A consumer rights watchdog wants McDonald’s to list the contents of its hamburgers and it has gone to court to see that the fast-food chain does so.
The Consumer Rights Protection Society filed a lawsuit against the fast-food empire demanding it disclose all its ingredients information to customers, especially since it enjoys a lower tax rate applicable to stores and not the usual tax for restaurants.
“The McDonald’s restaurant chain deliberately violates the Russian consumer rights legislation, profiting twice from the privileged situation created by Moscow’s Arbitration Court decision,” an announcement on the organization’s website read.
McDonald’s milkshakes shouldn’t mention milk in their name, since a considerable amount of vegetable oil was contained in the product, a CRPS-backed investigation claimed.
If the court finds CRPS’ claims justified, the fast food chain will have to provide full information on ingredients, product weight and the standards it was made in accordance with.
And the list of requirement should be the same as for regular store-bought food, since McDonald’s has been “recognized as a grocery chain” by courts, the watchdog claims.
After an arbitration court’s ruling from July 2011, some of McDonald’s products are being sold as regular food commodities, which allows the company to pay VAT at the rate of 10 percent. The regular VAT rate for restaurants is 18 percent.
The McDonald’s says the lower tax rate applies only to certain products listed in respective government documents, according to a press-release published on its official website.
However, there is little chance that the corporation will lose the case. The tax scheme is absolutely legal – it is not widely used only because smaller food chains don’t have the resources to implement it given the modest revenue it will bring given their turnover, Yelena Perepelitsina, director general at consulting company Restcon, told Kommersant. And lawyer Alina Toporina from law firm Yukov, Khrenov i Partnyory believes that CRPS might have difficulties proving that one the world’s most famous chains operates entirely as a grocery store.
Back in 2007, the CRPS tried to force McDonald’s to change its take-outs scheme but courts took the side of the company.
McDonald’s representatives said they didn’t receive any notification of the lawsuit and it was also absent in the court’s database, according to an official statement sent to The Moscow News. A staff member of the Tverskoi court, where the CRPS said the lawsuit had been submitted, confirmed to Vedomosti that the document has been filed.
The company also added that information on their products’ energy and nutrition value is provided and only high quality ingredients are used. And the milkshakes frowned upon by the CRPS are produced according to a technology certified by the Russian branch of Europe’s biggest milk product manufacturer Ehrmann.
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov
Billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov is close to getting into the presidential race after announcing that his campaign has gathered the necessary 2 million signatures to register with the Central Election Commission. Yet in spite of getting more campaign donations than Putin, his political prospects remain unclear.
The lanky businessman towered over supporters and journalists who crowded into his reception office Friday hoping for a chance to talk, but some people came away hoping for more certainty – did the oligarch even stand a chance against the far more popular Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has effectively been running the country since 2000?
“Prokhorov doesn’t have enough faith in himself,” Adam Kungayev, a pensioner who had signed up to support of Prokhorov’s campaign, told The Moscow News. “If he did, he could win the presidential race.”
Just 3 percent of respondents said they would vote for Prokhorov in a presidential election according to the latest Levada poll released Jan. 12, where Putin led with 42 percent.
But Prokhorov – who has a predominantly business-oriented middle-class support base and has even called for a longer working week in the past – can boast one area where he’s well ahead of Putin: Campaign donations.
In that arena, the billionaire beats the Prime Minister four to one – with over 400 million rubles ($13.3 million) collected against Putin’s 102.5 million ($3.4 million), Vedomosti reported Friday. If Prokhorov were campaigning in the U.S., that would give him a key edge. But in Russia, where state-owned television has been accused of leaning toward coverage of Putin and his United Russia party, that’s just not the case.
Prokhorov’s campaign managers dismissed the achievement. “That’s an exceedingly small sum for a campaign,” Anton Krasovsky, the TV anchor who heads Prokhorov’s campaign staff, said during Friday’s meeting.
Prokhorov was ousted as leader of the pro-business Right Cause party by pro-Kremlin forces in September, after just three months in the job, and is now determined to forge a successful party for Russia’s burgeoning middle class. Prokhorov, who accused other opposition leaders of being longtime “Kremlin agents” in a Monday article for RBC Daily, pledged to create an independent party when announcing his presidential bid on Dec. 12.
He may have some help from longtime Putin ally and former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who posted on his Twitter page Friday that he was holding “consultations on joining democratic and liberal forces and creating a new party.”
Prokhorov’s staff confirmed that talks with Kudrin were taking place.“Especially since the raid on Right Cause, it is crucial to create a party that’s not run from Staraya Ploshchad,” Krasovsky said, referring to the address of the presidential administration and underlining the need for full independence
But so far Prokhorov, who is widely seen as having the Kremlin’s blessing to run, has avoided open criticism of his opponent, Vladimir Putin.
“I think the slogan ‘Fire Putin’ is too radical,” Prokhorov told Radio Liberty on Friday.
Last week, Prokhorov called for evolution rather revolution in a column in The Guardian. Commenting that the age of managed democracy was “over,” he vowed to make free elections a priority.
To accusers who claim that his campaign is a Kremlin project, Prokhorov cheekily replied that that the Kremlin is his project instead. “I believe I have two opponents, Putin and [Communist Party head Gennady] Zyuganov. I will fight for second place – and for a second round of elections,” he was quoted by Radio Liberty as saying Friday.
Asked about the negotiations with Kudrin, and Kudrin’s de facto status as a mediator between the government and the opposition, Krasovsky, Prokhorov’s campaign manager, suggested that Kudrin’s connections could only be an asset.
“Why should [Kudrin’s closeness to Putin] be a bad thing? I’m for continuity,” Krasovsky said.
The lanky businessman towered over supporters and journalists who crowded into his reception office Friday hoping for a chance to talk, but some people came away hoping for more certainty – did the oligarch even stand a chance against the far more popular Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has effectively been running the country since 2000?
“Prokhorov doesn’t have enough faith in himself,” Adam Kungayev, a pensioner who had signed up to support of Prokhorov’s campaign, told The Moscow News. “If he did, he could win the presidential race.”
Just 3 percent of respondents said they would vote for Prokhorov in a presidential election according to the latest Levada poll released Jan. 12, where Putin led with 42 percent.
But Prokhorov – who has a predominantly business-oriented middle-class support base and has even called for a longer working week in the past – can boast one area where he’s well ahead of Putin: Campaign donations.
In that arena, the billionaire beats the Prime Minister four to one – with over 400 million rubles ($13.3 million) collected against Putin’s 102.5 million ($3.4 million), Vedomosti reported Friday. If Prokhorov were campaigning in the U.S., that would give him a key edge. But in Russia, where state-owned television has been accused of leaning toward coverage of Putin and his United Russia party, that’s just not the case.
Prokhorov’s campaign managers dismissed the achievement. “That’s an exceedingly small sum for a campaign,” Anton Krasovsky, the TV anchor who heads Prokhorov’s campaign staff, said during Friday’s meeting.
Prokhorov was ousted as leader of the pro-business Right Cause party by pro-Kremlin forces in September, after just three months in the job, and is now determined to forge a successful party for Russia’s burgeoning middle class. Prokhorov, who accused other opposition leaders of being longtime “Kremlin agents” in a Monday article for RBC Daily, pledged to create an independent party when announcing his presidential bid on Dec. 12.
He may have some help from longtime Putin ally and former Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, who posted on his Twitter page Friday that he was holding “consultations on joining democratic and liberal forces and creating a new party.”
Prokhorov’s staff confirmed that talks with Kudrin were taking place.“Especially since the raid on Right Cause, it is crucial to create a party that’s not run from Staraya Ploshchad,” Krasovsky said, referring to the address of the presidential administration and underlining the need for full independence
But so far Prokhorov, who is widely seen as having the Kremlin’s blessing to run, has avoided open criticism of his opponent, Vladimir Putin.
“I think the slogan ‘Fire Putin’ is too radical,” Prokhorov told Radio Liberty on Friday.
Last week, Prokhorov called for evolution rather revolution in a column in The Guardian. Commenting that the age of managed democracy was “over,” he vowed to make free elections a priority.
To accusers who claim that his campaign is a Kremlin project, Prokhorov cheekily replied that that the Kremlin is his project instead. “I believe I have two opponents, Putin and [Communist Party head Gennady] Zyuganov. I will fight for second place – and for a second round of elections,” he was quoted by Radio Liberty as saying Friday.
Asked about the negotiations with Kudrin, and Kudrin’s de facto status as a mediator between the government and the opposition, Krasovsky, Prokhorov’s campaign manager, suggested that Kudrin’s connections could only be an asset.
“Why should [Kudrin’s closeness to Putin] be a bad thing? I’m for continuity,” Krasovsky said.
The latest in the watch on Ukrainian democracy
2012 starts with a grim tone in Ukraine: Ukrainian democracy dropping in the ratings, Yulia Tymoshenko’s appeal overturned, state budget reduces social spending for dubious purposes and 90 percent of public protest banned.
The 2011 Democracy Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit holds Ukraine in 79th place out of 167 countries; a 12 rank drop from 2010. The index is based on indicators categorised into five key areas: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture. Ranked countries are rated from full democracies to flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
Ukraine’s 2010 and 2006 positions, 67th and 52nd respectively, placed Ukraine among the world’s flawed democracies. The 79th position on the current index means Ukraine is now a hybrid regime. Russia, though possessing a lower overall 2010 position of 107th, has experienced a drop in 2011 to 117th, which, although not as severe a fall as Ukraine’s 2011 result, secures Russia’s position in the authoritarian regimes category.
British experts have stated that support for democracy within the population has fallen in Ukraine as well as in 10 other Eastern European countries. Ukraine seems o have undone many of the democratic achievements brought about by the Orange Revolution, such as free elections, free mass media and an unprejudiced attitude among the authorities towards opposition. The sentencing and imprisonment of Ukrainian ex-Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko is considered an example of abusing the judicial system to promote political interests(2). If this trend continues Ukraine is bound join the category of authoritarian regimes along side Russia, Nigeria, Jordan, Morocco and Ethiopia.
People First Comment: Not only has Ukraine fallen 12 places in the 2011 Democracy Index, it is in the unenviable position of recording the 6th highest fall in all the 128 countries surveyed as the following table indicates.
Highest falls in democratic standards 2008 to 2010
Rank Country Fall Background
1 Madagascar 1.63 Military Coup
2 Iran 0.89 Authoritarian Islamic regime
3 Ethiopia 0.84 Civil war
4 Egypt 0.82 Regime now overthrown by public protest
5 Gambia 0.81 Authoritarian quasi military regime
6 Ukraine 0.67 Dysfunctional political system
It should also be noted that Ukraine had the highest fall in democratic standards in the whole of Eastern Europe and that includes Russia where the fall was only 0.22.
Deeper analysis of the report indicates that during this period some parts of the Ukrainian democratic system faired very well with the election process and pluralism ranking equal to that of the USA and civil liberties equal to that of Argentina which is one of the highest in South America, however in the three other categories of the functioning of government, political participation and political culture Ukraine scored badly and on par with Peru, Paraguay and Serbia.
This report is really a reflection of the former government rather than that of today so it is hardly surprising that the results have unfolded as they have bearing in mind the political chaos of the period. What will be interesting is next years ranking which will give a clear picture of the impact of the Viktor Yanukovych presidency on democracy in Ukraine as by current standards we can anticipate an even more impressive decline.
In the final week of 2011, Kyiv Appeal Court issued a decision to overturn the appeal against the sentence brought upon Yulia Tymoshenko. The imprisoned ex-Prime Minister is to continue serving a 7-year sentence for overseeing gas deals that lost the state Hr 1.5 billion (almost $200 million).
The decision by Kyiv Appeal Court has only strengthened criticism from Ukraine’s intellectual elite who have for some time chastised the authorities for allegedly destroying democracy, the foundations of justice and human rights as well as Ukraine’s hopes for European integration. On the delivery of the decision Yuliya Tymoshenko thanked her supporters in Ukraine and abroad. The following step in this case will be a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights that is preliminarily set for March 2012.
This final court decision in Tymoshenko's case has provoked a distinctly negative reaction from the international community. The U.S. Department of State immediately pronounced its disappointment with Tymoshenko's sentencing and the ongoing violations of the principles of democracy and supremacy of law in Ukraine. It also expressed hopes that the Ukrainian ex-prime minister would be released from prison and allowed to participate in the parliamentary elections in autumn 2012.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised the decisions taken by Ukrainian justice system, describing them as rash and not compliant with rights for defence. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also emphasized the defects of Ukrainian justice. Finally, the Ukrainian World Congress expressed its concerns with Tymoshenko's trial, specifically stating that it did not comply with international standards for justice and independence. Thus, ymoshenko's case remains one of the principal reasons for Ukraine's worsening international relations.
People First Comment: The decision to jail Tymoshenko must go down as one of the greatest political blunders of this century. In one stroke the presidential administration has totally destroyed the president’s entire national and international credibility and turned him and his administration into a pariah. In addition they have clearly demonstrated to the world at large that they are not going to take any notice of internationally recognised legal due process or the rule of law and that has now set the tone not only for this Presidency but also for the nation as a whole. The problem is that his administration would appear to neither care nor even notice as they continue to feed the President bad advice and irresponsible decision making.
The crazy part about the whole venture is that it was simply not necessary. He won the election, he was ahead in all the polls and Tymoshenko as leader of the opposition was floundering like a beached whale. All they needed to do was to maintain a level head and she would have destroyed herself without the President having to lift a finger. Now she is Europe’s most famous political prisoner, an accolade she hardly warrants.
It was only natural that the President might want to exact some sort of revenge after his humiliation after the Orange revolution but wiser heads should have prevailed. Somebody should have whispered in his ear that the only person who suffers as a result of such malice is the bearer. Instead they have consigned him to one of the darker periods of Ukrainian history.
On Dec. 28, President Victor Yanukovych signed the Ukrainian state budget for 2012. Budget revenue is fixed at Hr 332.8 billion ($41.7 billion) and budget expenditure at Hr 358 billion (44.8 billion) leaving an approximate budget deficit of Hr 25 billion ($3.1 billion).
But even representatives of the authorities severely criticise the government's financial plan for the current year.
Hanna Herman, the president’s adviser, states that the new budget is less transparent and even more conducive to corruption. For example, there is no separate expense item for students' stipends or development of the Ukrainian language. Experts, including a significant number of politicians, state that the current budget will require revision as soon as spring 2012 because it is not effective for Ukraine's development.
№ Expenses on bodies of state power(8) 2011 2012
1 Funding for State Executive Office Hr 1.051 billion ($131 million) Hr 1,403 billion ($176 million) – increased by $45 million (+32%)
2 Interior Ministry Hr 13,858 billion ($1,732 million) Hr 14,435 billion ($1,804 million) – increased by $72 million (+4.15%)
3 Security Service of Ukraine Hr 3,022 billion ($378 million) Hr 3,258 billion ($407.3 million – increased by $29.3 million (+7.75%)
4 Ministry of Defense Hr 13,689 billion ($1,711 billion) Hr 17,402 billion ($2,175 billion) – increased by $464 million (+27.11%)
5 Prosecutor General's Office Hr 2.3 billion ($286 million) Hr 2.5 billion ($313 million) – increased by $27 million (+9.4%)
While expenses on military and policing agencies, the president's administration, Rada and the government are increased, many important social expenses are being cut. Particularly, the Ministry of Social Policy will get only $6.7 billion, which is $1.15 billion less than in 2011 (-17.16%), the Ministry of Health will get Hr 7 billion ($880 million) while at the same time the authorities have allocated Hr 7.5 billion ($935 million) for Euro 2012. Increases in minimum wages and pensions will not cover the inflation rate. The budget for 2012 will inevitably cause a further increase in poverty in Ukraine, which in turn will not fail to result in mass protests and meetings.
People First Comment: According to this budget the Presidential administration is currently costing the country $482,192 per day to run… whilst some 70% of the nation is living in relative poverty and 12.3 million are living on less than $3 a day. That’s $14 million a month or is equal to the monthly salaries of approximately 122,223 state workers.
In this age of austerity and even taking into consideration all the ‘ants’ that toil daily in Bankova Street or tend the Presidential estate this would seem just a tad over the top. This budget would ease the suffering of some 160,730 people every single day and yet nobody in this government seems to care as they have cut social protection by $1.15 billion and want to spend more on ego building football matches than on the Health Service.
The Ministry of the Interior is costing almost $5 million a day, the SBU $1.12 million a day and the Ministry of Defence almost $6 million a day and that comes to a grand total $12.12 million a day and it achieves absolutely nothing for the nation or its people. Finally there is one ray of sunshine in that the General Prosecutor’s office budget has been increased to $857,534 per day so the public now have the right to expect at least some progress in the fight against corruption…
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Nina Karpachova has stated in her report that Ukrainian courts now forbid over 90% of protest actions, thus revoking the citizens' rights to the freedom of expression, association and assembly. According to the Ombudsman of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people long for open and direct dialogue with the authorities and demand that public opinion and public interests be taken into account; the authorities seem to think avoiding communication with the people is in their interests. This discredits the reforms, which are supposed to be doing the opposite of adding new limitations to human rights, as guaranteed by both the Constitution and more recent legislation.
To attract Ukrainian and international attention towards the violations of human rights the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union has once again awarded the “Golden Thistle” anti-prize to the most dangerous violators of human rights in Ukraine. Kyiv District Administrative Court received its “prize” for flagrant violation of the right to assembly, through multiple prohibitions of meetings and protest actions on Kyiv's central square Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Vice Prime Minister Serhiy Tihipko and Minister of Finance Fedir Yaroshenko won the nomination for illegal actions towards judicial authorities and disrespect to the institution of justice(10). Tongue-in-cheek though the awards may be they highlight just how badly respect for human rights at the highest level in Ukraine has degraded.
The 2011 Democracy Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit holds Ukraine in 79th place out of 167 countries; a 12 rank drop from 2010. The index is based on indicators categorised into five key areas: electoral process and pluralism, civil liberties, functioning of government, political participation and political culture. Ranked countries are rated from full democracies to flawed democracies, hybrid regimes and authoritarian regimes.
Ukraine’s 2010 and 2006 positions, 67th and 52nd respectively, placed Ukraine among the world’s flawed democracies. The 79th position on the current index means Ukraine is now a hybrid regime. Russia, though possessing a lower overall 2010 position of 107th, has experienced a drop in 2011 to 117th, which, although not as severe a fall as Ukraine’s 2011 result, secures Russia’s position in the authoritarian regimes category.
