As September 16 mass protests approach, Kuchma continues to push political reform plan (09/08/02)

As September 16 mass protests approach, Kuchma continues to push political reform plan

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - While President Leonid Kuchma continued to push forward a plan to change Ukraine's political system so that it gives responsibility to the Verkhovna Rada for forming a government, the parliamentary opposition announced on September 2 that it would organize nationwide demonstrations against Ukraine's head of state.

Mr. Kuchma sent a message of greeting to the opening of the new parliamentary session on September 3, which was read by National Deputy Oleksander Zadorozhnyi, his representative in the Verkhovna Rada. The president told lawmakers they should immediately begin work to amend the Constitution of Ukraine to give the Parliament constitutional authority to appoint the government. Currently that power lies with the president.

Mr. Kuchma called on lawmakers to form a parliamentary majority and have it submit proposals on the composition of a new government immediately afterward.

"This is not a joke or a loyalty test, this is an initiative of the president made after considered thought," explained Mr. Kuchma through his representative.

Mr. Kuchma unexpectedly announced on Ukraine's Independence Day that, contrary to his earlier stand, he would now support a change in favor of a parliamentary-presidential political system, which would allow the Verkhovna Rada to appoint a government to run the country. But he laid down a prerequisite: lawmakers would have to be able to form a workable and sustainable majority coalition.

For years Mr. Kuchma has had problems with Verkhovna Rada cooperation in implementing his policy initiatives. Now he seems to believe that - with his former chief of staff as the new chairman of the Rada and a good portion of the lawmakers pro-presidential - he may finally get the majority coalition he wants.

He criticized lawmakers who said the timing was not right for such a change or that the process could not be successfully completed. Two of those doing the criticizing, however, were very influential members within the pro-presidential ranks.

National Deputy Leonid Kravchuk, the ex-president, and his colleague in Parliament, National Deputy Oleksander Volkov, one of Mr. Kuchma's closest confidantes, suggested in televised interviews that no coalition government could retain authority until constitutional changes were in place, which would take considerable time, with no assurance that the effort would succeed.

"The president does not have a constitutional majority," explained Mr. Volkov, while Mr. Kravchuk added that, "the effort would involve tens of changes to Ukraine's fundamental law, and the process would take a very long time to complete."

The three parties that have announced outright opposition to the policies and the authority of President Kuchma were not considering the presidential initiatives announced on Independence Day, except to say that he had usurped the ideas from them. The day before the opening of the fall session of Parliament, the Socialist, Communist and Tymoshenko parliamentary faction leaders announced they would organize mass nationwide demonstrations against the "regime of President Kuchma," with the first round of protests to be held on September 16, the second anniversary of the disappearance of the Ukrainian journalist Heorhii Gongadze.

Calling the movement they had formed "Rise Up Ukraine," the three leaders, Yulia Tymoshenko of the eponymous faction, Socialist Oleksander Moroz and Communist Petro Symonenko, said they were not advocating violence, only constitutionally allowable actions. They said they believed the nation must rise up to oust Mr. Kuchma, whom they accused of murder, corruption and dictatorial rule.

"When the people come out on to the streets, dictators do not last," said Mrs. Tymoshenko. "There are many such examples in history."

She said the goal of the mass protests would be to achieve pre-term presidential elections and to make sure they would be honest and transparent.

"We who sit here have stopped being scared," added Mrs. Tymoshenko, who is again being investigated on charges of state theft, bribery and embezzlement by the Procurator General's Office. Ukraine's Supreme Court threw out similar, earlier charges.

The founder and ex-chairman of United Energy Systems, which today is run by her husband, said that only one obstacle separates the anti-Kuchma movement from guaranteed victory. "If [people] sit at home and watch on their television sets to determine whether the opposition is being effective, then nothing will come of this," said Ms. Tymoshenko.

However, Ms. Tymoshenko has failed to fully draw in a key component required for the success of her plan: National Deputy Viktor Yushchenko, the most popular politician in Ukraine, and his parliamentary faction, Our Ukraine. If she could do so, then the effort would have much more chance for success.

Although some had said Mr. Yushchenko would make an appearance with the three oppositionist leaders, he did not show. Our Ukraine's chief political officer, National Deputy Roman Bezsmertnyi, who was the presidential representative in the previous Verkhovna Rada, attended the press conference and sat with the threesome, albeit uncomfortably, after answering questions from reporters. He expressed support for the movement and suggested that Our Ukraine would soon join the anti-Kuchma movement.

"Each person must decide inside where they stand. I am here, I have made my decision," said Mr. Bezsmertnyi.

He said that Our Ukraine would wait to see how President Kuchma would respond to the open letter it submitted to him on August 28, in which the bloc calls for a democratic forum to resolve the impasse in the Verkhovna Rada over what Our Ukraine believes was political influence stolen from it by pro-presidential forces. Our Ukraine maintains that the now-disbanded United Ukraine faction obtained a fraudulent voting plurality and stole the parliamentary chairmanship in the days after the March elections through intimidation and bribery of lawmakers, which included using the influence of Mr. Kuchma.

Mr. Yushchenko, who has voiced his displeasure with the president's actions, but has yet to break with him completely, said on September 2 during a meeting of the parliamentary leadership that he was in very serious discussions on a parliamentary majority coalition that Our Ukraine could accept.

"There is dynamic movement regarding the political situation on the matter," explained Mr. Yushchenko.

The former prime minister added that only after "all of my efforts and those of my partners have been exhausted will we then consider alternative perspectives."

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