President Assures Ukraine's Businessmen: Relations with The
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INSIDE:• Internment camp remembered in British Columbia — page 4. • First Ukrainian member of British Parliament pens memoirs — page 8. • Okean Elzy, top group in Ukraine, releases new recording — page 12. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXIII HE No.KRAINIAN 43 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005 EEKLY$1/$2 in Ukraine President assures Ukraine’s businessmen: YushchenkoT firesU top prosecutor W by Yana Sedova He charged Mr. Poroshenko, former Kyiv Press Bureau secretary of the National Security and relations with the government will change Defense Council, with bribing business- KYIV – Ukrainian President Viktor men in order to gain control of a luxury, by Zenon Zawada engage in charity to address social prob- Yushchenko fired Procurator General high-rise apartment complex in Kyiv. Kyiv Press Bureau lems, build medical institutions and Sviatoslav Piskun, the nation’s top prose- restore cultural and historical monuments. Speculation of revenge against Mr. KYIV – “The Orange Revolution is cutor, on October 14 without citing any Piskun grew more intense when President Yushchenko’s meeting was reason, throwing the door open for politi- over.” closed to most media, with the exception Presidential Secretariat Chair Oleh President Viktor Yushchenko offered cal speculation and accusations. Rybachuk hinted that the prosecutor was of a few selected outlets, including the these words as comfort to Ukraine’s 30 Mr. Piskun has served as Ukraine’s overstepping his bounds during a press Ukrainian-language website Ukrayinska most powerful businessmen, whom he procurator general since December 10, conference the day of the firing. Pravda and the Russian-language news- invited to the Presidential Secretariat on 2004, when a court ruled that former “Sviatoslav Mykhailovych was getting paper Kommersant. October 14 for an unprecedented four- President Leonid Kuchma had illegally so excited recently, and he was opening Among those in attendance were Rynat hour meeting. fired him nearly two years ago. so many cases,” Mr. Rybachuk said in a Akhmetov, with an estimated worth of “I give you a guarantee that I will do He immediately became the target of sarcastic tone on October 14. “We just more than $3.5 billion, and Ihor everything to convince you that relations criticism from those most closely might have prevented him from opening Kolomoyskyi, worth more than $2.2 bil- with you will change radically during the involved in the Heorhii Gongadze mur- a case against himself, having investigat- lion, according to 2004 estimates published next 12 months,” Mr. Yushchenko said. der case. ed it in one day and then imprisoning by Wprost, a weekly Polish magazine. “Nobody will persecute you or tire you Among others, Justice Minister Serhii himself.” Both men spent numerous weeks out with inspections.” Holovatyi and the journalist’s widow, Political experts speculated that Mr. abroad during Mr. Yushchenko’s first He assured those he once labeled Myroslava Gongadze, alleged that Mr. Piskun opened the case against Mr. months as president, as Ukrainian jour- criminals during the Orange Revolution Piskun was incompetent or unwilling in Poroshenko to cozy up to Ms. nalists and political experts had speculat- that his government will cooperate with investigating the murder. Tymoshenko and her political coalition. ed that the administration was consider- them and protect their property rights, “His resignation is absolutely logical,” Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc members ing arresting both businessmen – an according to news reports. Ms. Gongadze told The Weekly on such as Andrii Shkil rallied behind Mr. impossibility at this point. October 19. “It’s a step for progress, but Piskun soon afterwards. Firing Mr. “Government is supposed to, first of all, In August, law enforcement officials it would have been better had it happened Piskun became an option for Mr. correctly relate to business, respect owner- searched Mr. Akhemtov’s Donetsk seven months ago.” Yushchenko only after the criminal case ship and learn to defend this ownership,” offices for evidence in a tax evasion and The timing of Mr. Piskun’s firing has was opened, Mr. Shkil said. Mr. Yushchenko told the businessmen, abuse of power investigation. become the latest fodder for debate and Meanwhile, the president “stormily” commonly referred to as oligarchs because Mr. Yushchenko’s latest political speculation among Ukrainians. responded to the criminal case against they obtained their enterprises largely maneuver was aimed at satisfying Just four days earlier, Mr. Piskun Mr. Poroshenko, Mr. Piskun said in an because of their government connections. Ukraine’s international and domestic announced he was prosecuting Petro October 17 interview with the