British experts have stated that support for democracy within the population has fallen in Ukraine as well as in 10 other Eastern European countries. Ukraine seems o have undone many of the democratic achievements brought about by the Orange Revolution, such as free elections, free mass media and an unprejudiced attitude among the authorities towards opposition. The sentencing and imprisonment of Ukrainian ex-Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko is considered an example of abusing the judicial system to promote political interests(2). If this trend continues Ukraine is bound join the category of authoritarian regimes along side Russia, Nigeria, Jordan, Morocco and Ethiopia.
People First Comment: Not only has Ukraine fallen 12 places in the 2011 Democracy Index, it is in the unenviable position of recording the 6th highest fall in all the 128 countries surveyed as the following table indicates.
Highest falls in democratic standards 2008 to 2010
Rank Country Fall Background
1 Madagascar 1.63 Military Coup
2 Iran 0.89 Authoritarian Islamic regime
3 Ethiopia 0.84 Civil war
4 Egypt 0.82 Regime now overthrown by public protest
5 Gambia 0.81 Authoritarian quasi military regime
6 Ukraine 0.67 Dysfunctional political system
It should also be noted that Ukraine had the highest fall in democratic standards in the whole of Eastern Europe and that includes Russia where the fall was only 0.22.
Deeper analysis of the report indicates that during this period some parts of the Ukrainian democratic system faired very well with the election process and pluralism ranking equal to that of the USA and civil liberties equal to that of Argentina which is one of the highest in South America, however in the three other categories of the functioning of government, political participation and political culture Ukraine scored badly and on par with Peru, Paraguay and Serbia.
This report is really a reflection of the former government rather than that of today so it is hardly surprising that the results have unfolded as they have bearing in mind the political chaos of the period. What will be interesting is next years ranking which will give a clear picture of the impact of the Viktor Yanukovych presidency on democracy in Ukraine as by current standards we can anticipate an even more impressive decline.
In the final week of 2011, Kyiv Appeal Court issued a decision to overturn the appeal against the sentence brought upon Yulia Tymoshenko. The imprisoned ex-Prime Minister is to continue serving a 7-year sentence for overseeing gas deals that lost the state Hr 1.5 billion (almost $200 million).
The decision by Kyiv Appeal Court has only strengthened criticism from Ukraine’s intellectual elite who have for some time chastised the authorities for allegedly destroying democracy, the foundations of justice and human rights as well as Ukraine’s hopes for European integration. On the delivery of the decision Yuliya Tymoshenko thanked her supporters in Ukraine and abroad. The following step in this case will be a hearing at the European Court of Human Rights that is preliminarily set for March 2012.
This final court decision in Tymoshenko's case has provoked a distinctly negative reaction from the international community. The U.S. Department of State immediately pronounced its disappointment with Tymoshenko's sentencing and the ongoing violations of the principles of democracy and supremacy of law in Ukraine. It also expressed hopes that the Ukrainian ex-prime minister would be released from prison and allowed to participate in the parliamentary elections in autumn 2012.
The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised the decisions taken by Ukrainian justice system, describing them as rash and not compliant with rights for defence. Catherine Ashton, High Representative of European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, also emphasized the defects of Ukrainian justice. Finally, the Ukrainian World Congress expressed its concerns with Tymoshenko's trial, specifically stating that it did not comply with international standards for justice and independence. Thus, ymoshenko's case remains one of the principal reasons for Ukraine's worsening international relations.
People First Comment: The decision to jail Tymoshenko must go down as one of the greatest political blunders of this century. In one stroke the presidential administration has totally destroyed the president’s entire national and international credibility and turned him and his administration into a pariah. In addition they have clearly demonstrated to the world at large that they are not going to take any notice of internationally recognised legal due process or the rule of law and that has now set the tone not only for this Presidency but also for the nation as a whole. The problem is that his administration would appear to neither care nor even notice as they continue to feed the President bad advice and irresponsible decision making.
The crazy part about the whole venture is that it was simply not necessary. He won the election, he was ahead in all the polls and Tymoshenko as leader of the opposition was floundering like a beached whale. All they needed to do was to maintain a level head and she would have destroyed herself without the President having to lift a finger. Now she is Europe’s most famous political prisoner, an accolade she hardly warrants.
It was only natural that the President might want to exact some sort of revenge after his humiliation after the Orange revolution but wiser heads should have prevailed. Somebody should have whispered in his ear that the only person who suffers as a result of such malice is the bearer. Instead they have consigned him to one of the darker periods of Ukrainian history.
On Dec. 28, President Victor Yanukovych signed the Ukrainian state budget for 2012. Budget revenue is fixed at Hr 332.8 billion ($41.7 billion) and budget expenditure at Hr 358 billion (44.8 billion) leaving an approximate budget deficit of Hr 25 billion ($3.1 billion).
But even representatives of the authorities severely criticise the government's financial plan for the current year.
Hanna Herman, the president’s adviser, states that the new budget is less transparent and even more conducive to corruption. For example, there is no separate expense item for students' stipends or development of the Ukrainian language. Experts, including a significant number of politicians, state that the current budget will require revision as soon as spring 2012 because it is not effective for Ukraine's development.
№ Expenses on bodies of state power(8) 2011 2012
1 Funding for State Executive Office Hr 1.051 billion ($131 million) Hr 1,403 billion ($176 million) – increased by $45 million (+32%)
2 Interior Ministry Hr 13,858 billion ($1,732 million) Hr 14,435 billion ($1,804 million) – increased by $72 million (+4.15%)
3 Security Service of Ukraine Hr 3,022 billion ($378 million) Hr 3,258 billion ($407.3 million – increased by $29.3 million (+7.75%)
4 Ministry of Defense Hr 13,689 billion ($1,711 billion) Hr 17,402 billion ($2,175 billion) – increased by $464 million (+27.11%)
5 Prosecutor General's Office Hr 2.3 billion ($286 million) Hr 2.5 billion ($313 million) – increased by $27 million (+9.4%)
While expenses on military and policing agencies, the president's administration, Rada and the government are increased, many important social expenses are being cut. Particularly, the Ministry of Social Policy will get only $6.7 billion, which is $1.15 billion less than in 2011 (-17.16%), the Ministry of Health will get Hr 7 billion ($880 million) while at the same time the authorities have allocated Hr 7.5 billion ($935 million) for Euro 2012. Increases in minimum wages and pensions will not cover the inflation rate. The budget for 2012 will inevitably cause a further increase in poverty in Ukraine, which in turn will not fail to result in mass protests and meetings.
People First Comment: According to this budget the Presidential administration is currently costing the country $482,192 per day to run… whilst some 70% of the nation is living in relative poverty and 12.3 million are living on less than $3 a day. That’s $14 million a month or is equal to the monthly salaries of approximately 122,223 state workers.
In this age of austerity and even taking into consideration all the ‘ants’ that toil daily in Bankova Street or tend the Presidential estate this would seem just a tad over the top. This budget would ease the suffering of some 160,730 people every single day and yet nobody in this government seems to care as they have cut social protection by $1.15 billion and want to spend more on ego building football matches than on the Health Service.
The Ministry of the Interior is costing almost $5 million a day, the SBU $1.12 million a day and the Ministry of Defence almost $6 million a day and that comes to a grand total $12.12 million a day and it achieves absolutely nothing for the nation or its people. Finally there is one ray of sunshine in that the General Prosecutor’s office budget has been increased to $857,534 per day so the public now have the right to expect at least some progress in the fight against corruption…
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Nina Karpachova has stated in her report that Ukrainian courts now forbid over 90% of protest actions, thus revoking the citizens' rights to the freedom of expression, association and assembly. According to the Ombudsman of Ukraine, the Ukrainian people long for open and direct dialogue with the authorities and demand that public opinion and public interests be taken into account; the authorities seem to think avoiding communication with the people is in their interests. This discredits the reforms, which are supposed to be doing the opposite of adding new limitations to human rights, as guaranteed by both the Constitution and more recent legislation.
To attract Ukrainian and international attention towards the violations of human rights the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union has once again awarded the “Golden Thistle” anti-prize to the most dangerous violators of human rights in Ukraine. Kyiv District Administrative Court received its “prize” for flagrant violation of the right to assembly, through multiple prohibitions of meetings and protest actions on Kyiv's central square Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Vice Prime Minister Serhiy Tihipko and Minister of Finance Fedir Yaroshenko won the nomination for illegal actions towards judicial authorities and disrespect to the institution of justice(10). Tongue-in-cheek though the awards may be they highlight just how badly respect for human rights at the highest level in Ukraine has degraded.
Turchynov: Tax officials removed Tymoshenko's medical card from private clinic
The State Tax Service has removed the medical card of former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko from the Medikom private clinic, where Tymoshenko has been treated for over ten years, the Batkivschyna Party has said.
"The State Tax Service withdrew from the medical establishment all of the materials connected with treatment of the various illnesses of Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko for over ten years," the first deputy head of the party, Oleksandr Turchynov, said during a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to him, the documents were withdrawn on Jan. 13, 2012.
Turchynov said that the clinic reported this in an answer to the deputy's request.
According to him, by such "demonstrative cynicism" the authorities are trying to falsify a criminal case against Tymoshenko, as well as information about her state of health.
"We only can forecast that it is not enough for them to falsify the criminal case. Probably they want to falsify medical cases, medical documents," he stressed.
Turchynov added that the Batkivschyna Party is planning to address international organizations on the violation of Tymoshenko's rights, in particular, the Doctors Without Borders organization.
On Oct. 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009.
Tymoshenko was put in a pre-trial detention center in Kyiv on Aug. 5, 2011. On Dec. 30, she was transferred to Kachanivska penal colony No. 54 in Kharkiv.
The Main Investigatory Department of the SBU is continuing to investigate a criminal case against Tymoshenko on an attempt to embezzle state funds of Ukraine in especially big amounts via passing to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine obligations of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) corporation before the Defense Ministry of Russia for $405.5 million.
Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court ordered the arrest of Tymoshenko under the UESU case. Because of this, Tymoshenko is being held in the pretrial detention center of the Kachanivska colony in Kharkiv and is not involved in community work.
"The State Tax Service withdrew from the medical establishment all of the materials connected with treatment of the various illnesses of Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko for over ten years," the first deputy head of the party, Oleksandr Turchynov, said during a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to him, the documents were withdrawn on Jan. 13, 2012.
Turchynov said that the clinic reported this in an answer to the deputy's request.
According to him, by such "demonstrative cynicism" the authorities are trying to falsify a criminal case against Tymoshenko, as well as information about her state of health.
"We only can forecast that it is not enough for them to falsify the criminal case. Probably they want to falsify medical cases, medical documents," he stressed.
Turchynov added that the Batkivschyna Party is planning to address international organizations on the violation of Tymoshenko's rights, in particular, the Doctors Without Borders organization.
On Oct. 11, 2011, Pechersky District Court in Kyiv sentenced Tymoshenko to seven years in prison for abuse of office in signing a gas deal with Russia in 2009.
Tymoshenko was put in a pre-trial detention center in Kyiv on Aug. 5, 2011. On Dec. 30, she was transferred to Kachanivska penal colony No. 54 in Kharkiv.
The Main Investigatory Department of the SBU is continuing to investigate a criminal case against Tymoshenko on an attempt to embezzle state funds of Ukraine in especially big amounts via passing to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine obligations of the United Energy Systems of Ukraine (UESU) corporation before the Defense Ministry of Russia for $405.5 million.
Kyiv's Shevchenkivsky District Court ordered the arrest of Tymoshenko under the UESU case. Because of this, Tymoshenko is being held in the pretrial detention center of the Kachanivska colony in Kharkiv and is not involved in community work.
EU expert: Schultz not to influence struggle in Ukraine
Brussels – The newly elected president of the European Parliament, Socialist leader Martin Schulz, will not influence the political struggle in Ukraine in general, but he could change its tone, European expert Ina Kirsch has said.
He said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels, while speaking about possible changes in the European Parliament related to Schultz's election as its president that Schulz had clearly outlined the priorities of his work in the post. "He said that he intends to make clearer the position of the European Parliament in its relations with other EU institutions. Therefore, his activity, at least, at the beginning of his mandate, will be more oriented towards the EU's internal policy and less towards its external policy," she said. But the expert categorically rejected the possibility that the European Parliament would forget about Ukraine during Schulz's presidency. "The Eastern Partnership and partnership with the EU's neighboring countries play a significant role in the European Parliament. Schultz represents the interests of the whole parliament, and therefore, the struggle that is going on in the European Parliament with respect to Ukraine will continue, but will, perhaps, change in its tone," the expert said. In addition, she said that the tone of statements and assessments made with respect to Ukraine "was not set by the president." "The leading forces were the factions that will remain: the faction of the [European] People's Party will continue to support [former Ukrainian Prime Minister] Yulia Tymoshenko, and cooperation will continue between the European Socialists and [Ukraine's] Regions Party. The tone of this struggle will not change," Kirsch said. She also said that Schultz would not use his levers of influence as president of the European Parliament. "The president represents the interests of the whole parliament, and he, as president, will represent the interests of all parliamentary groups - both the Populists and Socialists," she said. Kirsch also stressed the important role of the European Parliament in connection with the upcoming initialing and signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. "We hope that the association agreement will be initialed soon, and then it will be important whether the EP is ready to support the signing of this document and its ratification – much depends on the EP. Therefore, they are unlikely to forget Ukraine, and they might not remember only Tymoshenko, but also other important issues," Kirsch said. Schultz was elected president of the European Parliament on January 17, 2012 by a majority of parliament. The post of EP president was earlier held by Jerzy Buzek, a representative of the European People's Party
He said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine in Brussels, while speaking about possible changes in the European Parliament related to Schultz's election as its president that Schulz had clearly outlined the priorities of his work in the post. "He said that he intends to make clearer the position of the European Parliament in its relations with other EU institutions. Therefore, his activity, at least, at the beginning of his mandate, will be more oriented towards the EU's internal policy and less towards its external policy," she said. But the expert categorically rejected the possibility that the European Parliament would forget about Ukraine during Schulz's presidency. "The Eastern Partnership and partnership with the EU's neighboring countries play a significant role in the European Parliament. Schultz represents the interests of the whole parliament, and therefore, the struggle that is going on in the European Parliament with respect to Ukraine will continue, but will, perhaps, change in its tone," the expert said. In addition, she said that the tone of statements and assessments made with respect to Ukraine "was not set by the president." "The leading forces were the factions that will remain: the faction of the [European] People's Party will continue to support [former Ukrainian Prime Minister] Yulia Tymoshenko, and cooperation will continue between the European Socialists and [Ukraine's] Regions Party. The tone of this struggle will not change," Kirsch said. She also said that Schultz would not use his levers of influence as president of the European Parliament. "The president represents the interests of the whole parliament, and he, as president, will represent the interests of all parliamentary groups - both the Populists and Socialists," she said. Kirsch also stressed the important role of the European Parliament in connection with the upcoming initialing and signing of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. "We hope that the association agreement will be initialed soon, and then it will be important whether the EP is ready to support the signing of this document and its ratification – much depends on the EP. Therefore, they are unlikely to forget Ukraine, and they might not remember only Tymoshenko, but also other important issues," Kirsch said. Schultz was elected president of the European Parliament on January 17, 2012 by a majority of parliament. The post of EP president was earlier held by Jerzy Buzek, a representative of the European People's Party
Ukraine clawing up ag ladder
THE State Statistics Service of Ukraine reports that the volume of agricultural production in the country enjoyed an estimated growth of 17.5 percent of the period of 2011. The highest growth was documented in the north eastern Ukraine (Kharkiv, Poltava, and Symy regions).
Interestingly, both agricultural firms and households experienced production growth – 23.8 and 12.3 percent, respectively. In 2011 each region of Ukraine boosted agricultural production while in 2010 overall agricultural production in the country dropped by 1.5 percent.
On December 31, 2011, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysyazhnyuk stated that over the year Ukraine increased its agricultural products export potential by 35 percent.
“This year showed growth of export figures for agricultural products shipped to the EU,” noted the Minister in his interview with Channel 5. He explained this development by the improved quality of the produced goods.
Ukraine has been gaining a stronger position on world’s agricultural market over the recent years. In 2011 Ukraine cropped the record amount of grain in twenty years (since declaring independence).
The unprecedented harvest – over 55 million tons of grain – as well as the removal of the export taxes and quotas contributed to export boost in 2011. This resulted in Ukraine becoming one of the world’s top three grain exporters. The country is also ranks number one in barley exports globally. Moreover, this year Ukraine became the third corn supplier in the world, surpassing Brazil and being the second runner-up to the USA and Argentina.
Given Ukraine’s rich grain production in 2011, in August that year the country initiated the creation of the world’s grain reserve under the auspices of the United Nations. Ukraine aimed to form a grain reserve of 10 to 12 million tons, preserve it and make grain interventions on the market. This would allow for more efficient price regulation on the world grain market.
Traditionally, Ukraine claims its position as one of the leading agricultural countries in the world. The country possesses 30 percent of world’s black soil – the most favorable soil for agriculture. This allows for a certain commercial advantage. Accordingly, agricultural exports brought ten billion dollars to the Ukrainian budget in 2011.
Interestingly, both agricultural firms and households experienced production growth – 23.8 and 12.3 percent, respectively. In 2011 each region of Ukraine boosted agricultural production while in 2010 overall agricultural production in the country dropped by 1.5 percent.
On December 31, 2011, the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Prysyazhnyuk stated that over the year Ukraine increased its agricultural products export potential by 35 percent.
“This year showed growth of export figures for agricultural products shipped to the EU,” noted the Minister in his interview with Channel 5. He explained this development by the improved quality of the produced goods.
Ukraine has been gaining a stronger position on world’s agricultural market over the recent years. In 2011 Ukraine cropped the record amount of grain in twenty years (since declaring independence).
The unprecedented harvest – over 55 million tons of grain – as well as the removal of the export taxes and quotas contributed to export boost in 2011. This resulted in Ukraine becoming one of the world’s top three grain exporters. The country is also ranks number one in barley exports globally. Moreover, this year Ukraine became the third corn supplier in the world, surpassing Brazil and being the second runner-up to the USA and Argentina.
