Saturday 17 November 2012
Ukraine’s Prime Minister Says Parliament To Convene Despite Protests, Economy To Improve
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine’s prime minister said Tuesday that the newly elected parliament will convene as planned, even as opposition parties challenge the election results.
The Central Elections Commission has announced the results for 445 of the 450 seats in the Verkhovna Rada and called for a repeat of voting in five disputed districts.
Three opposition parties won a total of 178 seats, with the rest going to President Viktor Yanukovych’s Party of Regions and smaller parties or independents likely to be allies, including 32 seats for the Communists.
The West has called the vote unfair, and the opposition has refused to recognize the results and plans to contest them in local courts and the European Court of Human Rights.
Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said parliament will begin work in mid-December, while new voting the five disputed districts will take place later.
The elections commission says voting was flawed in those districts; the opposition says its candidates won those seats.
“A line has been drawn,” Azarov said in a meeting with foreign reporters.
“The session will open on Dec. 17, lawmakers will take an oath and parliament’s formation will start.”
Azarov also invited all political parties and lawmakers in the new parliament to form a broad governing coalition.
“We are ready for the broadest possible dialogue,” Azarov said.
“It is time to sit down to talk.”
However, the opposition was unlikely to heed his call, accusing the ruling party of rigging the vote and robbing their candidates of victory in over a dozen districts across the country.
Azarov sought to allay concerns about the economy, promising that growth will resume in the second quarter of next year.
The Ukrainian economy is heading into a recession as global demands decline for metals, the country’s key export commodity.
The national currency is under strong pressure, as Ukraine must repay foreign debt and International Monetary Fund lending is frozen.
“Yes, the situation is crisis-like, but it is not fatal, not tragic,” Azarov said.
“It is manageable, it is under control and we will calmly solve it.”
“There will be no collapse of the hryvna,” the premier said of the Ukrainian currency.
Azarov laid partial blame for the recent depreciation on the hryvna on the media, claiming reports on a decrease in the National Bank’s dollar reserve prompted Ukrainians to rush to convert their hryvna savings into dollars.
“Had you all been silent about it, I guarantee you, we would have sailed through it in a completely calm way,” he said.
Ukraine Try To Entice Shevchenko Back Into Soccer As National Coach
KIEV, Ukraine -- Legendary Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko called time on an 18-year soccer career back in July in order to concentrate on a new profession -- politics.
But just four months after turning his back on football, Shevchenko has been offered the chance to immerse himself in the beautiful game once again, as coach of the national side.
As Ukraine's most capped player and their highest goalscorer of all time, with 56 goals in his 111 games, Shevchenko is the finest player the country has produced since gaining independence in 1991.
He won five consecutive league titles with Dynamo Kiev between 1995 and 1999 before joining Italian giants AC Milan, where he played his part in their 2003 European Champions League triumph.
Shevchenko was signed for English club Chelsea by Jose Mourinho in May 2006 for a reported fee of $47 million but failed to make an impact in his two years at the club.
After another loan spell with Milan he returned to Dynamo Kiev for three final seasons and signed off from the national team after they failed to get out of their group in Euro 2012, which Ukraine co-hosted with neighbors Poland.
Though the 36-year-old has no previous coaching experience, he is the Ukrainian Football Federation's (FFU) first choice to take over from Oleh Blokhin, who left the post to coach Ukrainian club side Dynamo Kiev.
A statement on the FFU's official website read: "President of the Football Federation of Ukraine Anatoliy Konkov has decided to invite Andriy Shevchenko to take the post of head coach. "
Andriy had a prominent schooling at renowned clubs such as the Dynamo Kiev, Milan and Chelsea, led by legendary coaches Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Carlo Ancelotti and Jose Mourinho.
"He had a unique ability to absorb their talent, their knowledge and their experience.
"It should be noted that at one time Andriy Shevchenko debuted in the youth national teams under the leadership of Anatoly Ridge.
And today the FFU president offers Shevchenko a new debut!"
The statement quoted Konkov as saying: "I'm sure Shevchenko will also be able to conquer great football countries as head coach of this country. He has enough experience and character.
