NEWSBRIEFS (11/21/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma's victory: diffusing red threat

KYIV - In campaigning for the run-offs, the presidential campaign team planned for a showdown between the "reformer" Leonid Kuchma and the "red revenge" of orthodox Communist Petro Symonenko. The scenario of the "red threat" was successfully employed in Russia to get Boris Yeltsin re-elected president in June 1996, and this plan worked its magic in Ukraine as well. Not even the backing of six former candidates - Oleksander Moroz, Oleksander Tkachenko, Mykola Haber, Yurii Karmazin and Volodymyr Oliinyk - or the over-age-65-dominated electorate could get Mr. Symonenko elected. The only real threat to Mr. Kuchma's victory was a low voter turnout. Those who were not keen on either candidate stayed home. To preclude this, sports stars and celebrities appeared on television encouraging the public to vote. On run-off day loudspeakers were set up all over the capital near markets and kiosks with messages urging the public to exercise its constitutional right to vote. The incumbent's team ensured a high level of turnout by conducting a massive anti-Communist propaganda campaign. Among the devices used: in Kyiv thousands of young people demonstrated in support of Mr. Kuchma by smashing a symbolic "Berlin Wall" made of foam rubber to demonstrate their antipathy to the return of communism. (Eastern Economist, The New York Times)

Kuchma supporters seek single party

KYIV - The coalition of parties that supported President Leonid Kuchma's re-election have expressed support for the idea of forming a single centrist political party before the 2002 by-elections, the coalition's coordinator, Yevhen Kushnariov, told journalists on November 15. According to Dmytro Tabachnyk, deputy head of the Kuchma campaign staff, the number of rightist and centrist deputies in Ukraine's Verkhovna Rada is sufficient to form a coalition that will counterbalance the leftists. In his opinion, the results of the presidential elections will push the non-aligned deputies to join the coalition. As reiterated by Ivan Kuras, head of Mr. Kuchma's campaign staff, the incumbent has already held consultations with a number of political parties on a new prime minister and members of the future Cabinet. Mr. Kuras did not rule out the possibility that President Kuchma will offer some of the well-known politicians and ministers the option of retaining their posts or taking new posts in the Cabinet. In accordance with the Constitution of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers must resign after the presidential elections. (Eastern Economist)

Court rejects election complaints

KYIV - The Supreme Court on November 13 rejected complaints by presidential candidates Oleksander Moroz and Yurii Karmazin of violations in the first round of presidential elections on October 31. According to Interfax, the court refused to view the complaints on the grounds that "in accordance with the legislation in force, [they] are not subject to consideration by courts." Ukraine's presidential election law does not provide for the courts to declare a presidential election invalid. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka: Ukraine may join union

MIENSK - President Alyaksandr Lukashenka told journalists in the Belarusian capital on November 9 that Ukraine may join the Russia-Belarusian union "within a year" if the union "is realized and begins to develop dynamically." Mr. Lukashenka added that Kazakstan and Uzbekistan also are "looking closely" at developments in the union. Meanwhile, President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine said in the November 10 issue of Izvestiia that the "Slavic union is nothing more than a political trick, an abstract theoretical construction that has no real basis or historical prospects." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Union treaty to be signed November 26?

MIENSK - Mikhail Myasnikovich, head of the Belarusian presidential staff, told Interfax on November 15 that the signing of a treaty establishing the union state of Belarus and Russia will take place in the Kremlin at noon on November 26. According to Mr. Myasnikovich, the signing ceremony will be preceded by a face-to-face meeting between Presidents Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus and Boris Yeltsin of Russia, and will be followed by a session of the Higher Council of the Belarusian-Russian Union. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hryvnia moves outside trading band

KYIV - The hryvnia on November 10 moved outside the government-set exchange corridor of 3.4-4.6 hrv to $1 (U.S.), the Associated Press reported. The National Bank set its exchange rate at 4.613 hrv to $1. On the interbank currency exchange, which is seen by experts as a more accurate indicator of the currency's real value, about 5 hrv were offered for $1. Minister of the Economy Vasyl Rohovyi said the previous day that the hryvnia will return to the official exchange band if Leonid Kuchma wins the presidential elections. A victory by Petro Symonenko, he said, would "significantly destabilize the situation on the currency market." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hryvnia rises after Kuchma victory

KYIV - The Ukrainian currency rose against the U.S. dollar on November 15, following President Leonid Kuchma's triumph in the runoff. Kyiv street traders offered to buy $1 for 4.9 hrv, down from 5.05 last week. On the interbank currency exchange, $1 was selling at 4.83- 4.86 hrv on November 15, and traders expect the hryvnia to stabilize at 4.7 to $1 in two to three days, according to Interfax. "Many so-called presidential candidates have forecast that the national currency will fall after the elections. They should not rejoice. The hryvnia will be stable," President Kuchma said the same day. National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Viktor Yuschenko also affirmed that the hryvnia will stabilize, since "the political factor in pressure on the hryvnia exchange [rate] exhausted itself" on the day of the presidential runoff. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma suggests debt rescheduling

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said on November 15 that Ukraine needs to reschedule foreign debt payments. Kyiv will soon begin negotiations on this issue, he added. As of October 1, Ukraine's foreign debt stood at $12.9 billion, and the country is due to pay some $3 billion each year in 2000 and 2001. Mr. Kuchma also told journalists that he does not see any barriers to cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, including the resumption of the IMF's $2.6 billion loan program for Ukraine. He pledged to accelerate market reforms in the country, saying that by re-electing him, Ukrainians have chosen "a democratic way to build their country based on a market economy," according to Interfax. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Symonenko warns of economic woes

