NEWSBRIEFS (09/05/04)

NEWSBRIEFS

"Russian Club" opened in Kyiv

KYIV - Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and Russian presidential administration head Dmitrii Medvedev on August 31 opened a "Russian Club" at the Premier Palats hotel in Kyiv, the only five-star hotel in Ukraine, UNIAN reported. Mr. Medvedev said the club is a "new stage" for those wanting to develop relations between Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Yanukovych said the Russian Club will "have a whole set of functions, primarily humanitarian and, of course, economic." The prime minister added that initiatives that will come out of this club will be supported at the level of the Russian and Ukrainian governments, and that he already has an agreement on this with the Russian government. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma warns of 'revolutionary change'

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma visited three industrial companies in Crimea on August 31, Ukrainian Television reported. "The country is on the right track just as these companies are," Mr. Kuchma said. "The main and most important thing that we need is stability. We need no revolutionary change because revolutions always lead to unpredictable circumstances. We have too many people who want drastic change but don't know what exactly." (RFE/RL Newsline)

EBRD loan to modernize railways

KYIV - The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has allocated a $120 million loan for the Ukrzaliznytsia state railways to launch high-speed passenger railway services, Interfax reported on August 31. The loan money will be spent on purchasing carriages, buying equipment for railway track repairs and renovating the Bezkydskyi railway tunnel. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM seeks amendments before election

KYIV - Prime Minister and presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych told journalists on August 31 that there is a need to introduce constitutional amendments changing the political system in Ukraine before the October 31 presidential ballot, Interfax reported. "Political reform has matured and it needs to be instituted, and we will do everything to make political reform happen," Mr. Yanukovych said. Meanwhile, Viktor Yushchenko, Mr. Yanukovych's main rival in the race, said on August 30 during a campaign trip in the Kyiv Oblast that it is illegal for the Verkhovna Rada to repeatedly consider political reform. In April the government was six votes short of the 300 votes required for the approval of a controversial political-reform bill. In June the Rada preliminarily approved another constitutional-reform bill, which, according to the opposition Our Ukraine and Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, is essentially the same as the bill rejected in April. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Government pays wage arrears to miners

KYIV - The Ukrainian government has paid the last tranche of an eight-year wage backlog to coal miners, ITAR-TASS reported on August 27, quoting Fuel and Energy Minister Serhii Tulub. The wage arrears in the coal-mining sector, which have accumulated since 1996, exceeded $200 million. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Police arrest market bombing suspects ...

KYIV - Police arrested four people - three men and one woman - suspected of organizing two explosions at Kyiv's Troyeschynskyi market on August 20, Ukrainian news agencies reported on August 27, quoting Kyiv police chief Oleksander Milenin. Mr. Milenin disclosed that the detainees were members of "political movements" and specified that two individuals had membership cards of the Ukrainian National Party. According to Mr. Milenin, the motive behind the blasts was to "influence the political situation" and create "social tension" among the population. The explosions at the Troyeschynskyi market killed one person and injured 13 others. There were reportedly citizens of Vietnam, Pakistan and Bangladesh among the casualties. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... police accused of 'provocation'

KYIV - Our Ukraine lawmaker Viacheslav Kyrylenko, a member of the Ukrainian National Party (UNP), told UNIAN that the police's statement about the involvement of UNP members in the Troyeshchynskyi market blasts is a "provocation" intended to impact the presidential election. The UNP, which bore the name of Ukrainian National Rukh until January 25, 2003, is a member of opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc. Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko told journalists on August 27 that the motive behind the blast was purely criminal. The Kyiv City Administration closed the Troyeshchynskyi market on August 25, which caused a protest by market vendors who blocked several streets in the vicinity of the market later the same day and staged a picket in front of the mayoral office on August 26. The city administration reopened the market on August 26. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Opposition staffer lambastes police

KYIV - Ihor Hryniv, deputy head of the presidential campaign staff of Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko, told journalists on August 27 that police resorted to a "planned provocation" and a "manipulation technique" in linking recent blasts at a market in Kyiv to the Ukrainian National Party (UNP), a member of Our Ukraine, Interfax reported. "There is a large distance between UNP members and [Yushchenko], the candidate who joined [the presidential race] by way of self-nomination," Mr. Hryniv added. Last week police arrested five suspects in the blasts and claimed that two of them had UNP membership cards. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Pope greets Ukraine on Independence Day

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma received a greeting on Ukrainian Independence Day from Pope John Paul II. The text of the telegram reads: "I wish unity and solidarity, prosperity due to legitimate economic progress, and respect for the spirituality of every person for Ukrainians and other peoples living in your country. With an open heart, I bless you and all the people of Ukraine." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Bush sends congrats to Ukraine

