"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR"
An International Newsletter
The Latest, Up-To-Date
In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis, and Commentary
"Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion,
Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World"
"THE ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR" - Number 570
Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor
Washington, D.C., Kyiv, Ukraine, MONDAY, September 26, 2005
--------INDEX OF ARTICLES--------
"Major International News Headlines and Articles"
1. UKRAINE'S ORANGE REVOLUTION CAN STILL SUCCEED
COMMENTARY: By Anders Aslund
Financial Times, London, UK, Monday, September 26, 2005
2. PRIME MINISTER YEKHANUROV - THE PRESIDENT'S MAN
Loves teaching and works of writer Chekhov
By Vita Andreychenko, Ukrayinska Pravda, in Ukrainian
Translated by Markian Dobczansky into English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, September 24, 2005
3. UKRAINIAN SOCIALIST LEADER MOROZ SAYS CONFIRMATION OF
PM YEKHANUROV BEST OPTION FOR UKRAINE FOR NOW
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1536 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
4. YEKHANUROV'S CHORE FOR A BUSY WEEKEND: HARD
BARGAINING OVER CABINET POSITIONS
NEWS AND COMMENTARY: FirsTnews
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, September 25, 2005
5. UKRAINE'S NEW PM YEKHANUROV BLAMES ECONOMIC AND
FINANCE MINISTRIES FOR ACTING AGAINST COUNTRY INTERESTS
MosNews, Moscow, Russia, Saturday, September 24, 2005
6. UKRAINE: PROFFESOR WINS ONE FOR THE APOSITION (SIC)
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS
Observer from Kyiv: By Chris Grimes
Financial Times, London, UK, Sunday, September 25 2005
7. UKRAINE'S FADING ORANGE REVOLUTION
Golden couple who led Ukraine's revolution to victory is no more
The gas princess and the chocolate king
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Ana Soriano - Sevilla
Cafe Babel, European multilingual current affairs magazine
www.CafeBabel.com., online magazine
Paris, France, Friday, September 23, 2005
8. YUSHCHENKO'S CHIEF-OF-STAFF DEFENDS BOSS'S PACT
WITH FORMER ENEMY AS STEP TO UNITE UKRAINE
Natasha Lisova, AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
9. UKRAINE'S YUSHCHENKO FACES FLAK FOR DEAL WITH RIVAL
REUTERS, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, 24 September, 2005
10. RUSSIAN COMMENTATOR DECRIES RUSSIA'S GLOATING AT
UKRAINIAN POLITICAL CRISIS
Natalya Gevorkyan, Special Correspondent
Kommersant, Moscow, in Russian 21 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
11. TIMOSHENKO OUT OF OFFICE, BUT STILL IN POWER
COMMENTARY: New Europe
Athens, Greece, Monday, September 6, 2005
12.TOP UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL ACCUSES TYMOSHENKO OF BRIBING MPS
NTN, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 1600 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
13. FORMER UKRAINIAN SECURITY HEAD POROSHENKO SAYS TEAM
OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER TYMOSHENKO RUINED THE ECONOMY
Petro Poroshenko appeared on "In Detail" Ukrainian TV talk show
ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1005 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
14. WORLD BUSINESS/TYMOSHENKO: OUT BUT NOT DOWN
Ukraine's ousted prime minister plans fight back campaign to regain her job
ANALYSIS: By Richard Orange, Reporter
Business Online, The Business newspaper
London, UK, Sunday, September 25, 2005
15. UKRAINIAN FORMER PRIME MINISTER TYMOSHENKO TELLS
RUSSIAN RADIO OF BID TO KEEP VALUES OF ORANGE REVOLUTION
INTERVIEW: with Yuliya Tymoshenko by Matvey Ganapolskiy
Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian 1710 gmt 24 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, September 24, 2005
16. EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY AND EBRD TO PROVIDE
LOANS TO UKRAINE FOR IMPROVED SAFETY
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, September 26, 2005
17. UKRAINE TO BUILD NEW PORT IN CRIMEA
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 0704 gmt 24 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, Sep 24, 2005
19. ROMANIAN PRESIDENT HAILS UKRAINE'S DECISION TO HALT
WORK ON CONTROVERSIAL DANUBE CANAL
AP Worldstream, Romania, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
19. ORANGE CRUSH ON YUSHCHENKO
AT UKRAINIAN MUSEUM VISIT IN NEW YORK CITY
By Jefferson Siegel, The Villager, since 1933
New York, New York, Wed, Sep 21-27, 2005
20. "GETTING AWAY WITH HATE"
COMMENTARY: By Nikolai Butkevich
The Moscow Times, Issue 3260, Page 8
Moscow, Russia, Monday, September 26, 2005
21. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO BACK IN CONTENTION AFTER WIN
By John Curran, Associated Press Writer
AP, Atlantic City, NJ, Sunday, September 25, 2005
22. "A PASSION FOR BUTTON NUMBER ONE"
Ukrainian state-owned television UT1 is in need of urgent reform
Ukrainian president to decide fate of public broadcasting
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY:
By Viktoriya Syumar, Institute of Mass Information (IMI)
Zerkalo Nedeli, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian 24 Sep 05, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Saturday, Sep 25, 2005
23. UNITED NATIONS CHERNOBYL REPORT REIGNITES DEBATE
Those Affected Doubt Findings
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 24, 2005; Page A18
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1. UKRAINE'S ORANGE REVOLUTION CAN STILL SUCCEED
COMMENTARY: By Anders Aslund
Financial Times, London, UK, Monday, September 26, 2005
Ukraine's parliament last week confirmed Yuriy Yekhanurov as the country's
new prime minister by an overwhelming majority. Mr Yekhanurov replaces
Yulia Tymoshenko, the colourful heroine of the Orange Revolution.
The move closed a chapter in Ukraine's history but the accomplishments of
that "revolution" remain palpable. Ukraine has become a real democracy with
free and lively media, and its foreign policy has become western-oriented.
For the past eight months, however, Ukraine's economic policy has been
nothing short of disastrous. Economic growth has plummeted from an annual
12 per cent last year to 2.8 per cent so far this year, driven by a fall
in investment.
The blame for this startling deterioration must lie with the government's
economic policies. By agitating for widespread nationalisation and renewed
sales of privatised companies, the government undermined property rights.
In addition, it raised the tax burden sharply to finance huge increases in
welfare spending and public wages.
Very publicly, Ms Tymoshenko interfered in pricing and property disputes,
criticising individual businessmen. Chaos and uncertainty prevailed. This
populist policy had little in common with the electoral promises of Viktor
Yushchenko, the president, about liberal market reforms.
Therefore, it was a great relief for the business community and economists
to see the revolutionary firebrands leave the government.
Simultaneously, Mr Yushchenko dismissed several big businessmen from
official posts who were accused of having confused high government office
with their private business.
It was a welcome sign that the newly born Ukrainian democracy was strong
enough to be able to oust them after only seven months. Ukraine could no
longer afford their extravagant public quarrels.
Today, Ukraine needs a competent government that can pursue a sensible
economic policy. For this task, Mr Yekhanurov appears almost ideal.
He is one of Ukraine's most experienced economic politicians, having carried
out an earlier programme of mass privatisation and served as then prime
minister Yushchenko's first deputy from 1999 to 2001.
He has a clean reputation and few enemies and is known as an effective
administrator. He keeps a low public profile but that is exactly what
post-revolutionary Ukraine needs. Mr Yushchenko appears to have kept this
loyal man in reserve.
The composition of the new government will be announced any day now but
its contours are already clear. About one-third of the incumbents will stay;
one-third of the ministers will be able and untainted technocrats from the
previous Kuchma regime; and one- third will be newcomer professionals. As
this government is supported by nine of the parliament's 14 party factions,
it has a sound majority.
Thus there are hopes the new government will be quite productive, although
it will serve for only half a year until parliamentary elections next March.
Its first task will be to stop the destabilising re-privatisation campaign,
which is likely to lead to only one or two re-privatisations, and declare a
big amnesty for other privatisations.
A long-promised major deregulation, eliminating thousands of harmful legal
acts, will finally be promulgated. The last laws needed for Ukraine's
accession to the World Trade Organisation can now be swiftly adopted. The
budget for next year, which contains some tax cuts, needs to be enacted.
The crucial political battle, however, is the elections next March. The
confirmation vote for Mr Yekhanurov suggests a new dividing line in
Ukrainian politics. Most of the rightwing and centrist party factions
supported Mr Yekhanurov, while Ms Tymoshenko's bloc, the communists,
and two oligarchic parties opposed him.
From now on, the big antagonists in Ukrainian politics are likely to be Mr
Yushchenko and Ms Tymoshenko. Their individual popularity remains roughly
equal. A consolidation around these two figures is possible, especially as
the next elections will be proportional.
Ideally, a US-type Republican party could be formed around Mr Yushchenko
and a more leftwing, populist Democratic party around Ms Tymoshenko, but
it is also possible that the old fragmentation will persist.
Each side has "orange revolutionaries" as well as oligarchs from the Kuchma
period. The big question is whether Ms Tymoshenko's revolutionary fire has
burnt out or whether Mr Yushchenko's bold attempt at post-revolutionary
stabilisation is premature. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
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The writer is director of the Russian and Eurasian programme at the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP), Washington, D.C.
=============================================================
2. PRIME MINISTER YEKHANUROV - THE PRESIDENT'S MAN
Loves teaching and works of writer Chekhov
By Vita Andreychenko, Ukrayinska Pravda, in Ukrainian
Translated by Markian Dobczansky into English
Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, September 24, 2005
KYIV - On the second vote, the Parliament (Verkhovna Rada) confirmed Yuri
Yekhanurov as prime minister. This time, his candidacy garnered 289 votes.
Yekhanurov received votes from "Regions of Ukraine" (50 votes), the People's
Party (45), "Our Ukraine" (44), the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (7), the Socialist
Party of Ukraine (25), the Ukrainian People's Party (23), "Forward,
Ukraine!" (20), United Ukraine (3), "Reforms and Order" (7), the Party of
Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (15), the People's Movement of Ukraine
(Rukh) (15), "Labor Ukraine" (13), and from 22 unaffiliated deputies.
Yekhanurov has already promised that the priority of the new government is
a stabilization of the economy and the creation of conditions for continuing
growth.
"The new government will work so that high social standards will follow from
dynamic economic growth, and on the other side, this will stimulate growth,"
Yekhanurov said Tuesday.
The new prime minister will pursue a reasonable monetary and credit policy
with the National Bank, as well as a stabilization of relations with Russia.
He will not give daily updates on the achievements of the Cabinet of
Ministers, however. A simple builder has taken the place of a passionate
revolutionary.
[HIS SCHOOLING AND CAREER]
Yekhanurov, Yuri Ivanovych (born August 23, 1948, in the village of
Belkachi, Uchursk region, Yakutia, Sakha-Yakutia; he has lived in Ukraine
since 1963).
In 1963, Yekhanurov finished primary schooling in the Bichursk region of the
Buriat Republic, then he completed the Kyiv Construction Technical School,
and the Kyiv Institute of Economics. He holds a candidate's degree in
economics and since 2002 is a professor of the Taras Shevchenko National
University.
Yekhanurov began his career in 1967 at Kyivmiskbud No. 4 steel manufacturing
plant, where he went from being a master to being the plant's director. From
1977 to 1978 Yekhanurov was the deputy director for production of the
Buddetal trust.
At 30 years of age, he became the executive director of the
Kyivmiskbudkomplekt trust. From 1985 to 1988 he directed the Buddetal trust.
After this he worked for three years as the deputy head of Holovkyivmiskbud
responsible for economic problems.
From September 1991 until April 1992 he managed the National Economic
Council of the Cabinet of Ministers. From April to November 1992 he was the
deputy head of the Collegium of Economic Matters of the National Duma of
Ukraine.
From November 1992 to August 1993 he was the deputy head of the Department
of Economic Reform and Regional Programs in the Kyiv city government. From
August 1993 to August 1994 he was deputy economics minister of Ukraine.
In August 1994 he became acting economics minister, and from September 20
1994 until February 1997 he was the head of the State Property Fund of
Ukraine.
From February until July 1997 he was the economics minister of Ukraine. From
July 1997 until April 1998 he was the head of the National Committee for
Business Development.
