NEWSBRIEFS

Warrant issued for Lazarenko's arrest

KYIV - Following the Verkhovna Rada's decision to strip former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko of his parliamentary immunity, Ukraine's Procurator-General Mykhailo Potebenko issued a warrant for Mr. Lazarenko's arrest, the Associated Press reported on February 20. Mr. Lazarenko is suspected of stealing $2 million in state funds and stashing some $4 million in a Swiss bank. Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Kravchenko said that Mr. Lazarenko is currently in the U.S., where he wants to emigrate. Reuters reported the next day that Ukraine had asked the U.S. to extradite Mr. Lazarenko after he was reportedly detained at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport on February 19 for visa irregularities. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Energy sector officials are fired

KYIV - Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko on February 19 sacked Nur Nihmatullin, head of the Enerhoatom nuclear energy company, for "serious drawbacks in work," Reuters reported. The dismissal followed a protest the previous day by nuclear plant workers over wage arrears. One week earlier, President Leonid Kuchma had sacked Energy Minister Oleksii Sheberstov after farmers had criticized the minister for massive blackouts in rural regions this winter. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rukh faction removes Chornovil

KYIV - The Rukh faction in the Verkhovna Rada passed a vote of no-confidence in party leader Vyacheslav Chornovil on February 19. Deputy Yurii Kostenko will temporarily assume the duties of faction leader. Thirty out of 48 Rukh deputies voted to remove Mr. Chornovil. The faction announced that this would not mean a change in Rukh's position in the Verkhovna Rada, but that it would increase the effectiveness of its work. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Chornovil comments on party split

KYIV - Rukh Party leader Vyacheslav Chornovil said on February 22 that "the present situation within the Rukh Party is threatening to frustrate the party's presidential campaign," adding, "the party split is ordered from above." At the same time, Mr. Chornovil remains confident that if the Verkhovna Rada faction split escalates into a full blown party split, he will be supported by the majority of party members. Mr. Chornovil was removed from his position as head of the Rukh's parliamentary faction, but he remains head of the party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rukh's choice: past or future

KYIV - According to the February 20 issue of the newspaper Den (Day), Vyacheslav Chornovil was removed from his post as leader of the Rukh parliamentary faction for making political decisions single-handedly. "Rukh is facing a choice: either it's historical past or a promising future. The period of idolatry is over," Rukh member Roman Zvarych told Den. A Rukh congress on March 6 is expected to address the conflict between Mr. Chornovil's opponents and supporters. President Leonid Kuchma has expressed his regret over the "split" in Rukh and called on party officials to show unity. The nationalist-leaning Rukh, the third-largest party in the Ukrainian Parliament, is not seen as a pro-Kuchma force, although it has not directly opposed the government. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Luzhkov, Zhirinovskyi condemn treaty

MOSCOW - Mayor Yurii Luzhkov denounced the ratification of the Russian-Ukrainian treaty as "shameful," Interfax reported on February 17. He said that he will let Russian citizens know just who voted for the "surrender" of Crimea and Sevastopol. And the Moscow mayor suggested that the ratification might be declared "improper, immaterial and unlawful" by Russian courts. Meanwhile, Vladimir Zhirinovskyi, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, described the ratification of the treaty as a "black day in Russian history" and said that the Federation Council acted as "a council of Russia's destroyers." Krasnoyarsk Governor Aleksandr Lebed was also among those who sharply criticized the ratification of the accord. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hard currency reserves shrinking

KYIV - The Ukrainian National Bank said on February 16 that its hard currency reserves had decreased to $685.5 million at the beginning of 1999, down from $906 million one month earlier, the Associated Press reported. The bank had said earlier that its reserves stood at $1.05 billion, but it has now revised that figure downward, using a new international calculation method that excludes all precious metals except gold. Ukraine's reserves stood at $2.34 billion at the beginning of 1998, but the National Bank of Ukraine systematically sold U.S. dollars in the wake of the Russian financial crisis to support the hryvnia. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma blasts ministers' performance

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on February 18 criticized the Cabinet's performance in 1998, saying that "numerous ministers are not good enough in their daily work," Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma said the Cabinet's erroneous budgetary policies resulted in "dangerous surprises," including the fact that "1998 did not become the first year of real economic growth." The president called the Cabinet of Ministers and National Bank of Ukraine policies of seeking new loans to finance Ukraine's mounting debts and introducing higher interest rates "unprofessional and irresponsible," the Associated Press reported. He also blamed the government for failing to implement his orders and submit new laws to the Verkhovna Rada. According to Mr. Kuchma, of a total of 235 presidential orders, fewer than half have been carried out. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Government outlines economic program

