings have been inserted editorially:
This interview granted to Ukrayinska Pravda by Petro Poroshenko, one of the
candidates for the premiership, was recorded over the Christmas holidays.
[Passage omitted: description of circumstances of interview]
RELATIONS WITH YUSHCHENKO
[Leshchenko] How did you meet Viktor Yushchenko?
[Poroshenko] We met on several occasions at the National Bank starting in
1996. I was chairman of the board at the Leninska Kuznya shipyard at that
time. Our shipbuilding industry was deep in crisis. Banks wouldn't offer
loans, there was no such thing as long-term lending, and shipyards hadn't
been launching ships for two years. Leninska Kuznya had a two-year wage
backlog. Can you imagine its director fearing to enter his workshop? The
plant had run up arrears to the budget for two years.
We promptly reached consensus on drawing up a procedure to provide long-
term loans for the shipbuilding industry using foreign customers' money.
We specified forms of guarantee and I managed to get the plant going.
It has launched about thirty ships since then.
There are some more things to recall in my relations with Yushchenko. I
stood up against the fabricated results of [Viktor] Suslov's parliamentary
commission which looked into misuse of the National Bank of Ukraine's
currency reserves. I hardly knew Yushchenko at the time. It was just
disgusting to see some people using the Supreme Council as a tool for a
political execution.
I was among the first to view Yushchenko as an eligible candidate for prime
minister in 1999. Yushchenko himself didn't want the job, and a number of
people spent a long time talking him into taking it.
[Leshchenko] Why didn't Yushchenko want it?
[Poroshenko] "I am in my right place at the National Bank," he said.
[Leshchenko] Is Yushchenko your friend?
[Poroshenko] (Pondering.) Yes, he is. I am not speaking about any kind of
familiarity. I trust this man.
[Leshchenko] In addition, he is the godfather of your children [Ukr: kum,
may have the sense of "crony"].
[Poroshenko] My relations with between Yushchenko have nothing to do with
cronyism [Ukr: kumivstvo]. I'd prefer to call him "the godfather of my
daughters". It sounds spiritual and implies no mutual obligations. As my
daughters' patron before God, Yushchenko is a bright personality.
BUSINESS AND POLITICS
[Poroshenko] I joined the opposition after Yushchenko's dismissal from the
post of prime minister in 2001. Four hard years have elapsed since then. I
have lost two-thirds of what I once owned. Yet I don't regret it. This is a
good price to pay for democracy. It may sound high-flown, but being
supported by people in the street, voters and my family is a good
compensation and proof that I did the right thing.
In terms of business it's madness. I recall [Russian ambassador in Ukraine
Viktor] Chernomyrdin saying in 2002: (Poroshenko's voice sinks to whispers)
"You know business cannot be in opposition to the authorities. I want you to
remember this. If it's opposed to the authorities, it is no business
whatsoever."
Of course we could have accepted the proposal of [outgoing president Leonid]
Kuchma, [head of presidential administration Viktor] Medvedchuk and
[presidential candidate and outgoing prime minister Viktor] Yanukovych and
said: "I quit Yushchenko. Give it all back to me, give me as much again and
I will side with you." We had such an opportunity on many occasions. Still
don't believe in words, believe in deeds. Could you name even one Our
Ukraine member who has benefited from being in the opposition?
Oppositionist businessmen have endured much greater trials than plain
politicians.
[Leshchenko] Are you going to recover your lost assets?
[Poroshenko] I am personally not going to do so.
[Leshchenko] What kind of enterprises are they?
[Poroshenko] Production plants. Their names don't matter... [ellipsis as
published]
For instance, our bank was funding two big enterprises before [I went to]
parliament. They were in pledge to the bank. A decision was taken and upheld
by all courts that all these pledges should be invalidated and the
enterprises were sold off cheap.
[Leshchenko] Let's go back to Leninska Kuznya. Are you the owner of the
shipyard?
[Poroshenko] No, I'm not. I hold, I think, 3 per cent. Nor is Ukrprominvest
[company linked to Poroshenko] the majority owner. The state holds 25 per
cent, the workforce hold 26 per cent. The rest belongs to investors
including Poroshenko's three per cent. Ukrprominvest holds the rest.
I have no controlling interest in any structures or an interest enabling me
to make personal decisions.
[Leshchenko] It's odd. You've been in opposition for four years. The state
could have broken down your business just by removing your managers.
[Poroshenko] In systemic business, the removal of managers leads a company
to destruction.
[Leshchenko] It appears that, while destroying the businesses of Our Ukraine
members, Kuchma didn't hurt your business very much?
[Poroshenko] Your irony is not appropriate here. No structures faced more
criminal cases than those associated with me. Look at Leninska Kuznya, for
one. Hundreds of people had to pay a price, such as loss of freedom, forced
emigration, criminal cases, ruined careers and families. I am speaking
emotionally, but you can hardly find someone in this country whom the
authorities attacked worse than me.