Yuri Yekhanurov was there at the beginning of Ukrainian privatization and at
the start of the State Property Fund. The small privatizations carried out
under his leadership created the foundation for the development of small and
medium-sized businesses in Ukraine, according to the media.
In 1998 Yekhanurov was elected to parliament from the city of Zhytomyr. From
1999 to 2001 he worked in the post of first deputy prime minister of Ukraine
in Yushchenko's government.
After the dismissal of Yushchenko's government, Yekhanurov was the first
deputy head of the presidential administration from June until November
2001. From then until April 2002, he has worked on questions of
administrative reform as a representative of the president.
With the triumph of "Our Ukraine" in the 2002 parliamentary elections, he
entered the fourth parliament of Ukraine, heading the Committee on
Industrial Policy and Business. In March 2005 Yekhanurov was elected to
the executive committee of the "People's Union Our Ukraine" party.
He heads a variety of private organizations that deal with problems of small
and medium-sized business. Specifically, he is the president of the
Association of Small, Medium-sized and Privatized Businesses, the
Coordinating-expert center of the Union of Businessmen of Ukraine, and the
All-Ukrainian Association of Employers.
On April 1, 2005 president Yushchenko appointed Yuri Yekhanurov the
governor of Dnipropetrovsk, and on September 8 appointed him the acting
prime minister.
THE PRESIDENT'S MAN
Even Yekhanurov's opponents regard him highly. "He is one of the most
positive heroes in the pro-government camp. And if he becomes the prime
minister, this, in my opinion, ought to be good for the country," says Party
of Regions member Vitaliy Khomutynnyk.
Nestor Shufrych [a prominent member of the opposition Social Democratic
Party of Ukraine (united)] says that he is on "friendly" terms with
Yekhanurov, and everything would be fine, had he not been nominated by
president Yushchenko.
The new prime minister is regarded as an especially careful person and does
not often get into conflicts. He always wears a quiet smile on his face. He
is not a creature of Poroshenko or anyone else, but a man of the president,
which he emphasizes.
In addition, he is regarded as an enlightened official, who is very familiar
with the nuances of bureaucratic maneuvering.
"I do not accept blackmail. Giving ultimatums is not a method of work. I try
to take in a variety of opinions, but for me the priority is the person
whose salary, pension, etc. I am responsible for paying. Making sure that
funds are fulfilled regularly," said Yekhanurov this spring in an interview
with "Stolichnie Novosti."
Earlier he admitted that he is very afraid that he will not be able to
explain the decisions he has made to people.
"Here a parliamentarian takes on the role of a doctor: he is forced to give
bitter medicine and give painful treatment to the patient, in order to
lessen his later suffering. In addition, I fear that I won't know how to
explain a position I have taken in accessible, straight and simple language.
This is the most important problem for every politician for sure: to explain
in a way that is understood," Yekhanurov said.
Yekhanurov is similar to the leader of the Party of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, acting First Prime Minister Anatoliy Kinakh. They are both
professional government officials, both are judicious in what they reveal
about themselves.
His opponents say that unlike Tymoshenko, Yekhanurov will be a "cabinet
prime minister," and all decisions "will be made by the president's family."
[EXPERT ASLUND GIVES YEKHANUROV HIGH MARKS]
In contrast, Washington-based Ukraine expert Anders Aslund gave
Yekhanurov "exceptionally positive qualities" for a candidate for prime
minister. "In my opinion, out of Viktor Yushchenko's entire team, Yuri
Yekhanurov has always been the best candidate for position of head of
government.
During Yushchenko's premiership, Yekhanurov was his first deputy prime
minister, and .. In parliament he was one of the leaders of 'Our Ukraine,'
so we are talking about a very experienced and skilled government official
and politician," Aslund pointed out.
"In addition, he is a professor of economics, so he knows what he is doing,
and it would have been better to appoint Yuri Yekhanurov as prime minister,
instead of Yulia Tymoshenko," Aslund added.
"Yekhanurov is known for his dedication to the idea of structural reform. He
himself was the father of Ukrainian privatization from 1994 to 1997 - a
normal privatization, and not what has happened in recent years.
If he brings order to reprivatization, where Yulia Tymoshenko made a
considerable number of errors, and he insures deregulation of the economy -
he is an ardent supporter of this - this will have a positive impact on the
economy and on the lives of that section of the population that supports
these types of steps," Aslund said.
Yekhanurov has already promised that all decisions regarding reprivatization
will be settled through negotiation, and that heavy-handed control over the
economy will be replaced with "more streamlined mechanisms."
FAMILY AND HOBBIES
Yekhanurov married when he was 25 years old. His wife Olena Lvivna is an
engineer. His son Dmytro is 30 years old and works in computer technologies.
In Yekhanurov's words, he enjoys working in the executive branch and as a
lecturer. "This is a great way to spend time - teaching students. My other
'interest' is my large amount of friends," Yekhanurov said in another
interview.
He organizes a yearly plenary together with his Zhytomyr artist friends.
Yekhanurov also likes the works of Chekhov. A portrait of the writer hangs
in his office.
"Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. There are no other portraits. I really discovered
the works of Chekhov in my teens - his life, his letters. His view of life
impresses me. This is perhaps very important. And as a person gets older,
he starts to read memoirs," he said. "Perhaps when I retire, I will read all
this." -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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LINK: http://www2.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2005/9/24/4776.htm
=============================================================
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=============================================================
3. UKRAINIAN SOCIALIST LEADER MOROZ SAYS CONFIRMATION OF
PM YEKHANUROV BEST OPTION FOR UKRAINE FOR NOW
UNIAN news agency, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1536 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
KIEV - Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz predicts that "during the
adoption of the state budget, there will be serious discussions since much
of the social spending is not covered from budget revenues". He said this
at a news conference during a working visit to Odessa.
"The situation for the government is very difficult despite the
high-sounding statements we have heard about the country's growth rate.
Virtually all local budgets are breaking down and very seriously," the
Socialist Party's press service quoted its leader as saying.
However, Moroz believes that the confirmation of Yuriy Yekhanurov in the
post of prime minister is the best option for Ukraine until the transfer to
a new system of power [with the introduction of political reforms turning
the country into a parliamentary-presidential republic that are due to take
force from 1 January 2006].
Identifying the new prime minister's strong points, Moroz said, "He is a
practical manager, a good organizer of production, a builder. He is on
familiar terms with industrialists and knows this sector very well. In
addition, he has experience as first deputy prime minister in the government
of Viktor Yushchenko [the current president, who was prime minister in
1999-2001]."
"He is a compromise figure and, on the issue of charisma, he's not going to
try and occupy somebody's else's position. In the present situation that has
developed in Ukraine, these qualities may be useful for consolidating the
structure of power," Moroz said. [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
=============================================================
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==============================================================
4. YEKHANUROV'S CHORE FOR A BUSY WEEKEND: HARD
BARGAINING OVER CABINET POSITIONS
NEWS AND COMMENTARY: FirsTnews
Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, September 25, 2005
With Yury Yekhanurov, a much less controversial character installed as prime
minister, it may be possible to get the Yushchenko presidency back on track
toward some of the goals it espoused during the Orange Revolution. However,
Yushchenko still has to get over some of the distrust - and in some cases
downright disgust -- coming from some of his most vociferous supporters.
Many of them see the Yekhanurov-Yanukovych-Yushchenko pact, signed to
assure Yekhanurov's second vote confirmation, as a betrayal of all they
fought for last year.
KYIV, Sept. 24 (FirsTnews) - A week of political maneuvering in Ukraine has
resulted in approval of a prime minister, Yury Yekhanurov, by a substantial
margin.
However, in the process President Viktor Yushchenko sat down and hammered
out an agreement with his old rival, Viktor Yanukovych that has been
evaluated by various political factions and groups as everything from a
political master stroke to outright treason.
What is clear is that in the process of becoming a somewhat more pragmatic
politician Yushchenko has laid himself open to charges of betraying the
ideas and ideals of those who supported him in the so-called Orange
Revolution. The president has his prime minister but it is much less clear
whether he is in a better or worse position to govern effectively.
[The complete English-language translation text of the
Yekhanurov/Yanukovych/Yushchenko agreement may be found at:
http://www.firstnews.com.ua/ni_upload/Ukraine-tripartite-political-agreement-050922.doc ]
What is perhaps even more manifest is that it will be very difficult to push
any controversial legislation through the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's already
badly fractured legislative body, before the parliamentary elections in
March 2006. Even that may not be the end of the chaos since usually a 30 to
60 day post-election period is needed to clear the air as newly elected
members sort themselves out with new leadership and committee chairs.
What all this means in practical terms is that for the next seven to nine
months, there will most likely be political and governmental stagnation and
possibly even paralysis until early summer 2006. This could mean serious
economic and fiscal problems, with the National Bank hard-pressed to keep
the hryvnia on a solid footing.
It is not, however, all bad news in this area. With the solid banking
background of the president and Yekhanurov's grounding in economics [he
holds a Shevchenko National University professorship in the field and has a
great deal of practical government economic management experience], the
steps taken in economics and finance may be considerably more measured
and logical than in the previous government.
Yekhanurov said late Thursday that he would announce his complete list of
nominations for cabinet posts next week in Dnipropetrovsk.
The new prime minister is spending the weekend in hard bargaining with a
large number of parliamentary factions, each of which has its own agenda
and its own candidates for ministerial appointments.
Sources close to Yekhanurov told FirsTnews of a special meeting of the old
Tymoshenko cabinet on Saturday morning chaired by Yekhanurov during which
both the ministers of economy and finance came in for strong criticism.
Yekhanurov was said to have announced that a special task force chaired by
Roman Bezsmertny would be assigned to analyze these two very important
sectors.
Political analysts contacted by FirsTnews believe the appointment of the
Bezsmertny task force may be confirmation that Teriokhin will not be invited
into the new cabinet and that Pynzenyk as well may be out of a job under
Yekhanurov.
There were also hints of further changes in public statements made Saturday
by MP and head of the Socialist faction Oleksandr Moroz. He made no specific
statement but strongly suggested that industrial policies and transport were
two ministries where there were serious questions about their performance
that should be analyzed.
He said that both these ministries should be headed by specialists with long
experience in their respective fields. Although Yushchenko espouses free
market economics as a guiding force in his presidency, he is known to value
Moroz' political astuteness and loyalty.
As of Saturday evening, it was still unclear when the new cabinet
nominations would be announced but it is believed most likely by late
Tuesday. However, FirsTnews reporters and analysts following the situation
believe certain outlines and themes have already become apparent.
For example, late Friday evening Interfax-Ukraine reported that Acting
Administrative Reform Vice Prime Minister Bezsmertny had said publicly that
Yekhanurov officially suggested that he accept the post of regional policy
Deputy Prime Minister in the new government.
Bezsmertny said he agreed to take up the new post that seems to be similar
to his previous one but with less emphasis on reform.
Also, during an Internet "chat-conference on korrespondent.net," Bezsmertny
confirmed, as reported earlier by FirsTnews, that "all socialists will keep
their posts" in the new government (the Socialist Party of Ukraine members
in the Tymoshenko government were Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, Agrarian
Policy Minister Oleksandr Baranovskiy, and Education and Science Minister
Stanislav Nikolayenko).
Former Donetsk banker Ihor Yushko, who served as finance minister in a
Kuchma-era government, is expected to return to the cabinet as either
minister of finance or economy.
Mykola Tomenko, former deputy prime minister for humanitarian affairs is
expected to have no chance of returning to any position in the new
government.
A position that was eliminated by the Tymoshenko government, that of deputy
prime minister for agrarian policies, may be recreated in the Yekhanurov
government. Some usually reliable sources believe the position might be
offered to a former incumbent, Leonid Kozachenko. However, it is unclear
whether or not Kozachenko would accept the position.
Yuriy Kostenko, former presidential candidate and head of the Ukrainian
People's Party (formerly Rukh), is said to be under consideration as
minister of emergency situations. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report]
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LINK: http://firstnews.com.ua/en/article.html?id=101817
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5. UKRAINE'S NEW PM YEKHANUROV BLAMES ECONOMIC AND
FINANCE MINISTRIES FOR ACTING AGAINST COUNTRY INTERESTS
MosNews, Moscow, Russia, Saturday, September 24, 2005
Ukraine's newly approved prime minister, charged with reversing an economic
slowdown, has castigated the outgoing economy and finance ministries, saying
they had failed to act in the national interests, Reuters reported.