"The federation, in turn, will ensure to give him all the help he needs with the national team."
Ukraine Seeks To Cut Russian Gas Imports By A Quarter
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine is planning to cut its imports of Russian gas next year by more than a quarter of the present level in a bid to reduce its fuel bill from its giant neighbour, a high-ranking official of Naftogaz oil and gas firm said on Friday.
The former Soviet republic, whose government is trying to re-negotiate a 2009 gas deal with Moscow which it says sets too high a price for supplies, is seeking alternative energy sources to reduce its reliance on Russia.
It has signed a contract with Germany's RWE for alternative gas shipments, which might provide about 5 bcm of gas in 2013.
Kiev says it plans also to draw on its own limited domestic gas sources and make more use of abundant coal reserves to power industry and heat homes.
Vadim Chuprun, a deputy head of Naftogaz, said Ukraine planned to reduce Russian gas imports to 18-20 billion cubic metres (bcm) next year from this year's 27.5 bcm.
But he expected opposition to the idea from Russia.
"Our opinion is that in 2013 we could import about 20 bcm of gas from Russia, or even 18 bcm," Chuprun told reporters.
"We know that (Russian gas giant) Gazprom will oppose, but we do not need such a large volume of Russian gas at such high prices," he said.
The government had earlier put a higher figure on Russian gas import requirements of 24.5 bcm for next year.
Moscow says it will cut prices only if its gas export monopoly Gazprom is allowed to buy into the pipelines that carry Russian gas across Ukraine to markets further west in Europe.
Kiev has so far refused to agree.
Kiev is due to pay $430 per 1,000 cubic metres in the fourth quarter of this year and the price could rise further to about $432 per tcm in the first quarter in 2013, according to analysts' calculations.
Naftogaz paid $400 in the fourth quarter of last year.
Naftogaz is also planning to explore oil and gas deposits on the Ukrainian Black Sea shelf and said on Friday it had chosen Singapore's Keppel FELS as a supplier of two new offshore platforms.
The company will pay $1.226 billion for the two rigs, which are due to be delivered to Ukraine in 2014.
Earlier this year Ukraine selected a consortium led by ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell to explore the Skifska oil and gas field on the Black Sea shelf.
The Skifska field has a potential annual yield of 3-4 billion cubic metres of hydrocarbons.
Another Black Sea field, Foroska, could yield 2-3 billion cubic metres a year.
President OKs Law Extending Powers Of NBU
KIEV, Ukraine -- President Viktor Yanukovych on Thursday signed a bill into law that gives extra powers to the National Bank of Ukraine to prop up the hryvnia in the event of any financial emergency.
The legislation, which was approved by Parliament last week, allows the NBU to unilaterally introduce mandatory selling of hard currency earnings by exporters for a period of up to six months.
It also gives the NBU the authority to temporarily change the time needed for making settlements to close export or import contracts, which may potentially regulate the supply of hard currency on the forex market.
The legislation comes amid concerns that the hryvnia has been facing a new wave of downward pressure against the U.S. dollar, caused by skyrocketing natural gas bills and weak foreign direct investments in Ukraine.
The combination of these factors have increased demand for dollars on the one hand and reduced supply of hard currency on the other hand, triggering the hryvnia’s sudden fall on Tuesday to the lowest level in three years.
The hryvnia recovered some value on Thursday closing at 8.24 to the dollar in trading between commercial banks, compared with 8.26/dollar on Wednesday and 8.30/dollar on Tuesday.
The NBU has a key role in helping the hryvnia’s recovery on Wednesday by openly declaring it will tap forex reserves and sell dollars at below market rates - at 8.05/dollar.
On Thursday, however, the NBU changed tactics and did not officially participate in the trading, while instead the state-owned savings bank Oshchadbnk has been selling dollars at 8.25/dollar.
Oshchadbank has earlier repeatedly sold dollars for the NBU, when the central bank hasn’t felt comfortable in going to the market.
