NEWSBRIEFS (05/14/00)

NEWSBRIEFS

Veterans, leftists march on VE Day

KYIV - Some 2,000 war veterans marched in downtown Kyiv on May 9 in an official ceremony to mark Victory in Europe Day, Interfax reported. Later, 2,500 representatives of leftist parties staged another march, carrying red flags and portraits of Lenin and Stalin. Also on May 9, President Leonid Kuchma visited his father's grave in Russia's Novgorod Oblast, where the latter died at the front in 1942. Meanwhile, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ivan Pliusch called for reconciliation between Soviet veterans and those of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which fought German troops as well as Polish and Soviet guerrillas in Nazi-occupied Ukraine in a bid to establish an independent Ukrainian state. UPA veterans have not been officially recognized by the government and do not have the right to social benefits, unlike their Soviet counterparts. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tarasyuk meets Security Council head

KYIV - Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk met the head of the U.N. Security Council Van Jinfan. Mr. Tarasyuk spoke highly of the current state of cooperation between the United Nations and Ukraine. Ukrainian initiatives include the proposal to hold a special session of the General Assembly on AIDS problems and the systematization of the introduction of international sanctions. The latter was strongly supported by the U.N. representative from Canada. (Eastern Economist)

Symbolic blockade on Press Day

KYIV - International Freedom of the Press Day was celebrated in Kyiv with a symbolic barricade on May 4 in the center of the capital. The journalists put on gas masks and set out in the direction of the government building and the building housing the Parliament. The protest action, dubbed "Difficult Breathing," was supported by the Ukrainian National Union of Journalists, as well as editorial boards of 198 publications, 19 TV companies and 36 radio broadcasting stations from all over the country. Participants in the protest action were carrying streamers saying "Free people need freedom of speech" and "Don't keep silent." Vasyii Vasiutin, head of the Freedom Wave action, told TASS that the protesters' goal was to promote legislation and amendments to the law on the press. According to Mr. Vasiutin, some 2,000 legal claims were lodged against mass media organs in 1999 for a total of 90 billion hrv, which exceeds the national budget threefold. As a rule, he explained, the "lawsuits were trumped up, and enormous sums of money were claimed from the publications, mostly opposition ones, for moral damage." The official presentation of changes to the legislation in the media sector was to take place at the Verkhovna Rada on May 4. The journalists demanded that the changes be approved before Journalist's Day, which is observed on June 6. (Eastern Economist, ITAR-TASS)

Shpek appointed as rep to EU

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma issued a decree appointing Roman Shpek as the representative of Ukraine to the European Union. Another decree dismissed Mr. Shpek as head of the National Agency for Development and European Integration because the agency has been eliminated. (Eastern Economist)

Peace Corps looks to expand in Ukraine

KYIV - Peace Corps Director Mark Schneider arrived in Ukraine on May 4 and held several meetings with Cabinet ministers. He met Verkhovna Rada deputies, including former president Leonid Kravchuk on May 5. Mr. Schneider said the Peace Corps is interested in expanding its activities in Ukraine and increasing the number of volunteers. Possible new areas of cooperation include the development of information technologies and agriculture. Currently 200 Peace Corps volunteers are working throughout Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Peace Corps volunteers sworn in

KYIV - The swearing-in ceremony for new 31 Peace Corps volunteers took place April 18. The 17th group of American volunteers arriving to serve two-year terms in Ukraine will be working on business development projects in all regions and major cities. More than 600 volunteers have worked in Ukraine since 1992 on projects in business development, teaching English as a foreign language and environmental protection. According to U.S. Ambassador Steven Pifer, the Peace Corps program in Ukraine is the largest Peace Corps program in the world and this "reflects the commitment of the United States to the successful transition of Ukraine to a market economy." (Eastern Economist)

PM confident on resumption of loans

KYIV - Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko on May 4 expressed his belief that Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund will find a compromise on resuming IMF loans, Interfax reported. Mr. Yuschenko suggested that this year Ukraine might obtain $800 million from the fund. "We do not idealize Ukraine's moves, but we think that Ukraine has performed at a good level, which is enough to have a positive dialogue with the IMF," the Associated Press quoted Mr. Yuschenko as saying. During his visit to Washington on May 7-10, the prime minister was to meet with IMF and World Bank officials, representatives of the U.S. administration, bankers, businessmen and politicians. The IMF froze its $2.6 billion loan program for Ukraine in September 1999, charging the government with insufficient reforms and weak governance. Ukraine had obtained $965 million from the IMF before the program was halted. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Latvia celebrates historic declaration

