NEWSBRIEFS

Rada majority replaces NBU chief

KYIV - The pro-presidential majority in the Verkhovna Rada resorted to an unusual voting procedure on December 17 to replace National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh with Labor Ukraine-Party of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs parliamentary caucus leader Serhii Tyhypko, the UNIAN news service reported. Claiming that the opposition wanted to obstruct the vote, the majority created an ad hoc commission for tabulating the vote comprising its own lawmakers. It then ordered a roll-call vote that took place not in the session hall but in the office of Oleksander Zadorozhnyi, the permanent presidential representative in Parliament. According to that ad hoc commission, 232 deputies supported the replacement of the NBU chief. (RFE/RL Newsline)

...and leadership of Rada committees

KYIV - In a similar voting procedure, 229 majority deputies reportedly voted in favor of replacing the leadership of parliamentary committees headed by opposition lawmakers, UNIAN reported. Two hundred twenty-seven deputies supported a motion to reverse the approval of a 2003 budget bill on its second reading, which took place in November. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Opposition cries coup d'état

KYIV - The opposition parliamentary caucuses - Our Ukraine, the Communist Party, the Socialist Party and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc - said in a joint statement on December 17 that all three votes in the Verkhovna Rada that day were illegal and falsified, UNIAN reported. "[The votes] ... are actual steps toward a coup d'état through the usurpation of power [and] by way of illegal appointment to the posts envisaged by the Constitution [as well as] an attempt to finally destroy parliamentary government," the statement read. The opposition is planning to contest the December 17 votes in court. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko stands behind Stelmakh

KYIV - Our Ukraine head Viktor Yushchenko said on December 14 that the opposition would do everything possible to prevent the dismissal of National Bank of Ukraine (NBU Chairman) Volodymyr Stelmakh, UNIAN reported. "[Stelmakh] is our last bastion, and we will not move away," Mr. Yushchenko said. Following two abortive attempts in the Verkhovna Rada to vote Mr. Stelmakh out of his post, President Leonid Kuchma filed a third motion to the Parliament to replace Mr. Stelmakh with Serhii Tyhypko. Meanwhile, Yulia Tymoshenko, leader of the eponymous opposition bloc, has announced that the parliamentary opposition is ready to make "compromises" with the pro-government majority on some unspecified legislative issues if Mr. Stelmakh retains his post. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Only 8.6 percent trust president

KYIV - In a poll conducted between November 27 and December 5, among 1,200 people, some 8.6 percent of respondents said they fully trust President Leonid Kuchma, the UNIAN news service reported on December 16. Another 54.7 percent said they distrust him, according to the results of the Democratic Initiatives Fund and Taylor Nelson Sofres Ukraine group survey. According to the poll, presidential administration chief Viktor Medvedchuk is trusted by 5.4 percent of Ukrainians and distrusted by 42.1 percent; 5.4 percent trust Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and 24.7 percent distrust him; and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn is trusted by 4.8 percent and distrusted by 32.9 percent. Among opposition politicians, the best "balance of trust" is enjoyed by Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko (25.2 percent trust and 33.8 percent distrust), followed by Communist Party head Petro Symonenko (14.8 percent and 46.6 percent). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Leaders seek united opposition front

KYIV - Opposition leaders Viktor Yushchenko and Yulia Tymoshenko on December 14 called on Ukraine's opposition forces to unite, UNIAN reported. "On behalf of the 10 political forces constituting the Our Ukraine bloc, we are conducting negotiations with opposition forces regarding [their] consolidation and agreement," Mr. Yushchenko said at a congress of the Sobor Party in Kyiv. Ms. Tymoshenko stressed at the same congress that the consolidation of opposition forces is necessary to challenge authorities efficiently in the next presidential election. "Today, power [in Ukraine] is exercised by cynical and pragmatic people who control enormous material and informational resources. Therefore, we should prevent the opposition from dissipating in the presidential election, as happened during the [March] parliamentary elections," Ms. Tymoshenko said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lawmakers trade accusations

