NEWSBRIEFS (04/29/01)

NEWSBRIEFS

PACE to vote Ukraine out?

STRASBOURG, France - The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) was expected to vote on April 26 on a motion of its Monitoring Committee to expel Ukraine from the Council of Europe. In its recommendation to exclude Ukraine, the Monitoring Committee listed a stream of complaints against Ukraine, including "murders of journalists" and "repeated aggression against and continuing intimidation of journalists, members of Parliament and opposition politicians in Ukraine," Reuters reported. However, PACE President Lord Russell-Johnston said the vote will be mostly symbolic as the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe - which makes the final decision - is unlikely to back any expulsion call. " All the previous experience of the Committee of Ministers in terms of precedent indicates that the answer will be negative," the agency quoted Lord Russell-Johnston as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Chornobyl still takes 5% slice of budget

KYIV - Five percent of the state budget is spent annually on liquidating the results of the Chornobyl explosion, said Sociology Institute head Yurii Saienko, adding that the state spends just as much on state security. Mr. Saienko said that liquidation of the catastrophe should include social and psychological factors, as well as medical and material aspects of the aftermath. (Eastern Economist)

Russia on Chornobyl's aftermath

MOSCOW - On April 24, two days before the 15th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear power disaster, Russian health officials said that 2.65 million Russians live in the zone contaminated by that nuclear accident, Interfax reported. The officials noted that 184,175 Russians had been exposed to radiation during the clean-up operations in 1986. Russian surveys show, the officials said, that there are still some regions, including 300 population centers in Briansk Oblast, where radiation remains high. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet seeks firing of broadcasting chief

KYIV - All ministers have signed a petition by Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko to President Leonid Kuchma to change the management at the National Television and Radio Company of Ukraine (NTRCU), the Eastern Economist Daily reported on April 24, quoting Mr. Yuschenko's spokeswoman, Natalia Zarudna. Ms. Zarudna said all members of the government agree that NTRCU chief Vadym Dolhanov is in fact working against the president since state television often gives airtime to critics of the government. Ms. Zarudna added that state television does not fulfill its main function of providing objective information. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma praises relations with Lithuania

VILNIUS - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma and his Lithuanian counterpart, Valdas Adamkus, declared in Vilnius on April 23 that bilateral relations between their countries can serve as an example for other European states to follow, the BNS press service reported. The presidents had attended the signing by the countries' respective social and labor ministers of an agreement ensuring pension payments to native retirees residing in each other's country. President Kuchma repeated that Ukraine has no objections to Lithuania's joining NATO and, like Lithuania, wants to become a member of the European Union. President Kuchma also had lunch with Lithuanian Prime Minister Rolandas Paksas and a meeting with Parliament Chairman Arturas Paulauskas during which the advantages of greater economic relations were discussed. In the evening President Adamkus hosted a dinner for President Kuchma as well as Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and UNESCO Secretary-General Koichiro Matsuura, all of whom were to speak at the international conference "Dialogue Among Civilizations" on April 24. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Symonenko: Communists will return

CHISINAU - The Communists will return to power in Ukraine, said Petro Symonenko, the leader of the Communist Party of Ukraine at the Moldovan Communists' fourth congress in Chisinau. Mr. Symonenko said he is sure that local Communists will come to power in Ukraine as they did in Moldova. He added that this would happen irrespective of the desires of imperialist forces. (Eastern Economist)

Moroz puts impeachment on agenda

KYIV - The bill on initiating impeachment against President Leonid Kuchma and creating a special temporary investigating committee into the president's actions as proposed by deputies Hryhorii Omelchenko and Anatolii Yermak will be put on the Verkhovna Rada agenda for April 26. Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz proposed putting the bill on the agenda. (Eastern Economist)

Havrysh: government still has a chance

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Vice-Chairman Stepan Havrysh said on April 23 that the government has not yet lost its chances of staying in power. He said that Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko's problem lies in his not cooperating closely enough with the parliamentary majority. At the same time Mr. Havrysh said that dialogue is still possible. He said Mr. Yuschenko's statement that he would never work as an acting prime minister in the event the government is dismissed could not be taken seriously. (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma refuses to back Yuschenko ...

