NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma proclaims "unity" holiday

KYIV - Celebrations of the 80th anniversary of the unification of the Western Ukrainian National Republic and the Ukrainian National Republic were held at the National Opera on January 22. According to the presidential decree read by presidential administration head Mykola Bilobodskyi, the Day of Unification of Ukraine will be celebrated annually on January 22. Vice Prime Minister Valerii Smolii stated: "A divided and scattered nation cannot be productive; therefore, it is essential to overcome spiritual, religious and ethnic divisions." (Eastern Economist)

Three states to create peacekeeping force

BAKU - Meeting in Baku on January 21-22, the defense ministers of Georgia, Azerbaijan and Ukraine discussed the creation of a joint peacekeeping force that, according to an Azerbaijani Defense Ministry spokesman, could be deployed to guard the proposed oil export pipeline from Azerbaijan through Georgia, Reuters reported. Georgian Defense Minister Davit Tevzadze had proposed such a force last month. The three ministers also signed a joint communiqué on coordinating their relations with NATO and the United Nations and on holding joint maneuvers. The defense minister of Moldova, the fourth country in the GUAM alignment, had been scheduled to attend the meeting; no explanation was offered for his failure to do so. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine to default on foreign debt?

KYIV - Ukraine may default on its foreign debt payments in 1999 unless foreign donors resume their aid to the country, the Associated Press quoted the Foreign Affairs Ministry as saying in a statement on January 22. According to that statement, Ukraine must pay $1.17 billion (U.S.) to foreign creditors in 1999, but the government is asking for new loans because it will not be able to raise the money on its own. In addition, the National Bank, which has $1 billion in reserves, owes the International Monetary Fund $700 million in loan payments. Ukrainian Television reported the next day that last year Ukraine's foreign debt increased by $2 billion to $11.5 billion, which is equal to 40 percent of the country's gross domestic product or 70 percent of its annual exports. According to the Finance Ministry, Ukraine needs $2.2 billion in foreign loans this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Prosecutor denies dropping 19 charges

GENEVA - Swiss prosecutor Laurent Kasper Ansermet on January 21 dismissed claims made by Hromada Chairman Pavlo Lazarenko in December that 19 of 21 charges brought against him had since been dropped by Swiss officials. He said this was the first he'd heard of these 21 charges, explaining that he was aware only of a single charge, that of money laundering, and that the investigation into this charge is continuing. Mr. Ansermet said he hoped to continue his questioning of Mr. Lazarenko at the beginning of February, but added , "I don't know what I shall do if Mr. Lazarenko avoids the meeting. First, I'll see if he refuses or complies." (Eastern Economist)

Hromada endorses Lazarenko

KYIV - After he announced to Hromada Party members that charges of corruption against him are politically motivated, Hromada Chairman and National Deputy Pavlo Lazarenko was named the party's presidential candidate. Of 261 delegates attending Hromada's meeting on January 22, 258 voted for Mr. Lazarenko, one opposed him and two abstained. Mr. Lazarenko said the government has been unable to extract the country from its economic crisis, claiming that in the last few years production has declined 52 percent, the gross domestic product has dropped 2.4 times, wage debts have hit 9 billion hrv, and the external debt has increased to $13 billion (U.S.). (Eastern Economist)

Top members of Hromada resign

KYIV - Shadow Cabinet leader Yuliia Tymoshenko and Shadow Cabinet Economy Minister Oleksander Turchynov have resigned from the Hromada Party, citing the domineering approach to party rule by leader Pavlo Lazarenko. The two, most recently held Hromada Party positions of vice-chair and first vice-chair under Mr. Lazarenko. Both Ms. Tymoshenko and Mr. Turchynov have been prominent Hromada members ever since the party's inception, with Mr. Turchynov holding the party leadership prior to Mr. Lazarenko, and with Ms. Tymoshenko, one of the rising stars of Ukrainian politics, often acting as the party spokesperson. Mr. Lazarenko responded by calling their actions "destructive." The resignations will almost certainly have a damaging effect on the Hromada Party, already reeling after ex-Premier Lazarenko's arrest in Switzerland on a money laundering charge. It is not yet clear exactly what caused the resignations, but there were signs of trouble within the party as far back as the June 1998 party congress, which Mr. Lazarenko used to attack sections of the party. He criticized a recent sharp increase in Hromada Party membership and called for a re-registration of members to ascertain who is truly committed to the cause, implying that many were just attracted to the Hromada name. More recently Mr. Lazarenko attempted, without success, to abolish the Shadow Cabinet. The Hromada Party has long been the most vocal opposition force in Ukraine, campaigning against the Kuchma administration. Its Shadow Cabinet, the first in Ukraine, was formed in November 1997, with Ms. Tymoshenko justifying the move by saying, "Political opposition is one of the most important components of a democratic society." During the March 1998 parliamentary elections, Hromada received 4.68 percent of the vote and won 16 seats in the Verkhovna Rada. (Eastern Economist)

Patriotic Party registered in Ukraine

KYIV - The head of the newly created Patriotic Party of Ukraine, Mykola Haber, declared on January 20 that the party intends to target serving military men and those who have been transferred to the reserve. He said the party, which was registered with the Justice Ministry on December 31, 1998, to become the 65th party to be registered in Ukraine, claims support in 19 oblast centers. Mr. Haber also said that the Patriotic Party of Ukraine is one of the few parties that acknowledged in their statute the status of "supporters," whose rights are close to those of party members. He said the party could count among its members both peasants and members of the intelligentsia, and expressed certainty that membership would soon be swelled by the arrival of celebrities. Mr. Haber said his party is ready to cooperate with all parties, but categorized it as a "centrist" party seeking to "unite people who are driven by common sense." (Eastern Economist)

