[Ohio UZO News] FT; KP; OSCE Interim Ukraine Elections Report; IFJ Gongadze; DC

[Deychak, Orest]

Financial Times

Russia to help analyse toxin used in poisoning of Yushchenko

By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev 

Published: September 13 2007 

Russia has agreed to provide access to its laboratories as part of the
investigation into the poisoning of the Ukrainian president with dioxin
during Ukraine's 2004 election campaign.

Ukraine's general prosecutor's office announced yesterday that Russian
counterparts had agreed jointly to analyse Russian-made dioxin in order
to compare it with that used to poison Viktor Yushchenko when he was a
presidential candidate.

The three-year investigation came back into the spotlight this week
after Mr Yushchenko accused Moscow of not providing key suspects and
evidence he believed were necessary to solve the case. Earlier this week
Russia's top diplomat in Kiev, Viktor Chernomyrdin, expressed dismay at
Mr Yushchenko's comments and signalled that Moscow would not co-operate.

The announcement yesterday that Russian prosecutors were ready to
co-operate came as a surprise.

The heightened interest in the politically-sensitive poisoning case
comes weeks ahead of snap parliamentary elections in which allies of Mr
Yushchenko are vying to oust the governing coalition of prime minister
Viktor Yanukovich, the Moscow-backed candidate in 2004.

In recent interviews, Mr Yushchenko said Ukrainian investigators were
close to cracking the poisoning case but needed co-operation from
Moscow.

"The key problem in the dynamics of this investigation lies in the fact
that the three individuals that were key organisers of this poisoning
today are in Russia. And the Russian side has not handed them over," Mr
Yushchenko said in a Financial Times interview on September 7.

Ukraine's prosecutor's office has appealed for assis-tance to the
Russian side twice since December 2006. Mr Yushchenko said he personally
discussed the matter with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. Until
yesterday, the Russian side showed no intention of co-operating. It
remains un-clear if Moscow will hand over the three suspects - two
Ukrainians and one Russian - whom Kiev officials suspect of carrying out
thepoisoning.

Mr Yushchenko said tests from labs in western countries that produce
dioxin had been received to compare with those found in his blood and
tissues. Samples from Russian labs could produce a match, informed
sources in Ukraine said.

On Tuesday, Mr Chernomyrdin expressed alarm regarding allegations of his
country's failure to co-operate. "Why didn't they ask, make requests? I
just don't understand," he said.

Kyiv Post

Nation 


NGO: vote to be dirtier than in 2006


by Stephen Bandera, Kyiv Post Editor
Sep 12 2007

The head of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine Ihor Popov said that
these elections will be "dirtier" than last year's vote. 

The "cleanliness of the 2006 elections was a social requirement," he
said at a press conference in Odessa on Sept. 6.

"In 2006, President Viktor Yushchenko was very interested in showing the
world that we are capable of conducting honest elections, that he could
have been willing to sacrifice their result," according to the UNIAN
report.

"The result will be paramount [in the] current elections," he said. "To
achieve the result, the election participants will use all of their
capabilities."

Popov predicted that "bought votes" would be worth up to Hr 100 ($20) on
election day. He said that no more than 50,000 votes would be bought on
Sept. 30; any more "will be very visible." Fifty thousand votes
represent approximately 0.2 percent in the final count.

Popov also predicted that any political party unhappy with the
vote-tallying process "will create a scenario of protesting election
results, even revolutionary action."

"Further escalation of societal tension can lead to direct action of the
losing side that does not recognize defeat and use all resources to
prove it is right," said Popov. He also pointed to shortcomings in
electoral law: A losing party can "nullify" its list and force new
parliamentary elections.

Television favoritism 

Last month the Party of Regions, headed by Prime Minister Viktor
Yanukovych, led all political parties in the number of campaign ads on
national television, while Yulia Tymoshenko's Byut bloc spent the most
time advertising on the airwaves. Ten national channels were monitored
by the Academy of Ukrainian Press Aug. 20-25. 

More than 1,000 ads were reviewed in the five-day period last month,
representing 62,700 seconds, or more than 17 hours of airtime. The
monitoring showed that 68 percent of ads were openly campaign-related -
15 percent less than recorded a month prior to last year's elections.
The more recent findings showed nearly a third of all ads were
"partially hidden or anonymous." More than 7 percent of ads fell to "an
anonymous subject of the electoral process."

The study found that more than 25 percent of election-related ads in the
course of five days were aired by Regions. Byut led the airwaves in
terms of total time with 23.5 percent. The Our Ukraine-People's
Self-Defense (OUPSD) bloc loyal to President Yushchenko followed
closely.

