NEWSBRIEFS

Ukrainian premier to visit Moscow

KYIV - Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk told journalists in Kyiv on August 8 that newly appointed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych will visit Moscow this month to meet with his Russian counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov, at a session of the intergovernmental commission for economic cooperation, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Speaking later the same day on television, Mr. Tarasyuk said Mr. Yanukovych's talks in Moscow, among other topics, will include the price of gas imported by Ukraine from Russia. Mr. Tarasyuk also revealed that Mr. Yanukovych is planning to visit Brussels in mid-September to discuss Ukraine-NATO cooperation. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Party sees new government as revenge

KYIV - The Ukrainian People's Party (UNP) has called on all "patriotic" and "state-supporting" forces to unite in the face of what the party perceives as a danger arising from the recent installation of Prime Minister Yanukovych's government, UNIAN reported on August 8. "The government formed by the Verkhovna Rada is an overt act of revenge by those political forces that were removed from power by the Orange maidan," the UNP said in a statement. "The declaration of national unity, which was drafted with allegedly good intentions, has no legal status and is only a declarative document that was utilized by the anti-Ukrainian forces led by Mr. Yanukovych, the Communists and the Socialists to come to power." The UNP stressed that it sees "an urgent need to form a national-democratic front in order to defend the state and achievements of national democracy." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Vitrenko comments on new government

KYIV - Nataliya Vitrenko, leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, told journalists in Kyiv on August 8 that the declaration of national unity signed last week has obliged its signatories to implement the pro-NATO and pro-Western political course of President Viktor Yushchenko, UNIAN reported. Mrs. Vitrenko said the signed document is tantamount to "an act of betrayal of the Orthodox-Slavic civilization." According to Mrs. Vitrenko, even though the declaration of national unity is an unconstitutional document, it has "tied the hands" of the Party of the Regions, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, which now must do what Mr. Yushchenko wants them to do. Mrs. Vitrenko added that by signing this document, the Party of the Regions, the Socialist Part, and the Communist Party have betrayed their electorates. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Presidential decree on military exercises

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has signed a decree that will allow three military exercises involving the participation of foreign troops to be held in Ukraine in 2006, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The decree follows the Verkhovna Rada's authorization on August 4 of the South 2006 maneuvers, which are to include the participation of Moldovan troops in August in the Mykolayiv Oblast; the Cossack Steppe exercise involving British and Polish troops in the Zhytomyr Oblast in September; and an exercise involving Slovak soldiers in the Lviv Oblast in September. Originally, Kyiv was planning to hold six multinational military exercises in Ukraine, including the Sea Breeze 2006 maneuvers with a sizable NATO contingent. However, the Verkhovna Rada failed to authorize these exercises in February. Moreover, the visit of a U.S. naval ship in the Crimean port of Feodosiya in May sparked a series of anti-NATO protests in Ukraine, with several Ukrainian regions declaring themselves to be "NATO-free territories." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Bush, Putin congratulate Yushchenko

KYIV - U.S. President George W. Bush has congratulated Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko on the formation of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's government, Interfax-Ukraine reported on August 7, quoting the Ukrainian presidential press service. Mr. Bush reportedly pledged in his message that the United States will continue to help Ukraine strengthen its sovereignty, democracy, and prosperity. Russian President Vladimir Putin telephoned Mr. Yushchenko on August 7 to congratulate him on the settlement of the political crisis in Ukraine with the formation of Mr. Yanukovych's Cabinet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada confirms Yanukovych

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on August 4 endorsed Party of the Regions leader Viktor Yanukovych as Ukraine's new prime minister with 271 votes in favor, Ukrainian media reported. Mr. Yanukovych was confirmed mainly by lawmakers from his party, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party, as well as by 30 deputies from Our Ukraine and six deputies from the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc. "[My priorities include] economic growth, the solution of social problems. An efficient economy will open the way for solving a great number of social problems," Mr. Yanukovych told journalists after the confirmation vote. "Our country will be attractive for investment only when the situation in the country is stable. We will do everything to make sure the situation is stable, both politically and economically," he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada approves new cabinet

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on August 4 also approved the composition of a new Cabinet of Ministers, Ukrainian media reported. The Party of the Regions' people in the Cabinet are First Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mykola Azarov, Vice Prime Minister Andriy Kliuyev, Vice Prime Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk, Vice Prime Minister and Construction Minister Volodymyr Rybak, Minister for Ties with the Verkhovna Rada Ivan Tkalenko, Labor Minister Mykhailo Papiyev, Environment Minister Vasyl Dzharty, Coal Industry Minister Serhii Tulub, Fuel and Energy Minister Yurii Boiko, Economy Minister Volodymyr Makukha, and Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Anatolii Tolstoukhov. The presidential quota in the Cabinet of Ministers is made up of Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk, Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko, Justice Minister Roman Zvarych, Family and Sports Minister Yurii Pavlenko, Emergency Situations Minister Viktor Baloha, Culture Minister Ihor Likhovyi, Health Minister Yurii Poliachenko, and Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko. The Socialist Party has Education Minister Stanislav Nikolayenko and Transport Minister Mykola Rudkovskyi, while the Communist Party has Agroindustrial Complex Minister Yurii Melnyk and Industrial Policy Minister Anatolii Holovko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Constitutional Court vested with authority