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on 20 April said he refuses to intervene in order to help Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko survive the impending no-confidence vote in the Parliament, Interfax reported. "Anything I might say today to support this or the other side may be seen as pressure or excessive support," Mr. Kuchma told journalists in Kharkiv. The president noted that "today a dialogue is needed," adding that "both sides should understand this." Commenting on the fact that 290 lawmakers voted to rate the performance of the Yuschenko Cabinet in 2000 as unsatisfactory, President Kuchma said he was "amazed no less than many of the deputies," and added that "where there's smoke there's fire." (RFE/RL Newsline)

... but then changes his mind

KYIV - On April 23, during his official visit in Vilnius, President Leonid Kuchma said "the government's dismissal is not to Ukraine's benefit today," the Internet newsletter Ukrainska Pravda reported. Mr. Kuchma said he is ready to contribute to "reaching a compromise" between the Parliament and the government. "Today the situation is dependent on how this dialogue will be conducted by the government, including Yuschenko," President Kuchma added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM not confident of survival

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko predicted on April 19 that his government will not survive an upcoming no-confidence vote in his Cabinet, Reuters reported. Mr. Yuschenko said after a vote by the Verkhovna Rada declaring his Cabinet's performance as "unsatisfactory" that his government "should be retained because of its value and effectiveness." He added, however, " But I'm convinced it will not be retained." Mr. Yuschenko said he fears for the future of democracy in Ukraine because of the current political situation. Meanwhile, Javier Solana, the European Union's foreign policy and security policy chief, said in Kyiv that the country is at the point in the reform process where it must be "clearly demonstrated as irreversible." Mr. Solana said that, regardless of the outcome of the political events that take place in the next few days, "it will be very important that [Ukraine's] course, the direction of the country, has not changed." He said such a change would have negative effects on Kyiv's relationship with the EU. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv to seek Melnychenko's extradition

KYIV - The Ukrainian Procurator General's Office said on April 19 in Kyiv that it will ask the United States to extradite Mykola Melnychenko, a former bodyguard for President Leonid Kuchma who has been granted asylum by Washington, the Associated Press reported. Oleksii Bahanets, the deputy state prosecutor, said "some U.S. officials are preventing the truth in the case from being established." He added that the Procurator General's Office has prepared an appeal to the U.S. Justice Department requesting Mr. Melnychenko's extradition. Mr. Melnychenko alleges to have taped hours of conversations in Mr. Kuchma's office in which the president orders officials to deal with missing journalist Heorhii Gongadze. Mr. Melnychenko has been charged by the Procurator General's Office with fraud and libel. Mr. Bahanets also said it is "absurd" to say that Mr. Gongadze's wife, who has also been granted refugee status by the United States, is being persecuted in Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Melnychenko reported to be in U.S.

KYIV- The UNIAN press service reported that National Deputy Hryhorii Omelchenko stated that Maj. Mykola Melnychenko is now in the United States According to the legislator, Mr. Melnychenko and his family arrived in the United States on April 19. However, Mr. Omelchenko said he did not know the Melnychenkos' exact whereabouts. (Eastern Economist)

PM seeks compromise with opposition

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko made an overture on April 18 to opposition parliamentary deputies seeking to oust his government by proposing that they nominate candidates to a few Cabinet positions, the Associated Press reported. He said the pro-presidential majority bloc in Parliament could select candidates for the vacant posts of vice prime minister and minister of industry and trade, as well as seats on the oversight boards of certain ministries. Mr. Yuschenko's first vice prime minister, Yurii Yekhanurov, said that deputies could also lodge complaints against ministers they view as unsatisfactory and propose other candidates for their posts. Recent polls show that Mr. Yuschenko is the most trusted politician in Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU foreign policy chief visits Kyiv

KYIV - The European Union's foreign policy and security policy chief, Javier Solana, met with Yevhen Marchuk, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ivan Pliusch on April 18 to discuss the political situation in the country and foreign policy issues, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Solana was also scheduled to meet at the country home of President Leonid Kuchma. Mr. Pliusch said he reported on some of the positive economic developments in Ukraine and said after the meeting that he told Mr. Solana that "some [politicians] want to claim the best achievements, others want to erase those achievements and still others ... want to bring the government down." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hungarian minister speaks on visa issues

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Janos Martonyi of Hungary said on April 18 in Kyiv that his country will try to simplify more restrictive travel regulations for Ukrainians once Budapest joins the European Union, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Martonyi met with his Ukrainian counterpart, Anatolii Zlenko, and also discussed economic cooperation and trade relations. Mr. Martonyi said Budapest will not require visas for Ukrainians before it joins the EU, which is expected as early as 2004. He also said Hungary will try to simplify visa procedures and expedite the time needed to enter Hungary by modernizing border crossings. Minister Martonyi also met with President Leonid Kuchma and said afterwards that the countries have no political differences. (RFE/RL Newsline)

| Home Page |