NEWSBRIEFS (08/07/05)

NEWSBRIEFS

Orange Revolution copyrights owned by president's son

KYIV - Mykola Katerynchuk, deputy chief of the State Tax Administration, has told Ukrainian media that Andrii Yushchenko, President Viktor Yushchenko's son, owns the copyrights to symbols and logos of the 2004 Orange Revolution in Ukraine, Ukrainian news agencies reported on August 2. "I passed [these copyrights] to [Andrii Yushchenko] personally, after the [Yushchenko] victory in the third round," Mr. Katerynchuk said in an interview with Kommersant-Ukrayina on August 2. "During an election campaign our symbols should be protected from being misused by someone else," he added. Mr. Katerynchuk was Viktor Yushchenko's representative in the Central Election Commission in the presidential campaign. According to experts quoted by Kommersant-Ukrayina, the symbols and logos associated with the Orange Revolution could be worth "millions of dollars." Mr. Katerynchuk's statement came in the wake of reports alleging that Andrii Yushchenko, a university student in Kyiv, lives a lavish lifestyle on funds of unknown origin. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kolesnykov released from custody

KYIV - The Kyiv Appellate Court on August 2 released Donetsk Oblast Council head Borys Kolesnykov from custody on his own recognizance, Ukrainian news agencies reported. Mr. Kolesnykov was arrested in April on charges of extortion. The Procurator General's Office subsequently charged Mr. Kolesnykov with abuse of office and threatening murder. The arrest of Mr. Kolesnykov - a close political ally and business partner of former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych - sparked a number of protests by opponents of President Viktor Yushchenko in Kyiv and Donetsk. The opposition believes the persecution of Mr. Kolesnykov is part of the authorities' revenge campaign against officials who supported Mr. Yanukovych during the 2004 presidential campaign. (RFE/RL Newsline)

House legislation includes Chornobyl

WASHINGTON - House Resolution 2601, which authorizes appropriations for the Department of State for fiscal years 2006 and 2007, and for other purposes, includes language on "assistance for maternal and prenatal care for certain individuals of Belarus and Ukraine involved in the cleanup of the Chornobyl disaster." The resolution was passed on July 20 by the House of Representatives by a vote of 351 - 78. (Helsinki Commission) The measure's sponsor was Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.), co-chairman of the Helsinki Commission. The resolution noted that funds "are authorized to be available for assistance to improve maternal and prenatal care, especially for the purpose of helping prevent birth defects and pregnancy complications for individuals in the Republic of Belarus and Ukraine involved in the clean-up of the region affected by the Chornobyl disaster. (Helsinki Commission)

Ukrainian language in Transdniester

CHISINAU - Moldova's Parliament has passed legislation offering broad autonomy to the Transdniester in exchange for the separatist region's agreement to drop independence ambitions and to disarm. According to the new law setting guidelines for negotiations between Chisinau and Tiraspol, the Transdniester region would have its own legislative body. The region would also have three official languages: Romanian (as in Moldova), as well as Russian and Ukrainian. The plan also calls for demilitarizing the Transdniester, where some 1,500 Russian troops are based. The Transdniester region declared independence from Moldova in 1992 after a short war that left more than 1,500 people dead. This would mark the first time in history that Ukrainian achieved official status as a language beyond Ukraine's borders. (Action Ukraine Report Monitoring Service, Kyiv Press Bureau)

Peace Shield operations in Crimea

KYIV - Ukraine is hosting the multi-national peace operations training exercise, Peace Shield Phase II 2005, in Crimea on August 2-15. During the exercise, which is conducted in the spirit of the Partnership of Peace, approximately 200 U.S. Marines will deploy to Staryi Krym and Opuk training centers on the Crimea peninsula with more than 250 service members from three countries: Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan, under the NATO Partnership for Peace program. The exercise is designed to train multi-national troops in a field training exercise, promoting the Partnership for Peace program through the development of a common understanding of peace support operations. During the exercise participants will review and refine the tactics, techniques, and procedures of peacekeeping operations. Participating U.S. military units include units from Company F, Second Battalion, 23rd Marines arriving from Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. This will be the first time U.S. Marines will participate in a formal exercise in Crimea. (Embassy of the United States)

