NEWSBRIEFS

For a United Ukraine expects victory

KYIV - "Speaking about the future of the [For a United Ukraine] bloc, I can say only one thing - it is clear that the bloc will have the largest number of seats in the Parliament," For a United Ukraine leader Volodymyr Lytvyn told Reuters on March 25. Mr. Lytvyn added that his bloc will form a pro-government parliamentary majority and maintain stability in the country. Commenting on opinion polls that gave his bloc voters' support not exceeding 7 percent, Mr. Lytvyn said the bloc's popularity is increasing as voting day approaches. Mr. Lytvyn dismissed allegations of widespread violations of the election legislation during the campaign. "Parties and blocs are organizing the election, their representatives make up electoral commissions. The authorities, actually, have not taken part in it," he said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma condemns U.S. resolution

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has termed as "unprecedented" the March 20 resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives urging the government of Ukraine to ensure a democratic, transparent, and fair parliamentary election on March 31, Interfax reported on March 22. "Are we a nation, or are we a football playing field for strategic partners?" Mr. Kuchma asked indignantly. The U.S. resolution was also slammed as a "populist" move and "gross interference" in Ukraine's domestic affairs by Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko. "The U.S. has not proven in any region that it wanted democratic elections to be conducted there. It cynically interfered in the Yugoslav election; it tried to interfere in the election in neighboring Belarus," Interfax quoted Mr. Symonenko as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Chernomyrdin criticizes U.S. resolution

KYIV - Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin on March 22 expressed his indignation over the recent resolution by the U.S. House of Representatives urging a fair parliamentary election in Ukraine, UNIAN reported. Mr. Chernomyrdin suggested that Ukraine should issue a statement in response. "Why could Ukraine not make a statement to the effect that [people] in the U.S. elected one president but are ruled by another?" Ambassador Chernomyrdin asked. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Vitrenko seeks Pascual's expulsion

KYIV - Progressive Socialist Party leader Natalia Vitrenko said on March 25 that the U.S. pressure on this year's election campaign in Ukraine is the strongest in the contemporary history of the country, STB Television reported. She likened the scale of Washington's "unprecedented" interference in Ukrainian affairs to U.S. actions in Yugoslavia and Afghanistan. "We think it is necessary to demand the expulsion of U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual on the territory of our country. We believe that this interference that the U.S. has allowed itself tramples upon our national self-respect and Ukraine's sovereignty," Ms. Vitrenko said. Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Ihor Dolhov commented on March 26 that the U.S. congressional resolution does not constitute grounds for Ambassador Pascual's expulsion. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kostenko cites 'totalitarian terror' ...

KYIV - Yurii Kostenko, the leader of the Ukrainian National Rukh (a constituent of the Our Ukraine bloc) has said the administrative pressure by the authorities has been transformed into "totalitarian terror" in the final phase of the election campaign, UNIAN reported on March 26. Mr. Kostenko said the authorities force employees of regional state institutions into writing letters of resignation and are threatening that those requests will be immediately acted upon in the event the pro-government For a United Ukraine bloc does not obtain the "necessary" election results. Mr. Kostenko added that the authorities also intimidate voters by asserting that it is possible to find out who they voted for. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... 'double standard' toward statements

KYIV - Yurii Kostenko of the Ukrainian National Rukh accused the authorities of applying a "double standard" to statements by U.S. and Russian politicians regarding the election campaign in Ukraine. He pointed out that the recent U.S. congressional resolution urging a fair and democratic election in Ukraine was treated by official Kyiv as "interference in domestic affairs." Mr. Kostenko went on to say that, on the other hand, Kyiv has not reacted to statements by those Russian politicians who openly named the forces they would like to see in Ukraine's new Parliament. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tax police accuse Tymoshenko Bloc

KYIV - The State Tax Authority has accused the anti-presidential Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc of using "shadow" financial resources in its parliamentary campaign, Ukrainian media reported on March 25. The administration said a publishing company controlled by the bloc is involved in money laundering, adding that prices for the bloc's printed campaign materials were kept artificially low. "This conscious lie is made for only one reason - to withdraw the bloc from the elections, or to issue compromising materials taking into account that we have no time to tell the truth," the Associated Press quoted Oleksander Turchynov of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Duma deputy cites 'nationalist forces'