Given Ukraine’s rich grain production in 2011, in August that year the country initiated the creation of the world’s grain reserve under the auspices of the United Nations. Ukraine aimed to form a grain reserve of 10 to 12 million tons, preserve it and make grain interventions on the market. This would allow for more efficient price regulation on the world grain market.
Traditionally, Ukraine claims its position as one of the leading agricultural countries in the world. The country possesses 30 percent of world’s black soil – the most favorable soil for agriculture. This allows for a certain commercial advantage. Accordingly, agricultural exports brought ten billion dollars to the Ukrainian budget in 2011.
Irish bank foiled in attempt to recoup Ukraina mall for debt
Kyiv’s lucrative Ukraina shopping mall is on the verge of forever falling out of the reach of foreign shareholders following a court ruling on Dec. 23 that could render it bankrupt.
An Irish bank’s attempt to collect on debts by taking control of Kyiv’s landmark Ukraina shopping mall is being frustrated at every turn by a mysterious company whose representatives evidently wield strong influence in Ukraine.
On Dec. 23, a Kyiv court granted a $45.2 million claim filed by a British Virign Islands-registered firm against the property, putting the shopping mall on the verge of bankruptcy.
The ruling was just the latest move in a grueling battle over control of the 45,000 square-meter property.
One player is the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, a state-owned Irish financial institution which had lent money with the mall used as collateral. Some say that another group involved is Irish citizen Sean Quinn and his family, the former beneficiary owners of the estimated $50 million shopping center, who seem to be attempting to halt the transfer of properties to the lender.
Their legal duel is being fought in Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt judicial system, among other places.
Quinn and his family had borrowed heavily from IBRC – formerly known as Anglo Irish Bank – to amass a global business empire that included concrete factories, hotels, wind farms and the Ukraina department store, as well as other international properties.
Just under four years ago, Forbes magazine ranked Quinn as Ireland’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $6 billion. But his riches dissipated in the wake of the 2009 global economic recession.
And when Quinn’s conglomerate collapsed, his banker, IBRC, began collecting what remained of his assets.
Yet IBRC’s global fishing expedition has largely come up short in trying to recover Quinn’s $675 million worth of far-flung properties in India, Russia, Cyprus and Ukraine.
Quinn’s bankers suspect he and his family are still in control of these assets and are keeping them beyond their reach, including the Ukraina shopping mall.
Altogether, IBRC is trying to recoup $4 billion in alleged losses from Quinn Group, now in bankruptcy receivership, the holding company once controlled by Quinn and his family.
On Jan. 10 a Northern Ireland court denied Quinn's recent bankruptcy application.
Thus far, it appears IBRC has the weaker position, at least in its attempt to seize and access the estimated $10 million annual rent roll of the Kyiv property.
Just days before the New Year, Kyiv Commercial Court Judge Maria Litvinova granted a $42.5 million claim against Ukraina by a mysterious company named Lyndhurst Development Trading, which is based in the British Virgin Islands,
The amount is remarkably close to the estimated market value of Ukraina, which was built in 1963 and refurbished in 2003.
The shopping mall has more than 50 shops and an entertainment complex that includes bowling, a nightclub, cafes and movie theaters.
IBRC called the ruling “legalized robbery” and an unprecedented “cynical deprivation of property.”
A spokeswoman for Quinn Group denied any involvement in the dispute, which was even raised during talks between President Viktor Yanukovych and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny when the two met in Warsaw on Sept. 29.
However, The Irish Times reported that Quinn’s 30-year old daughter, Aoife, has said in an affidavit that the family is seeking to protect its international properties from being seized by IBRC and that the family disputes the bank’s right to the properties.
Since April, Ukraina’s former Quinn-backed management launched at least seven court cases in Kyiv courts, all of which have successfully thwarted IBRC from seizing the shopping mall. The mortgage loan’s validity is in dispute.
The 92.75 percent shares in Ukraina that belong to a Quinn Group subsidiary in Sweden have been frozen, and successive court injunctions have delayed the installment of a new company director, amid additional litigation.
To add a bizarre twist to an already complicated court fight in Ukraine, the shopping mall was represented in the Dec. 23 hearing by Larysa Yanez Puga, the director who had been ousted earlier by a newly appointed supervisory board.
The newly appointed director, Rostyslav Levinzon, was barred from participating in the legal proceeding.
In addition, the ousted supervisory board members -- on which Sean Sr. and Peter Quinn sat – miraculously reinstated Puga as director on Dec. 19 with the government registrar. Peter Quinn’s signature, as head of the former supervisory board appears in the registration file, a lawyer with Magisters, which is representing the Irish bank, told the Kyiv Post.
IBRC now expects the Quinn-backed manager of the Ukraina shopping mile to file a bankruptcy application that would deny the state-owned financial institution money owed to it.
The Irish bank’s efforts to claim and manage other foreign properties that formerly belonged to the Quinn family have also been met with stiff resistance.
The scope of the effort involves a portfolio that stretches over 70 companies in 14 countries. IBRC has so far failed to gain control of a $5 million site for a hotel in India, according to a recent news report. A court injunction there blocked the bank and the company behind the move is based in the United Arab Emirates, where registered corporate directors are kept confidential.
In another strikingly similar scenario, the $180 million Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow has also been kept out of the hands of IBRC. It has an estimated rent roll of $19 million. Courts in Moscow recently recognized a debt claim worth $100 million against Finansstroy, the company that operates Kutuzoff. The company behind the debt claim is registered in Belize.
The Irish Times recently uncovered an apparent link between the Belize and British Virgin Islands companies with Quinn’s nephew and son-in-law.
“We have no idea who the brain is,” Robert Dix, director of Quinn Holdings, Sweden told the New York Times.
His company is the nearly 93 percent shareholder in Ukraina. It was established by Quinn in order to minimize taxes and enable his five adult children to control his global portfolio. “But it has to be somebody very clever because it’s very consistent,” Dix told the newspaper.
After the court hearing in Ukraine on Dec. 23, IBRC swiftly moved to counter-attack. The High Court in Belfast has barred the debt claim against the Ukraina shopping mall and Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow. IBRC also secured mirror orders from the courts in the British Virgin Islands and Belize, a person with knowledge of the case said.
The Irish bank has also launched a public campaign and has called on Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to look into the situation.
According to The Irish Times, the court injunctions prohibit the Belize and British Virgin Island offshore companies from spending any money remitted to them as a result of the loan agreements.
IBRC has also threatened to disclose evidence of fraud as part of its efforts to seize the Kyiv and Moscow properties. The bank has already secured a court order in Belize to uncover the beneficiary owners of the company there and is seeking a similar order in the British Virgin Islands
An Irish bank’s attempt to collect on debts by taking control of Kyiv’s landmark Ukraina shopping mall is being frustrated at every turn by a mysterious company whose representatives evidently wield strong influence in Ukraine.
On Dec. 23, a Kyiv court granted a $45.2 million claim filed by a British Virign Islands-registered firm against the property, putting the shopping mall on the verge of bankruptcy.
The ruling was just the latest move in a grueling battle over control of the 45,000 square-meter property.
One player is the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, a state-owned Irish financial institution which had lent money with the mall used as collateral. Some say that another group involved is Irish citizen Sean Quinn and his family, the former beneficiary owners of the estimated $50 million shopping center, who seem to be attempting to halt the transfer of properties to the lender.
Their legal duel is being fought in Ukraine’s notoriously corrupt judicial system, among other places.
Quinn and his family had borrowed heavily from IBRC – formerly known as Anglo Irish Bank – to amass a global business empire that included concrete factories, hotels, wind farms and the Ukraina department store, as well as other international properties.
Just under four years ago, Forbes magazine ranked Quinn as Ireland’s richest man with a fortune estimated at $6 billion. But his riches dissipated in the wake of the 2009 global economic recession.
And when Quinn’s conglomerate collapsed, his banker, IBRC, began collecting what remained of his assets.
Yet IBRC’s global fishing expedition has largely come up short in trying to recover Quinn’s $675 million worth of far-flung properties in India, Russia, Cyprus and Ukraine.
Quinn’s bankers suspect he and his family are still in control of these assets and are keeping them beyond their reach, including the Ukraina shopping mall.
Altogether, IBRC is trying to recoup $4 billion in alleged losses from Quinn Group, now in bankruptcy receivership, the holding company once controlled by Quinn and his family.
On Jan. 10 a Northern Ireland court denied Quinn's recent bankruptcy application.
Thus far, it appears IBRC has the weaker position, at least in its attempt to seize and access the estimated $10 million annual rent roll of the Kyiv property.
Just days before the New Year, Kyiv Commercial Court Judge Maria Litvinova granted a $42.5 million claim against Ukraina by a mysterious company named Lyndhurst Development Trading, which is based in the British Virgin Islands,
The amount is remarkably close to the estimated market value of Ukraina, which was built in 1963 and refurbished in 2003.
The shopping mall has more than 50 shops and an entertainment complex that includes bowling, a nightclub, cafes and movie theaters.
IBRC called the ruling “legalized robbery” and an unprecedented “cynical deprivation of property.”
A spokeswoman for Quinn Group denied any involvement in the dispute, which was even raised during talks between President Viktor Yanukovych and Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny when the two met in Warsaw on Sept. 29.
However, The Irish Times reported that Quinn’s 30-year old daughter, Aoife, has said in an affidavit that the family is seeking to protect its international properties from being seized by IBRC and that the family disputes the bank’s right to the properties.
Since April, Ukraina’s former Quinn-backed management launched at least seven court cases in Kyiv courts, all of which have successfully thwarted IBRC from seizing the shopping mall. The mortgage loan’s validity is in dispute.
The 92.75 percent shares in Ukraina that belong to a Quinn Group subsidiary in Sweden have been frozen, and successive court injunctions have delayed the installment of a new company director, amid additional litigation.
To add a bizarre twist to an already complicated court fight in Ukraine, the shopping mall was represented in the Dec. 23 hearing by Larysa Yanez Puga, the director who had been ousted earlier by a newly appointed supervisory board.
The newly appointed director, Rostyslav Levinzon, was barred from participating in the legal proceeding.
In addition, the ousted supervisory board members -- on which Sean Sr. and Peter Quinn sat – miraculously reinstated Puga as director on Dec. 19 with the government registrar. Peter Quinn’s signature, as head of the former supervisory board appears in the registration file, a lawyer with Magisters, which is representing the Irish bank, told the Kyiv Post.
IBRC now expects the Quinn-backed manager of the Ukraina shopping mile to file a bankruptcy application that would deny the state-owned financial institution money owed to it.
The Irish bank’s efforts to claim and manage other foreign properties that formerly belonged to the Quinn family have also been met with stiff resistance.
The scope of the effort involves a portfolio that stretches over 70 companies in 14 countries. IBRC has so far failed to gain control of a $5 million site for a hotel in India, according to a recent news report. A court injunction there blocked the bank and the company behind the move is based in the United Arab Emirates, where registered corporate directors are kept confidential.
In another strikingly similar scenario, the $180 million Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow has also been kept out of the hands of IBRC. It has an estimated rent roll of $19 million. Courts in Moscow recently recognized a debt claim worth $100 million against Finansstroy, the company that operates Kutuzoff. The company behind the debt claim is registered in Belize.
The Irish Times recently uncovered an apparent link between the Belize and British Virgin Islands companies with Quinn’s nephew and son-in-law.
“We have no idea who the brain is,” Robert Dix, director of Quinn Holdings, Sweden told the New York Times.
His company is the nearly 93 percent shareholder in Ukraina. It was established by Quinn in order to minimize taxes and enable his five adult children to control his global portfolio. “But it has to be somebody very clever because it’s very consistent,” Dix told the newspaper.
After the court hearing in Ukraine on Dec. 23, IBRC swiftly moved to counter-attack. The High Court in Belfast has barred the debt claim against the Ukraina shopping mall and Kutuzoff Tower in Moscow. IBRC also secured mirror orders from the courts in the British Virgin Islands and Belize, a person with knowledge of the case said.
The Irish bank has also launched a public campaign and has called on Prime Minister Mykola Azarov to look into the situation.
According to The Irish Times, the court injunctions prohibit the Belize and British Virgin Island offshore companies from spending any money remitted to them as a result of the loan agreements.
IBRC has also threatened to disclose evidence of fraud as part of its efforts to seize the Kyiv and Moscow properties. The bank has already secured a court order in Belize to uncover the beneficiary owners of the company there and is seeking a similar order in the British Virgin Islands
Russian billionaire battle reaches London court climax
LONDON, Jan 17 (Reuters) - A gargantuan lawsuit between two of post-Soviet Russia's richest and most powerful men reached its climax in a London courtroom on Tuesday, with lawyers for tycoon Boris Berezovsky making their case that he was extorted into turning the crown jewel of his business empire over to billionaire rival Roman Abramovich.
The $6 billion case has thrown a spotlight on the shady business dealings of post-Soviet Russia, when opaque privatisation deals turned a handful of insiders into the owners of multi-billion dollar natural resources firms.
It has also captivated the legal industry in Britain, whose globally respected, tradition-bound courts - where lawyers still wear powdered wigs - have become the venue of choice for rich Russians to sue each other, generating massive fees.
Berezovsky, 65, accuses Abramovich - known in Britain as the owner of Chelsea soccer club - of intimidating him into selling his stake in oil firm Sibneft at a knockdown price. Abramovich, 45, denies Berezovsky ever had an interest in Sibneft.
Speaking in a courtroom packed with bodyguards and ranks of lawyers and aides on Tuesday, Berezovsky's lawyer devoted a large part of his closing statement to examining what he said was untruthful evidence by Abramovich and his witnesses.
"The dishonesty of Mr Abramovich and his key witnesses, their cynical manipulation of evidence and indeed of the trial process, is...perhaps the most important of the general points which my Lady will wish to have in mind when weighing up the evidence and making findings of fact in this case," Laurence Rabinowitz told judge Elizabeth Gloster.
A Kremlin insider in the 1990s under former President Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky left Russia after falling out with Yeltsin's hand-picked successor Vladimir Putin. He says he gave up his Sibneft stake because he feared that if he refused, Abramovich would ensure Putin had the shares expropriated.
Abramovich says he paid Berezovsky $2 billion for his political patronage and protection from criminal gangs, but not as dividends from Sibneft because Berezovsky was never an owner.
Abramovich has since sold Sibneft to the Russian state natural gas monopoly Gazprom.
The trial has been tabloid fodder in Britain ever since a tussle between the two tycoons and their retinues of bodyguards in a Hermes luxury boutique in London, when Berezovsky spotted Abramovich and served him with a writ.
During Tuesday's hearing, Berezovsky appeared relaxed, often laughing and conferring with his younger girlfriend. Abramovich, sitting at the opposite end of the courtroom, listened intently to the Russian translation of the proceedings in headphones.
The trial, which started in early October, is being followed closely by Russia watchers from London and Moscow for new clues into Russian business and politics under Putin, now prime minister but expected to become president again this year.
Abramovich and Berezovsky were close allies when making their fortunes in Russia in the 1990s under Yeltsin.
Since then, Berezovsky has become a sworn enemy of Putin, fending off requests to extradite him from London on Russian criminal charges by arguing that he could not get a fair trial in Russia. Abramovich became a Putin ally and prospered.
The $6 billion case has thrown a spotlight on the shady business dealings of post-Soviet Russia, when opaque privatisation deals turned a handful of insiders into the owners of multi-billion dollar natural resources firms.
It has also captivated the legal industry in Britain, whose globally respected, tradition-bound courts - where lawyers still wear powdered wigs - have become the venue of choice for rich Russians to sue each other, generating massive fees.
Berezovsky, 65, accuses Abramovich - known in Britain as the owner of Chelsea soccer club - of intimidating him into selling his stake in oil firm Sibneft at a knockdown price. Abramovich, 45, denies Berezovsky ever had an interest in Sibneft.
Speaking in a courtroom packed with bodyguards and ranks of lawyers and aides on Tuesday, Berezovsky's lawyer devoted a large part of his closing statement to examining what he said was untruthful evidence by Abramovich and his witnesses.
"The dishonesty of Mr Abramovich and his key witnesses, their cynical manipulation of evidence and indeed of the trial process, is...perhaps the most important of the general points which my Lady will wish to have in mind when weighing up the evidence and making findings of fact in this case," Laurence Rabinowitz told judge Elizabeth Gloster.
A Kremlin insider in the 1990s under former President Boris Yeltsin, Berezovsky left Russia after falling out with Yeltsin's hand-picked successor Vladimir Putin. He says he gave up his Sibneft stake because he feared that if he refused, Abramovich would ensure Putin had the shares expropriated.
Abramovich says he paid Berezovsky $2 billion for his political patronage and protection from criminal gangs, but not as dividends from Sibneft because Berezovsky was never an owner.
Abramovich has since sold Sibneft to the Russian state natural gas monopoly Gazprom.
The trial has been tabloid fodder in Britain ever since a tussle between the two tycoons and their retinues of bodyguards in a Hermes luxury boutique in London, when Berezovsky spotted Abramovich and served him with a writ.
During Tuesday's hearing, Berezovsky appeared relaxed, often laughing and conferring with his younger girlfriend. Abramovich, sitting at the opposite end of the courtroom, listened intently to the Russian translation of the proceedings in headphones.
The trial, which started in early October, is being followed closely by Russia watchers from London and Moscow for new clues into Russian business and politics under Putin, now prime minister but expected to become president again this year.
Abramovich and Berezovsky were close allies when making their fortunes in Russia in the 1990s under Yeltsin.
Since then, Berezovsky has become a sworn enemy of Putin, fending off requests to extradite him from London on Russian criminal charges by arguing that he could not get a fair trial in Russia. Abramovich became a Putin ally and prospered.
Ukrainians Seek Better Terms From Russia
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine appears to have few good cards to play to secure a significant reduction in the price of its Russian gas imports as it readies for a resumption of crucial talks with Russia, Reuters reported on Monday, citing experts.
The ex-Soviet republic, which depends hugely on Russian gas supplies to power its heavy industries and heat homes, has sought for more than a year to renegotiate a 2009 deal with Moscow, which it says sets an exorbitant price for the fuel.
Talks have failed to produce any results.
Ukrainian officials are now more optimistic that a new round of negotiations, which open in Moscow on Tuesday, will be more successful.