Influenza reaches epidemic proportions

DONETSK - Influenza infection has crossed the epidemic threshold in the cities of Donetsk, Mariupol, Kramatorsk, Khartzysk, Volodarsk and a number of oblast regions. In the last week more than 27,000 people visited doctors - 70 percent more than the previous week. More than 400 people infected with the flu were hospitalized. Two Donetsk pharmacies on January 20 began to sell flu vaccines. The price for one vaccination is 16 hrv. (Eastern Economist)

Health insurance mandated for visitors

KYIV - The Cabinet of Ministers is to impose mandatory medical insurance for non-residents entering Ukraine for a short stay. Medical insurance may be bought by non-residents from the state-owned insurance company when applying for entry visas or when crossing Ukraine's border. The resolution is not binding for diplomats, consular officials or their family members; members of official delegations invited by the president, the government, Parliament or the Constitutional Court of Ukraine; for crews of foreign military ships; or for persons who had been granted political refugee status or are applying for such. (Eastern Economist)

Luhansk miners launch new protest

LUHANSK - Miners in Luhansk Oblast have begun a protest action over unpaid wages, Ukrainian Television reported on January 21. The protest action, according to Ukrainian Television, is not as large as those that had lasted for five months in 1998, but it involves miners from various mines in the region. Some 200 miners are picketing a coal mining company building in Antratsyt to demand wage arrears for March through August 1998. Twenty miners in Krasnodon have launched an underground strike, while eight female workers laid off by a coal mining company in Stakhanov have gone on a hunger strike. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Unemployment at 3.7 percent

KYIV - As of January 1 the State Employment Service registered 1.04 million officially unemployed in Ukraine. The official unemployment level currently stands at 3.7 percent, which is 1.4 percent greater than at the beginning of 1998. (Eastern Economist)

Miner set himself afire over wages

LUHANSK -Anatolii Konarev, 37, a miner from Luhansk, set himself afire on January 22 after the director of the local mine had refused to discuss with him his wage arrears. Mr. Konarev died in the hospital several hours later. The mine owed him 600 hrv ($175 U.S.). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's foreign minister in Tallinn

TALLINN - Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk was in the Estonian capital on January 21 to discuss bilateral relations, which he described as "good," ETA reported. In talks with Estonian officials, particular attention was paid to Kyiv's introduction of quotas on meat imports from Estonia, which ETA described as the main problem in Estonian-Ukrainian relations. Over the past three years, Estonian meat imports to Ukraine have increased fivefold. The two countries recently set up a joint committee to determine whether the 1995 free trade agreement between the two countries is being properly implemented. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Prime minister in Kazakstan

ASTANA - Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko met with his Kazak counterpart, Nurlan Balghymbayev, in Astana on January 20, after attending the inauguration of President Nursultan Nazarbaiev, RFE/RL correspondents reported the following day. The two prime ministers signed a joint communiqué on trade and economic cooperation and discussed bilateral trade prospects, including the possible participation of Kazak companies in tenders for the privatization of the Lysychansk and Kherson oil refineries and the transportation of Kazak crude to the West via Ukraine. Possible purchases by Kazakstan of Ukrainian agricultural machinery were also discussed. Mr. Pustovoitenko told journalists after the talks that his country will import up to 5 million tons of oil from Kazakstan this year, Interfax reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

10-year plan promises homes for Odesans

ODESA - Representatives of Yugsel building company jointly with the Odesa Oblast administration have worked out a program via which all who need housing will be able to buy it through a 10-year credit. The majority of the population of Odesa, particularly young couples with children, share small flats with their parents and often with other families. Such conditions are viewed as a cause of social tensions. Under the new program anyone wanting to buy a flat has to pay a certain sum of money to the company's bank account. Then construction work will begin. The Odesa administration will act as a monitor over the allocation of money by the Yugsel building company. (Eastern Economist)

Repercussions feared over death penalty

KYIV -Oleksander Martynenko, President Leonid Kuchma's spokesman, said on January 10 that Mr. Kuchma fears the Verkhovna Rada's refusal to abolish the death penalty in Ukraine will force the Council of Europe to suspend Ukraine's membership, Interfax and Reuters reported. President Kuchma had introduced a moratorium on executions in 1997. However, citing public support for the death penalty, the Parliament has rejected legislation abolishing the death penalty. Ukrainian courts sentenced 146 people to death in 1998 and 129 the previous year. Mr. Martynenko said President Kuchma thinks the suspension of Ukraine's membership in the Council of Europe would threaten "Ukraine's status as a new European, democratic state." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet trims pension, wage debts

KYIV - According to the State Statistics Committee, the Ukrainian government has slightly reduced wage and pension arrears. Overdue pensions and other social security payments amounted to 2.01 billion hrv ($587 million U.S.) on January 1, down by 207 million hrv since December 1, 1998. Wage arrears amounted to 960 million hrv, down by 37 million hrv over the same period. Last month President Leonid Kuchma had ordered the government to pay its entire debts to the population by July 1. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka: union counterweight to U.S.

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, addressing a session of the Belarusian-Russian Union Parliamentary Assembly in Miensk on January 21, said the union must become "a real counterbalance to the currently established unipolar world and a powerful engine for breaking up aggressive trans-Atlantic monopolism," Belarusian Television reported. Mr. Lukashenka warned against the U.S.'s growing influence in global politics, saying that the U.S. "has appropriated the right of substituting international organizations." He added that the strengthening of the Belarusian-Russian union offers a "historic chance for the survival of an integral Slavic civilization." The session granted Yugoslavia permanent observer status in the Belarusian- Russian legislative body. Serbian Deputy Premier Vojislav Seselj called that decision a "major event for the whole Serbian nation" and hailed President Lukashenka as "the pride of all Slavic people." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 31, 1999, No. 5, Vol. LXVII

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