MOSCOW - Dmitrii Rogozin, the head of the Russian State Duma's International Relations Committee, suggested on March 20 that if "nationalist forces" win the upcoming parliamentary election in Ukraine, Moscow and Kyiv may face problems in bilateral relations, Interfax reported. "Ukrainian nationalism has similar roots to Chechen extremism," Mr. Rogozin said, adding: "We have encountered Ukrainian nationalists in the Chechen mountains. They are not taken prisoner as they have committed especially cruel atrocities against Russian servicemen." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Moscow worried about Our Ukraine

KYIV - Russian Ambassador to Ukraine Viktor Chernomyrdin said on March 20 that Russia is with those parties and election blocs in Ukraine that call for the development and deepening of relations between the two countries, ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Chernomyrdin noted that there are also forces in Ukraine that do not pursue such a goal, adding that "this cannot but worry us." According to him, Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine is a cause for such concern. "Yushchenko himself says that he favors broad democracy and supports President Leonid Kuchma. But when we look at the structure of [his] bloc, we see who is in it and what statements they make, and this is beginning to worry us," Ambassador Chernomyrdin said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Documentary says 'tapegate' was set-up

KYIV - On March 17, the private ICTV Television, which is part owned by President Leonid Kuchma's son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk, aired a 75-minute documentary called "Pi Ar" (PR) dealing with Ukraine's tape scandal and the murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze. The documentary, written and produced in the West by former Financial Times journalist Charles Clover, suggests that the tape scandal was used by the United States, NGOs and figures like financier George Soros to exert pressure on Mr. Kuchma in order to depose him and install Western-leaning Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko. Mr. Kuchma, who was interviewed in the film, said the crisis connected with former bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko's tapes was effectively over when Mr. Yushchenko was sacked as prime minister by the Parliament in April 2001. The film suggests that Russia used the tape scandal to provide support for the embattled President Kuchma, thereby securing better relations with Ukraine to the detriment of the United States. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S. Embassy responds to TV report

KYIV - "The film 'Pi Ar,'shown on ICTV on March 16 and 17 makes implications about the objectives of U.S. policy in Ukraine that are inaccurate and misleading. It is not our normal practice to comment on false allegations. However, the nature of the allegations raised in the film requires a response," the U.S. Embassy stated on March 20. The statement also noted: "U.S. engagement with Ukraine is and always has been based on specific policy goals: support for an independent, democratic, market-oriented Ukraine, integrated with the Euro-Atlantic community. Our engagement is not focused on support for individual leaders or blocs. That is a choice for the Ukrainian people to make. U.S. election assistance in Ukraine, provided at the invitation of the Ukrainian government, is focused on supporting a free and fair election process that allows Ukraine's citizens to select its leaders. The United States does not support individual leaders, parties or blocs in any of its assistance programs. ... The United States does not support opposition forces or rallies in Ukraine. When a Ukrainian TV program aired such allegations in April 2001, allegations that were repeated in 'Pi Ar,' the U.S. Embassy immediately made clear that U.S. officials cover political events in Ukraine in accordance with the Geneva Convention to ensure that we portray events accurately and to be able to advise American citizens of any dangers. ..." The statement concluded by underlining: "Political intrigue has no role to play in advancing core Ukrainian or American interests." (Public Affairs Section, U.S. Embassy)

600 non-existent voters listed in Kyiv

KYIV - The electoral commission of constituency No. 90 in Kyiv has found out that the number of voters on a list supplied by the district authorities exceeds the actual number of voters living in the constituency by 561 persons, the Our Ukraine press service reported on March 26. Our Ukraine campaign coordinator Roman Bezsmertnyi warned that listing non-existent voters may be one of the methods used by the authorities to rig the March 31 ballot. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Nearly 1,000 observers in Ukraine

