Interblog until 31st January, 2005

UKRAINE DECEMBER 2004, decision makers , foreign policy , media , special

Kuchma sacks three more governors

Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma has dismissed the heads of three more regions, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported Wednesday. The outgoing Ukrainian leader accepted the resignations of the heads of the Ivano-Frankivsk, Kyiv and Ternopil regions, his presidential press service reported. ... ( more )

Supreme Court allows publication of CEC announcement on Yushchenko win only after Jan. 19

( Gromadske Radio )

Ukraine’s Supreme Court has allowed the publication in the official newspapers after Jan. 19 of the announcement by the Central Election Commission declaring Viktor Yushchenko the winner in the presidential election. ... ( more )

Strong Support from European Parliament for Kiev

( Zaman )

Hopes have been raised in the Ukraine following a decision by the European Parliament (EP) on Thursday. Although it is not binding, the EP sent a clear message to the Ukraine that could lead to possible membership of the European Union with 467 ballots against 19. While the EU Commission, which conducts the enlargement policy, is dealing with the Ukraine in the frame of neighborhood policy, the EP decided to give a more concrete horizon to Kiev. Commission resources say only that Kiev is has not made any application for the candidacy and this country is being handled in the frame of neighborhood policy for now. ... ( more )

Supreme Court Rejects Three Of Demands In Yanukovych's Appeal Against CEC's Decision To Declare Yuschenko As Presidential Election Winner

( Unian )

The Supreme Court has rejected three of the demands that the Party of the Regions' leader Viktor Yanukovych made in his appeal against the decision of the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) to declare the Our Ukraine coalition's leader Viktor Yuschenko as the winner of the Ukrainian presidential election.

The press service of the CEC disclosed this to Ukrainian News, citing a Supreme Court decision obtained by the CEC. ... ( more )

Ukraine Opposition Criticizes Yushchenko

( AP via Yahoo! News )

KIEV, Ukraine - In a sign of emerging cracks in the camp of Ukraine's apparent next president, a top ally of Viktor Yushchenko on Saturday criticized his order to raze the tent camp that became a vivid symbol of the country's "Orange Revolution." ... ( more )

Between Regimes: The Relationship Between Internal & External Factors

(James Sherr, Fellow, Conflict Studies Research Centre, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom via Zerkalo Nedeli )

The most dangerous period in any revolution usually comes immediately after it takes place. Even if Viktor Yushchenko emerges as Ukraine’s new president without further legal machinations and trauma, there will be no exaggeration in describing his victory as a revolution. And the victory will still be revolutionary even if Yushchenko’s instincts for compromise, harmony and national unity establish the tone of his presidency. The events of the past two months have transformed the ‘art of the possible’ in Europe and Eurasia. Nevertheless, Yushchenko’s success will stand or fall on his ability to change the nature and not simply the image of the system that has governed Ukraine for the past fourteen years. ... ( more )

Defence Academy

Delaying OSCE reform may be harmful - official

( Interfax )

MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) - Moscow thinks that Slovenia, which is currently the chairman country in the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), should focus its attention on thoroughly reforming the organization and that delaying the reform may cause serious political consequences. ... ( more )

Has Russia lost Ukraine?

( RIA Novosti )

The victory of Ukrainian opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko at the presidential elections is largely seen in Ukraine, Russia and the West as Russia's foreign policy biggest reverse of the past few years, Alexei Arbatov, head of the Center for International Security at the Russian Academy of Sciences, says in an article published by Nezavisimaya Gazeta. ... ( more )

Yushchenko orders removal of tent camp in Kiev's downtown

( AP via SFGate.com )

The winner of Ukraine's presidential election ordered his supporters Friday to raze the tent camp in Kiev that had become a dramatic symbol of his victory over a Kremlin-backed opponent, saying conditions had become unsanitary. ... ( more )

US-Russian split at OSCE

( Yahoo! Singapore News )

New OSCE chairman Slovenian Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel acknowledged there were "differences" at the transatlantic, pan-European body as the United States and Russia clashed with echoes of Cold War rhetoric.

