NEWSBRIEFS (03/10/96)

NEWSBRIEFS

Centrists form Popular-Democratic Party

KYIV - Three centrist political organizations, meeting here on February 24, agreed to merge into a single political party, the Popular-Democratic Party of Ukraine, Ukrainian Radio and UNIAN reported. The new party - composed of the Party for the Democratic Rebirth of Ukraine, the Labor Congress of Ukraine and the New Ukraine alliance - is the first serious consolidation of political forces in Ukraine's fragmented party system. Supreme Council Deputy Anatoliy Matviyenko was elected party chairman, and delegates adopted a program backing President Leonid Kuchma's political and economic reforms. Meanwhile, two other parties, the Ukrainian Social-Democratic Party and the Ukrainian Solidarity and Justice Party, announced plans to form an alliance. They intend to campaign jointly in elections and to publish a joint newspaper. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Poland, Ukraine to form joint battalion

WARSAW - Poland and Ukraine have agreed to form a joint peacekeeping battalion, Interfax reported on February 29. The unit will be financed by both countries and will consist of Ukrainian units based in Lviv and Polish units in Przemysl (Peremyshl). The first joint military exercises are to be held in April on the outskirts of Lviv. English will be the battalion's official language. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Government to transfer social services

KYIV - The Ukrainian government has ordered the phased transfer of local social services from state-owned firms to municipal jurisdiction, UNIAN reported on February 27. A government resolution provides that 30 percent of housing and 20 percent of pre-schools and recreational facilities be turned over to city government financing and management this year. The plans call for nearly all social services to be under municipal control by 1998 and is part of a government effort to restructure and streamline the industrial and agricultural sectors. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Kuchma orders support of periodicals

KYIV - "The president's decree is meant for all of us - readers and journalists. It restores the press to its necessary role of stimulator of public thought," said presidential press secretary Dmytro Markov on March 5. The recently signed decree provides for tax relief for all sorts of periodicals, the production costs of which have skyrocketed over the past four years due to scarce and expensive newsprint/paper, polygraphic materials and a lack of previously widespread state credits to publications. In addition to lowering the tax burden on suppliers of printing supplies and publishers, the decree provides for decentralization of printing operations throughout Ukraine, a move expected to bolster periodicals popular in the various regions of the country. According to Mr. Markov, the decree does not cover periodicals clearly supported by separate commercial entities, nor does it apply to erotic or primarily advertising-oriented publications. (Respublika)

Ukraine bans alcohol, tobacco advertising

KYIV - The Ukrainian Supreme Council banned alcohol and tobacco advertising on March 5, in an effort to head off growing substance abuse in the country, Western agencies reported. The ban was included in a bill regulating advertising, a growing industry with revenues exceeding $900 million annually. "The chamber voted for a healthy nation. Alcoholism and tobacco use pose a threat to Ukraine," said Socialist deputy Volodymyr Marchenko. "Alcohol production is the only sector of industry that has not fallen into decline. The Ukrainian nation is slipping into intoxication under the stress of economic reforms," he added. The bill passed overwhelmingly and is post-Soviet Ukraine's first attempt at regulating advertising. Another provision of the legislation ordered that feature films be shown on television without commercial breaks. Volodymyr Alexeyev, one of the bill's authors, estimated that tobacco and liquor ads account for 40 percent of over-all advertising revenue last year. The Russian Federation imposed a similar ban last year, but many of the regulations are regularly ignored. (Reuters/OMRI Daily Digest)

Police offer reward to find mass killer

LVIV - Police in western Ukraine have offered a cash reward for help in finding a killer suspected of murdering 35 people, including eight children, over the past two months. "All the murders were committed in an extremely brutal fashion. Entire families were killed, parents and children and then their houses were burned down," militia officer Yuriy Skrypchenko said on March 1. The murder weapon has consistently been a 12-gauge shotgun. Lviv police issued a $5,300 reward for information leading to the arrest of the killer or killers. This is a large sum in a country where the average monthly income is $70. The Security Service of Ukraine has joined the investigation. (Reuters)

Snow isolates towns, causes power cuts

KYIV - Unseasonably heavy snowfalls in Ukraine cut off dozens of towns, disrupted the shaky national power grid and shut down major roads as the country's harshest winter in decades showed no signs of easing. Civil defense officials said on March 4 that two and a half days of snowfall had cut power to 34 towns and villages in the Kherson Oblast alone. Snow whipped by winds gusting to 70 mph brought down two high-tension pylons near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, cutting capacity 40 percent in three of six reactors. The harsh winter, compounded by a two-week coal miners' strike and Russia's decision to uncouple Ukraine from a joint power grid, has prompted selective power cuts to industry. Thousands of soldiers and civilian volunteers have been helping clear roads and rescue people from stranded cars, while ice floes in rivers were being smashed up to prevent damage to bridge pylons when the thaw arrives. (Reuters)

Georgia wants piece of Black Sea Fleet

TBILISI - "We have a logical and legal right to lay claim to part of the Black Sea Fleet of the former USSR," Ukrainian Television quoted Georgian Minister of Foreign Affairs Irakli Manaharashvili as saying on March 2. The minister declared that his government is drafting appropriate documents to that effect. (Respublika)

Iranian foreign minister in Ukraine

KYIV - Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati visited the capital on March 4-5, ITAR-TASS reported. Mr. Velayati met with Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hennadiy Udovenko and Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk. Talks focused on economic issues. Iran invited Ukraine to participate in a free economic zone being created along the Irani and Turkemi borders, and both ministers stressed the importance of realizing the trilateral agreement on gas deliveries between Ukraine, Iran and Turkmenistan, under which Iran covers part of Ukraine's gas bill to Turkmenistan. Mr. Velayati flew to Belarus at the end of the visit. He was to visit Russia also. (OMRI Daily Digest)

Primakov on Russian foreign policy

MOSCOW - After the end of the Cold War, Russian Foreign Policy was "overcorrected" and became excessively pro-Western, Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeniy Primakov said in a lengthy interview with Izvestia published on March 6. While endorsing the concept of an "equitable" partnership with the West, Mr. Primakov said Russian foreign policy should now focus on "more vigorously and effectively" defending Russian national interests while avoiding confrontation. (OMRI Daily Digest)

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