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The Ukrainian Weekly, 2015

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The Ukrainian Weekly, 2015 INSIDE: l Washingtonians honor the “prophet of freedom” – page 4 l Ukraine’s Alpine skiers complete in Colorado – page 12 l War in Ukraine, “red lines” in Syria and Obama – page 16 THEPublished U by theKRAINIAN Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal W non-profit associationEEKLY Vol. LXXXIII No. 13 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015 $2.00 House resolution supports Kolomoisky resigns after lethal weapons systems to aid Ukraine’s defense challenging the president by Zenon Zawada denied for three years by Privat – and bet- WASHINGTON – The House of ter organize its operations, making it fully Representatives on March 23 over- KYIV – A struggle involving armed fight- accountable to state authorities. whelmingly passed House Resolution ers erupted in Kyiv on March 19 for control The Verkhovna Rada voted on March 19 162 “calling on the president to pro- of Ukraine’s biggest oil producer, Ukrnafta, to reduce the quorum needed to call a vide Ukraine with military assistance between its majority stakeholder, the shareholders’ meeting to 50 percent plus to defend its sovereignty and territorial Ukrainian government, and Igor one share from 60 percent plus one share. integrity.” The vote was 348 for and 48 Kolomoisky, the billionaire who controls the Although the new law applies to all pub- against. largest minority stake through the Privat licly traded companies, it was specifically The measure, which was approved with strong bipartisan support, Group empire in which he’s a partner. targeted at wresting away Privat Group’s resolves that “the House of The standoff lasted until March 24, when control of Ukrnafta, in which the govern- Representatives strongly urges the Mr. Kolomoisky submitted his resignation ment has precisely a 50 percent plus one president to fully and immediately as Dnipropetrovsk State Oblast share stake. Billionaire Igor Kolomoisky submitted his exercise the authorities provided by Administration chair (a position commonly For at least 12 years, Privat, led by resignation as head of the Dnipropetrovsk Congress to provide Ukraine with referred to as “governor”) during a meeting Dnipropetrovsk billionaires Mr. Kolomoisky State Oblast Administration on March lethal defensive weapon systems to with Ukrainian President Petro and Gennady Bogolyubov, succeeded in 24. This photo was posted on Facebook enhance the ability of the people of Poroshenko, who has led the government’s preventing the government from asserting the next day. Ukraine to defend their sovereign terri- drive to control Ukrnafta. control by ignoring and therefore under- by the rules,” Yurii Lutsenko, the parliamen- tory from the unprovoked and continu- Both sides said the conflict had been set- mining shareholder meetings with its 42 tary faction head of the Poroshenko Bloc, ing aggression of the Russian tled, though neither side has yet to reveal percent minority stake, said Alexander wrote on his Facebook page the same day. Federation.” It refers to the Ukraine just how. It threatened to open a frontline Paraschiy, the head of research at Concorde Freedom Support Act of 2014, which for the Kyiv government with Mr. Capital. (He said it’s unclear who owns the “It’s utterly necessary to achieve rules was passed by Congress and signed Kolomoisky’s brigades based in his native remaining 8 percent stake, which could be that apply to everyone. The government into law by President Barack Obama on Dnipropetrovsk, as well as undermine the privately owned or shares traded on the should strive for dividends paid not only by December 18. partnership between the nation’s two most Ukrainian Exchange in Kyiv.) Ukrnafta, but by all the other owners of nat- The resolution was sponsored by powerful figures that helped thwart the As a result of this tactic, Privat denied ural gas distributors, electricity producers Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and had 12 co- military advance of Russian-backed forces. the state budget 3.7 billion hrv (about and industrial giants,” Mr. Lutsenko noted. sponsors: Edward Royce (R-Calif.), “This battle can be a risk for the govern- $462.5 million) in dividends from profit During the last several years, Privat Adam Smith (D-Wash.), Mac ment in the sense that it can lead to a second earned by Ukrnafta between 2011 and offered various reasons for not paying the Thornberry (R-Texas), Adam Schiff front within the country and become a gift 2013, estimated Mustafa Nayyem, a nation- dividends. For instance, as recently as (D-Calif.), Devin Nunes (R- Calif.), for Putin,” said Volodymyr Fesenko, the head al deputy with the Poroshenko Bloc. When March 4, Mr. Kolomoisky claimed the gov- Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), Harold Rogers of the Penta Center for Applied Political combined with unpaid taxes, Privat ernment, through the state gas monopoly (R-Ky.), Sander Levin (D-Mich.), Research in Kyiv. “The conflict over Ukrnafta deprived the state of 6 billion hrv (about Naftohaz, owed Ukrnafta 40 billion hrv for Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.), Michael needs to be resolved flexibly enough so as to $750 million), he said, as reported by the 10.