NEWSBRIEFS (05/02/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Ukraine marks Chornobyl anniversary

KYIV - "Despite all difficulties, the state is trying to pursue every opportunity to help and support those [affected] by Chornobyl," UNIAN quoted President Leonid Kuchma as saying at an April 26 ceremony to open a new wing of the Center for Radiation Medicine. The same day, some 1,000 people laid wreaths at the Kyiv memorial to those who died after taking part in the Chornobyl clean-up. According to a Health Ministry report, a total of 4,365 people of those involved in the clean-up have died since the 1986 accident. The same report says 167,653 Ukrainians have died as a result of diseases either directly caused or exacerbated by the accident. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Communist deputies walk out in protest

KYIV - Communist lawmakers walked out of the Verkhovna Rada on April 22 to protest its failure to override President Leonid Kuchma's veto on two bills increasing subsidies for the elderly, the Associated Press reported. Communist Party Chairman Petro Symonenko said his 122-strong caucus will refuse to vote on any other legislation until other lawmakers join them in overriding the veto. In rejecting the bills, Mr. Kuchma argued that the cash-strapped government does not have enough revenues to increase social payments. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Solana on Kuchma plan for Kosovo

WASHINGTON - NATO Secretary-General Javier Solana gave a "polite brush-off" to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's plan to settle the Kosovo crisis, Reuters reported on April 24. At a news conference in Washington, Mr. Solana hailed Ukraine's "tireless diplomatic efforts" to resolve the crisis, but made it clear that Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic will have to agree to NATO's five-point plan for ending the conflict. Mr. Solana said Russian and Ukrainian troops will be welcome to join a future peacekeeping "robust force" in Kosovo, but he stressed that NATO troops should be at that force's core. President Kuchma told the news conference that Ukraine's peace efforts are not a "solo performance" and expressed his satisfaction that they are "understood and appreciated by NATO leaders." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada passes anti-NATO resolution

KYIV - Following several failures, the Verkhovna Rada on April 23 passed a resolution seeking to limit the country's cooperation with NATO, the Associated Press reported. The document condemned NATO's bombing in Yugoslavia as "unjustified and inhumane" and called on President Leonid Kuchma to submit Ukraine's cooperation programs with NATO to the Parliament for approval. It added that Ukraine should immediately stop dismantling strategic bombers and nuclear missile silos. Heorhii Kriuchkov, head of the parliamentary Defense Committee, told Reuters that the adopted bill should "free our foreign policy from its one-sided pro-NATO orientation." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka praises Ukraine Communists

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has hailed the Ukrainian Parliament's resolution condemning the NATO air strikes against Yugoslavia and urging the government to restrict cooperation with the alliance, Belarusian Television reported on April 26. At the same time, Mr. Lukashenka expressed his regret that President Leonid Kuchma had participated in the NATO Summit in Washington. Mr. Lukashenka made these comments to a visiting Verkhovna Rada delegation led by Communist leader Petro Symonenko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tarasyuk visits South America

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk on April 26 began an official tour of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, UNIAN reported. On arriving in Caracas, Mr. Tarasyuk said that Latin America is not "terra incognita" for Ukrainian foreign policy. He argued that the region is an important market for Ukrainian products and that Ukraine should actively develop contacts with Latin American countries. The minister is accompanied by a group of Ukrainian businessmen. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma slams Rada for blocking reform

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on April 21 accused the Verkhovna Rada of blocking reform and turning itself into a leftist rostrum for the presidential election campaign, Reuters reported. "Our system of power is absolutely paralyzed," he was quoted as saying. "The Parliament no longer fulfills its main, law-making function and is preoccupied with political bickering." Communist lawmakers have threatened to boycott the session and paralyze the legislature unless it overrides presidential vetoes on a law providing one-time subsidies to war veterans and another on raising the minimum pension from the current 16.6 hryvni ($4.20) to 55 hryvni. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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