NEWSBRIEFS (07/20/03)

NEWSBRIEFS

Presidents recall Volyn massacre

PAVLIVKA, Ukraine - President Leonid Kuchma and his Polish counterpart, Aleksander Kwasniewski, attended a reconciliation ceremony in Pavlivka on July 11 to commemorate people of both nations murdered in Volyn in 1943, Ukrainian media reported. The ceremony was preceded by a statement aimed at reconciliation that was adopted by both the Ukrainian and Polish parliaments. "The Volyn events are still awaiting a thorough historical study," President Kuchma said in his address. "We must not under any circumstances allow scientific labs to be turned into a scene of competition in mutual offenses and claims," he stressed. "I am sure that historians will have enough scholarly honesty and conscience to reach agreement on the interpretation of complex and sad pages of history." Identical resolutions passed earlier by the Verkhovna Rada and the Sejm recognized events in Volyn as a tragedy for both the Ukrainian and Polish nations. The vote was preceded by heated debate in the Rada because the events were described as a tragedy for the Polish people in the first sentence of the resolution while Ukrainian victims were recalled only at the end of the paragraph, he added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kwasniewski spurns collective guilt

PAVLIVKA, Ukraine - "The Ukrainian nation cannot be blamed for the massacre perpetrated on the Polish population. There are no nations that are guilty," President Aleksander Kwasniewski said in Pavlivka, western Ukraine, at an event to commemorate the 1943 Volyn massacre. "It is always specific people who bear the responsibility for crimes." Mr. Kwasniewski made a reference to Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) activities in 1943 and stressed, "No aim and no value, even one as noble as the freedom and sovereignty of a nation, can justify genocide, the butchery of civilians, violence and rape, [and] the imposition of cruel suffering on neighbors." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yavorivskyi against Lavra transfers

KYIV - Ukraine risks losing its "cultural sanctuaries" if the buildings of the National Reserve of the Kyivan Monastery of the Caves are transferred to the clergy and monks of the monastery, which is part of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). Volodymyr Yavorivskyi, national deputy of Ukraine and head of the National Writers' Union of Ukraine, said this in an interview with the UNIAN news service on June 18. According to Mr. Yavorivskyi, Vice Prime Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk may sign a decree to transfer what Mr. Yavorivskyi called "unique spiritual and cultural treasures" to the UOC-MP Monastery of the Caves. "So far, the final decision has not been made," stressed Mr. Yavorivskyi. "There is still a chance, and we will try to stand up in the Parliament and warn Tabachnyk of making a faulty decision." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Money-laundering blamed on legal gaps

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said on July 10 that Ukraine should take all necessary measures to avoid criticism from international organizations regarding Ukrainian efforts to combat money laundering, Interfax reported. There are many shortcomings in Ukrainian legislation that leave room for money-laundering structures to "flourish," he added. Mr. Kuchma announced he would meet next week with the heads of state bodies responsible for fighting money laundering to consider the work of the State Department for Financial Monitoring. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada boosts farm support in budget

KYIV - The Verkhovna Rada on July 9 amended the 2003 budget, providing for an additional allocation of 760 million hrv ($142 million) to buy grain from Ukrainian producers and compensate Ukrainian farmers for losses in this year's crops, Interfax reported. The Parliament authorized the government to raise duties on sugar imports and borrow $112.5 million to cover outlays connected with the budget changes. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma allays fears of grain shortage

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma on July 9 said there are no grounds for "panic" in connection with the recent price hikes for grain products, Interfax reported. "We have enough grain for four months in the state reserves," Mr. Kuchma said. He ascribed the current problems on the food market to "mismanagement by officials." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Our Ukraine urges breaks for farmers

KYIV - Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko on July 1 urged lawmakers to pass a special resolution granting temporary relief from taxes and other dues to agricultural enterprises and annulling accumulated fines and penalties for unpaid taxes in the agricultural sector, Interfax reported. Mr. Yushchenko argued that such a measure will help alleviate the situation on Ukraine's food market, which is witnessing a consumer run on grain products and considerable hikes in food prices. "Control over the formation of [Ukraine's] food market has been lost," Mr. Yushchenko said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada must OK arrests of lawmakers

KYIV - The Ukrainian Constitutional Court ruled on July 3 that law-enforcement bodies may arrest or detain a national deputy in criminal or administrative proceedings only with the express permission of the Verkhovna Rada, Interfax reported. The ruling came in response to requests from a group of deputies and the Internal Affairs Ministry for judicial guidance regarding some provisions of the Constitution and a law on parliamentary immunity. (RFE/RL Newsline)

GUUAM pushes economic development

YALTA - The heads of delegations of Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova (GUUAM) stated in a communiqué adopted at the end of a two-day summit in Yalta on July 4 that the organization's primary task is economic development, Interfax reported. GUUAM representatives considered the creation of free-trade zones and agreed that the fundamental tasks in developing transport within the group should be the establishment of better conditions for transport, improved infrastructure networks, simplified procedures and ensuring stable conditions, among other things. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet seeks $200 M loan for grain

KYIV - Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Mykola Azarov requested on July 3 that the Verkhovna Rada allow the Cabinet to borrow $200 million abroad for replenishing state grain reserves, Interfax reported. "The current situation on external financial markets is extremely favorable," Mr. Azarov told lawmakers. "We could borrow $200 million at a 7 percent interest rate for 10 years and purchase grain for the state reserves for this sum. We would have the store [of grain] that the state needs to control such serious situations [as now]." Ukraine has seen a consumer run on grain products and considerable hikes in food prices in recent weeks, reportedly in anticipation of a poor harvest this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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