Technocrat Yuri Yekhanurov, approved by parliament at the second attempt
this week, told reporters most of his new cabinet line-up would be made
public next Tuesday.
President Viktor Yushchenko appointed him to replace Yulia Tymoshenko, his
ally in last year's Orange revolution, after months of infighting had split
the liberal administration into rival camps, each accusing the other of
corruption.
Economic growth slowed to its lowest rate in five years, with the 2005
forecast scaled back to four percent from 6.5 and more earlier. Policy
uncertainty, mainly proposed reviews of "dubious" privatisations, cut
sharply into foreign investment.
"The Economy Ministry gives the impression, it is sad to note, of operating
under a 'made to order' principle and not in the manner of a command centre
of Ukraine's economy," Yekhanurov said after the first cabinet session since
the assembly's vote.
"And what happened to the professional principles of the Finance Ministry?
This is a matter to be discussed separately by specialists."
Yekhanurov is seen as a caretaker premier ahead of elections next March to a
parliament with expanded powers. The ousted Tymoshenko, widely admired for
her fiery style, has vowed to contest and win the poll to get her job back.
The new prime minister said this week he would shed two-thirds of the
outgoing cabinet and give prominent places to technocrats rather than
seasoned politicians.
Consultations on the government were proceeding, Yekhanurov said. The
president had made choices for security and foreign policy portfolios, while
he had made proposals for other sectors. -30-
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6. UKRAINE: PROFFESOR WINS ONE FOR THE APOSITION (SIC)
COMMENT AND ANALYSIS
Observer from Kyiv: By Chris Grimes
Financial Times, London, UK, Sunday, September 25 2005
It was difficult for any side to be happy about the way Ukraine's political
crisis was resolved last Thursday.
Viktor Yushchenko, the president, lost the idealist image he had earned in
the Orange Revolution and saw his political team dwindle to a hard-core
rump of protectionist-minded nationalists, patronage-minded businessmen
and milquetoast bureaucrats, epitomised by his new prime minister, Yuri
Yekhanurov.
Yulia Tymoshenko, Yushchenko's popular former prime minister, walked off
with most of the reformers but her negotiating tactics earned her nothing
but humiliation and defeat.
And Viktor Yanukovich, the main opposition leader, who seemed the obvious
winner from the Orange camp's split, lost his cool and slipped up at the
last minute.
For the past year, Yanukovich, a former trucking company boss, has been
trying to live down the mistake he made when he turned in a hand-written
application to be registered as a presidential candidate with his academic
level penned in as "proffesor".
Now a newspaper has leaked his draft of the truce pact he made with
Yushchenko before it was aligned with Yushchenko's version and signed on
Thursday.
It turns out one of Yanukovich's demands was greater powers in parliament
for the "apositsiya". He meant "oppositsiya", or opposition.
FREEDOM'S LIMITS
Depending on where you were standing, or lying, the idealism of the Orange
Revolution lasted different lengths of time. In front of the president's
pryimalnya, an office where citizens are invited to lodge written
complaints, one could almost watch it gradually fading away.
After Yushchenko came to power, some complainants decided to set up
tents outside the office and camp out until they got a response.
After all, what better way could there be to get the attention of a
president who had been swept to office by protesters camping out in the
centre of the city all winter long?
By summer it was a spirit-crushing scene: a dozen or so poor villagers
living on the pavement, begging the president with hand-scrawled placards
to resolve their village problems. And they reeked.
This month, Yushchenko's bureaucrats decided they had had enough, and
got the police to come in the middle of the night to haul the campers away.
FAR FROM THE TREE?
The biggest dent in Yushchenko's image, however, came when his 19-year-old
son started cruising Kiev's nightclub scene, driving a Euro 133,000 BMW and
carrying a Vertu phone.
Asked at a press conference where the money came from, Yushchenko said
his son was a "consultant" and had "friends" - and then lashed out at the
journalist, calling him a "killer".
But luckily for Yushchenko his son's flamboyance could soon be overshadowed
by Tymoshenko's son-in-law to be, a heavy metal singer from Leeds, who is
set to marry the ex-premier's daughter at a ceremony in Kiev on Sunday.
The front man for the little-known Death Valley Screamers is tall, handsome,
stringy-haired, tattooed all over and, if you believe half the allegations
made by his furious ex-wife in the tabloids, next week's party at Ripley
Castle in Yorkshire should be one to remember.
KISSED BY KUCHMA
There were a few people who were happy about the outcome of this month's
crisis, most notably Leonid Kuchma, the president who was drummed out of
office in January after his plan to hand power to Yanukovich turned sour.
Tymoshenko promptly stripped Viktor Pinchuk, Kuchma's businessman
son-in-law, of a stake in a big metallurgy plant, and when she was sacked
this month, she was in the process of taking away another.
Her replacement by Yekhanurov has given the former ruling family hope of
keeping their stakes, or at least not losing anything else. Kuchma,
who had stayed out of politics, suddenly returned to endorse Yekhanurov.
It caused a stir recently when Yekhanurov met Kuchma during a local holiday
in Dnipropetrovsk, eastern Ukraine, and the two men smiled broadly and
exchanged kisses on both cheeks.
During his confirmation hearing, Yekhanurov had to explain himself. After
all, he had stood with the Orange crowds chanting "Kuchma out!" only 10
months earlier.
Yekhanurov blamed the spirit of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev, who grew up
in a Dnipropetrovsk suburb. "Leonid Brezhnev made it a rule that you have to
kiss. Well, it happened," Yekhanurov said sheepishly.
Brezhnev has yet to comment on Yekhanurov's nomination. -30-
==============================================================
7. UKRAINE'S FADING ORANGE REVOLUTION
Golden couple who led Ukraine's revolution to victory is no more
The gas princess and the chocolate king
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY: By Ana Soriano - Sevilla
Cafe Babel, European multilingual current affairs magazine
www.CafeBabel.com., online magazine
Paris, France, Friday, September 23, 2005
The dismissal of Prime Minister Tymoshenko by President Yushchenko
means that the golden couple who led Ukraine's revolution to victory is
no more. Will political in-fighting also bring an end to the rapprochement
between East and West?
The sacking of Prime Minister Tymoshenko, who many in Europe believe
was behind last December's peaceful revolution, came with the resignation
of the head of the Security and Defence Council, Petro Poroshenko, and
Deputy Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko.
Thus, the political in-fighting that has characterised the Ukrainian
government since its inception has been thrust into the limelight. Napoleon
described revolutions as vicious circles that "begin with an excess only to
end up back where they started."
This may not be the case in the latest episode of the thriller that Ukraine
has been submerged in since the Orange Revolution in 2004 brought Victor
Yushchenko to power.
However, many already liken the enthusiasm of that winter to the
mythological Cronus devouring his children, converting them into victims of
the same blight they had initially fought against.
THE GAS PRINCESS AND THE CHOCOLATE KING
It is important to understand that the core identity of the Supreme Rada,
the Ukrainian parliament, still stems from the influence of an oligarchy
that not only finances determined groups but also has its own political
parties.
This entrenched battle between clans, which already existed under previous
president Leonid Kuchma's corrupt regime, is fundamental to the lack of
cohesion inherent in the 7-month-old Cabinet that has fractured so
definitively.
Both Tymoshenko and Poroshenko come from this oligarchy. Tymoshenko,
who has been elevated to the category of political heroine by Western
journalists, is also known in Ukraine as "the Gas Princess", due to her
previous role in the gas oligarchy.
Backed by ex-Prime Minister Lazarenko, who is currently serving a prison
sentence for money laundering in San Francisco, Yulia Tymoshenko became
president of the United Energy System of Ukraine (USEU) from 1995-97 and
in 1999 founded her own political party, Batkivshchyna (Motherland).
Poroshenko, nicknamed the "Chocolate King" due to his involvement in the
sweets industry, collaborated in financing the revolution and in creating
propaganda for it through his own television channel.
Western journalists hardly made any mention of such details during the weeks
in which the government changed hands - unlike in the East, especially in
Russia, where journalists did not hesitate to mention them.
The government's failed attempts at the takeover of companies privatised by
ex-President Kuchma are also at the epicentre of the crisis. Such failures
are understandable given the complexity of networks that form the spheres
of political and economic power in the ex-Soviet Republic.
REPERCUSSIONS OF THE CRISIS
Analysts agree that the crisis is the starting signal for the electoral race
of March 2006, parliamentary elections for which Tymoshenko has already
announced that she and Yushchenko are in different teams. There is also
increasing speculation that members of the Yushchenko party may appear on
the list of the ex-Prime Minister.
Amongst the interpretations made by Eastern Journalists of this situation is
that, as well as the incapacity of Yuschenko to take the reins of government
in the face of Tymoshenko's popularity, it was provoked by the President and
his ex-Prime Minister themselves.
By the first, in order to save face in light of the growing allegations of
corruption that surround his project; by the latter, in order to begin her
journey towards the presidency.
Next year's election will be a real test of the maturity of the country, the
development of which Ukraine depends upon both internally and for its
application for European Union and NATO membership.
During the revolution, the EU did not hide its support of Yushchenko against
the other presidential candidate Yanukovych, who was backed by Russian
President Putin. I
In the EU and the rest of the West, the Ukrainian revolution represented a
reform of the political process which would act as an example for Russia;
for those in the Kremlin it meant the definitive loss of influence in a
territory that had formed part of their 'Empire' since the seventeenth
century.
The possible integration of Ukraine into the EU is on the horizon. This
requires the strengthening of political and economic stability.
Even American president Bush has warned that the enlargement of NATO
to include Ukraine and the Baltic countries, which would place the borders
of the Alliance at the doorstep of Russia, must wait until at least 2008.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Translation: Donna Helliwell
LINK: http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=4776
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8. YUSHCHENKO'S CHIEF-OF-STAFF DEFENDS BOSS'S PACT
WITH FORMER ENEMY AS STEP TO UNITE UKRAINE
Natasha Lisova, AP Worldstream, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
KIEV - President Viktor Yushchenko's chief-of-staff on Friday defended his
boss's new pact with his Orange Revolution enemy as a step to unite Ukraine,
almost a year after a divisive presidential race.
"By signing an agreement with the main opposition force, the president
managed to show that Ukraine is united," Oleh Rybachuk told reporters.
"For the first time in this agreement ... the rules of the game are defined
publicly."
Yushchenko won parliamentary approval for his prime ministerial choice
Yuriy Yekhanurov on Thursday after signing a truce with losing presidential
candidate Viktor Yanukovych's Party of the Regions.
The agreement promised greater rights to the opposition and an amnesty for
election law violations. The deal also pushes forward implementation of
reforms that would strip the president of most of his powers in favor of
parliament.
Yushchenko's critics accused him of betraying the ideals of last year's
Orange Revolution protests against election fraud ahead of the March
parliamentary election.
Yushchenko and Yanukovych faced off last year in a bitter presidential race
that had to go into an unprecedented third round after Ukraine's highest
court found that mass fraud had led to Yanukovych's victory. The result was
annulled and Yushchenko won the third round, bolstered by the throngs of
supporters who spent weeks in downtown Kiev to demand that their votes be
respected.
The breakup of Yushchenko's Orange Revolution team earlier this month
prompted him to seek the awkward alliance with Yanukovych to get the votes
he needed for Yekhanurov to be confirmed as prime minister. Yekhanurov
replaced Yushchenko's ousted Orange Revolution ally Yulia Tymoshenko.
Yanukovych's party is the second largest faction in Ukraine, and it remains
powerful in the Russian-speaking east, which overwhelmingly backed
Yanukovych in last year's election. Yushchenko drew his support from the
more nationalistic west.
To justify the truce with their one-time arch enemy, Yuriy Kliuchkovsky -
Yushchenko's loyalist in the parliament - said that the pact with Yanukovych
would require legal provisions before its full implementation.
