NEWSBRIEFS (07/24/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

Yushchenko abolishes traffic police...

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko informed a meeting with the Internal Affairs Ministry leadership in Kyiv on July 18 of his decision to dissolve, effective immediately, the ministry's traffic-patrol department, which is known in Ukraine under the acronym DAI (State Vehicle Inspection), Ukrainian media reported. The DAI remains an inefficient and corrupt service, Mr. Yushchenko said. "I have warned the ministers three times - if DAI [officers] continue hiding in bushes [to ambush cars in speed traps], there will be no DAI in this country," he said, according to Interfax-Ukraine. "You have discredited this service. That is why I have decided there will be no DAI in Ukraine as of today. I expect a draft directive to be prepared on this issue within the next 24 hours." Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko commented on Channel 5 later the same day that the president's order did not come as a surprise to him, but Mr. Lutsenko added that he had not expected such "radical steps." Mr. Lutsenko vowed to present within a week a project to convert DAI into a new, "European-style" service. Ukraine's DAI employed some 23,000 people in 2004. (RFE/RL Newsline)

... to replace regional police chiefs

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko said at the same meeting with the Internal Affairs Ministry leadership on July 18 that it is necessary to change all Ukrainian regional police chiefs in order to counteract corruption and enhance efficiency of law enforcement, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "With a new personnel we will have hope that the work in regions will improve," Mr. Yushchenko said. "If we begin fighting corruption from the beginning, we should fully replace people representing the discredited part of the police." The president noted that oblast police directorates employ investigators who use torture and take bribes. He criticized the police-directorate chiefs in the Lviv and Volyn oblasts and asked them to step down. Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko announced after the meeting that he will sack the regional police chiefs in the Lviv, Volyn, Ivano-Frankivsk and Cherkasy oblasts, as well as the head of the transport police in Odesa and the chief of the Internal Affairs Ministry's Department for Fighting Narcotics. (RFE/RL Newsline)

SBU to examine Melnychenko tapes

KYIV - Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Oleksander Turchynov told journalists in Kyiv on July 20 that the SBU will examine recordings made by former presidential bodyguard Mykola Melnychenko in the office of former President Leonid Kuchma, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Mr. Turchynov said that within a month the SBU will scrutinize up to one hour of recordings related to the killing of Internet journalist Heorhii Gongadze in 2000. "A preliminary examination of these materials has shown that the recordings were made in the office of ex-President Leonid Kuchma and that the main persona on these recordings is citizen Kuchma," Mr. Turchynov said. He added that a simultaneous examination of the recordings will be made by the U.S. FBI. (RFE/RL Newsline)

EU to help tighten border

KYIV - The European Union's High Commissioner for Common Foreign and Security Policy Javier Solana discussed EU-Ukraine relations with President Viktor Yushchenko and other high-ranking Ukrainian officials in Kyiv on July 19, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. Mr. Solana said in Kyiv that he believes Ukraine will soon be recognized as a market economy. Mr. Solana also promised President Yushchenko that the EU will help Ukraine thwart smuggling through the Transdniestrian stretch of the Ukraine-Moldova border. In a letter from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso that Mr. Solana brought to Kyiv, Brussels obliged itself to send a "fact-finding mission to review the situation in the border area itself and prepare our engagement." Mr. Yushchenko and Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin asked the EU in June for help in establishing more effective customs controls and surveillance on the Transdniester section of their common border. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine scraps visas for Japanese

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has issued a decree to cancel visa formalities as of August 1 for Japanese citizens visiting Ukraine for no more than 90 days, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 19. Earlier this year, Kyiv made similar moves toward citizens of the European Union, Switzerland and the United States. (RFE/RL Newsline)

UGCC may assist beatification efforts

LVIV - The beatification process for Pope John Paul II began on June 28 at the Vatican. It was then that Cardinal Camillo Ruini, vicar of the diocese of Rome, signed a decree on the start of the official gathering of materials and evidence for John Paul II's beatification and canonization. According to a press release of July 6 from the press service of the head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC), the Church has not yet started gathering such evidence, but is prepared to do so after a request from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints or a postulator for the cause. In explaining this issue at a recent press conference, Cardinal Lubomyr Husar, head of the UGCC, said, among other things: "Our Church will certainly take part in this process if we receive an official address or request from the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Apostolic See or a postulator. We turn to our faithful to provide evidence, telling of instances of miraculous healing with Pope John Paul II's intercession. So far, we have not received such information, and therefore we are not [yet] gathering evidence." The primate hastened to stress that should anybody send such evidence, the UGCC will not fail to transfer it to a postulator. However it has not yet initiated this process on its own. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

