BREAKING NEWS: Verkhovna Rada disagreements over medical evidence

KYIV - National Deputy Oleksander Zinchenko read a letter before lawmakers during the Verkhovna Rada session on Thursday, October 7, which he said he had just received from Rudolfinerhaus medical clinic. In the letter, the doctors analyzing the results of tissue reviewing asked permission from Viktor Yuschenko to bring in biological warfare specialists to properly analyze the tests done on the presidential candidate and ascertain the cause of his condition.

Mr. Zinchenko made his statement as the Verkhovna Rada listened to a report from its ad hoc parliamentary committee investigating the poisoning of the presidential candidate. The report from the ad hoc investigative committee took place after a proposal from the Our Ukraine faction, which Mr. Yuschenko heads, to hold off debate on the results of the committee's investigation, was narrowly rejected.

National Deputy Viktor Pynzenyk of Our Ukraine had proposed that debate be postponed until after a preliminary analysis of the cause of the poisoning, received from Rudolfinerhaus medical clinic that morning, was reviewed by committee members, most of whom had yet to see the report.

Committee Chairman Volodymyr Syvkovych, in voicing the conclusions made by the committee, proceeded to blast Rudolfinerhaus for refusing to cooperate with committee members. He concluded that the committee had received no evidence that Mr. Yuschenko had been poisoned.

National Deputy Serhii Shevchuk, the vice-chairman of the committee, took the floor immediately afterwards to note that he disagreed with the conclusions drawn by Mr. Syvkovych, which he called "immoral." Mr. Shevchuk, who is a medical doctor, said he was present at deliberations with doctors at Rudolfinerhaus. He added that there was every reason to believe that a poisoning could have taken place.

He called the accent in Mr. Syvkovych's report on what food and liquor was ingested by those who were in the company of Mr. Yuschenko on the day he was poisoned - rather than on what the presidential candidate had eaten specifically - a cynical attempt to smear the facts.

- Roman Woronowycz

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, October 10, 2004, No. 41, Vol. LXXII

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