Olena Shcherbakova, the head of the main monetary and credit policy department at the NBU, said on Thursday the NBU will make a separate announcement on when the bank will use the new powers to back the local currency.
“We are currently watching the market,” Shcherbakova said at a press conference.
“It’s a subject of a separate meeting” to announce the measures mandating the exporters to sell a half of their hard currency earning on the forex market.
The measures are considered to be effective and helped to stabilize the hryvnia after financial meltdowns in 1990s.
Shcherbakove dismissed criticism of the legislation as an administrative pressure on businesses by saying that exporters eventually anyway sell 75% of their hard currency earning on the foreign market.
“But it happens not evenly,” she said.
Ukrainian exporters, such as steel and chemical companies, keep an estimated $8.5 billion denominated in hard currencies.
The money is kept in foreign banks at corresponding accounts of Ukrainian banks, she said.
Berkut Riot Police Used To Falsify Ukrainian Parliamentary Elections
KIEV, Ukraine -- The Ministry of Interior’s Berkut riot police has never intervened in Ukrainian elections to the same degree as during the October 28 parliamentary elections.
Berkut assisted regional governors in securing victories for pro-regime candidates through electoral fraud by storming election precincts, taking away counted votes and spraying tear gas to disperse those protesting against the fraudulent practices.
During the 2004 Orange Revolution, Berkut was unreliable and sympathetic to the opposition; President Leonid Kuchma was forced to rely on Crimean Interior Ministry BARS Internal Troops to prevent an opposition takeover of the presidential administration.
In 2007—while Ukraine had a parliamentary system of government—Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and President Viktor Yushchenko clashed over who had jurisdiction over Berkut and other law enforcement agencies.
In fall 2010, Yanukovych returned Ukraine to the presidential system defined by the 1996 constitution, and all security forces are now under his control.
The growing “Putinization” of Ukraine’s security forces has been taking place since early 2010.
Berkut has received additional budget funds and new equipment and is increasingly used as the president and Party of Region’s “Praetorian Guard.”
Berkut has been deployed more and more to intimidate anti-government demonstrators and prevent them from gaining access to buildings and open spaces where they seek to protest.
In November 2011, in Donetsk, Berkut attacked veterans of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident who were protesting cuts to their pensions, leading to the death of a pensioner.
Since 2010, Amnesty International has issued statements protesting police violence and torture and mistreatment of prisoners.
Berkut forces used tear gas for the first time in July 2012 against those protesting the controversial new language law.
In the October 28 elections, on the orders of regional governors, Berkut intervened on behalf of single mandate candidates supported by the Party of Regions.
Ruling party–linked candidates were defeated by the opposition in Kiev, Cherkasy, Volyn, Vynnytsya, Mykolaiv and other oblasts, but these results were allegedly overturned through Berkut interventions in election precincts.
Opposition candidate Arkadiy Kornatsky won 39 percent of the vote, compared to 34 percent cast for deputy regional governor and Party of Regions candidate Vitaliy Travyanko.
Fearing election fraud, protestors began arriving from throughout the oblast to support Kornatsky, and villagers organized by the Peasant Front used five Kamaz trucks and burning tires to block the path of Berkut vehicles.
Berkut reinforcements were brought in from neighboring oblasts and rumors circulated that Interior Ministry Internal Troops had been mobilized.
Fifty heavily armed and masked Berkut officers stormed the election commission and brutally attacked everybody present, including commissioners, firing tear gas.
They grabbed the tabulated election ballots and retreated to their truck.
With the roads barricaded, Berkut officers attempted to destroy the ballots in their vehicle.
Berkut and officials from regional governor Mykola Kruglov’s administration changed the election results on the computer openly in front of witnesses from a 5.9-percent victory for Kornatsky to a 5.88-percent victory for Travyanko.
Kornatsky is a successful and popular local entrepreneur in the food processing business in Kherson and Mykolayiv oblasts.
Since 2010, Kornatsky’s Agrocompany has been the subject of numerous attempts of corporate raiding through tax inspections, fabricated criminal investigations, as well as personal, telephone and mail surveillance by the Security Service (SBU).
