NEWSBRIEFS (03/01/98)

NEWSBRIEFS

OSCE says Ukraine curtails press

KYIV - The head of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe delegation in Kyiv on February 23 accused the Ukrainian government of violating press freedom. Kare Vollan, who leads an OSCE team of election observers in Ukraine, said "the forced closure of one newspaper and the potential imposition of an extraordinarily severe payment on a second are highly disturbing." Mr. Vollan was referring to the shutdown of Pravda Ukrainy over an alleged registration irregularity and the levying of a 3.5 million hrv ($1.84 million U.S.) fine against Vseukrainskiye Viedomosti for an erroneous report about a soccer player's transfer. Both newspapers support opposition candidate Pavlo Lazarenko and his Hromada Party. (RFE/RL Newsline, Eastern Economist)

GDP declines in Ukraine

KYIV - The State Statistics Committee reported on February 20 that the gross domestic product fell 0.8 percent and that inflation was 1.3 percent in January. The Ukrainian government has predicted a rise in GDP in 1998 after several years of decreases. The monthly drop was blamed on a devastating 11.7 percent decrease in industrial production in January. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Georgian Parliament chairman visits Kyiv

KYIV - The chairman of Georgia's Parliament, Zurab Zhvania, held talks in Kyiv on February 13-14 with his Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksander Moroz, and with Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko. Mr. Moroz affirmed Ukraine's support for Georgia's application for membership in the Council of Europe and promised that Ukrainian lawmakers will soon debate Georgia's request that Kyiv provide a peacekeeping unit to serve on the border between Abkhazia and the rest of Georgia, Caucasus Press reported. Mr. Pustovoitenko said Ukraine is interested in drawing up a long-term program of economic cooperation that would increase bilateral trade. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma cites criminal elite's influence

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said an "economic criminal elite" is attempting to gain influence in the country by financially backing various political parties, Agence France-Presse reported on February 16. Mr. Kuchma, who was addressing an anti-corruption panel in Kyiv, warned that Ukraine is threatened "by the transformation of some political parties into criminal organizations." He blamed the previous government of Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko for the "criminal elite" that he claims is infiltrating energy companies. Mr. Lazarenko, sacked last summer, is the leader of the opposition Hromada Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Border guards detain illegal aliens

KYIV - Nearly 100 illegal immigrants from Sri Lanka were found in a forest in Ukraine on February 18 trying to cross the border into Poland, PAP reported. One Pole was arrested with the group on suspicion of trafficking refugees. Ukrainian border guards said the illegal aliens were attempting to make their way to Germany. Poland's reputation as a transit country for refugees trying to get to the West is a major concern of European Union officials and a main reason for the introduction early this year of stricter visa regulations on Poland's eastern border. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian, Uzbek presidents sign treaty

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma and his visiting counterpart, Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, signed a friendship and cooperation treaty and several economic agreements on February 19. Mr. Karimov said the friendship treaty is a "foundation for our future relations with Ukraine" and proclaimed Ukraine to be Tashkent's "most reliable and most-needed partner." Economic agreements focused on building transportation corridors for Uzbek gas and oil. In an effort to reduce dependence on Russian sources of energy, Ukraine has agreed to import 1 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Uzbekistan. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv protesters demand unpaid wages

KYIV - Some 6,000 miners, teachers and pensioners gathered in Kyiv to protest months of wage arrears, Reuters reported on February 19. Oleksander Stoyan, spokesman for the Organization of All-Ukrainian Unions, which organized the protest, called for the government to use money raised the previous week in a Eurobond issue to address the arrears situation. The government made some $412 million (U.S.) in that issue. The state is reported to be about 5.2 billion hrv ($2.65 billion U.S.) in arrears on wages. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Carpathian tourism to be developed

IVANO-FRANKIVSK - The Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Administration has prepared a package of documents on the creation of a tourist and recreation zone to be called the Yaremche free economic zone. It hopes the zone will help attract investment needed to develop the tourist and leisure business in the Carpathian Mountains. The draft includes many tax privileges, including the reduction of the value-added tax by 50 percent. There are resort areas in the Carpathians, all of which need renovation to bring their facilities up to European standards. Another project envisages the creation of a national winter sports center in the village of Vorokhta. (Eastern Economist)

Crimean deputy PM injured by bomb

SYMFEROPOL - Oleksander Safontsev, the first vice prime minister of Crimea, and his bodyguard were seriously injured when a bomb exploded near their car, ITAR-TASS reported on February 6. The incident occurred in Tavriia, near Symferopol, and followed a special session of the Crimean Parliament to discuss the situation in Yalta, the scene of an ongoing power struggle. Mr. Safontsev is responsible for industry, trade and energy. Crimean police on February 9 arrested a criminal group believed to have been involved in the assassination attempt on Mr. Safontsev. The news was announced by Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko on February 10. Police netted over 100 suspects following a crackdown on firms and criminal groups operating on the peninsula. He added that a major re-shuffle in Yalta militia force was to be discussed by his ministry. Among other likely measures, this is likely to involve the drafting of experienced police officers from other areas of Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline, Eastern Economist)

Turkish premier in Kyiv, Crimea

KYIV - Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz and his Ukrainian counterpart, Valerii Pustovoitenko, met in Kyiv on February 12 and signed three accords, including one on the Black Sea, Agence France-Presse reported. Mr. Pustovoitenko noted that Turkey is an "influential partner" in the region. The Black Sea agreement is aimed at preventing conflicts between Turkish fishermen and the Ukrainian coast guard, such as the one last month in which two people drowned. Mr. Yilmaz, who was to visit a Crimean Tatar village during his trip, said the Tatars are a "cultural bridge" between the two countries. He expressed satisfaction with Kyiv's efforts in protecting the rights of the Tatars. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada ends freeze on privatization

KYIV - Lawmakers have approved a privatization program ending a legislative ban on the sale of state assets, Agence France-Presse reported on February 13. The program, submitted by President Leonid Kuchma, allows for the privatization of the energy and telecommunications sectors, but would not permit the sale of farm land. Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko said he expects privatization to add about 1 billion hrv ($521 million U.S.) to state coffers this year. The Verkhovna Rada put a freeze on the privatization process in November 1997 after several reports of inefficiency and corruption. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kravchuk set to run as member of SDP

KYIV - Ex-President Leonid Kravchuk declared his membership in the Social Democratic Party on February 4. Commenting on the closure of the newspaper Pravda Ukrainy and recent events in Crimea, Mr. Kravchuk called these actions unconstitutional and said he will actively support the rule of law in Ukraine. The party hopes to hold 10 percent of seats after the parliamentary elections. (Eastern Economist)