NEWSBRIEFS

Coalition ready to talk with opposition

KYIV - Leaders of the ruling coalition - the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Our Ukraine and the Socialist Party - are ready to sit at the negotiating table with the Party of the Regions, Ukrainian media reported on June 30, quoting Roman Bezsmertnyi of Our Ukraine. Lawmakers from the Party of the Regions have been blocking the parliamentary session chamber in protest against what they see as an unlawful scheme to appoint the prime minister and Verkhovna Rada chairman and the opposition's failure to offer the opposition sufficient positions on legislative committees. Mr. Bezsmertnyi told journalists on June 30 that the ruling coalition will not accept any ultimatums during such negotiations. Party of the Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych earlier announced that the blockade of the parliamentary chamber will be continued until the coalition parties give up their proposal to approve the prime minister and Rada chair via a single, open ballot. President Viktor Yushchenko on June 29 also called for talks to solve the parliamentary impasse. If the Verkhovna Rada fails to approve a new Cabinet by July 25, President Yushchenko will have the right to disband the legislature elected on March 26. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President rules out new elections

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said in a radio address to the nation on July 1 that he is not going to dissolve the Verkhovna Rada over its protracted inability to elect parliamentary leadership and appoint a new Cabinet, Ukrainian media reported. "There will be no repeat elections. It is a too expensive a pleasure for the country and an inadequate price for the ambitions of some politicians," President Yushchenko noted. He said Ukraine recently marked the 10th anniversary of the promulgation of its Constitution without a Constitutional Court, a functioning Parliament and a new Cabinet of Ministers. "The responsibility for this lies exclusively with deputies of the new Verkhovna Rada and the leaders of parties and blocs whose short-sighted position has led to a blockade of the Parliament's work," Mr. Yushchenko added. He urged the newly created ruling coalition of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Our Ukraine and the Socialist Party to discuss the current parliamentary impasse with the opposition - the Party of the Regions led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and the Communist Party. A planned round of such talks misfired in Kyiv on July 3 after Mr. Yanukovych failed to show up and the ruling coalition refused to discuss the parliamentary crisis without him. Party of the Regions deputies have been blocking the parliamentary session hall for the past week. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President meets party leaders

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on July 4 met with Yulia Tymoshenko (Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc), Roman Bezsmertnyi (Our Ukraine), Oleksander Moroz (Socialist Party of Ukraine), Viktor Yanukovych (Party of the Regions) and Petro Symonenko (Communist Party of Ukraine). Secretariat Chief of Staff Oleh Rybachuk and his first deputy, Ivan Vasiunyk, also were present at the meeting. Addressing the leaders, President Yushchenko demanded that they start a constructive dialogue and find healthy compromises. "We must reach understanding in the framework of the five political forces. This is our obligation, not our whim," he said. "I am convinced we are about to resolve all the problems we face." The president said the parties had clearly declared their political positions, and that the only impediment now is distrust and intolerance among the negotiators. "We must not negotiate in such an atmosphere. [] Nobody should negotiate through demands and unilateral questions. I want to create an atmosphere making us leave this table with a constructive choice," he said. Mr. Yushchenko said he believes the parliamentary crisis is his country's major problem and that he is "eager to see the Parliament functioning." (Official Website of President of Ukraine)

Gas price to remain unchanged

KYIV - Acting Prime Minister Yurii Yekhanurov said at a Cabinet of Minister meeting on June 30 that the price of gas imported by Ukraine will remain unchanged in the third quarter of 2006, Ukrainian and Russian media reported. "Our industry can operate in a calm fashion. As for the fourth quarter, we will work further," Mr. Yekhanurov said, noting that a deal to this effect had been reached in talks between UkrgazEnergo and RosUkrEnergo, firms acting as intermediaries to supply Russian and Central Asian gas to Ukraine. In January, Gazprom and Naftohaz Ukrayiny signed a 2006 gas-supply contract whereby Ukraine undertook to pay $95 per 1,000 cubic meters of a Russian-Central Asian gas mix. The price set in that contract was valid only for the first six months of 2006. Meanwhile, gas prices for Ukrainian individual consumers have gone up by some 85 percent as of July 1. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia says Ukraine sold missiles

