NEWSBRIEFS (03/19/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

IMF says Ukraine provided incorrect data

KYIV - The International Monetary Fund has said that the National Bank of Ukraine misled fund experts about the size of its reserves, as a result of which the IMF lent money that it might otherwise have withheld, Reuters reported on 14 March. "It appears that a number of transactions in 1996-1998 gave the impression that Ukraine's reserves were larger than was actually the case," an IMF statement noted. The National Bank of Ukraine said the same day that its foreign debt payments, methods of channeling its foreign exchange reserves and transparent bookkeeping proved that it had not misused IMF money. The bank added that the "differences of opinion" over Ukraine's use of IMF loans may have resulted from the fact that until 1998 Ukraine employed a Soviet system of accounting that differed from that in the West. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Another two referenda in Ukraine?

KYIV - The Central Election Commission has registered two initiative groups that will collect signatures in support of referenda that would be alternatives to the constitutional referendum scheduled for April 16, Interfax reported on March 13. The first group is seeking the population's consent to include a number of social guarantees in the Constitution, abolish the post of president and grant the legislative branch the "exclusive right" to form executive bodies. The second group wants to pose questions about suspending Ukraine's obligations to the International Monetary Fund, passing a vote of no confidence in the president, and canceling the immunity of the president, national deputies and judges. The first plebiscite is proposed by the Communist Party, while the second is the joint initiative of the Communist Party, the Progressive Socialist Party and the Peasant Party. The groups each have to collect 3 million signatures by mid-June if the referenda are to take place. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Young Communists form new group

KYIV - Some 120 delegates from throughout Ukraine took part in the constituent congress of the Ukrainian Communist Youth Union in Kyiv on March 11, Interfax reported. The congress was held among rumors that the new organization is expected to prompt a split in Ukraine's Communist youth movement, which is controlled by the Communist Party. Oleksander Starynets, an organizer of the new Communist youth organization and first secretary of the old one, the Komsomol, or Communist Youth League, told the congress that the Komsomol has been turned into "a youth detachment of the Communist Party, devoid of autonomy and forced to play obediently according to the rules of older Communist comrades." A day earlier, Mr. Starynets told journalists that the new organization will back Ukraine's statehood. He did not rule out that it might propose the creation of a "new type" of Communist Party. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Symonenko: Kuchma seeks to split CPU

KYIV - Communist Party of Ukraine leader Petro Symonenko told Interfax on March 13 that the Ukrainian Communist Youth Union (UCYU) was created "under the patronage" of the presidential administration, which "seeks to split the left spectrum of political parties." According to Mr. Symonenko, a majority of delegates to the UCYU constituent congress were students who "had no idea" where they were being taken by their deans. Mr. Symonenko added that there will also be attempts to split the Communist Party of Ukraine and create an alternative organization, the Ukrainian Communist Party. Mr. Symonenko also noted that the authorities are seeking to stoke "enmity toward Communists" in society and had an "interest" in the seizure of the Communist headquarters by young radicals last week. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President presses for referendum

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told the March 10 Kyiv-based Fakty newspaper that he favors holding the April 16 constitutional referendum, even though the Verkhovna Rada has formed a pro-government majority. "If the referendum is canceled, ... there'll be a threat of the majority falling apart," Mr. Kuchma said. He added that he supports a bicameral legislature because an upper chamber composed of regional leaders would block "populist resolutions" adopted by the lower chamber. The same day, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry and Justice Ministry accused the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of "partiality" with regard to the upcoming referendum in Ukraine. The ministries were responding to a PACE monitoring committee's draft resolution that questions the legality of a referendum organized on the basis of a popular initiative. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Poland celebrates 1,000 years

WARSAW - Four presidents from neighboring countries - Germany's Johannes Rau, Hungary's Arpad Goncz, Lithuania's Valdas Adamkus and Slovakia's Rudolf Schuster - were in Poland on March 12 to attend celebrations marking the 1,000th anniversary of Poland's statehood. Czech President Vaclav Havel and Ukraine's Leonid Kuchma were both unable to attend, the former for health reasons, while the latter canceled his visit due to the tragic mining accident near Krasnodon. The summit commemorated German Emperor Otto III's visit to Gniezno 1,000 years ago during which he, in effect, recognized Polish ruler Boleslaw I Chrobry (the Brave) as king of the country. "We appeal to the nations of Europe ... to oppose all manifestations of hatred, xenophobia, racism, aggressive nationalism and extremism," the presidents said in a joint declaration read by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski to Gniezno residents. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine, Russia disagree over gas debt

MOSCOW - Russian First Vice Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov on March 7 said Moscow and Kyiv have so far not agreed on the size of Ukraine's debt for Russian gas deliveries, Interfax reported. According to Mr. Kasianov, Kyiv admits owing $1.4 billion for Russian gas, while Gazprom maintains that the debt totals $1.9 billion. Mr. Kasianov noted that the debt is a "key problem" in bilateral ties, adding that Moscow is drawing up proposals of both an economic and political nature on how to resolve the issue. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma comments on gas debt

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma denied rumors that Kyiv will transfer some profit-making Ukrainian companies to Russia as repayment of Ukraine's gas debt. Those rumors emerged following Russian Vice Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov's visit to Kyiv earlier this month, when he is said to have pressed for such a deal. "I think that it is simply inappropriate and rude to raise the issue of gas debts in such a manner ... particularly since Russia itself only a few days ago managed to restructure its debts to the West," Mr. Kuchma noted. The Ukrainian president said he agreed with former Russian President Boris Yeltsin and current acting President Vladimir Putin on a "mechanism" for repayment of Ukraine's gas debt. Mr. Kuchma added that he has ordered the government to work out a debt repayment schedule but gave no other details. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma signs 2000 budget

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has signed the 2000 zero-deficit budget bill passed by the Parliament last month, Interfax reported on March 8. In a letter to the Verkhovna Rada chairman and the prime minister, Mr. Kuchma said he signed the document because it was the result of a compromise between the Parliament and the government. But he noted that the budget "does not fully take into account the financial strategy" presented in his annual address to the Parliament. According to Mr. Kuchma, the budget is "abnormal" because it provides for subsidies to all regions, excluding the city of Kyiv and Crimea. Moreover, the budget "does not provide the necessary preconditions to considerably reduce the tax burden" on the production sphere. Mr. Kuchma also expressed his concern over increased expenditures, compared with last year's budget. (RFE/RL Newsline)

NBU: no evidence of misuse of IMF funds

KYIV - The National Bank of Ukraine on March 7 issued a statement saying that an international audit has not produced any evidence that the bank misused International Monetary Fund credits in 1997, Interfax reported. In January the Financial Times had quoted former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko as saying that $613 million in IMF funds were diverted from the central bank in December 1997 and invested in speculative government bonds. Mr. Lazarenko also alleged that some $200 million in proceeds were deposited in Belgian and Swiss accounts of people close to President Leonid Kuchma. The allegations prompted the IMF to announce that it would not consider releasing new loans for Ukraine until a probe is completed. The NBU commissioned PricewaterhouseCoopers to audit transactions between September 1997 and January 1998. A second audit covering all of 1997 and nine months of 1998 will be released later this month. (RFE/RL Newsline)

WB requests probe into use of loans

KYIV - The World Bank has requested that Ukraine's Finance Ministry expand the second audit to include the $1.81 billion in structural adjustment loans that the bank has granted Ukraine since 1994. The bank's mission in Ukraine said that the money was mostly used to cover foreign debt payments and that there was no immediate evidence of wrongdoing. It added, however, that the World Bank wants "to take advantage" of the ongoing audit to check the use of its loans, too. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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