The director of the plant was arrested, 12 criminal cases were initiated,
all the assets were arrested, and the plant was closed down for eight
months. At the same time, 300 persons were checking the plant
simultaneously. Can you call this anything other than ruining a business?
The state spent 20m hryvnyas [3.7m dollars] on business trips involved in
this "investigation". Those people visited 40 states. No other company drew
so much attention as Leninska Kuznya: the president in person ordered a
thorough check.
POLITICAL REFORM
[Leshchenko] Meanwhile there is the view that you have normal relations with
Kuchma.
[Poroshenko] I met him on three occasions over the past two years. One time
was before Yuriy Kravchenko's removal from his post as head of the State Tax
Administration when I described what was happening with value-added tax. The
other two meetings took place in the past two months.
[Leshchenko] There's also the view that Poroshenko implemented political
reform under an agreement with Kuchma in return for certain concessions by
Kuchma.
[Poroshenko] It was not Poroshenko but Yushchenko that implemented political
reform. Yushchenko took certain commitments when he signed an accord with
[Socialist Party leader Oleksandr] Moroz. In addition, political reform was
the only way to make the president sign changes to the law on elections to
ensure fair voting on 26 December. Had the elections been held according to
the old law, nothing would have changed.
[Leshchenko] Do you see any paradox in the following? People have elected
Yushchenko for five years with definite powers to implement his programme.
However those powers will go over to the prime minister nine months from
now.
[Poroshenko] What powers? You and quite a number of politicians are living
by myths. The only change is that ministers will be appointed by parliament;
but it's a public process and nothing will be done there without the
president. At the same time the president has the right to dissolve
parliament. So we have a strong president.
Political reform is set to take effect with the 2006 parliament elections.
Some politicians say that the old power will come back after the
parliamentary elections and that President Yushchenko will have no power.
But it's all rubbish. Power should go through the test of elections on a
regular basis.
GOVERNMENT FORMATION
[Leshchenko] You have said that you are ready to be the prime minister. What
level of support do you reckon on?
[Poroshenko] I have no doubt that parliament will approve anyone nominated
by President Yushchenko.
[Leshchenko] We heard a statement recently by the Agrarian Party faction
leader that they would claim three ministries.
[Poroshenko] These are just their personnel proposals - neither more, nor
less. They will be considered by President Yushchenko, but no-one except
Yushchenko will appoint ministers in the Yushchenko government.
[Leshchenko] Just a moment, there's some confusion here. Yushchenko says the
Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc has a quota to fill 25 per cent of seats in the
government and local bodies. The same will be offered to the Socialist
Party. Doesn't that mean that these posts will be filled with their people?
[Poroshenko] It doesn't. Political forces have an opportunity to nominate
people to certain posts. Yet there will be no such thing as securing a seat,
say of the education or health minister, solely for Solidarity's nominees
[Solidarity is Poroshenko's party within the Our Ukraine bloc.
Don't view government formation as mere distribution of portfolios. In
actual fact we badly need young professionals to efficiently represent
President Yushchenko. Tymoshenko, Poroshenko, [Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs leader Anatoliy] Kinakh, [Socialist Party leader Oleksandr]
Moroz, [Ukrainian People's Party leader Yuriy] Kostenko, [Together (Razom)
group leader Mykola] Martynenko, [Our Ukraine party (formerly Reforms and
Order) leader Viktor] Pynzenyk or [People's Movement of Ukraine [Rukh]
leader Borys] Tarasyuk - they all have the right to make nominations within
their quotas. But they have no fief of their own, because it was not the
Socialist Party, the Yuliya Tymoshenko block or Solidarity that won the
election, it was Viktor Andriyovych Yushchenko.
(Poroshenko tones down his voice.) One shouldn't reduce the role of the
president to that of a clerk stamping proposals from political parties...
[ellipsis as published] Still I want to add here that there is no conflict
over posts inside the team and I'm sure there won't be any conflict.
[Leshchenko] Will you explain the meaning of the protocol signed between
Yushchenko and Tymoshenko on him supporting her if she is nominated as prime
minister? Will he give her priority status?
[Poroshenko] This means that Tymoshenko is considered as a candidate for
premiership.
[Leshchenko] But when she signed the protocol with Yushchenko, she may have
understood that she was candidate number one.
[Poroshenko] I repeat again: we have the winning President Yushchenko, and
no political force, including Poroshenko's Solidarity, has the right to
pressure him.
I don't want to use the language of ultimatums within the team. I'll be
happy to see the Yushchenko team worthily represented by a person from the
Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc.