MOSCOW - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said in Moscow on June 30 that Ukraine's Progress company supplied China and Iran with six long-range cruise missiles each in 2000-2001, RIA Novosti reported. "This is the grossest violation of the control regime over missile technologies," Mr. Ivanov said. He added the deal was conducted via a Cyprus-based company, but declined to reveal its name or what the missiles cost. He said that each sale involved six Soviet Kh-55 Granat cruise missiles, which are known to NATO as AS-15 Kent. He charged that this has been the only violation of the non-proliferation regime in the Commonwealth of Independent States. "Russia has been working to coordinate efforts in the non-proliferation sphere with its CIS partners and within the [Collective Security Treaty Organization]," Mr. Ivanov added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Putin seeks to lure Russians home

MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on June 26 for the "repatriation" of ethnic Russian "compatriots" living abroad, the daily Gazeta reported on June 27. Presidential aide Viktor Ivanov has been named to chair an interdepartmental commission to oversee the program, which could potentially affect up to 4 million people, primarily from CIS countries, the paper noted. Those coming to Russia will have to choose one of 12 regions divided into three categories. Category A means border regions, Category B regions are those where major investment projects are under way, and Category C are territories with a dwindling population. Guaranteed jobs and financial support are provided only for those going to border regions. The 12 regions are largely in the Far East, in central Russia's Black Earth region, and in Kaliningrad Oblast. The plan is aimed at offsetting the decline in population, about which Mr. Putin has spoken out repeatedly. Some nationalist critics have charged that repatriation will not do much to offset that decline, and that Mr. Putin is undermining any possible Russian claim to or role in former Soviet republics by encouraging ethnic Russians there to leave. Other critics say that the government should do more for illegal immigrants already living in Russia before bringing in additional people. (RFE/RL Newsline)

1 million expected to return to Russia

MOSCOW - Kremlin adviser Modest Kolerov told Interfax on July 1 that more than 1 million Russians, most of them "professionals" currently living in unspecified countries that are undergoing "a socio-economic crisis," plan to take advantage of the repatriation program announced by President Vladimir Putin on June 26. That program guarantees benefits and support for persons who agree to settle in border regions in the Far East. Returnees will also be permitted to settle in regions where the population is declining rapidly, or where major investment programs are under way. In Primorsky Krai, the authorities are already allocating land for repatriates to settle, while in Irkutsk, Governor Aleksandr Tishanin said on June 29 that the oblast is ready to house in 2007 up to 1.5 million ethnic Russians from former Soviet republics who wish to settle in the Russian Federation, regnum.ru reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Oppositionist fined for flying flag

VITEBSK, Miensk - A court in Vitebsk on June 19 fined Krystsina Shatsikava some $2,200 for hanging up a white-red-white flag on a television-transmitter tower in Vitsebsk on June 18, RFE/RL's Belarus Service and Belapan reported. A white-red-white flag was the official symbol of independent Belarus before Alyaksandr Lukashenka became president in 1994 and banned the flag the following year. "It was my rebellion against what is taking place in the country, against the information blockade," Ms. Shatsikava said in the court. The policeman who hauled Ms. Shatsikava down from the television tower said in the court that she "put up resistance, was excited, tried to bite," and kicked him. Meanwhile, a witness of the incident told RFE/RL on condition of anonymity that Ms. Shatsikava was harshly beaten by servicemen who were involved in getting her down. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Arson averted at St. George's

LVIV - On June 14, at approximately 9 a.m., an unidentified person tried to set St. George Cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church afire. The police were called and the person was arrested. According to Father Volodymyr Onyskiv, manager of the Curia of the Lviv Archeparchy of the UGCC, at approximately 9 a.m., when there were still not many people in the cathedral, an unidentified person brought an incendiary mixture in his bag. He spilled the liquid from the central to the right entrance outside the cathedral and also near the copy of the Shroud of Turin inside the church building. But the faithful who were inside the church at the time did not allow him to burn it. They called the guards who, in turn, called the police. According to the police, the suspect constantly uses offensive language in reference to the church. According to ukranews.com, the motive of the crime was the desire of the Lviv resident to attract the attention of society and journalists. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Bishop discusses migrant workers