But, with Russia under little pressure to review a lucrative 10-year contract, the big question is: what will the Kiev government concede in exchange for a reduction in price from the present $416 per 1,000 cubic meters to a hoped-for $250?
Moscow has long said a discount is possible only if Russian gas giant Gazprom gets a stake in the network.
But, with issues of national sovereignty at stake which the opposition could easily exploit, the Ukrainian leadership is saying the network is not for sale.
"The issue of (a pipeline network) sale has never been on the agenda. We dismissed it immediately," Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko told reporters on Jan. 13.
"If we find a model that satisfies both sides, we will make a deal. Otherwise we will work under the existing contract."
The Kiev government is also under pressure from the European Union with which it concluded talks late last year on an association agreement.
EU diplomats say EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger reminded Boyko last Friday by telephone that any final agreement with Russia had to be compatible with Ukraine's membership of the Energy Community Treaty and its other commitments on energy security.
These rule out sale of the network to Russia.
Kiev-based experts expect the Ukrainians to revive their offer of Russian participation in a consortium, also involving some European firms, to modernise the pipeline network.
But the Russian reaction has so far been lukewarm to the idea and EU diplomats say they are not aware of any European firm being approached by the Ukrainians to take part.
Some experts say that Russia's development of other export routes such as the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany means the Ukrainian transit system is rapidly losing its value as negotiating currency - an added pressure on Ukraine.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller, a key player in the new round of talks, sought to drive this point home on Monday, remarking laconically to reporters:
"If, as we hear from Ukraine, the gas pipeline system is a historical treasure, then its place should be in a museum."
"The two sides seem doomed to reach an agreement at some stage. But the main question now is what concessions are the Ukrainians prepared to make. It is not clear what they have to play," said one EU diplomat.
Others doubt there will be any serious attempt by Moscow to solve the gas issue until after the Russian presidential election in March.
"There will be a consortium but not now - after March, after the Russian elections," Valentin Zemlyansky, an independent Ukrainian expert, said.
Experts expect much of the early discussion to turn on a demand by Ukraine to cut the volume of natural gas it is contracted to import this year.
Ukrainian authorities say they will insist on cutting imports to 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year from an estimated 40 bcm last year.
But Gazprom insists this level is too low according to the present contract.
The ex-Soviet republic, which depends hugely on Russian gas supplies to power its heavy industries and heat homes, has sought for more than a year to renegotiate a 2009 deal with Moscow, which it says sets an exorbitant price for the fuel.
Talks have failed to produce any results.
Ukrainian officials are now more optimistic that a new round of negotiations, which open in Moscow on Tuesday, will be more successful.
But, with Russia under little pressure to review a lucrative 10-year contract, the big question is: what will the Kiev government concede in exchange for a reduction in price from the present $416 per 1,000 cubic meters to a hoped-for $250?
Moscow has long said a discount is possible only if Russian gas giant Gazprom gets a stake in the network.
But, with issues of national sovereignty at stake which the opposition could easily exploit, the Ukrainian leadership is saying the network is not for sale.
"The issue of (a pipeline network) sale has never been on the agenda. We dismissed it immediately," Energy Minister Yuriy Boyko told reporters on Jan. 13.
"If we find a model that satisfies both sides, we will make a deal. Otherwise we will work under the existing contract."
The Kiev government is also under pressure from the European Union with which it concluded talks late last year on an association agreement.
EU diplomats say EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger reminded Boyko last Friday by telephone that any final agreement with Russia had to be compatible with Ukraine's membership of the Energy Community Treaty and its other commitments on energy security.
These rule out sale of the network to Russia.
Kiev-based experts expect the Ukrainians to revive their offer of Russian participation in a consortium, also involving some European firms, to modernise the pipeline network.
But the Russian reaction has so far been lukewarm to the idea and EU diplomats say they are not aware of any European firm being approached by the Ukrainians to take part.
Some experts say that Russia's development of other export routes such as the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany means the Ukrainian transit system is rapidly losing its value as negotiating currency - an added pressure on Ukraine.
Gazprom chief executive Alexei Miller, a key player in the new round of talks, sought to drive this point home on Monday, remarking laconically to reporters:
"If, as we hear from Ukraine, the gas pipeline system is a historical treasure, then its place should be in a museum."
"The two sides seem doomed to reach an agreement at some stage. But the main question now is what concessions are the Ukrainians prepared to make. It is not clear what they have to play," said one EU diplomat.
Others doubt there will be any serious attempt by Moscow to solve the gas issue until after the Russian presidential election in March.
"There will be a consortium but not now - after March, after the Russian elections," Valentin Zemlyansky, an independent Ukrainian expert, said.
Experts expect much of the early discussion to turn on a demand by Ukraine to cut the volume of natural gas it is contracted to import this year.
Ukrainian authorities say they will insist on cutting imports to 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year from an estimated 40 bcm last year.
But Gazprom insists this level is too low according to the present contract.
Ukrainian Ex-Minister Wants Witnesses Forced To Testify
KIEV, Ukraine -- Former Ukrainian Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko has requested that witnesses in his trial be forced to attend and testify.
Lutsenko, one of the leaders of the Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense (NUNS) parliament faction, was arrested in December 2010 and went on trial on May 23 for abuse of office and misappropriation of funds while he was interior minister.
At the trial on January 16, Lutsenko stated that he had looked through the list of the witnesses in his case prepared by the Prosecutor-General's Office and discovered that 10 of them have never been summoned to court and some 45 individuals who were officially summoned to his trial never appeared.
"More than 20 of those 45 potential witnesses have been summoned to court three or even five times," Lutsenko said.
"I do not understand why the court does not force those people to come and testify in the hearings."
According to one charge against Lutsenko, he illegally helped his former personal driver, Leonid Pristuplyuk, to obtain an apartment in Kiev.
In court on January 16, Lutsenko asked why no one from the commission that made the decision to allocate the apartment to Pristuplyuk was invited to testify.
Lutsenko, 47, also said he fears that his case may be forced to a quick conclusion.
He said he is innocent of all charges and his case is politically motivated.
In October, members of the European Parliament officially expressed concern about the continued detention of Lutsenko and the jailing of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, one of the premiers whose cabinet he served in.
Lutsenko was interior minister in 2005-06 and from 2007 to 2010.
He became publicly known as one of the leaders of the 2005 Orange Revolution.
Lutsenko, one of the leaders of the Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense (NUNS) parliament faction, was arrested in December 2010 and went on trial on May 23 for abuse of office and misappropriation of funds while he was interior minister.
At the trial on January 16, Lutsenko stated that he had looked through the list of the witnesses in his case prepared by the Prosecutor-General's Office and discovered that 10 of them have never been summoned to court and some 45 individuals who were officially summoned to his trial never appeared.
"More than 20 of those 45 potential witnesses have been summoned to court three or even five times," Lutsenko said.
"I do not understand why the court does not force those people to come and testify in the hearings."
According to one charge against Lutsenko, he illegally helped his former personal driver, Leonid Pristuplyuk, to obtain an apartment in Kiev.
In court on January 16, Lutsenko asked why no one from the commission that made the decision to allocate the apartment to Pristuplyuk was invited to testify.
Lutsenko, 47, also said he fears that his case may be forced to a quick conclusion.
He said he is innocent of all charges and his case is politically motivated.
In October, members of the European Parliament officially expressed concern about the continued detention of Lutsenko and the jailing of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, one of the premiers whose cabinet he served in.
Lutsenko was interior minister in 2005-06 and from 2007 to 2010.
He became publicly known as one of the leaders of the 2005 Orange Revolution.
Ukraine Enters Final Russian Gas Push In Bid To Duck IMF Demands
KIEV Ukraine -- Ukraine is entering a final push in talks with Russia over cheaper natural-gas imports as it seeks to shore up state coffers without making the increases in household fuel costs needed to revive a $15.6 billion bailout
Ukraine must agree on a lower gas price with Russia within a month or bow to International Monetary Fund demands for a 30 percent jump in household tariffs for the fuel, Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tigipko said Jan. 11 amid signs tensions were rising in discussions between the two nations.
Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Boyko meets officials in Moscow today for talks.
Ukraine’s government, which faces $8.2 billion in debt payments this year, wants to bolster public finances after the current-account deficit widened and reserves dwindled.
While raising household gas tariffs would reduce losses at state energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, higher heating costs may prove unpopular as President Viktor Yanukovych’s ruling party braces for elections in October.
“To get through the year, the government must agree on a lower gas price, sell assets or do a deal with the IMF,” Barbara Nestor, emerging-market strategist at Commerzbank AG in London, said Jan. 13.
“We expect market pressure to increase on Ukraine.”
Credit-default swaps to insure the country’s debt against non-payment for five years have jumped 63.27 basis points this year to 918.500 points on Jan. 13, the world’s biggest increase, according to data provider CMA.
Ukraine was granted its second IMF bailout in two years in July 2010.
Having disbursed $3.4 billion, the program was frozen last March after the government refused to raise household gas tariffs to trim a budget deficit the Washington-based lender estimates reached 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2011.
Instead, Ukraine wants to reduce the price it pays Russia for gas by a third to $250 per 1,000 cubic meters, President Viktor Yanukovych said Dec. 21.
Under the current contract, the price will rise to $416 per 1,000 cubic meters this quarter from $400 in the previous three months, Boyko said Jan. 13.
OAO Gazprom has sought to acquire Ukraine’s pipelines, which carry Russian gas to the European Union, in exchange for cheaper energy supplies, according to Boyko.
Belarus reduced its payments to Russia under a similar deal in November.
“Ukraine won’t consider selling its pipelines,” Boyko said.
“If we find a model that satisfies both sides, we’ll make a deal. Otherwise, we’ll work under the current contract.”
Ukraine’s economy grew about 5 percent in 2011, the fastest pace since 2007, helped by a good harvest and exports, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Jan. 11.
Growth may slow to 3.9 percent this year, the government forecasts.
The current-account deficit widened to $8.75 billion in the first 11 months of last year compared with $2.13 billion in the same period of 2011 because of increased gas imports and strong demand for foreign equipment, the central bank said Jan. 4.
Gold and foreign-exchange reserves shrank to $30.4 billion at the end of 2011 from $38.2 billion in August as the central bank supported the hryvnia.
The currency slid to 8.0435 per dollar yesterday, its lowest level in almost two years.
Without an IMF deal, “the government will have to continue depleting its limited foreign-currency reserves to meet its external debt obligations,” Liza Ermolenko, an emerging-markets economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said Jan. 13 by e-mail.
“With over $50 billion in short-term external debt to be repaid this year by both the government and private sector and a hefty gas bill, this is hardly a sustainable strategy.”
Ukraine relies on Russia for more than 70 percent of its gas needs.
Should talks fail, it plans to cut 2012 imports to 27 billion cubic meters from 40 billion last year, Boyko said.
That would violate a contract signed after Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine for almost three weeks in January 2009, disrupting deliveries to the EU amid freezing temperatures, Gazprom said Jan. 12.
Yanukovych says that deal is detrimental to its financial health.
A court in Kiev in October sentenced former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who signed the contract with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, to seven years in prison for abuse of office.
Ukraine may also be able to increase domestic gas and coal production and shift utilities to coal, saving 6 billion cubic meters of gas a year, according to Boyko.
The government has sufficient resources to sustain itself until the parliamentary elections without turning to the IMF or raising gas prices, according to Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States at investment bank Renaissance Capital in Moscow.
“Irrespective of how the negotiations with Russia evolve, the Party of Regions is not yet in a sufficiently dire position to surrender to the IMF’s requirements,” he wrote yesterday in an e-mailed note.
“The government macroeconomic and budget framework is already based on the new high import gas price.”
Support for Yanukovych’s Party of Regions fell to 13.9 percent support in December from 16.6 percent three months earlier and 39.1 percent in April 2010, the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies in Kiev said Dec. 27.
Backing for Tymoshenko’s party rose to 15.8 percent from 13.8 percent. The survey of 2,008 voting-age Ukrainians was conducted Dec. 9-16 and had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
Yanukovych last week ruled out higher household gas prices.
While steps must be taken to address Ukraine’s financial position, selling the pipeline infrastructure may be preferable for the president as voters focus on their own fortunes.
“Economic growth won’t catch up with the gas-price increase,” Alexander Pecherytsyn, head of research at ING Groep NV in Kiev, said Jan. 13 by phone.
“Voters look at their pockets first of all. They don’t care about gas pipelines.”
Ukraine must agree on a lower gas price with Russia within a month or bow to International Monetary Fund demands for a 30 percent jump in household tariffs for the fuel, Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tigipko said Jan. 11 amid signs tensions were rising in discussions between the two nations.
Energy and Coal Minister Yuriy Boyko meets officials in Moscow today for talks.
Ukraine’s government, which faces $8.2 billion in debt payments this year, wants to bolster public finances after the current-account deficit widened and reserves dwindled.
While raising household gas tariffs would reduce losses at state energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy, higher heating costs may prove unpopular as President Viktor Yanukovych’s ruling party braces for elections in October.
“To get through the year, the government must agree on a lower gas price, sell assets or do a deal with the IMF,” Barbara Nestor, emerging-market strategist at Commerzbank AG in London, said Jan. 13.
“We expect market pressure to increase on Ukraine.”
Credit-default swaps to insure the country’s debt against non-payment for five years have jumped 63.27 basis points this year to 918.500 points on Jan. 13, the world’s biggest increase, according to data provider CMA.
Ukraine was granted its second IMF bailout in two years in July 2010.
Having disbursed $3.4 billion, the program was frozen last March after the government refused to raise household gas tariffs to trim a budget deficit the Washington-based lender estimates reached 3.5 percent of gross domestic product in 2011.
Instead, Ukraine wants to reduce the price it pays Russia for gas by a third to $250 per 1,000 cubic meters, President Viktor Yanukovych said Dec. 21.
Under the current contract, the price will rise to $416 per 1,000 cubic meters this quarter from $400 in the previous three months, Boyko said Jan. 13.
OAO Gazprom has sought to acquire Ukraine’s pipelines, which carry Russian gas to the European Union, in exchange for cheaper energy supplies, according to Boyko.
Belarus reduced its payments to Russia under a similar deal in November.
“Ukraine won’t consider selling its pipelines,” Boyko said.
“If we find a model that satisfies both sides, we’ll make a deal. Otherwise, we’ll work under the current contract.”
Ukraine’s economy grew about 5 percent in 2011, the fastest pace since 2007, helped by a good harvest and exports, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Jan. 11.
Growth may slow to 3.9 percent this year, the government forecasts.
The current-account deficit widened to $8.75 billion in the first 11 months of last year compared with $2.13 billion in the same period of 2011 because of increased gas imports and strong demand for foreign equipment, the central bank said Jan. 4.
Gold and foreign-exchange reserves shrank to $30.4 billion at the end of 2011 from $38.2 billion in August as the central bank supported the hryvnia.
The currency slid to 8.0435 per dollar yesterday, its lowest level in almost two years.
Without an IMF deal, “the government will have to continue depleting its limited foreign-currency reserves to meet its external debt obligations,” Liza Ermolenko, an emerging-markets economist at Capital Economics Ltd. in London, said Jan. 13 by e-mail.
“With over $50 billion in short-term external debt to be repaid this year by both the government and private sector and a hefty gas bill, this is hardly a sustainable strategy.”
Ukraine relies on Russia for more than 70 percent of its gas needs.
Should talks fail, it plans to cut 2012 imports to 27 billion cubic meters from 40 billion last year, Boyko said.
That would violate a contract signed after Russia cut gas supplies to Ukraine for almost three weeks in January 2009, disrupting deliveries to the EU amid freezing temperatures, Gazprom said Jan. 12.
Yanukovych says that deal is detrimental to its financial health.
A court in Kiev in October sentenced former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who signed the contract with her Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, to seven years in prison for abuse of office.
Ukraine may also be able to increase domestic gas and coal production and shift utilities to coal, saving 6 billion cubic meters of gas a year, according to Boyko.
The government has sufficient resources to sustain itself until the parliamentary elections without turning to the IMF or raising gas prices, according to Ivan Tchakarov, chief economist for Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States at investment bank Renaissance Capital in Moscow.
“Irrespective of how the negotiations with Russia evolve, the Party of Regions is not yet in a sufficiently dire position to surrender to the IMF’s requirements,” he wrote yesterday in an e-mailed note.
“The government macroeconomic and budget framework is already based on the new high import gas price.”
Support for Yanukovych’s Party of Regions fell to 13.9 percent support in December from 16.6 percent three months earlier and 39.1 percent in April 2010, the Razumkov Center for Economic and Political Studies in Kiev said Dec. 27.
Backing for Tymoshenko’s party rose to 15.8 percent from 13.8 percent. The survey of 2,008 voting-age Ukrainians was conducted Dec. 9-16 and had a margin of error of 2.3 percentage points.
Yanukovych last week ruled out higher household gas prices.
While steps must be taken to address Ukraine’s financial position, selling the pipeline infrastructure may be preferable for the president as voters focus on their own fortunes.
“Economic growth won’t catch up with the gas-price increase,” Alexander Pecherytsyn, head of research at ING Groep NV in Kiev, said Jan. 13 by phone.
“Voters look at their pockets first of all. They don’t care about gas pipelines.”
Global Health Fund Urges Ukraine To Step Up Fight Aagainst HIV/AIDS Epidemic
KIEV, Ukraine -- The head of a global health fund on Monday urged Ukraine to step up its efforts to fight the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Europe’s largest.
Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, called on the Ukrainian authorities to expand opiate substitution therapy, ensure HIV/AIDS treatment in prison and increase government funding of anti-AIDS programs.
“This is the region of the world — the only region of the world — where the AIDS epidemic is still growing,” Kazatchkine told reporters in Kiev, adding that other countries have managed to stabilize their epidemics.
The Global Fund is set disburse $86 million for HIV prevention and treatment in Ukraine in 2012-2013, part of a massive $305 million five-year grant.
The fate of the grant came under threat last year due to the government’s failure to ensure an uninterrupted supply of anti-AIDS drugs, but Tetyana Aleksandrina, a government official charged with AIDS prevention vowed that such delays will not happen again.
The United Nations says Ukraine has Europe’s worst AIDS epidemic with 1.3 percent of the population above 15 infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Michel Kazatchkine, executive director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, called on the Ukrainian authorities to expand opiate substitution therapy, ensure HIV/AIDS treatment in prison and increase government funding of anti-AIDS programs.