These actions paralyzed the work of his company; and with 20 criminal cases opened against Kornatsky, he fled abroad with his family.
Similarly, in Cherkasy oblast, opposition candidate Leonid Datsenko defeated Bohdan Hubsky by 4,000 votes.
In retaliation, Hubsky used Berkut forces to steal the ballots and official electoral stamps.
In total, there are 13 disputed districts where the opposition is demanding repeat elections.
The 13 opposition candidates from the disputed districts discussed similar fraud tactics used against them on the independent television channel TVi.
When the ballots with opposition victories were delivered to District Election Commissions (DEC) to be counted, fraud began in the form of power cuts inside the building, delaying tactics, seizure of votes by unknown persons of “sporting appearance” (i.e. organized crime enforcers) and tampering of bags containing the votes.
The opposition drew up an extensive list of officials and judges they accuse of involvement in election fraud.
However, Prosecutor-General Pshonka said Berkut’s intervention in the electoral procedures was “legal”.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) November 9 Interim Report has confirmed this use of riot police by the authorities and “observed the presence of special security forces outside or inside seven DECs […], in some cases blocking access to the premises.
In Mykolaiv Oblast, special forces entered DEC 132 and seized Precinct Election Commission (PEC) protocols, following a court order to deliver them to the court.”
The OSCE “noted two cases where changes in the preliminary results posted on the CEC [Central Election Commission] website after 100 per cent [sic] of polling stations had been processed resulted in the candidate who had initially come in second winning the seat.”
This occurred in Vinnytsia and Mykolaiv Oblasts) where changes were made to “the results after they had already been entered into the system”.
In addition to flagrant interference in election procedures, after the elections, Berkut also attempted to prevent and disperse large numbers of opposition protestors gathering near the Central Election Commission.
The riot police confiscated tents to prevent permanent protests.
The high-level order given to Berkut to retreat was probably out of fear of similar incidents occurring that led to widespread Western condemnation of post-election police brutality in Minsk in December 2010.
The authorities are resorting to such blatant fraud, widely condemned in the West, because the elections have not gone well.
The Party of Regions has lost between 25–30 percent of its votes (2 million voters) compared to elections in 2006 and 2007.
The ruling Party of Regions and Communist Party were defeated in the proportional vote, winning 43 percent compared to the 50 percent of the vote received by the three opposition parties.
The Central Election Commission declared a winning margin of parliamentary seats of just 185 Party of Regions to 178 opposition deputies.
And of the remaining 51 single mandate deputies in the legislature, 13 are still disputed by the opposition.
Frustration built up over two years among Ukrainians was evident during the 2012 elections.
The October 28 election and its consequences is a harbinger of what awaits Ukraine in the presidential elections campaign, which begins in eighteen months.
Russian deputy defense ministers fired
Russian President Vladimir Putin fired Deputy Defense Ministers Dmitry Chushkin and Yelena Kozlova on Thursday, the Kremlin announced, the latest in a wave of sackings following last week's removal of Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Moscow Region Deputy Prime Minister Ruslan Tsalikov has been appointed deputy defense minister, the Kremlin said.
Tsalikov previously served in the Moscow Region government under Governor Sergei Shoigu, who replaced Anatoly Serdyukov as defense minister last week.
Yury Borisov, First Deputy of the Government's Military-Industrial Commission, has been officially appointed as a deputy defense minister as replacement for General Alexander Sukhorukov, who was fired from the post on November 9, the Kremlin confirmed on Thursday. News of his new role was first released by Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin's office earlier this week
Serdyukov was fired from his post as defense minister last week following a financial scandal at the ministry involving the Oboronservis defense property management company. An investigation is continuing into embezzlement at the company and several top managers have been arrested following searches at the company's offices.
Moscow protest posters heading to London
After appearing on Moscow’s streets in anti-Kremlin protests, Russian hand-made placards have embarked on a trip to London to replenish the fine collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Seven posters featured in an exhibition hosted by Moscow’s Artplay Design Center in February have been donated to one of the world’s best museums, the center said on Thursday.
