NEWSBRIEFS (02/15/04)

NEWSBRIEFS

Chornovil withdraws from Our Ukraine

KYIV - National Deputy Taras Chornovil, son of the late nationalist leader Vyacheslav Chornovil, has suspended his membership in the Our Ukraine parliamentary caucus, citing a disagreement over the bloc's tactics, Ukrainian media reported on February 10. "We missed the opportunity for a Georgian scenario in 2001, and we missed the opportunities we had after the parliamentary election victory [in 2002]," Mr. Chornovil told Radio Kontynent the same day. "Now we are, in fact, losing the opportunity to win the presidential election [in 2004]." Mr. Chornovil told the Ukrainska Pravda website that Viktor Pynzenyk, leader of the Law and Order Party, is among those who should be blamed for Our Ukraine's failures. Last week, one lawmaker suspended his membership in Our Ukraine and another quit the bloc's parliamentary caucus. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kinakh criticizes pipeline decision

KYIV - Former Prime Minister Anatolii Kinakh, head of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, said on February 5 that the government's decision to use the Odesa-Brody pipeline to pump Caspian oil to Europe and reject a temporary reversal of the flow, as suggested by Russia, was not based on any feasibility study, Interfax reported. Mr. Kinakh also claimed the government made its decision on Odesa-Brody without the relevant contracts with oil providers or oil consumers. Oleksander Horodetskyi, the president of the TNK-Ukraine oil company, meanwhile called Russian-British joint venture TNK-BP's proposal to ship 9 million tons of crude annually in the pipeline's "reverse mode" - from Brody to Odesa - the only realistic offer on the immediate use of the pipeline, which has been idle since 2002. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma outlines foreign policy priorities

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said at a meeting with foreign diplomats in Kyiv on February 6 that Ukraine's priority foreign-policy tasks in 2004 are seeking to enter the World Trade Organization (WTO), proceeding toward integration with the European Union, and developing cooperation with Russia and the United States, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma said Kyiv wants to conclude its negotiations on WTO membership this year. He also pledged that Ukraine will make efforts to bring "all spheres of social life and primarily domestic legislation" into line with European standards. (RFE/RL Newsline)

New ministry for family, children, youth

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma signed a decree ordering the transformation of the State Committee for Family and Youth Affairs into the Ministry for Family, Children and Youth Affairs, Interfax reported on February 6, quoting the presidential press service. The decree appointed Valentyna Dovzhenko to head the new ministry. The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers is to prepare draft regulations regarding the activities and personnel of the new ministry within two months. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Court shuts paper, citing anti-Semitism

KYIV - A district court in Kyiv on January 28 ordered the closure of the newspaper Silski Visti after finding it guilty of fomenting inter-ethnic antagonisms in Ukraine, Interfax and UNIAN reported, quoting the Socialist Party press service. The decision reportedly followed a lawsuit by an organization called the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, which charged that Silski Visti reprinted two anti-Semitic articles written by Prof. Vasyl Yaremenko of the International Academy of Personnel Management. Socialist Party member Mykola Rudkovskyi told UNIAN that the court order was the result of a "political instruction by the presidential administration" aimed at "do[ing] away with the largest Ukrainian opposition newspaper." Mr. Rudkovskyi said a group of lawyers is now preparing an appeal against the closure. Silski Visti, which targets primarily rural readers, is widely believed to be linked to the Ukrainian Socialist Party and its leader, Oleksander Moroz. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko: Silski Visti should apologize