“This is the region of the world — the only region of the world — where the AIDS epidemic is still growing,” Kazatchkine told reporters in Kiev, adding that other countries have managed to stabilize their epidemics.
The Global Fund is set disburse $86 million for HIV prevention and treatment in Ukraine in 2012-2013, part of a massive $305 million five-year grant.
The fate of the grant came under threat last year due to the government’s failure to ensure an uninterrupted supply of anti-AIDS drugs, but Tetyana Aleksandrina, a government official charged with AIDS prevention vowed that such delays will not happen again.
The United Nations says Ukraine has Europe’s worst AIDS epidemic with 1.3 percent of the population above 15 infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
Saturday 14 January 2012
U.S. Heritage Foundation Urges EU To Commit To Ukraine
WASHINGTON, DC -- Influential American conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation issued a report on U.S. - EU cooperation featuring a chapter on the Eastern partnership focusing mainly on Ukraine.
"Urgently, the EU should re-engage Ukraine by committing itself to ratifying the EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement, which will pave the way for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement," stated in her report Sally McNamara, Senior Policy Analyst in European Affairs at The Heritage Foundation.
The paper by The Heritage Foundation, the famous publisher of the annual Index of Economic Freedom, provides an in-depth analysis of the current Ukrainian foreign policy.
It notes that Ukrainian government did not want the country "to fall into the Russian sphere of influence".
The author reckons that USD $8 billion discount for Russian gas in exchange for Ukraine's joining the Customs Union "may be attractive to [the President of Ukraine] Yanukovych in the short term, [but] accepting it would represent a long-term disaster for Ukraine - and for the West."
The report discusses EU's Eastern Partnership.
The initiative offers both bilateral and multilateral measures for enhanced cooperation based on the progress made in the European Neighbourhood Policy, according to the official outline of the initiative.
The Heritage Foundation report claims that Russia viewed the Eastern Partnership as a challenge in its sphere of influence from the start, and objected Ukraine's westward tilt.
Emphasizing the importance of the West-oriented Ukraine, Sally McNamara concludes: "It behooves the EU, with U.S. support, to avoid Kiev closing the door on its European aspirations entirely."
As of now, negotiations over the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine are over.
The initialing of the document has been going on for the last several weeks - following the 15th EU-Ukraine summit on December 19, 2011.
At the summit the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych emphasized that the agreed document would become key for European integration of Ukraine.
In 2009 Foreign Policy Research Institute ranked The Heritage Foundation fifth most influential think tank in the country.
The personnel of the organization served, or went on to serve in senior U.S. government positions.
The Heritage Foundation co-hosted a U.S. presidential debate on November 22, 2011.
"Urgently, the EU should re-engage Ukraine by committing itself to ratifying the EU-Ukrainian Association Agreement, which will pave the way for a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement," stated in her report Sally McNamara, Senior Policy Analyst in European Affairs at The Heritage Foundation.
The paper by The Heritage Foundation, the famous publisher of the annual Index of Economic Freedom, provides an in-depth analysis of the current Ukrainian foreign policy.
It notes that Ukrainian government did not want the country "to fall into the Russian sphere of influence".
The author reckons that USD $8 billion discount for Russian gas in exchange for Ukraine's joining the Customs Union "may be attractive to [the President of Ukraine] Yanukovych in the short term, [but] accepting it would represent a long-term disaster for Ukraine - and for the West."
The report discusses EU's Eastern Partnership.
The initiative offers both bilateral and multilateral measures for enhanced cooperation based on the progress made in the European Neighbourhood Policy, according to the official outline of the initiative.
The Heritage Foundation report claims that Russia viewed the Eastern Partnership as a challenge in its sphere of influence from the start, and objected Ukraine's westward tilt.
Emphasizing the importance of the West-oriented Ukraine, Sally McNamara concludes: "It behooves the EU, with U.S. support, to avoid Kiev closing the door on its European aspirations entirely."
As of now, negotiations over the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine are over.
The initialing of the document has been going on for the last several weeks - following the 15th EU-Ukraine summit on December 19, 2011.
At the summit the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych emphasized that the agreed document would become key for European integration of Ukraine.
In 2009 Foreign Policy Research Institute ranked The Heritage Foundation fifth most influential think tank in the country.
The personnel of the organization served, or went on to serve in senior U.S. government positions.
The Heritage Foundation co-hosted a U.S. presidential debate on November 22, 2011.
Ukraine To Cut Russian Gas Imports By 50 Per Cent This Year
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine will unilaterally reduce its imports of Russian natural gas by half during 2012, a senior government official said on Wednesday.
The former Soviet republic will consume some 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas over the year, said Yury Boiko, Ukraine‘s Minister of Energy, at a Kiev press conference.
"We will be cutting our purchase of gas (from Russia) by half," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Responding to a question on how Ukraine could buy substantially less gas from Russia than contracted, Boiko said: "We will buy as much gas as our economy needs. If our (Russian) partners will have questions, they should resolve them in a civilised manner."
"There are issues that we have already agreed on (with Russia), and there are issues that are still not resolved," he said.
Ukraine imports approximately 60 per cent of its natural gas needs from Russia, making the country a major market for the Russian energy corporation Gazprom.
Gazprom chairman Aleksei Miller in a televised meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his company considered the Ukrainian announcement and the potential reduced income worrying.
"Gazprom is concerned," Miller said. "The contracted volume is 52 bcm."
Miller in August appeared to signal Moscow‘s willingness to accept a limited reduction of gas Ukraine must buy from Russia, saying at the time he expected Kiev to purchase 33 bcm of natural gas in 2012, even if it is exceeds Ukrainian needs.
President Medvedev in the Wednesday meeting with Miller said Moscow would try to resolve the dispute with Ukraine by negotiations.
"We will behave in a civilised manner," Medvedev said. "And how else could the Russian side ever act?"
Kiev officials in recent months have repeatedly called for Gazprom to reduce the contracted price and volumes of gas sold Ukraine, citing the worldwide economic slowdown and falling domestic demand for gas.
Russian officials have said the price Ukraine pays for gas is fair, but that Moscow would be willing to renegotiate Ukraine‘s import contract if the Ukrainians agreed to sell portions of their natural gas transportation network to Russia.
Some two-thirds of all Russian gas sold in Europe travels to market via pipelines crossing Ukraine.
Kiev has long opposed the pipelines‘ sale to Gazprom, on grounds of national security.
Disputes between Ukraine and Russia over natural gas pricing and shipment terms have halted most Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe twice, in 2006 and 2009.
Both sides blamed each other for the stand-off.
Ukraine consumed some 54 billion bcm of gas from all sources in 2011, according to news reports.
The former Soviet republic will consume some 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas over the year, said Yury Boiko, Ukraine‘s Minister of Energy, at a Kiev press conference.
"We will be cutting our purchase of gas (from Russia) by half," he said, according to the Interfax news agency.
Responding to a question on how Ukraine could buy substantially less gas from Russia than contracted, Boiko said: "We will buy as much gas as our economy needs. If our (Russian) partners will have questions, they should resolve them in a civilised manner."
"There are issues that we have already agreed on (with Russia), and there are issues that are still not resolved," he said.
Ukraine imports approximately 60 per cent of its natural gas needs from Russia, making the country a major market for the Russian energy corporation Gazprom.
Gazprom chairman Aleksei Miller in a televised meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said his company considered the Ukrainian announcement and the potential reduced income worrying.
"Gazprom is concerned," Miller said. "The contracted volume is 52 bcm."
Miller in August appeared to signal Moscow‘s willingness to accept a limited reduction of gas Ukraine must buy from Russia, saying at the time he expected Kiev to purchase 33 bcm of natural gas in 2012, even if it is exceeds Ukrainian needs.
President Medvedev in the Wednesday meeting with Miller said Moscow would try to resolve the dispute with Ukraine by negotiations.
"We will behave in a civilised manner," Medvedev said. "And how else could the Russian side ever act?"
Kiev officials in recent months have repeatedly called for Gazprom to reduce the contracted price and volumes of gas sold Ukraine, citing the worldwide economic slowdown and falling domestic demand for gas.
Russian officials have said the price Ukraine pays for gas is fair, but that Moscow would be willing to renegotiate Ukraine‘s import contract if the Ukrainians agreed to sell portions of their natural gas transportation network to Russia.
Some two-thirds of all Russian gas sold in Europe travels to market via pipelines crossing Ukraine.
Kiev has long opposed the pipelines‘ sale to Gazprom, on grounds of national security.
Disputes between Ukraine and Russia over natural gas pricing and shipment terms have halted most Russian natural gas deliveries to Europe twice, in 2006 and 2009.
Both sides blamed each other for the stand-off.
Ukraine consumed some 54 billion bcm of gas from all sources in 2011, according to news reports.
Daughter Claims Ukraine’s Former PM Is Being Mistreated In Prison
KIEV, Ukraine -- The daughter of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has complained about the medical treatment her mother is receiving in prison.
Tymoshenko is serving a 7-year sentence on charges of abuse of office in a case the West has condemned as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko has been bedridden for weeks at a prison in eastern Ukraine, complaining of severe back pain and accusing authorities of denying her proper medical care.
Yevhenia Tymoshenko said on the inmate’s website Thursday that she fears for her mother’s life, saying medicine she has been given could be harmful.
Tymoshenko says her mother was unconscious for two hours last week after taking an unknown medicine for a cold.
Prison authorities said she merely felt dizzy after taking a shower.
Tymoshenko is serving a 7-year sentence on charges of abuse of office in a case the West has condemned as politically motivated.
Tymoshenko has been bedridden for weeks at a prison in eastern Ukraine, complaining of severe back pain and accusing authorities of denying her proper medical care.
Yevhenia Tymoshenko said on the inmate’s website Thursday that she fears for her mother’s life, saying medicine she has been given could be harmful.
Tymoshenko says her mother was unconscious for two hours last week after taking an unknown medicine for a cold.
Prison authorities said she merely felt dizzy after taking a shower.
Russia Rejects Ukraine Plan To Cut Gas Import Volume
MOSCOW, Russia -- Russian company Gazprom on Thursday rejected Ukraine's demand to cut the volume of natural gas it has contracted to import this year, arousing concern about a potential conflict that could disrupt flows of Russian gas to Europe.
"The time for discussion on contract volumes in the new year has passed. And, unfortunately, we must remind our Ukrainian friends again that the terms of gas delivery are determined only by contract, and cannot be changed unilaterally by this or that letter," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said in emailed comments.
Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz issued its own statement insisting it had the right to cut imports.
A debate between Moscow and Kiev over their gas trade relationship has grown increasingly shrill in recent weeks as a deal to cut the financial burden of Russian imports on Kiev has eluded them, driving renewed speculation about a possible gas war.
In the past, disputes between Moscow and Ukraine, across which pipelines take gas exports to Europe, have led to temporary cuts in supplies to the European Union, which is now seeking alternatives to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Then, the debate centred largely on price.
Now, Gazprom's Kupriyanov said, it is about volume.
"It seems our Ukrainian partners will not negotiate on the price level for gas in 2012. Apparently it suits them. They will try to agree on volumes for 2013 in the established contractual order," Kupriyanov said.
Ukraine has asked Gazprom to reduce the volumes of gas it sells to the former Soviet republic, whose gas bill last month amounted to $1 billion, an amount the fragile economy can ill afford.
Ukrainian authorities say they will insist on cutting Russian gas imports to 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) this year from an estimated 40 bcm last year.
But Gazprom, Russia's pipeline gas export monopoly, insists this level is too low.
"According to the contract, a change in annual volumes cannot exceed 20 percent. In 2012, as everyone knows, the contractual supply volume stands at 52 bcm and cannot be cut to 27 bcm even in theory," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said.
POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC
Naftogaz, in turn, said in a statement it had asked Gazprom last May to reduce 2012 supplies to 33.75 bcm and could further reduce the volume by 20 percent, yielding the 27 bcm figure.
"Naftogaz states that it has warned Gazprom about cutting gas purchases in 2012 in a timely manner, that is six months before the start of the year, and fully in accordance with the terms of the contract," it said.
Petr Grishin, an analyst at Russian brokerage VTB Capital said in a note the dispute over volumes was "potentially problematic".
"...We saw the first signs that gas relations between Russia and Ukraine might again deteriorate beyond ordinary bargaining and inconsequential muscle flexing to something more material: disagreements over how much Ukraine owes Russia for current deliveries," Grishin said.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in months of negotiations on gas prices, which stand at $416 per thousand cubic metres in the first quarter of 2012, according to a Ukrainian government source.
Ukraine considers a fairer price to be $250.
The ownership of Ukraine's pipeline system, through which Russia used to ship 80 percent of its gas exports to Europe before the launch of the Nord Stream pipeline across the Baltic last November, is also a subject of talks.
"The time for discussion on contract volumes in the new year has passed. And, unfortunately, we must remind our Ukrainian friends again that the terms of gas delivery are determined only by contract, and cannot be changed unilaterally by this or that letter," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said in emailed comments.
Ukrainian state energy firm Naftogaz issued its own statement insisting it had the right to cut imports.
A debate between Moscow and Kiev over their gas trade relationship has grown increasingly shrill in recent weeks as a deal to cut the financial burden of Russian imports on Kiev has eluded them, driving renewed speculation about a possible gas war.
In the past, disputes between Moscow and Ukraine, across which pipelines take gas exports to Europe, have led to temporary cuts in supplies to the European Union, which is now seeking alternatives to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
Then, the debate centred largely on price.
Now, Gazprom's Kupriyanov said, it is about volume.
"It seems our Ukrainian partners will not negotiate on the price level for gas in 2012. Apparently it suits them. They will try to agree on volumes for 2013 in the established contractual order," Kupriyanov said.
Ukraine has asked Gazprom to reduce the volumes of gas it sells to the former Soviet republic, whose gas bill last month amounted to $1 billion, an amount the fragile economy can ill afford.
Ukrainian authorities say they will insist on cutting Russian gas imports to 27 billion cubic metres (bcm) this year from an estimated 40 bcm last year.
But Gazprom, Russia's pipeline gas export monopoly, insists this level is too low.
"According to the contract, a change in annual volumes cannot exceed 20 percent. In 2012, as everyone knows, the contractual supply volume stands at 52 bcm and cannot be cut to 27 bcm even in theory," Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov said.
POTENTIALLY PROBLEMATIC
Naftogaz, in turn, said in a statement it had asked Gazprom last May to reduce 2012 supplies to 33.75 bcm and could further reduce the volume by 20 percent, yielding the 27 bcm figure.
"Naftogaz states that it has warned Gazprom about cutting gas purchases in 2012 in a timely manner, that is six months before the start of the year, and fully in accordance with the terms of the contract," it said.
Petr Grishin, an analyst at Russian brokerage VTB Capital said in a note the dispute over volumes was "potentially problematic".
"...We saw the first signs that gas relations between Russia and Ukraine might again deteriorate beyond ordinary bargaining and inconsequential muscle flexing to something more material: disagreements over how much Ukraine owes Russia for current deliveries," Grishin said.
Russia and Ukraine have been engaged in months of negotiations on gas prices, which stand at $416 per thousand cubic metres in the first quarter of 2012, according to a Ukrainian government source.
Ukraine considers a fairer price to be $250.
The ownership of Ukraine's pipeline system, through which Russia used to ship 80 percent of its gas exports to Europe before the launch of the Nord Stream pipeline across the Baltic last November, is also a subject of talks.
EU Food-Quality Control Model To Be Adopted In Ukraine
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Due to the increasing number of food-poisoning cases, the Ukrainian government has decided to create a model for food quality control according to the standards of the European Union.
Ukraine State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service Head Ivan Bisiuk said: "On the model of the EU states, the veterinary service of Ukraine will be able to fully control food quality and safety from fertilising, feeding animals, monitoring pesticide residues and veterinary drugs in animal products to processing animal and vegetable goods, supplies to consumers, controlling logistics chains and sales on the whole territory of the country."
He noted that the reform of the food industry foresees "the creation of a single authorized body on the basis of the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service".
He concluded: "However, this does not mean that from now on only veterinarians should control herbal products or dietary and baby food. Specialists from other structures will be transferred to the state service with this purpose."
Also Ukraine has demanded an apology from Russia’s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko for his comments on its new food-quality control system.
Using the experience of “a European micro-state and Caucasian quasi-midget country” is “incorrect and humiliating,” Onishchenko said after Ukraine decided to delegate food-quality monitoring functions to veterinarians, Interfax reported.
Kiev officials have been left guessing what the sanitary chief, often blamed for banning Georgian wine sales in Russia, thought was wrong with European quality standards, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishchenko tweeted.
Ukraine State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service Head Ivan Bisiuk said: "On the model of the EU states, the veterinary service of Ukraine will be able to fully control food quality and safety from fertilising, feeding animals, monitoring pesticide residues and veterinary drugs in animal products to processing animal and vegetable goods, supplies to consumers, controlling logistics chains and sales on the whole territory of the country."
He noted that the reform of the food industry foresees "the creation of a single authorized body on the basis of the State Veterinary and Biosecurity Service".
He concluded: "However, this does not mean that from now on only veterinarians should control herbal products or dietary and baby food. Specialists from other structures will be transferred to the state service with this purpose."
Also Ukraine has demanded an apology from Russia’s chief sanitary doctor Gennady Onishchenko for his comments on its new food-quality control system.
Using the experience of “a European micro-state and Caucasian quasi-midget country” is “incorrect and humiliating,” Onishchenko said after Ukraine decided to delegate food-quality monitoring functions to veterinarians, Interfax reported.
Kiev officials have been left guessing what the sanitary chief, often blamed for banning Georgian wine sales in Russia, thought was wrong with European quality standards, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Konstantin Grishchenko tweeted.
Ukrainian Activists Barred From Greeting Jailed Tymoshenko On Orthodox New Year
KHARKIV, Ukraine -- Some 15 women activists were barred from wishing jailed former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko a happy New Year at the labor camp in eastern Ukraine where she is being held.
The activists brought leaflets and flowers to the Kachaniv labor camp, outside of Kharkiv.
But labor camp officials refused to take any gifts for Tymoshenko because, they said, more investigations of the ex-premier are pending and the investigators' approval is needed before the flowers, poems, and other gifts can be given to her.
January 13 was New Year's Eve according to the old Julian calendar used in Ukraine, Russia, and other Orthodox Christian subjects of the Russian empire until 1918.
