www.ukrweekly.com INSIDE: • Bishop of Kyiv-Vyshhorod is installed — page 5. • Peremyshl wracked by Ukrainian-Polish confrontation — page 10. • A journey to Ukrainian settlements in Brazil — page 11. Published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc., a fraternal non-profit association Vol. LXIV HE KRAINIANNo. 29 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 1996 EEKLY$1.25/$2 in Ukraine Talbott in Ukraine Lazarenko escapes assassination attempt T U by Marta Kolomayets tackle the crisis in the miningW region at a presidential administration press to strengthen ties Kyiv Press Bureau forced criminal structures to organize an briefing on July 17. assassination attempt using the most Mr. Skybynetsky called the bomb blast by Marta Kolomayets KYIV — Ukrainian Prime Minister modern methods,” said Mr. Lazarenko. “a deliberate act, done by professionals.” Kyiv Press Bureau Pavlo Lazarenko escaped an assassination He is the first high-ranking official in He also said there are strong indications attempt early Tuesday morning, July 16, KYIV — Calling his working day in post-Soviet Ukraine to be the object of a that certain radical forces had “sounded when a remote-controlled bomb exploded terrorist act. the alarm to launch actions against eco- Kyiv “very intense, productive and satisfy- along the roadway as his motorcade was ing,” U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe “The attack was meant to force the nomic reforms.” He pointed to both left- traveling to Kyiv’s Boryspil Airport. cancellation of my trip to the Donetske wing forces such as Communists and Talbott told reporters on July 17 that the Although Mr. Lazarenko was shaken, over-all purpose of his brief visit was to dis- region,” he said, as he vowed to tackle right-wing forces such as the Ukrainian after being examined by a first aid team crime in Ukraine and bring order to the National Assembly. cuss “ways of strengthening what is already he continued his journey to the airport an extremely strong bilateral relationship.” corrupt coal enterprises in the industrial “The activities of Socialists and where he boarded a plane for Donetske to Donbas region. Communists, especially in eastern “And I feel that we have accom- meet with regional leaders. The blast left plished this,” he noted, during a 40- Ukrainian government leaders warned Ukraine, their disapproval of the recently a crater three feet deep and six feet wide on July 17 that certain emergency measures adopted Constitution and their views on minute news conference at Kyiv’s along the Kyiv roadside, in what investi- America House, an information arm of may be invoked following this assassina- the president’s allegedly anti-popular gators have called a professional job. tion attempt against the prime minister. reformist program all are a threat to the the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, before Local police said luck saved the prime departing for the United States. Volodymyr Horbulin, President state,” said Mr. Horbulin. minister as his driver accelerated from Arriving from Moscow that morning, Leonid Kuchma’s adviser on national First Deputy Prime Minister Vasyl the shoulder lane to pass a bus that had Mr. Talbott and his delegation, which security issues, added that the country’s Durdynets said the attack was intended to stopped beyond the spot where the bomb included Ambassador at Large for the New national security is under threat after the thwart investigations into the embezzle- had been planted. Both Mr. Lazarenko’s Independent States James Collins, bomb explosion. ment of state funds meant for miners’ car and another car in the entourage were Ambassador and Coordinator for Security was beefed up in the nation’s wages. He added that Mr. Lazarenko had Assistance to the NIS Richard Morningstar damaged in the attack. capital, as more than 500 extra Berkut spe- been en route to Donetske to hear a and National Security Council Director for Prime Minister Lazarenko, 43, speaking cial forces were brought into the city from progress report on the matter. Russian and Ukrainian Affairs Carlos with reporters upon his return to Kyiv that four neighboring regions to patrol transport Prime Minister Lazarenko said the Pascual, met with Ukrainian leaders, evening, called the attack a terrorist act, terminals and roads in and around Kyiv. Ukrainian government has already paid off including President Leonid Kuchma, Prime saying that criminals opposed to his shake- Minister of the Interior Yuriy Kravchenko 15 trillion karbovantsi ($81 million U.S.) to Minister Pavlo Lazarenko, Parliament up of the coal industry had tried to kill him. told reporters that more than 3,000 police coal mines to cover wages for June. It has Chairman Oleksander Moroz, Foreign Sounding angry, yet composed, Mr. officers are engaged in the investigation of also promised that by September 15 all Minister Hennadiy Udovenko and National Lazarenko said he links the explosion to the bomb blast. wages owed since February would be paid. Security Advisor Volodymyr Horbulin. the