Desiatynna Church excavations begin

KYIV - The mayor of Kyiv has ordered the commencement of archaeological excavations and research on the foundations of Kyiv's historic Church of the Tithes (Desiatynna Tserkva). A fence was placed around the area because of this. Those who oppose the church's reconstruction interpreted the fence as a sign that the reconstruction has started and took sections of it apart. They were sent to the Shevchenkivske district police station and punished for hooliganism. "The city government is carrying out the president's wish: to determine whether it is realistic to rebuild the legendary church. Several churches had stood on the fundament, destroyed in different times. ... We have to understand what to reconstruct. As far as I'm concerned, the Church of the Tithes should not be reconstructed, since nobody knows its original appearance. But, I repeat, that is why archaelogical excavations are being conducted," said Oleksander Bystrushkin, head of the Main Administration for Cultural Affairs of the Kyiv City Administration. President Viktor Yushchenko's proposal to reconstruct the historic Desiatynna Church has divided the Kyiv public. Some, like Vice Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko, think construction should not start, at least not until broad public debates have taken place. Others, however, including the Kyiv Administration, support the idea. (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

President visits electorally hostile region

DONETSK - President Viktor Yushchenko on July 15 visited the predominantly Russian-speaking city of Donetsk, where he met with regional authorities and businessmen, Ukrainian news agencies reported. In the 2004 presidential election, nearly 94 percent of voters in the Donetsk Oblast supported his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. Mr. Yushchenko slammed the Donetsk authorities for not being "moral" and for restoring "clannish relationships" in politics. "I have come to help you rather than oppress you, I am not advocating any special private interests of mine," Mr. Yushchenko said. "I will come to Donetsk for a third, fourth, fifth or 10th time. I will not play games with anyone. I will forgive, but I will make people obey the law - that small group of people who have not understood that yet." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Police urged to speak Ukrainian

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on July 18 instructed the Internal Affairs Ministry leadership to use only Ukrainian while performing official duties, Interfax-Ukraine reported. "You are state officials, you are being paid to serve the state in both substance and form," Mr. Yushchenko said. "You, as the law enforcers, should abide by the law on language, which stipulates that a state official should speak the Ukrainian language, even if brokenly." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Cabinet lists privatization priorities

KYIV - The Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers has published a list of 33 companies whose privatization is a priority, UNIAN reported on July 15. Most notable on the list are the Odesa Portside Plant, the Severodonetsk Azot Association, the Nikopol Southern Pipe Plant, and the Kryvyi Rih Ore Enrichment Combine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Gazprom settles gas controversy

KYIV - Russia's gas monopoly, Gazprom, has signed an agreement with Ukraine's gas company, Naftohaz Ukrainy, and the gas-transport company RosUkrEnergo, ending a recent dispute with Kyiv over the fate of 7.8 billion cubic meters of Russian gas in Ukrainian storage facilities, Ukrainian news agencies reported. Under the agreement, Naftohaz Ukrainy will receive 2.55 billion cubic meters of gas as partial payment for transit of Russian gas across Ukraine in 2005, with the remaining amount to be delivered to RosUkrEnergo during 2005-2006. In June Gazprom charged that 7.8 billion cubic meters of Russian gas had disappeared from Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko in very good health

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko is in "very good" health, according to his Swiss doctor. On July 18 Dr. Jean Saurat of the University Hospital of Geneva said the dioxin with which he was poisoned last year is now leaving Mr. Yushchenko's system through his skin. The dioxin poisoning has resulted in his face being pockmarked and discolored. "The Associated Press quoted Dr. Saurat as explaining: "His external appearance doesn't reflect on the health of his internal organs." Dr. Saurat and his colleague, biochemist Olier Sorg, started treating Mr. Yushchenko in December and the Ukrainian leader has made three visits to see them, said the president's spokeswoman, Iryna Heraschenko. The two have also come to Ukraine three times, she said, adding that Mr. Yushchenko himself is paying for the treatment. The AP reported that Dr. Saurat said the treatment was aimed at getting the dioxin out of Mr. Yushchenko's system as quickly as possible, but he said the process "goes on for years." (Associated Press)

Transdniester leader backs Kyiv's plan

KYIV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko met with Igor Smirnov, leader of Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniester, in Ukraine on July 14, Interfax-Ukraine, UNIAN and ITAR-TASS reported, citing Ukrainian presidential sources. Messrs. Yushchenko and Smirnov agreed to coordinate their activities toward implementing the plan to settle the Transdniester conflict that was proposed by the Ukrainian president in April. Mr. Yushchenko's plan, in particular, calls for holding democratic elections in Transdniester under international monitoring. Both politicians also agreed to invite representatives of the European Union and the United States to take part in negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol, which have so far been brokered by Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Messrs. Yushchenko and Smirnov also decided to set up a working group to formulate criteria for democratizing Transdniester and ensure a transparent electoral process there. Moreover, the sides reportedly consented to the possibility of EU monitoring of the Transdniester stretch of the Ukraine-Moldova border. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Rada chair, Cabinet in war of words

