NEWSBRIEFS (10/22/06)

NEWSBRIEFS

UPA veterans seek combatants' status

KYIV - A group of Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) veterans and several thousand sympathizers took to the streets in Kyiv on October 14 to mark the 64th anniversary of the founding of the UPA and demand official recognition as war combatants for UPA fighters, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. The UPA was a nationalist guerrilla force that fought the Nazis as well as Soviet and Polish troops during World War II and immediately after it. Several thousand policemen guarded the rally in Kyiv against left-wing demonstrators who unsuccessfully tried to break through police barriers and provoke clashes. President Viktor Yushchenko said the same day that he has signed a decree on "restoring historical justice" to UPA veterans, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "As a president, I do not define the [combatant] status. But I may stimulate the government and Parliament to consider this issue and take the decision. This is the purpose of the decree I signed today in the morning," Mr. Yushchenko told journalists. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine pledges to stay with president

KYIV - Roman Bezsmertnyi, head of the parliamentary caucus of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc of six parties, said on October 12 that Our Ukraine will continue to support President Viktor Yushchenko and will press for the execution of the program with which Mr. Yushchenko won the presidential election in 2004, Interfax-Ukraine reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada delays hearings on WTO

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on October 17 decided to postpone until November 1 parliamentary hearings on Ukraine's prospects for and problems regarding its entry to the World Trade Organization (WTO), UNIAN reported. The hearings were originally planned for October 18. Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Moroz said the postponement does not imply that deputies will not discuss WTO-related bills in the meantime. Ukraine still needs to pass a dozen laws and sign a bilateral trade accord with Kyrgyzstan in order to be ready for WTO entry. Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych urged Parliament on October 16 to move quickly to pass the legislation that would enable Ukraine to join the WTO early next year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Russia checks on Ukraine's alcohol

MOSCOW - Rospotrebnadzor, Russia's consumer rights watchdog, said on October 16 that it is carrying out checks of all alcohol imports from Ukraine, looking for banned wines from Georgia and Moldova, international news agencies reported. "We have reason to believe there is some sort of agreement between these countries - including Ukraine, Belarus and Azerbaijan - to help these two countries [Georgia and Moldova] enter the Russian market," Rospotrebnadzor head Gennady Onishchenko said in a television interview. In another television interview Onishchenko said a doubling of wine imports from Ukraine is suspicious, adding that all alcohol imports, including vodka, will be probed. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President, PM agree to continue talks

KYIV - Following a meeting with President Viktor Yushchenko, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych told journalists in Kyiv on October 10 that negotiations on the creation of an expanded ruling coalition with the participation of the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc will be continued, Ukrainian media reported. "We agreed to work toward forming a broad coalition. For that, we have, first and foremost, the political will of the Ukrainian president and prime minister. We believe it is our common goal to stabilize the political situation," Mr. Yanukovych said. Last week, Our Ukraine leader Roman Bezsmertnyi announced that his party was switching to the opposition and called on Our Ukraine ministers in Yanukovych's Cabinet to step down. However, Family, Youth and Sports Minister Yurii Pavlenko told journalists on October 11 that he and the three other ministers from Our Ukraine will decide whether to quit the government only after "the talks on the formation of a coalition of national unity are finally concluded." (RFE/RL Newsline)

President less optimistic about coalition

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on October 11 said he still hopes that the Our Ukraine bloc will be able to strike a coalition deal with the ruling alliance of the Party of the Regions, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "Breaking up is not an original idea, but the risk that this will happen is very high. Earlier I was an optimist in this issue. Now I'm less optimistic," Mr. Yushchenko told journalists in Chernihiv. Answering a question about what will happen with Our Ukraine's four ministers in Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's Cabinet if the bloc fails to reach a formal coalition accord, Mr. Yushchenko said the ministers will have to step down. "There cannot be a place for ministers from Our Ukraine in a government that does not share provisions included in the declaration of national unity," Mr. Yushchenko added. Regarding the fate of the defense and foreign ministers, who are appointed by the president, Mr. Yushchenko said he will decide on whether to dismiss them depending on "the current political situation." (RFE/RL Newsline)