KYIV - The Central Election Commission (CEC) has registered 944 international observers to monitor the March 31 presidential election, UNIAN reported on March 23, quoting CEC Chairman Mykhailo Riabets. Mr. Riabets added that it is the highest number of international election monitors in Ukraine's 10-year history of independence. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko: officials aim to split society

KYIV - Our Ukraine election bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko said on March 22 that the current authorities are working toward splitting society in Ukraine, the Our Ukraine press service reported. According to Mr. Yushchenko, the authorities "have paralyzed the election procedures" and are hindering Our Ukraine's campaign and repressing its supporters. Meanwhile, Yurii Kostenko, the leader of the Ukrainian National Rukh, which is a constituent of the Our Ukraine election bloc, said the same day that Our Ukraine is counting on 120-140 mandates in the new Parliament. (RFE/RL Newsline)

SDPU discrediting front-runner?

KYIV - The Ukrainska Pravda website on March 25 accused the election staff of the Social Democratic Party (United), led by Viktor Medvedchuk of implementing a plan to discredit Viktor Yushchenko, whose Our Ukraine bloc is tipped by opinion polls to win the March 31 parliamentary ballot. To support its accusation, Ukrainska Pravda quoted alleged instructions by the SDPU election staff regarding the presentation of Mr. Yushchenko and Our Ukraine on the private 1+1 and Inter television channels, which are controlled by the SDPU. By comparing programs on both channels and the quoted instructions, Ukrainska Pravda concluded that the plan for discrediting Mr. Yushchenko has actually been implemented. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Was Gongadze killing planned abroad?

KYIV - Procurator-General Mykhailo Potebenko assured journalists in Donetsk on March 26 that the murder of independent journalist Heorhii Gongadze will be solved, UNIAN reported. Mr. Potebenko said investigators are now working on a version according to which the kidnapping of Mr. Gongadze was "planned abroad." Answering a question about why he is running for the Parliament on the Communist Party's election list, Mr. Potebenko said this list includes "no bribe-takers or those who are responsible for embezzling government properties," ITAR-TASS reported. "In this respect I feel more comfortable than I would have felt, say, in alliance with former Vice Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko," he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court reinstates two candidates

KYIV - The Supreme Court has reinstated former Soviet dissident Stepan Khmara from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc as an election candidate, UNIAN reported on March 25. The court also reinstated Viktor Chaika, a leader of the right-wing populist Yabluko Party, as an election candidate. The Central Election Commission disqualified Messrs. Khmara and Chaika last week, saying they submitted false declarations on their income and possessions. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Anti-American Front created

KYIV - The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) on March 26 gathered 65 delegates from western Ukraine (the Ivano-Frankivsk, Lviv, Ternopil, Chernivtsi and Volyn oblasts) and Kyiv to launch an organization named the Anti-American Front of Ukraine, UNIAN reported. According to the news agency, the main goal of the new organization is to counteract "the U.S. expansion into Ukraine," and to prevent "the transformation of Ukraine into an American ghetto." The delegates elected Vitalii Tsapovych, the editor in chief of the OUN press organ Neskorena Natsiya, as the head of the Anti-American Front of Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tymoshenko bloc appeals to world

KYIV - The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc has sent an open letter to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, and the embassies of the United States, Canada, Japan and a number of European countries, as well as international election observers in Ukraine, appealing to them to ensure that the March 31 parliamentary election is fair. "We are forced to appeal to you for help and ask that you make a real estimation of Ukraine's situation, [and] intervene in the process to the extent of your authority not to allow total unlawfulness during the election campaign," the Associated Press quoted from the appeal. "We have been informed by confidential sources that in the near future, following an instruction from the administration of President Leonid Kuchma, a [politically motivated] court resolution will be prepared to disqualify the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc from the election," UNIAN quoted from another passage of the appeal. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine cites provocations

KYIV - The Our Ukraine press service on March 21 said provocative actions against the Our Ukraine bloc and its leader Viktor Yushchenko have become more frequent in the last weeks of the parliamentary election campaign. The press service cited incidents in Kirovohrad Oblast and Kyiv where some individuals, who had nothing to do with the bloc, disguised themselves as campaigners for the bloc and offered alcoholic drinks to passers-by to drink "to Yushchenko's health." The press service added that such actions were recorded by television crews to be broadcast by television channels controlled by Our Ukraine's rivals in order to accuse Yushchenko's bloc of violating the election law. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine candidate is arrested

