NEWSBRIEFS (07/17/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

200,000 make pilgrimage to Zarvanytsia

TERNOPIL - An all-Ukrainian family pilgrimage to the village of Zarvanytsia in western Ukraine's Ternopil region, titled "The Eucharist as a source of love and unity in the family," took place on July 16-17 at the St. Mary Spiritual Center. Approximate calculations indicate that more than 200,000 pilgrims from Ukraine, Poland, Belarus and other countries participated in the pilgrimage. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Ukrainians recognized as "Righteous"

VINNYTSIA - Israel's Ambassador to Ukraine Naomi Ben-Ami has awarded the Righteous Among the Nations medal to eight Ukrainians in Vinnytsia. The medal is awarded to people who facilitated the rescue of Jews during World War II. According to the ambassador, this is the sixth time she is awarding the medal in Ukraine this year. Over 2,000 people have received the award in Ukraine. (Ukrinform)

Volodymyr's relics returned to Kyiv

KYIV - The remains of Prince Volodymyr the Great, who reigned in 980-1015 in Kyivan Rus', were to be returned to the Monastery of the Caves (Pecherska Lavra) on July 24. Metropolitan Volodymyr of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate was to bring the relics back from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Prince Volodymyr's remains were discovered by archajeologists in 1635 in a marble sarcophagus of the Church of the Tithes (Desiatynna Tserkva) in Kyiv. Part of the relics went to the Kremlin's Assumption Cathedral; and part was placed in the Monastery of the Caves. The Kyiv relics were on loan to Leningrad prior to World War II for an anthropological study. The remains now returning to Kyiv were transferred in the 1980s from the Kremlin to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary Cathedral in Rostov-on-Don. Prince Volodymyr brought Christianity to his realm in 988. (RIA Novosti)

Yushchenko seeks Japanese investment

TOKYO - President Viktor Yushchenko said in Tokyo on July 21 that he expects that his ongoing five-day visit to Japan could result in attracting more than $1 billion worth of Japanese investment in Ukraine, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. In a joint statement with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Mr. Yushchenko pledged to improve the investment environment in Ukraine for Japanese businesses. For his part, Mr. Koizumi expressed support for Ukraine's "early accession" to the World Trade Organization. The statement also endorsed efforts to reform the United Nations into a more representative organization, including the expansion of the U.N. Security Council to provide a permanent seat for Japan and an additional non-permanent seat for an Eastern European country, the Associated Press reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Groups oppose Romaniuk's reburial

KYIV - A recent appeal of the Society of the Repressed in Ukraine to Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, requesting reburial of the remains of Bishop Volodymyr Romaniuk of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), on the territory of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv has caused sharp criticism from the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of Ukraine and the Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Alexander Nevsky. According to blagovest-info.ru, the organizations say that such reburial will "not only oppress the interests of the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine [i. e. the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP)], but will be generally anti-Orthodox in character." The two organizations stated that: "The Orthodox public of Ukraine, represented by the Union of Orthodox Brotherhoods of Ukraine and the Orthodox Brotherhood of St. Alexander Nevsky, considers the appearance of such plans a manifestation of sacrilege against an Orthodox sanctuary not only of ancient Rus' and all the eastern Slavic nations, who consider Kyivan Rus' their cradle, but of the entire Orthodox world, and calls the current government not to allow realization of these criminal designs." The statement went on to note: "Should similar anti-Orthodox and sacrilegious plans be realized, the Orthodox community will consider them the beginning of repression against canonical Orthodoxy, a crime against the conscience and historical truth of the Orthodox people of Ukraine. This gives us the right, according to the social concept of our Church, to come out in defense of our holy places and turn to the international community, above all to the brotherly peoples of the same blood, for support and help," the statement of the UOC-MP organizations said. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

UOC-MP honors Socialist leader

KYIV - Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), has presented the Order of the Venerable Nestor the Chronicler, first degree, to Oleksander Moroz, leader of the Socialist Party of Ukraine, reported the UOC-MP press service on July 21. Metropolitan Volodymyr spoke of Mr. Moroz's special contribution to the establishment of Ukrainian statehood, legality and democracy. Mr. Moroz thanked the metropolitan for the high praise of his work and assured him that he and his party will always support and help the UOC-MP in carrying out its historical mission of serving the human being and the nation, and restoring and strengthening spirituality and morality. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

