Parliament reconvenes with budget, constitution atop formidable agenda

by Danylo Yanevsky
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Ukraine's Parliament resumed its work this week, after a recess for the Christmas and New Year holidays, with adoption of a budget and a new constitution uppermost on the agenda of this session.

Opening the morning deliberations on Tuesday, January 16, Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz said this convocation of the Supreme Council "will be a test of our ability to work, as we must review questions that determine the development of our state and its economy." First of all, this concerns adoption of a budget for 1996.

Mr. Moroz also pointed out that this session, which he expects to continue without recess through the end of July, will review at least 374 proposals, more than 200 of which are priority items. He said he expects the Parliament to act on about 150 to 170 bills.

Speaking at a press conference on the eve of the Parliament's opening day, Mr. Moroz, and members of the Parliament Presidium Volodymyr Butkevych (who also co-chairs the working group reviewing the draft constitution) and Volodymyr Stretovych, commented on the adoption of a new constitution for Ukraine. They reported that 111 out of the 150 articles in the draft constitution have already been discussed and agreed upon, which leads them to believe that the draft document will be presented to the Parliament this month.

Concurrently, the Parliament will review the draft constitution of the Crimean Autonomous Republic, which Mr. Stretovych explained should be composed of "statutes governing territorial-administrative autonomy, without any characteristics of an independent state, such as state symbols."

Chechen hostage-taking

Much of the Parliament's time during the opening days of its fifth session was spent on discussions revolving around the Chechen hostage-taking in Kizlyar, Dagestan, and aboard a Black Sea ferry in the port of Trabzon, Turkey.

Respublika reported that at the end of their evening session on January 17, Parliament members adopted a resolution expressing that body's "concern over violations of human rights and civil liberties, as well as life-threatening situations that have arisen on territories bordering Ukraine."

The resolution referred specifically to the ferry hijacking, noting that among the hostages are citizens of several countries, including Ukraine. "Expressing concern over the fate of these innocent people," the Parliament said, it "appeals to the leadership of the Republic of Turkey, the Russian Federation and responsible persons from the Chechen Republic with the request that they employ all necessary efforts to peacefully resolve this problem and to secure the speedy release of all hostages, including citizens of Ukraine."

The resolution concluded with the statement that the Supreme Council of Ukraine "decisively condemns international terrorism in all its forms and supports the resolution of all conflicts through peaceful means via negotiations."

Respublika reported that among the 200 hostages nine are citizens of Ukraine.

The news agency also reported on January 15 that President Leonid Kuchma, on the eve of his meeting in Moscow with Russian President Boris Yeltsin, had expressed his sympathy over the tragic events in Kizlyar and Pervomayskoye. He wrote in a letter to his Russian counterpart that Ukraine is watching the developments with great trepidation and is concerned about the fate of innocent people, including children, women and the sick.

President Kuchma underscored that the tragedy in Kizlyar once again demonstrates the criminal nature of terrorism and that the world community must actively work toward liquidating terrorism

Budget discussions begin

The Parliament on January 17 began debate over the budget, which envisages a 6 percent deficit.

Deputies proposed placing tight restrictions on the government's authority over the budget, and putting a moratorium on its activities related to changing revenues and expenditures in parts of the budget. During the general discussion on the budget, deputies spoke in support of general budget issues.

For example, Academician Volodymyr Seminozhenko, a member of the Parliament's Committee on Scholarship and Public Education, noted that the budget policies of Ukraine currently give short shrift to a most important field of endeavor: scholarship.

Another deputy, Mykhailo Kosiv, spoke in favor of supporting the publication of Ukrainian-language books, pointing to the fact that only 3 percent of the books published in Ukraine are in the Ukrainian language. Mr. Kosiv cited "unprecedented Russification" in book publishing and proposed that the publication of Ukrainian-language books be exempted from taxes.

Composition of Parliament

As of January 1, Respublika reported that the 404 members of Parliament could be grouped into the following factions and deputies' blocs: Communists of Ukraine, 89 persons; Rukh, 28: Socialists, 26; Center Faction, 31; Agrarian Party, 27; Agrarians for Reform, 25; Reforms Faction, 30; Unity Faction, 33; Statehood Faction, 29: Interregional Bloc of Deputies, 31; and Independents Faction, 27. There are 25 unaffiliated deputies.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 21, 1996, No. 3, Vol. LXIV

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