The activists say their visit to the labor camp is not a protest but simply a visit to congratulate Tymoshenko on the holiday.
They added that they will pass their gifts to Tymoshenko via parliament deputies who have a right to visit Tymoshenko at the labor camp.
Tymoshenko, 51, was taken without notice from her jail in Kiev to the Kachaniv labor camp two weeks ago.
Tymoshenko was jailed in October for seven years for exceeding her authority in brokering a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
She served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010.
Tymoshenko unsuccessfully ran for president against incumbent Viktor Yanukovych in 2010.
She and her supporters say the case against her is politically motivated.
Tymoshenko's husband, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic last week.
He added that the Ukrainian authorities want to "physically destroy" his wife.
The activists brought leaflets and flowers to the Kachaniv labor camp, outside of Kharkiv.
But labor camp officials refused to take any gifts for Tymoshenko because, they said, more investigations of the ex-premier are pending and the investigators' approval is needed before the flowers, poems, and other gifts can be given to her.
January 13 was New Year's Eve according to the old Julian calendar used in Ukraine, Russia, and other Orthodox Christian subjects of the Russian empire until 1918.
The activists say their visit to the labor camp is not a protest but simply a visit to congratulate Tymoshenko on the holiday.
They added that they will pass their gifts to Tymoshenko via parliament deputies who have a right to visit Tymoshenko at the labor camp.
Tymoshenko, 51, was taken without notice from her jail in Kiev to the Kachaniv labor camp two weeks ago.
Tymoshenko was jailed in October for seven years for exceeding her authority in brokering a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
She served as prime minister in 2005 and from 2007 to 2010.
Tymoshenko unsuccessfully ran for president against incumbent Viktor Yanukovych in 2010.
She and her supporters say the case against her is politically motivated.
Tymoshenko's husband, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, was granted political asylum in the Czech Republic last week.
He added that the Ukrainian authorities want to "physically destroy" his wife.
Will 2012 Bring Popular Revolt To Ukraine?
WASHINGTON, DC -- Surveys and polls show there is widespread popular anger, frustration and contempt for the Viktor Yanukovych administration that has managed to anger many different groups in every Ukrainian region.
Imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (16.3 percent) is more popular than Yanukovych (13.3 percent) whose popularity is waning even in his home region of Donetsk.
Declining standards of living, anger at the November 2010 Tax Code, democratic regression, and growing corruption have contributed to the rapid decline in popularity.
In addition, the mistreatment of Tymoshenko is “harming the authorities’ ratings”.
Added to these problems are perceived attacks on Ukraine’s national identity that fuels a nationalist aspect to protests.
These include Yanukovych annulling the annual Day of Freedom holiday to commemorate the Orange Revolution, the April 2010 “Kharkiv Accords” extending Russia’s Sevastopol naval base for 30 years, Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk’s policies, attempts to make Russian a state language, and pending transfer of gas pipelines to a Russian-dominated consortium.
The Times predicted that 2012 “will be the year of Slavic revolt against authoritarian regimes in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine,” adding “Ukraine will repeat its 2004 Orange Revolution after anger at austerity measures boils over when President Yanukovych’s Party of Regions is accused of stealing parliamentary elections.
The opposition leader Yuliya Tymoshenko will be freed from prison after Mr. Yanukovych is forced to resign, but will fail to win the presidential election”.
The former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Stepan Havrysh, pointed out “we stand between surrender of key assets and the technical default of the state”.
External borrowing will be difficult and very expensive this year due to poor relations with the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Moody’s predicts Ukraine’s rating in 2012 will experience a significant downgrade.
The paranoia of the authorities at the possibility of mass protests is growing in response to the above factors.
Yanukovych billboards are guarded by the police to stop a growing number of cases of paint thrown at them.
The authorities have responded in five ways that re-introduce Soviet KGB tactics and Soviet political culture by linking dissidents to Western conspiracies and violent nationalists:
1. By making it more difficult to protest using heavy handed police tactics.
State governors and the Tax Administration have sent forms to NGOs to collect extensive data about organizations, leaders and members.
These two structures will “intensify the monitoring of planned protests filed with local authorities.”
There is no doubt among NGO leaders that this data will end up with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
The main objective is to collect intelligence on which NGOs will monitor the elections and the foreign assistance they will receive.
2. Through draft laws prepared by the Party of Regions, which emulate Russian legislation that bans external support to political parties and NGOs.
In 2003-2004, the Party of Regions and Communist Party (KPU) tried, but failed, to adopt similar legislation.
3. Targeted arrests and imprisonment of nationalists linking them to “terrorism.”
Nine members of the Tryzub (Trident) nationalist group were sentenced in December 2010, accused of blowing up the monument to Josef Stalin erected in Zaporozhzhia in May of that year.
Three members of Patriot Ukrainy are on trial for allegedly planning to detonate a bomb on Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24, 2010.
4. Official paranoia that Euro-2012 could provide an opportunity for the opposition to receive international attention from anti-regime protests is leading to draft legislation against soccer fans.
Party of Regions faction deputy leader, Vadym Kolesnichenko, has registered a draft law banning shouting at soccer games “xenophobic, racist, anti-semitic” slogans and “hurling placards, banners, flags, including those of a political nature, that harm the dignity of official people.”
This is an obvious reference to a song attacking Yanukovych sung at soccer games since August 2011, and whistling and booing when he has opened stadiums.
The video of the song was watched by more than one million people.
Halyna Coynash, from the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, finds the draft legislation disturbing as it would outlaw “posters, banners and flags of a political nature.”
Coynash argues that “it is difficult to imagine any European Union country imposing a hefty fine or jailing somebody for up to 15 days for holding up a banner accusing the president of political repression and demanding the release of members of the opposition”.
5. The SBU’s powers for investigation into riots have been expanded and a new SBU subdivision for counter-intelligence protection of the state’s interests in information security has been formed.
The subdivision’s responsibilities are so vague they could be used arbitrarily.
This is obvious from the following explanation of “information security:”
“protection from negative psychological-information effects,” “preservation and increase of spiritual, cultural and moral values of the Ukrainian peoples,” “safeguarding of socio-political stability” and threats to “a positive image of Ukraine”.
Critical views of the Tymoshenko case could for example come under the threat of “circulating in the world information realm of distorted, untruthful and biased information that damages Ukraine’s national interests,” because of “external adverse information impact on the public consciousness via the media and also the Internet”.
Ukrainian experts predict there will be protests this year, particularly in response to election fraud.
Vadym Karasiov suggests: “revolution is inevitable. The question is only how will it take place”.
Growing numbers of protests were predicted by experts who attended a Kiev meeting of the Political Club.
Ukraine has never been united in protest actions.
Eastern Ukraine provided few dissidents and did not participate in the democratic movement in the late 1980s in the Soviet Union.
Eastern Ukraine was indifferent to the 2000-2003 anti-Kuchma protests and opposed the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Western-central Ukraine participated in every democratic movement from the late 1950s.
Nevertheless, five wasted years of Yushchenko’s presidency have made them disillusioned and apathetic.
Any mass protests and revolution in Ukraine would depend on when the anger and frustrations of western-central Ukrainians at current developments supersedes their disillusionment with the Orange past.
This could take place during this year’s elections or anytime in the next three years before the 2015 presidential elections.
Ukrainian experts doubt that Yanukovych will be able to stay in power until the 2015 elections, but would an “Orange Revolution-2” be peaceful as he has more to lose if he is out of office than Leonid Kuchma had in 2004?
Imprisoned opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko (16.3 percent) is more popular than Yanukovych (13.3 percent) whose popularity is waning even in his home region of Donetsk.
Declining standards of living, anger at the November 2010 Tax Code, democratic regression, and growing corruption have contributed to the rapid decline in popularity.
In addition, the mistreatment of Tymoshenko is “harming the authorities’ ratings”.
Added to these problems are perceived attacks on Ukraine’s national identity that fuels a nationalist aspect to protests.
These include Yanukovych annulling the annual Day of Freedom holiday to commemorate the Orange Revolution, the April 2010 “Kharkiv Accords” extending Russia’s Sevastopol naval base for 30 years, Education Minister Dmytro Tabachnyk’s policies, attempts to make Russian a state language, and pending transfer of gas pipelines to a Russian-dominated consortium.
The Times predicted that 2012 “will be the year of Slavic revolt against authoritarian regimes in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine,” adding “Ukraine will repeat its 2004 Orange Revolution after anger at austerity measures boils over when President Yanukovych’s Party of Regions is accused of stealing parliamentary elections.
The opposition leader Yuliya Tymoshenko will be freed from prison after Mr. Yanukovych is forced to resign, but will fail to win the presidential election”.
The former Deputy Secretary of the National Security and Defence Council, Stepan Havrysh, pointed out “we stand between surrender of key assets and the technical default of the state”.
External borrowing will be difficult and very expensive this year due to poor relations with the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Moody’s predicts Ukraine’s rating in 2012 will experience a significant downgrade.
The paranoia of the authorities at the possibility of mass protests is growing in response to the above factors.
Yanukovych billboards are guarded by the police to stop a growing number of cases of paint thrown at them.
The authorities have responded in five ways that re-introduce Soviet KGB tactics and Soviet political culture by linking dissidents to Western conspiracies and violent nationalists:
1. By making it more difficult to protest using heavy handed police tactics.
State governors and the Tax Administration have sent forms to NGOs to collect extensive data about organizations, leaders and members.
These two structures will “intensify the monitoring of planned protests filed with local authorities.”
There is no doubt among NGO leaders that this data will end up with the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU).
The main objective is to collect intelligence on which NGOs will monitor the elections and the foreign assistance they will receive.
2. Through draft laws prepared by the Party of Regions, which emulate Russian legislation that bans external support to political parties and NGOs.
In 2003-2004, the Party of Regions and Communist Party (KPU) tried, but failed, to adopt similar legislation.
3. Targeted arrests and imprisonment of nationalists linking them to “terrorism.”
Nine members of the Tryzub (Trident) nationalist group were sentenced in December 2010, accused of blowing up the monument to Josef Stalin erected in Zaporozhzhia in May of that year.
Three members of Patriot Ukrainy are on trial for allegedly planning to detonate a bomb on Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 24, 2010.
4. Official paranoia that Euro-2012 could provide an opportunity for the opposition to receive international attention from anti-regime protests is leading to draft legislation against soccer fans.
Party of Regions faction deputy leader, Vadym Kolesnichenko, has registered a draft law banning shouting at soccer games “xenophobic, racist, anti-semitic” slogans and “hurling placards, banners, flags, including those of a political nature, that harm the dignity of official people.”
This is an obvious reference to a song attacking Yanukovych sung at soccer games since August 2011, and whistling and booing when he has opened stadiums.
The video of the song was watched by more than one million people.
Halyna Coynash, from the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, finds the draft legislation disturbing as it would outlaw “posters, banners and flags of a political nature.”
Coynash argues that “it is difficult to imagine any European Union country imposing a hefty fine or jailing somebody for up to 15 days for holding up a banner accusing the president of political repression and demanding the release of members of the opposition”.
5. The SBU’s powers for investigation into riots have been expanded and a new SBU subdivision for counter-intelligence protection of the state’s interests in information security has been formed.
The subdivision’s responsibilities are so vague they could be used arbitrarily.
This is obvious from the following explanation of “information security:”
“protection from negative psychological-information effects,” “preservation and increase of spiritual, cultural and moral values of the Ukrainian peoples,” “safeguarding of socio-political stability” and threats to “a positive image of Ukraine”.
Critical views of the Tymoshenko case could for example come under the threat of “circulating in the world information realm of distorted, untruthful and biased information that damages Ukraine’s national interests,” because of “external adverse information impact on the public consciousness via the media and also the Internet”.
Ukrainian experts predict there will be protests this year, particularly in response to election fraud.
Vadym Karasiov suggests: “revolution is inevitable. The question is only how will it take place”.
Growing numbers of protests were predicted by experts who attended a Kiev meeting of the Political Club.
Ukraine has never been united in protest actions.
Eastern Ukraine provided few dissidents and did not participate in the democratic movement in the late 1980s in the Soviet Union.
Eastern Ukraine was indifferent to the 2000-2003 anti-Kuchma protests and opposed the 2004 Orange Revolution.
Western-central Ukraine participated in every democratic movement from the late 1950s.
Nevertheless, five wasted years of Yushchenko’s presidency have made them disillusioned and apathetic.
Any mass protests and revolution in Ukraine would depend on when the anger and frustrations of western-central Ukrainians at current developments supersedes their disillusionment with the Orange past.
This could take place during this year’s elections or anytime in the next three years before the 2015 presidential elections.
Ukrainian experts doubt that Yanukovych will be able to stay in power until the 2015 elections, but would an “Orange Revolution-2” be peaceful as he has more to lose if he is out of office than Leonid Kuchma had in 2004?
Ukraine Hotel Deficit Worries UEFA Ahead Of Euro 2012
INNSBRUCK, Austria -- UEFA remains concerned over the lack of accommodation for fans and media in eastern Ukraine for Euro 2012, an official said Friday.
The Russian-speaking cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv have a deficit of thousands of hotel rooms required by European football's governing body of host cities, said Thomas Giordano, a UEFA spokesman.
"Accommodation in Donetsk and Kharkiv is not up to what we need. There are still hotels being built at the moment, and we are still working hard on finding additional accommodation in neighboring cities," he said at a sports media conference in Innsbruck, Austria.
Kharkiv is hosting three group matches, but Donetsk has five matches in total, including a quarterfinal and a semifinal.
UEFA regulations stipulate upwards of 5,500 hotel rooms for a semifinal venue.
Giordano said several contingency plans, including temporary camp sites, were being examined to deal with the influx of fans.
The continent's premier national team competition is in eight cities across Poland and Ukraine, starting in Warsaw on June 8 and ending with the final in Kiev on July 1.
The Russian-speaking cities of Donetsk and Kharkiv have a deficit of thousands of hotel rooms required by European football's governing body of host cities, said Thomas Giordano, a UEFA spokesman.
"Accommodation in Donetsk and Kharkiv is not up to what we need. There are still hotels being built at the moment, and we are still working hard on finding additional accommodation in neighboring cities," he said at a sports media conference in Innsbruck, Austria.
Kharkiv is hosting three group matches, but Donetsk has five matches in total, including a quarterfinal and a semifinal.
UEFA regulations stipulate upwards of 5,500 hotel rooms for a semifinal venue.
Giordano said several contingency plans, including temporary camp sites, were being examined to deal with the influx of fans.
The continent's premier national team competition is in eight cities across Poland and Ukraine, starting in Warsaw on June 8 and ending with the final in Kiev on July 1.
Bolshoi administration steps into dancer scandal
The Bolshoi’s administration has stepped into the unfolding scandal over ballet star Nikolai Tsiskaridze's sacking from Russia’s most famous theater.
Anatoly Iksanov, the Bolshoi’s director general, refuted Tsiskaridze’s claim that his dismissal from the position as a ballet instructor was nothing but revenge for his slamming of the results of the highly-publicized six-year renovation of the theater.
“No one is going to fire Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who was, and is, to remain Bolshoi Theatre’s soloist,” Iksanov told the news agency Itar-Tass. The discharge of Tsiskaridze’s pedagogical part-time contract was in order to give a full-time job to an instructor, he added. Regina Nikiforova, 76, who was a Bolshoi ballerina during her time, is to take the position
The scandal broke out when the celebrity dancer claimed the administration of the theater was trying to get rid of him after he shared several outspoken judgments about the theater with journalists.
“The thing is that Bolshoi Theatre director general Mr. Iksanov has been for a long time considered the Bolshoi Theater his own home territory,” Tsiskaridze told Interfax at the beginning of January, shortly after he received a notice about the annulment of his contract.
The famed ballet dancer said that his sacking was also to prevent any public criticism from his other colleagues, “who could possibly feel like criticizing the Bolshoi’s administration in the future.”
Tsiskaridze threatened to take a legal action against the theater If the decision was not revoked, he told Moskovsky Komsomolets. The dancer said terminating his contract was illegal according to the Russian Labor Code as he wasn’t offered to fill the full-time position.
Tsiskaridze was sacked together with Yan Godovsky, another Bolshoi ballet soloist who was a part-time instructor, and the official line is that the theater needs a full-time instructor.
“This season we have to move a whole collection of large-scale shows to the main stage, including ‘Le Corsaire,’ ‘Swan Lake,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Giselle’ and ‘The Pharaoh's Daughter,’” Iksanov said.
Tsiskaridze’s instructor contract is to be discharged on Jan. 17, Iksanov said, and a notification was sent to the dancer on Dec. 15.
Anatoly Iksanov, the Bolshoi’s director general, refuted Tsiskaridze’s claim that his dismissal from the position as a ballet instructor was nothing but revenge for his slamming of the results of the highly-publicized six-year renovation of the theater.
“No one is going to fire Nikolai Tsiskaridze, who was, and is, to remain Bolshoi Theatre’s soloist,” Iksanov told the news agency Itar-Tass. The discharge of Tsiskaridze’s pedagogical part-time contract was in order to give a full-time job to an instructor, he added. Regina Nikiforova, 76, who was a Bolshoi ballerina during her time, is to take the position
The scandal broke out when the celebrity dancer claimed the administration of the theater was trying to get rid of him after he shared several outspoken judgments about the theater with journalists.
“The thing is that Bolshoi Theatre director general Mr. Iksanov has been for a long time considered the Bolshoi Theater his own home territory,” Tsiskaridze told Interfax at the beginning of January, shortly after he received a notice about the annulment of his contract.
The famed ballet dancer said that his sacking was also to prevent any public criticism from his other colleagues, “who could possibly feel like criticizing the Bolshoi’s administration in the future.”
Tsiskaridze threatened to take a legal action against the theater If the decision was not revoked, he told Moskovsky Komsomolets. The dancer said terminating his contract was illegal according to the Russian Labor Code as he wasn’t offered to fill the full-time position.
Tsiskaridze was sacked together with Yan Godovsky, another Bolshoi ballet soloist who was a part-time instructor, and the official line is that the theater needs a full-time instructor.
“This season we have to move a whole collection of large-scale shows to the main stage, including ‘Le Corsaire,’ ‘Swan Lake,’ ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘Giselle’ and ‘The Pharaoh's Daughter,’” Iksanov said.