Russia said Western influence was too strong in the 55-nation Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's human rights work, particularly election monitoring which Moscow claims is tilted against former Soviet states. ... ( more )

Kremlin Bureaucrats Lost Ukraine, But Russia Won

( St. Petersburg Times )

Over the last six months, Russian politicians have been discussing Ukraine and its affairs so fervently that now I, as a Ukrainian politician and parliamentary deputy, have the perfect right to discuss Russian affairs. And in the same light I have the right to talk about the future of Russian-Ukrainian relations after the new president of Ukraine, Viktor Yushchenko, whose team I have the honor of belonging to, gets to work. ... ( more )

The Media's New Cold War

( The Nation )

Thirteen years after the end of the Soviet Union, the American press establishment seemed eager to turn Ukraine's protested presidential election on November 21 into a new cold war with Russia. Still worse, its greatest enthusiasts were not the usual Russophobes but influential opinion-makers and publications reputed to be exemplars of balanced, moderate, even liberal, outlook. ... ( more )

Ukraine Election Loser Again Delays Inauguration

( Yahoo! News )

KIEV (Reuters) - The loser of last month's presidential election in Ukraine again delayed his opponent's inauguration on Thursday by failing to deliver a promised court appeal, infuriating the president elect's team. ... ( more )

Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations visits Ukraine to launch new report on economic reform

( UNDP )

This report of our Blue Ribbon Commission, working under the deft leadership of Anders Aslund and Oleksander Paskhaver, was in the final stages of editing when the second round of the presidential elections took place in Ukraine. Its contents thus predate the unprecedented outpouring of civic activism that prompted the Ukrainian authorities to schedule a fresh round of voting for 26 December. The peaceful determination that Ukrainian civil society has shown to defend freedom and the right to free and fair elections is to be commended.

The recent political upheaval in Ukraine does nothing to tarnish the findings of this report. On the contrary, it underscores the accuracy of its diagnosis of the ills that trouble Ukraine, particularly in the relations between citizens and the state, and it heightens the relevance of the report’s prescription for a “new wave of reform.” Moreover, the emergence of a newly self-confident civil society in Ukraine increases the chances that the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations can be put into practice.

That this report has proved so prescient is testament to the collective wisdom of its authors, a diverse group of international and Ukrainian specialists on economy, government, law, and social policy who have contributed their keen insights to this vital undertaking. UNDP expresses deep appreciation to the authors for this timely contribution to policy debate in Ukraine. It supports the report’s call for a “new wave of reform” aimed at helping the country sustain rapid economic growth, improve social welfare and fight poverty, enhance economic integration, and achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The report, in UNDP’s view, is an exemplary work of impartial and professional analysis that provides practical solutions to pressing problems. UNDP recommends the report for the early attention of the new President and the new Government, and stands ready to support them in enacting a new wave of reform.

[Stenogram] :: Good morning dear friends. The theme of the today's press club is the “New Wave” publication, which was yesterday presented in the National Bank for economists and UN representatives. Today you will have an opportunity to hear to these report from its authors: Mr. Kalman Mizsei, Assistant Secretary General of the UN, Director of the UNDP Regional Bureau for Europe and CIS; Mr. Anders Aslund, Co-Chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission, Senior Associate of the Carnegie Endowment; Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver, Co-Chair of the Blue Ribbon Commission.

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: Thank you. Dear friends, allow me to say a few words about the whole idea of the Blue Ribbon Commission in Ukraine. The United Nations Development Program in the middle of 2004 initiated the work that let to develop this project. We decided in the middle of 2004 Ukraine had a very unique historical chance to complete its reforms. If we go back to the time of Ukraine’s independence of 1991, and compare the reforms of that time with ones which were made in its neighbor countries, for instance, in Poland, we can conclude that a tremendous amount of reforms was conducted in Ukraine, basically you created very many fundamental reforms. However, this reform has been incomplete. The privatization started, but it was not completed, but, unfortunately, the market economics needs many institutions, unfortunately, market economics needs a reasonably clean state. Likewise, the democracy in Ukraine has been incomplete. You have basic democratic institutes, but you have more of them than needed. The functions of the president and government were filled with corruption. We think that the new President has a unique chance to complete these reforms, to advance the market economics, to advance a kind of social solidarity that shows compassion in very complete terms. That was in our minds. I have asked two professors to make this effort, and the other idea is that we have a combined expertise of Ukrainian and international experts. So this combination has been so characteristic for this project.

