NEWSBRIEFS (08/17/03)

NEWSBRIEFS

Russia dismisses talk of apology

KYIV - Viktor Chernomyrdin, Russia's ambassador to Ukraine, said on August 6 that his country, as a successor to the Soviet Union, will not apologize to Ukraine for the 1932-1933 famine, Interfax reported. "The famine afflicted the whole Soviet state," Mr. Chernomyrdin told a press conference in Kyiv, adding, "Why Russia?" Russia should be praised for bearing its responsibility with respect to Soviet debts and all other issues, Mr. Chernomyrdin said, but it does not bear responsibility for the Famine. The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted a resolution in May declaring that the 1932-1933 famine in Ukraine was "an act of genocide" against the Ukrainian people. Historians estimate that 7 million to 10 million Ukrainians died as a result of the policies of Soviet authorities in Ukraine in 1932-1933. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Military inquiry: hotel shelling justified

WASHINGTON - A U.S. military inquiry into the shelling of the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad on April 8 - in which two journalists, including Taras Protsyuk of Ukraine, were killed - has found that American troops' actions were justified. A statement released on August 12 by the Central Command (CENTCOM) noted that U.S. forces "properly fired upon a suspected enemy hunter/killer team in a proportionate and justifiably measured response." CENTCOM noted "the fierce enemy resistance" that day, including fire by Iraqi forces from the roofs and windows of nearby buildings. The shelling killed Mr. Protsyuk, a cameraman for the Reuters news agency, and Jose Couso, a cameraman from Spain. In May, following its own investigation of the incident, the Committee to Protect Journalists had said that there was no evidence of enemy fire directed at U.S. forces from the Palestine Hotel and that the deaths of the two journalists could have been avoided since commanders in the field knew the hotel housed international journalists. Kyiv had officially requested that Washington probe circumstances surrounding Protsyuk's death. "The journalists' death at the Palestine Hotel was a tragedy and the United States has the deepest sympathies for the families of those who were killed," CENTCOM said. (The New York Times, RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv probes alleged smuggling episode

KYIV - The Foreign Affairs Ministry of Ukraine is looking into the circumstances under which the Navstar-1 tanker and its crew were apprehended in the Persian Gulf on August 9 by a British naval ship, Interfax reported, quoting ministry spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi. Some reports have claimed the Navstar-1 had a Ukrainian crew aboard when it was caught with some 1,000 tons of Iraqi diesel fuel and taken to the Iraqi port of Umm Qasr. The ship reportedly sails under a Panamanian flag and is owned by a company from the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. civilian administrator in Iraq, L. Paul Bremer, said the crew will be handed over to Iraqi authorities for trial. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lviv to have Polish-language broadcast

LVIV - Polish-Ukrainian Radio MAN is to launch broadcasting in Lviv in western Ukraine in the fall, the PAP news agency reported on August 8. The program, prepared by Polish and Ukrainian journalists, will be broadcast half in Polish and half in Ukrainian. Radio MAN plans to broadcast music, political journalism and news. The station's format includes programs on culture, history, and problems faced by the Polish minority in Ukraine and the Ukrainian minority in Poland. It will earn revenues from advertising. State radio's Polish Radio Katowice, which is currently training 10 journalists for MAN, has for years backed an initiative on launching the station. The broadcasts will initially cover a radius of 50 kilometers, but its founders are reportedly thinking of expanding its range. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma vetoes bill reducing VAT

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has vetoed a bill passed by the Verkhovna Rada in July intended to reduce value-added tax (VAT) from the current 20 percent to 17 percent in January, Interfax reported on August 11. The president also rejected bills on the licensing of entrepreneurial activities in the telecommunications sector and on state regulatory policies in business endeavors. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv creates commission on CIS

KYIV - The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has set up a commission to deal with issues related to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that will be headed by First Vice Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, the UNIAN news service reported on August 11. The commission's general task will be to coordinate Ukraine's policies toward economic cooperation with the CIS, of which Ukraine is a member. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian foreign minister visits India

KYIV - Ukraine and India signed agreements on August 12 on the mutual protection of secret information and on cooperation in tourism, Interfax reported, quoting Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Markian Lubkivskyi. The accords followed a meeting between Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Anatolii Zlenko and his Indian counterpart, Yashwant Sinha. Ministers Zlenko and Sinha also discussed ways to boost Ukrainian-Indian cooperation in the political, economic, scientific and humanitarian spheres. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tiraspol nixes free trade with Ukraine

TIRASPOL, Transdniester - Separatist leader Igor Smirnov has canceled Transdniester's free-trade regime with Ukraine less than one month after if was instituted, Infotag reported. The new decree came into effect on August 12, when Mr. Smirnov reimposed customs duties on imports of meat, fish and dairy products from Ukraine, as well as on foodstuffs, alcoholic and soft drinks, soap and detergents. Transdniester authorities said the measure was prompted by Ukraine's flooding of local markets with these and other goods. This resulted in a substantial drop in prices, which led local producers to complain they were facing serious losses. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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