NEWSBRIEFS (09/04/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

Ukraine, U.S. discuss biological weapons

KYIV - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) announced in Kyiv on August 29 that the United States and Ukraine agreed to counter the threat of bioterrorism and to prevent the proliferation of biological weapons, technology, materials and expertise, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. Under the agreement Washington will assist Kyiv in upgrading the security for pathogens currently stored at Ukrainian laboratories, as well as in reducing the time required to diagnose disease outbreaks in Ukraine and assessing whether they are natural or the result of a terrorist act. "This agreement will help Ukraine improve its capacity to diagnose, detect, and respond to public health threats by providing Ukraine with more modern, central reference libraries and a network of regional epidemiological monitoring stations as well as enhancing cooperation between our two nations," U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), who was traveling with Sen. Lugar, told journalists in Kyiv. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko stresses European choice...

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko made a speech to some 10,000 people gathered on Kyiv's Independence Square on August 24 to mark the country's 14th anniversary of independence, Ukrainian and international agencies reported. According to Mr. Yushchenko, after the Orange Revolution Ukraine is perceived as a regional leader by many of its neighbors. "We not only see our future in a unified Europe," Mr. Yushchenko said. "Ukraine's success is able to open new horizons for our entire continent. I believe that very soon without Ukraine it will be impossible to imagine Europe's new face, or its frontiers, or its role in today's world." (RFE/RL Newsline)

... praises government's achievements ...

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko told the crowd on Independence Square in Kyiv on August 24 that the new Ukrainian government installed in the wake of the Orange Revolution has already achieved first tangible successes, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Under the new government, Mr. Yushchenko said, media freedom has become a reality in Ukraine. He also emphasized that the government is guided by social justice in its socioeconomic policies. "For the first time [our] pensioners have received a minimum pension that is equal to subsistence minimum," the president said. "For the first time, mothers with newborn babies have received a worthy assistance from the state." Mr. Yushchenko also asserted that under his presidency Ukrainian businessmen have for the first time showed a willingness to leave the shadow-economy sector and "to pay taxes honestly." (RFE/RL Newsline)

... and seeks higher election hurdle

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko also said in his Independence Day speech that the efficiency of a future Parliament is one of the guarantees that Ukraine will not return to the past, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "I hope that today's Verkhovna Rada has enough patriotism to raise the vote threshold. We will then get a real representative branch of authority, not a club of political-party owners." A law on parliamentary elections adopted in March lowered the vote threshold to qualify for parliamentary representation from 4 percent to 3 percent. The law stipulates that parliamentary elections to the 450-seat legislature are to be held under a fully proportional, party-list system. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Deputy wants election threshold raised

KYIV - Mykhailo Pozhyvanov, a lawmaker of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine caucus in the Verkhovna Rada, has registered a draft bill proposing to raise the vote threshold to qualify parties for parliamentary representation from 3 percent to 7 percent, UNIAN reported on August 25. Mr. Pozhyvanov's move follows Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's call the previous day to raise the vote barrier in order to have a more efficient legislature. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko honors Gongadze

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko awarded the title Hero of Ukraine and a state medal to the late Heorhii Gongadze, a journalist who founded the Internet publication Ukrayinska Pravda, reported the presidential press service. President Yushchenko said at the August 24 awards ceremony that Gongadze "gave his young life for our freedom and independence." (Ukrinform, RFE/RL Newsline)

President pledges help to miners

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on August 28 visited Donetsk to take part in celebrations of Miners' Day, Reuters reported. Mr. Yushchenko said the government in 2006 will come up with a new policy to revamp Ukrainian industry. "I will assume personal responsibility for the coal industry," Mr. Yushchenko said to a gathering of miners, who reportedly gave him a warm reception. "Our task is that every mine, like the entire sector, should be profitable." The president's trip to Donetsk came two days after Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko told officials there that an estimated $60 million had been allocated to settle miners' wage arrears. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia refuses to extradite Bakai

MOSCOW - The Russian Prosecutor-General's Office has refused to hand over to Ukraine Ihor Bakai, former head of the property management department in the presidential administration of former President Leonid Kuchma. The office said Mr. Bakai is a Russian citizen, which excludes his transfer to Ukraine or any other country. Mr. Bakai is wanted in Ukraine in connection with his indictment on seven criminal charges, among them defrauding the state. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Many Russians want USSR restored