All the works have been selected by Catherine Flood, V&A’s curator at the Word and Image Department, during her stay in the Russian capital earlier this year, Alina Saprykina, the art-director of the design center on the Yauza River.
Samples of Russian political graphics have already been featured in the V&A’s collection, many of them dating back to the beginning of the 20th century, to the time of the Bolshevik Revolution.
For the most recent pieces of the country’s political art, however, the swanky area in central London occupied by the museum might not be their permanent destination, as Flood is hoping to include them in a touring exhibition of protest and revolutionary posters.
“These placards are a fascinating part of the story of protest graphics today, raising issues about the relationship of design and political representation and the impact of the Internet on protest movements,” Flood said in an official comment, forwarded by Saprykina.
In the beginning of the year, when public discontent with the government seemed to be on the rise, Artplay Design Center co-organized an exhibition, boasting 250 handmade placards, banners and costumes crafted for anti-Kremlin protests.
Some of the showpieces were later collected by their authors to be used in protest activities later, Saprykina told The Moscow News.
Her favorite pieces – a model tank and a red banner with the slogan “you can’t even imagine who we are,” was chosen as the exposition’s title – but both were given back, she said.
One-hundred-and-eighty-eight pieces, however, have remained in Artplay’s collection, and 153 of them were passed on to the State Public Historical Library at the time.
“It is important that these works stay after the rallies and marches, and are kept in the archives and museums as the evidence of the uniqueness of this historical period,” Saprykina said in an official comment.
Revolutionary robot storms Winter Palace in Australian exam paper
A giant robot helped storm the Winter Palace during October Revolution in 1917, at least according to a history exam paper in Australia.
The VCE exam body unwittingly used a doctored artwork depicting a huge BattleTech Marauder robot in the background helping socialist revolutionaries during the Russian Revolution in this year’s year 12 history exam taken by 5,700 students.
Exams for the popular History: Revolution subject were originally supposed to include the artwork “Storming the Winter Palace on 25th October 1917” by Nikolai Kochergin.
It is unclear how the doctored version made it into the exam, but a search for the image in Google brings up the robot version as the first result.
A spokesman for the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) said the image was "sourced and acknowledged by the VCAA as coming from the Internet."
"The image has been altered but the alteration of the image won’t impact on the students’ capacity to answer the examination question," he said.
Lawmakers criticized over giving themselves iPad 3 ‘souvenirs’
Moscow regional deputies insists that the iPads they are giving themselves for New Year’s using budget money are strictly for work and will remain state property.
The Moscow regional Duma published a state purchase order for 80 32GB iPad 3 tablets, cases and styluses for the 50 deputies and some of the management. The contract’s initial price is 3 million rubles.
At first, the regional Duma employee responsible for the auction, Nadezhda Smirnova, explained that the iPads were bought as New Year’s “souvenirs,”.
Expensive gadgets are necessary for work
It drew the ire of State Duma deputy speaker and United Russia member Sergei Zheleznyak, who argued that “expensive equipment cannot be a gift,” .
“Equipment needed for work must remain in the property of the Duma,” he added.
He said he has contacted the Duma, where they explained the situation. “The tablets will be bought, but not as presents. They are implementing electronic workflow,” Zheleznyak explained.
The Duma confirmed to Kommersant that the iPads will be bought.
“The tablets are being bought for the Duma’s needs and will remain the property of parliament. Every deputy, according to Russian law, must hand over to the parliament presents worth more than 3,000 rubles,” head of Communist faction Konstantin Cheremisov said.
“The aim for buying the tablets is to move away from paper and the deputies will be able to see all the necessary documents for the meeting on their tablet,” head of A Just Russia faction Ivan Charyshkin added.
In the summer, Perm region legislative chamber also wanted to buy iPads for deputies, arguing that they were necessary for work. However, some deputies announced that they were not aware of the plans to buy them and are ready to give up theirs for schools and orphanages. When the anti-monopoly service did not find any violations, the contract was only signed for those deputies who needed an iPad in their work.