"The president has expressed his wishes and intentions which represent his
political position, but we are not a monarchy," said Kliuchkovsky, who was
one of the lawyers that argued on behalf of Yushchenko last year that
Yanukovych's fraudulent victory should be thrown out.
Yushchenko dismissed Tymoshenko on Sept. 8 amid escalating bickering
within the government, but lawmakers initially rejected his choice of
Yekhanurov on Tuesday. -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
9. UKRAINE'S YUSHCHENKO FACES FLAK FOR DEAL WITH RIVAL
REUTERS, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, 24 September, 2005
KIEV: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko was criticised yesterday for
forging a pact with his defeated "orange revolution" rival that helped him
win backing for a prime minister and manoeuvre out of a political crisis.
Newspapers and political analysts said the deal with Viktor Yanukovich, the
pro-Moscow candidate he defeated in last year's election, would do
Yushchenko more harm than good.
But Yushchenko's chief of staff dismissed the criticism of the deal that
swung an additional 50 members of parliament behind Yushchenko's
candidate for prime minister, Yuri Yekhanurov, six months before
parliamentary elections.
"What happened has made Yushchenko the president of all Ukrainians," Oleh
Rybachuk, head of the presidential administration, told a news conference.
"The rules of the game are set out publicly for the first time. The key
message is we are burying the hatchet. A united Ukraine is going into an
election with European standards."
Yekhanurov was approved on Thursday at the second attempt, winning 289 votes
in the 450-seat chamber. Backing from Yanukovich's party provided a cushion
after the 57-year-old technocrat fell three votes short earlier in the week.
Yekhanurov replaced Yulia Tymoshenko, who stood alongside the president
during the protests which led to a re-run of the rigged presidential poll,
eventually won by Yushchenko.
Tymoshenko was sacked after in-fighting split the administration into two
camps, each accusing the other of corruption. Admired by voters for her
abrupt, fiery style, she has vowed to challenge Yushchenko's camp in the
election.
Analysts said the president's deal with his rival could further alienate
supporters upset by the split between the revolution's leaders. The accord
guarantees no repression of the opposition and upholds property rights and
free media access.
Katya Malofeeva, analyst at Russian investment bank Renaissance Capital,
said the accord's contents posed no difficulty but its political
implications "could be significant".
"The consistency and integrity of the president's political platform ahead
of parliamentary election is likely to come under severe scrutiny."
Most newspaper editorials were critical.
"Implementing the memorandum will essentially put paid to the authorities'
plans for a radical overhaul of Ukraine's economy and its politics," the
daily Segodnya said. Economic growth has slowed to its lowest pace
in five years and inflation is on the rise. But most damaging to public
morale were the allegations of the corruption Yushchenko had vowed to stamp
out after 10 years of scandal-plagued administration under his predecessor
Leonid Kuchma.
Analysts said the deal would dent confidence.
"Some people who stood in the square will see this as a betrayal," said
political analyst Volodymyr Polokhalo. "Every compromise comes at a price.
Had the country been under threat of foreign aggression, they might have
been united. But a government crisis is too high a price to pay." -30-
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10. RUSSIAN COMMENTATOR DECRIES RUSSIA'S GLOATING AT
UKRAINIAN POLITICAL CRISIS
Natalya Gevorkyan, Special Correspondent
Kommersant, Moscow, in Russian 21 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
A Russian commentator has remarked on the Moscow political elite's "delight"
at the government crisis in Ukraine. Their sentiment, however, is misplaced,
as "that is how democracy works": "unlike the authoritarian system, it is
not insured against surprises".
The following is the text of an article by special correspondent Natalya
Gevorkyan of the Russian newspaper Kommersant on 21 September, with
excerpts from two other Russian newspapers: Nezavisimaya Gazeta (which
also comments on Moscow's "unconcealed joy" on the matter) and
Moskovskiy Komsomolets (which thinks the crisis in Ukraine is grounded
in economics):
It was that way in our country too under the previous government. Yeltsin
proposed a candidate for premier, and the parliament rejected him. That
was normal in a country that wanted to become democratic.
In another democratic country the chancellor just arranged for early
parliamentary elections, hoping for victory, but he got a "50-50" result,
which is not good for anyone on the left or right.
As a result the two leaders will have to try to reach agreements with the
smaller factions and lure them to their side in order to form a
parliamentary majority, which also means a government. And this is normal,
because that is how democracy works. And because, unlike the authoritarian
system, it is not insured against surprises.
The official Moscow political elite is simply groaning with delight in its
comments on the government crisis in Ukraine. There they are, your orange
friends, cursing each other out like old women in the street, then dashing
to "our people" (Yanukovych, that is) for help - nothing will ever come off
for them.
But this is the paradox: it has already come off for them. And everyone
consulting with everyone else on the eve of parliamentary voting on a new
premier - that is normal. And President Yushchenko's attempts to hammer
out a parliamentary majority for his candidate for premier - that is right.
And the attempts by Ms Tymoshenko, now in the opposition, to prevent him
from reaching agreement with Mr Yanukovych and forming this majority on his
own terms - that is natural. And the fact that the candidate for premier was
rejected by literally a couple of votes on the first round - that is no news
at all.
Those things happen. It happens that way always and everywhere where
democratic mechanisms are operating and real, not illusory, politics is
taking place. It does not happen that way where political opponents, past or
present, are removed from the scene into some kind of non-existence, getting
rid of the need, so burdensome in democracy, to openly debate, persuade,
negotiate, consult, and enter into temporary or long-term alliances.
Indeed, Maydan did not stick in Moscow's throat just because the Kremlin
candidate there lost, but also because Ukraine was beginning to live in the
democratic system of coordinates, which the Kremlin has been zealously
trying to erase from the memory of Russia's citizens for the last five
years.
Even Yanukovych proved to fit within this system of coordinates, not in a
cell with bars. And his votes in parliament play a role; they are not
stricken or driven out and replaced with loyal votes. And the parliament
itself is fully democratic and many-voiced, which the candidate for premier
experienced first-hand; it was not "as you please", the way it is in Moscow.
And despite their completely triumphant arrival in power, both President
Yushchenko and the passionate Tymoshenko turn on the television and open
the newspapers with trepidation because the press in that country works
normally and, there is no doubt, will follow and comment on every step they
take.
And those people in Russia who have not yet been finally and completely
brainwashed follow the ups and downs of the turbulent political life of our
neighbours with cheerful envy. And I assure you that these people, the ones
who have not been castrated yet, are secretly harbouring an orange fruit,
which is what the Kremlin fears most of all.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
[Nezavisimaya Gazeta, Moscow, in Russian 20 Sep 05 equally commented
on Russia's "joy" at the crisis in Ukraine:
"The political crisis in Ukraine caused unconcealed joy in Moscow. The state
television channels and political analysts close to the Kremlin started
talking about an 'orange collapse', the collapse of Ukrainian President
Viktor Yushchenko's policies.
To the opponents of the orange revolution in the Russian government, any
failure of the new power in Ukraine in recent months was a balm, whether it
was the scandal involving the expensive BMW of Viktor Yushchenko's son
Andriy, the petrol crisis, or now this gift - the dismissal of almost the
entire team of politicians from Maydan.
All because the trauma from the defeat last autumn, when all Russia's
efforts were thrown into supporting Viktor Yanukovych as the candidate for
president, was too painful."
Moskovskiy Komsomolets, Moscow, in Russian 20 Sep 05, on the other hand,
thought that the crisis was grounded in economics and that Russia should not
intervene:
"Yushchenko, Tymoshenko, and ex-President Kravchuk, who has unexpectedly
surfaced from political oblivion, are all effusively talking about honesty,
high principles and ideals. But the present-day opposition is not grounded
in politics.
The scandal began exclusively over business squabbles and attempts at
redivision of power and property. And the main players in the conflict are
certainly not ideological antipodes, but agents of competing Russian and
Ukrainian companies."] -30- [Action Ukraine Report Monitoring]
==============================================================
11. TIMOSHENKO OUT OF OFFICE, BUT STILL IN POWER
COMMENTARY: New Europe
Athens, Greece, Monday, September 6, 2005
Yulia Timoshenko may just have been kicked out of a job, but Ukraine's
famously photogenic ex-prime minister is still very much in charge.
Never mind politics. Even the latest lurid tabloid reports on Timoshenko's
personal life - her son-in-law-to-be is a rock-and-roll has-been, and an
upcoming Russian pornographic movie will feature an actress playing
Timoshenko in the main role - have not phased Ukraine's most charismatic
politician.
"I am completely calm," Timoshenko declared in an NTV television interview.
"I am quite sure of myself, and of the future, and I am sure my daughter
will be very happy."
The wedding between Evgenia Timoshenko (25), an only daughter born into
one of Ukraine's most powerful political clans; and Sean Carr (36), lead
singer for a low-profile Yorkshire heavy metal act, is scheduled for
October.
Ukraine's magazines and newspapers have had a field day since the
wedding was announced, offering spicy titbits about Carr seemingly
calculated to shock an average Ukrainian mother-in-law.
The most shocking revelations (by that admittedly stiff standard) include
Carr's waist-length hair, a tattoo depicting an alien crawling out of Carr's
trousers, a failed marriage complete with alimony payments and a child, and
the far from successful career of Carr's band, The Death Valley Screamers.
Timoshenko's support for the couple has nevertheless remained solid, even
in the face of a wave of news reports attacking the privileged children of
Ukraine's new aristocracy. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's son
Andreij, for example, was criticised for driving a USD 60,000 BMW owned
by a nebulous consulting company, parking it illegally in the centre of
Kiev, and ordering his bodyguards to intimidate traffic cops attempting to
ticket him.
"The children (Evgenia and Sean) love each other, and that is all that
matters," Timoshenko declared firmly in an August interview. "And they will
get all my support." Likewise her reputation as the Ukrainian woman Russians
most love to hate (most Russians blame the former prime minister for
Ukraine's decade-old debt to Russia for natural gas) has hardly chipped at
Timoshenko's famously tough armour.
One Russian film company is playing on this reputation. The movie, financed
by a nationalist member of Russia's parliament and entitled "Yulia,"
features a series of steamy trysts between a female Ukrainian prime minister
wearing her hair in the trademark Timoshenko bun, and a dark and handsome
actor modelled on Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili.
Ukrainian nationalists - even those detesting Timoshenko - are livid over
the film, whose Moscow release is scheduled later in September.
Timoshenko, however, has remained calm - at least in public. "There will be
all kinds of films made, some good and some not so good," she explained
almost patiently to reporters asking what she thought about the flick. "It
really doesn't concern me, and I believe a film like that doesn't concern
too many other people either."
No, she has no intention of changing her hair style, she added. Thus it was
no surprise to most Ukraine-watchers that, only days after being kicked out
of the prime ministerial job, Yulia Timoshenko appeared to be dictating
political events, while claiming that she was just a private citizen
supporting honest government.
The endurance of Timoshenko's political clout was visible for all to see
last Monday in a parliamentary show-down with her former boss Yushchenko,
when the president's nominated replacement for Timoshenko was rejected by
a razor-thin three vote margin, despite predictions of an easy approval.
It was an embarrassing failure for Yushchenko, whose parliamentary majority
was exposed as hollow, unless Timoshenko's own party, Motherland, supports
it. Timoshenko offered Yushchenko her services in a new coalition
government. In an interview aired on all Ukraine's major television news
programmes, a perfectly coiffed Timoshenko suggested that Yushchenko be
"a real man.
True to the ideals of our Orange Revolution." Yushchenko swallowed the
calculated insult the next day, inviting Timoshenko's party to participate
in coalition talks for the next government. -30-
==============================================================
12. TOP UKRAINIAN OFFICIAL ACCUSES TYMOSHENKO OF BRIBING MPS
NTN, Kiev, Ukraine, in Ukrainian 1600 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
KIEV - The acting first deputy prime minister of Ukraine, Anatoliy Kinakh,
has accused the former prime minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, of bribing
MPs to oppose the appointment of Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov.
Speaking live in the studio of NTN TV channel, he also expressed complete
support for President Viktor Yushchenko's actions.
"There was no bargaining from our side. Unfortunately, there were attempts
by the other side to have money flow in parliament. Those who didn't vote
for the prime minister received certain amounts of money. We are dealing
with this now," Kinakh said.