Tsiskaridze’s instructor contract is to be discharged on Jan. 17, Iksanov said, and a notification was sent to the dancer on Dec. 15.
Putin launches presidential-bid web site
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has launched a website in support of his presidential bid. The web site, www.putin2012.ru, outlines his planned presidential program as well as his biography, experience, interests, upcoming events and people’s opinions section. There is also a virtual suggestions box.
Moscow's hotels most expensive in Europe
As of November 2011, prices in Moscow’s hotels were the highest in Europe, RIA Novosti reported citing information obtained from the Hotel.info web site. Hotel.info provides booking services for over 210,000 hotels worldwide. The research was conducted in January and announced yesterday. According to the study, prices in Moscow rose 8.35 percent in autumn to reach 7,684 rubles for a room per night. Oslo came second at the equivalent of 7,145 rubles a night.
Old-Russian names making a return
Old-Russian names made a comeback among Muscovites in 2011, RIA Novosti reported the head of the births, deaths and marriages office as saying on Thursday. Irina Muravyeva said that rare names that previously popped on birth certificates such as Radost, Okeana, Kit and Sammerset Oushen, fell out of fashion in 2011.
“Such names were not used in 2011,” said Muravyeva. “However, in 2011 Old Russian and Norwegian names were used more often. Lyubomira, Radamira, Milalika for girls and Budemir, Luchezar, Bronemir, Svetloyar for boys.”
“Such names were not used in 2011,” said Muravyeva. “However, in 2011 Old Russian and Norwegian names were used more often. Lyubomira, Radamira, Milalika for girls and Budemir, Luchezar, Bronemir, Svetloyar for boys.”
Index of Economic Freedom says Russia ‘stuck’ at ‘mostly unfree’ level
The Heritage Foundation and Wall Street Journal have released their annual Index of Economic Freedom rankings list. Russia’s score remains unchanged at 50.5, making it 144th in the world in the “Mostly Unfree” group together with Italy, Greece, Brazil, China and India.
“Its score is unchanged from last year, with a significant increase in business freedom counterbalanced by a significant deterioration in control of government spending,” read the report. “The Russian government has demonstrated little if any commitment to economic reform in recent years, and the country’s economic freedom score remains stuck at the lower end of the ‘mostly unfree’ category.”
“Its score is unchanged from last year, with a significant increase in business freedom counterbalanced by a significant deterioration in control of government spending,” read the report. “The Russian government has demonstrated little if any commitment to economic reform in recent years, and the country’s economic freedom score remains stuck at the lower end of the ‘mostly unfree’ category.”
Moscow crime down in 2011 -- mayor
A downward trend in Moscow’s crime levels in 2011, continues Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin as saying at a ceremony in the Moscow prosecutor's office dedicated to the 290th anniversary of the Prosecutors Office in Russia.
“It is particularly important to continue to reduce the number of serious and grave crimes, which fell last year by 10 percent. Killings declined by 15 percent, armed assault by 13 percent, robberies by 16 percent, burglaries by more than 20 percent,” said the mayor. He added that it was most important to build on the trend.
“It is particularly important to continue to reduce the number of serious and grave crimes, which fell last year by 10 percent. Killings declined by 15 percent, armed assault by 13 percent, robberies by 16 percent, burglaries by more than 20 percent,” said the mayor. He added that it was most important to build on the trend.
Killer of Kostroma journalist avoids trial
he man who killed a Russian journalist in 2001 will not face trial because the statute of limitations for the crime has expired, a police spokesperson said.
The journalist, 32-year-old Elina Voronova, who worked for the Rus television and radio company in the central Russian city of Kostroma, was killed near her home on the night of November 5, 2001.
Voronova was attacked on her way home from the library by a group of minors, one of whom tried to rape her. She was able to fight off that assault but was brutally beaten and ultimately thrown down a well, where her body was found the next day.
An autopsy determined that her death was the result of grievous head injuries and hypothermia.
“The suspect (in the murder) was detained in 2001 but we did not have enough evidence to charge him,” a senior police investigator in Kostroma, Ilyaz Abdurakhmanov, said.
The investigation was suspended. Years later, the case was reopened and a reconstruction of the crime obtained new evidence that compelled the suspect to confess his guilt. However, by that time the statute of limitations had expired.
The suspect's identity has not been disclosed because he was 17 at the time of the crime. However, it is known that he has six other criminal convictions and is currently serving a prison sentence.
The journalist, 32-year-old Elina Voronova, who worked for the Rus television and radio company in the central Russian city of Kostroma, was killed near her home on the night of November 5, 2001.
Voronova was attacked on her way home from the library by a group of minors, one of whom tried to rape her. She was able to fight off that assault but was brutally beaten and ultimately thrown down a well, where her body was found the next day.
An autopsy determined that her death was the result of grievous head injuries and hypothermia.
“The suspect (in the murder) was detained in 2001 but we did not have enough evidence to charge him,” a senior police investigator in Kostroma, Ilyaz Abdurakhmanov, said.
The investigation was suspended. Years later, the case was reopened and a reconstruction of the crime obtained new evidence that compelled the suspect to confess his guilt. However, by that time the statute of limitations had expired.
The suspect's identity has not been disclosed because he was 17 at the time of the crime. However, it is known that he has six other criminal convictions and is currently serving a prison sentence.
Revolution or evolution?
After a wave of massive protest rallies and promises of more to come, increasing calls for more dialogue between the government and the opposition are testing the Kremlin on its willingness to listen – and to compromise.
Even the Church weighed in over the holidays about the need to protect the country from a new revolution, like the one in 1917 that replaced established religion with Communism.
But Patriarch Kirill’s Christmas Day comments on January 7 (the day Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated) sounded more like a call to the Kremlin to move forward rather than a warning to oppositionists. “If the government remains insensitive to the expressions of protest, it is a very bad sign, it is a sign of the failure of the authorities to make adjustments,” the Patriarch said in televised comments.
The comments came after offers of mediation had already been made by Alexei Kudrin, the former finance minister and a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who showed up to speak at the last mass rally on Prospect Sakharova on Dec. 24. And they resonated with calls for “evolution” rather than “revolution” made Thursday in an article for the Guardian penned by presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, a billionaire who is believed to have the Kremlin’s blessing to run.
But the position of the Orthodox Church seems to be a response, in part, to calls made by Putin during his last call in show in December that citizens need better ways of communicating with state officials.
“We think that ordinary people – those who go on meetings, doctors, teachers, should also be able to talk to the authorities and the church will be able to organize this dialogue,” Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin told The Moscow News.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is the main candidate for the upcoming presidential election, has changed his tough stance on the opposition, promising a possibility of dialogue.
But these signals appear mixed with a distrust of what the oppositionists can offer.
“There should be dialogue but in what form – I will think about it,” the Prime Minister said talking to journalists on December 28. “We have never been against the dialogue with the opposition, but we and I personally are against extremism, any manifestation of extremism would be terminated.”
“They [the opposition] should build up a single platform, in order to make it possible to understand what they want,” Putin said in response to a question on whether he is planning to communicate with oppositionists.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, explained that platforms for dialogue already exist and should be used, suggesting the Public Chamber or the 2020 Strategy. And he downplayed the effectiveness of street protests.
“A dialogue is possible with people who propose some concrete ideas – both within the State Duma or outside it, street protests resemble an army of one soldier. There should be people who have something to say,” Dmitry Peskov told The Moscow News Wednesday by telephone.
“Vladimir Putin has already been openly communicating with social activists and thinkers, but he would never talk to people who are outside the law,” Peskov added.
Indeed, even as authorities encourage dialogue, there are signals that they tolerate the mass rallies grudgingly at best. President Dmitry Medvedev, who earlier proposed a series of measures to liberalize the election process, came out recently with a law to restrict meetings and rallies near the Kremlin, purportedly to preserve the historic value of sites like Vasilyevsky Spusk, Alexandrovsky Sad and Red Square.
Some analysts believe that while some oppositionists for regime change, more moderate forces could be successfully incorporated into the current political system.
“There are types of street opposition that should have their voice in official bodies – we can now see three of them: Westerners (modern intelligentsia), Slavophiles – people who support Russian nationalism but are more [moderate] than [head of the nationalist LDPR Vladimir] Zhirinovsky, and the ecologists – Russia’s ‘green’ party,” Sergei Markov, a senior member of the ruling United Russia party, told The Moscow News.
Markov suggested that the government itself should help form such parties right after the presidential election, in order to make itself more legitimate.
Many in the opposition doubt that the state’s calls for dialogue are sincere.
“In theory the opposition is not against negotiation with the authorities but for now it can’t be done on practice,” Ilya Yashin, one of the leaders of the Solidarnost movement, told The Moscow News. “The authorities haven’t appointed any negotiators to talk to opposition and the Prime Minister Putin seems to ignore the requests of past rallies.”
Eduard Limonov, who was denied registration as a presidential candidate, was even more pessimistic. “Be realistic – there will be no negotiations, authorities consider everything is going along as it should,” he told Yashin during an earlier debate on Ekho Moskvy radio. “Negotiations are usually made under the pressure and for now there is no pressure from opposition. After the third rally any pressure on authorities will be over.”
While some opposition leaders have expressed a willingness for dialogue, others insist on more mass rallies to convey their message.
Liberal opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov told media this week that he and his allies would continue organizing mass public rallies with a view of greater political feedback.
The next mass rally is scheduled for February 4, while political analysts expect more protests ahead of the presidential elections and afterwards. Some 89 percent of protesters on Sakharov Avenue have said they would likely turn up again, according to a poll by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center.
Even the Church weighed in over the holidays about the need to protect the country from a new revolution, like the one in 1917 that replaced established religion with Communism.
But Patriarch Kirill’s Christmas Day comments on January 7 (the day Russian Orthodox Christmas is celebrated) sounded more like a call to the Kremlin to move forward rather than a warning to oppositionists. “If the government remains insensitive to the expressions of protest, it is a very bad sign, it is a sign of the failure of the authorities to make adjustments,” the Patriarch said in televised comments.
The comments came after offers of mediation had already been made by Alexei Kudrin, the former finance minister and a close ally of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who showed up to speak at the last mass rally on Prospect Sakharova on Dec. 24. And they resonated with calls for “evolution” rather than “revolution” made Thursday in an article for the Guardian penned by presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, a billionaire who is believed to have the Kremlin’s blessing to run.
But the position of the Orthodox Church seems to be a response, in part, to calls made by Putin during his last call in show in December that citizens need better ways of communicating with state officials.
“We think that ordinary people – those who go on meetings, doctors, teachers, should also be able to talk to the authorities and the church will be able to organize this dialogue,” Church spokesman Vsevolod Chaplin told The Moscow News.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who is the main candidate for the upcoming presidential election, has changed his tough stance on the opposition, promising a possibility of dialogue.
But these signals appear mixed with a distrust of what the oppositionists can offer.
“There should be dialogue but in what form – I will think about it,” the Prime Minister said talking to journalists on December 28. “We have never been against the dialogue with the opposition, but we and I personally are against extremism, any manifestation of extremism would be terminated.”
“They [the opposition] should build up a single platform, in order to make it possible to understand what they want,” Putin said in response to a question on whether he is planning to communicate with oppositionists.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, explained that platforms for dialogue already exist and should be used, suggesting the Public Chamber or the 2020 Strategy. And he downplayed the effectiveness of street protests.
“A dialogue is possible with people who propose some concrete ideas – both within the State Duma or outside it, street protests resemble an army of one soldier. There should be people who have something to say,” Dmitry Peskov told The Moscow News Wednesday by telephone.
“Vladimir Putin has already been openly communicating with social activists and thinkers, but he would never talk to people who are outside the law,” Peskov added.
Indeed, even as authorities encourage dialogue, there are signals that they tolerate the mass rallies grudgingly at best. President Dmitry Medvedev, who earlier proposed a series of measures to liberalize the election process, came out recently with a law to restrict meetings and rallies near the Kremlin, purportedly to preserve the historic value of sites like Vasilyevsky Spusk, Alexandrovsky Sad and Red Square.
Some analysts believe that while some oppositionists for regime change, more moderate forces could be successfully incorporated into the current political system.
“There are types of street opposition that should have their voice in official bodies – we can now see three of them: Westerners (modern intelligentsia), Slavophiles – people who support Russian nationalism but are more [moderate] than [head of the nationalist LDPR Vladimir] Zhirinovsky, and the ecologists – Russia’s ‘green’ party,” Sergei Markov, a senior member of the ruling United Russia party, told The Moscow News.
Markov suggested that the government itself should help form such parties right after the presidential election, in order to make itself more legitimate.
Many in the opposition doubt that the state’s calls for dialogue are sincere.
“In theory the opposition is not against negotiation with the authorities but for now it can’t be done on practice,” Ilya Yashin, one of the leaders of the Solidarnost movement, told The Moscow News. “The authorities haven’t appointed any negotiators to talk to opposition and the Prime Minister Putin seems to ignore the requests of past rallies.”
Eduard Limonov, who was denied registration as a presidential candidate, was even more pessimistic. “Be realistic – there will be no negotiations, authorities consider everything is going along as it should,” he told Yashin during an earlier debate on Ekho Moskvy radio. “Negotiations are usually made under the pressure and for now there is no pressure from opposition. After the third rally any pressure on authorities will be over.”
While some opposition leaders have expressed a willingness for dialogue, others insist on more mass rallies to convey their message.
Liberal opposition leader Vladimir Ryzhkov told media this week that he and his allies would continue organizing mass public rallies with a view of greater political feedback.
The next mass rally is scheduled for February 4, while political analysts expect more protests ahead of the presidential elections and afterwards. Some 89 percent of protesters on Sakharov Avenue have said they would likely turn up again, according to a poll by the All-Russia Public Opinion Research Center.
Eyes on the ballot
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made a surprising confession on New Year’s Eve, promising that the present he’d like to place under the fir tree for the holidays would be a fair presidential election in March 2012.
In a gesture intended to show election transparency and boost his legitimacy, the prime minister earlier suggested installing webcams at each of the country’s 96,000 precincts.
But experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of the new initiative – and whether it will turn out to be sincere. “It’s just a nice way to divvy up the 14 billion ruble pie,” Andrei Buzin, department director at Golos, an independent election monitor, told The Moscow News. Buzin, whose organization came under fire from national television during the parliamentary elections, was referring to state funds allocated towards transparency measures at polling stations.
Webcams and transparent ballot boxes were being purchased starting Wednesday in line with pledges by Putin.
Earlier this week Buzin published an analysis in Vedomosti pointing out the main flaws of the current election system.
“I don’t think forgers will do their dirty job in front of webcams,” Buzin wrote.
“There are lots of more convenient places for that, for example, territorial election commissions, where they can just make a new protocol of a lower-level commission.” Buzin emphasized that the main flaw in the elections process is indirect fraud – a lack of competition and the use of government leverage. Most of the members of local election commissions work in government-funded sectors and often face threats of losing their job if they fail to ensure the “right” vote results.
Buzin believes that the only effective way to fight vote fraud is to have enough election observers with full access to monitor what election commission members are doing.
Opposition parties and movements are recruiting monitors, some of whom are even eager to work for free. The leader of the Demokratichesky Vybor (Democratic Choice) movement, Vladimir Milov, expects to cover 3,000 to 5,000 polling stations, while last time his organization had a staff of only 1,000 monitors.
Ilya Yashin, a leader of the Solidarnost movement, told The Moscow News that “monitors are the only effective means for us to control what’s going on at a polling station.”
“You can’t switch [a person] off like a webcam,” Yashin said.
Andrei Buzin agrees. “Unlike a webcam, a monitor can look around and knows of a great deal of fraud schemes.”
But according to Buzin, an observer’s independence is precisely what makes him so unwanted at polling stations, where many were kicked out without any legal basis in the recent elections.
Golos has launched additional training courses for future monitors to teach them to use a camera properly and post their files on the Golos’ Map of Violations portal, from where information can be accessed publicly, Golos CEO Lilia Shibanova told The Moscow News, adding that an increasing number of partners have been joining the project recently.
Buzin has been urging election authorities to ban the practice of kicking out election observers from polling stations. “An amendment on illegal eviction of observers to the Penal Code could save the budget 14 billion rubles because an observer will record everything on his camera at his own expense.”
The expert’s view has been supported by presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, who wrote in his blog that kicking out an election observer should be treated as a crime. The oligarch also welcomed the prime minister’s initiative to equip polling stations with webcams.
The chief of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, believes that vote transparency can be ensured through the use of webcams and transparent ballot boxes, which will be installed at two-thirds of polling stations.
In an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio last week, Churov highlighted that courts do not necessarily need to consider evidence recorded by observers. He also remarked that if an observer’s removal “was not documented, it can’t be considered removal.”
“If a monitor is filming secretly without notifying the election commission chief, it’s a violation,” Churov said.
Lilia Shibanova told The Moscow News that there are no provisions in the law that oblige an observer to notify an election commission chief.
“How does Mr. Churov imagine that? A monitor should ask ‘Would you mind if I film your ballot rigging?’” Shibanova said.
According to Buzin, election legislation makes it possible for certified protocols to be rewritten. “This explains why there are so many cases where the figures stated in the protocols that observers have differ from those of the Central Election Commission. Evidence and common sense notwithstanding, courts refuse to cancel the vote at precincts where this is the case.”
Buzin also stressed that no one has ever been brought to justice for refusing to give an observer a copy of a protocol or for giving a false copy, which is one of the common violations that give courts grounds to dismiss a vote fraud lawsuit. In late December two Moscow district courts ruled that protocol copies presented by observers showing that United Russia had received fewer votes than election authorities claimed were “trial copies,” dismissing the evidence.
According to Buzin, one of the most crucial stages of the vote count process are carried out in separate rooms that observers have no access to at all – and that those are precisely the places where much of the rigging can take place.
So far, the Central Election Commission has ignored Golos’ proposals to improve legislation and the voting system.
In a gesture intended to show election transparency and boost his legitimacy, the prime minister earlier suggested installing webcams at each of the country’s 96,000 precincts.
But experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of the new initiative – and whether it will turn out to be sincere. “It’s just a nice way to divvy up the 14 billion ruble pie,” Andrei Buzin, department director at Golos, an independent election monitor, told The Moscow News. Buzin, whose organization came under fire from national television during the parliamentary elections, was referring to state funds allocated towards transparency measures at polling stations.
