NEWSBRIEFS (09/10/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

Journalists protest costly libel rulings

KYIV - Ukrainian journalists have launched a protest campaign against what they see as media harassment in the form of very high libel settlements, Interfax and the Associated Press reported on September 5. Courts have been flooded by libel claims from officials, private citizens and organizations seeking huge settlements that journalists say are often used as political tools to silence criticism. Journalists are planning to travel in horse-drawn carts across Ukrainian regions and build a "Freedom Town" in front of the parliamentary building in Kyiv within the framework of their protest campaign. The Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Freedom of Speech has proposed a bill that would limit libel settlements to 2,550 hrv ($468). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Memorial to Stalin victims opened in Tver

TVER, Russia - Poles and Russians gathered in Tver on September 2 to open the state memorial complex at Mednoye commemorating the 6,313 Poles and more than 9,000 Russians who were killed by Stalinist officials, ITAR-TASS reported. Russian Internal Affairs Minister Vladimir Rushailo said the opening of the memorial marks the beginning of a new stage in relations between the two countries, and State Duma Deputy Chairman Vladimir Lukin said the memorial will have a "salutary" effect on ties because "the immortalization of the perished Polish servicemen completes a heavy and tragic process of disclosing the truth." Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek, who attended the opening ceremony, commented that the murders revealed "the tragedy and devilry of communism [which] tear the man from his beliefs and faith, from his consciousness which tells everyone what's good and what's bad." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tatarstan to drop Cyrillic alphabet

KAZAN, Tatarstan - Schools in Tatarstan will now use the Latin script, rather than the Cyrillic one, for written work in the national language, a local official told the Associated Press on September 1. That step is part of a 10-year program to end the use of a Russian-related alphabet and replace it with one that more adequately reflects the sound patterns of Tatar. Moreover, the local official added, the new script will make European culture more accessible to the students. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Turkey offer to help Central Asia

KYIV - Kyiv is ready to cooperate with Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian states in the struggle against "international terrorism and extremism," ITAR-TASS reported on September 1, citing a Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry statement. The statement expressed concern at the "escalation of tensions" in Central Asia and at "efforts by international terrorists aimed against the territorial integrity of regional states." Ankara has also offered Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan "financial and psychological assistance" in the battle with Islamic extremists, Caucasus Press reported on September 2, quoting Turkish Foreign Minister Ismail Cem. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Charges could hit Ukraine's vice PM

KYIV - Deputy Procurator General Mykola Obikhod told journalists on September 1 that in 1996-1997 Ukraine's Unified Energy Systems (UES) illegally channeled abroad more than $1.1 billion, including $100 million to accounts of former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, Interfax reported. At the time of the alleged transfers, the UES was headed by Yulia Tymoshenko, who is now vice prime minister in charge of the energy sector. Ms. Tymoshenko's party, Fatherland (Batkivschyna), said the same day that the charges against the UES leadership are "senseless, absurd and ridiculous" and are intended to discredit the current government. Last month, the Procurator General's Office opened a criminal case on embezzlement charges against Ms. Tymoshenko's husband, Oleksander, a member of the UES board of directors, and Valerii Falkovych, the UES's deputy director. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia criticized for quitting travel accord

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told journalists on September 1 that Russia's decision to back out of the 1992 Bishkek treaty on visa-free travel within the CIS will undermine prospects for creating a CIS free-trade zone, Interfax reported. According to Mr. Kuchma, such a zone means "free movement of capital, goods and people." Mr. Kuchma commented: "If this is not the case, the idea of a free-trade zone is laid to rest. The question arises - who needs the CIS in such circumstances?" Russia's decision will not affect Kyiv directly, since Ukraine, like Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, has a separate agreement with Russia allowing visa-free travel. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma urges athletes to remain in top 10

KYIV - Bidding farewell to Ukraine's Olympic team on September 2, President Leonid Kuchma said "it would be a serious disappointment [for Ukraine] not to join the club of 10 best teams again," the Associated Press reported. Ukraine has sent a 390-member delegation to Sydney, including 239 athletes. The Ukrainian government decided that the gold medalists at this year's games will be given a prize of up to $50,000, silver medalists up to $30,000 and bronze medalists up to $20,000 each. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine may lease pipelines for $1.8 B