"I mean primarily the opposition, the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc, the United
Social Democratic Party of Ukraine and some others," he said.
Kinakh believes that a new government should include professionals rather
than politicians appointed according to quotas.
"We are ready to discuss all candidates regardless of their political
colour. Most importantly, they should be highly professional and experienced
people with high moral standards," Kinakh said. "We should not allow living
standards and the economy to be hostages of a political stand-off," he
added.
Speaking about reprivatization in the context of a memorandum signed
between Yushchenko and his election rival Viktor Yanukovych, which includes
a provision on legal guarantees of ownership rights, Kinakh said that there
should be no illegal redistribution of property and the division of
businessmen into those who supported the Orange Revolution and those
who opposed it. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
13. FORMER UKRAINIAN SECURITY HEAD POROSHENKO SAYS TEAM
OF FORMER PRIME MINISTER TYMOSHENKO RUINED THE ECONOMY
Petro Poroshenko appeared on "In Detail" Ukrainian TV talk show
ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1005 gmt 25 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Sunday, Sep 25, 2005
The former Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council has said
that the team of former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko fanned a corruption
scandal to distract the public attention from a looming economic crisis.
[Petro] Poroshenko appeared on the "In Detail" Ukrainian TV talk show on 25
September.
Asked why he became the prime target for criticism from Tymoshenko's allies,
Poroshenko said: "Mrs Tymoshenko's inner circle believed that I am the most
dangerous for her as the man who due to his position and professional skills
has enough information to hold a debate on the serious economic mistakes
made by the Tymoshenko cabinet.
They needed to distract public attention from what we can now hear people
talk about everywhere - deteriorating living standards, decrease in GDP,
price rises, a failure to meet the cabinet's commitments. So they needed a
technological scandal to distract attention from that. Of course, they did
not expect such a result and they look puzzled now."
Poroshenko said that the new Ukrainian cabinet led by Yuriy Yekhanurov is
facing a formidable task: "I am deeply convinced that Mr Yekhanurov will
have to deal with much more serious problems than Mrs Tymoshenko in
January this year.
Currently, the trust of investors has been absolutely undermined by
unprofessional and even criminal actions against the Ukrainian economy
and people. We have failed to show a single real achievement."
"Statistics or mathematics is a very precise science. If GDP falls in August
it means that it falls, whatever [former head of the Security Service of
Ukraine and Tymoshenko's close ally, Oleksandr] Turchynov says or wants
to see. We earlier had fantastic opportunities for growth.
The struggle against the shadow economy is in fact very simple. Earlier,
this country used to have huge financial and industrial groups who under the
cover of the previous authorities paid no taxes at all. Now, they have lost
this cover and they were prepared to start paying taxes.
However, some of them have managed to secure the prime minister
[Tymoshenko's] protection, for instance the Pryvatbank group. Just look,
just because this group was loyal to the prime minister's advisers with whom
they spent vacations on a yacht, just because of that, no lawsuits were
filed.
If they were they were not heard in courts and no tax abuses were
investigated. I believe that this was a tough policy of double standards,"
Poroshenko said.
"This is manipulation and it is very disgusting to tie the honest ideals of
Maydan [the venue of the Orange Revolution] to such practices," Poroshenko
added.
Speaking about Tymoshenko's dismissal, Poroshenko said: "I would like just
to remind you in brief of the previous cabinet's commitments which it failed
to report on.
Beginning from the first steps when the cabinet abruptly banned re-export
that yields billions of hryvnyas to the state budget, starting from the
re-export of gas and finishing with the re-export of oil that keeps the
Ukrainian economy busy and creates jobs.
It was done in the interests of a specific business structure, which at the
time seemed close to the prime minister. I am sure that it took some time
for the cabinet to realize the threat of losing budget revenues, and this
issue was shamefully silenced later on.
Also, there were statements that medicines in Ukraine cost three times as
much as they should and that their quality did not meet any standards.
Tymoshenko promised to resolve this problem in two months. Who recalled
this issue six months later?
Medicine prices were not lowered and their quality did not improve.
Tymoshenko promised to keep petrol prices stable and resorted to tough
administrative measures which resulted in a shortage. Tymoshenko used to
find faults with all. It was not just Poroshenko.
It was also the State Property Fund head, Valentyna Semenyuk, Russian
oligarchs, a bunch of cabinet ministers, parliament factions, the parliament
speaker, market speculators, agricultural producers - everyone but herself."
Poroshenko denied that Tymoshenko boosted her popularity after the
government crisis but said that the opposition United Social Democratic
Party of Ukraine was the only beneficiary in the crisis: "There is a myth
that the popularity of [Tymoshenko's] party is on the increase. This scandal
has dealt a very serious blow to all political forces.
Actually, it benefited only one political force - the United Social
Democrats. I can confirm that they did not criticize her during her tenure,
and currently we can see an amazing alliance of the United Social Democrats
and the Yuliya Tymoshenko bloc in resisting the policy of president to
stabilize the situation in this country and elect the new cabinet, which
representatives of the Yuliya Tymoshenko bloc were most loyally invited to
join." -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
==============================================================
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==============================================================
14. WORLD BUSINESS/TYMOSHENKO: OUT BUT NOT DOWN
Ukraine's ousted prime minister plans fight back campaign to regain her job
ANALYSIS: By Richard Orange, Reporter
Business Online, The Business newspaper
London, UK, Sunday, September 25, 2005
President Viktor Yushchenko was forced to sign a deal with his nemesis
Viktor Yanukovych - who stood against him in last year's presidential
election - with whom he formed an alliance against his revolutionary partner
Tymoshenko.
But this will not be the last the world hears of the glamorous gas princess.
Tymoshenko, 44, thought to be a billionaire, made her money in the 1990s
in Ukraine's gas industry, importing gas into Ukraine.
It is not the first time the firebrand populist has found herself in
political hot water. She was sacked as vice prime minister in 2001, after
falling out with former president Leonid Kuchma, leading to her arrest on
charges of corruption surrounding Unified Energy Systems, the company
she headed in the 1990s. She was released and the charges dropped.
Since taking power her populist policies and use of administrative, rather
than market, forces have damaged the investment climate and slowed the
economy dramatically.
Ukraine was the fastest growing economy in the Commonwealth of
Independent States in 2004 but growth has fallen by three quarters to its
2000 level of 3.6% over the first seven months of this year.
Portfolio, domestic and foreign direct investment have all dried up while
the trade surplus has shriveled and inflation is on the rise again.
Infighting among Yushchenko's top ministers was tearing the government
apart and Yushchenko decided to intervene on 8 September by sacking
his entire cabinet, including Tymoshenko.
Tymoshenko was clearly infuriated at her sacking. She has dismissed any talk
of winning back power by taking to Kiev's Independence Square to launch a
second Orange Revolution, saying she did not want to destabilise Ukraine
again. Instead, she has decided to fight back on democratic grounds.
She rebuffed the president's offer to form a coalition in the crucial March
2006 parliamentary election in favour of pitting her own party against that
of her former ally in the hope of taking her old job back.
According to the Ukrainian press, Tymoshenko hopes to lure Oleksandr
Zinchenko, the former presidential chief of staff, over to her camp.
Zinchenko triggered Ukraine's crisis by accusing Tymoshenko's rival,
Petro Poroshenko, of corruption.
She has also said she is in talks to form a coalition with other political
parties. She carefully avoided blaming Yushchenko for her dismissal during
a television interview, which would tarnish the memory of their partnership
during the Orange Revolution, lashing out instead at his entourage. She
blamed them for betraying the movement, saying they had forced
Yushchenko into his drastic move.
Tymoshenko's block is already making itself felt. On Tuesday the Rada,
Ukraine's lower house of parliament, rejected Yushchenko's replacement
candidate Yuriy Yekhanurov, who was only three votes shy of the 226
needed to be approved. It was Tymoshenko's bloc that scuppered the vote
by abstaining.
The vote brought Ukraine to the edge of a constitutional abyss. A work in
progress, the constitution says nothing about how subsequent votes should
be run or if they are allowed. The constitution puts a 60-day limit on the
caretaker government but is silent on what happens after that deadline.
Facing a legal limbo where his administration would have no formal power,
Yushchenko then cut a deal with Yanukovych's Regions of
Russia party on Wednesday. Among the concessions were the promise to end
a campaign to re-privatise valuable companies that Yushchenko said were
"stolen" from the government by former president Kuchma's cronies, and to
drop all prosecutions connected with last December's elections.
Yekhanurov was finally approved in a second vote last Thursday, thanks to
Yanukovych's support. The new prime minister is expected to kickstart the
stalled reform programme and return Ukraine to growth. Ukrainian big
business will also be glad to see the government handed over to a
technocrat.
Viktor Pinchuk, Ukraine's second richest man and Kuchma's son-in-law,
complained that Tymoshenko's ministers wanted only to destroy his
companies.
Yushchenko is anxious not to make more of an enemy of Tymoshenko than
he needs to. When he announced the deal with the Regions of Russia party,
he said he had offered Tymoshenko the chance to take part in forming the
government.
Changes to the constitution, thrashed out at the height of the political
unrest in December, will turn Ukraine from a presidential republic into a
parliamentary democracy next year. The winner of the parliamentary
elections can nominate the prime minister, form the government and take
over the economy. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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LINK: http://thebusinessonline.com
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15. UKRAINIAN FORMER PRIME MINISTER TYMOSHENKO TELLS
RUSSIAN RADIO OF BID TO KEEP VALUES OF ORANGE REVOLUTION
INTERVIEW: with Yuliya Tymoshenko by Matvey Ganapolskiy
Ekho Moskvy radio, Moscow, in Russian 1710 gmt 24 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, September 24, 2005
MOSCOW - Russian Ekho Moskvy radio has broadcast a recording of an
interview with former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko on 24
September. The interview with the radio station's journalist Matvey
Ganapolskiy appears to have been recorded on 21 September, before
parliament approved the appointment of Yuriy Yekhanurov as prime minister
to succeed her.
In the interview, Tymoshenko spoke of her hopes to restore unity among those
who supported the Orange Revolution and to ensure that Ukrainian politics
was free from corruption. She spoke optimistically of the way in which the
events of late 2004 had brought the people to the fore of politics.
Towards the end of the interview she spoke of the need for national
interests to replace personal considerations in the development of relations
with Russia. She also uttered words of praise for President Putin.
EFFORTS TO REUNITE WITH YUSHCHENKO MADE FOR SAKE OF PEOPLE
Tymoshenko said that her government had been dismissed for "unclear
reasons connected with a corruption scandal that broke out in the
president's entourage". The decision to dismiss the government was partly
taken to divert attention from this, she commented.
However, she went on to say, the main reason for the fall of the government
was that she could not reconcile herself to the fact that many people who
supported the public protests in 2004 exploited the situation for their own
ends. This led to a "certain confrontation between some members of the
president's team and me, as prime minister".
She regretted that the new team could not keep clear of corruption and abuse
of office, though she said she had hoped that she and the president would be
able to restore the team's position as a "symbol of faith" that government
could be cleaner and more decent.
Unfortunately, she said that she had not been successful in her efforts to
renew the partnership with Yushchenko.
Tymoshenko argued that the appeal that she made to the president showed
that she did "not want to destroy their unity" and asserted that she is
always ready to renew this for the sake of the people's faith.
POPULAR INVOLVEMENT IN POLITICS
Tymoshenko said that, despite the current problems, the change of political
mood in Ukraine means that it is now possible for officials who leave
government to speak frankly in the media about "where corruption exists, and
to be capable of saying that the government needs to be cleaned up".
She added that another result of the "revolution" is that the whole country
is a "maydan" (the Ukrainian word for the square in Kiev where protests took
place during the presidential election). She defined the word in the
metaphorical sense as "not aggression, it is not ultimatums, it is not
violence, it is the peaceful, absolutely calm participation of people,
ordinary people, in politics".
Tymoshenko argued that no-one in Ukraine is now indifferent to politics and
that people follow the actions of politicians very closely. She gave as an
example of this the fact that her recent address to the nation was the most
watched programme in the country at the time.
Later in the interview, Tymoshenko stated that the way forward from the
crisis is an "appeal to the people". She specified that this should happen
through elections and not street protests.
