Discord reported in Crimean politics (02/02/97)

Discord reported in Crimean politics

OMRI Daily Digest

KYIV - Political leaders in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea continued to quarrel over how to react to the demands placed upon them by the new Constitution of Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian media reported on January 22.

Crimean Prime Minister Arkadii Demidenko, whose government is supposed to resign, said the previous week's vote by the Parliament to change the name of his government to comply with the Constitution of Ukraine was unconstitutional.

The Crimean Parliament on January 23 voted to dismiss the government and ordered the formation of a new Council of Ministers. Prime Minister Demidenko said the move was aimed at redistributing power and property and paving the way for new elections. He appealed to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma to overrule the Crimean Parliament's decision.

In Kyiv, Justice Minister Serhii Holovatyi said the Crimean Parliament contravened the Ukrainian Constitution by voting to oust the peninsula's government, Ukrainian media reported on January 25. He noted that the Constitution of Ukraine contains no provision allowing the Crimean Parliament to suspend the powers of the Crimean government.

Several days later, Ukrainian TV reported that President Kuchma had signed a decree suspending the Crimean Parliament's resolution on the dismissal of the peninsula's government. He said the resolution contravened the Ukrainian Constitution, and he asked the Constitutional Court to resolve the issue.

Crimean Parliament Chairman Vasyl Kyseliov, meeting with President Kuchma the same day, said the decision to dismiss Prime Minister Demidenko's government was "hasty" and could worsen the situation in Crimea.

Crimean Deputy Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Klychnykov, who had proposed that the government be dismissed, said Anatolii Franchuk is the most acceptable new prime minister. Mr. Franchuk, currently a member of the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada, headed the Crimean government in 1994-1995.

Then, on January 29, international news media reported that, for the second time in less than a week, the Crimean Parliament had approved a no-confidence motion against the Demidenko government. The pro-Russian majority voted 54-1 to oust the government, defying President Kuchma's decree suspending the resolution on the government's dismissal.

Crimean Tatar deputies protested the motion by abstaining. Crimean Parliament Chairman Kyseliov said the latest vote was a "grave mistake and an act of defiance against the Ukrainian president," while Crimean Prime Minister Demidenko warned he would urge President Kuchma to disband the Crimean Parliament.

| Home Page |