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: Thank you. I’d like to tell that in 2004 I wrote an article about the presidential election in Ukraine, which reflected our common expectations. Our experts, dealing with the Ukrainian problems, wanted to answer the most urgent questions. I think today Ukraine has a unique chance. We thought about this when we started the work together with Mr. Moszei. The presidential election of this year in Ukraine was the most important event in the Europe in 2004. In this group of experts, we gathered the best Ukrainian and international experts, who have been busy with Ukrainian thematic for a long time. We also asked them about were the most crucial issues in Ukraine at present. We did not attempt to write a program what to do, but to show the most pressing problems in modern Ukraine. We have more that 100 practical recommendations. Now the main problem in Ukraine now is the state - namely, the corruption. The fundamental problem is that the state rules its citizens rather then serving them. The second is that the social spending in areas such as health care and education needs to be made more effective so that it benefits the truly needy, rather than mainly the well-off. Third, the tax system needs adopting a new liberal tax code, reducing taxes, improving the financial sector. As for foreign affairs, the most important for Ukraine today is the accession to WTO.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: We have already heard here that we did not know exactly who will become the new president, and prepared our proposals. But our commission has benefited that V.Yushchenko was elected, as his ideology is closer to ours than that of V.Yanukovych. I would like to compare the current situation with that when Yushchenko was elected the PM in 2001. His government took several decisive steps, which caused the economic growth. The current situation needs the similar spurts. So far the society was skeptic about the social and economic reforms, they were objects, not subjects. Our measures aim to rise the confidence in the reforms, creating new factors of the growth, That is why we called our document the "New Wave"

[Question] :: Do you really believe that this year Ukraine will enter WTO?

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: As far as I know Ukraine is on the final stage of its entering WTO. Technologically, by its schedule Ukraine has an opportunity to enter. The previous government dragged this process. We need only a political will to do it.

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: There are two moments to be completed: the law on the intellectual property must be adopted, and the land sale must be allowed. President Yushchenko can easily do that. Ukraine has to do very little to enter WTO. This is very important for Ukraine to defend its position at the export market, which is far easier when a country is a WTO member.

[Question] :: Which will be the destiny of the privatized enterprises, which is your opinion about the Kryvorozhstal privatization?

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: There will be no serious changes in the privatization. The economic growth took place due to the sale of some 100 000 objects, which allowed the growth of the middle class, which came out at Maydan (the scene of the Orange Revolution). If the privatization is reconsidered, it will have a form of negotiations, and not legal proceedings, just to return the sums, which were not paid on transactions. I think, this is our common wish not to disturb the economics.

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: We agree with the words of Mr.Paskhaver. I'd like to add that we have to speed up the privatization in the country, and to finish it. We have to avoid monopolies. The experience of western European countries indicates that it opens the way to investments, creating sound competitiveness.

[Question] :: Does Yushchenko know about your proposals?

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: As far as I know we plan to meet with all the leading members of his team. Our previous meetings showed their positive attitude to our initiative.

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: I can say that we met with Yulia Tymoshenko, Yuri Pinzenyk, Yuri Yekhanurov, A.Kinakh, we are about to meet with P.Poroshenko. We are due to meet with all members of Yushchenko's team, and all of them have a very good attitude to us, because they understand what we do. Our project helps them very much. We initiated this project because we understood that this would be a very good chance for reforms. We would like to help the work of the new government.

[Question] :: Have you ever worked out any similar recommendations for leaders of other countries?

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: UNDP works in 31 countries, we are working with them in very different areas. During the whole years that I have been in UN, this is the best document that we have ever produced. It includes recommendations for economic, social, other spheres. This is built on the experience of other developed countries. This is something I think is very appropriate for Ukraine. I hope this will lead to a sequence of successful reforms. We are hopeful that we manage to assist the Ukraine government. Ukraine has all the attributes to become the most prosperous European country. Now this is really a historical moment for you.

[Question] :: What is the origin of the name "Blue Ribbon Commission"?

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: At the begging of the Hungarian transition, a similar commission was set up to help Hungary. It depends on you President and PM in what way we will collaborate. UNDP is going to be guided by the will of the President and the government in what form we are going to collaborate. The blue ribbon symbolizes a very distinguished group of exerts. The blue ribbon is the first prize of the first quality

[Question] :: Can you determine the term of your program?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: The best of all would be to implement this program within the next year. For instance, the judicial reform must be initiated this year. Who knows when it would finish? This proposal is just to help the new government in its work.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: The politics is a signal for the society, on which the trust of the society to the government is based. If the society sees that serious steps are taken, this will increase the confidence in the society.