Former parliament speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn's bloc was more aggressive in
its television advertising than the Socialists, President Yushchenko and
the Communists.

Some channels displayed favoritism. Television and radio company
Ukrayina - part of Regions' sponsor Rinat Akhmetov's media holdings - is
only airing Regions' advertisements. Seventy percent of all political
ads on the Donetsk-rooted NTN channel were from Regions, while the STB
television channel did not air any Regions ads.

The study found Byut concentrating on channels like STB and leading in
total airtime on all channels except Ukrayina, NTN and the nation's
leader Inter. OUPSD's television campaign was more balanced across all
channels.

 Paper: $5 million musicians

The Delo newspaper reported on Sept. 7 that Ukrainian performers stand
to make $5 million from political parties during the election campaign. 

The paper reported that four entertainers appearing at concerts
sponsored by Regions stand to make the most: from $10,000-30,000 per
concert. Acts paid for by OUPSD earn up to $10,000. The paper noted six
bands and singers who are on tour for OUPSD. 

Byut, meanwhile, is targeting youth and Ukrainian-language audiences
with smaller but numerous concerts across the country. Folk voice icon
Nina Matvienko told Delo that she earns a little more than her monthly
pension from Byut for her performances, according to the report

 

OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights
Election Observation Mission
Ukraine
Pre-term Parliamentary Elections 2007

INTERIM REPORT 1

20 August-4 September 2007

 

Executive Summary

 

* The President of Ukraine called pre-term parliamentary elections for
30 September 2007. The 450 seats in Parliament will be contested in one
nationwide constituency, with mandates allocated proportionally among
parties / blocs which pass a three-per cent threshold. The candidate
lists of 20 political parties / blocs have been registered.

 

* The legal framework generally provides a solid basis for the conduct
of democratic elections; however, an exercise of political will by all
stakeholders is required to ensure proper implementation. Some recent
amendments to the Parliamentary Election Law (PEL) raise concerns, in
particular provisions on voting by homebound citizens (mobile voting),
the abolition of absentee voting, and the compilation of voter lists.

 

* The elections will be administered by a three-tiered election
administration: the Central Election Commission (CEC), 225 District
Election Commissions (DECs), and over 34,000 Precinct Election
Commissions (PECs). The CEC has thus far managed the process in an
efficient manner; however, many parties perceive it to be overly
politicized.

 

* Voter lists are being compiled by 679 Working Groups (WGs), based on
the 2006 voter lists and information from local authorities and State
agencies. WGs appear well-organized and professional.

 

* Data collection of citizens crossing the state border, in order to
remove from voter lists the names of those eligible voters who have left
the country, has raised concerns over issues of legality, possible
disenfranchisement, as well as to its practical implementation. The
respective government resolution is being challenged in the
Constitutional Court.

 

* The election campaign was quick off the mark, with moderate levels of
campaigning. The campaign has thus far proceeded in a calm and unimpeded
manner. The OSCE/ODIHR EOM has received eight reports of campaigning by
state or local government officials who are not candidates, and two
reports of material inducements to possibly influence voter choice under
the guise of charitable work.

 

* Some 20 formal complaints have been filed with the CEC, none of which
have been upheld. Administrative courts have adjudicated over 39 cases.
The majority of CEC decisions challenged in court were overturned,
including registration of candidate lists.

 

* Campaign developments have thus far received fairly broad media
coverage. A few recent cases of violence or intimidation targeting
journalists have been reported.

 

* The CEC has registered 12 domestic and six international organizations
as election observers

 

For complete report, see:
http://www.osce.org/documents/html/pdftohtml/26213_en.pdf.html

 

Ukraine OSCE Election Observation Mission information:
http://www.osce.org/odihr-elections/item_12_25904.html

 

International Federation of Journalists

September 12, 2007

IFJ Condemns Ukraine Government "Sabotage" in Investigation of
Journalist Gongadze's Murder

 

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) today launched in Kiev
its third report on the investigation of the murder of Ukrainian
journalist Georgy Gongadze. The report was launched in advance of the
seventh anniversary of his death on September 16th. 

The case of Gongadze, the founding editor of the Ukrainska Pravda web
site, concerns above all the impunity of those in power who sanction
violence and intimidation against journalists 

"Seven years after the assassination of Gongadze, this new report
provides once again ample evidence that, despite prima facie evidence
that senior politicians colluded in harming him, the Ukranian government
continues to frustrate and sabotage investigations of the murder," said
IFJ President Jim Boumelha at the launch. 

