Kuchma testifies as prosecutors continue Gondadze investigation

by Zenon Zawada
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Former President Leonid Kuchma visited Ukraine's lead prosecuting body on Thursday, March 10, and testified as part of the office's investigation into the murder of Heorhii Gongadze.

Investigators of the Procurator General's Office who are exploring Gongadze's murder questioned Mr. Kuchma and will decide whether to press further, said Vyacheslav Astapov, the procurator general's press secretary.

With the questioning of Mr. Kuchma, the highest officeholder at the time of the Gongadze murder, President Viktor Yushchenko moved closer to fulfilling his commitment to investigate and prosecute the Internet journalist's slaying to the fullest extent.

"I will do everything possible to not only bring the killers into court, but also the organizers and those who ordered the murder," Mr. Yushchenko told the German Bundestag on March 9 while on a two-day visit to the country.

Ukraine's chief prosecutor, Procurator General Sviatoslav Piskun, said on March 2 that the authorities know who had ordered Gongadze's murder. As a result, the investigation is likely to call more high-ranking officials to testify, perhaps in court.

President Yushchenko's determination to solve the murder has led to drastic actions on behalf of those suspected to be involved.

On March 4, former Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko was supposed to meet with prosecutors for questioning. Instead, he was found dead that morning in country home on the outskirts of Kyiv.

Police concluded that Mr. Kravchenko died of suicide, and even released excerpts of a note in which he denies any involvement in Gongadze's murder and describes himself as "a victim of the political intrigues of Mr. Kuchma and his entourage."

Many Ukrainians, however, have cast doubt on that version, especially considering that the former minister had two gunshot wounds to his head.

If it was suicide, then Mr. Kravchenko failed in his first attempt, in which a bullet entered his chin, said Petro Koliada, the vice minister of internal affairs. The lethal second bullet entered Kravchenko's temple.

National Deputy Hryhorii Omelchenko said he had asked Mr. Piskun to detain Mr. Kravchenko more than a month ago. "The arrest would have been a way to protect Kravchenko," he said.

As a result, a common conspiracy theory among Ukrainians is that Mr. Kravchenko was either indirectly pressured to kill himself by high-ranking officials because his testimony could implicate others, or that he was murdered for that same reason.

Mr. Kravchenko and Mr. Kuchma are widely suspected of playing a role in Gongadze's murder, partly because of secret recording made by a former security officer for President Kuchma, Mykola Melnychenko.

They are widely believed to be the voices behind the now famous dialogue in which the voice believed to be Mr. Kuchma's orders a subordinate to threaten Mr. Gongadze's life.

"We're working on him," said the voice similar to Mr. Kravchenko's.

"I'm telling you, haul him out, throw him out," said the voice similar to Mr. Kuchma's. "Give him to the Chechens, (inaudible), and then ransom."

The voice similar to Mr. Kravchenko's later said, "I have right now a fighting team, these 'Orly,' who will take care of everything you want."

Throughout the recordings, of which only 30 hours have been released by Mr. Melnychenko, the voice similar to Mr. Kuchma's repeatedly expresses his contempt for Mr. Gongadze and a desire to threaten the journalist's life.

Investigators made further progress this week, charging two police colonels on March 7 with premeditated murder following their arrests the prior week. Mr. Piskun has declined to reveal their names.

Like all Ukrainian police officers, the four accused of Gongadze's kidnapping and murder were employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, led by Mr. Kravchenko at the time.

A third suspect is under house arrest in Kyiv.

Yurii Nesterov, a key witness who is currently under police protection in Kyiv, was reportedly wounded two weeks ago when someone threw a grenade at him and his guard.

Gen. Oleksii Pukach, the former head of police intelligence, has fled the country and is the subject of an international search warrant, Mr. Piskun said.

Another witness, Ihor Honcharov, died in prison two years ago. He said that Mr. Nesterov played a direct role in the kidnapping and murder of Mr. Gongadze.

It has been widely speculated in the Ukrainian media that the procurator general's investigation would stop at Mr. Kravchenko because of a possible immunity deal that Mr. Yushchenko could have struck with Mr. Kuchma.

However, Mr. Yushchenko's close ally, chocolate mogul Petro Poroshenko, said there is no immunity deal extended to Mr. Kuchma. "In the Gongadze matter, there wasn't any person above the law, and there won't be anyone having immunity," Mr. Poroshenko said.

Mr. Melnychenko has stated that a full investigation of the Gongadze murder should implicate four top government officials, including Mr. Kuchma, Mr. Kravchenko, former Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Leonid Derkach and current Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn.

A voice similar to Mr. Lytvyn's on the Melnychenko recordings said, "In my opinion, let loose Kravchenko to use alternative methods."

Mr. Lytvyn dismissed allegations and said he is also ready to testify.

Since Mr. Gongadze's disappearance in September 2000, Mr. Kuchma has vigorously denied any role, later claiming that he is the victim of a frame-up hatched by his political enemies. He has said the recordings are fakes and were doctored.

"Before God, before the people, I have a clear conscience," Mr. Kuchma told reporters after Mr. Kravchenko's death.

Attending Mr. Kravchenko's memorial service several days later, Mr. Kuchma said, "I have already said that this is all a game that began in 2000, when some people did not like President Kuchma."

More than a third of Ukrainians, or 35 percent, believe Mr. Kuchma should be brought to court, according to a poll released on March 9 by the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Research.

The question posed to 2,012 participants was, "What future for Mr. Kuchma do you believe would be most just?" Almost 45 percent of respondents believe that Mr. Kuchma should simply leave civic and political life. Almost two-thirds of Ukrainians, or 64 percent, have a negative view of Mr. Kuchma, the poll reported.

Meanwhile, a mini-drama has unfolded between Mr. Melnychenko and Mr. Piskun, who extended the former security officer an invitation to come to Ukraine from the U.S., where he has received political asylum.

Mr. Piskun said he hopes to obtain Mr. Melnychenko's original recordings and employ them in his office's investigations. However, Mr. Melnychenko has made clear he doesn't hold Mr. Piskun in high regard.

Vice Prime Minister of Humanitarian Policy Mykola Tomenko met with Mr. Melnychenko in Warsaw between March 6 and 7. During their meeting, Mr. Melnychenko said he was ready to hand over his recordings to Ukrainian authorities and testify for the procurator general. In return, Mr. Melnychenko asked for security during his visit to Ukraine.

Mr. Yushchenko is willing to meet with Mr. Melnychenko during his visit to the U.S. planned for early April, Mr. Tomenko said.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 13, 2005, No. 11, Vol. LXXIII

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