KYIV - A group of opposition lawmakers has appealed to Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn in a letter demanding that he ban deputy Hryhorii Surkis from participating in parliamentary sessions for a week, UNIAN reported on December 12. The letter claims that, during a wild fracas that erupted in the Verkhovna Rada on December 12, Mr. Surkis struck opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko. Meanwhile, Mr. Surkis told journalists that it was Ms. Tymoshenko who "intended to beat him." Mr. Surkis, widely believed to be Ukraine's wealthiest oligarch, added that Ms. Tymoshenko kicked him in the leg, trying "to damage his only new shoes." The December 12 brawl in the Verkhovna Rada was sparked by a second attempt on the part of the pro-government majority to dismiss National Bank of Ukraine Chairman Volodymyr Stelmakh and install Serhii Tyhypko in the post. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Pascual warns Kyiv of isolation

KYIV - Speaking to students and lecturers of Ukrainian private universities in Kyiv on December 12, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual said President George W. Bush and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma are "unlikely to meet in the near future," the UNIAN news agency reported. Ambassador Pascual said Ukraine is threatened with finding itself in "isolation" now, as practically every European country is either a member of NATO or the European Union, or has been invited to join one of those two organizations. He stressed that demonstrating adherence to the Euro-Atlantic choice would be the only right decision for Ukraine. The ambassador also said Ukraine's Ministry of Economy has so far failed to permit the registration of two U.S. institutions - the International Republican Institute and the National Democratic Institute - in Ukraine despite a year of talks on the issue. "The U.S. Congress considers [this failure] a sign that Ukraine fears transparency," UNIAN quoted the U.S. envoy as saying. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lithuanian leader focuses on Ukraine

VILNIUS - President Valdas Adamkus on December 12 said Lithuania will use its emerging place in Europe to help stabilize nearby Ukraine and enhance ties with Russia, Reuters reported. His remarks came on the eve of the Copenhagen summit on expansion of the European Union, at which Lithuania and nine other countries were to conclude talks on joining the bloc. "Our vision of Europe is incomplete without Ukraine," President Adamkus said, urging the West to avoid isolating that country despite reservations about President Leonid Kuchma. "Today the most important thing is that countries like Ukraine have not reversed their policies and continue to struggle for an open and democratic society and free market." He declined to comment on neighboring Belarus, Reuters reported, where strongman President Alyaksandr Lukashenka is increasingly isolated by the international community. Mr. Adamkus also said Lithuania's long-standing ties to Ukraine can help the EU engage its neighbor, Russia, adding that he is pleased with the gradual shift away from the threatening tone that dominated bilateral relations between Vilnius and Moscow after Lithuania regained its independence in 1991. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv restricts Russian auto imports

KYIV - The Ukrainian government has introduced a four-year limit on the import of Russian cars, the ITAR-TASS news service reported on December 12. An inter-departmental commission for foreign trade said Ukrainian car dealers may not import more than 15,777 Russian cars a year with engine volumes up to 1,500 cubic centimeters. Earlier this year the commission organized an inquiry into the import of new Russian cars and introduced a special import duty of 31.7 percent on them. According to Ukraine's Ministry of the Economy, Ukraine imported some 25,000 Russian cars in 2001. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Police break up trafficking rings

KYIV - Police in the Ukrainian capital over the past months have broken up five criminal groups they believe were sending women abroad for the sex trade, Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry reported on November 19, according to the Associated Press. The groups attracted women by placing advertisements in newspapers that offered jobs as babysitters, housemaids and waitresses in foreign countries. Women who responded were then taken to Spain, Italy, Germany or Turkey, where they were forced into prostitution, the Internal Affairs Ministry said. The statement did not provide any details, not even revealing how many suspects were arrested. Tens of thousands of women and children have been illegally trafficked from Ukraine, many of them subsequently coerced into the sex trade or compulsory labor since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. Ukrainian police have opened more than 100 cases against suspects in 14 human-trafficking crimes this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Russia agree on gas transit