The former prime minister listed her hopes for the future of her country:
"that when people come to power they do not rob the country, that there
might be rules in the country that would keep out underhand dealings in the
government and coldness towards the people".
Need to build relations with Russia on new basis
Towards the end of the interview Ganapolskiy asked Tymoshenko about
Ukraine's relations with Russia. She said this depended very much "on the
make-up of Ukraine", the way it is divided up "according to mentality - the
Orthodox part in the east, and western culture with all its components". She
said this diversity is the "beauty of Ukraine", allowing it to form a bridge
between West and East.
She went on to say that she would like to see "Russian-Ukrainian relations
that are not based on what existed under the old regime in Ukraine". She
said that at this time "Russia had developed relations with Ukraine very
precisely relying on its national interests, whereas the Ukrainians had
based relations on preserving their jobs and finances".
This concern with personal interests had prevented proper long-term
relations from being formed. "As prime minister, I wanted our two countries
to rely on their real national interests, and to find what unifies us on
this basis", she said.
However, she added that she does not regard relations with Russia at the
moment as "normal", the result, she says of "political jealousy", and the
attempts by President Yushchenko and his entourage to control this area of
policy. She said that the government was dismissed before it had a chance
to take up this challenge.
As far as Russia's current attitude to Ukraine, Tymoshenko said she felt
that Moscow "is playing a waiting game, but a friendly waiting game, rather
than a hostile one". She said that in the period up to the parliamentary
election Russia would be likely to concentrate on the issue of
constitutional reform in Ukraine, the parliamentary election and on building
relations with the political forces which could come to power for a fairly
long period after the parliamentary elections.
Commenting on Putin, Tymoshenko said that "you have an excellent, worthy
leader of the country and I think that the country can be proud of its
president".
Ganapolskiy rounded off the interview by paying tribute to Tymoshenko's
resilience as a politician. He said that in the current crisis she had
demonstrated an "example of dignified behaviour in a very stressful
situation". -30- [The Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service]
=============================================================
16. EUROPEAN ATOMIC ENERGY COMMUNITY AND EBRD TO PROVIDE
LOANS TO UKRAINE FOR IMPROVED SAFETY
New Europe, Athens, Greece, Monday, September 26, 2005
Ukrainian President Viktor Yuschenko has signed laws ratifying two
guaranteed agreements to provide national nuclear power company
Energoatom with loans for improved safety of nuclear power reactors in
Ukraine, the president's press service reported on September 20.
The Ukrainian parliament on September 7 ratified a guaranteed agreement
between Ukraine and the European Atomic Energy Community for a Euro
loan equivalent to USD 83 million for Energoatom to improve safety at the
Khmelnitsky 2 and Rivno 4 reactors.
On the same day an agreement between Ukraine and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development was ratified as the EBRD agreed to allocate
another USD 42 million for the same purpose. Energoatom signed the loan
agreements with Euratom and the EBRD at the end of July 2004.
In accordance with EBRD requirements, experts from Energoatom worked with
nuclear power stations and the State Nuclear Power Regulation Committee to
develop 147 measures to improve reactor safety. Some measures were
implemented before the launch of the reactors. -30-
==============================================================
17. UKRAINE TO BUILD NEW PORT IN CRIMEA
Interfax-Ukraine news agency, Kiev, in Russian 0704 gmt 24 Sep 05
BBC Monitoring Service, UK, in English, Saturday, Sep 24, 2005
Kiev, 24 September: Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a
decree on building the Crimean Donuzlav transport and industrial complex.
The decree seeks to create favourable conditions for the development of
transport infrastructure, expand transport opportunities and resolve social
and economic issues in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the president's
press service has said.
According to the decree, in two months' time, the Cabinet of Ministers will
work out and approve a concept and an action plan for building the Crimean
Donuzlav transport and industrial complex, taking into consideration
proposals by the Crimean Supreme Council [parliament] and the Council of
Ministers.
[Passage omitted: The decree provides for an ecological analysis and
allocation of a land plot for the complex.] -30-
==============================================================
18. ROMANIAN PRESIDENT HAILS UKRAINE'S DECISION TO HALT
WORK ON CONTROVERSIAL DANUBE CANAL
AP Worldstream, Romania, Friday, Sep 23, 2005
Romania's president Traian Basescu on Friday hailed Ukraine's decision to
halt work on a canal near the Romanian border.
Romanian authorities were against the project, which aimed to widen a
170-kilometer (105-mile) channel on Danube's Bystre Estuary because of
fears it would cause environmental damage to the Danube Delta.
The European Union in October also urged Kiev to postpone the completion
of the canal, citing environmental concerns.
On Friday, Basescu said in a letter to his Ukrainian counterpart Viktor
Yushchenko that the decision to halt work on the canal shows that there was
a "good understanding and collaboration" between the two leaders, who had
met in April to discuss the issue.
Relations between the two countries have been cool in recent years due to
disagreements over the marking of the maritime border near the deserted
Serpent Island, located off the coast of Romania and plans by former
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's administration to widen the Bystre
Canal. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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19. ORANGE CRUSH ON YUSHCHENKO
AT UKRAINIAN MUSEUM VISIT IN NEW YORK CITY
By Jefferson Siegel, The Villager, since 1933
New York, New York, Wed, Sep 21-27, 2005
The East Village's Ukrainian community turned out in droves last Friday to
welcome the new democracy-championing president of the Ukraine, Viktor
Yushchenko.
Yushchenko was in New York with dozens of other world leaders for the
opening of the 60th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Yushchenko had planned to visit two locations in the East Village, stopping
first at St. George's Church on E. Seventh Street. But because of time
considerations, that visit had to be cancelled. And although he arrived
several hours later than scheduled at the museum, the delay gave the
crowd time to grow in numbers and anticipation.
Sister Theodosia, principal of the elementary division of St. George's
Ukrainian Catholic School across from the museum, stood serenely near a
group of very animated students. "We're excited that he's coming to visit,"
she said. "We hope he enjoys this visit."
Groups of students from both divisions of the school lined the entrance to
the museum, many clutching bouquets of flowers. "We went to cheer for him
when the Orange Revolution was here and we went to the embassy," said
18-year-old Olya Gnatovych, a student in the academy division of the school.
"We have to support him."
Last year Yushchenko came to power in a dramatic election that brought
thousands into Kiev's Independence Square waving orange flags and
camping in freezing weather until a runoff election was conducted.
Yushchenko's opponent, Viktor Yanukovych, eventually lost and the country
cheered a democratically elected government.
Recently, though, the Orange Revolution is not looking so rosy. Early this
month Yushchenko dismissed most of his government, including his popular
ally Yulia Tymoshenko. And with allegations of improper campaign funding by
a Russian billionaire there are even whispers of impeachment.
None of this controversy was evident on Friday. Mimi Holtzman rushed up from
Delancey Street when she heard Yushchenko was coming. "I haven't got any
Ukrainian ancestry but I just had to come up and see, because after what he
went through, I think he's the iron man," she said. "I applaud him."
There were frequent updates on the president's arrival time. He was being
interviewed by Larry King, he was at Ground Zero, he was meeting with the
mayor. Students from both the elementary and academy divisions of St.
George's kept darting into the street, looking for any sign of Yushchenko's
arrival.
Many were dressed in intricately embroidered shirts and blouses, a
traditional Ukraine accoutrement. The embroidered garments bear unique
characteristics from each region of the country. Historically they were sewn
during Easter week to be worn on the holiday. On this day they were proudly
worn for a greeting.
Shortly before 7 p.m., several cars and S.U.V.'s rolled to a stop outside
the museum and the president emerged to cheers of "Yu-shchen-ko!" Rather
than rushing inside, Yushchenko spent several minutes greeting people on
both sides of the entrance. He shook hands, kissed women, bowed to some
with his hands clasped in front of him and even held up a child, eliciting
more cheers.
Yushchenko spent a half-hour inside the recently built museum, touring
exhibits and holding a press conference for the Ukrainian media. At one
point, the waiting crowd outside spontaneously started singing the Ukrainian
national anthem, bringing smiles to even the burliest security guards.
East Villager Rosa Lojko, like everyone, was thrilled. "I lived here 60
years. I never thought I'd live to see my president," she said. Not only did
she see him close up, Yushchenko took her hand and kissed it. -30-
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http://www.thevillager.com/villager_125/orangecrushonyuschenko.html
==============================================================
20. "GETTING AWAY WITH HATE"
COMMENTARY: By Nikolai Butkevich
The Moscow Times, Issue 3260, Page 8
Moscow, Russia, Monday, September 26, 2005
Since the Orange Revolution, Ukraine seems in many respects to have left
its giant neighbor to the east behind. But there is at least one thing that
the new Ukrainian government can learn from Russia. Along with all of the
positive changes, there is a strongly negative trend that has gone largely
unnoticed.
The plague of neo-Nazi violence that has made Russia's streets so unsafe for
its ethnic minorities over the past several years is now undeniably present
in Ukraine. Even worse, the Ukrainians are repeating the same mistakes that
the Russians made when the skinhead menace first raised its ugly head in the
late 1990s.
In both countries, gangs of youths are busy terrorizing people who don't
meet their definition of racial "purity." In both countries, their attacks
are getting both more frequent and more violent, provoking strong rhetorical
condemnation from political leaders, but that is where the similarities end.
While in Russia the most frequent targets of skinhead violence are
dark-skinned migrants, in Ukraine it is the Jewish community that is bearing
the brunt. And while Russian officials have over the past few years begun to
openly talk about the need to combat neo-Nazi extremist gangs, racism and
anti-Semitism, the standard response in Ukraine is to deny that these
problems even exist.
This policy of denial has been on shameful display over the past month in
reaction to two attacks on Jews in Kiev. On Aug. 28, a group of young men
nearly killed a yeshiva student in the downtown area. Screaming anti-Semitic
abuse and throwing bottles, the skinheads knocked Mordechai Molozhenov
to the ground and stabbed him repeatedly. He is now in a coma in an Israeli
hospital.
To the credit of the Ukrainian authorities, Ukrainian President Viktor
Yushchenko swiftly condemned the attack, and three suspects were arrested
shortly thereafter. It was at this point, however, that police officials
started to botch the job.
The Interior Ministry issued a statement asserting that there was no proof
that the attack was motivated by anti-Semitism, despite the fact that the
Ukrainian edition of the Russian daily "Komsomolskaya Pravda" reported on
Aug. 31, that one of the arrested suspects had a swastika tattoo on his arm.
Gennady Moskal, a deputy minister of internal affairs, then publicly
asserted that three recent attacks on Jews in Ukraine (the Molozhenov
stabbing, the murder of an Israeli in the Crimea, and the beating of a rabbi
in Zhitomir) were not motivated by antisemitism, according to a Sept. 1
report posted on the Russian Jewish Congress' web site Antisemitizmu.net.
The chief rabbi of Kiev, Moshe Azman, publicly contradicted the deputy
minister, arguing that the youths who stabbed Molozhenov shouted antisemitic
slogans, that such attacks were becoming more common in Ukraine and that:
"This problem is getting worse because nobody is taking it upon himself to
eliminate it."
Two weeks later, the pattern repeated itself. On Sept. 11, Rabbi Mikhail
Menis and his 14-year-old son were visiting the Kiev Expo Center when they
were set upon by seven young men and a young woman armed with chains.
After a sustained beating, during which some of the attackers reportedly
yelled neo-Nazi slogans, the attackers left.
Both the rabbi and his son then approached a group of police officers, who
within five minutes detained the group of suspects. Two of the youths have
been charged with "hooliganism" while the other six are being held as
witnesses.
Although the police response was commendable in its swiftness, a reporter
for the MIG news agency was flabbergasted by police statements that
denied anti-Semitism had anything to do with the attack. Police officials
are reportedly asserting that they "firmly believe" that the attack on the
rabbi and his son was nothing more than "hooliganism."
Vadim Rabinovich, head of the Ukrainian Jewish Congress, countered by
saying that when he visited the suspects in jail, they told him in front of
police guards that: "We will beat the Yids in the name of the purity of the
nation."
My organization's monitoring of anti-Semitic incidents in Ukraine confirms
that violent attacks on Jews have become more common over the past year
and a half. All of these attacks have taken place in predominantly
Russian-speaking regions of the country, raising the possibility that some
of these gangs are being inspired by or may be in contact with their
comrades in Russia.