Kyiv denies talks on missiles' return

KYIV - The Ukrainian Defense Ministry on August 1 denied talking with Israel about a possible reversal of the controversial sale of cruise missiles to Iran, Ukrainian news agencies reported. According to the Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz, the issue was discussed during the visit of Ukrainian Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko to Israel on July 24-26. "All reports of alleged discussions by Anatolii Hrytsenko in Israel of the issue of returning missiles from Iran are of a provocational character and are aimed at worsening relations between Ukraine and the countries of the Middle East," the ministry said in a press release. In March, Kyiv confirmed that 12 cruise missiles known as Kh-55s were smuggled from Ukraine to Iran in 2001. The Kh-55s, with a range of 3,000 kilometers, mobility and ability to carry nuclear warheads, could constitute a potential threat to Israel. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Kyiv seeks extraditions from Russia

KYIV - The Ukrainian Internal Affairs Ministry is planning to hold talks with its counterpart in Russia on the extradition of former Ukrainian officials who are suspected of committing crimes in Ukraine, RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service reported on August 1, citing Internal Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko. "There is a [Ukrainian] government-in-exile staying in Russia today," Mr. Lutsenko told journalists. "There are many former Ukrainian governors and high-ranking officials there. They are hiding from accountability." Kyiv has recently asked Moscow to help find the whereabouts of former Central Election Commission head Serhii Kivalov, former Internal Affairs Minister Mykola Bilokon, former Sumy Oblast Chairman Volodymyr Scherban, and former Odesa Mayor Ruslan Bodelan. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President makes peace with journalist

KYIV - Serhii Leschenko, a journalist for Ukrayinska Pravda, wrote on July 29 that President Viktor Yushchenko telephoned him and that they had reconciled. "[Yushchenko] assured me that his answer to my question on Monday [25 July] was 'emotional' and that he has 'learned a lesson from that,'" Mr. Leschenko wrote, adding that he harbors no grievance against the president. Mr. Leschenko authored a series of articles about the allegedly lavish lifestyle of Mr. Yushchenko's son, Andrii, who reportedly drives a new BMW, uses a luxury mobile phone, employs personal bodyguards and visits expensive restaurants. Answering Mr. Leschenko's question on July 25 about sources of his son's income, President Yushchenko called on the journalist to "act like a polite journalist and not like a hit man." More than 700 Ukrainian journalists have signed an Internet appeal demanding an apology from the president. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Race marks anniversary of war's end

KYIV - A Ukraine-Poland-Germany cycle race marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II was to start in Lviv on July 31 within the framework of a partnership project of the all-Ukrainian association called "German Youth in Ukraine." The association's chairman, Vladimir Leisle, announced this at a press conference on July 29. The route of the race will pass through Lviv, Rzeslav, Tarnow, Krakow, Auschwitz, Opole, Wroclaw, Legnica, Dresden, Leipzig and Berlin. The cyclists will arrive in the German capital on August 16, after covering a distance of 1,400 kilometers. They are scheduled to visit memorial sites of World War II and address press conferences, and participate in roundtable conferences on the development of youth partnerships in Ukraine, Poland and Germany. German Youth in Ukraine is partnered in the project by Kyiv's Goethe Institute, Odesa's Society and Development philanthropic fund, Crimea's Yugend German youth association, the Association of Germans of Ukraine, the Ukraine-Champion youth organization and other groups. (Ukrinform)

SBU investigates possible attack on PM

KYIV - The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) announced on July 28 that it received information "from a Western source" that an assassination attempt was being planned against Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and that it is investigating this report, Interfax-Ukraine reported. The same day, journalist Volodymyr Boiko claimed on NTN television that he has heard from sources close to the Swedish Embassy that the assassination attempt might be planned by an organized criminal gang in retaliation for Ms. Tymoshenko's attempt to change the ownership of the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Iran's statement on gas welcomed

