NEWSBRIEFS (04/03/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

Probe reopens into Chornovil's death

KYIV - The death of Ukrainian opposition leader Vyacheslav Chornovil in a traffic accident in 1999 will be investigated once again, according to the Internal Affairs Ministry and the Procurator General's Office, Interfax reported on March 23. Chornovil, a former political prisoner during the Soviet era, headed the Rukh party. He was killed when his car collided with a truck on March 25, 1999. Many opposition leaders believed the incident was staged for political purposes. An investigation at that time by the Internal Affairs Ministry concluded that Chornovil's death was due to an accident. Subsequently, the former head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Yevhen Marchuk, announced that he had been given a videotape on which Internal Affairs Ministry officers reportedly admitted the accident had been pre-arranged. Later Mr. Marchuk claimed to have lost the tape. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rep named for Chornovil inquiry

KYIV - Ukraine's Minister for Internal Affairs Yurii Lutsenko appointed Mykola Stepanenko his representative in the investigation of the tragic death of Vyacheslav Chornovil, the ministry's public relations department told Ukrinform on March 24. Mr. Stepanenko chairs an inquiry commission of the National Movement of Ukraine (Rukh) on the investigation of the death of the former Rukh leader. Two weeks ago documents on the case were stolen from Mr. Stepanenko's car. (Ukrinform)

Chornovil commission to resume work?

KYIV - Volodymyr Stretovych, chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Combating Corruption and Organized Crime, said on March 23 that he will press for reinstating the ad hoc commission that was engaged in investigating the circumstances of Rukh founder and leader Vyacheslav Chornovil's death. According to Mr. Stretovych, there is only one eyewitness still alive, among those who could give testimony about the road accident, in which Mr. Chornovil was killed. All others died under rather strange circumstances, Mr. Stretovych contended. The National Rukh of Ukraine has appealed to any possible eyewitnesses of the road accident in which Chornovil perished to furnish any accident-related information. (Ukrinform)

Pact with Holocaust museum signed

KYIV - On Tuesday, March 29, an agreement on cooperation was signed between Ukraine's State Committee on Archives and the U.S.-based Holocaust Memorial Museum. The document was inked by State Committee Chairman Hennadii Boriak and Radu Ioanid, the museum's senior officer. The agreement provides for exchanging documents for photocopying and thus replenishing the two institutions' archival holdings. The agreement signing ceremony was attended by U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John E. Herbst. The Holocaust Memorial Museum's archives contain over 20 million important historical documents. (Ukrinform)

Group may have smuggled missiles

KYIV - Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesman Dmytro Svystkov told journalists on March 30 that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has detected and "neutralized" an international group of arms smugglers from Russia, Ukraine and Australia who illegally supplied 12 X-55 missiles to China and Iran in 2000-2001 under the pretext of exporting them to Russia, Interfax reported. Mr. Svystkov added that "in May-June 2001, citizens of Ukraine and Australia, using faked documents, illegally exported to Iran six more X-55 missiles and equipment for their maintenance on behalf of the Rosvooruzhenie state company." Mr. Svystkov noted that prosecutors launched a "number of criminal proceedings" in connection with the missile smuggling, adding that two involved smugglers died in road accidents in 2002 and 2004. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President wants local government reform

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said on March 29 that he is in favor of raising the efficiency of local self-government through the introduction of relevant constitutional amendments by this fall, Interfax reported. Mr. Yushchenko also stressed that he supports the political reform adopted by Parliament in December to switch the country from its current presidential system to a parliamentary one. The reform bill will take effect on September 1 if the Verkhovna Rada adopts a bill on reforming the self-governing system prior to that date or, failing such passage, it will automatically go into effect on January 1, 2006. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Leaders call for calm in Kyrgyzstan

KYIV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko and his Georgian counterpart, Mikheil Saakashvili, urged the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in a joint statement issued in Kyiv on March 26 to prevent violence in Kyrgyzstan, Ukrainian news agencies reported. "We were deeply concerned by the news that the situation in Kyrgyzstan is assuming threatening signs of violent confrontation," the statement reads. "We laud the courageous step of the former president of the country [Askar Akaev] not to order the use of force against his own people in the first days of the public uprising." Presidents Yushchenko and Saakashvili also urged Mr. Akaev to "immediately influence his supporters so that they show high responsibility for the sake of peace and calm in the country." In a joint declaration on strategic partnership, the two presidents announced that their countries will support each other's aspirations regarding NATO and the European Union. They also underscored their mutual interest in developing transit capacities to supply Caspian oil and gas to Europe. Mr. Saakashvili arrived in Kyiv on March 25 to inaugurate the "Year of Georgia" in Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Will Yushchenko be in Moscow May 9?