The report is called "Official Obstruction is Rewarded" - a reference to
president Yushchenko's award earlier this year to former general
prosecutor Mikhail Potebenko of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise.
It was Potebenko to whom Gongadze appealed for help when he realised he
was being followed, and Potebenko who ignored him. 

The report is being published by the International Federation of
Journalists, the Institute of Mass Information of Ukraine, the National
Union of Journalists of the UK and Ireland and the Gongadze Foundation,
who have monitored the case jointly. 

"That the Ukrainian president has presented Potebenko with a state
honour epitomises the official indifference, and even opposition, to
dealing with issues raised by the case," Boumelha said. "If there was
ever a political will to find the instigators of Gongadze's murder, it
appears that it has now been overtaken by the efforts of members of the
political establishment to protect each other, and each other's
reputations. It is a scandalous cover-up that casts a shadow over
democracy in the Ukraine." 

The IFJ says that continued political interference and pressure have
played a major part in these substantial setbacks. It is now quite clear
that the opportunity provided by the political changes in the Ukraine
following the "Orange revolution" has been missed. 

The report made detailed recommendations addressed to the president and
government of Ukraine, to the general prosecutor and to the Council of
Europe. Journalists' organisations are asked to continue the pressure on
the Ukrainian government by sending protest to coincide with the
anniversary of the murder to President Victor Yushchenko at
press at stpu.gov.ua <mailto:press at stpu.gov.ua>  or fax him on
38044255-72-76.

 

Full Report:  http://www.ifj.org/pdfs/Gongadze-report120907.pdf

 

House of Representatives

Washington, DC  20515

 

Support Resolution on Ukraine Elections

 

Cosponsor H. Con. Res 189: Urging all sides to the political crisis in
Ukraine to abide by the May 27, 2007 agreement which calls for a new
round of parliamentary elections on September 30, 2007, and to ensure a
free a fair, transparent democratic system in Ukraine based on the rule
of law 

 

 Cosponsors:  Louise Slaughter, Doris Matsui, Michael McNulty, Jim
Gerlach, Sander Levin, Darrell Issa, Corrine Brown, Marcy Kaptur, Danny
Davis, Joseph Crowley, Bill Pascrell   

 

Dear Colleague:

 

Please join me in supporting democratic processes and the rule of law in
Ukraine by cosponsoring H. Con. Res. 189, which urges all sides to abide
by the agreement signed by Ukraine's leadership on May 27, providing for
a new round or parliamentary elections to be held on September 30, and
encouraging the holding of these elections in a free, fair and
transparent manner in keeping with Ukraine's commitments as a
participating State of the Organizations for Security and Cooperation in
Europe  (OSCE) . This resolution is a demonstration of Congress'
interest, concern, and support for Ukraine as that strategically
important country perseveres towards full democracy and the rule of law.


 

A political dispute between Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko and
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich -- rooted in weak constitutional
delineations of their powers -- resulted in a political crisis in April
and May.  After weeks of tense standoff,  Yushchenko, Yanukovich and
Parliamentary Speaker Oleksandr Moroz reached an agreement calling for
early elections to be held on September 30. 

 

Ukraine has made important progress since the 2004 Orange Revolution,
but its democratic institutions and the rule of law are still emerging
and lack in their ability to safeguard democratic gains.  It is
important for the September 30 elections to be held in a free, fair,
open and transparent manner -- following the pattern of Ukraine's last
two elections.  While democratic elections will not, in and of
themselves, resolve all of the challenges facing Ukraine in
strengthening the rule of law and delineating power among branches of
government, they are a critical stepping-stone in Ukraine's democratic
development.  

 

Democratic consolidation and the rule of law will enhance Ukraine's
aspirations for full integration with the West and, importantly, serve
as a positive model for other former Soviet countries, many of whom are
in the grip of authoritarianism. 

   

Please have your staff contact Orest Deychakiwsky at the Helsinki
Commission at 5-1901 or e-mail orest.deychak at mail.house.gov regarding
cosponsorship.

 

Below please find the text of the resolution. 

 

Sincerely,

                                                            /s/

Alcee L. Hastings

 

Note:  Constituents may contact their individual Representatives in
Congress and simply urge that they cosponsor H. Con. Res.189 on the
Ukrainian elections.  Below please find a link for information on how to
easily contact your Representative -- even if you do not know his or her
name:  http://www.house.gov/writerep/ <http://www.house.gov/writerep/> 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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