KYIV - Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn said on July 13 that the Cabinet's statement earlier the same day alleging that the parliamentary leadership staged a "provocation" the previous week has an "impudent character," the Ukrayinska Pravda website (http://www2.pravda.com.ua) reported. Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko's Cabinet charged that the parliamentary leadership conspired with opposition lawmakers to reject some of the bills proposed by the government to facilitate Ukraine's access to the World Trade Organization. "I talked with the president twice today and we agreed that it is necessary for us to find a common language," Mr. Lytvyn said. Interfax-Ukraine quoted President Viktor Yushchenko as saying the same day that he wants the Parliament to create a pro-government majority by September. Meanwhile, Vice Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko said on the Era television channel on July 14 that Mr. Lytvyn, jointly with former government officials, destabilizes the Verkhovna Rada and discredits the new authorities, according to Interfax-Ukraine. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Government, Rada urged to make peace

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko on July 14 called on Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Verkhovna Rada Chairman Volodymyr Lytvyn to reach a mutual understanding for the sake of political stability in the country, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Mr. Yushchenko was referring to acrimonious statements that the two have exchanged following the previous week's tumultuous votes on a package of bills needed by Ukraine to join the World Trade Organization. "We've lived through an uneasy six months, and obviously the government and the Parliament have became tired of one another. A time out is needed to have some rest," President Yushchenko said, adding the two sides should stop commenting on each other. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko comments on economic zones

VIENNA - President Viktor Yushchenko told a business forum in Vienna on July 13 that the government's decision in March to abolish 24 special economic zones, which enjoyed special taxation and customs benefits, was a mistake, Interfax-Ukraine reported. Mr. Yushchenko said that by September the government will complete the analysis of each individual free economic zone in order to implement a compensation mechanism. He also said he cannot rule out that a number of free economic zones can be restored, but only after individual business projects in the former zones are reviewed. "Out of the 500 projects we had, only 15 corresponded to the initial concept, but on the other hand every [free economic zone] has decent investors as well as frauds," Mr. Yushchenko noted. "When Parliament abolished the economic zones, I think it was a mistake, because honest businesses were put in new and unexpected conditions, which changed the whole nature of their business." (RFE/RL Newsline)

President earned $4,660 in June

KYIV - Presidential spokeswoman Iryna Herashchenko revealed to journalists on July 14 that Viktor Yushchenko's presidential salary in June amounted to 23,567 hrv ($4,660), which is 40 percent more than the prime minister's salary that same month, Interfax-Ukraine reported. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Moscow comments on Tuzla

MOSCOW - Russia's Foreign Ministry officially expressed its dissatisfaction on July 13 at the statement by its Ukrainian counterpart released the day before that Moscow recognizes Kyiv's jurisdiction over the disputed island of Tuzla in the Azov Sea, RIA-Novosti and other media reported. "Russia considers the legal status of Tuzla to be undetermined, while presently it's under the jurisdiction of Ukraine," the Foreign Ministry statement said. Kyiv has proposed that both countries define their state borders in the Azov Sea and Kerch Strait and insists that the demarcation line should follow the former Soviet administrative border. But RIA-Novosti quoted the Foreign Ministry statement as saying, "The Russian side believes that according to Soviet law there was not and could not be such a border." (RFE/RL Newsline)

Activists cite "Orange plague"

MOSCOW - Members of the opposition youth movement Oborona (Defense) and the pro-presidential youth movement Nashi (Ours) are again at loggerheads, this time in Tver Oblast, RFE/RL's Russian Service reported on July 13. At a camp on Lake Seliger, some 3,000 youths are attending a two-week program organized by Nashi, consisting of lectures on politics and economics, discussion clubs, and sports and tourist activities. Three members of Oborona infiltrated the proceedings. One of them told RFE/RL that Nashi leader Vasilii Yakemenko led one master class, telling campers that the West has sent certain people to Russia to recruit young adults under the guise of English-language courses. These young people are then sent abroad to study in camps financed by the State Department where a thousand people or so are taught to conduct revolutions. In response to this effort, Nashi, according to Oborona activist Igor Yakovlev, is forming special brigades of soccer fans to extinguish the "Orange plague," a reference to Ukraine's Orange Revolution. Nashi press secretary Ivan Mostovich denied that such brigades are being formed and suggested that the story was fabricated. (RFE/RL Newsline)

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