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on August 4 elected five judges of the Constitutional Court, Ukrainian media reported. The same day, 13 Constitutional Court judges - the five elected by the Verkhovna Rada on August 4 as well as five elected by the Congress of Judges and three elected by President Viktor Yushchenko in November 2005 - took the oath of office, thus unblocking the work of the court. The Constitutional Court remained inoperative since October 2005, when the term of nine former judges expired. The Verkhovna Rada refused to elect and swear in new judges over fears that Mr. Yushchenko might use the Constitutional Court to overturn the constitutional reform adopted in December 2004. The Constitutional Court is composed of 18 judges; at least 12 judges are necessary to make it functional. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada prohibits review of reforms

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on August 4 amended a law on the Constitutional Court, prohibiting the court from revising changes to the Constitution adopted in December 2004, Ukrainian media reported. The measure was supported by 274 lawmakers. The political reform of December 2004 limited powers of the presidency in Ukraine in favor of the Parliament and prime minister. President Yushchenko has repeatedly indicated in the past that he is unhappy with the reform and would like to question its adoption in the Constitutional Court. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Socialists join new coalition

KYIV - The Socialist Party of Ukraine has signed a memorandum on the formation of a ruling coalition in a new format, the UNIAN news service reported on August 4, quoting Socialist Party National Deputy Ivan Bokyi. A similar memorandum on the creation of a National Unity Coalition was signed by the Party of the Regions and Our Ukraine on August 3, following the endorsement of Viktor Yanukovych as a candidate for prime minister by President Viktor Yushchenko. Mr. Yanukovych was proposed for the post of prime minister last month by the Anti-Crisis Coalition encompassing the Party of the Regions, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party. It is not clear whether the Communist Party will agree to reformatting the Anti-Crisis Coalition into a new one to include Our Ukraine. Communist Party activist Leonid Hrach told UNIAN that the Communist Party had already signed the agreement on the formation of the Anti-Crisis Coalition with the Party of the Regions and the Socialists. "If anyone wants to join [this coalition], they should sign the memorandum, but we do not need to," Mr. Hrach added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tymoshenko Bloc in opposition

KYIV - Yulia Tymoshenko, head of the eponymous political bloc, said after the signing of the Declaration of National Unity in Kyiv on August 3 by the Party of the Regions, Our Ukraine, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and President Yushchenko that her force will remain in an "uncompromising opposition" to the ruling coalition, Ukrainian media reported. "For me, the declaration of principles, whatever has been written there, is a capitulation in front of forces that have been allowed to come back and date back to the time of [former] President [Leonid] Kuchma," Ms. Tymoshenko said. "I believe that this absurdity will not survive for long, and that we will be an uncompromising opposition." (RFE/RL Newsline)

President pleased with roundtable

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said on August 3 that he was pleased with the results of that day's roundtable discussion among Ukraine's political leaders. He congratulated those present on signing the Declaration of National Unity, thanking the political leaders for "making much progress" during their discussions. "This path was not smooth, and those nights and days we spent composing this document show we did not take this path in vain," he said. The president also thanked those who had meticulously edited the agreement: "All revisions concerned the most controversial points." Mr. Yushchenko said there were "things that will always be above postulates of any party program. In my opinion, these things are: the Ukrainian state, sovereignty, faith, patriotism, unitary form of government and safety. These concepts always form a basis for constitutional priorities of any nation. Whatever party programs say, these key values make us Ukrainians." He urged politicians to always put national interests first when discussing such "cornerstones." Mr. Yushchenko then said it is expedient to continue such discussions in the future. "I believe this is only the beginning of our cooperation at a roundtable. I really want the political forces to support my idea of regularly holding roundtables to discuss controversial issues," he said. (Press Office of the President of Ukraine)

UOC-MP has new bishop for Chernivtsi

KYIV - Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP), presided at the episcopal ordination of Archimandrite Meletii Yehorenko as bishop of Khotyn and vicar of the UOC-MP eparchy in Chernivtsi. The ceremony was held at the Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv, according to pravoslavye.org.ua, which posted the news on July 31. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

No communion for non-Orthodox

OTTAWA - Archbishop-Metropolitan John Stinka, head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada (UOCC), has released an encyclical against the practice of "communion with non-Orthodox," which certain priests and parishes of his Church have allowed. He said that, inasmuch as the teaching of the Orthodox Church does not allow this, it will no longer be allowed in the UOCC. interfax-religion.ru posted the news on July 31. The document particularly notes that this "refers also to Catholics of the Eastern rite, regardless of any contrary statements." This year's sobor (assembly) of the UOCC noted a substantial decrease in the Church's membership: in 1961 there were 119,000 members, and in 2004 there were 11,000. In 1990, the UOCC became, as Interfax puts it, "a Church body under the mantle of the Ecumenical Patriarchate" of Constantinople. Before that, it was out of communion with canonical Orthodox Churches. The UOCC considers one of its important tasks to be "support of the hopes of the people of Ukraine to have a free and autocephalous Ukrainian Orthodox Church." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Radio station asks for probe into attack

KYIV - Nashe Radio (Our Radio) has appealed to President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Interior Minister Yurii Lutsenko and Prosecutor-General Oleksander Medvedko to take under personal control the investigation into an attack against three Nashe Radio employees, UNIAN reported on August 10. Nashe Radio Director Bohdan Bolkhovetskyi told journalists on August 10 that unidentified assailants, following a collision between their car and that of the Nashe Radio employees on a street in Kyiv on August 8, abducted the broadcasters and took them out of town. "The assailants demanded the return of a briefcase about which none of the kidnapped knew anything," Mr. Bolkhovetskyi said. "[The assailants] interrogated our men for four hours, got information about their relatives, and threatened to make short work of them. They beat one of our men, made him kneel down, and shot repeatedly over his head. Then they took [our men's] money and mobile phones and released them." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, August 13, 2006, No. 33, Vol. LXXIV

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