The Ukrainian Weekly 2013, No.25

www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: l Stalin’s shadow over Putin-Obama meeting – page 3 l Columbia U. conference on media censorship – page 7 l Community: New York, New Jersey, Illinois, Connecticut – page 11 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXI No. 25 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013 $1/$2 in Ukraine D.C.-based foundation Attacks against Yatsenyuk intensify remembers millions as he consolidates opposition forces of victims of communism by Zenon Zawada KYIV – Arseniy Yatsenyuk led the party that he founded, the Front for Change, in merging with the Batkivshchyna party founded by imprisoned former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko at a ceremonial congress held on St. Michael’s Square in Kyiv on June 15. Among the merger’s goals is to con- solidate Ukraine’s pro-Western opposition for the 2015 presidential election. Mr. Yatsenyuk is also aiming to strengthen Batkivshchyna to bolster his resources for his campaign, in which he will compete with not only President Viktor Yanukovych, but pos- sibly other opposition candidates. Yet, as Mr. Yatsenyuk strove to build up his arsenal, political attacks – from both within and outside the party – intensified against him in the weeks leading up to the congress, said Olexiy Oleksander Prokopenko/byut.com.ua Yaro Bihun Haran, a political science professor at Arseniy Yatsenyuk addresses the June 15 congress in Kyiv at which he Yaroslav Brisiuk (right), the deputy chief of mission the National University of Kyiv Mohyla merged his Front for Change party with Batkivshchyna and became its of the Embassy of Ukraine, places his country’s flo- Academy. The government is seeking political council chair. ral wreath at the Victims of Communism Memorial to undermine the merger and discred- in Washington along with Michael Sawkiw, repre- it its leaders, he said. leader is supported by Ms. Tymoshen- Odarchenko and Tomenko from the senting the Ukrainian National Information Service. “Bankova Street’s line of attack is ko, who sees his potential victory in party for their opposition, but it didn’t Standing next to them with a floral bouquet from the targeted against Yatsenyuk and the 2015 presidential election as her muster enough votes. World Congress of Crimean Tatars and the Batkivshchyna,” he said, referring to most likely chance to be released from Among the main reasons for the old American Crimean Tatar diaspora is Ayla Bakkalli. the Presidential Administration. prison, observers said. In turn, Mr. guard to oppose Mr. Yatsenyuk is that “Bankova’s idea is to first finish off Yatsenyuk sees Batkivshchyna as his he’s formed an alliance with Mykola by Yaro Bihun Batkivshchyna, and then shift the best platform for competing for the Martynenko, a mega-millionaire busi- Special to The Ukrainian Weekly attack against UDAR [Ukrainian presidency. nessman who is trying to form a siz- Democratic Alliance for Reform].” Ms. Tymoshenko urged her sup- able group of loyal deputies in the next WASHINGTON – The sixth anniversary of the dedica- Batkivshchyna is the leading oppo- porters to approve his nomination as Kyiv City Council, as reported by the tion of the Victims of Communism Memorial here was sition party in Ukraine with 18.4 per- political council chair in a letter read Ukrayinska Pravda news site. marked on June 12 at the memorial site with a ceremo- cent support, followed by UDAR at by her daughter Eugenia at the June Mr. Martynenko hasn’t gained any ny that included remarks by government representa- 15.5 percent, according to an April poll 15 congress. The imprisoned prime official post in the party, but is now tives of three formerly Communist countries and mem- conducted by the Razumkov Center. minister said they’ve cooperated effec- among its most influential behind-the- bers of the U.S. Congress, the presentation of this year’s The party congress voted to keep Ms. tively for more than a year and that scenes members. (Incidentally, Mr. Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom to a long-time perse- Tymoshenko as Batkivshchyna’s figure- Mr. Yatsenyuk should no longer be Martynenko was among Ms. cuted Chinese democratic rights advocate, and the lay- head leader and nominated her as its considered a competitor. Tymoshenko’s critics when he was still ing of wreaths by the embassies and organizations rep- candidate in the 2015 presidential elec- “I trust Arseniy,” Ms. Tymoshenko aligned with former President Viktor resenting most ex-Soviet and ex-Communist countries. tions – a largely symbolic gesture given stated in the letter. “I see how hard it is Yushchenko during the Orange era.) Opening the commemoration, Lee Edwards, chair- that the Presidential Administration is for him. He’s under direct aim, from As leader of Batkivschyna’s Kyiv man of the Victims of Communism Memorial unlikely to allow her to compete. strangers and those familiar. But he branch, Mr. Odarchenko could lose Foundation, said that this is the only memorial honor- It also voted to create the position knows how to take a hit. He’s a fighter influence with Mr. Martynenko, who is ing the hundreds of millions