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Kay Granger not allow it to become a large war.” Ukrayinska Pravda news site on March 23. (Although production of crude and other oil (R-Texas) and William Keating It all began when the Ukrainian govern- “No one is trying to destroy Kolomoisky’s products is Ukrnafta’s biggest business, the (D-Mass.). ment took concrete steps to take control of private business, but as with all the other company also produces natural gas.) oligarchs, he will have to realize the need to (Continued on page 31) Ukrnafta in order to collect its profit in the forms of stock dividends – which had been transform into a big businessman who plays (Continued on page 8) Atlantic Council report focuses on human rights abuses in Crimea On March 6, the Atlantic Council in by Matthew Dubas the main points in his report, and allowed time of finishing the report, we were talking Washington hosted a presentation and dis- for discussion. about the expropriation of state property of cussion on “Human Rights Abuses in PARSIPPANY, N.J. – Ambassador John Russia’s use of various technologies Ukraine on the territory of Crimea.” Russian-Occupied Crimea” that featured a Herbst began the presentation “Human since its seizure of administrative buildings Besides laying out these tactics, Mr. report by Andrii Klymenko, chief editor of the Rights Abuses in Russian Occupied Crimea” in Symferopol, the capital of the Klymenko challenged his audience to Black Sea News and chairman of the super- by introducing the Atlantic Council’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Mr. Putin answer the questions: “Why is Putin doing visory board for Maidan Foreign Affairs. The Ukraine and Europe Initiative that has been and Russia have done everything to violate this? What are the real aims of Putin in discussants included Mark Lagon, president working for almost a year to help Ukraine human rights, international law and even Crimea? Are those aims only for Crimea? of Freedom House, and David Kramer, senior choose its own future since President violate the legal system of Russia. And what can we do to resist?” director for human rights and human free- Vladimir Putin seized Crimea almost 12 Mr. Klymenko explained five of these Mr. Klymenko continued: “There’s still a dom at the McCain Institute; the moderator months ago. “His ardent wish is to have the technologies: “The first, imposing Russian big illusion that everyone in Crimea always was former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John world forget about the peninsula, and now citizenship and renunciation of Ukrainian massively supported Russian and being Herbst. The transcript of the presentation our determination is to make sure that the citizenship. Secondly, it’s actually expulsion with Russia. The leader of Crimean Tatars, and discussion were made available on world does not do that,” added Ambassador from Crimea of disloyal people. The third, Mustafa Dzhemilev, and separate media March 12 on the Atlantic Council website, Herbst. well, it’s absolutely cynical disregard of the outlets abroad published the leaks from the www.atlanticcouncil.org. This first portion of A report commissioned by the Atlantic rights of the native population of Crimea, the FSB about the real quantity of people who The Ukrainian Weekly’s will feature the Council and Freedom House was presented Crimean Tatars. Fourth, well, this is sort of took part in the referendum last year. So report and commentary by the organizers. by Andrii Klymenko. Mr. Klymenko, who know-how: the creation of an information the fact really is 34 percent. So 34 percent, The next installment will feature the discus- spoke in Ukrainian and had his remarks ghetto. Fifth, we’re talking about property sion among the audience and the presenters. translated through an interpreter, covered rights. And I want to mention that at the (Continued on page 10) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2015 No. 13 ANALYSIS One year later, Crimea’s Tatars NATO commander on helping Ukraine Mr. Putin the formal authority to send troops to Ukraine in March 2014 , a move BRUSSELS – NATO’s top military com- that sent a warning signal to the West fol- even further in the shadows mander says the West should consider using lowing the ouster of Ukrainian President all its tools to help Ukraine in its fight against by Alsu Kurmasheva tary intervention and annexation by Russia. Viktor Yanukovych. The authority was later “Even though our language is the second Russian-backed separatists, including send- withdrawn. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by and Daisy Sindelar ing defensive weapons. U.S. Air Force Gen. RFE/RL official language here, some of our kids Interfax, TASS and Agence-France-Presse) have been threatened for using Tatar,” she Philip Breedlove said on March 22 that he It’s not as though Abdureshit adds.
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