[Leshchenko] If Tymoshenko becomes the prime minister, do you rule out the
possibility of being a deputy prime minister.
[Poroshenko] Ultimatums are not Poroshenko's style of teamwork. Therefore it
is not appropriate to talk about ruling out here. I am sure that I'll be
able to represent the team and realize myself as head of the budget
committee. Although I cannot say that my economic programme coincides with
that of Yuliya Tymoshenko, conceptually.
ECONOMIC PROGRAMME
[Leshchenko] If you become the prime minister, what is your action
programme?
[Poroshenko] There is the Yushchenko programme. Task number one is to step
up the pace of economic growth to gain a resource for meeting commitments
made by Yushchenko. (Poroshenko starts drawing on paper.) How can this be
done? Point one is to use state property effectively. Let us look at parts
of the Naftohaz Ukrayiny [state oil and gas company] that haven't been
embezzled, parts of Ukrzaliznytsya [state railway] and Ukrtelecom that
haven't been pledged for loans, natural monopolies and licences for mineral
resources. The total value of all these assets exceeds one trillion hryvnyas
[185.2bn dollars]. The budget can obtain 10bn [hryvnyas] annually.
A rise in tax revenues will yield another 5bn [hryvnyas]. Fair privatization
may give as much. We get 15-20bn [hryvnyas] in additional revenues to the
budget to be channelled into key reforms.
FIRST. We carry out military reform by 2006. Its goal is not merely to
reduce the army but carry out comprehensive restructuring, enhance combat
ability, resolve social problems for demobilized servicemen.
SECOND. Clear-cut guidelines in agrarian reform. The problem is not that
only 6-7bn hryvnyas has been allocated from the budget for the
agro-industrial complex instead of the necessary 10bn. The problem is that
we haven't mapped out a course for using this money. There's no light at the
end of the tunnel. We can expect some results from agrarian reform in 2006.
THIRD. Reform in the fuel and energy complex, above all the coal industry.
We used to give miners 2bn and now we've given them 4.5bn hryvnyas. Has it
made their life any easier? Has the cost of coal production gone down? The
money was just misappropriated.
Municipal reform: half of our population in small towns don't know what hot
water is.
NEXT is social reform. Do you know the size of pension plan contributions
on a monthly wage of 500 hryvnyas? It's 32 per cent. Meanwhile, a person
getting 50,000 [hryvnyas] pays 12 per cent. Is that social justice? This was
done by the previous authorities as a mechanism to launder and declare their
income. So it actually turns out that the rich are not involved in the
pension insurance of citizens.
SEPARATING BUSINESS FROM POLITICS
It is of crucial importance to divide power from business. We are not going
into power to return debts, make offsets or preferences for ourselves...
[ellipsis as published] One must distance oneself from all that in public.
Every citizen has the right to ask a minister: "My dear fellow, why did you
approve that decision? Was it good for your business in some way?" You must
answer to people from the TV screen, and the people will decide whether to
believe you or not.
[Leshchenko] Having shares in companies, your situation is the most
difficult among candidates for the prime minister... [ellipsis as published]
[Poroshenko] It is the easiest. I am ready for quite serious steps. I am not
sure that others are too. I have a public position: I associate myself with
a list of concrete enterprises, and I have concretely distanced myself from
them.
[Leshchenko] Could you give the names of the enterprises you own?
[Poroshenko] None. If I become an official candidate for the prime minister,
you'll be the first to see a list of my assets.
I don't want to be like a prime minister getting 30,000 hryvnyas [5,500
dollars, a year] but riding around in Mercedes cars costing hundreds of
thousands of dollars, wearing a diamond watch and Brioni suits; or to be
like 90 per cent of our MPs who declare 30,000 hryvnyas in income but
actually live on millions.
It's dishonest! I live in a flat having a floor area of some 120 square
metres, it seems. I don't want to be like those living in multi-storey
houses and getting a state pay and pension. In this respect, Poroshenko's
situation is the easiest.
[Leshchenko] What sum total of income did you declare last year?
[Poroshenko] I need to check it up. I am sure it was more than 1m hryvnyas
[185,000 dollars]. It may be even more than 2m but within those limits.
5 KANAL
[Leshchenko] It is believed that Kuchma's main problem was his limited
supply of information from different sources. As a result he lost his
ability to see life the way it is.
[Poroshenko] God forbid us to be too simplistic. Kuchma read what he thought
he needed. If he thought he should read Medvedchuk's analytical reports, it
was his own choice. To clear such limitations, one should sit down for half
an hour and browse around the web including the site of Ukrayinska Pravda.
TV working honestly would leave no risk of information vacuum, laying bare
all problem areas. Leonid Danylovych [Kuchma] said he had no [access to
opposition TV channel] 5 Kanal, but responses to all interviews broadcast by
the channel would come within 20 minutes. He saw them or was told about them
and got angry.