RIGA - Latvia on May 4 celebrated the 10th anniversary of the declaration by its Supreme Council of the restoration of independence. Some 200 former and current parliamentary deputies took part in a procession during which flowers were laid at Riga's Freedom Monument, the LETA news service reported. According to BNS news service, in an address, Parliament Chairman Janis Straume criticized politicians for losing the trust of the people and reminded deputies that they represent those who elected them. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Belarus to resettle Chornobyl areas

MIENSK - During his visit to southern Belarus, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka announced that he wants to set up a resettlement area in radiation-contaminated areas and that he will give automatic Belarusian citizenship "within one week" to anyone from a Commonwealth of Independent States country who settles there, the DPA news service reported on April 26. In other comments, Mr. Lukashenka noted that he keeps the distribution of the $150 million annual fund for victims of Chornobyl under his personal control, ITAR-TASS reported. He further said that Miensk stands ready to offer its experience and expertise to any place that might suffer a nuclear accident in the future. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Chornobyl shutdown date to be set

KYIV - On the 14th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear accident, Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said that "it is too early yet to give the exact date" for the final closure of the plant, ITAR-TASS reported on April 26. And Environment and Natural Resources Minister Ivan Zayets said that "it will be very, very hard for Ukraine to close the Chornobyl nuclear power plant without proper funding, including from abroad." But Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko said that a closure date will be announced after consultations with Western donor countries are completed. Kyiv currently estimates the damage from the accident at $140 billion; so far, it has received only $5 billion in domestic and foreign funds to handle the clean-up and health problems. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Visas required for Czech Republic

KYIV - Starting June 28 Ukrainian citizens traveling to the Czech Republic will need to have a visa. Russian and Belarus citizens will need a visa to travel to the Czech Republic after May 29. "The introduction of the visa requirements for Ukraine, Russia and Belarus is because of the increasing number of crimes committed in the republic by Russian-speaking foreigners," stated Alech Pospichil, spokesman for the Czech Embassy in Ukraine. (Eastern Economist)

Ukraine, Russia discuss energy issues

KYIV - Gazprom Chairman Viktor Chernomyrdin of Russia met with President Leonid Kuchma of Ukraine to discuss energy cooperation between the two countries, ITAR-TASS reported on April 21. Mr. Chernomyrdin played down the importance of Ukraine's gas debt, saying that "there are other more important problems in the development of production and cooperation." But Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko said on the same day that Kyiv will work out a mechanism for serving that debt within 30 days. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Symonenko: Rada loses independence

KYIV - Petro Symonenko said on April 17 that the Parliament "will totally lose its independence" and become "subordinated to the presidential administration and the Cabinet of Ministers" following the introduction of constitutional amendments approved in the referendum, Interfax reported. According to Mr. Symonenko, local authority representatives interfered with the preparation of the referendum and "grossly" violated civil rights and freedoms during the voting. "This referendum is another step toward dictatorship and the destruction of democratic institutions in our country," he noted. Mr. Symonenko added that the Central Election Commission has proven unable to ensure the observance of law during the plebiscite and demanded a change of the commission's composition. Mr. Symonenko predicts an ouster of the current Cabinet and early parliamentary elections as a result of the referendum. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Germany opens Lviv consular office

LVIV - A German consular office was opened in Lviv. German Ambassador to Ukraine Everhard Heiken noted that German businessmen would be most interested in investing in Lviv's energy, transport and construction sectors. (Eastern Economist)

Turkey, Ukraine discuss security

KYIV - The international conference "Ukraine and Turkey: Security and Cooperation in the Black Sea Region" was held on April 10-11. "Ukraine and Turkey are becoming a part of the strategic decisions of the major powers, United States and Russia, which are competing for influence in the Black Sea Region," stated Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, head of the cooperation office in Ukraine. He also added that in order to be able to influence security in the Black Sea region, both Ukraine and Turkey first have to find ways to resolve their own conflicting interests. The ambassador of the Turkish Republic in Ukraine, Alp Karaosmanoglu, commented: "Although the relations began only nine years ago, they became broad, dynamic and pragmatic. The situation in the Black Sea region is likely to facilitate an increasing partnership between Ukraine and Turkey." (Eastern Economist)

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