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The Ukrainian Weekly 1999, No.49

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The Ukrainian Weekly 1999, No.49 www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE:• Parents rally to save St. George schools — page 9. • Unique photos of UPA discovered in Ivano-Frankivsk — page 10. • Remembrance: the Famine-genocide of 1932-1933 — page 11. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXVII HE No.KRAINIAN 49 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1999 EEKLY$1.25/$2 in Ukraine Kuchma inaugurated president for second term Tyhypko:T Cabinet U W by Roman Woronowycz will take hard line Kyiv Press Bureau KYIV – In an elegant concert hall filled with presidents of foreign countries, inter- on budget for 2000 national dignitaries and thousands of invit- by Roman Woronowycz ed guests, Leonid Kuchma swore the oath Kyiv Press Bureau of office as proscribed by Ukraine’s Constitution on November 30 and began a KYIV – Ukraine’s Vice Prime second term in office during which he will Minister Serhii Tyhypko said on lead the country into the third millenium. November 29 that changes to the 2000 It was a day of pageantry – much budget approved by the Verkhovna Rada more than in previous inaugurations – are unrealistic and that the Cabinet of filled with wreath-laying, toast-raising Ministers may not be willing to compro- and anthem-playing for the president as mise with the Verkhovna Rada in its he celebrated his new five-year term annual attempts to balloon the expendi- after winning a landslide election victory ture side of the national budget. over Communist opponent Petro Mr. Tyhypko, who carries the eco- Symonenko on November 14. nomic reform portfolio, said the national The president, with his wife, deputies again have tacked on expendi- Liudmilla, arrived an hour before the 1 tures that will destroy any hopes for a p.m. ceremony was scheduled to begin at healthy and realistic budget. the Ukraina Palace of Culture, the venue “Subsidies, subsidies, subsidies – we chosen by the president for his inaugura- cannot afford to continue this way,” said tion, to welcome dignitaries from 20 Mr. Tyhypko at a press conference on nations, including eight heads of state. economic reforms. Efrem Lukatsky Among those on hand to witness the Ukraine’s Parliament approved a first event and congratulate Mr. Kuchma were President Leonid Kuchma speaks during his inauguration ceremony. Seen on the reading of the national budget on the presidents of most of Ukraine’s left are the Bible and the Constitution of Ukraine on which the president placed November 18, but only after it boosted neighboring countries, including his hand as he took the oath of office. appropriations for social safety net pro- Suleiman Demirel of Turkey, Alexander grams and raised total budget expendi- ent among the 3,500 guests that packed the Verkhovna Rada, began the ceremo- Kwasniewski of Poland, Valdas tures to 40.75 billion hrv. The Cabinet of the Ukraina Palace auditorium was much ny, which according to the Constitution, Adamkus of Lithuania, Rudolf Schuster Ministers is now attempting to reconcile of Ukraine’s political, cultural, scientific should take place during “a solemn meet- of Slovakia, Petru Lucinschi of Moldova, the differing figures, after which the and entertainment elite. ing of the Verkhovna Rada.” Alyaksandr Lukashenko of Belarus, as budget will be returned to the Parliament Outside, some one thousand people He presided over the proceedings well as Prime Minister Vladimir Putin of for a second reading. lined the sidewalk across the street from along with his two vice-chairmen, Adam The original budget presented by the Russia, who was standing in for an ailing the concert hall to get a glimpse of the Martyniuk and Viktor Medvedchuk, from Cabinet of Ministers called for a budget President Boris Yeltsin. powerful, rich and famous that had gath- a table positioned to one side of the surplus of 554,000 hrv, with outlays Other dignitaries on hand included the ered to witness the ceremony, while mil- stage. Leading members of the presi- pegged at 38.6 billion hrv and revenue at official U.S. representative, Deputy lions more watched at home on television. dent’s Cabinet of Ministers, including 38 billion hrv. It was the first attempt at a Secretary of Energy T.J. Gaulthier, and At 1 p.m. sharp President Kuchma and Prime Minister Valerii Pustovoitenko, sat budget surplus, which the government the head of the CIS Executive his wife walked into the auditorium and at a table at the opposing end. hoped would ease its balance of pay- Committee, Yurii Yarov, as well as unof- down the main aisle escorted by a goose- Following the playing of the national ments problem in the next year. Ukraine ficial ones such as Viktor Chernomyrdin, stepping military honor guard dressed in anthem, Mr. Tkachenko made a brief is scheduled to pay some $5 billion in the gas tycoon and former Russian prime white. Mr. Kuchma ascended stairs and opening remark and then