MOSCOW - Some 32 percent of Russians would like to see the restoration of the Soviet Union, according to a poll conduct by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion, VTsIOM, among 1,600 respondents in 153 Russian cities, RosBalt reported on August 24. In 2001 this number was polled at 28 percent. The number of respondents who support the complete independence of the former Soviet republics has grown for the same period as well, from 10 percent to 16 percent. Consequentially, the number of those who want a closer alliance with the former Soviet republics declined from 42 percent in 2001 to 26 percent in 2005. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia to triple price of gas

MOSCOW - Russia's Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko told journalists after meeting with Ukrainian Fuel and Energy Minister Ivan Plachkov in Moscow on August 23 that Russia has decided that starting on January 1 it will increase the price of gas from $50 per thousand cubic meters to $160, RIA-Novosti reported. Mr. Khristenko added that Russia also will demand that all payments be made in cash. "We want to finish with barter and go to the monetization of payments for the transportation and supply of gas," he said. Meanwhile, the Transneft oil company announced on August 23 that this year Russia will reduce the amount of oil it transports through Ukraine from 54 million metric tons to 45 million metric tons, RIA-Novosti reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President appoints coal minister

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has appointed Viktor Topolov as Ukraine's coal-industry minister, Ukrainian news agencies reported on August 18. Mr. Topolov was first vice minister for fuel and energy prior to his current appointment. Mr. Yushchenko created the Coal Industry Ministry earlier this year, assigning to it part of the Fuel and Energy Ministry staff. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Official arrested for abuse of office

KYIV - Yevhen Kushnariov, former chairman of the Kharkiv Oblast State Administration, was arrested on August 16 in the Procurator General's Office in Kyiv, where he was summoned to make himself familiar with materials pertaining to a criminal case on separatism, Ukrainian news agencies reported. The same day, Mr. Kushnariov was transferred to a hospital in Kyiv for treatment for what his lawyer termed as a "grave physical condition." Mr. Kushnariov was an active participant of a convention of councilors from eastern and southern Ukraine last November, where separatist tendencies were voiced by supporters of then-presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych. However, Mr. Kushnariov was reportedly detained in connection with another criminal investigation involving abuse of office and infliction of heavy financial losses on the state. According to the New Democracy Party, which is headed by Mr. Kushnariov, his arrest is connected to the construction of two metro stations in Kharkiv during his administration of the region. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's population keeps shrinking

KYIV - According to the State Statistics Committee, as of July 1 Ukraine was populated by 47,075,000 people. The shares of the urban and rural population, respectively, were 68 percent and 32 percent of the total. As compared with the figure for January 1, Ukraine's population was reduced by 205,500 persons, or by 0.43 percent. The Donetsk region is Ukraine's most populous territory (4.64 million inhabitants) and is followed by the Dnipropetrovsk (3.46 million) and Kharkiv (2.83 million) regions. Kyiv City's population exceeds 3 million. Over the first half of 2005 it grew by 5,600 persons, or by 0.21 percent. (Ukrinform)

PM urges reduction in regulations

KYIV - Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko on August 11 slammed oblast leaders for what she termed their tardiness in canceling or simplifying a host of regulatory documents that impede the development of entrepreneurship in the regions, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Ms. Tymoshenko said that out of a total of 3,607 documents that the government wants to cancel or adjust, just 2,558 have been addressed thus far. She instructed the governors to tackle the remaining regulatory acts within the next two weeks. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Romania seeks information about canal

BUCHAREST - The Romanian Foreign Ministry has required information from the Embassy of Ukraine in Bucharest regarding Ukraine's reported resumption of the construction of the Bystraya Canal linking the Kiliya (Chilia) arm of the Danube with the Black Sea, Rompress reported on August 16. The ministry said that, according to Romanian media, a Ukrainian vessel on July 31 resumed dredging the Danube's Bystraya estuary, which constitutes the main part of the controversial canal. The first stage of the Bystraya Canal construction was completed in August 2004, amid international protests that the project poses a serious threat to the unique ecological system of the Danube Delta. A German company that participated in the Bystraya Canal construction in 2004 has reportedly withdrawn from the project. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UOC-KP and UAOC discuss union

