NEWSBRIEFS (10/07/01)

NEWSBRIEFS

Two sentenced for Bilozir murder

LVIV - The Lviv Oblast Court on September 28 found Dmytro Voronov and Yurii Kalinin guilty of the premeditated murder of popular Ukrainian composer Ihor Bilozir and sentenced them to 15 and 12 years in prison, respectively, Interfax reported. Mr. Bilozir died in a Lviv hospital on May 28, 2000, after being beaten by Messrs. Voronov and Kalinin, who did not like his speaking and singing in the Ukrainian language while in a cafe. The composer's death provoked violent anti-Russian protests in Lviv and exacerbated Ukrainian-Russian ethnic tensions in western Ukraine. Messrs. Voronov and Kalinin were also ordered to pay 50,000 hrv ($9,430) in compensation to Mr. Bilozir's family. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Pliusch takes action against 10 deputies

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ivan Pliusch has filed a lawsuit with the Kyiv City Court against 10 government officials who have not given up their parliamentary mandates, Interfax reported on October 1. Under Ukrainian law, a national deputy going to work in the government must resign his/her parliamentary seat. The 10 include Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh, Vice Prime Minister Volodymyr Seminozhenko, and Environment Minister Serhii Kurykin. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Communists against opening airspace

KYIV - Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko on October 2 demanded an urgent discussion in the Verkhovna Rada of the decree issued by the Ukrainian president on opening an air corridor for U.S. military transport planes, UNIAN reported. Mr. Symonenko said the opening of Ukraine's airspace to the United States "is an adventurous step in relation to the nation." According to Mr. Symonenko, after the approval of this decision Kyiv became responsible for a possible beginning of a new world war and for possible significant human losses not only in Afghanistan, but also in Ukraine. The Communist Party leader suggested that this decision was adopted "for a miserable sop" from the International Monetary Fund. "The Communists are worried about Ukraine's actual participation in the U.S. military campaign because the Communists believe that the U.S. is a country of terrorists itself," Symonenko noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UNA-UNSO disrupts court hearing

KYIV - Some 200 supporters of the Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian National Self-Defense Organization picketed a Kyiv court on October 2, demanding the release of 16 UNA-UNSO activists who were to be tried for organizing mass disorders during an opposition rally in front of the presidential administration building on March 9, STB television reported. The police blocked the entrance to the court, but eventually allowed journalists and relatives of the arrested to enter the courtroom, which turned out to be too small for such a crowd. The judge announced a break in the hearing after failing to persuade the crowd to leave the room. The UNA-UNSO insists that the arrested activists, who include UNA-UNSO leader Andriy Shkil, are political prisoners. "I don't believe that we were imprisoned just for two broken fingers," Mr. Shkil told STB from a courtroom cage in which the arrested were held. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Nazarbaev meets with Kuchma

ASTANA - President Nursultan Nazarbaev met with his visiting Ukrainian counterpart, Leonid Kuchma, in Astana on September 26, ITAR-TASS reported. The two agreed to help with the counterterrorism effort, but President Kuchma said that "we will not move into Afghanistan for the second time" - a reference to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Mr. Kuchma also said at the meeting that he sees a great economic and political future for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The two sides declared their readiness to participate, with Russia, in implementing a space program, and agreed on the creation of a joint venture with Russia to extract and process uranium for use as nuclear fuel, ITAR-TASS and Vek reported. Also discussed was the possibility of increasing exports of Kazak oil to Ukraine for refining. Mr. Kuchma ended his three-day visit to Astana on September 28. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yugoslavia's PM visits Kyiv

KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh met with his Yugoslav counterpart, Dragisa Pesic, in Kyiv on October 1, Interfax and the Associated Press reported. The two politicians discussed ways to combat terrorism as well as bilateral issues. They spoke about the renewal of shipping on the Danube River, which Mr. Kinakh said is a "priority matter in our bilateral relations." Mr. Pesic said his government will issue a temporary permit for limited shipping this week. He added that the most pressing issue is to clear the Danube of debris resulting from the 1999 NATO bombing raids, and to construct at least one permanent bridge, with which Ukraine has promised to assist. The sides signed four documents, including a consular convention. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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