NEWSBRIEFS

Zvarych reinstated as winner

KYIV - The Supreme Court ruled on April 18 that Roman Zvarych of the Our Ukraine bloc is the winner of the parliamentary vote in District 90 (Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast), as was reported by the constituency's Election Commission following the vote count. With this ruling, the court overruled the subsequent decision of the Central Election Commission (CEC) that invalidated the vote in District 90. Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast Chairman Mykola Shkribliak, who ran in the same constituency, was assassinated shortly before election day, after which several other candidates withdrew from the election. The CEC invalidated the vote following a complaint that the withdrawal of the candidates was not reflected on the ballots. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Georgian leader seeks peacekeepers

KYIV - Georgian Parliament Chairman Nino Burdjanadze said at a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Ivan Pliusch in Kyiv on April 23 that she wants Ukrainian participation in the peacekeeping forces dispatched to help ease the conflict between Georgia and Abkhazia, Ukrainian television reported. Ms. Burdjanadze said the Georgian people trust Ukrainians much more than Russian peacekeepers, and added that the presence of Ukrainian peacekeepers in the Kodori Gorge could decrease tension in the region. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Opposition journalist released from jail

CHERKASY - Oleh Liashko, the editor in chief of the opposition weekly Svoboda in Cherkasy, was released from jail on April 23 on a written pledge not to leave the city, Interfax and UNIAN reported. Mr. Liashko was detained on April 15 for allegedly resisting police, who confiscated the entire print run of his newspaper. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court annuls Hrach's election ouster

KYIV - The Supreme Court on April 19 ruled that Crimean Parliament Chairman Leonid Hrach's disqualification from the election to the Crimean Supreme Council was illegal, the UNIAN news service reported. The ruling paves the way for Mr. Hrach's registration as a deputy of the Crimean legislature. Despite the previous disqualification by a lower court, Mr. Hrach's name remained on the ballot in his constituency in Symferopol, where on March 31 he obtained more votes than other candidates. Mr. Hrach was also elected to the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv on the Communist Party list. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hrach registered as Crimean deputy

SYMFEROPOL - The Crimean Election Commission on April 19 registered Leonid Hrach as a national deputy of the Crimean Supreme Council, UNIAN reported. Mr. Hrach, who was also elected to the Verkhovna Rada in Kyiv, announced that he will give up his mandate in Kyiv and join the autonomous legislature. "The leader who could squeeze me out of Crimea has not yet matured," Mr. Hrach noted. He added that he has a "100 percent" chance to be re-elected as the chairman of the Crimean Parliament. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine charges bank robbers

KYIV - Ukrainian investigators have accused three robbers of a German bank - who seized hostages and sped through Germany, Poland and Ukraine in a 1,600-kilometer car chase - with hostage-taking, smuggling, illegal border crossing and illegal arms possession, Reuters reported on April 19. The charges may entail a term of up to 15 years in a Ukrainian prison for each of the robbers. Oleksander Skrypnyk, the spokesman of the Security Service of Ukraine, said the robbers can also be extradited to Germany to face further charges. "We want to finish the investigation as soon as possible in order to be able to give our German colleagues full results of the probe," Mr. Skrypnyk noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma sees Our Ukraine in majority

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma met on April 19 with Our Ukraine bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko, UNIAN reported, quoting presidential spokeswoman Olena Hromnytska. "Our Ukraine doubtless belongs to the forces around which a parliamentary majority can be formed," Mr. Kuchma said, according to Ms. Hromnytska. The Our Ukraine press service told the UNIAN news agency that Messrs. Kuchma and Yushchenko discussed the alliance of democratic forces in the new Verkhovna Rada, but gave no further details. During the meeting with the president, Mr. Yushchenko reportedly slammed the behavior of the authorities and some central television channels during the parliamentary election campaign. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President makes new appointments

