INSIDE:• Kostenko-led Rukh loses in Supreme Court — page 3. • Soyuzivka opens 45th summer season — pages 4-5. • Zakarpattia’s picturesque Lake Synevyr — page 9. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXVII HE KRAINIANNo. 29 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 18, 1999 EEKLY$1.25/$2 in Ukraine FourteenT presidentialU W German chancellor and Kuchma disagree on construction of new reactors candidates submit by Roman Woronowycz Kyiv Press Bureau petitions to CEC KYIV – A proposal by German Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder’s proposal that Ukraine stop insisting on Western funding to complete construction of two nuclear reactors to by Roman Woronowycz replace Chornobyl and move towards substitute energy sources Kyiv Press Bureau was quickly shot down by the Ukrainian leadership. President Leonid Kuchma told Mr. Schroeder during his July KYIV – Fourteen of the 19 declared 8-9 visit to Kyiv that, while he understands the pressure the presidential candidates met the July 12 German chancellor was facing from the Green Party in his gov- deadline imposed by law and succeeded ernment coalition to not support nuclear energy development, in gathering the required 1 million signa- Ukraine is committed to the two uncompleted nuclear facilities. tures to support their candidacies, which “Had the situation in Ukraine’s economy been different, we will give them a place on the presidential would have taken a different position in 1995 and would not election ballot if the petitions pass have objected to the construction of thermal, gas or steam sta- Central Election Commission scrutiny in tions,” said Mr. Kuchma. the coming weeks. While underscoring in his talks with Mr. Schroeder that It is now up to the CEC to verify the Ukraine is ready and able to immediately shut down the authenticity of the signatures and deter- Chornobyl plant, the Ukrainian president emphasized that the mine whether the candidates lawfully G-7 industrialized nations had repeatedly stated their support obtained the signatures they have sub- for the completion of the two reactor complexes, and that now mitted. it is simply too late to make other plans. So far the CEC has registered three President Kuchma also said that alternative energy sources, Efrem Lukatsky candidates for the October 31 elections. “both in terms of time and spending, are far more expensive President Leonid Kuchma, Communist than solving the problem by the completing of the construction President Leonid Kuchma and German Federal Chancellor Party leader Petro Symonenko and of the reactors at Khmelnytski and Rivne.” Gerhard Schroeder meeting in Kyiv, Yevhen Marchuk, the former prime minis- Ukraine has waited in vain for several years now to receive of this year at the last G-7 summit. In a statement released by ter and ex-head of the State Security funding for the completion of the last of four nuclear reactors the G-7, the leaders affirmed their intention to provide funding Service of Ukraine, were registered by the near the central Ukrainian city of Khmelnytskyi and the second to complete both the Rivne and the Khmelnytskyi complexes. CEC in mid-June. Messrs. Symonenko of two near Rivne, located in the northwest corner of the coun- The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Marchuk are both national deputies in try. Kyiv says the new reactors are needed to replace the energy has been tasked with determining the level of funding needed the Verkhovna Rada. generated by the infamous Chornobyl nuclear power plant. and is finally due to render a decision in September. However, Mr. Kuchma was the first to gather the In 1986 an explosion at the fourth reactor of the Chornobyl the EBRD has been involved in the issue of funding for the two minimum of 1 million signatures nuclear facility sent a cloud of radiation around the world, poi- complexes for some time and has repeatedly hemmed and required, of which 30,000 had to be col- soning much of northern part of the country, as well as a good hawed in disbursing the money, while demanding that Ukraine lected in each of at least 14 oblasts. On portion of Belarus, and leaving Ukraine with a chronic energy reform its energy sector. The international bank has also ques- June 14, dozens of labeled boxes con- shortage. tioned the profitability, and even the need, for additional reac- taining petitions with 1.89 million signa- Ukraine has promised the West that it will close the only tors for Ukraine. tures of Ukrainian voters collected by nuclear reactor that continues to operate at Chornobyl if the In addition the EBRD has questioned the accuracy of the Kuchma supporters arrived at the CEC West will help fund substitute other energy sources. The G-7, $1.5 billion estimate that Ukraine says is needed to complete offices in Kyiv. Later that day represen- which includes Germany, has repeatedly stated that it would do tatives of