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said on March 26 that he is not planning to attend the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9, to which he was invited by Russian President Vladimir Putin, but will stay in Kyiv for a local V-Day parade on that day and visit Moscow on May 8, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. "As we cannot postpone commemorations that will take place in Ukraine on May 9, including a parade and other events, I would feel most uncomfortable if war veterans are gathering here and I am on a reviewing stand elsewhere," Reuters quoted Mr. Yushchenko as saying. "I think the Russian president, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, and our other colleagues can easily understand that," the Ukrainian president added. Meanwhile, Mr. Yushchenko's spokeswoman Iryna Heraschenko told journalists on March 28 that his official schedule for May 9 has not yet been set. "I'm not ready to answer the question [of whether Yushchenko will go to Moscow on 9 May]," Ms. Heraschenko said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Israeli detained on suspicion of trafficking

KYIV - Ukrainian law enforcement agents have detained Israeli citizen Yevhen Kanevskyi on suspicion of organizing an international ring for trafficking in women with the aim of prostituting them, reported Ukrinform on March 24. Another Israeli citizen, Volodymyr Volodarskyi, was detained earlier. The two Israeli citizens were wanted on suspicion of human trafficking, as well as acquiring valuables through deceit, falsification and active involvement in the operations of a criminal gang. A Jerusalem court issued a warrant for the arrests of Messrs. Volodarskyi and Kanevskyi on November 11, 2004. The Procurator General's Office will decide on their extradition to Israel. (Ukrinform)

Leaders comment on Kyrgyzstan events

KYIV - Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of the Party of the Regions and the loser of the 2004 presidential election, told Interfax on March 24 that the "scenario in Kyrgyzstan was similar to that in other post-Soviet states," except that the Ukrainian revolution was non-violent. "The election observers from the CIS came to one conclusion [in Kyrgyzstan] and those from the OSCE came to a different one, and in this way duplicated the Ukrainian example," Mr. Yanukovych told Interfax. Communist leader Petro Symonenko told Interfax on March 24 that in Kyrgyzstan, as in other post-Communist countries, "authoritarian regimes allowed for the enrichment of small segments of society, enraging many citizens." Mr. Symonenko blamed the United States for the unrest in Central Asia. "I am convinced that the hand of the Americans is visible in Kyrgyzstan. The Americans are defining their strategic interests and surrounding Russia as if it were a bear caught in a trap, and placing little flags denoting that this geopolitical territory belongs to them," he said. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv complains about naval incident

KYIV - Ukrainian officials have lashed out at Russia in connection with an incident in the vicinity of the Crimean town of Feodosia on the evening of March 23 when a Russian landing vessel assigned to the Russian Black Sea fleet landed 142 assault troops during a training exercise without informing the Ukrainian authorities beforehand. Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Borys Tarasyuk told the Ukraine's Channel 5 television on March 24 that the incident constituted a serious violation by Russia of the lease agreement regulating the activities of the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol. He added that Ukraine has often stressed that the Russian fleet should not use Ukrainian territory for any training purposes. Security Service of Ukraine Chairman Oleksander Turchynov told Ukrainian television on March 24 that the stationing of the Russian Black Sea fleet on Ukrainian territory runs counter to Ukrainian national interests. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kazakstan supports Kyiv's gas proposal

ASTANA - Kazak Prime Minister Akhmetov told journalists in Astana on March 24 that the Kazak government supports Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's proposal, voiced during a visit to Turkmenistan earlier this week, that Turkmenistan, Kazakstan, Russia and Ukraine should establish a consortium to export gas via Kazakstan and Russia, Interfax reported. "We think this project has good potential," Mr. Akhmetov commented, adding that "the export of Kazak gas beyond the CIS is of major economic interest to Kazakstan." Mr. Akhmetov said the proposal will be discussed in depth during a visit to Kazakstan next month by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, and that a decision will probably be made by the end of April. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Turkmenistan trip yields no gas deal

KYIV - Ukrainian attempts to conclude a deal with Turkmenistan for a long-term delivery contract for natural gas did not materialize during President Viktor Yushchenko's visit to Ashgabat on March 22-23. Despite this, the head of Naftohaz Ukrainy, Oleksii Ivchenko, told Interfax that he is confident that Ukraine will continue to receive 30 billion to 40 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas per year after the present contract ends in December 2006. When asked how the 25-year Russian contract signed with Turkmenistan, which foresees deliveries of up to 60 bcm of gas per year beginning in 2007, would affect deliveries to Ukraine, Mr. Ivchenko replied that Turkmenistan has the capacity to produce enough gas to service both Ukraine and Russia. In fact, Turkmen gas production in 2004 was 58.8 bcm, a decrease from 2003's figure of 59.1 bcm. In the first month of 2005, production fell by 14 percent, due primarily to a stop in gas deliveries to Russia over a dispute with Russia's Gazprom over a new price for gas. Another drawback to Turkmen gas deliveries is that the trunk pipeline is capable of transporting only 50 bcm per year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko meets with Jewish congress