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has appointed Serhii Ryzhuk as the new agriculture minister, UNIAN reported. Former Agriculture Minister Ivan Kyrylenko was elected a Verkhovna Rada deputy and chose to serve in the Parliament rather than in the Cabinet. President Kuchma also appointed Oleksander Zadorozhnyi as the presidential representative in the Verkhovna Rada. Mr. Kuchma's former presidential representative, Roman Bezsmertnyi, was elected a national deputy from the Our Ukraine list. (RFE/RL Newsline)

CEC invalidates election in Zhyr's district

KYIV - The Central Election Commission on April 19 invalidated the parliamentary ballot in District 35 (Dnipropetrovsk Oblast), where Oleksander Zhyr, the chairman of the temporary parliamentary commission investigating the murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze, appeared to have a good chance for re-election. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lukashenka criticizes protectionism

MIENSK - Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka met with Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko on April 22 and discussed trade and economic cooperation, Belarusian Television reported. "We are very concerned about the restrictions Ukraine has been introducing in trade with the Republic of Belarus over recent years," Mr. Lukashenka said. "I think those anti-dumping sanctions and the rise in duties on petrochemical goods - and on other goods, as far as I am aware - will not do any good ... If such trends are taking place in Belarusian-Ukrainian trade relations, you should understand that we will also have to take appropriate measures," President Lukashenka added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine to become a party?

KYIV - Yurii Kostenko, the leader of the Ukrainian National Rukh (a constituent of the Our Ukraine election bloc), said on April 22 that his organization is ready to form a single national-democratic party on the basis of Our Ukraine, the UNIAN news service reported. According to Mr. Kostenko, the new party can be set up "through the democratic election of party leaders of all levels - from bottom to top - at raion and oblast conferences and at a [nationwide] congress." Mr. Kostenko added that the process of forming the party may be concluded within in the next two months. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko cites pressure on his allies

KYIV - Our Ukraine bloc leader Viktor Yushchenko slammed the authorities on April 17 for applying pressure on some 40 lawmakers elected in single-mandate constituencies in order to prevent them from joining the Our Ukraine parliamentary caucus, UNIAN reported. He declared that Our Ukraine will "fight hard to keep them." He noted that 118 newly elected deputies have agreed to join the Our Ukraine caucus, adding that Our Ukraine is holding talks with some 30 other deputies with the aim of recruiting them into the bloc. The same day Mr. Yushchenko was elected to head the Our Ukraine parliamentary caucus. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Impeachment not a key issue

KYIV - Answering a question from journalists about whether Our Ukraine will support an impeachment procedure against President Leonid Kuchma in the new Verkhovna Rada, National Deputy Viktor Yushchenko said impeachment is not a key issue for him. He stressed that Ukraine's main problem at present is the formation of a parliamentary majority, and noted that the issue of impeachment is being used by some forces as a populist slogan. Mr. Yushchenko added that he is ready to meet with President Kuchma any time, but added that it would be logical to hold such a meeting after Our Ukraine concludes political talks with all parties that overcome the 4 percent voting barrier in the 31 March election. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Two top blocs discuss alliance

KYIV - Serhii Tyhypko, the leader of the Party of Regions (a constituent of the pro-presidential For a United Ukraine), told journalists on April 17 that Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko has already begun talks with For a United Ukraine leader Volodymyr Lytvyn about a possible governing coalition, UNIAN reported. Asked whether Our Ukraine's statements about the dismissal of Anatolii Kinakh's Cabinet and the replacement of 17 oblast chairmen will not obstruct the Yushchenko-Lytvyn talks, Mr. Tyhypko said, "All of us are in permanent conflict with each other." (RFE/RL Newsline)

More revelations about arms trade?