Webcams and transparent ballot boxes were being purchased starting Wednesday in line with pledges by Putin.
Earlier this week Buzin published an analysis in Vedomosti pointing out the main flaws of the current election system.
“I don’t think forgers will do their dirty job in front of webcams,” Buzin wrote.
“There are lots of more convenient places for that, for example, territorial election commissions, where they can just make a new protocol of a lower-level commission.” Buzin emphasized that the main flaw in the elections process is indirect fraud – a lack of competition and the use of government leverage. Most of the members of local election commissions work in government-funded sectors and often face threats of losing their job if they fail to ensure the “right” vote results.
Buzin believes that the only effective way to fight vote fraud is to have enough election observers with full access to monitor what election commission members are doing.
Opposition parties and movements are recruiting monitors, some of whom are even eager to work for free. The leader of the Demokratichesky Vybor (Democratic Choice) movement, Vladimir Milov, expects to cover 3,000 to 5,000 polling stations, while last time his organization had a staff of only 1,000 monitors.
Ilya Yashin, a leader of the Solidarnost movement, told The Moscow News that “monitors are the only effective means for us to control what’s going on at a polling station.”
“You can’t switch [a person] off like a webcam,” Yashin said.
Andrei Buzin agrees. “Unlike a webcam, a monitor can look around and knows of a great deal of fraud schemes.”
But according to Buzin, an observer’s independence is precisely what makes him so unwanted at polling stations, where many were kicked out without any legal basis in the recent elections.
Golos has launched additional training courses for future monitors to teach them to use a camera properly and post their files on the Golos’ Map of Violations portal, from where information can be accessed publicly, Golos CEO Lilia Shibanova told The Moscow News, adding that an increasing number of partners have been joining the project recently.
Buzin has been urging election authorities to ban the practice of kicking out election observers from polling stations. “An amendment on illegal eviction of observers to the Penal Code could save the budget 14 billion rubles because an observer will record everything on his camera at his own expense.”
The expert’s view has been supported by presidential candidate Mikhail Prokhorov, who wrote in his blog that kicking out an election observer should be treated as a crime. The oligarch also welcomed the prime minister’s initiative to equip polling stations with webcams.
The chief of the Central Election Commission, Vladimir Churov, believes that vote transparency can be ensured through the use of webcams and transparent ballot boxes, which will be installed at two-thirds of polling stations.
In an interview with Ekho Moskvy radio last week, Churov highlighted that courts do not necessarily need to consider evidence recorded by observers. He also remarked that if an observer’s removal “was not documented, it can’t be considered removal.”
“If a monitor is filming secretly without notifying the election commission chief, it’s a violation,” Churov said.
Lilia Shibanova told The Moscow News that there are no provisions in the law that oblige an observer to notify an election commission chief.
“How does Mr. Churov imagine that? A monitor should ask ‘Would you mind if I film your ballot rigging?’” Shibanova said.
According to Buzin, election legislation makes it possible for certified protocols to be rewritten. “This explains why there are so many cases where the figures stated in the protocols that observers have differ from those of the Central Election Commission. Evidence and common sense notwithstanding, courts refuse to cancel the vote at precincts where this is the case.”
Buzin also stressed that no one has ever been brought to justice for refusing to give an observer a copy of a protocol or for giving a false copy, which is one of the common violations that give courts grounds to dismiss a vote fraud lawsuit. In late December two Moscow district courts ruled that protocol copies presented by observers showing that United Russia had received fewer votes than election authorities claimed were “trial copies,” dismissing the evidence.
According to Buzin, one of the most crucial stages of the vote count process are carried out in separate rooms that observers have no access to at all – and that those are precisely the places where much of the rigging can take place.
So far, the Central Election Commission has ignored Golos’ proposals to improve legislation and the voting system.
Tuesday 10 January 2012
Ukraine-Born Demjanjuk Asks Judge To Reconsider Citizenship Bid
TOLEDO, USA -- Convicted Nazi war criminal John Demjanjuk wants a federal judge to reconsider a decision denying his bid to regain his U.S. citizenship.
U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster had rejected the citizenship request just over two weeks ago, saying Demjanjuk lied about where he was during World War II.
Demjanjuk's attorney asked the judge Thursday to reconsider the request, saying he had not seen all the newly discovered documents that could help his cause.
The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk was a Soviet Red Army soldier captured by the Germans in 1942.
He was convicted in May by a German court that found he had served as a guard at the Nazis' Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Demjanjuk cannot leave Germany because he has no passport after being stripped of his U.S. citizenship ahead of his deportation to Germany in 2009.
Demjanjuk, who is in his 90s, has been in poor health for years and has been in and out of a hospital since his conviction.
Federal authorities had said Demjanjuk, who has denied serving as a guard at any Nazi camp, was trying to cast himself as a victim following his conviction on more than 28,000 counts of accessory to murder.
His lawyers argue that the U.S. government failed to disclose important evidence, including a 1985 secret FBI report uncovered by The Associated Press that indicates the FBI believed a Nazi ID card purportedly showing that he served as a death camp guard was a Soviet-made fake.
Demjanjuk's public defender, Dennis Terez, said in the latest filing that the judge should give him the chance to question the government's claims and ask what caused a retired FBI agent to become suspicious of documents released by the Soviet Union.
The government has submitted an affidavit from former FBI agent Thomas Martin who said the March 4, 1985, report written by him was based on speculation about a Soviet forgery, not any investigation.
U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster had rejected the citizenship request just over two weeks ago, saying Demjanjuk lied about where he was during World War II.
Demjanjuk's attorney asked the judge Thursday to reconsider the request, saying he had not seen all the newly discovered documents that could help his cause.
The Ukrainian-born Demjanjuk was a Soviet Red Army soldier captured by the Germans in 1942.
He was convicted in May by a German court that found he had served as a guard at the Nazis' Sobibor death camp in occupied Poland. He was sentenced to five years in prison.
Demjanjuk cannot leave Germany because he has no passport after being stripped of his U.S. citizenship ahead of his deportation to Germany in 2009.
Demjanjuk, who is in his 90s, has been in poor health for years and has been in and out of a hospital since his conviction.
Federal authorities had said Demjanjuk, who has denied serving as a guard at any Nazi camp, was trying to cast himself as a victim following his conviction on more than 28,000 counts of accessory to murder.
His lawyers argue that the U.S. government failed to disclose important evidence, including a 1985 secret FBI report uncovered by The Associated Press that indicates the FBI believed a Nazi ID card purportedly showing that he served as a death camp guard was a Soviet-made fake.
Demjanjuk's public defender, Dennis Terez, said in the latest filing that the judge should give him the chance to question the government's claims and ask what caused a retired FBI agent to become suspicious of documents released by the Soviet Union.
The government has submitted an affidavit from former FBI agent Thomas Martin who said the March 4, 1985, report written by him was based on speculation about a Soviet forgery, not any investigation.
From Asylum, Tymoshenko's Husband Calls On World Leaders To Protect Wife
PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Oleksandr Tymoshenko, the husband of imprisoned former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has called on world leaders to protect his wife from what he says are the government's efforts to "destroy" her.
In one of his first interviews since being granted asylum in the Czech Republic on January 6, Oleksandr Tymoshenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that the government of President Viktor Yanukovych "does not need Yulia Tymoshenko alive."
"Now they are trying to physically destroy her by not providing her with qualified medical care. Even during such a holiday as Christmas, they continue to spread lies that they gave her medical examinations," he said.
"I call on the whole world to understand that the Yanukovych regime does not need Yulia Tymoshenko alive. I call on the world leaders to protect my wife from Yanukovych's regime."
Yulia Tymoshenko, a two-term prime minister and the heroine of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, is in the early months of a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office concerning a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
A longtime foe of Yanukovych, she was narrowly defeated by him in the 2010 presidential election, and her Batkivshyna (Fatherland) party is poised to mount a challenge to the ruling Party of Regions.
Tymoshenko's conviction on October 11 prompted an outcry from supporters, who have since alleged that she is in ill health and facing torturous conditions, including 24-hour bright lights in her cell in a penal colony in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Her lawyers have filed a case against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights.
Ukraine's State Penitentiary System has said the former prime minister's cell "meets all European requirements and standards of detention."
Tymoshenko's case has been met with condemnation from both Brussels and Washington, where officials say it is politically motivated.
The signing of a landmark cooperation agreement between the European Union and Ukraine has been stalled, with European leaders conditioning progress in part on Tymoshenko's case.
Yanukovych, meanwhile, says he has not exerted pressure on judicial proceedings in the case and says it is up to the courts to decide the former prime minister's fate.
In Prague, Oleksandr Tymoshenko said the West should do more.
"I call on the European countries to impose sanctions against the authorities and their families, in particular the sons of Yanukovych, the top authorities in the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the SBU [security service], judges, and investigators who facilitated the falsification of Yulia Tymoshenko's case," he said.
"World leaders have to finally understand that Yanukovych and democracy are mutually exclusive notions," he added.
"A twice convicted former criminal is forming a totalitarian regime in Ukraine."
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, who, like his wife, is 51, told RFE/RL that he sought asylum in part because he believed that leaving Ukraine would deprive the government of a way to pressure his wife.
"I was forced to leave Ukraine and ask for political asylum in the Czech Republic because of the unprecedented pressure by the authoritarian regime of President Yanukovych," he said.
"The authorities do not shy away from any dirty methods. They were not successful in breaking Yulia Tymoshenko by intimidation, courts, imprisonment, or torture. Therefore, they used even dirtier tricks. They started to persecute me and other members of her family."
"I do not want to give them more leverage to use against the leader of the opposition. For me, political asylum is the only way to reach this goal."
Oleksandr Tymoshenko has been named as a defendant in recently revived criminal cases involving United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a company he and his wife led in the 1990s.
He was charged and held in custody in relation to one of those cases in 2000, but was never convicted.
Citing official pressure, Oleksandr Tymoshenko has severed most of his Ukrainian business ties.
Among other current interests, he holds a stake in the Czech-based firm International Industrial Projects.
He told RFE/RL that he and supporters of his wife plan to establish an NGO in the Czech Republic to monitor and publicize human rights abuses in Ukraine.
He said the organization would be called Batkivshyna -- the same name as his wife's political party -- and would be headed by Yevhenia Tymoshenko, the couple's daughter.
Yevhenia Tymoshenko remains in Ukraine, where she has advocated vocally on her mother's behalf.
In one of his first interviews since being granted asylum in the Czech Republic on January 6, Oleksandr Tymoshenko told RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service that the government of President Viktor Yanukovych "does not need Yulia Tymoshenko alive."
"Now they are trying to physically destroy her by not providing her with qualified medical care. Even during such a holiday as Christmas, they continue to spread lies that they gave her medical examinations," he said.
"I call on the whole world to understand that the Yanukovych regime does not need Yulia Tymoshenko alive. I call on the world leaders to protect my wife from Yanukovych's regime."
Yulia Tymoshenko, a two-term prime minister and the heroine of Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution, is in the early months of a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office concerning a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
A longtime foe of Yanukovych, she was narrowly defeated by him in the 2010 presidential election, and her Batkivshyna (Fatherland) party is poised to mount a challenge to the ruling Party of Regions.
Tymoshenko's conviction on October 11 prompted an outcry from supporters, who have since alleged that she is in ill health and facing torturous conditions, including 24-hour bright lights in her cell in a penal colony in the eastern city of Kharkiv.
Her lawyers have filed a case against Ukraine in the European Court of Human Rights.
Ukraine's State Penitentiary System has said the former prime minister's cell "meets all European requirements and standards of detention."
Tymoshenko's case has been met with condemnation from both Brussels and Washington, where officials say it is politically motivated.
The signing of a landmark cooperation agreement between the European Union and Ukraine has been stalled, with European leaders conditioning progress in part on Tymoshenko's case.
Yanukovych, meanwhile, says he has not exerted pressure on judicial proceedings in the case and says it is up to the courts to decide the former prime minister's fate.
In Prague, Oleksandr Tymoshenko said the West should do more.
"I call on the European countries to impose sanctions against the authorities and their families, in particular the sons of Yanukovych, the top authorities in the Office of the Prosecutor-General, the SBU [security service], judges, and investigators who facilitated the falsification of Yulia Tymoshenko's case," he said.
"World leaders have to finally understand that Yanukovych and democracy are mutually exclusive notions," he added.
"A twice convicted former criminal is forming a totalitarian regime in Ukraine."
Oleksandr Tymoshenko, who, like his wife, is 51, told RFE/RL that he sought asylum in part because he believed that leaving Ukraine would deprive the government of a way to pressure his wife.
"I was forced to leave Ukraine and ask for political asylum in the Czech Republic because of the unprecedented pressure by the authoritarian regime of President Yanukovych," he said.
"The authorities do not shy away from any dirty methods. They were not successful in breaking Yulia Tymoshenko by intimidation, courts, imprisonment, or torture. Therefore, they used even dirtier tricks. They started to persecute me and other members of her family."
"I do not want to give them more leverage to use against the leader of the opposition. For me, political asylum is the only way to reach this goal."
Oleksandr Tymoshenko has been named as a defendant in recently revived criminal cases involving United Energy Systems of Ukraine, a company he and his wife led in the 1990s.
He was charged and held in custody in relation to one of those cases in 2000, but was never convicted.
Citing official pressure, Oleksandr Tymoshenko has severed most of his Ukrainian business ties.
Among other current interests, he holds a stake in the Czech-based firm International Industrial Projects.
He told RFE/RL that he and supporters of his wife plan to establish an NGO in the Czech Republic to monitor and publicize human rights abuses in Ukraine.
He said the organization would be called Batkivshyna -- the same name as his wife's political party -- and would be headed by Yevhenia Tymoshenko, the couple's daughter.
Yevhenia Tymoshenko remains in Ukraine, where she has advocated vocally on her mother's behalf.
Russians Warn Of Food Import Restrictions
KIEV, Ukraine -- Russia warned it will probably restrict imports of agricultural commodities from Ukraine after Kiev indicated it will move towards reforming its food control agency in line with the European Union standards.
The warning, made by the chief of the Russian state consumer protection agency, Gennady Onishchenko, on Sunday comes weeks after Ukraine and the European Union had successfully completed talks over the free trade agreement.
“A serious problem has emerged,” Onishchenko told on Sunday.
“Beginning in May, we will very seriously strengthen supervision [of imports from Uktraine] at the border.”
Onishcheko complained that Ukraine had decided to allow the State Veterinary Service, mostly known from handling and controlling outbreaks of diseases in livestock among other tasks, has been also appointed to supervise quality and safety of food for people across the country.
“This de-facto means that a citizen of Ukraine has been officially defined as an animal,” Onishchenko said, arguing that those are doctors that must control quality of food.
“Food accounts for 70% of health problems.”
Ukraine argued that expanding the duties of the State Veterinary Service was part of the reform that had been aimed at bringing the country closer to EU regulations.
“The creation of the single competent organ on the basis of the State Veterinary Service is anticipated by the reform of the food sector,” Viktor Korzh, a lawmaker from the governing Regions Party and a deputy head of the committee on healthcare in Parliament, said.
“The statement [Onishchenko] is a real provocation.”
Korzh said the expanded state service will have other staffers that will be recruited from healthcare agencies that will effectively supervise the food industry.
“The service will get specialists from other agencies.”
Mykhaylo Chechetov, another pro-government lawmaker, said that Onishchenko’s controversial view is not shared by the president of Russia and by the prime minister of Russia.
“I don’t think that the warning from the official is shared by Russia’s authorities – the president and the prime minister,” Chechetov said.
“So, let’s not put the stupidity of one person into the ranks of the state policy.”
The developments come less than three months that Ukraine and six other countries of the former Soviet Union signed a free trade agreement with Russia.
The agreement, however, excludes three most sensitive commodities for Ukraine, including sugar, crude oil and natural gas, allowing Russia to restrict trade in these commodities.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said recently that Russia had promised at some point to lift the restrictions on trade with oil and gas, but gave no other details.
Ukraine has last year refused to joint the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a deep level of integration that could have derailed free trade talks with the European Union.
In July 2011 Russia imposed restrictions on imports of meat and dairy products from Ukraine, warning that its steel sector may follow the suit.
The warning, made by the chief of the Russian state consumer protection agency, Gennady Onishchenko, on Sunday comes weeks after Ukraine and the European Union had successfully completed talks over the free trade agreement.
“A serious problem has emerged,” Onishchenko told on Sunday.
“Beginning in May, we will very seriously strengthen supervision [of imports from Uktraine] at the border.”
Onishcheko complained that Ukraine had decided to allow the State Veterinary Service, mostly known from handling and controlling outbreaks of diseases in livestock among other tasks, has been also appointed to supervise quality and safety of food for people across the country.
“This de-facto means that a citizen of Ukraine has been officially defined as an animal,” Onishchenko said, arguing that those are doctors that must control quality of food.
“Food accounts for 70% of health problems.”
Ukraine argued that expanding the duties of the State Veterinary Service was part of the reform that had been aimed at bringing the country closer to EU regulations.
“The creation of the single competent organ on the basis of the State Veterinary Service is anticipated by the reform of the food sector,” Viktor Korzh, a lawmaker from the governing Regions Party and a deputy head of the committee on healthcare in Parliament, said.
“The statement [Onishchenko] is a real provocation.”
Korzh said the expanded state service will have other staffers that will be recruited from healthcare agencies that will effectively supervise the food industry.
“The service will get specialists from other agencies.”
Mykhaylo Chechetov, another pro-government lawmaker, said that Onishchenko’s controversial view is not shared by the president of Russia and by the prime minister of Russia.
“I don’t think that the warning from the official is shared by Russia’s authorities – the president and the prime minister,” Chechetov said.
“So, let’s not put the stupidity of one person into the ranks of the state policy.”
The developments come less than three months that Ukraine and six other countries of the former Soviet Union signed a free trade agreement with Russia.
The agreement, however, excludes three most sensitive commodities for Ukraine, including sugar, crude oil and natural gas, allowing Russia to restrict trade in these commodities.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said recently that Russia had promised at some point to lift the restrictions on trade with oil and gas, but gave no other details.
Ukraine has last year refused to joint the Customs Union with Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, a deep level of integration that could have derailed free trade talks with the European Union.
In July 2011 Russia imposed restrictions on imports of meat and dairy products from Ukraine, warning that its steel sector may follow the suit.
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