[Stenogram]:: I think that if all these reforms are implemented, I think that in some five years we will need the advice of Ukraine

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: I'm not an expert in the political reform. I have heard that Prosecutor General has too much rights, and the speaker has too many rights, with the President being deprived of his authorities. I'm not an expert in this field to discuss details. The general trend in the parliamentary system - to pass to proportional election, this is a good idea for reducing the number of large businessmen in the parliament. It can be compared with the American Senate of 1980ies, when it was called "Club of Millionaires". The best way to avoid this is to make a proportional system.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: A political reform is a constant process in many countries. I like the political reform to emerge in a process of conflict of political process participants, which gives it a real spurt.

[Question] :: Which are your recommendations to the power generating sphere?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: As for the power-generating policy, we did not write recommendations to different branches of economics. The main principle is the transparency. The gas consortium of Ukraine and Russia is not transparent, this is inadmissible. Earlier the largest problem was the payments for energy. The third problem in this sphere is the coal industry. My view is to liberalize prices, to privatize coal mines. But this is a radical view, I did not propose this to the commission.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: As for power-generating sphere, our report includes a chapter stating out the relationships between the state and large companies, to make more independent the state policy from their influence.

[Stenogram] :: You said about signals of trust to the society, but one of Yushchenko's projects proposed total revising of privatized objects.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: Yushchenko's latest statements clearly show that at present no revising of privatization is planned.

[Question] :: You propose to increase the pension age, to launch payment for health services, other social measures, which are likely to be unpopular among the population. Do you think Yushchenko would dare do that? Which is your forecast of economic growth for the next year?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: We propose to transfer to the state insurance of health. The current financing of hospitals, beds in hospitals, is not rational. This was common practice in USSR. Little has changed in Ukraine in this sphere since that time. We propose that the demand of citizens is important, we propose to allocate more funds for policlinics and large hospitals. This is an issue of economic efficiency. We do not propose to change the sum channeled for health in Ukraine. As for the economic growth, we were not probing into this issue, but Ukraine must have a growth of some 8%. We can see a huge region from China to Ukraine, where this 8% growth has become normal. I can forecast 8-9% economic growth for Ukraine in the next ten years. It's hard to say what will happen this year, as Ukraine really depends on the world conjuncture. Ukraine is not a WTO member, and cannot defend the access to its export markets. Another difficult issue is that the National bank and the government in September of the last year was busy with populism, rather than economic policy.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: The issue of unpopular measures is of principle for me. These measures are aimed at long-term changes. The most important is that these reforms may be conducted by only that government which enjoys the trust of the population.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: This is a very long-term process. They must begin these reforms. Our orange revolution is based on the middle class, interested in the changes. If we have such an active middle class, we will obtain a different distribution of forces in the parliament in 2006.

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: One should not be a populist, but should be a reformer. If anybody begins with populism, later the next government must be more radical to improve that.

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: If the President does not show himself as a reformer, it will become clear by Sept of 2005. At present many politicians, economists, agree that much must be done.

[Question] :: How will the economic growth will depend on your recommendations?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: 100 factors influence the economic growth, that is why this is impossible to predict. We do not know what resolves the economic growth.

[Question] :: The issue of WTO. What’s about the agreements on SES with Russia? Earlier we understood that the old Europe did not support us, what’s about the new Europe? Can you name the politician who will better implement the reform?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: As for the WTO, this is important. The agreement on the free trade was concluded between CIS countries long ago. But this agreement was not working, and the free trade between CIS countries will be able to function really after their entrance into the WTO. SES is not necessary at all, this is just a political project for Ukrainian presidential election, which has finished. As for ten thousands of agreements, signed on SES, this is the problem which must be solved by the new government at once. The CIS story is full with bad-working projects such as a customs union, etc. As for EU, being a European, I may say that a country, fulfilling Copenhagen provisions, cannot be left outside the EU for a long time. I think Ukraine will enter EU in some 15-20 years. Ukraine has a bigger economic growth now than the EU countries.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: Experts may advice about the policy, but not about politicians. It’s clear enough that Yushchenko better understands who will solve the current problems. I do not think that we can recommend any candidacies.

[Question] :: Health is the sphere which is the most non-reformed in Ukraine. Which is the model that you propose to Ukraine? In Russia, this system was launched 15 years ago.