KYIV - Our Ukraine Chairman Viktor Yushchenko said last week that the Silski Visti newspaper needs "to find courage to apologize to those people whose ethnic sentiments were offended by its publications," the Our Ukraine website reported on February 5. Mr. Yushchenko was presumably referring to an article on Jews in Ukraine that was published by Silski Visti in November 2003 and prompted the recent court closure of the newspaper amid charges of anti-Semitism. "There should be no discussion about this [apology]," Mr. Yushchenko said, noting that his father was a prisoner at Auschwitz in 1944 "jointly with Jews at a time when 25,000 people were [being] liquidated every day." Mr. Yushchenko claimed that, at the same time, his grandmother and mother were keeping three Jewish girls in hiding in his home in Ukraine's Sumy Oblast. Mr. Yushchenko repeated his assertion that the court, by ignoring other legal possibilities for dealing with Silski Visti and ruling to close the newspaper, was following orders from the authorities to destroy the largest opposition publication in the country. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Courthouse blast hurts 10

KYIV - At least 10 people were injured in an explosion that ripped through a courthouse here on February 9, officials said. The blast occurred in the basement of the Darnytsia district court building at about 11:45 a.m., according to police. The court building's facade was partially destroyed, and windows in nearby buildings were smashed by the shock waves. A police officer on duty in the court reportedly said there was a smell of carbide prior to the explosion. Police are investigating the cause of the blast. According to preliminary information, the explosion was caused by repair work, but investigations were under way to determine the cause of the blast, according to Oleh Venzhyk of Ukraine's Emergency Situations Ministry. (RFE/RL Newsline, Associated Press)

"Missing" candidate surfaces in Kyiv

MOSCOW - Former Duma Chairman and Russian presidential candidate Ivan Rybkin, who was reported missing on February 5, phoned home on February 10 to say that he had spent the last four days in Kyiv with friends, unaware of the current "hysteria" in Moscow about his whereabouts, Interfax reported. "I have the right to two or three days of a private life," Mr. Rybkin said. "I came to Kyiv with my friends, had fun, turned off my mobile phones and did not watch television." Albina Rybkina, Mr. Rybkin's wife, told the agency that she "pities poor Russia that such people want to lead it," and confirmed that she was speaking of her husband. Ksenia Ponomareva, the head of Mr. Rybkin's election headquarters, said that she is likely to resign, but that she first wanted to hear Mr. Rybkin's explanation. When greeted by reporters upon his arrival back in Moscow, Mr. Rybkin did not deny that he might withdraw his candidacy, Kommersant-Daily reported on February 11. Mr. Rybkin said he returned from a difficult round of talks on Chechnya, but that he was not detained against his will. No other media mentioned any talks on Chechnya. Asked what happened, Mr. Rybkin said "no comment," but admitted that he was very upset to hear his daughter crying over the phone. He then said he was glad to be back in his native land and that he had nothing more to say on the matter. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Eurasian oil group meets in DC

WASHINGTON - On January 29 the first session of U.S.-Ukraine working group on Eurasian oil transportation corridor issues was held in Washington. The session was co-chaired by Andriy Kluiev, vice prime minister of Ukraine, and Vicky Bailey, U.S. assistant secretary of energy for policy and international affairs. The Ukrainian delegation also met with Alan Larson, U.S. under-secretary of state. The parties discussed the present state of the project on transporting Caspian oil to Europe via the Odesa-Brody pipeline. Mr. Kluiev spoke about the status of the project's realization, in particular the agreements achieved with Polish partners regarding the pipeline's extension to the Polish town of Plock, Ukraine's intentions to use the pipeline to transport Caspian oil to Europe and to adopt relevant legislation, namely the law on concession, which would facilitate commercialization of the project. The Ukrainian side underlined the necessity to take real steps to ensure the practical exploitation of the Odesa-Brody pipeline as soon as possible. The American side emphasized that the U.S. supports the European direction of the Odesa-Brody pipeline. During the consultations the Ukrainian delegation met also with Kyle McSlarrow, U.S. deputy secretary of energy. Experts of the U.S. Department of Energy gave a presentation on the current state of affairs of projects on oil transportation in the Black Sea region. The parties discussed in detail the prospects for the realization of these projects with involvement of U.S. companies. The American side conveyed a letter from the ChevronTexaco Co. addressed to Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. National Deputy Serhii Osyka and Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Serhii Pyrozhkov also participated in the consultations. (Embassy of Ukraine)

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