KYIV - Petro Symonenko, leader of the Communist Party and President Leonid Kuchma's rival in the presidential runoff, said on November 15 that the government will soon stop paying wages and pensions, prices will increase, and the hryvnia exchange rate will decline still further. "This will be one of the results of Kuchma's victory in the presidential polls," Mr. Symonenko said. He added that Ukraine "will [begin to] catastrophically lose its economic independence," and he blamed the centrist forces that "unambiguously" supported Mr. Kuchma in the runoff for that possible outcome. Mr. Symonenko noted that official reports on industrial growth in Ukraine this year are a "myth," noting that the World Bank forecast a 4 percent slump in Ukraine's 1999 industrial production. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Wage debts fall in August-September

KYIV - In the two-month period of August-September, wage debts fell by 411 million hrv or 5.8 percent and amounted to 6.78 billion hrv, according to Social Policy Minister Ivan Sakhan. The number of workers who receive their wages on time dropped by 1 million persons. The most positive changes took place in state- and budget-subsidized companies, where wage debts have dropped by 390 million hrv and 310 million hrv, respectively, since the beginning of the year. (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma to demand $150B from Russia?

KHMELNYTSKYI - Speaking to journalists in Khmelnytskyi on October 20, President Leonid Kuchma said Ukraine intends to discuss with Russia the return of the money transferred from Ukraine's national bank to Russia shortly before the break-up of the USSR. Earlier, Mr. Kuchma had said that in 1991 some 84 billion rubles ($150 billion at the official exchange rate of that time) were transferred from Ukraine to Russia. The president argued that Ukraine has the right to a part of "what was accumulated and produced" during the Soviet era, according to Interfax. He added that it is difficult for him to say whether Ukraine will succeed in holding such talks since they depend on "the good will of both sides." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine reports slower rate of decline

KYIV - The State Statistics Committee on October 14 reported that Ukraine's GDP shrank 1.7 percent in January-September of this year, as compared with the same period last year. The country's GDP fell 2.9 percent in the first eight months of 1999, but in September it was up 4.6 percent, compared with September 1998. (RFE/RL Newsline)

National status given to universities

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma issued a decree granting national status to the Lviv and Kharkiv state universities, thus recognizing their contribution in training experts and developing sciences. They are now called the Lviv Ivan Franko National State University and Kharkiv Vasyl Karazin National State University. (Eastern Economist)

Accounting Chamber, U.S. sign deal

KYIV - The Accounting Chamber of Ukraine and the U.S. Treasury Department's Technical Assistance Office have signed a cooperation agreement during a seminar that covered organizing a system for monitoring the use of budget resources allocated for sustaining state administration bodies. Accounting Chamber experts hope that cooperation with competent U.S. professionals will foster the development of a modern methodological base for financial and economic monitoring, strengthen its effectiveness and assist in implementing next year's state budget. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine to pay debt with bombers

KYIV - Defense Minister Oleksander Kuzmuk and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeev, have signed a schedule for delivering 11 Ukrainian strategic bombers to Russia as part of Ukrainian payments for energy debts, the Associated Press reported on October 13. Ukraine will send eight TU-160 and three TU-95MS aircraft to Russia. Ukraine's First Vice Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh said the deal will allow Ukraine to cut its energy debts to Russia by $275 million by the end of this year. He did not specify the price of each bomber. On November 3 it was reported that the first two of the bombers were prepared to fly to a Russian airbase in the city of Engels. Together with the planes, Ukraine will transfer spare parts and servicing equipment for the planes. Servicing these planes costs Ukraine $1.5 million (U.S.) for each unit. (RFE/RL Newsline, Eastern Economist)

Ukraine to open new embassies

KYIV - Ukraine will open new embassies in Austria, Algeria, Libya, Syria and Nigeria by the end of the year, said Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk on October 15. In the past five years Ukraine opened embassies in Japan, Croatia, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Spain and Kazakstan. (Eastern Economist)

Kyiv and Rome sign agreement

KYIV - The mayors of Kyiv and Rome on November 2 signed an agreement on friendship and cooperation. The agreement will bolster the exchange of cultural, scientific and economic programs between the cities. This is the 42nd agreement that Kyiv has signed with capital cities of other countries, said Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko. He added that after economic stabilization in the last four years, Kyiv has enhanced its attractiveness to investment. Mr. Omelchenko said the city budget for 2000 allocates 20 million for the support of small and medium-size businesses. The first stage of the implementation of the signed agreement will be a project in the communications sector, according to Mr. Omelchenko. Mayor Francesco Rutilli of Rome stated that his city's budget is $6 billion (U.S.), which amounts to $2,000 (U.S.) for each resident of Rome, while Kyiv's budget is 1.4 billion hrv or 518 hrv per Kyiv resident. (Eastern Economist)

Private farming on the rise

KYIV - "Individual farming in Ukraine is a growing force," said the head of the public relations department of the Association of Farmers, Mykhailo Dankevych. Currently there are 36,000 individual farming enterprises in Ukraine, 22,000 of which are members of the association, said Mr. Dankevych. Farmers in Ukraine own 1.5 million hectares of land, producing between 5 and 7 percent of crops and 1.5 percent of livestock. (Eastern Economist)

| Home Page |