[Mr. Oleksander Paskhaver] :: We agree with you that this is the most pressing problem in Ukraine. We should understand that during some ten years we will remain a poor country, we should take this into account. More than that, the population got used to the Soviet system. The transition to a new system will not be prompt.

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: We propose to pass to a state insurance system, which proved its efficiency in many European countries. If there is a state financing, it's better to make it not centralized.

[Mr. Kalman Mizsei] :: The most important part of any post communist countries reforms is that such a complex of services was provided. One has to realize that critics of reforms will always be. In our particular case, the state health system has been erupted with corruption. This is a very profoundly erupted system. None of the post-communist countries has reformed the health system. They very often appoint a doctor to the seat of the Minister of Health, who does not reform anything.

[Question] :: In the end of the last year, EU leaders commissioned Solana to work out several measures to collaborate with Ukraine. Which steps of EU would be good for development of Ukraine?

[Mr. Anders Aslund] :: I think EU will have an absolutely different attitude to Ukraine this year. EU is a caravan, which is moving very slowly, but it is moving all the time. I think the most important for Ukraine is to enter WTO, and to ask an agreement for free trade with EU, to obtain facilitation of visas, this is possible partly on the bilateral bases. The second is the exchange in education. Ukraine does not recognize doctors of sciences of European countries or America, only Ukrainian professors may teach in Ukrainian universities. Upon entering WTO this must change.

[Stenogram] :: Thank you very much

Blue Ribbon Commission Proposes “New Wave” of Reform for Ukraine UN-Sponsored Report Provides New President with Policy Blueprint

The outcome of Ukraine’s presidential elections has created an opportunity for dramatic change in the way the country is governed. Anticipating this possibility, a Blue Ribbon Commission composed of leading international and Ukrainian experts has drafted a report providing over a hundred specific policy recommendations to the new President. The authors of the report urge the new administration to undertake a sweeping “new wave” of reform, with the aim of recasting relations between state and society, sustaining current high rates of growth, and broadening the reach of prosperity. The report will be presented to the team of the President elect and publicized widely among policy makers, business leaders, and journalists, both in Ukraine and abroad.

The report identifies five key areas for reform. First, and most urgent, is political reform. The fundamental problem in Ukraine, as in other postcommunist countries, is that the state rules its citizens, rather than serving them. The relationship between state and citizens must change, the report concludes. To win the confidence of its citizens, the state machinery must become efficient through real control by society and law. Second, social spending in areas such as health care and education needs to be made more effective so that it benefits the truly needy, rather than mainly the well-off, as is now the case. Third, the tax system and the legal foundations of the financial system need to be overhauled so that they work to stimulate economic growth. Fourth, a clear line must be drawn between the state and private enterprise, so that property rights are fully guaranteed. Fifth, integration into the world economy must be facilitated through early accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and closer integration with the European Union (EU).

The report is designed to be a hands-on document of genuine practical use to the new administration in Ukraine, with most measures designed for enactment within the new President’s first year in office. Of the report’s many specific policy recommendations, the Blue Ribbon Commission has identified the following 12 as the most urgent:

1. Enact an administrative reform based on the principles of accountability, transparency, and professionalism, and enshrining the rights of ordinary citizens;

2. Reform the judicial system to make judges independent and impartial, and to make the court administration more efficient;

3. Enact a territorial-administrative reform, improving the delivery of public services by devolving power and resources to regional and local bodies;

4. Introduce mandatory public medical insurance, using a multi-level insurance-based approach for financing that provides for competition among care providers;

EMBARGO UNTIL 12 January, 12:00 GMT

5. Enact a liberal tax code that reduces the number of taxes, lowers tax rates, eliminates exemptions, and eliminates competing revenue services;

6. Reduce public expenditures substantially by eliminating non-essential and harmful spending (such as enterprise subsidies) and target social benefits to the truly needy;

7. Improve corporate legislation (and pass a modern law on joint-stock companies), by enacting rules to introduce ownership transparency and protect minority shareholders;

8. To eliminate conflict between two contradictory legislative frameworks, abolish the anachronistic Economic Code and develop the market-oriented Civil Code;

9. Create functioning property markets by ending the moratorium on the sale of agricultural land and developing a unified property register;

10. Create a level playing field for economic activity by abolishing regulatory discrimination and subsidies and halting state intervention in pricing and trade;

11. Join the WTO in 2005; and

12. Make Ukraine’s “European Choice” a reality by adopting European legal standards and forging an initial action plan with the EU that paves the way to a free trade agreement and makes future membership of the EU a real opportunity.