KYIV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met with the head of the board of trustees of the European Jewish Congress, Viacheslav Kantor. During the meeting, Mr. Yushchenko stressed that there will never be a "national question" in Ukraine and expressed his condemnation of any manifestations of xenophobia and anti-Semitism. Messrs. Yushchenko and Kantor discussed the possibility of holding the Second World Holocaust Forum in November 2007 in Ukraine. The president said the forum should be accompanied by an educational program to turn the attention of society to this page in history. Mr. Yushchenko said he is convinced that "Ukraine can understand the Holocaust through understanding the Holodomor," the artificially created Famine-Genocide perpetrated by Joseph Stalin in Ukraine in 1932-1933. An honest evaluation of these events is, according to Mr. Yushchenko, "a guarantee of national health." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

UOC-MP primate meets with Putin

KYIV - During an official visit to Ukraine on March 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP). "We always support friendly relations with the canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine," said Mr. Putin at the meeting, "and Orthodoxy is one of the important cornerstones of our spiritual relations." Metropolitan Volodymyr said that interdenominational relations in Ukraine today are difficult and that he hopes the situation will improve with the new government. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Sabodan meets Constantinople reps

KYIV - Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) met with two representatives of the Patriarchate of Constantinople on March 22 at his residence in the Kyivan Monastery of the Caves. The representatives were Archbishop Vsevolod (Majdanski), head of the Western Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., and Bishop Ilarion (Rudnyk), assistant bishop for the metropolitan of Portugal and Spain. In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed a number of issues regarding Church affairs in Ukraine. Among other things, an old and painful subject for Ukrainian Orthodoxy, its schisms, was discussed. Church-state relations in Ukraine were also discussed in light of recent political developments. According to the UOC-MP press service, Archbishop Vsevolod said, while commenting on a recent visit by a Ukrainian delegation headed by State Secretary Oleksander Zinchenko to Constantinople, that the Ukrainian government demonstrates concern about the abnormal state of affairs in the Ukrainian Orthodoxy. "Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in turn, stressed during the meeting that the position of the Church of Constantinople hasn't changed, and that the issue of church schism in Ukraine must be resolved exclusively through canonical channels, observing the age-old canonical statutes of the Orthodox Church," the UOC-MP press service reported. At the end of the meeting, the two parties exchanged gifts. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Jobless exceed 1 million

KYIV - The unemployment rate in Ukraine increased from 3.5 percent in January to 3.6 percent in February, going slightly over 1 million people, Interfax reported on March 16, quoting the State Statistics Committee. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kuchma comments on scandals

KYIV - The Ukraine Fund's press service (the fund was founded and is led by ex-President Leonid Kuchma) circulated a statement that sheds some light on Mr. Kuchma's visit to the Procurator General's Office on March 10 in connection with the Gongadze case. "I was asked there about what they had to ask me, that is, the Melnychenko tapes' authenticity, and I repeated what I stated on earlier occasions that I do not view the tapes as genuine," Mr. Kuchma was quoted as saying. The former president said he never hampered the investigation, which was difficult because, he noted, to this day nothing is known about who ordered the Melnychenko tapes operation. He said that the scandal must be uncovered, though quite a few experts established that the tapes had been formed from isolated fragments. Referring to the Kolchuha scandal, Mr. Kuchma said it had stemmed from similarly false tapes. Touching on the latest presidential elections in Ukraine, Mr. Kuchma said accusations that had been leveled against him of "betrayal" and "passivity," had been concocted by the Yanukovych election staff. Mr. Kuchma disclosed that he was approached by some persons who suggested that he turn authority over to Viktor Yanukovych before the elections, but he rejected this scenario because it might have caused a profound political crisis in Ukraine. Mr. Kuchma also referred to rumors about a tacit agreement regarding Viktor Yushchenko's victory in the presidential elections as "childish conjectures." What was going on in the country was a stiff political struggle between the party in power and the opposition, Mr. Kuchma said. He offered his opinion that the Yanukovych team lost the race because it erroneously believed that the nation's economic advances outweighed all other problems that exist in Ukrainian society. (Ukrinform)

Presidential supporters regroup

KYIV - The Ukrainian National Party (UNP) led by Yurii Kostenko has left the parliamentary pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc and created its own caucus of 19 deputies, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported on March 16. Mr. Kostenko said the UNP will continue supporting President Viktor Yushchenko's electoral program oriented toward European integration and the creation of civil society in Ukraine. Earlier in March, Mr. Yushchenko's supporters created the Our Ukraine People's Union and Mr. Yushchenko suggested that the UNP may either be absorbed into the new party or go its own way. Meanwhile, OUPU parliamentarians on March 15 created their own parliamentary caucus consisting of 40 deputies, Interfax reported, citing OUPU Executive Committee head Yurii Yekhanurov. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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