Parliament adopts Constitution in marathon session (06/30/96)

Parliament adopts Constitution in marathon session

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - The Ukrainian Parliament adopted a new Constitution - a historic moment for the five-year-old independent state - at 9:18 a.m. Friday, June 28, after an all-night intense marathon session in the halls of the legislature.

"We have a Constitution," proclaimed Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz, after the deputies voted 315-36, with 12 abstentions to adopt the fundamental law. The jubilant lawmakers responded with resounding applause and a standing ovation, while the newly adopted anthem, "Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraina," was played in the chambers.

Despite a 16- hour plenary session - which began at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday evening and ended at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning with no breaks - the mood among the lawmakers was euphoric, as they posed for a group picture outside the Supreme Council building to mark this historic occasion. They then made their way to the parliamentary buffet for champagne victory toasts, where they spent hours laughing and singing old Kozak songs, an atmosphere reminiscent of the day when the Parliament declared Ukraine's independence on August 24, 1991.

"Today, we proved we are Ukrainians. Today we look so good compared to Russia. And, slowly but surely, we will show the world who we are. They all think we are ruski [Russians]," said Kateryna Vashchuk, a deputy from the Agrarians for Reforms faction.

President Leonid Kuchma attended the final hour of the plenary session and witnessed the vote on the Constitution, an event that he, through his political prowess, had helped orchestrate.

It was his decree to hold a national referendum on the Constitution, made public on Thursday, June 27, that had triggered the lawmakers into instant action.

"This historic event, which took place in this historic hall, will go down as one of the most significant moments in the annals of the modern history of the state of Ukraine," said a visibly pleased President Kuchma, addressing the Parliament after the vote.

Holding his hand over his heart, he also thanked the lawmakers for their efforts during the constitutional process and asked them to accept his apologies "for stimulating this process in perhaps not the most conventional way." These remarks were met with robust laughter from the lawmakers, who though exhausted, were elated by the events of the day.

"But, this last event proved that we, in a critical moment, are worthy of being called the representatives of the Ukrainian people," continued the Ukrainian president.

Immediately after the vote, Chairman Moroz expressed his gratitude to all the members of the Parliament - those who voted for and those who voted against - for their commitment to Ukraine.

"I also think that we are all grateful to the president of Ukraine, for his constant, and perhaps at times somewhat original participation in the constitutional process," added Mr. Moroz, referring to President Kuchma's referendum ploy. This comment, too, was greeted with laughter, as the tensions of the long night subsided and the hall echoed with cheers and shouts.

Chairman Moroz underscored: "The strength of this Constitution is the fact that it created a precedent of unity in the Supreme Council, which I hope will be a lasting factor in the work of the legislature."

"We are now one united family, a feeling that has for so long evaded us," he said as he referred to the traditions of Ukraine's past, in particular that of Mykhailo Hrushevsky, a chairman of the Parliament and Ukraine's first 20th century president.

Political observers who spent the long night in the press gallery of the Parliament said that it was Mr. Moroz who played a pivotal role in getting this Constitution adopted, as he refused to take breaks, working diligently and searching for compromise among the polarized factions in the Parliament.

"If not for Moroz, we would not have this Constitution today," said Yevhen Zherebetsky, a member of the Reforms faction.

Also credited with the success of the marathon session was Mykhailo Syrota, chairman of the ad hoc committee, who stood at the podium for 16 lengthy hours, reading corrections, reviewing articles, proposing alternatives, yet not compromising his principles in the process.

A hero's welcome

He received a hero's welcome from the deputies after the session, as they picked him up and threw him into the air.

Other deputies who were instrumental in pushing through the new Constitution were Ukraine's former prime minister, Yevhen Marchuk, who convinced the left-wing forces to vote for Ukraine's national symbols, and Volodymyr Musiaka, the president's representative in the Parliament.