invited the minister, and Boris Berezovsky, the took his seat at center stage. (Continued on page 6) Russian publishing magnate. Also pres- Oleksander Tkachenko, chairman of (Continued on page 3) Congress passes foreign aid bill Kuchma says Ukraine must by Michael Sawkiw Jr. foreign aid spending bill as a means to Ukrainian National Information Service maintain U.S. global leadership through- out the world. sweep aside its Communist past by Roman Woronowycz “Today is not a date of personal tri- WASHINGTON – After weeks of nego- President Bill Clinton signed the bill into Kyiv Press Bureau umph for me, it is not one of individual tiations between the Clinton administration law on November 29 in a ceremony at the and Congressional Republicans, the U.S. victory, but a triumph and a victory for White House. Total funding in the Fiscal KYIV – President Leonid Kuchma Congress passed the foreign aid bill on Year 2000 Foreign Operations, Export the Ukrainian nation,” said Mr. Kuchma November 19. Considered a victory by told the nation in an inauguration after being sworn in for a second term. Financing and Related Programs Bill was address on November 30 that Ukraine both sides, the foreign aid bill was lumped $15.34 billion. Issues that received the Speaking before 3,500 international together with several other appropriations finally must sweep aside the detritus of dignitaries and invited guests, including greatest amount of funding, and were the its Communist past and strengthen a bills, which had also been held up in negoti- topics of most of the negotiating, were the eight presidents of neighboring coun- ations. still-fragile democracy, to become a tries, the president called his second Wye River Accord signed in 1998 between society in which individual incentive and During the Senate floor debates on the the Palestinian Authority and Israel, U.S. inauguration a historical Rubicon – free markets rule. value of increased assistance to foreign arrears for its United Nations dues, and a Ukraine’s final rejection of Communism While thanking the Ukrainian people countries, Sen. Harold Rogers (R-Ky.) nuclear threat reduction program for coun- and a new era for Europe. blasted the budget process by stating, tries in the former Soviet Union, particular- for giving him a mandate to govern by “In fact, November 1 became the “All they [the administration] want is to ly Russia. its overwhelming support for his re-elec- second all-Ukrainian referendum that give the taxpayers’ money away to for- In next year’s budget, the Freedom tion, Mr. Kuchma, 61, said that he did testified to the fact that our society eign countries and be damned what hap- Support Act (FSA) provides assistance to not consider the victory a personal one, pens at home.” Other Republicans and but one for the people. (Continued on page 13) Democrats, however, defended the U.S. (Continued on page 14) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 1999 No. 49 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS Appeal to annul elections is rejected international conference on economic Elections ’99: the “bardak” factor security issues in Kyiv on November 22 by Roman Solchanyk the results of the presidential vote. Every KYIV – The Supreme Court on oblast will be looked at. that cooperation between his country and Literally translated, the Russian word November 26 rejected Communist leader There will be analyses of the first NATO can contribute to defending “the “bardak” means whorehouse. Figuratively Petro Symonenko’s appeal to annul the round, which presented voters with a list interests of Ukraine’s economic securi- speaking, it means something along the results of the presidential elections, of 13 candidates, several of whom ty,” Interfax reported. He said only lines of complete chaos. What happened Interfax reported. Mr. Symonenko had pledged that they would take Ukraine NATO and the EU can help Ukraine in the 1999 presidential elections in cited numerous violations of electoral “back to the future” through one or anoth- make good use of its “potential for ensur- Ukraine was that the electorate decided procedures and voters’ rights during the er combination of reinstating “socialism” ing international stability.” The that it did not want to have anything to do November 14 runoff. The court respond- or “communism,” recreating some form Associated Press reported that other par- with the Russian bardak. Instead, it opted ed that invalidating the results of presi- of the Soviet Union, and bringing Ukraine ticipants in the conference, citing the for its own variant. dential elections in Ukraine is not within into a Slavic Union with Russia and example of Poland, stressed the need for To some, this may sound like a nega- its jurisdiction. In the runoff, Mr. Ukraine to speed up its economic tive assessment, but that is not the inten- Belarus. Kuchma received 56.21 percent of the This will be followed by analyses of reforms, as sluggish reform can endanger tion.
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