NEWSBRIEFS (08/08/99)

NEWSBRIEFS

CEC head: campaign law needs change

KYIV - The idea of collecting signatures in order to be registered as a presidential candidate has proved purposeless, Central Election Committee Chair Mykhailo Riabets said on August 3, adding that the Verkhovna Rada should go back to the idea of requiring a financial pledge, rather than collecting voters' signatures. Mr. Riabets said he believes such a procedure would shorten electoral campaigns and attract additional money to the budget, instead of expenditures. He suggested that the ceiling on campaign chests for individual presidential candidates should be 1.7 million hrv. On another note, Mr. Riabets said, "Insufficient financing of the election process cannot hamper the election campaign, but it will greatly influence its course. There's not enough money to pay salaries and print voting ballots, not to speak about other expenses connected with the organization of the election." He noted that President Leonid Kuchma had vetoed a bill on amending the budget, which would have pumped an additional 25 million hrv into managing the election process. (Eastern Economist)

From NBA to the Cabinet

KYIV - Pro basketball player Oleksander Volkov was appointed Ukraine's minister of sports on August 3. Mr. Volkov, 35, once played for the NBA's Atlanta Hawks and until recently headed a basketball club in Kyiv. (Eastern Economist)

NGOs show mass support for mayor

KYIV - The election coalition "Our Mayor: Oleksander Omelchenko" and the Public Assembly, uniting over 40 community organizations and local branches of political parties, held a demonstration on July 30 on Mykhailivska Ploscha to protest attempts to reconsider the results of the May 30 mayoral elections. Thousands attended the manifestation. (Eastern Economist)

Anti-corruption chief on assassination plot

KYIV - Hryhorii Omelchenko, head of the Verkhovna Rada's Anti-Corruption Investigation Committee, told journalists on July 27 that President Leonid Kuchma had ordered him killed, the Associated Press reported. "The [assassination] order was made personally by the president or with his tacit agreement," Mr. Omelchenko said, adding that two groups of killers were organized in Russia and received a contract worth $500,000 to dispose of him. According to Mr. Omelchenko, the assassination plan was linked to his investigation into foreign bank accounts held by Ukrainian high-ranking officials. Mr. Omelchenko was involved in the investigation into alleged money laundering by former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko and Oleksander Volkov, the head of Kuchma's election team. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Moroz says Kremlin neutral on elections

KYIV - "Official Moscow will not support any of the candidates for the Ukrainian presidency," claimed Socialist Party leader and presidential candidate, Oleksander Moroz on July 27, adding that he is quite sure that Russia will not support the acting executive because of a number of conflicts, including the scandal surrounding Mykolaiv Alumina Plant. Mr. Moroz added that his recent trip to Moscow was only a working visit directed at cooperation on the parliamentary level. (Eastern Economist)

New postal codes introduced

KYIV - Beginning August 1 new five-digit postal codes will replace the six-digit variety. According to Ukraine's postal company UkrPoshta, this is the result of its restructuring program to simplify sorting and delivery procedures. The old system was introduced in 1968 and designed for the entire USSR. (Eastern Economist)

Ukrainians don't expect fair elections

KYIV - A June poll conducted by SOCIS-Gallup revealed that 58 percent of respondents think the presidential elections in Ukraine will be unfair or dishonest, Interfax reported on August 2. In addition, 57 percent believe that the elections will have no influence whatsoever over developments in the country. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rukh activists unite to bar chauvinists

KHARKIV - Over 70 supporters of Yurii Kostenko's splinter Rukh picketed the Russian Consulate in Kharkiv, protesting against the Moscow-controlled Russian Orthodox Church's so-called crusade over Ukrainian territory. Participants of the protest action addressed the Russian consul with a demand to not allow "Moscow chauvinists who speculate with the ideas of Christianity" into Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

IMF official cites Ukraine's better image

KYIV - "Ukraine is starting to form a more positive image with the IMF," said Mohammed Shadman-Valavi, head of the International Monetary Fund's mission, said on August 3, at his final meeting with Vice Prime Minister Serhii Tyhypko. He indicated that IMF financing could be resumed before the end of August. The total amount expected to be allocated is $180 million (U.S.), which includes the July tranche. According to Mr. Tyhypko, the IMF mission is demanding that the government increase the role of market mechanisms and lessen state interference in the economy in order for Ukraine to receive the money. (Eastern Economist)

Venezuela, Ukraine strengthen ties

KYIV - A government delegation of Venezuela led by First Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Jorje Valero Briseno arrived on a three-day working visit in Ukraine to discuss bilateral trade and economic cooperation. The visit is a run-up to an official visit to Ukraine by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias slated for later this year. (Eastern Economist)

USAID office closes in Latvia

RIGA - The office of the U.S. Agency for International Development in Riga was officially closed on July 22. Over the eight-year period it was active, the USAID implemented 60 programs in Latvia, with funding totaling $57 million. Estonia had "graduated" from the U.S. aid program several years ago, and that program will wrap up in Lithuania in the near future. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Security services to hold joint session

MOSCOW - The director of the Federal Security Service of Russia, Vladimir Putin told journalists that he had informed President Boris Yeltsin on July 27 about the proposal of the head of the Security Service of Ukraine to hold a joint session of the collegiums of the Federal Security Service of Russia and the Ukrainian Security Service. According to Mr. Putin, President Yeltsin supported the proposal. Mr. Putin said he believes that the meeting of top-ranking officers of the security services of the two countries "will be a very useful step, which will do good to both security services, will make it possible to organize cooperation in crime control and will promote the development of Russian-Ukrainian relations." Mr. Putin expects that the joint session of the collegiums may be held late in August. (ITAR-TASS)

Ukraine hit by motor fuel shortage

KYIV - Ukraine is suffering a severe gasoline shortage, resulting in the closure of many filling stations. The price of gasoline has doubled and even tripled at some stations, the Eastern Economic Daily reported on July 21. Some traders blamed government-imposed import duties on gasoline for the shortage, while the government pointed to the increase in world oil prices. The agricultural sector seems most affected by the fuel crisis. According to the agency, some regional authorities have attempted to confiscate low-octane gasoline for the needs of agricultural enterprises. Newly appointed Agricultural Minister Mykhailo Hladii said most farms have enough fuel to keep their combines running, but he added that the hike is likely to push up the price of grain. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv cuts duties to fight fuel shortage

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma reprimanded his government on July 21 for the acute gasoline shortage in the country. The Cabinet of Ministers responded by ordering the lifting of a 2 percent duty on oil imports land and freeing domestic producers from a 0.01 euro duty on each kilogram of oil products until January 1, 2000. Vice Minister of the Economy Viktor Kalnyk said the government also ordered tax authorities to give local oil refineries more time to pay value-added tax and excise duties. The government, meanwhile, plans to import 500,000 tons of diesel fuel from Azerbaijan to help farmers with the harvest campaign. As a result of the gasoline crisis, the exchange rate for the hryvnia sank to 4.2 hrv to $1 (U.S.) in trading between banks on July 21, having remained stable for several months at around 3.9 to $1. (RFE/RL Newsline)

| Home Page |