Sunday 11 November 2012
Russia to sell guided missiles to India for hundreds of millions of dollars
he Security Committee of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Government of India has approved the purchase of Russian anti-tank guided missiles of various types. The deal is worth a few hundred million dollars, according to Rossiyskaya Gazeta.
India will buy from Russia 10,000 Konkurs-M anti-tank guided missiles. Indian media reported, citing sources in the Indian government, that the ground forces of the country were going to buy 25,000 Invar missiles for T-90 tanks, which India has in its army. India planned to buy 10,000 missiles from Russia. Another 15,000 are to be produced in India under Russian license.
The missiles are going to be acquired for infantry troops. The cost of future purchases is estimated at 12 billion rupees (240 million dollars). Previously, the Committee on Security has approved the purchase of Russian guided tank missiles Invar for T-90 tanks and more than 200 air-purpose cruise missiles BrahMos for a total amount of 80 billion rupees (1.5 billion dollars). Of this amount, 60 billion rupees ($ 1.2 billion) will be spent for the purchase of Brahmos aircraft missiles to be installed on the Su-30MKI. The missiles are produced in Russia at Russian-Indian joint venture BrahMos Aerospace.
However, in the tender for the purchase of 15 heavy helicopters, India opted for the American CH-47F Chinook instead of the Russian Mi-26. The cost of the tender is 1 billion 400 million dollars. U.S. helicopters CH-47F by Boeing will replace helicopters of Soviet production in the Indian Air Force. India purchased them in the mid 1980s. However, information on the outcome of the tender has not been officially confirmed yet. "We participate in the tender and would like to know the outcome. But we do not have the information yet,"
Fire kills two families in Russia
A fire in a house of one of the villages of Russia's Perm region has killed seven people, including three children.
The fire in the 22-apartment wooden building in the village of Sars sparked at night. The fire was raging on the area of 450 square meters. Fifty-one people were evacuated from the burning building. Two of them were hospitalized with burns of varying degrees. Rescuers found the bodies of seven people, including three children aged 8, 11 and 16.
The victims were residents of several apartments, Prm.Ru reports. The fire has been extinguished, the police investigate the causes of the fire.
Another fire, which also claimed several human lives, took place on November 6th in the east of Moscow, M24 said. The fire broke out in a working cabin on Luhmanovskoy Street, next to a kindergarten. The area of the fire was about 10 square meters. Two charred bodies were recovered.
Russia to begin state tests of AK-12 fifth-generation assault rifle
The current week will see the start of the tests of the new Russian assault rifle AK-12. In the future, the AK-12 is to replace various modifications of the Kalashnikov rifle in the Russian army.
A defense plant near Moscow - TSNIITOCHMASH - plans to begin the tests of the state-of-the-art AK-12 next week, general director of the company Dmitry Semizorov told reporters. Izhmash, which produces the AK-12, said that the first prototype of the new rifle had already been sent to the research institute near Moscow.
Officials earlier said that the preliminary tests of the rifle would take no more than a month. The state tests of the AK-12, according to chief designer of NPO Izhmash Vladimir Zlobin should begin next year and finish in June and July of 2013.
According to Zlobin, the AK-12 has already attracted a lot of interest of all law enforcement agencies in the country. A large range of military models will be created on the basis of the rifle: pistols, machine guns, assault rifles and light machine guns both of common and special purpose.
The press, however, has criticized the weapon. In particular, the Independent Military Review wrote that, despite the improved design of the new model of the legendary weapon, the new AK-12 can hardly be referred to as a "fifth-generation" assault rifle.
Russia does not need revolutions, most Russians think
Russia's Public Opinion Research Center unveiled the results of a new research. Researchers tried to find out the attitude of the Russians to the October Revolution and how they treat revolutions in general.
Most Russians believe that a revolution in today's Russia can not be allowed (78%). To the greatest extent this view is shared by those who see any revolution as a tragic event (89%), by United Russia supporters (85%) and non-parliamentary parties (86%), as well as by those who approve of the president (85%).