Ukrainian At the same time, he asked them to investors, who were demanding economic Poroshenko, Mr. Yushchenko’s close newspaper Svoboda. “To put it lightly, it find mutual understanding in Ukraine’s stability in Ukraine, political experts said. political ally and godfather of one of his key strategic issues, including the Euro- These investors particularly criticized children. (Continued on page 21) integration process, and urged them to the Yushchenko administration’s aggres- sive reprivatization campaign in which the Ukrainian government began repos- sessing properties through the courts UPA veterans, leftists clash on the Khreschatyk from businessmen who bought them at unrealistically low prices. by Zenon Zawada ers, Communists and nationalists clashed ing 80 Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) In defending his decision to stop all Kyiv Press Bureau on October 15 on Kyiv’s main boulevard, veterans from reaching Independence reprivatizations, Mr. Yushchenko has the Khreschatyk. Square in their attempt to commemorate the KYIV – Demonstrating that no recon- blamed the campaign on his former Amidst fist fights and flying eggs, 63rd anniversary of their army’s founding. prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, who ciliation is imminent between Ukraine’s Communists and Natalia Vitrenko’s The high turnout among Ms. Vitrenko’s he said was not conducting the process World War II veterans and their support- Progressive Socialists succeeded in block- followers, more than 3,000 demonstrators, fairly, either targeting businesses ran- revealed the fierce resistance UPA veter- domly or for her own personal benefit. ans face in their campaign to get the Economic advisors, such as Anders Ukrainian government to recognize them Aslund of the Carnegie Endowment for as a fighting force that led a national-liber- International Peace, also sharply criti- ation struggle for Ukrainian independence. cized reprivatizations and urged “It wasn’t just a rally,” Ms. Vitrenko President Yushchenko to forget past said of the conflict afterwards. “It was a crimes and get on with rebuilding the highly spiritual act in defense of the his- Ukrainian economy. torical truth about the Great Patriotic Even foreign companies got snared in War [as World War II is known in Soviet the reprivatization campaign, perhaps parlance] and our Orthodox Church.” raising the most alarm among govern- The success of the Communists and ment officials and advisors. Progressive Socialists was partly because New York-based IBE Trade had UPA veterans and their nationalist sup- invested $180 million in the Azot chemi- porters had many obstacles. cal factory in Severodonetsk when a Though their request to march was reg- court ruled it was improperly privatized istered with the Kyiv Administration for by former President Leonid Kuchma. Internal Politics as early as October 1, the Mr.Yushchenko’s October 14 meeting UPA veterans did not receive official per- contradicts the speeches delivered during mission from the Kyiv Shevchenko Court the Orange Revolution, in which he and until the afternoon before the event, said Ms. Tymoshenko criticized oligarchs and Volodymyr Pidipryhora, the academic vowed to bring to justice those who AP/Efrem Lukatsky department chair of the Kyiv Regional unfairly acquired properties. Brotherhood of OUN-UPA. The OUN is “The man is in charge of a country Oleksii Polischuk, a veteran of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), passes police during a march in Kyiv. (Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 8) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2005 No. 43 ANALYSIS Integration with the world economy: NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS Ukraine suspends some adoptions He added: “Viktor Yushchenko’s adeptness in handling relations with other states has Is Kyiv on a stable path toward its goal? KYIV – Ukraine has suspended accept- ensured that Ukraine, as a pivotal state in ance of documents from citizens of some Eastern Europe and Russia’s most impor- by Andrew Tully After holding talks with his Russian foreign states for the adoption of children, tant western neighbor, has not become the RFE/RL Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova Report counterpart, Mikhail Fradkov, in Moscow, it was reported on October 14. The rele- cause of a serious deterioration in relations he told reporters: “There have been no vant decree by the Ministry of Education between Russia and Western Europe.” As Ukraine’s new prime minister, Yurii meetings between the prime ministers [of and Science concerns such states as the the queen told the Ukrainian president Yekhanurov, describes his government as Ukraine and Russia] this year. This is not United States, Spain, Canada, Germany before the decoration ceremony, the award “technocratic” – motivated, he says, not normal, and now we should work more