WASHINGTON - U.S. President George W. Bush sent a letter of congratulations on the occasion of Ukrainian Independence Day to Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. Dated August 20, the letter noted: "On behalf of the people of the United States, I extend congratulations on the occasion of the 13th anniversary of Ukraine's independence on August 24. Ukraine has made great strides in the 13 years since independence. Nothing can secure that legacy more than the holding of free, fair and transparent election this fall, and turning your high office over to a successor who embodies the democratic choice of the Ukrainian people. Ukraine's many friends in United States will continue to watch Ukraine's democratic development with great interest." Mr. Bush concluded his letter with "best wishes for peace, freedom and prosperity for Ukraine and its people." (Action Ukraine Report)

President opens Danube delta canal

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on August 26 officially inaugurated navigation on the newly built Bystraya Canal in the Danube River Delta, Interfax reported. "I give the command to restore navigation in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta," Mr. Kuchma said. "In the future, the estuary of Europe's longest river may transform into a large European transport intersection," he added. Since its start in May, Ukraine's Bystraya Canal project has been subject to international criticism, primarily because of fears that it may damage the Danube Delta's unique ecosystem (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 25 August 2004). (RFE/RL Newsline)

Romania to sue Ukraine over canal

BUCHAREST - The Romanian government said on August 26 that it will file a lawsuit with the International Court of Justice in The Hague against Ukraine's opening of a shipping canal in the Danube delta, Reuters reported. Construction on the Bystraya Canal was officially inaugurated the same day by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma. Romanian President Ion Iliescu, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase, and the foreign affairs, transport, environment and justice ministers met to discuss the issue. Environmentalists claim that changes to the delta's water table will harm the extensive flora and fauna in the area, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. President Kuchma, however, dismissed the criticism as politically and economically motivated. He said that "all the international ecological requirements were met." Both the European Union and the United States have asked Ukraine to halt construction until a more complete environmental-impact assessment can be completed. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma blasts critics of canal

KYIV - Following the official inauguration of the Bystraya canal project in the Ukrainian part of the Danube River Delta on August 26, President Leonid Kuchma told journalists that international criticism of the Ukrainian canal project was motivated by "political and economic" reasons rather than environmental, Interfax reported. "You all know well how many skeptical accusations and even open provocations there have been that set the entire international community against this project," Mr. Kuchma said. "But we know very well whose interests stand behind these attempts to stir the waters around the canal, while in fact all international ecological requirements were met during its construction." International criticism of the Bystraya canal project primarily focused on its potential damage to the Danube Delta's unique ecosystem. By opening the Bystraya canal, Ukraine has broken Romania's monopoly on navigation in the delta. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv mayor says leaflets are bogus

KYIV - The press service of Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko said on August 25 that the leaflets distributed by unknown individuals in the city the previous day and signaling an intention of "certain destructive forces" to move the Ukrainian capital from Kyiv to Donetsk are fakes, Interfax reported. "The leaflet, allegedly signed by the Kyiv mayor, informed Kyiv residents about plans of certain destructive forces to move the capital from Kyiv to Donetsk and [included] an assurance that this [move] will be prevented," the press service said. "The falsified leaflet was apparently intended to inflame antagonism between the presidential candidates representing the above-mentioned regions and sow discord between Kyiv and Donetsk." Mayor Omelchenko is one of the 26 candidates for the October 31 presidential ballot. Another presidential candidate, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, was chairman of the Donetsk Oblast in 1997-2002 and is widely seen as the most important promoter of Donetsk's regional interests at the central-government level. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New bishop named for UOC-KP in Odesa

KYIV - Patriarch Filaret, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church-Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), on August 6 appointed Bishop Yakov (Makarchuk) as bishop of Odesa and Baltia and head of the southern Ukrainian Odesa Eparchy of the UOC-KP. Bishop Yakiv was formerly the bishop of Cherkasy for the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church. The decision to appoint Bishop Yakiv was made at a session of the Holy Synod of the UOC-KP. Bishop Paisii (Dmokhovskyi), who headed the UOC-KP's Odesa Eparchy until recently, was removed from the episcopate of the UOC-KP by a decision of the Synod. Bishop Yakiv was admitted to the episcopate of the UOC-KP after he forwarded a petition to the Synod. He also participated in the work of the National Sobor (Assembly) of the UOC-KP of July 14-16 as a guest. Bishop Yakiv (secular name Yaroslav Ivanovych Makarchuk) was born in 1952. In 1987 he entered the Leningrad Seminary of the Russian Orthodox Church. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1990 and he was received into the UAOC's Lviv Eparchy. In 1998 he was ordained bishop. In 2002-2003, conflicts arose among UAOC bishops, resulting in a schism. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

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