NEWSBRIEFS

Kyiv concerned over looming war

KYIV - Ukraine views the U.S. ultimatum to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein with "deep concern," a Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman told Interfax on March 18. Ukraine will oppose a U.S. war against Iraq in the absence of United Nations approval, the spokesman added. "Ukraine expresses its concern over the failure to reach a consensus [on Iraq] within the framework of the United Nations Security Council," Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma said in a statement released the same day. Both announcements came after a meeting of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council to discuss the Iraq crisis, among other issues, and were the first strong indication of Ukrainian opposition to Washington's policy in the Persian Gulf. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada asked to OK battalion's deployment

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma asked the Verkhovna Rada on March 18 to approve sending Ukraine's anti-nuclear, -biological, and -chemical (NBC) battalion to Kuwait, UNIAN reported, quoting presidential spokeswoman Olena Hromnytska. Kuwait requested the battalion's presence, Ukraine and Kuwait subsequently agreed on the dispatch of those troops, and the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council approved the move, the spokeswoman added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

U.S. appreciates Ukraine's readiness

WASHINGTON - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage told President Leonid Kuchma by telephone on March 18 that he appreciates Ukraine's readiness to deploy its NBC battalion to the Persian Gulf region to help in the event of an Iraqi attack with chemical or nuclear weapons, Reuters reported, quoting the Ukrainian president's press office. "Such a step by Ukraine will help deepen cooperation and put relations on a new level," the president's office quoted Mr. Armitage as saying. Relations between Ukraine and the United States deteriorated last year after Washington accused President Kuchma of approving the sale of a Kolchuha radar system to Iraq. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Canada announces FARM project

EDMONTON - Canada's Minister of Health Anne McLellan, on behalf of Minister for International Cooperation Susan Whelan, announced on March 18 that the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) will contribute $6 million over five years to an Alberta-Saskatchewan-Manitoba partnership to provide technical assistance for the improvement of agriculture in Ukraine. The funds will be used to establish the Facility for Agricultural Reform and Modernization (FARM), the largest agricultural development project Canada has undertaken in Ukraine. Through FARM, Canadian academics, large-scale producers, processors, environmentalists, farmers and businesspeople will be able to respond to needs identified by partners in Ukraine. FARM will accept proposals from organizations in both Canada and Ukraine to implement initiatives under this program, which will be managed by the Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership (STEP), a non-profit membership-based organization that has previous experience working in Ukraine. The three provincial governments will contribute $3 million to the project, while STEP will add $100,000, bringing the total budget for FARM to $9.1 million. (Government of Canada)

Human Rights Watch: stop censorship

NEW YORK - New York-based Human Rights Watch on March 17 urged President Leonid Kuchma's administration to stop its informal censorship of televised news reports, the Associated Press reported. In a report released the same day, the group said media outlets that criticize government officials have faced "arbitrary tax inspections, denial and revocation of licenses on technicalities, and crippling libel suits." Journalists and opposition lawmakers have accused the Kuchma administration of sending weekly memos, dubbed "temnyky," to senior news editors for the past several months, telling them what events to report and how. The chief of the presidential administration's information-policy department, Serhii Vasiliev, denied the accusations. The office distributes only press releases intended to advise journalists about events in which government officials will participate, Mr. Vasiliev said. Human Rights Watch called on the Ukrainian government to invite a United Nations commission to look into the protection of media freedoms. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Protest against Iraq war held in Kyiv

KYIV - More than 100 representatives of Ukrainian organizations, including the Communist Party, the Green Party and the Russian Bloc protested in Kyiv on March 15 against the U.S. campaign directed against Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, ITAR-TASS and Interfax reported. The protesters called on the Verkhovna Rada to reject a proposal to send a Ukrainian anti-chemical battalion to the Persian Gulf, the news agency reported. The protesters carried slogans like "Not a drop of blood in exchange for oil" and "No Ukrainian battalion to war zone." Protesters marched to the U.S. Embassy and burned an American flag. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma says he wants reform now

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said on March 14 that amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine must be introduced before his current term is over, Interfax reported. "A new president, elected in 2004, should act within the framework of a reformed political system and thus with new authority," he said. In a reference to the bicameral Parliament provided for in his draft proposal for political reform, President Kuchma stressed that such a structure would not signify the federalization of the country. "We need a two-chamber Parliament, not to introduce elements of federative state structure, but to form the necessary balance in relations between the regions and to consider their specific character," he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet approves action plan

KYIV - The Ukrainian government on March 15 approved an action plan for 2003-2004 titled "Openness, Activity, Effectiveness," UNIAN reported. The main goals of the government's stated policy are increasing living standards and ensuring civil rights and freedoms. The document predicts that the gross domestic product will increase by 5 to 6 percent in 2003 and by 8 percent the following year, the export of commodities and services will increase by 5 percent, and real wages will grow by 12 to 15 percent. If the action plan is approved by the Verkhovna Rada, lawmakers have no right to seek the government's ouster for one year after its approval. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Hunger-striking miners hospitalized

CHERVONOHRAD - Fourteen miners at the Bendiuzka coal mine who declared a hunger strike on March 6 to demand unpaid wages were hospitalized on March 12 in Chervonohrad, Lviv Oblast, Interfax reported on March 13, quoting a hospital director. According to the Ukrainian Independent Trade Union of Miners, 45 miners in the Krepinska coal mine in Luhansk Oblast are continuing their underground strike, and miners at six other mines, four in Lviv Oblast and two in Luhansk Oblast, refuse to work until they receive back wages. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's weapons at military exhibition

ADU DHABI - Ukraine has put on view a wide selection of its "most promising" contemporary weapons and military equipment at the sixth International Defense Exhibition that opened in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on March 16, Interfax reported. An estimated 40 Ukrainian companies from the defense industry are presenting armored vehicles, missiles, radars, aircraft engineering and shipbuilding products. Ukraine's exhibits include the Kolchuha radar system, produced by the Topaz factory in Donetsk, and the Nozh tank-defense system, among others. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, March 23, 2003, No. 12, Vol. LXXI

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