KYIV - The Ukrainian government on February 18 approved the principles for the 1999 Socio-Economic Development Program. This plan comes on the heels of President Leonid Kuchma's scathing criticism of the Cabinet of Ministers on February 18, when he said the lack of economic growth in 1998 was due to government-made mistakes in its budget and structural policy, and called the 1998 foreign and domestic loans situation "a failure." The government expects to limit the hryvnia's devaluation through domestic price growth, and to reduce the National Bank of Ukraine refinancing rate to favor credit growth. The program calls for allocating 16.9 billion hrv to capital investment for the economy's various sectors in 1999. Budget investments are expected to reach only 1.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP), and 58 percent of incoming investment will be earmarked for construction. The government expects to attract $750 million (U.S.) in foreign investment. Average salaries are to grow by 10 percent from 1998, reaching 184.10 hrv per month. Official unemployment also is expected to increase to 5.95 percent by late 1999, compared to 3.69 percent in 1998. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rabinovich calls for greater Jewish role

COPENHAGEN - The president of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress, Vadym Rabinovich, said on February 22 during an address before Danish parliamentarians that "The Jewish community throughout Europe can make a real impact on strengthening democratic processes in Ukraine, into the formation of Jewish society in Ukraine, and into increasing levels of material and social programs in Ukraine." He was speaking at a conference organized by the European Institute for Minorities dedicated to the problems facing Jewish society in Ukraine. Mr. Rabinovich said, "Denmark's Jewish organizations, alongside all Europe's Jewish communities, can and must help Ukraine build a real democracy with a strong and influential Jewish component." (Eastern Economist)

Deputies leave Hromada faction

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko announced on February 18, at the beginning of the Parliament's working day, that National Deputies Volodymyr Nechyporuk and Oleksii Shehovtsev had resigned from the Hromada Party. The move follows the February 17 vote to strip Hromada leader Pavlo Lazarenko of his deputy's immunity. (Eastern Economist)

Communists vote against Lazarenko

KYIV - Four Communist Party members, including party leader Petro Symonenko, who were absent from the Verkhovna Rada during the February 17 session, have asked Rada Chairman Oleksander Tkachenko to add their names to the "for" vote in stripping Pavlo Lazarenko of his deputy's immunity. At that session 310 deputies had voted for Mr. Lazarenko to be deprived of his immunity. (Eastern Economist)

Striking miners moved to attempt suicide

KYIV - Thirty miners of Barakova mine in the Luhansk region who were engaged in an underground strike attempted suicide on February 18 by cutting their wrists. Emergency medical staff were called to the mine and rescued three of the miners, while the rest were treated for minor cuts. The underground strike began on January 30. (Eastern Economist)

Ukrainian foreign minister in Romania

BUCHAREST - Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk ended a three-day visit to Romania on February 20 by visiting areas inhabited by the Ukrainian minority in Maramures County, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported. One day earlier, Mr. Tarasyuk and his Romanian counterpart, Andrei Plesu, told journalists in Bucharest that they had achieved a "significant breakthrough" over outstanding problems related to the 1997 bilateral treaty and are determined to reach a "compromise" without appealing to the International Court of Justice in the Hague. While refusing to elaborate, Mr. Tarasyuk said that "nobody challenges" the status of Serpent's Island as "part of Ukrainian territory." (The treaty also delayed for two years the delimitation of the continental shelf and some border areas.) The two ministers agreed to submit proposals on meeting Romania's demand to set up a "multicultural university" in Chernivtsi. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S. citizen gets Ukrainian medal

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on February 18 signed a decree, awarding U.S. citizen Wolodymyr Wolowodiuk the Ukrainian medal "For Merit," third class. Working among Ukrainian communities in the United States, Mr. Wolowodiuk helped distribute Ukrainian books among youth, including an anthology of 20th century Ukrainian literature titled "Ukrainske Slovo" (Ukrainian Word) in four volumes. He also helped organize the Chervona Ruta national music festival in Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Kuchma moves to help religious groups

KYIV - Following a February 22 meeting with heads of religious organizations, President Leonid Kuchma ordered the Cabinet of Ministers to solve the problem of returning to religious organizations property, ecclesiastical objects and theological literature taken from them during the Soviet period. He also ordered the State Property Fund to implement measures protecting all property which had previously belonged to religious communities from being privatized before it can be returned to its former owners. President Kuchma also ordered the State Customs Committee to draw up proposals to simplify the procedure of transferring goods sent from abroad as aid to religious organizations. (Eastern Economist)

NATO membership remains distant

KYIV - "The issue of Ukrainian NATO membership will not be on the agenda for the next 10 years," said the vice secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksander Razumkov. Speaking on February 8, he stressed that it would cost Ukraine between $60 billion and $125 billion (U.S.) to enter NATO. "Ukraine would have to either increase its budget for defense by 10 times or cut down its armed forces to one-third or one-fourth," said Mr. Razumkov. (Eastern Economist)

Tarasyuk: Slavic union dangerous

LONDON - Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk said on February 3 that Ukraine is not interested in any kind of Slavic union with Russia and Belarus, an RFE/RL correspondent reported in London. Mr. Tarasyuk said any attempt to build a country on the basis of ethnicity is doomed to fail, particularly because Russia is a multinational, multiethnic country. He said Kyiv thinks the idea is "very dangerous, and the example of the former Yugoslavia is a warning for all of us." With regard to Chornobyl, Mr. Tarasyuk called on the European Union and G-7 countries to adhere to a 1995 commitment to provide financial aid to help close down the nuclear power station by 2000. He said the EU and G-7's failure to do so "worries us." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Inflation for January down to 1.5 percent