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Vice-Chairman Stepan Havrysh on September 4 said the Ukrainian government is "viewing the possibility" of leasing the country's gas pipeline network to a Russian-Ukrainian joint venture for $1.8 billion over 25 years, Interfax reported. According to Mr. Havrysh, Ukraine's pipeline system is worth $20 billion. He noted that according to the current bill on oil and gas, which is to be amended in the Parliament in the upcoming session, "such a transfer of gas pipelines on unfavorable conditions for Ukraine is impossible." In Mr. Havrysh's opinion, Ukraine's pipeline system might be privatized. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President urges Rada to address tax debts

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has sent a letter to the Parliament urging national deputies to speed up the adoption of bills intended to regulate debts to the state budget and state funds, Interfax reported on September 4. Mr. Kuchma noted that 128,000 enterprises owe 15 billion hrv ($2.75 billion) in unpaid taxes and other obligations, including 9.9 billion hrv in fines for overdue payments. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia notes anniversary of N detonation

MOSCOW - On the 51st anniversary of the Soviet Union's detonation of a nuclear device at Semipalatinsk, Academician Viktor Mikhail, the director of the Academy of Sciences Institute of Strategic Stability, said in an article in Voennyi Parad that nuclear weapons will remain a reliable instrument of ensuring global security into the future, ITAR-TASS reported on August 29. "We increasingly clearly see military-political functions of nuclear weapons of the great nuclear powers as non-combat but 'political weapons,' " he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Korchynskyi: Kursk destroyed by sabotage

KYIV - In a comment posted on the Internet (http://part.org.ua), Dmytro Korchynskyi, the head of the Ukrainian Political Association Brotherhood and previously a leader of the Ukrainian National Assembly/Ukrainian National Self-Defense (UNA/UNSO), has said the Kursk submarine was destroyed by an act of Chechen sabotage. Mr. Korchynskyi said two explosive devices equivalent to 800 grams of TNT were planted in the submarine during repair work carried out on the vessel. According to Mr. Korchynskyi, "people close to [Chechen field commander] Ruslan Gelaev" were responsible for the act of sabotage. He commented that the Chechens paid only $6,000 to a member of the repair team to plant the explosive devices in the submarine. Mr. Korchynskyi said Russia's Federal Security Service was informed about a possible act of sabotage in Severomorsk two weeks before the Kursk tragedy but ignored the warning since the informer was from the entourage of Chechen interim administration head Akhmed Kadyrov, who, according to Mr. Korchynskyi, is not trusted by Russian military leaders. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma urges Cabinet to seek IMF credits

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told journalists on August 30 that Viktor Yuschenko's Cabinet must prompt the International Monetary Fund to resume its $2.6 billion loan program to Ukraine, Interfax reported. While saying that he realizes the IMF might have suspended its loan program because the former Cabinet of Valerii Pustovoitenko was "non-reformist," Mr. Kuchma added, "but today the West recognizes [Prime Minister Yuschenko's] Cabinet as reformist, so why do they refuse to give credits to [someone with such a good name]?" He noted that he currently does not intend "to make conclusions regarding Yuschenko's government" but promised that they will not be long in coming. "An IMF mission arrives soon, and after a meeting with them I will understand what demands they are making," President Kuchma added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine declares ecological disaster zone

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on August 31 declared five villages in Mykolayiv Oblast - Boleslavchyk, Chausove-1, Chausove-2, Michurino and Pidhiria - an ecological disaster zone, following a mysterious mass poisoning in July, Interfax reported. Health officials are now checking some 6,000 residents of villages around the disaster zone for symptoms of the poisoning. Ukraine intends to appeal to the World Health Organization and foreign governments to help it deal with the emergency situation. The government, meanwhile, seems split over the reason for the poisoning: some officials attribute it to a high concentration of nitrates in the soil, while others point to liquid rocket fuel waste possibly buried in the disaster area. President Kuchma has asked Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide information about the possible burial of military equipment and toxic substances in Ukraine in 1991. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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