KYIV - Police on March 21 arrested former State Reserve Committee head Yevhen Chervonenko, who is running for the Parliament as Our Ukraine's candidate. Deputy Procurator-General Yurii Haisynskyi said recently that Mr. Chervonenko was wanted by the Prosecutor's Office because he had failed to appear there for questioning. Mr. Chervonenko denied receiving any summons from prosecutors. The same day, the Central Election Commission rejected a motion to oust Mr. Chervonenko from the race on charges that he allegedly is an Israeli citizen and has failed to inform the commission of this fact. Mr. Chervonenko commented that Our Ukraine rivals, by playing "the card of anti-Semitism," intended to sow discord in the bloc. Meanwhile, the National Movement of Ukraine (led by Bohdan Boiko) has accused Petro Yushchenko, the brother of Viktor Yushchenko, of being a link in siphoning funds from the bankrupt bank Ukraina. "It is hardly a coincidence that Ukraina paid for [Mr. Yushchenko's daughter] Vitalina Yushchenko's education, and that funds from this bank ended up in Petro Yushchenko's accounts," Inter TV commented on March 21. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court reinstates Yabluko candidate

KYIV - The Supreme Court on March 21 complied with a complaint from Yabluko Party leader Mykhailo Brodskyi and reinstated him as a candidate in the parliamentary election, UNIAN reported. Last week, the Central Election Commission disqualified Mr. Brodskyi, saying he provided a false declaration on his income and possessions. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Moscow mayor supports Hrach

SYMFEROPOL - Moscow Mayor Yurii Luzhkov on March 21 visited Symferopol and expressed his support for Crimean Parliament Chairman Leonid Hrach, who was disqualified from the election to the Crimean Supreme Council by a court decision last month. Mr. Luzhkov said he views the court decision on Mr. Hrach as a political, not a legal, action, STB Television reported. Mr. Hrach met Mayor Luzhkov in the Crimean Parliament and introduced him to the public as the mayor of the capital of the formerly common motherland. Mr. Luzhkov noted that the 10 years of Ukraine's independence have ruined Russian-Ukrainian relations. "The Crimean Republic is a special Russian region," the Moscow mayor said, but then corrected himself and said it is "a special Ukrainian region." Mr. Luzhkov's slip of the tongue provoked stormy applause in the parliamentary hall. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Potebenko comments on candidates

KYIV - "Half of those running for Parliament could be jailed today for what is going on at the moment. Just take a look at the election lists!" Ukrainian Procurator General Mykhailo Potebenko told the pro-presidential daily Stolichnie Novosti on March 19. Mr. Potebenko himself is running on the election list of the Communist Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Complaint filed against Tymoshenko bloc

KYIV - Central Election Commission Chairman Mykhailo Riabets on March 20 said the commission received a complaint that the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc has violated the election law in the campaign by using resources other than those in its official election fund, UNIAN reported. Meanwhile, Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc activists, including lawmaker Oleksander Turchynov, warned media earlier the same day that the presidential administration has issued an "instruction" to disqualify the bloc from elections. According to the activists, the reason for the disqualification may be a book about Ms. Tymoshenko that was published several months ago. They suggest that the bloc will be charged with sponsoring this publication and subsequently ousted from the election race by a court resolution. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine has 36.8 M eligible voters

KYIV - Central Election Commission Chairman Mykhailo Riabets on March 14 said 36.8 million people have been entered on the lists of voters to participate in the parliamentary election on March 31, UNIAN reported. Mr. Riabets said that this figure may be corrected, but not significantly. He said there are 33,055 polling stations in the country, including four in military units, 132 in prisons and 730 in sanatoriums. Also, 58 polling stations have been set up on ships that will be at sea on the day of the election, and there are 89 polling stations abroad. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 31, 2002, No. 13, Vol. LXX

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