KYIV - According to unidentified sources cited by the Religious Information Service of Ukraine, Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), met with Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov), head of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC), in the patriarchal building of the UAOC in Kyiv on August 11. They discussed the unification process of these two Churches. At the moment the RISU does not possess any official documents concerning the results of the meeting. However, the press agency of the UOC-KP confirmed this information and promised to make an official report in the nearest future. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

UAOC Sobor considers unified Church

KYIV - The Hierarchical Sobor Assembly of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC) discussed the possibility of the unification of the UAOC with other Ukrainian Orthodox Churches into a single Ukrainian national Orthodox Church. All the hierarchs of the UAOC and members of the Patriarchal Council participated in the Sobor, which was held in the Patriarchal Building in Kyiv on August 11. Patriarch Filaret (Denysenko), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP), also attended the Sobor and expressed his viewpoint concerning the unification of Churches into a single national Church. Patriarch Filaret's suggestion was to unite into a single Church without any conditions on the part of the UAOC with Patriarch Filaret as one possible candidate for the head of the united Church. The Sobor decided to hold a meeting in every eparchy of the UAOC on the unification issue as soon as possible and to summon the next Hierarchical Sobor in order to arrive at a final decision concerning the possible unification into a single national Church. According to the Sobor, the participation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate, headed by Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), is very important for the unification process. The Sobor decided to invite representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople for active participation in the unification of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches according to the canons of the Orthodox Church. The Sobor also decided to propose opening a court of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Church of the Dormition of the Most Holy Mother of God in Lviv and at a church or monastery in Kyiv, which might be suggested by the UOC-KP. The Sobor highly praised and expressed deep gratitude to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and Ukraine's government for their assistance and support in the unification process of the Ukrainian Orthodox Churches into a single national Orthodox Church for the purpose of consolidating the Ukrainian nation and strengthening Orthodoxy on the territory of Ukraine. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kharkiv eparch criticizes unification

KHARKIV - On August 12 the Religious Information Service of Ukraine received a statement from Archbishop Ihor (Isichenko), head of the Kharkiv and Poltava Eparchy of the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC). In the statement the hierarch criticizes the unification process of the UAOC, headed by Metropolitan Mefodii (Kudriakov), and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP). According to Archbishop Ihor, "it was affirmed at this meeting that the statutes of the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC will not be registered and the existence of the UAOC will at that time cease." The text of the archbishop's statement says that the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC continues its ministry under the spiritual guidance of the UAOC in the diaspora. Archbishop Ihor claims that the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC has so far not received any official appeals or proposals concerning its participation in the unification process and he emphasizes that "the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC firmly stands on the positions of the National Sobor [Assembly] of the UAOC in 2000." He said he believes that the creation of a single national Church is to be conducted in a canonical way under the spiritual guidance of the most holy ecumenical patriarch and his archbishops and not by the orders of state officials. "We see the future national Church as a spiritually strong, honest and healthy power, enrooted in the Church past of Ukraine, and directed to evangelical ministry and not to the cloning of the Stalin synod model of the Russian Orthodox Church. Any attempts to impose new compulsory unions on the eparchial community or to create legal barriers for the religious activities of the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy will be met with harsh opposition. The Eparchial Consistory has a right to address political parties, social organizations, international juridical institutions, and so on, for help," reads the statement. According to Archbishop Ihor, the Kharkiv-Poltava Eparchy of the UAOC "will decide its future in a canonical way at a sobor summoned by competent church authorities." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Mila Jovovich helps Ukraine's children

KYIV - On Saturday, August 20, Hollywood star Mila Jovovich, who is of Ukrainian extraction, announced the establishment of a charitable fund to aid Ukrainian children, in conjunction with the Ukrainian Export-Import Bank. According to the movie star, she has donated $80,000 (U.S.) to the Artek juvenile international recreational center in Crimea. Though Ms. Jovovich was invited to the Eurovision competition, she opted to visit Artek. She noted that caring for kids may not be in vogue in Hollywood, but this is a necessity as a world without children has no future. Commenting on her visit to the camp, Ms. Jovovich said she was very happy and joined the singers together with her mother, Galina Loginova, during the "Artek Is Yes" performance. Replying to a journalist's question about what helps her look so beautiful and young, Ms. Jovovich noted that all Ukrainian women are beautiful. (Ukrinform)

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