Only 13% of the polled believe that Russia needs a revolution. This point of view is common for those who see a coup as a chance to upgrade the society (31%), the supporters of the Liberal Democratic Party (32%) and the Communist Party (27%), as well as by the respondents who criticize the activities of the head of state (27%).
Remarkably, evaluating revolution as a historical phenomenon, the Russians share different opinions. Forty percent believe it is an inevitable phenomenon that has its pros and cons, and another 37% believe that a revolution can not be justified. Only 15% of the respondents accept this historical phenomenon positively, especially LDPR (23%) and the Communist Party (26%) supporters. The number of respondents, who treat revolution positively, has increased over the past seven years (from 10 to 15%)
Painting by Russian artist sold for $23 million
Christie's auction was held in New York yesterday, where buyers were offered the paintings by famous impressionists and modernists. The painting by Russian painter, one of the founders of abstractionism, Wassily Kandinsky, was sold for a record amount for this artist - $23 million.
The top lot at Christie's - the painting by French impressionist Claude Monet "Water Lilies" - was sold for 43.7 million dollars. It did not come as a surprise for anyone, since experts said prior to the auction that the painting could fetch 30-50 million. Another masterpiece of the painter - "Fishing Boats, Calm Sea" - was sold for just $ 2 million.
Another leader of the auction was the painting titled "Studie fur Improvisation 8" by Kandinsky. The painting was sold for $23 million. Prior to that, Kansinsky's most expensive work was "Fugue", which was sold in 1990 for $20.9 million.
Alberto Giacometti's sculpture "Leg" was sold for $11.3. The sculptures by Pablo Picasso "Rooster," which was expected to fetch $10-15 million, did not raise any interest with buyers.
Who will save Cyprus - Russia or EU?
Cyprus may lose financial support from the EU due to "suspicious ties" with Russian oligarchs. According to information published in Spiegel magazine, the German Federal Intelligence Service suspects that the loan, which the EU and the IMF may give the country, will only sweeten the life of Russian businessmen who keep their money in Cyprus.
It was written in Monday's issue of Spiegel magazine that "the report from the German Intelligence Service showed who would benefit most from the infusion of billions of euros of European taxpayers." First and foremost, it will be "Russian oligarchs, businessmen and mobsters," says the German publication. In addition, Spiegel criticized Cyprus for complicity in the "laundering of illegal money."
It was said that the German intelligence allegedly had information about 80 Russian businessmen who benefited from the loyal attitude of the Cypriot authorities and acquired local citizenship, which helped them to replenish their capitals illegally. The names of those tycoons and "mafia mobs" were not mentioned. However, German intelligence claims that there is a total of $26 billion on the accounts of Cypriot banks. This money belongs to Russian entrepreneurs and was supposedly obtained through dishonest transactions. According to German intelligence, this amount exceeds the GDP of Cyprus that makes up a bit more than 17 billion euros. There are 2,000 Russian firms officially registered in Nicosia, the capital of the republic.
Germany said in this respect that it would think about giving the loan to Cyprus, but there will be a number of requirements that Cyprus will have to meet. The Social Democratic Party of the country under the chairmanship of Angela Merkel is going to discuss the business model of the Republic of Cyprus. As stressed by Carsten Schneider, an MP from the Social Democrats, "we can not protect the deposits of Russian mobsters using the money of German taxpayers."
"Russian oligarchs or not the most honest Russian business keep money not only in Cyprus but also in the banks of other countries, too, - German international journalist Alexander Rahr told Pravda.Ru. - But the situation is really emerging now so that Cyprus, following Greece, becomes the country with most serious financial problems.
"If Cypriots seek money in the International Monetary Fund, then, as in the case of Greece, the IMF will demand they should conduct most transparent policy. They will have to expose all accounts, show how much they need, and how much they spend. There will be radical screening conducted of all their bank transactions. And Cypriots may indeed face problems in this regard, and the problems can be even bigger than those in Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain - the countries that also receive money from the IMF and the EU. Cyprus was considered a haven for offshore companies, primarily from Eastern Europe. There will be investigation conducted, of course. After all, if Cyprus banks actually have money, then why do they need to get money from Western taxpayers?" Alexander Rahr said.
