NEWSBRIEFS (11/07/04)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma says Ukraine won't change tack

KYIV - Incumbent President Leonid Kuchma said after casting his vote on October 31 that Ukraine's strategic course will not change after the presidential election, irrespective of who becomes the country's next president, UNIAN reported. "Ukraine's European choices have been, and will remain, [the same] for the president and society," Mr. Kuchma said. "Today nobody doubts that - the path has been determined." The president rejected journalists' suggestions that he might become prime minister following the presidential elections. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine marks liberation day

KYIV - Ukraine marked the 60th anniversary of liberation from German occupation with a military parade on Kyiv's main street on October 28, Interfax reported. Over 8,000 soldiers and veterans attended the parade, which was watched by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The parade stand also included Ukrainian presidential candidate and Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn, Kyiv Mayor Oleksander Omelchenko, war veterans, military officials, national deputies, ministers and diplomats. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka, who was also expected to watch the parade, ended his visit to Ukraine the previous day. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Journalists protest against pressure ...

KYIV - Some 40 Ukrainian journalists signed a statement on October 28 protesting the pressure exerted on them during the presidential campaign, Interfax reported. "The authorities force TV channels and their owners to present events in a biased way or to hush socially important events," Serhii Shvets, a journalist from ICTV Channel, announced on behalf of his colleagues from ICTV, New Channel, Tonis, Inter, NTN, and 1+1, the major Ukrainian channels. Their statement demanded that "all information programs must report on all socially important events, all news programs must present all views on reported events, [and] all information broadcast by the mass media must be checked and contain sources of information." The statement stresses the importance of professional coverage of the final phase of the election campaign and urges journalists take such a stance. The same day the number of journalists who had signed the statement increased to 89. (RFE/RL Newsline)

...while others quit their jobs

KYIV - Seven journalists from the news studio 1+1 have abandoned the channel to protest against censorship, Interfax reported on October 28. "We refuse to take part in the information war. The authorities unleashed this war against its own people, trying to win the presidential race through intimidation and the use of force," the journalists said in a statement. "Our TV job has finally transformed into serving the interests of those to whom 1+1 was given for political use by its owners," they added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Putin promotes dual citizenship

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin said during a Cabinet meeting on October 30 that it is necessary to speed up the adoption of legislation that will allow dual Russian-Ukrainian citizenship, ORT and RTR reported. Mr. Putin pledged to support the initiative during his recent visit to Ukraine, which was widely seen as showing the government's support for Viktor Yanukovych's presidential candidacy. The Russian president also spoke in the Kremlin with Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov and Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov and asked them to begin "practical consultations with their Ukrainian colleagues on this issue." Mr. Gryzlov said that dual citizenship will mean that between 4 million and 6 million Ukrainian citizens who permanently or temporarily live in Russia will be eligible for Russian citizenship. Mr. Mironov said that dual citizenship raises issues regarding compulsory military service and voting rights, but added that he believes that a citizen's residence should dictate his or her eligibility for voting and military service. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... keeps pledge on visa-free travel

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin made good on another promise he made during his recent trip to Ukraine by asking Internal Affairs Minister Rashid Nurgaliev and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at a October 30 Security Council meeting to eliminate restrictions for Ukrainian citizens traveling to Russia, RTR and strana.ru reported. Mr. Nurgaliev said that, according to an agreement reached with Kyiv, Ukrainians will be able to stay in Russia for up to 90 days without registering as of November 1 and will be allowed entry into Russia using their own domestic documents beginning in January. The head of the National Strategy Institute, Stanislav Belkovskii, told Echo Moskvy on October 26 that the initiative constitutes no more than an "electoral trick" on the part of Mr. Putin to support Mr. Yanukovych's candidacy in the Ukrainian presidential election. Mr. Belkovskii predicted that President Putin will retreat from the initiative as soon as the election is over, as the trafficking of humans and drugs across the Russian-Ukrainian border is already too difficult to control. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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