MOSCOW - In Moscow on December 10, Ukraine's Naftohaz Ukrainy and Russia's Gazprom signed a package of agreements on mutual cooperation and Russian gas transit through Ukraine, the Interfax and ITAR-TASS news services reported. The accords stipulate that Russia pump 110 billion cubic meters of gas via Ukraine's gas-pipeline system in 2003. Gazprom reportedly is to provide 26 billion cubic meters of gas to Ukraine as a fee for the use of transit pipelines, while the rest of the fees will be paid in cash. Both companies also agreed that Gazprom will replace Itera next year as the operator of Turkmen gas exports to Ukraine. According to the agreement, Ukrainian expenditures on the transit of Turkmen gas in 2003 will fall to 38 percent of the cost of the gas, compared to 41 percent in 2002. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lazarenko's U.S. trial date is set

SAN FRANCISCO - The trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko is set to begin on March 24, 2003, in San Francisco. Mr. Lazarenko, presently in custody at a federal detention facility in the Bay Area, is charged with money laundering and mail fraud in the United States. He was also recently charged in Ukraine with having ordered the contract killing of Yevhen Scherban, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, in 1997. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada wants embezzlement probe

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on December 10 endorsed a motion by National Deputy Hryhorii Omelchuk to request that Procurator General Sviatoslav Piskun launch an investigation into the alleged embezzlement of $42 million by state officials in 2000, UNIAN reported. According to Mr. Omelchuk, the sum was stolen by managers of Naftohaz Ukrainy (headed at the time by current lawmaker Ihor Bakai) and Ukrhazbank (headed in 2000 by current lawmaker Vasyl Horbal) during payment transactions for gas supplies between Naftohaz Ukrainy and Itera International Energy. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Estonia backs Ukraine's membership

TALLINN - Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland told visiting Ukrainian Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn in Tallinn on December 5 that Estonia backs Ukraine's efforts to join NATO and the European Union and is willing to share experience gained during accession talks, the BNS news agency reported. She also pledged support for Ukraine's membership in the World Trade Organization, asserting, "It is in our common interest for the continuation of day-to-day, close trade." Mr. Lytvyn arrived in Tallinn the previous day at the head of a delegation from the Verkhovna Rada and, in talks with his Estonian counterpart, Toomas Savi, called for closer cooperation between the two legislatures. He also met with Prime Minister Siim Kallas, who noted that Ukraine's progress in economic and government reforms is in Estonia's interest. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Balts bill Russia for Soviet repression

TALLINN - A special committee is being created within the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to accept applications for compensation from Estonian citizens repressed by the Soviet regime. The total sum of compensation will be made public after the committee has completed its work, which is expected to be some months after all the applications have been received. According to a Rosbalt correspondent, this was announced at a meeting of the Estonian Parliament on December 4 by Foreign Minister Kristiina Ojuland. Lithuania has already spoken of its intentions to present Russia with a bill for repression during the Soviet occupation, mentioning a sum of over $20 million (U.S.). Foreign Ministry representatives in both Baltic countries believe that there are currently no obstacles to making such high demands. (pravda.ru)

Opposition to press for Kuchma's ouster

KYIV - Three opposition leaders - Yulia Tymoshenko, Petro Symonenko and Oleksander Moroz - pledged on December 4 to continue the "Arise, Ukraine" protest campaign to force President Leonid Kuchma to resign, UNIAN reported. The upcoming stage of the campaign will be called "Releasing Ukraine from Kuchma." The three leaders told journalists they will soon begin touring Ukrainian regions to persuade citizens that it is necessary to continue fighting "the criminal regime headed by Leonid Kuchma." The opposition also intends to stage a nationwide strike on March 9, 2003. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 22, 2002, No. 51, Vol. LXX

| Home Page |