ROC against UGCC move to Kyiv

MOSCOW - Meeting in Moscow on July 16, the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) heard a report by Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk and Kaliningrad criticizing the wish of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC) to move its seat from western Ukrainian Lviv to Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. The ROC hierarchs supported the metropolitan's position. The synod also expressed hopes of resolving existing problems and developing good relations with the Roman Catholic Church. An information sheet attached to the synod's final resolution notes that, since the beginning of his pontificate, Pope Benedict XVI has stated his intention to develop cooperation between the Roman Catholic and the Orthodox Churches. The sheet goes on to say: "However, despite encouraging statements by Pope Benedict XVI, relations between the Russian Orthodox and the Roman Catholic Churches remain tense. In a meeting between Metropolitan Kirill and Cardinal Walter Casper, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, on June 22, the Catholic side again stated its intention to move the seat of the head of the UGCC from Lviv to Kyiv and to confirm his title of patriarch of Kyiv. The Orthodox side stated the inadmissibility of the idea of mentioning Kyiv in the title of the head of the UGCC and the transfer of his seat to the city from the canonical, ecclesiological and pastoral viewpoint." Prior to the June 22 meeting, Cardinal Kasper was quoted as saying that he did not plan to talk about the UGCC: "It's not my task to speak about another Church, they must do it themselves; so it's not the point of my negotiations." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Patriarch sets condition for meeting pope

KAZAN, Russia - Patriarch Aleksei II, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, does not exclude the possibility of meeting with Pope Benedict XVI, but only when certain conditions are observed on the part of the Roman Catholic Church, including the status of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, pravoslavye.org.ua reported on July 21. Patriarch Aleksei charged that violent acts against Orthodox clergy and faithful, as well as desecration of Orthodox churches, took place when the Union [the Uniate or Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church] was re-established in the western regions of Ukraine with the collapse of the Soviet Union in the late 1980s and early 1990s. "This did not take place in the Middle Ages, and it concerned the Russian Orthodox Church, which the Second Council of Vatican called a sister Church. This is unbelievable," the patriarch said. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Ukrainian, Israeli defense officials meet

TEL AVIV - Israeli and Ukrainian defense officials signed an agreement on July 25 for security and military cooperation, The Jerusalem Post reported. Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz and visiting Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko signed the agreement at a meeting in Tel Aviv. The agreement is to lead to cooperation in fighting terrorism, as well as joint military maneuvers and defense industry cooperation. "In these days, when global terror is becoming an epidemic and is sending its arms everywhere, as we saw in London and in Egypt, we believe that all the nations of the world have to unite and cooperate against terror," The Jerusalem Post quoted Mr. Mofaz as saying. Israeli troops recently returned from Ukraine, where they trained with NATO forces for the first time. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Case against Dnipropetrovsk chair

KYIV - Criminal charges have been filed against former Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Chairman Mykola Shvets, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 26. The charges against Mr. Shvets include misuse of large amounts of state funds for personal gain during his tenure as governor in 1999-2003, a spokesman for the Procurator General's Office said. According to Interfax, Mr. Shvets has left Ukraine and is living in an undisclosed location. This is the latest case of an oblast leader appointed by former President Leonid Kuchma being charged with criminal activity. The former chairmen of the Donetsk, Sumy and Zakarpattia Oblasts have all been indicted on similar charges. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Bishop ordained for Kolomyia-Chernivtsi

IVANO-FRANKIVSK - The ordination of Bishop Mykola Simkailo was performed by Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC), on July 12 in Ivano-Frankivsk's Resurrection Cathedral. The episcopal ordination took place after Pope Benedict XVI gave his blessing to the June decision of the UGCC Synod of Bishops to appoint the former dean of Ivano-Frankivsk, the Rev. Mitred Simkailo, as bishop of the UGCC Eparchy of Kolomyia and Chernivtsi. Following the ordination, Bishop Volodymyr Viityshyn ceremonially ascended to the altar of the Eparchy of Ivano-Frankivsk at the cathedral. Bishop Viityshyn had previously been bishop of the Eparchy of Kolomyia and Chernivtsi. The introduction of Bishop Simkailo into service as bishop of Kolomyia and Chernivtsi took place on July 13. Thousands of faithful, as well as hierarchs of other Christian Churches, leaders of civic organizations and representatives of the local authorities participated in the ceremony. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Ukrtelekom privatization is suspended

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has signed into law a bill passed by parliament on July 5 suspending the privatization of the Ukrainian telecommunications giant Ukrtelekom, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 26. The president's press office announced that the suspension will continue until the government comes up with a new privatization plan. The original law allowing for Ukrtelekom's privatization was passed on July 13, 2000, and allowed for the sale of a 42.86 percent stake, with 50 percent plus one share remaining with the state. The additional 7.14 percent of shares was to be sold to Ukrtelekom employees. A tender was to have taken place in August 2004 but was suspended by former President Leonid Kuchma, who said that the sale would fuel pre-election speculation about potential buyers. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poroshenko on refinery overhaul

