NEWSBRIEFS (04/06/97)

NEWSBRIEFS

Cabinet reshuffle to resume in Ukraine?

KYIV - The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Volodymyr Horbulin, said President Leonid Kuchma will fire Viktor Chebrov and Bohdan Babii, the heads of the top nuclear and energy bodies, because of electricity supply non-payments, shortage of nuclear fuel and monopolization of the energy sector, Reuters reported on March 26. The Ukrainian Trade Union Federation has appealed to President Kuchma to dismiss Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, ITAR-TASS reported. In his March 21 address to the nation, the president had accused Mr. Lazarenko and his Cabinet of incompetence. Last month, Mr. Kuchma fired several ministers responsible for the economy. (OMRI Daily Digest)

U.S. officer notes problems for investors

KYIV - Andrew Bihun, senior commercial officer at the U.S. Embassy's Commercial Service in Kyiv, told RFE/RL that the main obstruction to investment in Ukraine "is the government, which creates an unfavorable climate for investors." His comment came after the U.S. electronics firm Motorola announced last week it is leaving Ukraine because of the "unfavorable investment climate." Motorola planned to invest some $500 million in Ukraine. Mr. Bihun said the Communications Ministry had granted Motorola a license to operate a mobile phone system in Ukraine but later insisted that Motorola apply for permission to use the GSM-900 frequency. Meanwhile, the state-backed company KyivStar, one of three winners for a recent tender for GSM-900 cellular frequency licenses, announced it intends to invest $30 million in its mobile telephone network this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lazarenko to address Verkhovna Rada

KYIV - On the request of President Leonid Kuchma, Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko is to address the Verkhovna Rada to explain the government's position on the budget. The Ukrainian president has sharply criticized the prime minister and his government for failing to deal with the country's severe economic crisis. He has also warned he will dismiss the government if the situation is not improved. Mr. Lazarenko recently returned from an official visit to Egypt, where he met on March 29 with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak to discuss trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russian-Belarusian agreement signed

MOSCOW - Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka have signed the treaty on Russian-Belarusian union and initialed a union charter following last-minute talks in Miensk and Moscow, RFE/RL reported on April 2. The final version of the treaty is much shorter than the draft approved on April 1 by the joint Russian-Belarusian Parliamentary Assembly. It is mostly declarative in nature, prompting complaints among parliamentary supporters of integration. Although the name of the Russian-Belarusian "community" has been changed to "union," President Yeltsin stressed that Russia and Belarus remain sovereign states and will not hurry to form a common budget or establish a single currency. Instead, coordinating security policies and border controls will be the top priority. The treaty will be submitted to the State Duma and Federation Council for ratification after one month of public discussion. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Discord in Yeltsin camp over accord

MOSCOW -The last-minute changes to the union treaty reflect deep divisions in the Yeltsin camp over how far and how fast integration with Belarus should proceed. An RFE/RL correspondent reported that, among President Boris Yeltsin's associates, the main proponents of rapid integration are Vice Prime Minister Valerii Serov, CIS Affairs Minister Aman Tuleiev, Foreign Affairs Minister Yevgenii Primakov, presidential foreign policy adviser Dmitrii Riurikov and Sergei Shakhrai, Mr. Yeltsin's representative to the Constitutional Court. Meanwhile, nearly all the ministers who joined the government in last month's Cabinet reshuffle have expressed concern about the economic consequences of integration with Belarus. The skeptics include First Vice Prime Ministers Anatolii Chubais and Boris Nemtsov, Economics Minister Yakov Urinson and State Property Committee Chairman Alfred Kokh. (RFE/RL Newsline)

400 protest in Belarusian capital

MIENSK - Police in the Belarusian capital dispersed about 400 demonstrators who gathered on April 1 to protest the signing of the union treaty between Belarus and Russia, ITAR-TASS reported. Police and protesters, most of whom were from the opposition Popular Front, engaged in a stand-off for more than an hour. After unsuccessful efforts to persuade the crowd to disperse, police moved in and broke up the rally. Some protesters were detained by the police. The previous day, Belarusian police detained Irina Vazhnik, a member of the Popular Front, and her husband for distributing leaflets calling on people to take part in opposition demonstrations. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Flag flies over Central Rada

KYIV - The Ukrainian blue-and-yellow flag flew from the building once occupied by the Central Rada for the first time in 80 years on March 21. The occasion was a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Central Rada, the revolutionary parliament of Ukraine (1917-1918). Some 200 persons attended the public meeting organized by "Rukh for the people, for Ukraine," a political bloc organized for the upcoming elections. Speakers included Vice Prime Minister for Humanitarian Affairs Ivan Kuras; Ivan Drach, co-chairman of the Congress of Ukrainian Intelligentsia; academician Yaroslav Yatskiv; Pavlo Movchan, head of the Prosvita Society; and historian Taras Hunczak of the U.S. As the Ukrainian national anthem sounded, the flag, blessed by Patriarch Filaret of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate, was raised over the building. (Respublika)

April 1: holiday in Odesa

ODESA - Mayor Eduard Gurvits proclaimed April 1 a holiday, and a day off from work, in this Black Sea port city. Traditionally, April Fool's Day has celebrated as a day of humor in Odesa. The city is known for its particular brand of humor, which reflects its cosmopolitan character. (Respublika)

Russia still wants veto in NATO

MOSCOW - In a March 27 interview with Moskovskii Komsomolets, presidential foreign policy aide Dmitrii Riurikov said that as part of its proposed charter with NATO, Russia wants a veto over NATO decisions with which it disagrees. He said Moscow does not accept U.S. President Bill Clinton's statement after the Helsinki summit that the charter will give Russia a voice, but not a veto. Mr. Riurikov asserted that President Yeltsin "acts on the assumption that if our country has a voice, it will have the right to block decisions that are unacceptable to it," adding that "otherwise, there is no sense in having a voice." The presidential aide concluded that it was important to make sure that any agreement with NATO "precludes ambiguous interpretations." (OMRI Daily Digest)

U.S. expels Belarusian diplomat

WASHINGTON - Vladimir Hramyka, first secretary and consul of the Belarusian diplomatic mission to Washington, was expelled from the U.S. on March 26, international agencies reported. The measure was a response to the recent expulsion of a U.S. diplomat, Serge Aleksandrov, after he was detained at a demonstration in Miensk. State Department spokesman John Dinger expressed concerns about the deterioration in U.S.-Belarusian relations but did not rule out further action by the U.S. Meanwhile, the newly appointed Belarusian ambassador to the U.S., Valerii Tsepkalo, who was on his way to Washington, was recalled for consultation during a stop-over in Frankfurt. That move followed a similar recall of the U.S. ambassador to Belarus, Kenneth Yalowitz. A U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Mr. Tsepkalo's arrival in Washington "is not appropriate at this time in connection with the recent expulsion of the U.S. Embassy first secretary." The Belarusian Foreign Ministry issued a statement protesting the U.S. decision to expel First Secretary Hramyka. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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