recent problems in the Donetske In addition, security forces guarding He noted that for the first half of 1996, Mr. Talbott said that discussions were region, where coal miners have been Ukraine’s top state officials will be rein- 27 trillion karbovantsi ($160 million) dis- striking to obtain back wages owed them. forced, said Deputy Chairman of the (Continued on page 23) “The drafting of concrete measures to Security Service Olexander Skybynetsky (Continued on page 23) Experts’ roundtable welcomes Ukraine’s new Constitution by Yaro Bihun WASHINGTON — The Interna- tional Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), which has been involved in helping Ukraine fashion its new post-Soviet Constitution, held an experts’ roundtable discussion on the document after it was passed on June 28 by the Supreme Council of Ukraine. The featured participants of the roundtable, held on July 10, were Yuri Shcherbak, Ukraine’s ambas- sador to the United States; Bohdan Futey, U.S. Court of Federal Claims judge; and Stephen B. Nix, an elec- tion law consultant at IFES. All three hailed the new docu- ment, with the latter two also point- ing to some potential trouble spots. Ambassador Shcherbak said that the adoption of the Constitution proved that Ukraine and the Ukrainian people had reached a political consen- (Continued on page 9) Efrem Lukatsky A group of miners in Donetske blocks the railway on July 11 as part of their protest to demand back wages. 2 THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JULY 21, 1996 No. 29 First graduation held at Ukraine’s National Armed Forces Academy NEWSBRIEFSNEWSBRIEFS Ukrainian envoy hints at Romania treaty Kyiv gas stations strike over tax by Petro Matiaszek Reeve, was designed to represent the United Kingdom’s commitment to BUCHAREST — Ukraine’s ambassador KYIV — Service stations here staged a KYIV — On June 27, literally on the Ukrainian independence and democratic to Romania, Oleksander Cheli, told a semi- one-day strike on July 15, refusing to serve eve of the Parliament’s ratification of reform, particularly in the armed forces. nar on mass media at the Black Sea resort customers in protest against a government Ukraine’s first Constitution since indepen- During the ceremony, by executive of Eforie Nord that Ukraine will agree to tax on gasoline sales. Owners denounced dence was restored in 1991, Ukraine gradu- order, President Kuchma renamed the denouncing the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact in the imposition last month of the 15 percent ated its first class of officers from the academy the Petro Sahaydachny armed a Ukrainian-Romanian basic treaty if tax backdated to the beginning of the year National Armed Forces Academy in Kyiv. forces Academy of Ukraine in honor of the Romania agrees to denounce the pact and said it would force them to raise prices President and Armed Forces Comman- 17th century Kozak hetman renowned for between its wartime leader, Marshal Ion at the pump. Only ambulances were served der-in-Chief Leonid Kuchma and Defense the wars he waged to secure Ukrainian Antonescu, and Adolf Hitler, Romanian during the strike. “The tax automatically Minister Valeriy Shmarov presented diplo- independence and his contribution to the media reported on July 16. Mr. Cheli noted means a rise in gasoline prices,” said Hlib, mas to the nearly 180 graduates — all offi- development of a Ukrainian Black Sea the latter pact had caused widespread suf- standing in front of his empty station, the cers in Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Also in naval force. fering to the Ukrainian population after price display a row of zeros. “We simply attendance were National Security Council The president also used the occasion to Germany and Romania invaded Ukraine in don’t want to do this.” At the few stations Secretary Volodymyr Horbulin, Armed deliver a keynote address on the develop- 1941. (OMRI Daily Digest) working despite the strike, huge lines Forces General Staff members and foreign ment of Ukraine’s armed forces and the formed in the 91 degree (Fahrenheit) heat. Support found for Chechnya in Lithuania military attachés accredited in Kyiv. constitutional process, which at the time of Filling one’s tank is no longer the problem The ambassador of the United Kingdom, the graduation was still headed towards a VILNIUS — Algirdas Endriukaitis, it once was, with uninterrupted supplies, Roy Reeve, presented a special commemo- national referendum in September. (Uk- chairman of the Executive Committee of reliable quality and generally few lines. A rative sword from Queen Elizabeth II to the rainian MPs worked through the night to the International Parliamentary Group on gallon of premium gasoline costs about academy’s first top graduate, Col. Mykola ratify the document by the next morning.) the Problem of Chechnya, announced on 200,000 karbovantsi ($1.10), considerably Kovba. While the presentation of such a Following the ratification of the new July 16 that 46 of the 56 municipalities in lower than in Western Europe.