KYIV - Bishop Hlib Lonchyna, apostolic visitator for Ukrainian Greek-Catholics in Italy, Spain and Ireland, discussed the realities of migrant workers in those countries during a 90-minute web conference held on June 14 on the official website of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church. Bishop Lonchyna said that there are approximately 100 pastoral centers of the UGCC in Italy, with 20 priests. In Spain there are approximately 25 centers with 13 priests. In Ireland there is one priest serving the faithful. In addition to priestly pastoral work, the UGCC helps the faithful through local charity organizations and also, when possible, helps solve problems with the local government, said the bishop. Bishop Lonchyna said there are no exact figures on the number of Ukrainians abroad. Officially there are 150,000 registered in Italy, 75,000 in Spain, and 8,000 in Ireland. However, he noted that there are many more and it is difficult to determine how many since they live and work abroad illegally. The bishop said that the church looks with concern upon the phenomenon of migrant workers. On the one hand, he said, it is understandable why people, including mothers, travel abroad to work. On the other, this can cause great harm to children, marriages, the Church and society. Bishop Lonchyna told migrant workers that money is not everything; nothing can replace a mother's presence. Faith and human dignity are the most valuable things in life, he added. The bishop said that a great support for these mothers abroad can be prayer, frequent contact with husbands and children by telephone or letter, and mutual support. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Arson suspected at 19th century church

LVIV - On June 17, at around 5:30 a.m., in the village of Staryi Yarychiv in the Kamianka-Buzka District of the Lviv region, a fire started at the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church of the Presentation of the Mother of God. The wooden church was constructed in 1864. The fire damaged a wall. There are indications that someone intentionally started the fire and an investigation has begun. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Jewish cemetery vandals detained

ZHYTOMYR, Ukraine - The police in Zhytomyr have detained vandals who confessed that in May they destroyed several tombstones in the 12th sector of the Jewish cemetery. Lt. Col. Vasyl Pakliachenko reported that their testimony and connection to other crimes are being checked. The acts of vandalism were not committed by a gang of skinheads but by two teenagers. The boys, age 14 and 16, drank alcohol and decided to earn money on scrap metal, and so they went to the cemetery and vandalized the graves. As well, there is an ongoing investigation concerning the burned tombstone of the Righteous Aron. According to Serhii Kurochkin, assistant of Shlomo Vilgelm, chief rabbi of Zhytomyr and northern and western Ukraine, on the day of the vandalism a group of youngsters who told the guard they were representatives of the Nazi movement, were rioting at the cemetery. The arson was committed in broad daylight and the criminals did not attempt to hide. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Patriarchal Administration head appointed

KYIV - At the ceremonial session of the Patriarchal Administration of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church held in Kyiv on June 24, Auxiliary Bishop Dionisii Liakhovych, the new head of the UGCC's Patriarchal Administration, was introduced. Patriarch Lubomyr Husar presided at the meeting. Bishop Liakovych was appointed head of the administration of the main center of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC and was given the primary right to sign all bank and financial documents. The primate of the UGCC presented the modern structure of the Patriarchal Curia, which consists of three branches: the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC (legislative branch), the Patriarchal Administration (executive branch) and the Patriarchal Tribunal (judicial branch). The Patriarchal Administration includes the following structural units: the personal secretariat of the head of the UGCC, the exarch on monastic matters, the exarch for military structures, the patriarchal financial office, the secretariat of the head of the UGCC and the department of external relations. The secretariat itself consists of the chancellery, the information department, the bureau on relations with Ukraine's government, the organization department, and the archive. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Bishop of Ternopil passes away

KYIV - Bishop Mykhail Sabryha of Ternopil and Zboriv of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church died on June 29 after long period of heart disease. He was born in 1940, entered the Redemptorist order and started studying in the underground seminary in 1963. He was ordained a priest in 1974 and a bishop in 1986. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

World Forum of Ukrainians slated

WASHINGTON - The fourth World Forum of Ukrainians will take place in Kyiv on August 18-20 as one of the main events within celebrations of the 15th anniversary of Ukraine's independence. The forum will be an important tool to inform Ukrainians throughout the world of the revamped Ukrainian state, and the activity of the president and the government of Ukraine aimed at consolidation of relations with compatriots living outside their native land. In the framework of the forum a number of events are planned, including roundtables on "Civil Society," "Public Organizations and Units," "The Man-Made Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933," and "Language, Education and the Study of Culture." The roundtable dedicated to the Famine is aimed at giving international exposure to the approaching 75th anniversary of the Famine, which will be commemorated in 2007-2008. About 40 researchers of the Famine from 14 countries throughout the world, including the United States, Canada, Sweden, France, Japan, Austria, Italy, Georgia, Poland and Lithuania, will take part at the event. (Embassy of Ukraine)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, July 9, 2006, No. 28, Vol. LXXIV

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