The Ukrainian Weekly 2003, No.3
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www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE:• Microsoft responds to concerns about “surzhyk” — page 3. • Scholars provide update on Ukraine — page 4. • Archeological excavations at Kozak capital of Baturyn — centerfold. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXXI HE KRAINIANNo. 3 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 EEKLY$1/$2 in Ukraine Romanian Orthodox Church presents T U Kyiv deniesW new allegations icon of St. Petro Mohyla to Kyiv church that it sold equipment to Iraq by Roman Woronowycz Romania, assigning December 22 as the by Roman Woronowycz verified to be authentic. On those tapes Kyiv Press Bureau date of his commemoration. In 1997 a Kyiv Press Bureau Mr. Kuchma is allegedly heard giving the synod of the Romanian Church had rec- authorization to sell the Kolchuha KYIV – An icon of the 17th century ognized the canonization of Mohyla by KYIV – Iraq’s ambassador to Ukraine through a Jordanian intermediary. spiritual and cultural leader Metropolitan the Ukrainian Orthodox. The metropoli- denied on January 16 that his country had The United States has yet to provide Petro Mohyla, prepared by monks of the tan was canonized by both the Ukrainian purchased pontoon bridges or other field concrete evidence for its accusations, but Romanian Orthodox Church in honor of Orthodox Church – Kyiv Patriarchate engineering equipment from Kyiv. it has determined the recordings to be his canonization in Romania, was pre- (1996) and the Ukrainian Orthodox The repudiation came 10 days after a sufficient proof to withhold further for- sented to the Annunciation Church of the Church – Moscow Patriarchate. high-ranking U.S. official told a London eign aid to the Kyiv central government. National University of Kyiv Mohyla Representatives of the Ukrainian newspaper that Ukraine had again raised The U.S. official who made fresh alle- Academy on January 14. Embassy in Romania presented a styl- the ire of the United States with fresh gations of improper sales to Iraq, whom The Romanian Orthodox Church had ized likeness of the legendary metropoli- sales to Baghdad in the wake of the The Times of London did not identify, canonized Metropolitan Mohyla a saint tan of Kyiv, Halychyna and all of Rus’ to Kolchuha scandal. said that evidence of a sale of military on October 13, 2002, during a ceremony the Annunciation Church of the National Yet, Washington also made it plain that pontoons emerged on January 6, but did in his hometown of Iasi, present-day University of Mohyla Academy. Today it was ready to continue to cooperate with not give details. He merely told the known as the Church of St. Petro Ukraine – although not at the highest lev- British daily newspaper that Ukrainian Mohyla, the church honors Metropoitan els. transfers of military equipment to Iraq Mohyla, who founded the Kyiv academy Iraqi Ambassador to Ukraine Mozher were “a continuing problem.” that bears his name in 1631. Monks of Al-Douri said at a Kyiv press conference Nonetheless, U.S. Ambassador to the monastery in Iasi created the fresco. that the United States is manipulating Ukraine Carlos Pascual told a “The tireless work of Metropolitan Ukraine for its own political purposes Washington think-tank on January 11 that Petro Mohyla, who was born into the and that no illegal arms sales have taken there is hope for U.S.-Ukraine relations family of the Moldavian nobleman place between Ukraine and Iraq. and that Washington wants to maintain an Simeon Mohyla, is an example of the “You may come and see this for your- open-door policy towards Ukraine. self,” added the Iraqi ambassador, whose friendship, cooperation and good-friendli- While briefing members of the Center country is the subject of an intense inves- ness between the Ukrainian nation and the for Strategic and International Studies, tigation by U.N. experts searching for nations of Moldavia and Wallachia (later Ambassador Pascual noted that U.S.- weapons of mass destruction and viola- Romania),” explained Ukraine’s Ministry Ukraine relations had eroded to their low- tions of sanctions placed on it by the of Foreign Affairs in a press release. est point in more than 11 years of United Nations after the Persian Gulf Ukraine’s Ambassador to Romania Ukrainian independence. War. Anton Buteiko sent a greeting to the He said the process of deterioration Ukraine’s President Leonid Kuchma Annunciation Church in which he under- began with the disappearance of journal- has been the focal point of accusations scored that the “transfer of the icon to ist Heorhii Gongadze in September 2000 that Ukraine engaged in illegal arms trade the Annunciation Church of the Kyiv and ebbed with the Kolchuha affair. with Iraq, particularly for an alleged sale Mohyla Academy, which is a gift worthy Contributing to worsening relations had of a Kolchuha air defense system. The of the memory of the great metropolitan, been repeated allegations