NEWSBRIEFS (04/16/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

Rada leaders uncertain about referendum

KYIV - First Vice-Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Viktor Medvedchuk told Interfax on April 10 that the Parliament is obliged to consider only the implementation of the question about the introduction of a bicameral parliament if it is approved in the referendum. He said consideration of any of the other three questions would constitute a "usurpation of power" on the part of the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Medvedchuk said the right to change the constitutional system belongs exclusively to the people, adding that the Parliament should not "duplicate" referendum decisions. Meanwhile, Vice-Chairman Stepan Havrysh said the same day that the Parliament may once again ask the Constitutional Court to provide legal "explanations" following the referendum. He added that the court's March 29 ruling is not clear-cut and cannot be dealt with "absolutely unambiguously." The court ruled that referendum results should be binding on state bodies. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Official warns of constitutional crisis

KYIV - Roman Bezsmertnyi, permanent presidential representative in the Parliament, told Interfax on April 10 that Ukraine may face a "constitutional crisis" following the April 16 referendum. According to Mr. Bezsmertnyi, there are two conflicting positions in Ukraine: that of the Constitutional Court, which says the referendum results should be binding, and another maintaining that the Parliament should decide on whether to introduce the constitutional amendments approved in the referendum. Asked what might happen if the Verkhovna Rada does not comply with the referendum results, Mr. Bezsmertnyi noted that "this is exactly what I call a constitutional crisis, in which virtually no resolution exists." (RFE/RL Newsline)

... as does World Bank director

KYIV - Luca Barbone, the World Bank's director for Ukraine and Belarus, said in Kyiv on April 5 that the bank will change its strategy in Ukraine and demand reform before granting loans. "We strongly support the efforts of [Prime Minister] Yuschenko's government in many areas, but our level of financial support will depend on the successful implementation of the government program," the Eastern Economist Daily quoted Mr. Barbone as saying. Mr. Barbone noted that the bank will look for signs of the program's success in improvements of the population's living standards and the development of business activities. Part of the World Bank's new strategy will be to increase its presence in education, health, and social assistance. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rallies protest, support referendum

ODESA - More than 1,000 demonstrators in Odesa on April 8 protested the constitutional referendum, the Associated Press reported. The demonstrators issued an appeal to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, claiming that President Leonid Kuchma is seeking to create a totalitarian state through the referendum. Meanwhile, the same day more than 3,000 members of the pro-presidential Zlahoda association held a rally in Sevastopol in support of the referendum, Interfax reported. The rally appealed to Sevastopol residents to take part in the plebiscite and say "yes" to all four referendum questions. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court chief says referendum is 'obligatory'

KYIV - The chief judge of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Viktor Skomorokha, said on April 7 that the results of the national referendum will not be "consultative" but "obligatory," Interfax reported. Judge Skomorokha added, however, that possible constitutional amendments should be introduced by the Parliament, as stipulated by the Constitution of Ukraine. He declined to speculate what would happen if the Parliament refused to amend the Constitution of Ukraine in line with the referendum. "I am not a clairvoyant, I do not want or have the right to speak beforehand," Judge Skomorokha noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM pledges to pay pension arrears

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko pledged on April 11 that the government will repay all overdue pensions within "five to seven months," Interfax reported. Mr. Yuschenko said pension arrears are "the greatest disgrace for the authorities," adding that the debt has now reached some 1.2 billion hrv ($220 million U.S.). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine issues domestic T-bills

KYIV - The Ukrainian government has approved the issue of 5.17 billion hrv ($954 million U.S.) worth of domestic treasury bills, Interfax and UNIAN reported on April 11. The issue is the main source of state budget revenues in 2000, which are expected to be used to reduce foreign loans and help implement the zero-deficit budget. The face value of one T-bill is 100 hrv. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Russia agree on gas debt

KYIV - The head of Ukraine's Naftohaz monopoly, Ihor Dydenko, on April 11 said Kyiv and Moscow have officially agreed that Naftohaz's debt to Gazprom for gas deliveries amounted to $1.38 billion as of April 1, Interfax reported. Mr. Dydenko added that this sum does not include the "disputed" fine of $60 million to $80 million for Ukraine's failure to pay for Russian gas in 1998. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PACE moves to suspend Russia

STRASBOURG, France - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on April 6 voted to suspend Russia's membership in the council if Moscow does not halt human rights violations in Chechnya. Reuters quoted the text of the passed motion as saying that suspension procedures against Russia should be started if "substantial, accelerating and demonstrable progress" is not made "immediately." Council of Europe foreign ministers are due to meet on May 10 to debate Russia's suspension, according to the Associated Press. Also on April 6, PACE voted to suspend the voting rights of Russia's 18-member delegation. That move prompted the Russian delegation to walk out of the assembly, while one Russian delegate reportedly exchanged blows with a Chechen representative. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rights chief warns of new 'iron curtain'

MOSCOW - Russian Human Rights Commissioner Oleg Mironov told Ekho Moskvy on April 6 that he regards the move by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to suspend Russia as an "improper" approach "because it will create a new 'iron curtain' between Russia and Europe." He added, "The [Chechen] guerrillas are acting in an unconstitutional and illegal manner. The Russian troops are acting within the framework of the [federal] Constitution and the law." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Communists, nationalists remain defiant

MOSCOW - State Duma Chairman Gennadii Seleznev, a leading member of the Communist Party, responded to the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe by saying that Russia will manage without the "European masters," Interfax reported. The assembly, he said, is making a "historic mistake" that amounts to an act of revenge on an "economically weakened Russia." Communist leader Gennadii Zyuganov called the decision "hypocritical and unfair" and said he is sure Russia will not "sit around in Strasbourg and listen to all those reprimands." Liberal Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovskii, meanwhile, was quoted by Reuters as saying before the vote that Russia should pull out of the council before suspension procedures begin. "I know the real situation [in Chechnya]," he said, "and think that Russia needs to be more cruel [there]." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ivanov says Russia is 'bewildered'

MOSCOW - Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Ivanov said on April 7 that Moscow is "bewildered by and deeply regrets" the decision of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to move toward suspending Russia. The assembly was "misled by members who still think in terms of the Cold War," Interfax quoted him as saying. Mr. Ivanov was speaking at the start of a meeting in Moscow with Portugal's Foreign Affairs Minister Jaime Gama, whose country holds the European Union's rotating presidency, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana. The previous day, Mr. Gama had said that Russia should view PACE's decision as a "warning message." He added that he hopes Russia will respond to that decision in "a positive manner." (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU urges probe of Chechnya killings

GENEVA - The European Union on April 11 submitted a resolution to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights calling on Russia to investigate reports of mass killings and other alleged violations by Russian troops in Chechnya, Reuters reported. Portugal's ambassador to the United Nations, Alvaro Mendonca e Moura, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the EU, urged Moscow to set up an "independent, wide-ranging and national commission of inquiry." Canada co-sponsored the motion, while Reuters quoted a U.S. State Department official in Geneva as saying that the United States is considering whether to back it. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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