KYIV - National Security and Defense Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko said that an announced three-year renovation project at the Odesa oil refinery will not create fuel shortages or a price increase in Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 26. "This [repair] cannot possibly cause and will not cause any deficit of fuel on the Ukrainian market," he told a press conference in Kyiv. The Odesa refinery is owned by Russia's LUKoil, the management of which announced recently that it would undertake a $320 million, three-year project to upgrade it. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Nemtsov criticizes Kyiv's economic policy

YALTA - Boris Nemtsov, an informal economic adviser to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, told journalists attending the Yalta European Seminar that while he supports Ukraine's aspirations for European integration, he is critical of the country's economic policies, Interfax reported on July 23. "The majority of citizens from eastern, central and western Ukraine support the idea of a pro-European policy, and I think this support will continue to grow," Mr. Nemtsov reportedly said. He also suggested that actions taken by the government have brought Ukraine no closer to Europe but, on the contrary, are moving them apart. Mr. Nemtsov has been critical in the past of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's views on re-privatization and her handling of price increases by Russian oil companies that operate in Ukraine. Mr. Nemtsov is a former leader of the Union of Rightist Forces in Russia, a post from which he resigned after the party failed to reach the 5 percent electoral threshold in the 2003 Duma elections. (RFE/RL Newsline)

SBU boasts of its successes

KYIV- In an interview with the Ekonomichni Visti newspaper published on July 25, Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) director Oleksander Turchynov said that eight foreign agents found to have been operating under diplomatic cover were declared persona non grata and forced to leave Ukraine in the first six months of this year. Another 41 people who failed to report their links to foreign intelligence agencies were barred entry into the country, and one of 56 Ukrainian citizens with ties to foreign intelligence agents has been convicted while criminal cases have been launched against three others, Mr. Turchynov said. Five days earlier Mr. Turchynov told journalists in Kyiv that Ukraine's counterespionage service is one of the best in Europe, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Mr. Turchynov said "The performance of the military counterespionage service was not bad either. The service prevented 22 terror attacks on Ukrainian peacekeeping contingents in various countries." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Will Rynat Akhmetov be arrested?

KYIV - Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko told journalists in Kyiv on July 20 that billionaire businessman Rynat Akhmetov may be arrested if he refuses to come in for police questioning, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "He has the right to refuse to speak with us. ... This is his constitutional right. But he is obliged to appear," Mr. Lutsenko said. Mr. Akhmetov failed to appear on July 18 for questioning as a witness in a case related to a 1988 shooting in Donetsk. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Fake banknotes feature Tymoshenko

KYIV - Money counterfeiters have been distributing false 5,000 hrv (nearly $1,000) banknotes among pensioners in the Donetsk Oblast, posing as employees of regional social-security departments, the Ukrayinska Pravda website reported on July 20, citing the Kharkiv branch of the National Bank of Ukraine. The false banknotes bear the image of Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. The fraudsters claim to be distributing social allowances granted to pensioners by the government prior to this year's Victory Day. Since the allowances are significantly lower than 5,000 hrv, the fraudsters reportedly make their profits by taking change from the duped pensioners, who are primarily village residents. Ukraine's highest value banknote is in the amount of 200 hrv and it bears the image of Ukrainian poet Lesia Ukrainka, who slightly resembles Ms. Tymoshenko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Latvia opens honorary consulate in Lviv

LVIV - Latvia is interested in making contacts with Ukraine more comprehensive and multi-faceted, as well as to develop them on the regional level, Latvian Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador to Ukraine Andris Vilcans said at a July 21 press conference in Lviv on the occasion of the opening of Latvia's Honorary Consulate. The opening ceremony in Lviv was attended by a Latvian delegation, composed of Seimas (Parliament) members, municipal officials of several Latvian towns and representatives of the Latvian League of Entrepreneurs, who expressed their lively interest in establishing cooperation with Ukraine. Several agreements on cooperation in business, culture and science are expected to be signed shortly between Ukraine and Latvia. The two countries are also supposed to step up and broaden their cooperation in rail transportation, as about 70 percent of Ukraine's fleet of electric trains was once made in Latvia (the Riga Rolling Stock Works) and is in need of modernization. The parties' joint project may well start with the Lviv Railroad. There is also particular interest in stepping up cooperation between Ukrainian and Latvian small towns, including the tourism industry. Latvia's honorary consul to Lviv is Volodymyr Hartsula, chairman of the BEEM Holding Co., who assumed the office in May 2005. (Ukrinform)

Minister calls for increasing livestock

KYIV - Agricultural Policy Minister Oleksander Baranivskyi on July 21 called on oblast chairmen to promote increasing the number of livestock in the country, with a view to addressing the current meat shortages, the Ukrayinska Pravda website (http://www2.pravda.com.ua) reported. "I beg you: Every single pig we have should not be killed [for meat] - it should be mated," Mr. Baranivskyi said at a Cabinet of Ministers meeting. "Have you understood your task?" Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko asked the governors. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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