A few particularly problematic cities stand out--four attacks have been
recorded in Kiev over the past year, a mob beat a yeshiva student in
Donetsk last year and two rabbis were set upon in Odessa last summer.
In January, skinheads severely injured a group of Jewish children in
Simferopol--one 14-year-old girl had to have emergency plastic surgery as a
result. Police made some arrests, but emphatically denied that skinheads
even existed in their city.
With the exception of a few Ukrainian and Russian Jewish web sites, the
Ukrainian media has ignored most of these attacks, though its coverage
has improved somewhat since Yushchenko became president.
What hasn't changed since the Orange Revolution is the pattern of denial
that neo-Nazi violence poses a significant threat to Ukrainian Jews.
Arresting suspects is commendable and necessary, but denying the obvious
motives behind these attacks insults the victims and emboldens the
victimizers.
The Ukrainian Criminal Code has a hate-crimes statute that could add
several years of prison time to the extremists who stabbed Molozhenov, but
the fact that this law has only been successfully applied once in the entire
post-Soviet history of Ukraine speaks volumes about the lack of seriousness
with which this problem is being approached.
It took dozens of murders and hundreds of assaults for Russian officials to
finally admit that they had a serious problem on their hands. Will the
Yushchenko government wait that long? -30-
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nikolai Butkevich, research and advocacy director at the Union of Councils
for Jews in the Former Soviet Union, contributed this comment to The
Moscow Times.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LINK: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/26/006.html
=============================================================
21. WLADIMIR KLITSCHKO BACK IN CONTENTION AFTER WIN
By John Curran, Associated Press Writer
AP, Atlantic City, NJ, Sunday, September 25, 2005
ALANTIC CITY, New Jersey - Wladimir Klitschko showed heart, stamina
and resiliency in his victory over Samuel Peter. He's back in contention,
one step closer to realizing his dream of sharing the heavyweight
championship with his brother, WBC champion Vitali Klitschko.
"Now, I have to get another title shot. We'll see who's available," he said.
Surviving three knockdowns, the 29-year-old Klitschko won by unanimous
decision over Peter in a 12-round IBF eliminator Saturday. The victory
makes Klitschko the mandatory challenger to IBF champion Chris Byrd.
It also helps restore some of the luster lost in his defeats by Lamon
Brewster and Corrie Sanders, which called his toughness into question.
Patiently picking his spots, Klitschko managed to neutralize Peter, a
6-foot, 243-pound powerhouse with little finesse and even less speed.
It wasn't easy, though.
Peter, who came into the fight unbeaten and favored to win, was no match for
Klitschko as a boxer. The 6-foot-6 inch Klitschko used his left jab to keep
Peter from getting close enough to land any solid shots. So Peter resorted
to hitting him in the back of the head and the temple during clinches and
breaks.
It was one of those punches - a right hand to the top of the head - that
knocked Klitschko down in the fifth. Klitscho went down twice in that round,
although the second one came off a push and not a punch.
"That's the way Peter fights," said Emanuel Steward, Klitschko's trainer.
"He gets in close and he hits you in the back of the head and the shoulders.
That's his style. You're relaxed when you're in close because you figure you
can't get hurt. And that's when he hits you with those punches, when you're
vulnerable."
Klitschko (45-3) survived the round, and he used effective left-right
combinations to resume control of the fight in the ensuing rounds, as Peter
began to tire.
But the 25-year-old Nigerian wasn't through. In the 10th, he connected on
another overhand right and it staggered Klitschko. He chased him into the
corner and unloaded about a dozen more punches, but none were big ones.
After getting out of the corner, Klitschko got caught again with a right to
the face and went down for the third time. "I didn't catch him with the
blows I wanted to land," Peter said. "When I did touch him, he only wanted
to survive." He survived. Despite the knockdowns, all three judges had it
114-111 for Klitschko.
"It wasn't easy fight for me," said Klitschko, a native of Kiev, Ukraine. "I
was going 12 rounds. In my 48 fights, I was going only once 12 rounds.
There were some doubts about my stamina and so on. Now, you can see,
those problems I don't have. If I want, I can go 12 rounds no matter what."
Next up for Klitschko? His two most likely opponents are WBO champion
Brewster and IBF champion Byrd, whom he beat five years ago. He said
Saturday he'd like Brewster.
"I'll take the next shot that comes available, Chris Byrd or Lamon Brewster.
Hopefully, in May or April, I'll be able to fight for a championship."
For Peter, the future looks less certain - but still bright. He said he'd
like a Klitschko rematch, but Steward said that was unlikely, at least for
now. -30- [The Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service]
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22. "A PASSION FOR BUTTON NUMBER ONE"
Ukrainian state-owned television UT1 is in need of urgent reform
Ukrainian president to decide fate of public broadcasting
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY:
By Viktoriya Syumar, Institute of Mass Information (IMI)
Zerkalo Nedeli, Kiev, Ukraine, in Russian 24 Sep 05, p 4
BBC Monitoring Service,UK, in English, Saturday, Sep 25, 2005
With Ukrainian state television in need of urgent reform, the appointment of
a new president for the state-owned UT1 channel will signal the fate of
public broadcasting in the country, an intellectual weekly reports.
The Soviet "relic" which is state television is encumbered by 2,000
employees and old notions on how the channel should "serve the state".
Vociferous unions do not want employees to lose their jobs, though they
agree reform is needed, the paper writes.
President Viktor Yushchenko will have to decide whether to use the resource
to spread the official line as it has in the past, or to "keep his promises"
by providing Ukraine with a "democratic information space".
The following is the text of the article by Viktoriya Syumar of the
Institute of Mass Information, entitled "A passion for button number one",
published by the Ukrainian newspaper Zerkalo Nedeli on 24 September;
subheadings have been inserted editorially:
The president of the country [Viktor Yushchenko] promised to soon appoint a
new president to the National Television Company of Ukraine [NTCU]. Both the
fate of the television company and public television in Ukraine depend a
great deal on who takes this position.
Yushchenko does not have much time to make a decision: the situation at the
channel is already far from what can be called normal. It is not likely the
sides in the conflict - the NTCU management and the unions - can resolve the
problem on their own.
Viktor Yushchenko can put an end to things by signing a decree on a new
leader for the NTCU and in this way determining the channel's work during
the [2006 parliamentary] election campaign.
A PRESIDENT PICKED ON PROGRAMME, NOT LOYALTY
Head of the Presidential Secretariat [Oleh] Rybachuk promised the
competition to fill the vacancy would not be a competition of loyalty to the
authorities, but of concepts for the further development of the channel.
From the very beginning, the Orange authorities could not clearly decide
what to do with their own information resource - state television.
One of Yushchenko's election promises was to set up a system of public
broadcasting, but [the authorities] did not get to this while rewriting the
budget at the beginning of the year. And so the president had an "iron
alibi" and he said there was no public television, because there was no
money in the budget to reform it.
Later it became clear that the authorities are still far from comprehending
how to reform the state channel. On the one hand, it was clear that things
could not be left "as is", but that it was still too early to really reform
the channel, that is, to make it really independent rather than simply
changing the picture. And the approaching parliamentary election was not a
factor that aided any radical evolution of the channel from state to public.
Then the president appointed people to manage the channel, pinning hopes on
them to lead the channel out of crisis. Taras Stetskiv became the main
crisis manager. He brought a team of young managers headed by Andriy
Shevchenko to the channel with him. The new management did not hide that it
saw that the main task was to establish public broadcasting on the basis of
the NTCU.
SOVIET RELIC OF THE 1980'S
To put it mildly, the enterprise which Stetskiv got was not in the best
condition. The NTCU is still a giant contraption which to this day has
minimal output.
A huge number of staff (for a television company), an extremely bureaucratic
technology process, programmes outdated both in terms of content and
technology and six hours (!) not planned into the programming schedule -
that's what they had to deal with.
The channel gave these hours to various commercial structures for scripts
made to order [for money] and entire advertising programmes. Of course, a
lot of Ukrainian channels have this sin, but the volume on the state channel
is shocking. This was one of the main ways in which the channel made money
and the practice continues to this day.
Of course, most of the funding which came to the channel by such schemes was
in the "shadows". Andriy Shevchenko says that there is only one such hour
left now and he promises that when the new programming schedule goes on air
from 19 September, a special notice will be made at the end of scripts of
this kind saying "promotional report".
It is also clear that such a policy of cleansing the channel does nothing at
all to please those who have been working for many years with tried and
effective schemes which are good for their pockets.
There is one more problem - how to legally earn money; after all, everything
earned from advertising, rent, broadcasting and so on, went to the budget
and not to the channel. And funding only came back to the channel from the
state treasury, but through an intermediary - the State Committee for TV and
Radio of Mr [Ivan] Chyzh.
Practically, Chyzh remains the man handing out the money and his priorities
obviously to not coincide with those of the channel's leadership.
So far, that is the only problem which is close to being resolved.
Parliament has approved a second reading of a bill amending the law On
television and radio broadcasting, which defines the NTCU as a state
enterprise and gives the company the right to do business. In other words,
as a state company, the NTCU can earn money and decide on its own how
to spend it.
This will make it possible to buy the latest technology needed at the
channel and finally establish adequate wages for employees. It is nonsense
after all to give oneself the task of attracting the "stars" of television
to state television and then leave them with the wages of a civil servant.
Over the last few months, the new leadership has been working on a programme
for the so-called optimization of the production process and reorganization
of the television company.
NTCU vice-president Oleh Kuzan says an analysis of a review of the company's
work revealed that most employees are not journalists at all - they are
people who "help the process along", and that many functions at the channel
are practically copied by various departments and some programmes which
have been declared [in reports] have not been on the air for years but
people continue to collect wages for them.
The NTCU represents a fairly conservative state structure from the 1980s,
which has no chance today of effectively working and competing with
commercial channels, which operate in completely different ways and with
completely different principles.
The new managers came to the conclusion that without radical changes which
should have an end result of public broadcasting, the channel will remain in
permanent crisis.
Taras Stetskiv resigned after eight months as head of the NTCU, loudly
banging the door on his way out, declaring that in all that time he had
found no political support for reforming the state channel into a public
one.
UNIONS CONCERNED
For Stetskiv, this was an opportune time to go, since he was able to retain
his mandate as an MP, but it was not at all opportune for his team.
The resignation coincided in time with the managers' public statements on
plans to reorganize the channel, including the review of a number of rather
unpleasant things such as firing hundreds of employees. And naturally this
could not but provoke displeasure on the part of these employees and the
unions, who learned of these plans three months before time.
Stetskiv's resignation seriously heightened a conflict which had ripened in
the television's work force. During the period "without a head", the unions
got active and made a statement in which they criticized the new leaders'
actions and plans for reform. And then at a meeting they expressed a lack of
confidence in these leaders accusing them of derailing state orders and of
the crisis at the channel.
At the next meeting, which took place last Wednesday [21 September], they
elected a candidate to contend for the position of president of the NTCU on
behalf of the production workforce. Of six candidates who presented their
programmes, Yevhen Kalenskyy was chosen. He worked as a vice-president until
February of this year and who was primarily engaged in commercial activities
and sports programmes.
The channel's managers did not come to the last meeting, saying that the
unions did not represent the point of view of the entire work force, which
is around 2,000 people, but only those active in the unions. That's the
short chronology of the conflict.
Naturally, both sides agree on one thing, they admit that reform is needed.
Otherwise the permanent tendency of ratings falling ever lower on the UT1
Channel will lead to a structure with tremendous possibilities turning into
an absolutely marginal channel with a rating of one or two per cent (if it
hasn't already). And this is a channel which covers 98 per cent of the
country's territory.
The leaders of the unions say that they proposed their own plan of reforms
to Stetskiv back in February, but that they did not ever see it discussed.
Now they have been forced to appeal to the president of the country and plan
to meet him to lay out their view of the situation.
Maryana Anhelova, the chairman of the committee of the new union at the
NTCU told Zerkalo Nedeli that there was no chance of finding peace with
Shevchenko's team.