of denial of free U.S. has based its allegations on digital speech in Ukraine and the downing of a Metropolitan Petro Mohyla (Continued on page 21) recordings that it obtained, which it has Russian commercial airliner by the Ukrainian military, in which Kyiv at first denied involvement. Mr. Pascual added that Kyiv’s behavior during international attempts to restore peace in strife-torn Macedonia two years ago was particular- Ukraine’by Vera Richs nuclear-powerthe safety level at the plant. sector inerating dir capacitye bystraits helping fund the con- ly vexing. RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report This is no easy decision. There are, Mr. struction of two additional reactors, one at “President Kuchma assured [White Antropov said, “many millions of curies of the Khmelnytskyi power station and one at House National Security Adviser] Ukraine’s nuclear-power industry, which radioactive” waste at the site, and the “sar- Rivne, a project known as K2R4. Condoleezza Rice, [NATO Secretary satisfies close to 50 percent of the country’s cophagus” enclosing the ruined No. 4 reac- The extra electricity is definitely needed. General] George Robertson and energy needs, is in serious financial trouble. tor is in a “critical” state, with nuclear fuel Yurii Kostenko, Ukraine’s environment [European Union foreign policy chief] The Chornobyl power station, the site of the still inside. Following the accident, a whole minister in the early 1990s, told the author Javier Solana that Ukraine would not world’s worst nuclear disaster in April 1986, range of monitoring devices was installed, of this note that closing or not closing is a constant strain on the state budget. transfer heavy arms to Macedonia during but there is no money to run them. Now, Chornobyl was a matter of having to choose a period of time when there were negotia- The last of the working reactors there some Ukrainian lawmakers, in particular, between the putative death toll of a possible (No. 3) was ceremonially closed under pres- tions on a peace settlement. And within members of the parliamentary Committee new explosion at Chornobyl or the certainty one month of that time there were trans- sure from the West in December 2000. But for Fuel and Energy, are suggesting that, of many thousands of deaths from until the plant is finally decommissioned, it fers of heavy arms to Macedonia, which although the closure of Chornobyl was hypothermia in the coming winter. was a tremendous breach of trust,” stated will need a constant input of money for politically correct, it was economically pre- Eventually, the Chornobyl station was water, gas, electricity and the wages of the Ambassador Pascual, according to an mature, and they are urging that the No. 3 closed, and the European Bank for RFE/RL report. maintenance staff. But there is no money. reactor be restarted to provide the necessary Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Instead, there are only debts that now He explained that, as a result, the U.S. electricity. began negotiating a $215 million loan for had concluded that Ukraine is not a reli- exceed 20 million hrv ($3.8 million). Almost immediately after the accident the completion of K2R4. But, just when the able partner, and that it was no longer Recently, the water supply was cut off, there was worldwide pressure for the per- negotiations seemed about to be finalized, worth cooperating with President although after an appeal from the staff about manent closure of the Chornobyl power sta- the Ukrainian side expressed a reluctance to Kuchma. He said that relations with possible consequences, the Vodokanal sup- tion. However, the Soviet authorities, and meet the bank’s conditions. During the visit Ukraine at the ministerial level would ply company agreed to reconnect it. later those of independent Ukraine, main- of EBRD President Jean Lemierre to now assume added importance. But the draft Ukrainian state budget for tained that they could not manage without Ukraine in mid-October, Ukraine’s prime The U.S. envoy said Ukraine needed 2003 allots to Chornobyl only funds for the the electricity from the surviving three minister at the time Anatolii Kinakh, to make an effort to restore the confi- staff payroll. According to Oleksander Chornobyl reactors. expressed a desire to renew negotiations. dence of the West. He enumerated a four- Antropov, the presidential representative at Back in 1986, the G-7 countries agreed Chornobyl, it may be necessary to reduce to provide “compensation” for the lost gen- (Continued on page 3) (Continued on page 3) 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JANUARY 19, 2003 No. 3 ANALYSIS NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS The clan from Donetsk CIS summit slated for Ukraine him officially from the presidential by Roman Kupchinsky going after the Donetsk coal barons was administration, is double the number of KYIV – Heads of state of the RFE/RL Poland, Belarus and Ukraine Report to stir up a hornet’s nest.