NEWSBRIEFS (06/08/03)

NEWSBRIEFS

Rada asked to approve troops for Iraq

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma has requested that the Verkhovna Rada approve sending a Ukrainian peacekeeping contingent to the Polish-administered stabilization sector in Iraq, Interfax reported on June 2, quoting Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn. Kyiv reportedly wants to dispatch a brigade of 1,600 to 1,700 troops to Iraq that would include two motorized infantry battalions. The agency added that Ukraine's 448-strong anti-nuclear, -biological and -chemical (NBC) battalion currently deployed in Kuwait might be included in the Ukrainian contingent in Iraq. President Kuchma told journalists in Kyiv on May 28 that he is certain the Rada will endorse a decision taken earlier this month by the National Security and Defense Council to send a contingent of Ukrainian peacekeepers to the Polish stabilization sector in Iraq, Interfax reported. "I am convinced, taking into account the situation in Parliament, that the decision to dispatch [the contingent] will be adopted," Mr. Kuchma said. He said he is aware that such a decision will be "perceived ambiguously by Ukrainian society," but added, "We have no right to stay aside from global processes." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tymoshenko signals bid for presidency

KYIV - Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the eponymous opposition bloc, told the May 31-June 6 issue of the Kyiv-based weekly Zerkalo Nedeli that she might consider running for the post of Ukrainian president in 2004 if the opposition fails to agree on a single candidate. "I never tire of asking [Our Ukraine leader] Viktor Andriyovych [Yushchenko] when we will start full-fledged talks [on a single, opposition-backed presidential candidate]," Ms. Tymoshenko said. She said Mr. Yushchenko and Socialist Party leader Oleksander Moroz refused to discuss the issue during their joint visit to Germany last month. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Deputies divided over Volyn issue

KYIV - A group of 39 national deputies of the Verkhovna Rada published an open letter in Holos Ukrainy on May 29 to condemn the massacre of Polish civilians by the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) in Volyn in 1943, Interfax reported. The letter criticizes alleged attempts on the part of some current politicians to defend those who "sullied their hands with the blood of women and children" 60 years ago as "immoral and exceptionally cynical." Signatories included Parliament Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn, Viktor Musiyaka (European Choice), Nestor Shufrych (Social Democratic Party-United), Taras Chornovil, and Yuriy Karmazin (Our Ukraine). On May 16 Holos Ukrainy published a letter from a group of 33 predominantly right-wing lawmakers requesting that Poland abandon the quest for "one-sided apologies" for the Volyn massacre from Ukraine. "To achieve mutual understanding, Poland needs to revise cardinally its anti-Ukrainian prejudices," the letter said. That letter was signed by Hryhorii Omelchenko, Levko Lukianenko, Stepan Khmara, Yaroslav Kendzior and Andriy Shkil, among others. Polish and Ukrainian Presidents Aleksander Kwasniewski and Leonid Kuchma agreed in February to organize a joint commemoration of the massacre. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Issue of east-west divide resurfaces

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said at a May 28 news conference that he fears there might be attempts in next year's presidential election to pit voters in the east of the country against those in the west, as was the case in previous presidential ballots in 1991, 1994 and 1999, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma added that such a negative, east-west division was reinforced during the 2002 parliamentary elections. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma: single opposition candidate

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma also told journalists on May 28 that opposition forces - Our Ukraine, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party - are unlikely to field a joint presidential candidate in the 2004 election, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma suggested that Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko made a mistake by not siding with pro-presidential forces and not forming a pro-government majority in the Verkhovna Rada after the 2002 parliamentary elections. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Over 800 youths make pilgrimage to Univ

UNIV, Ukraine - Over 800 young pilgrims from throughout western Ukraine made a pilgrimage to the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Monastery of the Dormition in Univ, Lviv region. It ended on May 18 with a pontifical liturgy celebrated by Bishop Yulian Gbur of Stryi. "I am going to ask for forgiveness and God's grace" was a typical answer of the young people when asked: "Why are you making the pilgrimage?" On the first day, the pilgrims covered 45 kilometers, which was a trial for many. On arrival at Univ, the pilgrims spent the night in prayer and, led by the monastery's Studite monks, processed with candles to Monastic Hill. During the underground period of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, liturgies were celebrated and religious were buried on the hill. At the liturgy on Sunday, three new priests were ordained, including one priest for the Belarusian Greek-Catholic Church. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Kyiv to recognize Moldova's customs seals

CHISINAU - The Moldovan Customs Department on May 22 notified the Transdniester authorities that, as of May 25, Ukraine will only recognize new Moldovan customs seals at border-crossing points on its territory, Infotag reported. The Ukrainian and Moldovan customs authorities signed an agreement to this effect in Kyiv on May 15 and the accord is to go into effect on May 25. Last year Moldova changed its customs seals in an attempt to curb smuggling from Transdniester, but the Ukrainian authorities until earlier this month refused to acknowledge the change at customs posts on the Ukraine-Transdniester border. The accord with Ukraine marks a "big victory for Moldova," according to the DPA news agency. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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