NEWSBRIEFS ON UKRAINE (01/31/93)

NEWSBRIEFS ON UKRAINE

HAMBURG - The Chornobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine needs urgent repairs costing millions of dollars to reduce the danger of fire, German safety inspectors told a news conference here on January 20. One of the experts said, "It is not responsible to keep this plant in operation." The reactors lack fire protection doors to keep any blaze contained, and their safety systems are not physically separated. Thus, under Western safety standards, the station is unfit to operate. The cost of safety improvements was put about 60 million DM. (The Wall Street Journal, Reuters)
MOSCOW - A Russian government report states that 18 percent of the Chornobyl clean-up workers who have died since the accident took their own lives, about 1,250 people in all. A spokesperson for the government's Chornobyl Committee also said that a reported 80 percent of the workers suffer from psychological problems attributable to nerve damage, physical diseases and stress. A further 40 percent complain of mental illness and permanent memory loss. A doctor in charge of examining the workers said more research was needed to pinpoint the reasons for the high rate of suicide. (The Prague Post)
MINSK - Representatives from over half the CIS states met in Minsk from January 12 to 15, to discuss renewing efforts to secure the return of national cultural and historical treasures that were removed during the Soviet and tsarist periods and have ended up in Russian museums. The states that took part were Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Armenia and Azerbaijan sent observers. A year ago at the CIS summit of February 14 in Minsk, the heads of the CIS states signed an agreement on the return of these artifacts, but this accord was in effect torpedoed on May 20, when the Russian Parliament rejected it. The head of the Ukrainian Commission on the Return of Cultural and Historical Treasures, Oleksander Fedoruk, on January 19 told RFE/RL Ukrainian Service that at the prior week's meeting in Minsk it was decided to form an interstate commission to work on this problem and to enlist the help of international experts. New documents are also being prepared for discussion at forthcoming CIS summits. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
KYYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers on January 26 approved a plan of its activities for 1993 intended to guide the country towards a market economy, Western newspapers reported. The program, which is said to have the support of both liberals and conservatives in Parliament, includes a stabilization policy to reduce the budget deficit and calls for rapid privatization of small enterprises and the transformation of larger enterprises into joint stock companies. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
SYMFEROPIL - Russia's ambassador to Ukraine said on January 25 that Russia respects Ukraine's sovereignty and has absolutely no intention of interfering in its internal affairs, said an ITAR-TASS report. Speaking with journalists in Symferopil, Ambassador Leonid Smolyakov said the time has come to resolve the question of dual citizenship in Ukraine and, in accordance with earlier agreements, a Russian consulate general should be opened in the Crimean capital. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
MOSCOW - CIS Commander-in-Chief Marshal Yevgeniy Shaposhnikov reiterated on January 25 his claim that Russia should be the sole owner of former Soviet strategic nuclear weapons - a position disputed by Ukraine. Marshal Shaposhnikov stated that Belarus has already transferred its nuclear forces to Russian jurisdiction and, Kazakhstan has agreed in principle to do the same. Ukraine will allow the Russian Defense Ministry and the CIS Joint High Command to check the technical condition of the weapons in Ukraine. Negotiations concerning the dismantling of nuclear warheads from Ukraine, possible compensation for their atomic fuel and the compensation of strategic sources began on January 26. Marshal Shaposhnikov suggested that as compensation Russia might give Ukraine nuclear fuel equal to the value of the fissile materials in the warheads minus the costs of removing and dismantling them. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
KYYIV - A venture capital fund, with private investments and a $3.5 million contribution from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, is being established in Ukraine. George Yurchyshyn, a former senior vice-president of the Bank of Boston, who is now based in Kyyiv, is director of the fund. He is optimistic the fund will reach its target of $10 million within the next few months, and said there may be enough investor interest to establish a second fund. He expects the fund to give a return on investment within seven to 10 years. The fund will make investments in a variety of private businesses with proven track records, rather than in start-up projects. All its investments are made in hard currency. Ukrainian foreign investment law allows the fund to convert coupon profits back into dollars. (The Financial Times)
KYYIV - The democratic National Council action of the Parliament has characterized parliamentary actions taken on January 20 and 21 as an "attempt at a parliamentary coup" by former Communists. Speaking at a press conference, the democrats said those actions included demands that Ukraine sign the CIS charter, legalize the banned Communist Party and reject the government of Prime Minister Leonid Kuchma and the parliamentary presidium. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
CHISINAU - Moldovan President Mircea Snegur disclosed to Molodezh Moldovy on January 7, that he recently met in Bendery with "Dniester Republic" Russian leader Igor Smirnov to start a dialogue on a political status for the left bank of the Dniester within Moldova. Shortly afterward, Chisinau offered to grant the area "self-governing territory" status as well as that of a free economic zone, with obligations to observe human and ethnic rights under international norms. The "Dniester Republic Supreme Soviet" rejected the offer, insisting on recognition of the "Dniester Republic" with its own government and army in a confederation of Moldovan, Dniester and Gagauz republics, Moldovan and Russian media reported. A second meeting in Bendery on January 13 only furthered the stalemate. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
TIRASPOL, Moldova - Gen. Aleksandr Lebed warned in Pravda of January 20 that hostilities may resume "at any moment" in the city of Bendery on the right bank of the Dniester River and called for a referendum to determine whether the city should belong to Moldova or to the left-bank "Dniester Republic." Largely Russified under Soviet rule, Bendery is currently controlled by Russian insurgents, who have pressured part of the Moldovan population into leaving the city. At stake along with the city is a large surrounding rural area on the right bank, claimed by the "Dniester Republic" and infiltrated by its forces. In the same interview, Gen. Lebed called for the "Dniester Republic's" accession to the Russian Federation under a status similar to that of Finland within tsarist Russia. However, Gen. Lebed strongly implied in his interviews that the independence of Moldova as a whole was only a temporary phenomenon and predicted the Moldovan leaders will face criminal prosecution. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
SEVASTOPIL - Hundreds of Russian demonstrators were demanding the removal of the city's Ukrainian presidential representative, Interfax reported on January 24. A leader of the Republican Movement of the Crimea, which organized the protest, told the demonstrators that the population of Sevastopil was engaged in a psychological war with its Ukrainian leaders. Other speakers called on the Russian Parliament to place Sevastopil under Russia's jurisdiction. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
KYYIV - "Many thousands" reportedly participated in a demonstration organized by Kyyiv on January 18 demanding that Ukraine leave the CIS, and that it retain a nuclear capability, ITAR-TASS reported. The demonstration was called to protest attempts by former Communists in the Parliament to convene an extraordinary session of the Parliament that would consider the legalization of the Communist Party and mobilize support for Ukraine's adherence to the CIS charter. (RFE/RL Daily Report)
KYYIV - The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has said that calls by the of ficers' assembly of the Black Sea Fleet to maintain the fleet under joint Ukrainian-Russian control and withdraw the Ukrainian Navy headquarters from Sevastopil constitute interference in Ukraine's internal affairs. According to an Interfax report of January 26, Defense Minister Konstantyn Morozov has expressed his willingness to meet with the fleet's command to discuss the officer's demands. (RFE/RL Daily Report)

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