PM to ministers: business as usual

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych on October 17 called on members of the Cabinet of Ministers to work as a team despite the recent switch of the Our Ukraine bloc to the opposition, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "We should remain calm and work as we have worked," Mr. Yanukovych said at a Cabinet meeting. "I wish us to continue cooperating, and let nothing change in connection with the processes under way in the country. The attitude of ministers to business must be the same as always," he added. Our Ukraine has delegated five ministers to the Yanukovych Cabinet. Our Ukraine leader Roman Bezsmertnyi said on October 17 that the bloc is withdrawing its ministers from the government but was unable to predict when they will officially step down. "[The issue] is to be decided in the ongoing dialogue with the president of Ukraine and the parties of our bloc," he told journalists. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tymoshenko Bloc invites Our Ukraine

KYIV - Oleksander Turchynov, deputy head of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (YTB) parliamentary caucus, told journalists on October 17 that the YTB expects to coordinate opposition activities with Our Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "We hope that the decision of Our Ukraine to join the opposition will not be abandoned tomorrow," Mr. Turchynov said, adding that the withdrawal of Our Ukraine ministers from Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's Cabinet could pave the way for a cooperation agreement between the YTB and Our Ukraine and the subsequent formation of a shadow Cabinet. (RFE/RL Newsline)

PRU proposes to restore roundtable

KYIV - Yurii Miroshnychenko, a lawmaker from the ruling Party of the Regions, said in the Verkhovna Rada on October 17 that his party is proposing to reinstate the roundtable talks that the president conducted with representatives of major political forces in Ukraine in July and August, UNIAN reported. According to Mr. Miroshnychenko, the roundtable should work out a "consensus vision" of the government under the existing circumstances of a parliamentary-presidential political system in Ukraine and put an end to "conflicts in the lobbies" between the president and the prime minister. Mr. Miroshnychenko vowed that the ruling coalition led by the Party of the Regions is ready for cooperation with President Yushchenko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Traders says wheat exports are blocked

KYIV - Ukrainian grain traders on October 11 accused the government of blocking wheat exports by hastily introducing export licenses and imposing limits on grain export volumes, the Associated Press reported. "The government's decision effectively blocked Ukrainian export of bread wheat and fodder wheat," said Volodymyr Klimenko, president of the Ukrainian Grain Association, which groups more than 60 local and international companies. The government introduced a new licensing system in grain trade in late September, arguing that it must first ensure that the country has enough wheat to supply Ukrainians with bread. The Agriculture Ministry forecast wheat yield this year at 14.4 million tons, down from 18.7 million tons in 2005. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UGCC opens Chaplaincy Department

KYIV - On October 3 the presentation of the Department for the Military Forces, a newly created structure within the Patriarchal Curia of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC), took place in Kyiv. The key objectives of the new unit are to coordinate the pastoral care of Ukraine's armed forces and the penitentiary system by the UGCC, as well as to establish cooperation between the UGCC and the armed forces regarding the pastoral care of the military and prisoners. At the beginning of the meeting, in which representatives of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Ministry of Defense and those responsible for the chaplaincy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate participated, Bishop Bohdan Dziurakh, auxiliary of the UGCC Archeparchy of Kyiv and Vyshhorod, said that, in keeping with a decision of the UGCC Synod of Bishops, Bishop Mykhail Koltun of Sokal was appointed head of the Department for the Military Forces of the Patriarchal Curia of the UGCC. Bishop Koltun introduced his colleagues, Father Lubomyr Yaworski, appointed assistant for the military chaplaincy, and Deacon Kostiantyn Pantelei, assistant for the prison chaplaincy. The military representatives expressed their ideas on the current situation and the development of pastoral care at the armed forces and the penitentiary system. A suggestion was made to create a coordinating council, which would consist of representatives of military structures and Churches, which would be aimed at helping to solve issues of proper spiritual care of military workers and prisoners according to their denomination. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

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