NEWSBRIEFS (05/09/04)

NEWSBRIEFS

Kuchma, Lukashenka: enemies of press

PARIS - The Paris-based Reporters Without Borders watchdog group on May 3 announced its list of the 37 worst enemies of press freedom - referred to as "predators of press freedom" - in 2003, the organization's website (http://www.rsf.org) reported. The list includes Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka and Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, who appear under the "Authoritarian Rulers" rubric. Messrs. Lukashenka and Kuchma are accompanied by the heads of states or governments of Uzbekistan, Eritrea, Burma, Iran, Laos, Kazakstan, Pakistan and Turkey. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian parties mark May Day

KYIV - Some 10,000 people took part in a rally organized by the Communist Party in Kyiv on May 1, Ukrainska Pravda reported. The rally took place under anti-NATO, anti-European Union and anti-government slogans. Participants in the rally supported a resolution proposing Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko as a presidential candidate. Some 10,000 people participated in a separate May Day rally organized in Kyiv by the Party of Regions led by Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. A karaoke organized on a square in Kyiv by Our Ukraine attracted only some 200 primarily young people. According to Ukrainska Pravda, mass May Day rallies were also staged in other parts of Ukraine, where pro-government parties reportedly resorted to administrative leverage to get people into the streets. In particular, 35,000 people celebrated May Day in Kharkiv and 12,000 in Symferopol. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv hopes for cooperation with EU

KYIV - In a statement welcoming the European Union's expansion on May 1, Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry expressed its hope that the 25-member union will not confine itself to domestic issues but will cooperate with its neighbors, Interfax reported. "EU enlargement opens broad opportunities for Ukraine to develop and expand cooperation both with the EU and our neighbors, new EU member-countries, which are linked to us by common history, close economic, cultural, and human relationships," the statement reads. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko lays the blame on Kuchma

KYIV - Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko said in a statement on April 29 that Ukraine's absence among the new members of the European Union and even among candidates to join the EU in the foreseeable future is the most "eloquent" outcome of President Leonid Kuchma's 10 years in office, UNIAN reported. "Everything possible and impossible has been done to make the regime's domestic policy a formidable challenge to the European community, because it contradicts basic European values," Mr. Yushchenko added. According to the Our Ukraine leader, Mr. Kuchma is trying to make up for the "resounding failure of his European policy" by pursuing the Single Economic Space (SES) project with Belarus, Kazakstan and Russia. "The text of the [SES] treaty shows that this project is political populism, which is economically disadvantageous for Ukraine, or a political bribe to secure [Russia's] support during the presidential campaign," said Mr. Yushchenko, who is a candidate for president of Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

One candidate for Socialists, Communists?

KYIV - Yosyp Vinskyi, one of the leaders of the Socialist Party, said on May 1 that his party and the Communist Party might nominate a single candidate for the October 31 presidential election, Interfax reported. "It is absolutely evident that the basic players [in the election] will be [Our Ukraine leader Viktor] Yushchenko and [Prime Minister Viktor] Yanukovych, so we should present a powerful alternative," Mr. Vinskyi said. He added that if such a joint candidate lost to both Messrs. Yushchenko and Yanukovych on October 31 the Socialists and the Communists might support Mr. Yushchenko in the second election round. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma to Rada: return to reform

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma told a news conference in Kyiv on April 28 that it could be legal for the Verkhovna Rada to consider during its current session the two constitutional-reform bills that have been approved by the Constitutional Court but not submitted for debate, Interfax reported. Mr. Kuchma expressed his hope that the Parliament will vote on these bills, which cut presidential prerogatives, next month. "The [constitutional] reform is necessary. I support the desire of [pro-reform] parliamentary forces to pass it before the presidential election," President Kuchma said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Putin: broadcasting not an issue

SYMFEROPOL - President Vladimir Putin, speaking to journalists after meeting with Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma in Crimea on April 23, said he does not think that the issue of Russian-language broadcasting in Ukraine is an issue for confrontation, ITAR-TASS and RTR reported. "We should not panic. I do not want to talk [about the issue] too much as it is an internal matter for Ukraine," Mr. Putin said. He also said the Single Economic Space treaty, which was ratified by Russia's Federation Council on April 22, will pave the way for both countries' entry into European and world markets. "We should take a decent place there. We do not want to sell only oil and gas, just as Ukraine should not sell just beets, especially if nobody needs them," he said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma: broadcast directive illegal

KYIV - President Leonid Kuchma said on April 22 that the National Council for Radio and Television's recent resolution obliging all national and interregional broadcasters to start broadcasting only in Ukrainian as of April 19 is unconstitutional and "should be brought in line with the current Constitution," Interfax reported. "We need to read this resolution carefully - it has no legal force, it only proposes what should be done," Mr. Kuchma added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukrainian, Georgian presidents meet

KYIV - Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with his Georgian counterpart, Mikhail Saakashvili, in Kyiv on April 27 to discuss bilateral and multilateral cooperation, Ukrainian news agencies reported. Both presidents reportedly agreed to remove "restrictions" on free trade between their countries. They also agreed that the next summit of GUUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova) should be held in Tbilisi. Presidents Kuchma and Saakashvili confirmed that the Ukrainian and Georgian military contingents in Iraq will remain there until the end of their mission. The same day Mr. Saakashvili also met with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, Foreign Affairs Minister Kostyantyn Gryshchenko, and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko. (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU integration, SES incompatible?

KYIV - Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Oleksander Chalyi said in an interview with the Biznes weekly on April 26 that Ukraine's main foreign-policy challenge in the near future will be the "impossibility" of combining integration in the European Union with membership in the Single Economic Space (SES) comprising Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and Kazakstan, Interfax reported. Mr. Chalyi said Ukraine can continue its European-integration policy provided the SES is restricted to a free-trade area, but it cannot integrate with the EU if the SES develops into a full-fledged customs union. Meanwhile, First Vice Prime Minister Mykola Azarov wrote in the same weekly that Ukraine will focus not on gaining EU membership but on creating social and legal standards that will allow the country "not just to request EU entry but to decide whether it is worth joining the union," Interfax reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

USAID may sponsor pre-election projects

KYIV - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is discussing with Ukraine's Central Election Commission the prospect of conducting two projects that would cost a total of $10 million, Interfax reported on April 13. USAID Administrator Andrew Natsios stated this following a meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych in Kyiv the same day. One project would provide training for election committee members at all levels, while the other would seek to increase the role of non-governmental organizations in the election process, Mr. Natsios added. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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