NEWSBRIEFS (02/01/04)

NEWSBRIEFS

Reform being pushed via election bill?

KYIV - Our Ukraine lawmaker Volodymyr Filenko said on January 26 that a new draft law prescribing a fully proportional, party-list system for the national Parliament that was prepared by four legislators from the pro-presidential majority is primarily intended to muster the 300 Verkhovna Rada deputies needed to adopt the constitutional-reform bill that was preliminarily approved in December 2003, UNIAN reported. The draft bill reportedly sets the voting threshold for parliamentary representation at just 1 percent. "The pro-presidential majority wants to introduce a 1 percent voting threshold in order to make the Communist Party vote for the constitutional amendments and to fool 174 majority deputies [elected in single-mandate constituencies] who also do not support the constitutional reform out of fear that they will not be re-elected to parliament under a fully proportional election law," Mr. Filenko said. The Communist Party has made its support for the constitutional reform conditional on adopting a fully proportional system of parliamentary elections. The current election law reserves 225 seats for deputies elected under a proportional system and the other 225 seats for single-mandate constituencies; it also sets the parliamentary threshold at 4 percent. (RFE/RL Newsline)

"Year of Russia in Ukraine" concludes

KYIV - Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Kyiv on January 23-24 for the official close of the "Year of Russia in Ukraine" - a series of cultural events promoting Russia in Ukraine - with his Ukrainian counterpart Leonid Kuchma, Ukrainian and international media reported. "Russia needs a strong Ukraine, while Ukraine, I am confident, needs a strong Russia," Mr. Putin said at a gala ceremony in Kyiv on January 23. "We reaffirmed the Ukrainian-Russian partnership and good-neighborliness," Mr. Kuchma commented on his meeting with Mr. Putin. The same day, the two sides signed agreements on cooperation between steelmakers and nuclear-energy companies. The following day, Presidents Kuchma and Putin visited the Kyiv-Pecherska Lavra (Monastery of the Caves) in Kyiv, which remains under the administration of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate. "The Ukrainian Orthodox Church is now totally independent, including from the Russian Orthodox Church. The only link that remains between the Churches is the canonical and spiritual link," Mr. Putin said at the monastery. "In my view, this is a very important factor in the unity of our peoples." (RFE/RL Newsline)

AFP excluded from news conference

KYIV - The French news agency AFP on January 24 disseminated a statement protesting the refusal by the Ukrainian presidential administration to accredit AFP journalist Anna Tsukanova for a Kuchma-Putin news conference the previous day, Interfax reported. The statement charged that Ms. Tsukanova was deprived of media accreditation for asking President Vladimir Putin upon his arrival at Boryspil Airport near Kyiv an "unsanctioned" question concerning a possible third presidential term for Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. "This is Ukraine's internal matter. We have come here for a different reason," Mr. Putin replied. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Azarov defuses fears of bread price hike

KYIV - First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mykola Azarov said on January 22 that recent restrictions imposed by Russia and Kazakstan on wheat exports will not influence the grain market in Ukraine, Interfax reported. "I don't think that the tense situation with grain reserves in Russia and Kazakstan will lead to some serious increase in bread prices in Ukraine," Mr. Azarov said on Ukrainian Television. Russia imposed a tax on its wheat and rye exports amounting to 25 euros per ton on January 15. Interfax, quoting unspecified sources in Astana, reported that Kazakstan has introduced an unofficial ban on wheat exports to Russia and Ukraine. Ukraine's State Statistics Committee reported earlier this month that the country harvested 20 tons of grain in 2003, or roughly half the harvest of the previous year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko, Kuchma discuss reform

KYIV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko on January 21 to discuss the ongoing constitutional reform in the country, Interfax reported. According to the presidential press service, the meeting took place at the initiatives of the opposition leader. "The meeting proceeded in a constructive spirit," the Our Ukraine press service quoted Mr. Yushchenko as saying. "The next presidential election will be held in October 2004. It will be direct and nationwide. The president said this during our meeting." Mr. Yushchenko also said he thinks that President Kuchma will not run for a third term in 2004. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma blasts PACE for 'interference'

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told Interfax that he rejects Viktor Yushchenko's initiative to create a special commission in Ukraine to assist the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in studying the country's hotly debated constitutional reform, the agency reported on January 22. Two PACE monitors recently visited Ukraine, warning Kyiv against pushing constitutional reform at any cost and calling for a compromise between the pro-presidential forces and the opposition. "We don't need sermons on the benefits of democracy," President Kuchma said. "We are grateful for advice from more experienced democracies; however, we also know very well the difference between advice and interference in our internal affairs. I am not so sure that those who visit us with mandates from the Council of Europe know the difference between the two." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Former local officials seek U.S. asylum?

KYIV - Two former deputy mayors of the town of Mukachiv in Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast are reportedly complaining of political persecution and asking U.S. authorities to give them political asylum, Interfax reported on January 21. According to the Our Ukraine press service, Zoltan Lendel and Oleksander Halay handed their requests for asylum, addressed to U.S. President George W. Bush, to a U.S. Embassy officer in Mukachiv on January 21. The town is currently witnessing a standoff between supporters of Our Ukraine and the Social Democratic Party-United (SDPU) over a local election held in June 2003. Our Ukraine candidate Vasyl Petiovka won a disputed mayoral election in Mukachiv in June. His closest rival, Ernest Nuser, who was supported by the SDPU, demanded that the ballot be annulled. President Leonid Kuchma appointed Myroslav Opachko acting mayor in Mukachiv in December 2003. The town's electoral commission has scheduled a new vote for April 18. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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