KYIV - National Security and Defense Council Secretary Petro Poroshenko welcomed a statement by Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Hadi Nejad-Husseinian saying that Ukraine has agreed to transit 20 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe. "After some problems with Turkey on exports of Iranian gas to Europe, the agreement will open the doors of Europe to Iranian exports, which is very important for us," Interfax-Ukraine quoted him as saying on July 28. Ukraine has proposed two routes for a gas pipeline from Iran to Ukraine and on to Europe. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Ukraine's MiGs may be modernized

KYIV - Defense Minister Anatolii Hrytsenko, upon returning from a July 24-26 visit to Israel, told reporters in Kyiv that he met with the management of the Israeli company Elbit and discussed a feasibility study on modernizing Ukraine's fleet of MiG-29 fighter jets, Interfax-Ukraine reported on July 27. Mr. Hrytsenko said that it will be necessary to include the Russian company that originally built the fighters in the project. According to zap16.com, Ukraine presently has 237 MiG-29s, of which 62 are operational. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Lazarenko's sentencing is postponed

KYIV - The sentencing of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko in the Federal District Court in San Francisco has once again been postponed, Interfax reported on July 28. The sentencing, which was due to take place on July 27, was postponed until December 2. According to Mr. Lazarenko's attorney, he might be fined $4.5 million-$5 million and might not receive a prison sentence. The court rejected the defense's request for a new trial and ordered Mr. Lazarenko to appear for sentencing on December 2. The former prime minister was found guilty on 14 charges related to money laundering and fraud, each carrying a term of imprisonment of up to 20 years. (RFE/RL Newsline)

President signs anti-piracy law

KYIV - President Viktor Yushchenko has signed into law amendments to the Criminal Code that prohibit CD piracy, Interfax reported on July 28. The law was passed on July 6 by the Verkhovna Rada. It sets responsibility for operations involving the production, export and import of CDs and, equipment for their production. According to the amendments, the import of stamper disks and specialized equipment for CD production shall be licensed as a form of economic activity. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Yushchenko visit to Georgia postponed

KYIV - Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's spokeswoman Iryna Heraschenko told Georgia's Imedi television station on July 27 that an article published that day in the independent newspaper Rezonansi alleging that Mr. Yushchenko postponed a visit to Georgia originally scheduled for July 26 due to fears that his plane could be shot down is untrue, Caucasus Press reported. On July 26 Georgian Internal Affairs Minister Vano Merabishvili claimed that "terrorists" in South Ossetia have four Igla portable ground-to-air missiles capable of downing civilian or military aircraft. (RFE/RL Newsline)

Tiraspol wants mediators to observe vote

MOSCOW - The authorities of Moldova's separatist region of Transdniester have called on mediators in the settlement of the Tiraspol-Chisinau conflict - Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) - to send monitors to the parliamentary elections in December, ITAR-TASS reported on August 2. A plan put forward by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in April proposed that Tiraspol hold democratic elections under international monitoring this year. However, Chisinau wants the elections to be held only after the withdrawal of Russian troops from Transdniester and under Moldova's legislation, a demand that is opposed by Tiraspol. Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis said in Chisinau last month that free and democratic elections in Transdniester are unlikely to be held this year. (RFE/RL Newsline)

National holiday for St. Volodymyr?

KYIV - Metropolitan Volodymyr (Sabodan), head of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Moscow Patriarchate, sent a letter to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko in the name of UOC-MP hierarchs and clergy, asking him to grant the status of national holiday to the feast of St. Volodymyr, grand prince of Kyivan Rus'. The news was posted by orthodox.org.ua on July 23. In his appeal to Ukrainian authorities, Metropolitan Volodymyr said that Prince Volodymyr remains an unequaled symbol of Ukrainian statehood and Ukrainian Orthodoxy, as the person who baptized Kyivan Rus' in 988. The letter notes that he enlightened Ukraine not only with the light of baptism, but with the light of arts and sciences, and united its people. Metropolitan Volodymyr proposed that July 28, the feast day of St. Volodymyr, be made a national holiday. According to the metropolitan, this move would be very timely as "in times of interdenominational animosity, the historical figure of St. Prince Volodymyr will not only become a reconciliation symbol for Christians in Ukraine, but a unifying basis for us, children of Ukraine, the great and strong state." (Religious Information Service of Ukraine)

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