85,000 demonstrate in Ukraine for back pay and pensions (03/23/97)

85,000 demonstrate in Ukraine for back pay and pensions

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Approximately 85,000 people, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, gathered on March 18 in cities throughout Ukraine to protest the non-payment of back wages and pensions, and the continuing economic malaise.

What had been touted as a nationwide general strike that could lead to the downfall of the current government and the return of the Communists to power fell far short of leftist expectations, however.

The demonstrations and marches were organized by the All-Ukrainian Union of Workers, an organization that is thought to be supported by the Communist Party of Russia. They had boasted that 2 million people would demonstrate in Ukraine for a return to communism.

The Ukrainian economy's continued stagnation has left the government unable to pay more than 2.7 billion hryvni (about $1.5 billion) that it owes workers in back pay.

The Federation of Trade Workers, the largest union in Ukraine, refused to join the strikers. Oleksander Stoian, the president of the union who is also a deputy in the Verkhovna Rada and is allied with Chairman Oleksander Moroz, said his organization cannot by law take part in political actions, which is what he called the protests.

Demonstrations of no more than 7,000 people each were held in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Symferopol. In Kyiv the "Red" march attracted less than 3,000 individuals. Simultaneously, 1,000 followers of Rukh gathered for a daylong counter-protest for back wages and the removal of the Communist and Socialist leadership of the Verkhovna Rada.

Yevhen Kushnariov, President Leonid Kuchma's chief of staff, said the strikes were part of a strategy by Communists to cause upheaval in Ukraine. He blamed National Deputy Petro Symonenko, head of the Communist Party of Ukraine, for inciting the population. He also accused the Russian Communist Party of direct involvement. "Zyuganov has made it clear by his comments in Miensk that this was a centrally coordinated plan, which demands a response from Ukraine because of its anti-Ukrainian character," said Mr. Kushnariov.

Gennadii Zyuganov, head of the Communist Party of Russia, in remarks made in Miensk at the Third Congress of the Nations of the USSR during the week of March 10, said his party was coordinating plans for demonstrations in Kyiv on March 18 and in Moscow on March 27.

Mr. Kushnariov did not deny that the Ukrainian people had every reason to demonstrate. "People either do not have jobs, or if they do they do not get paid, and if they do work they do not earn enough to live - we understand their problems," said Mr. Kushnariov.

He reiterated what is becoming a well-worn call to reform by the Ukrainian government. "We must convince the people that the way out of the crisis is to speed up reforms and make Ukraine a country with a European face."

Vyacheslav Chornovil, leader of Rukh, said he was satisfied that his supporters had helped diffuse what could have been a serious situation in Ukraine. At an afternoon press conference he said, "Kyiv will not be 'Red' today."

He explained that Rukh had initiated its own actions throughout Ukraine on March 13-15, in which 1.5 million leaflets were distributed to Ukraine's citizenry calling for the removal of Communists and a ban on the Communist Party, an action that it had extended to March 18 to counter leftist demonstrations.

Mr. Chornovil also downplayed comments from leaders of the Congress of Ukrainian Nationalists who had said that Rukh's participation in the day's demonstrations was tantamount to collaboration with leftist forces.

"Ours was an anti-strike. Today any type of major strike could lead to disaster." He said the 1,000 or so people gathered at the Verkhovna Rada were pensioners or the unemployed.

In Kyiv the 3,000 pro-Communists who marched down Hrushevsky Street carrying banners were led by two members of the Progressive Socialist Party, National Deputies Natalia Vitrenko and Valerii Marchenko, along with Communist Party member Volodymyr Moisienko, who kept calling on the militia to join them.

As the marchers passed the Verkhovna Rada building where the Rukh demonstrators held camp, things heated up. The "Rukhivtsi" answered catcalls from leftist marchers by blowing blue-yellow whistles that had been distributed to the crowd. A militia force of well over 1,000 kept the two sides separated by barricades and a human wall five persons deep. After being turned away from European Square, where they wanted to rally, the marchers moved to the Arch of Friendship.

In Symferopol, Interfax Ukraine reported that more than 3,000 demonstrated before the Verkhovna Rada building of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. When told by the leaders of the demonstration that representatives of the central government in Kyiv were in the building, the protesters tried to enter forcefully but were met by militia carrying truncheons and shields. The crowd was pushed back to the square across from the building, where they continued their protest.

In the Donetsk region, rallies were held in 15 cities. In the city of Donetsk approximately 6,000 residents urged Kyiv to change "the course of domestic and foreign policy," Interfax-Ukraine reported. They voted to demand that the government immediately pay back wages, pensions and student stipends, and restructure the coal industry sector.

In Kharkiv, almost 7,000 people marched, led by the head of the Communist Party of Ukraine, Mr. Symonenko.

Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko said late on March 18 that more than 50,000 militia were utilized to "ensure public order" and maintain control over the 85,000 demonstrators country-wide. He also said the militia was notified of several bomb threats during the course of the day, including one in the Cabinet of Ministers building and another in the procurator general's offices. Both threats were unfounded.

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