of victims of communism of political council chair for Mr. and an intellectual, a contemporary now a party member. in the world. He noted that two years after the erec- Yatsenyuk, 39, who is the functioning and patriotic politician, at that. That’s Mr. Odarchenko’s opposition to Mr. tion of this monument in 2007, his foundation leader of Batkivshchyna and gained four in one. That’s not bad for Martynenko became apparent during launched a Global Museum on Communism on the four out of 18 seats on the party’s pre- Ukrainian politics, which is degenerat- the latest “tushky” scandal in early Internet, and now – thanks to a $1 million start-up sidium for his circle, which he brought ing, and being marginalized and crimi- June, when Batkivshchyna National donation from Hungary – it is pursuing its next with him from the Front for Change. nalized today.” Deputies Viacheslav Kutovyi and “dream”: the building of an International Museum on The members of that circle are Mr. In the weeks leading up to the con- Volodymyr Kupchak announced they Communism in Washington. Yatsenyuk’s college mates Andrii gress, a sizable group of Batkivshchy- were joining the parliamentary major- “We cannot, we must not, we will not forget the vic- Ivanchuk, 40, and Andrii Pyshnyi, 38, na’s old guard opposed Mr. Yatsenyuk’s ity led by the Party of Regions. tims of communism or their sacrifice for us,” Dr. fellow Chernivtsi native and lawyer ascent to the party leadership. They (“Tushky” are, literally, canned car- Edwards aid. “Let us all here resolve that never again Pavlo Petrenko, 33, and Lilia reportedly included Yurii Odarchenko, casses, a term used to describe nation- will we allow so evil a tyranny as communism to ter- Hrynevych, 48, a Lviv native who is 53, chair of the party’s Kyiv city orga- al deputies who abandon their politi- rorize and subjugate the peoples and the nations of best known for leading the introduc- nization; and Mykola Tomenko, 48, the cal parties and become dead to their the world.” tion of standardized college admis- party’s deputy party. voters, canned inside the Parliament.) sions testing in Ukraine. On the eve of the congress, a pro- (Continued on page 16) Mr. Yatsenyuk’s role as the de facto posal was considered to evict Messrs. (Continued on page 4) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 23, 2013 No. 25 ANALYSIS Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus endorse Ukraine, Belarus sign documents agreement that would shut its way toward the common economic space and the KYIV – A number of bilateral documents future economic union, of which we are further integration, but obstacles remain were signed in the presence of Presidents speaking,” he said. Mr. Lukashenka Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine and figures among the most regulated commer- expressed hope that Ukraine would soon by Georgiy Voloshin President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of cial fields. According to Mr. Khristenko, both get defined more specifically with regard to Eurasia Daily Monitor Belarus, the press service of the Ukrainian producers and consumers would only bene- the Eurasian Economic Community. “We head of state reported on June 18. The par- The presidents of Russia, Belarus, fit from increased competition in a sector realize that there is such a huge, big coun- ties signed a protocol on the exchange of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Ukraine met in responsible for over $85 billion worth of try like Ukraine… This is a sovereign, inde- the instruments of ratification of the agree- Astana on May 29 to participate in a sched- annual sales. Finally, the Eurasian pendent state that has the right and will ment between Ukraine and Belarus on the uled meeting of the Supreme Economic Commission also deems necessary to tackle build its relations only in the interests of state border dated May 12, 1997; this docu- Council of the Eurasian Economic the excessive regulation of the services sec- the Ukrainian people, of course not inter- ment is necessary for giving effect to the Community (EurAsEC), established in 2001. tor, which is now protected from fair compe- fering with the neighbors... But we would border agreement. In addition, an agree- Since Moscow, Minsk and Astana have lately tition by 139 restrictive clauses (Belta.by, like Ukraine to be ours,” he added. In turn, ment was signed between the Ministry of been engaged in enhanced economic coop- May 31). President Yanukovych said that Ukraine Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine eration within the Customs Union and the Mr. Khristenko’s announcement came and the Customs Union member-countries and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Common Economic Area, their leaders’ dis- weeks after the publication of negative will always be close, adding that Ukraine Environmental Protection of Belarus on cussions were primarily centered upon the trade statistics relative to the sales of would like to have normal relations with cooperation in the protection and sustain- future development of regional integration Belarusian trucks in Russia.

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