KYIV - Oleksander Zhyr, the head of the parliamentary commission dealing with the murder of journalist Heorhii Gongadze, told journalists on April 18 that the recently publicized allegations of President Leonid Kuchma's approval for an illegal arms deal with Iraq is not "the only or the last episode" in Mr. Kuchma's involvement in illegal arms trade, UNIAN reported. Mr. Zhyr said he and several other lawmakers are currently verifying information about other deals, and added that this information will be publicized it if proves to be authentic. Mr. Zhyr stressed that the new information comes not only from former presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko's secret recordings. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UTAR-TV loses broadcast license

KYIV - The National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting has refused to prolong the Kyiv-based UTAR television's license for broadcasting on Channel 37, UNIAN reported on April 17, quoting UTAR News Editor Leonid Voyevodyn. Answering a question on whether the refusal to prolong the license was in any way connected to the station's opposition stand, Mr. Voyevodyn said the station was not in opposition but was impartial and sought objective and unbiased news coverage. Meanwhile, opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko commented the same day that UTAR's loss of its license is connected with the authorities' campaign for "clearing out" the independent media that refused to "service" only pro-presidential forces during the parliamentary election campaign. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma visits military producer

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on March 18 visited the state-run Artem military giant that produces air-to-air missiles, parts for the AN-70 and AN-140 transport aircraft, as well as some non-military goods, including vacuum cleaners and parts for tractors and combines, Ukrainian media reported. Mr. Kuchma said he is sure that new weapons are needed by the Ukrainian army and that they will find buyers on the global market. He also touched upon his recent meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. "We discussed the level of our technical and military cooperation in detail ... We do not have any alternative to the unification of efforts of the Ukrainian and Russian military-industrial complex, as well as of our other partners that used to be in the former Soviet Union and are now republics or, rather, countries of the CIS," Inter Television quoted Mr. Kuchma as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine to destroy 400,000 land mines

KYIV - Representatives of NATO and Ukraine's defense industry complex signed an accord on February 26 whereby Ukraine obliged itself to destroy 400,000 land mines, New Channel Television reported. Canada, Poland and Hungary have disbursed nearly $1 million to fund the destruction of the munitions. According to the agreement, those mines whose storage life has expired will be the first to be destroyed. Ukrainian representatives said all of the 5.5 million mines that Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union are to be destroyed in the future. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma orders raise in pensions

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma instructed Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh's Cabinet to increase pensions for some 13 million Ukrainian pensioners by 10 percent as of April 1, UNIAN reported on March 12. Most monthly pensions currently paid in Ukraine range between 79 and 129 hrv ($15-$24). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia criticizes U.S. rights report

MOSCOW - A statement of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, released on March 7, characterized the U.S. State Department's annual report on human rights as "surprising, to say the least," RIA-Novosti and Interfax reported. The statement read in particular that the bulk of a "long, 45-page chapter" dedicated to Russia, and especially its emphasis on Chechnya, "makes the [Russian Foreign Ministry] think that those who compiled it have simply reprinted old headlines. It seems that there have been no changes either in Russia or the United States, that there was nothing like the September 11 tragedy and the international community has not united in a bid against terrorism." The statement went on to say that "there are groups" in the United States that "are persistently trying to focus on 'the Chechen issue' and once again make it an obstacle in Russian-American dialogue." In this context, the authors of the Russian statement conclude that the United States "should better focus on its own domestic problems, primarily on the issue of capital punishment, prior to claiming the role of a judge in the sphere of how other countries should observe human rights." The Russian Foreign Ministry added that the Russian side is still waiting for the United States to ratify a whole range of cornerstone international agreements dealing with human rights, Russian agencies noted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New poll gauges views on corruption

KYIV - A pre-election public-opinion poll sponsored by TACIS and the Kyiv Post Media group gauging views on corruption in Ukraine was released on February 21. It showed that 84 percent of those polled believe that corruption is a nationwide problem. Sixty-seven percent believe the highest levels of corruption are to be found among the political elite, while 54 percent believe it is among government officials. When asked if they believe corruption can be stopped solely through "administrative methods," 58 percent replied "no." At the same time, 44 percent did not believe corruption can be stopped in Ukraine at all. Asked whether it is justified to give a bribe "if that is what it takes to decide a problem which has great significance for society," almost 58 percent replied "no," while 17 percent said "yes." (RFE/RL Crime, Corruption and Terrorism Watch)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, April 28, 2002, No. 17, Vol. LXX

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