Mr. Symonenko submitted just that – an intent that was reaffirmed in Cologne in the spring (Continued on page 10) their petitions with signatures – some 2 million of them. On July 1 both politicians were offi- cially registered as the first two candi- Canadian Press retracts defamatory headline dates in the presidential election race. by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj one of CP’s editors. Corrective (i.e. retraction)” would be Mr. Marchuk, who was nominated by Toronto Press Bureau The 12th paragraph of the 18-para- published the following day. a coalition of rightist parties even though graph article, about the founder of a On July 9, CP carried an item tagged TORONTO — The Canadian Press, he had been a leader of the Social racist organization called The Church “Corrective, Index: International, one of Canada’s major news services, Democratic Party (United), was regis- of the Creator, read: “Founded in 1973 issued a “corrective” on July 9, follow- Justice, Religion,” which read: tered as the third officially sanctioned by Ben Klassen, a former Florida state ing a concerted reaction to a defamato- “The Canadian Press erroneously candidate on July 9 after submitting 1.6 legislator who was born in Ukraine and reported in a headline on July 5 that the million signatures. ry headline from community members raised in Canada, the church attracted founder of the Church of the Creator In an example of the extent to which across the country, an established neo-Nazis and skinheads.” was a Ukrainian-Canadian. many candidates lack confidence in the media watchdog and a newly elected There were no other references to “In fact, the late Ben Klassen was CEC and believe that it is biased toward community leader. either Ukraine, Ukrainians or Canada not of Ukrainian heritage and the the incumbent president, Mr. Marchuk On July 5 the Canadian Press (CP) in the item. Ukrainian-Canadian community had no said at the time he handed over his peti- ran an item headlined “Gunman belonged to ‘church’ founded by A campaign urging Ukrainian contact with him when he lived in tions that he held a reserve of 400,000 Canadians to express their dissatisfac- signatures, which had been thoroughly Ukrainian-Canadian,” which provided Canada. He was residing in the United background on the spate of racially tion was mounted by Alberta-based States by the 1950s and died there in scrutinized for their authenticity, to be activist Orest Slepokura, Ukrainian submitted if the CEC threw out a large motivated killings apparently perpetrat- 1993.” ed in Illinois and Indiana by Benjamin Civil Liberties Association Research On July 12, Mr. Luciuk wrote in an portion of his signatures. Director Lubomyr Luciuk and recently All the mainstream party nominees Nathaniel Smith over the Fourth of e-mail addressed to members of the July weekend. elected Ukrainian Canadian Congress and several more obscure but resourceful Ukrainian community that “Mr. Loong Affixed to a story originally issued Ontario Provincial Council President (financially and otherwise) individuals ... has proven his willingness to consid- by the Associated Press, datelined Volodymyr Halchuk. have filed a minimum of 1 million signa- er a problem, deal with it expeditiously Peoria, Ill., the offending headline was On July 8, Paul Loong, World Editor tures with the CEC since then. carried only in Canada as written by at CP, notified interested parties that “a (Continued on page 6) (Continued on page 2) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 18, 1999 No. 29 INTERVIEW EXCERPTS: Kuchma comments on presidential elections NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS Molotov cocktails aimed at U.S. Embassy Kuchma on the fifth anniversary of his Following are excerpts, provided by What were your main achievements presidency, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service the RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine during your presidential term? KYIV – At approximately 2 a.m. on reported. The statement noted that during Report, from an interview with President July 8 two unknown assailants lobbed the last five years Ukraine has estab- Leonid Kuchma conducted by RFE/RL’s Let us recall the year 1994 when infla- two Molotov cocktails at the U.S. tion in the country reached 10,600 per- lished itself as a state recognized by the Ukrainian Service on June 22: Embassy. According to militia called to world community. It added that “only cent. Kupony [the Ukrainian currency at the scene, the home-made bombs fell to Leonid Kuchma will be able to secure How do you assess your chances in that time] were lying scattered on the the ground and exploded. Firemen were the further consistent implementation of the presidential elections? streets, having no value at all. Production not called because the fire was almost reforms.” The statement was signed by, in the country came virtually to a halt.