KYIV - State Statistics Committee figures show that inflation for January fell 1.8 percent from December figures to 1.5 percent, the lowest rate since last September. Inflation for 1998 as a whole was 20 percent - double the figures for 1997. The rise was attributed to the effects of the August-October financial crisis, and came after four years of decreasing rates of inflation, which had peaked at 10,000 percent in 1993. (Eastern Economist)

Tkachenko wants to keep death penalty

KYIV - Oleksander Tkachenko said the Ukrainian Parliament will debate a ban on capital punishment in the coming months, even though he is opposed to its abolition, the Associated Press reported on February 3. The Verkhovna Rada chairman argued that too many Ukrainians favor the death penalty, particularly as the trial of Anatolii Onoprienko - accused of killing 52 people - continues. The Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly recently reminded Kyiv of its 1995 commitment to ban the death penalty. President Leonid Kuchma has decreed a moratorium on the practice. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Japanese center opens new premises

KYIV - The new premises of the Japanese Cultural Center were officially opened in Kyiv on January 28. The culture center is located in one of the buildings of the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy. It offers computer classes, a library and video library, and lecture hall. The center will hold seminars on accounting and financial analysis, development of small and medium-sized business, banking operations and international trade. (Eastern Economist)

Tax cops bring in over 1 billion hrv

KYIV - Tax police chief Viktor Zhvaliuk reported on January 29 that in 1998 his officials collected 1.122 billion hrv - double the total haul for 1997. It identified 21,300 individuals evading taxes, 913 hiding from investigation and 2,700 fictitious firms involved in illegal currency exchange operations. (Eastern Economist)

Farmers in dire need of fuel

KYIV - The government's failure to deliver fuel to Ukrainian farmers means that crops may not be planted and this year's harvest will be threatened, the Ukrainian News agency reported on February 2. Vice Minister of Agriculture Vasyl Shpak said the government is "lagging behind" and that farms in most regions will begin planting in "two or three weeks." The government pledged to supply some 2.2 million tons of fuel to farmers, but has so far reportedly delivered only 2,750 tons. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Crackdown on illegal alcohol production

KYIV - Ukrainian tax police shut down 24 illegal alcohol plants in January, Interfax reported on January 31. Ukrainian tax police chief Viktor Zhvaliuk said the crackdown is a continuation of a program begun last year, when police uncovered some 200 illicit alcohol production sites. More than 30,000 people have been poisoned by low-quality alcohol since 1997. Officials estimate that nearly 50 percent of cigarettes and one-quarter of alcohol sold in Ukraine is either smuggled or illegally produced. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Illegal immigrants stopped at border

KYIV - Three hundred illegal immigrants were arrested at the Ukrainian border over the weekend of January 30-31. One border guard alone detained 41 citizens from Southeast Asia, and on the night of the January 23-24. Ukrainian and Slovak border guards arrested two groups of illegal immigrants of 26 and 14 persons, respectively. Illegal immigrants were also arrested over the weekend from China, Pakistan and India. Experts have cited Ukraine's increased use as a transit country for illegal immigrants as a threat to better relations with the European Union. (Eastern Economist)

Cabinet reshuffle targets foreign trade

KYIV - The New Year Cabinet reshuffle continued on January 27 with a number of dismissals and appointments. Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Minister Serhii Osyka lost his post after five years in office, with President Leonid Kuchma appointing him to the post of vice minister of the economy. Mr. Kuchma promoted Andrii Honcharuk, the present first vice minister of foreign economic relations and trade, to the vacant ministerial post. Viktor Hladush was dismissed from his post as first vice minister of foreign economic relations and trade. Leonid Rossylnyi was appointed on January 26 as the new vice minister of the economy, having been first dismissed from his position as head of the state-run UkrResoursy JSC. President Kuchma appointed Victor Rzhotkevych as his replacement at UkrResoursy. President Kuchma also dismissed Health Minister Andrii Serdiuk, replacing him with Raisa Bohatyriova, who previously was Mr. Serdiuk's first vice minister. (Eastern Economist)

Rada vice-chair attacks NATO agreements

KYIV - "The agreements signed between Ukraine and NATO are unconstitutional," Verkhovna Rada First Vice-Chairman Adam Martyniuk told U.S. Ambassador Steven Pifer. Mr. Martyniuk noted that the Communist faction would block ratification of all international agreements until the Parliament joined the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States. (Eastern Economist)

New party to join centrist opposition

KYIV - A new political party, Vpered Ukraino (Forward Ukraine) will be created in the near future, said Viktor Musiaka, chairman of the organizing committee on creation of the party on February 1. He stressed that the new structure will be centrist-oriented and will support the freedom of entrepreneurship and creation of a market economy. Vpered Ukraino will oppose the current legislative branch of power, said Mr. Musiaka. (Eastern Economist)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 28, 1999, No. 9, Vol. LXVII

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