In hindsight, it is now clear that this latest twist in the labyrinth of Ukrainian politics and power struggles was intended to spur the deputies into action, a ploy President Kuchma has used in the past to bully the Parliament into giving him what he wants. A little over a year ago he had cautioned the Parliament that he would call for a vote of no-confidence in the president if the constitutional accord between the two branches - a kind of petit constitution - was not signed.

This time the lawmakers called President Kuchma's bluff. Interpreting the decree on the referendum as an intimidation tactic against the legislative branch of power, which the Ukrainian leader has often called ineffective and unproductive, the deputies rolled up their sleeves and vowed not to go home until a new Constitution was adopted. On Friday, June 28, President Kuchma hailed the deputies for their action and said that from now on "there should be no doubt about the effectiveness of the Parliament."

Deputies show determination

"We will continue working until the Constitution is passed," declared Petro Osadchuk on Thursday afternoon. A member of the Derzhavnist faction who had originally supported the idea of a referendum on the Constitution, like many other deputies, he was determined to show that the Parliament is not a superfluous structure.

It is perhaps just short of a miracle that the lawmakers were able to adopt the 161-article Constitution and resolve issues that just last week seemed insurmountable in the current Parliament.

"Understanding our responsibility before Ukraine, we were able to rise above inter-party and personal conflicts. The turning point did not only take place in the Supreme Council; a new era in the development of Ukraine has begun," said Mr. Moroz during his speech to the lawmakers, government officials, journalists and guests present in the hall after the adoption of the Constitution.

Some of the most thorny articles in the draft constitution were passed, including the points dealing with state symbols. The Parliament adopted the blue-and-yellow flag as the national flag of Ukraine; the state emblem is the golden trident (tryzub) against a blue background, and the anthem is the music of "Shche Ne Vmerla Ukraina," with the words to be adopted under a separate law in the future.

In what has been interpreted as a compromise with the Communists - in exchange for adopting the national symbols - the Constitution also grants the Crimea the status of an autonomous republic with its own Constitution. However, the Crimean Constitution must be in line with the Constitution of Ukraine approved by the Parliament.

The official language of Ukraine is the Ukrainian language. "The state ensures the comprehensive development of and use of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of social life on the entire territory of Ukraine," reads the document. Simultaneously, the Constitution guarantees the "free development" of the Russian language and other languages spoken by the citizens of Ukraine.

Ukraine is described as an independent, democratic, social, law-governed and unitary state with one citizenship.

The new Constitution also guarantees the right to private property and the right to own land.

Because the process went so swiftly, many of the articles have to be edited for language and literary style, and the entire edited text will be made public only next week. But, as a whole, the Constitution was favorably accepted by both the national democrats and the centrists, many of whom noted that the Communists had lost on many of their positions. The president's powers were watered down in the final draft, but, Mr. Kuchma graciously accepted the final draft, relieved that the referendum can now be canceled.

Despite the fact that the president made the motion to retract the referendum after the deputies adopted the Constitution, Mr. Moroz, thanked him for the gesture, but insisted that the Parliament vote on cancellation of the referendum.

The deputies will no doubt be happy to oblige, and Mr. Moroz demonstratively added that the money saved on the referendum can now be distributed to pensioners who have not received their wages over the last few months.

After passing the Constitution on Friday morning, the deputies also passed a three-point resolution, adopting the new Constitution as the fundamental law of the land and putting it into effect immediately, annulling the Constitution of April 20, 1978 (that is, the Constitution of the Ukrainian SSR) and canceling the Constitutional Accord of June 8, 1995, which for the past year had served as the petit constitution of Ukraine.

Legal holiday declared

The deputies also passed a resolution declaring June 28 Constitution Day, a legal holiday in Ukraine. President Kuchma announced that the deputies of both the last and current convocations of Parliament will be awarded state medals for their work in the constitutional process.

He also announced that on July 3 government leaders and Ukraine's deputies, along with their spouses, will mark the historic date of June 28 with a grand reception.

"Now our main goal is to learn to live in accordance with this Constitution," said Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine's first president and currently a deputy in the Parliament.

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