Parliament members take oath of allegiance, toast Constitution (07/21/96)

Parliament members take oath of allegiance, toast Constitution

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Friday, July 12, the last day of the fifth session of the 13th convocation of the Ukrainian Parliament, ended jubilantly in the legislative chambers as the majority of the lawmakers took an oath of allegiance to Ukraine and took turns putting their signatures to the text of the oath, which is part of the newly adopted Constitution.

Later, they toasted these historic events in the halls of the Mariyinsky Palace, together with President Leonid Kuchma, other members of the newly appointed government and Parliament Chairman Oleksander Moroz.

Some members of left-wing factions in Parliament, representing the Communist Party, the Socialist Party and deputies who are not aligned with any faction, left the hall, refusing to pledge their loyalty to a Constitution they have labeled "anti-popular." Although the names of the deputies who refused to take the oath have not been made public, reliable sources close to the Parliament Presidium told The Weekly that among these deputies are Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko, and two members of the newly registered Progressive Socialist Party, Natalia Vitrenko and Volodymyr Marchenko.

The honor of delivering the oath to the lawmakers was given to the oldest deputy in the current Parliament, Ihor Yukhnovsky, 70, of Lviv.

He delivered the following words, as outlined in the Constitution: "I swear allegiance to Ukraine. I commit myself to protect the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine with all my actions, to care for the well-being of the fatherland and for the welfare of the Ukrainian nation. I swear to obey the Constitution of Ukraine and the laws of Ukraine, to execute my duties in the interests of all fellow countrymen."

According to the new Constitution, the oath will be read by the most senior-aged deputy before the opening of the first session of the newly elected Supreme Council of Ukraine, following which deputies affirm the oath with their signature under its text. Refusal to take the oath results in the loss of a deputy's mandate.

However, given that this provision is not delineated in the transitional 14 points of the Constitution, which apply until new Parliament elections scheduled for March 1998 and new presidential elections slated for October 1999, some lawmakers regard the oath as taking effect only after that time and argue that the oath (Article 79 of the Constitution) does not apply to current deputies, who were elected prior to adoption of the fundamental law.

In a 10-minute wrap-up of this historic fifth session, Parliament Chairman Moroz said the adoption of the Constitution "has signaled a qualitative change in the legislative process," as deputies representing different political forces demonstrated a willingess to compromise.

Mr. Moroz pointed out that by September the deputies who hold posts in the government or are employed elsewhere professionally, must choose between which position they will keep.

He also bid farewell on behalf of all the deputies to second deputy chairman of the Parliament, Oleh Diomin, who has chosen to stay on as Kharkiv Oblast chairman (governor) and give up his seat in the legislature.

The Supreme Council leader also read a letter from Deputy Yukhim Zviahilsky, who currently resides in Israel where he is officially undergoing medical treatment, in which he expressed a request to return to Ukraine and work in the Parliament.

Mr. Moroz said the legislature has turned to the Prosecutor General's Office to "pass a final decision on former Prime Minister Zviahilsky's case." (Criminal proceedings have been launched against him and he fears for his safety if he is to return to Ukraine without having his name cleared.)

A decision is expected by September 3, when the Parliament opens its sixth session. That session is expected to focus on dealing with Ukraine's current economic crisis.

After the fifth session closed, deputies and government officials joined President Kuchma and Parliament Chairman Moroz for an official signing ceremony of the text of the new Constitution.

In his address after the signing, President Kuchma called on all political forces and all the citizens of Ukraine to seek "mutual understanding and reconciliation for the sake of the country's future." He said he is "ready for a dialogue and cooperation with all to whom the fate of Ukraine is the top priority."

Indeed, since the adoption of the Constitution and until the July 16 attempted assassination on Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, there was a kind of "feel-good" atmosphere in Ukraine's capital city, and in various democratic political circles.

On the evening of June 28, now officially a state holiday - Constitution Day - the capital city celebrated with a fireworks display in the center. The city of Kharkiv immediately changed the name of its central square - Soviet Square - to Constitution Square.

On June 28, such distinguished statesmen as Viktor Musiaka (Reforms faction), a deputy in Parliament who served as the representative of the president of Ukraine to the Parliament until that day, and who played an instrumental role in pushing through the Constitution, turned 50.

On June 28, Oleksander Lavrynovych (Rukh faction), who served on the Constitutional Committee to create the fundamental law, turned 40.

On June 28, Serhiy Odarych, one of the founders of the Ukrainian Perspective Fund, one of the few Ukrainian think-tank organizations that provided an analysis of the Constitution as it went through changes and revisions, turned 29.

And Judge Bohdan Futey, a Ukrainian American on the U.S. Court of Federal Claims who has gone through sympathetic labor pains as Ukraine tried - for six years - to adopt its first democratic Constitution, serving as an adviser to the Ukrainian Parliament's Committee on Law Policy and Legal Reform, also celebrated his birthday on June 28. Speaking with The Weekly's home office in Jersey City, N.J., Judge Futey said passage of the Constitution of Ukraine was the best possible birthday gift.

But, as former President Leonid Kravchuk, now a deputy in Parliament, so aptly pointed out: "Ukraine has a Constitution. Now it has to learn to live by it."

The Ukrainian government is trying to do everything to implement the Constitution. On July 13, President Kuchma signed a decree "On Priority Measures Related to the Adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine."

The Cabinet of Ministers, the Presidential Administration, the Council of Ministers of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea and local administrations have all been instructed to involve experts and the mass media in a large-scale campaign to introduce the new Constitution to the public.

The first ministry to take the decree to heart was the Justice Ministry, headed by Serhiy Holovaty, one of the fathers of the new Constitution. On July 18 he held a press conference announcing a new souvenir book of the Constitution, which will be available in the next few weeks.

According to Mr. Holovaty, the Justice Ministry intends to devote special attention to popularizing the Constitution at educational institutions. He estimated that close to $2 million (U.S.) will be needed to launch a campaign in schools of various levels. But, he emphasized that he does not want to turn to the government for this money.

"In such a situation, there is no harm in turning to the governments of foreign states and other funds so that they can make such gifts to the citizens of Ukraine by the fifth anniversary of its independence," said Mr. Holovaty.

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