[Leshchenko] Do you like 5 Kanal yourself?
[Poroshenko] No. (Laughs) I think it could do much better. It's like one's
attitude to one's own children. You like them but each fault of theirs makes
your heart ache.
I certainly feel proud of Channel 5. When it got started, anyone ranging
from people's deputies to relatives were ringing me up to ask: "Do you see
what they are showing?" I told them: "I cannot phone in and give them
orders." Or some people complained that the channel hasn't sent a
correspondent to cover their action. "You should have organized the action
so that you had a camera crew on the scene. If you don't like it, watch
another channel," I told them. "But this is our channel," they said. "Sorry,
it's not yours or mine. It is honest," I said.
I like the team working at Channel 5. The media revolution would not have
happened without Channel 5.
[Leshchenko] People working at 5 Kanal complain about the lack of financing.
[Poroshenko] I know nothing about it. I met Channel 5 journalists [Andriy]
Shevchenko and [Roman] Skrypin on Thursday, its managers [Vladyslav]
Lyasovskyy and [Ivan] Adamchuk. They didn't speak about it.
[Leshchenko] Now that practically at all other channels are free of
censorship, 5 Kanal may go down... [ellipsis as published]
[Poroshenko] The channel must be reorganized. I think the channel will keep
its focus on news. Now the channel's capitalization will grow so it can take
a credit and implement its concept. Yet I am not the right person to say
what new things will emerge at the channel. I am not its owner.
[Leshchenko] Really?
[Poroshenko] I am not even the biggest shareholder. Should I go into the
executive branch, I'll quit my post as chairman of 5 Kanal's public council.
ALLIES AND OPPONENTS
[Leshchenko] Do you feel concern that people who used to work with the
authorities have been trickling in to the Yushchenko camp. [MP Oleksandr]
Volkov and [MP and media owner Andriy] Derkach are often seen in your
company. [Russian businessman Konstantin] Grigorishin who benefited from his
friendship with the authorities three years ago is on this side today. [MP
Bohdan] Hubskyy stood beside Yanukovych at a rally in Cherkasy Region, but
now he appears among the first to greet Yushchenko and offer their services.
[MP Oleksandr] Yedin, [Russian businessman and MP Aleksandr] Babakov...
[ellipsis as published] The list can be extended.
[Poroshenko] My attitude to the people you listed varies a lot. My principle
is: "Judge not that ye be not judged."
I don't want to advocate either Derkach or Volkov. But why do I value them.
Neither Andriy Leonidovych Derkach, nor Leonid Vasylyovych Derkach, nor
Oleksandr Mykhaylovych Volkov voted for political reform on 8 April 2004.
Everything was obscure at that moment of time.
Should they have supported the reform, it would have got through and we'd
have no Orange Revolution now. This doesn't mean they are excused for
everything and may claim something. I am not the distributor, but I ought to
remember their act. I have no comment on actions by Babakov or members of
the [parliamentary] majority.
My position is that we should unite people, including those who voted for
Yanukovych.
There are also people who committed crimes. It's up to the courts to judge
their deeds.
Other people, time-servers, constantly need to be around those in power.
This is their right but they shouldn't be allowed to take power. I think
some of them still have the illusion that everything will remain the old
way. But it won't be so. -30- [Action Ukraine Monitoring Service]
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1. THE BLEYZER FOUNDATION, Dr. Edilberto Segura, Chairman;
Victor Gekker, Executive Director, Kyiv, Ukraine; Washington, D.C.,
http://www.bleyzerfoundation.com.
2. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC., Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman,
Minneapolis, Minnesota,
3. KIEV-ATLANTIC GROUP, David and Tamara Sweere, Daniel
Sweere, Kyiv and Myronivka, Ukraine, 380 44 295 7275 in Kyiv.
4. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent,
Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson.
5. ACTION UKRAINE COALITION: Washington, D.C.,
A. UKRAINIAN FEDERATION OF AMERICA (UFA),
Zenia Chernyk, Chairperson; Vera M. Andryczyk, President;
Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
B. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL,
(UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, NY
C. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj
McConnell, President, Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine.
6. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Kempton Jenkins,
President, Washington, D.C.
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PUBLISHER AND EDITOR
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Director, Government Affairs
Washington Office, SigmaBleyzer Investment Banking Group
P.O. Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013, morganw@patriot.net
Mobile in Kyiv: (3) 8 050 689 2874; www.SigmaBleyzer.com
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Senior Advisor; Ukrainian Federation of America (UFA)
Coordinator, Action Ukraine Coalition (AUC)
Senior Advisor, U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF)
Advisor, Ukraine-U.S. Business Council, Washington, D.C.
Publisher, Ukraine Information Website, www.ArtUkraine.com
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