“We recommend this report as a practical checklist of ‘second wave’ political and economic reforms—not just for Ukraine, but also for many other former Soviet countries where recent spurts of economic growth have not been matched by the far-reaching structural reforms needed to secure democratic governance and combat poverty,” said Kalman Mizsei, the UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator who helped create the Blue Ribbon Commission and served as a member.

The Blue Ribbon Commission, formed in July 2004, was co-chaired by Anders Åslund, Director of the Russian & Eurasian Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., and Oleksandr Paskhaver, President of the Kyiv-based Center of Economic Development. Other commission members included Iryna Akimova, Dan Bilak, Ihor Burakovsky, Oleksandr Chalyi, Keith Crane, Marek Dabrowski, Adrian Karatnytcky, Ihor Koliushko, Oleksandra Kuzhel, Dmytro Leonov, Georges de Menil, Vira Nanivska, Jerzy Osiatynski, Oleksandr Rohozynsky, Oleksandr Shevtsov, and Ben Slay. UNDP’s office in Ukraine provided the funding for the project, but the Blue Ribbon Commission enjoyed full freedom in defining recommendations and drafting the report.

Legal delay game continues

( AP via Kyiv Post )

Representatives of losing Ukrainian presidential candidate Viktor Yanukovych said Jan. 13 they were readying a new appeal of the election results, a move they have delayed repeatedly in an apparent attempt to delay winner Viktor Yushchenko's assumption of office. ... ( more )

Donetsk City Council sues Yanukovych supporters

( Obozrevatel )

The Donetsk City Council submitted a suit on Jan 10 with the demand that the organizers of the protests pull down the tent city erected in the center of Donetsk, the Deputy Chairman on Internal Affairs, Anatoliy Romanov, reported.

<>Romanov also stated that there is no judgement on the suit yet, though it is under consideration. “I have my whole department there (in court),” Romanov stated. As the City Mayor of Donetsk, Oleksandr Lukyanchenko, reported at a press conference on Jan 11, the representatives of the Progressive Socialist Party submitted a request on holding the action on Jan 10, but a written refusal was given to them. Earlier, the Donetsk City Council prohibited the installation of tents and erection of tent cities in the city.

In particular, the deputies made amendments to Provision 12 of the resolution “On the approval of the rules of dislocation of architecture forms on the territory of Donetsk” at an extraordinary session of the City Council on Nov 24.

The supporters of the presidential candidate and leader of the Party of Regions, Viktor Yanukovych, who support the Progressive Socialist Party, installed nine tents in the center of Donetsk on the square of Lenin as part of their “To victory with Yanukovych” protests.

( source )

Supreme Court has banned publication of Election Commission report declaring Yushchenko winner of the election

( Gromadske radio )

Ukraine’s Supreme Court has banned publication in The Holos Ukrayiny and The Government Messenger, Verkhovna Rada and government official newspapers, of a Central Election Commission report declaring Viktor Yushchenko winner of the presidential election, the Ukrainian News reports.

The ban will be effective pending the consideration by SC of an appeal by Viktor Yanukovych, the also-ran candidate, who claims the vote has been rigged.

( source )

Our Ukraine demands that Kuchma should stop staff appointments

( LIGA Business Inform via Obozrevatel )

The Our Ukraine faction demands that the current President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, should signing edicts on staff appointments. Member of the Our Ukraine faction Mykola Tomenko stated this from the parliamentary rostrum on Wednesday, a LIGABusinessInform correspondent reports.

According to Tomenko, during the last two days of 2004 Leonid Kuchma signed more than a hundred edicts and appointed dozens of people to posts. He stated that “He didn’t work this actively during his 10 years of presidency”.

Tomenko believes that Kuchma and the head of his Administration, Viktor Madvedchuk, are irresponsible by appointing people to posts for several weeks.

Tomenko also stated that after the new President comes to office an analysis of the work of officials “who live today as if it were their last day” will be conducted by law enforcement bodies.

Mykola Tomenko also stressed that in connection with the delay of publishing the results of the presidential elections, Leonid Kuchma and his team are fully responsible for everything happening in the country at this time.

( source )