One of the unions' trump cards is this: the channel is losing its viewers
and this can be seen in how the make-up of the viewership changed after the
channel's new news block was put on air. Right after the launch, its rating
slipped.
Viewers used to seeing official announcement after many, many years did not
like the news in a completely different style and thus the channel began to
lose its permanent viewership, mostly people from rural areas and
pensioners.
A CHANGING AUDIENCE
Now the ratings are beginning a gradual rise, sometimes [the news programme]
Visti even breaks into the top three leaders after Podrobnosti and TSN. This
has been especially noticeable since the new layout was launched on Monday
[19 September].
On the very first day - Monday - the rating for the news grew to the
unseen-before figure of five per cent. And this was a serious argument in
favour of the position of the reformers. But the viewership of the news on
the state channel has really in fact changed.
Many people employed at the NTCU do not like the new approaches to
showing the news, saying the state channel has its own obligations and it
is obliged to serve the state, that is, to provide the official line, which
obviously will not be heard on private channels.
Many people in the presidential secretariat share this view and sometimes
this is a point of confrontation between the president's press secretary
Iryna Herashchenko and first vice-president of the NTCU Shevchenko.
Anhelova says the union is also in favour of reforming the NTCU, but says it
should retain its familiar "face" for viewers and fulfil the state order,
and that reforms should be gradual and have social guarantees for the staff.
The unions' main question is this: why fire people and then purchase
programming which could be made by the staff?
Of course, the unions are only fulfilling their own natural function in
asking this and not asking whether a quality and modern product can be made
by a workforce that is used to working in completely different conditions
and by completely different standards, and a significant part of which is
simply unable to compete with private channels.
Andriy Shevchenko has got an answer to this question and is determined to
be rather radical. He says that no-one has yet been fired at the channel but
that cuts are inevitable. He insists that he will not compromise with the
unions; he says retaining such a weighted and ineffective mechanism is
unfair to the viewer who in the end is paying for the state channel.
He believes the optimal option is to reorganize the channel from the New
Year (all staff usually resign on 31 December, but far from all of them
apply for work on 1 January).
Last week the staff at the state television and radio company Ukrainian
Television and Radio World Service [UTR] voiced their discontent, too. The
union and the workers' council distributed a statement in which figured a
"protest against attempts by the former president of the NTCU Stetskiv to
join the UTR to the NTCU".
Essentially, the UTR is still under the control of Ivan Chyzh's State
Committee for TV and Radio. Long ago, Stetskiv's team came out in favour of
joining Ukraine's broadcaster aboard to the NTCU. It turns out this process
has already begun - the president signed such a decree and it is now being
reviewed by the cabinet.
This is what provoked a protest from the UTR and its leadership, who have
long worked closely with Ivan Chyzh and who do not exactly like Stetskiv's
plans for reform.
This statement is very radical in light of one phrase that joining the UTR
to the NTCU will mean the demise of the UTR, "which is advantageous
exclusively to destabilizing reactionary forces in the country, which have
the goal of demolishing constitutional order\[ellipsis as published]"
The statement also reads: in order to prevent the UTR being joined to the
NTCU, the employees of the UTR are prepared to use radical methods.
In turn, Andriy Shevchenko says it is very positive that the process of
unification has already started.
ONE CONCEPT FOR REFORM
By the way, this is one of the four main points of the concept which his
team presented this week and which is already registered with the
presidential secretariat. The final result of this programme to reform the
NTCU is a system of public broadcasting in the form of four channels:
1. The FIRST channel, created on the basis of the NTCU, is to be positioned
as a family channel. The main content of this channel is a powerful news
block, talk-shows, popular films and serials.
Besides that, the task envisages a system of producing serials and films
in-house by 2007. Shevchenko plans that this channel may capture about 15 to
20 per cent of the market.
2. The SECOND channel is to be created on the basis of regional state
television and radio companies. Its main product is to be sociopolitical
journalism on educational and cultural topics as well as programmes for the
regions to be made in particular by the regional affiliates themselves.
This is an important function of public broadcasting, but of course such a
channel cannot contend for a significant part of the market (about three to
five per cent is forecast).
3. The THIRD channel is a Ukrainian version of Euronews. A day before his
resignation Stetskiv managed to achieve his ambitious plan to buy a
one-per-cent stake in this channel, which allows the use of its "picture"
and transmitting on the territory of Ukraine.
4. And the [FOURTH] last channel in the block of public broadcasting of the
UTR is broadcasts abroad.
One group of managers and respective services can provide for the work at
all four channels, something which will make it possible to save a lot of
money on administration and redirect funds directly to production.
Probably Yushchenko will review this plan as soon as he returns from the
United States, as delaying an appointment in the given circumstances only
means sharpening the problem.
As is known now, the head of the presidential secretariat, Oleh Rybachuk,
promised that it would be programmes that would play the determining role in
reviewing candidates to be the leader of the NTCU.
They say this approach was not liked by all in the president's circle, but
that after the public statement, it would be quite hard to back away from
it.
YUSHCHENKO'S DILEMMA
In fact the dilemma for the president is not in personalities but in
approaches, although Yushchenko does not have many television managers
sitting on the benches.
The following are named among the main contenders: [1] Andriy Shevchenko and
[2] Oleh Kuzan - they are from Stetskiv's team; [3] Oleksandr Tkachenko, who
mentioned his desire to set up public broadcasting back at the beginning of
the year, but only according to his concept; [4[ Yushchenko's old friend and
the editor-in-chief of [the newspaper] Ukrayina Moloda, Mykhaylo Doroshenko;
[5[ the leader of the information department at [the private television
station] Tonis Dmytro Tyzov and [6] the chairman of the board at the same
station, Vitaliy Dokalenko; and [7] the top-manager from [the television
station] Era, Taras Avrakhov.
The last had practically the best chances of all, but a decree on his
appointment was not signed.
Meanwhile, the choice of a new manager at the NTCU will not so much be a
choice of a specific manager, as a choice of a path which will determine the
fate of the NTCU.
In essence, the president must first of all decide whether to bet on using
the channel as an information resource for the authorities during the
campaign or to adopt a programme of reform and get that trump card for
remaining true to his promises and striving to provide Ukraine with a
democratic information space.
In the eyes of the authorities, there are pluses and minuses in both these
options. On one hand, during the period of a mudslinging war which the
country has got into ahead of the election, every information resource is
important.
The political crisis which began with [former State Secretary] Oleksandr
Zinchenko's resignation has not given the president's entourage the chance
to distribute the information space in its favour and it is not likely that
in the given circumstances this entourage will want to lose control over
state broadcasting, either.
On the other hand, in case of not accepting reforms, Yushchenko will receive
another dose of criticism and lose, in both Ukraine and abroad, the name of
holder to free principles and the development of the media. Both Europe and
America see state broadcasting as a relic, the state only controls
broadcasting overseas.
If the principles of the expediency of political campaigning again take the
lead in Yushchenko's decision on the development of the NTCU and the
appointment of its management, then this will not be a solution to, but only
a temporary postponement of the problem.
And you cannot call it anything but a problem when the channel behind
"button number one", constantly bounces around in the twenties in viewer
ratings while also eating up a lot of budget funding. -30-
==============================================================
23. UNITED NATIONS CHERNOBYL REPORT REIGNITES DEBATE
Those Affected Doubt Findings
By Peter Finn, Washington Post Foreign Service
The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.
Saturday, September 24, 2005; Page A18
KIEV, Ukraine -- When Anatole Hrytsak collapsed last October while out
buying bread and two weeks later had both of his legs amputated at the
knees, he was certain that the night of April 26, 1986, had finally caught
up with him.
Hrytsak, 56, was an engineer working at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
when an explosion ripped through one of its four reactors, emitting a huge
radioactive cloud in the worst nuclear accident in history.
Hrytsak's doctors, however, were not convinced that radiation exposure was
the cause of his chronic circulation problems. "They said, 'Maybe Chernobyl
but maybe also smoking,' " Hrytsak said. "No one seems to know for sure."
Uncertainty about the long-term health consequences of the catastrophe at
Chernobyl has generated an angry debate here. The discussion has been
stoked by a major new report from eight U.N. agencies that concluded the
accident has caused fewer than 50 deaths directly attributable to radiation.
The U.N. scientists predicted about 4,000 eventual radiation-related
fatalities among 600,000 people in the affected areas, including plant
personnel, emergency workers and residents.
Some early estimates had put the ultimate death toll at tens of thousands.
After hearing numbers like that, hundreds of thousands of people lived with
what they presumed to be a death sentence.
But authors of the report argue that if people are dying, it's often because
they were told they would and therefore lived as if they would.
"Many of the health effects in the population of the Chernobyl-affected
regions are caused by factors other than radiation," Burton G. Bennett, the
American chairman of the group that conducted the study, said in a statement
made at the conclusion of the group's meeting in Vienna.
"That is not to belittle the possible consequences of radiation exposure,
but it is to recognize the harm done by smoking, excessive alcohol
consumption, poor diet or inadequate health care."
Most people suffered radiation doses that were "relatively low and unlikely
to lead to widespread and serious health effects," Bennett said.
The report has drawn contradictory responses from governments in the region.
Some officials in Russia, the republic that dominated the Soviet Union
before its breakup, suggested that the report may in fact have been
pessimistic.
"Talking about radiation effects, I think the figure of 4,000 is the
maximum," said Nikolay Shingarev, director of information at the Ministry of
Atomic Energy in Moscow. "The Chernobyl accident happened during a very
difficult period in the Soviet Union. Life expectancy dropped considerably,
but not because of radiation. The report figures did not come as a surprise.
There is science and there are facts and we accept them."
What ostensibly should be good news has been derided in Ukraine and Belarus,
where hundreds of thousands of people receive social and medical benefits
because of the accident.
"We cannot agree with this data," said Tetyana Amosova, Ukraine's deputy
minister of emergency situations. Ukraine, she said, is paying benefits to
the relatives of the more than 17,000 people who worked in the cleanup and
have died over the past 19 years.
Officials in Belarus also objected. "We cannot approve the report, and we
have a lot of arguments with it," said Vladimir Tsalko, chairman of a
government committee on the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster.
"We do not agree with a lot of figures."
Officials in both countries said they planned to write rebuttals to the
report in the coming weeks and would demand revisions in the final text.
"It's absolute stupidity," said Volodymyr Usatenko, who advises a Ukrainian
parliamentary commission on Chernobyl. "I was absolutely stunned. The people
who worked at Chernobyl were young, fit, psychologically healthy young men
in 1986. And they have been dying at a much higher rate than any similar
group of men who were not affected by Chernobyl. You can't say it's all
because they led an unhealthy lifestyle after Chernobyl. That's not
sufficient."
Local and international environmental organizations, including Greenpeace,
also object to the findings, saying they grossly underplay the human and
environmental devastation. But U.N. officials stand behind their work,
saying it reflects years of study by some of the best scientists in the
field and is consistent with death-rate trends that emerged from 50 years of
study of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final days of
World War II.
"If they are paying death benefits, that's their problem," said Michael
Repacholi, manager of the World Health Organization's radiation program,
which took part in the study. "We have solid data on the projected number of
deaths that could be expected. People think they got massive doses, but they
didn't, they really didn't."
Repacholi said the pervasive fatalism that consumed the survivors and
contributed to widespread alcoholism and heavy smoking explained many
of the deaths that people would like to believe were caused by radiation.
In Hrytsak's massive apartment block, where scores of workers were
resettled, funerals have been a regular event for the last 15 years,
according to Hrytsak. Two of his immediate neighbors died in the past six
months, one from pancreatic cancer, the other from kidney failure.
"I am one of the few who is still alive," Hrytsak said, adding that about 70
of the 120 people he knew by name at the plant had died. "All of us are
dying. I was appalled by the U.N. report. They should come and talk to
people in this area."
But near the nuclear plant, which now sits inside an exclusion zone that
extends 19 miles in all directions, the U.N. report received support.
"It's not radiation but psychological stress that's been killing people,"
said Serhiy Parashyn, head of administration in the zone, where nearly 9,000
people continue to work to decommission the reactors, the last of which was
shut down in 2000.
"Many people lost their sense of life," he said. "And that's one of the main
lessons of this accident. If it happens again, somewhere in the world, how
do you work with the population so they get the right information?"
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