The Cypriot authorities were incredibly surprised and disappointed with such unexpected attacks from the EU, to which they were forced to go seeking assistance. The banking system in Cyprus has felt the unpleasant echoes of the EU decision about massive rescue of Greek government bonds. The republic was not able to conduct the recapitalization of leading financial institutions single-handedly. Meanwhile, experts believe, the need for external borrowing of Cyprus nears the size of the country's GDP and makes up 18 billion euros.
The chairman of the Government of Cyprus Stephanos Stephanou said that the article in the German publication was nothing more than a provocation. According to him, the authors of the article wanted to undermine the reputation of the island state as a center of investment. He also reminded that the law of the republic is directed against any type of money laundering in local banks. When asked about the presence of Russian capitals in the banks of Cyprus, Stephanos Stephanou said that, apparently, Russian citizens were attracted by the financial system of the Republic and its benefits. Meanwhile, there is double taxation in Cyprus towards many countries, including Russia.
"Certain media outlets like to occasionally "attack" the Russian business or portray the Russian capital as something more dangerous or dirtier than other capitals - we know this. But if the Cypriots seriously work with the IMF and European institutions, if they prove that the money is legal and that it is invested in the economy of Cyprus, then the question of providing assistance to Cyprus would not arise."
Stephanou also said that in October last year, a committee of the Council of Europe assessed the Cyprus legislation and found it satisfactory. Moreover, a committee of the G20 and IMF structures praised the efforts of the Cypriot authorities in the fight against the laundering of illicit funds.
Apparently, EU leaders became suspicious about Cyprus after the country asked for help from Moscow in June. The government of the republic asked Russia for another loan in the amount of 5 billion euros. Cyprus has previously received a loan of 2.5 billion euros, which the Russian authorities gave the island nation at the end of 2011.
Meanwhile, Russia responded evasively to the request of another loan. It would be necessary to negotiate this with the EU, Russian officials said. Thus, Cyprus, which already suffers from financial difficulties, was caught in the middle. Waiting for help from all sides, "the offshore haven" risks to lose everything. Now the country can only wait who is going to help first - the IMF with the European Union or Russia again.
"Countries such as Greece and Cyprus are more likely to seek help in Russia in the future rather than in the IMF, because Russia holds largest foreign exchange reserves after China. In turn, it is very profitable for Russia to invest in other economies and help other countries, and she can do it.
"But the money must go through government channels, and not through offshores. Cyprus and Greece are the countries that will be getting loans from Russia in the near future, simply because the Europeans are running out of money," Alexander Rahr said.
Russia can make Greece prospering state in one year
Two years ago, Greece missed the chance to extricate from the crisis with Russia's help. Nowadays, Russian investments in the country grow and give air to breathe to economies of several regions of Greece, such as the north-east. Russian investors are especially attracted by cheap real estate, tourism and the property that they can buy from the state.
"Greece should only give Russia the green light, and the Russian money will come," said Ivan Savvidi, a businessman and the president of the Association of Greek Public Organizations of Russia said. "If Greece asks Russian business, I can tell you that by October next year, Greece will become a prosperous country," the BBC quoted Savvidi, a former deputy of the Russian State Duma.
"Russia has never turned its back on Greece in a thousand years, and, of course, it will not now," the official said.
According to Savvidi, the Greek government has once missed a historic opportunity to get out of the crisis with Russia's help. "Two years ago, when George Papandreou (former Prime Minister) met with Vladimir Putin, the Russian side was ready to help, but Athens did not raise the issue," Savvidi said.
Why wasn't Greece ready? Prominent German politician of the CDU, Armin Laschet, tried to answer this question. According to him, Greece's exit from the euro zone "may lead to instability in NATO member states. Russia is ready to help Greece with its billions should the scenario continues to develop," Laschet told Reuters. "There is much more at stake here than just a question of whether Greece meets the criteria of EU's bailout plan."
However, despite the absence of political will on the part of Greece, Russian investments in the economy of the crisis-stricken nation grow. First, it is tourism that Savvidi called "the oil pipe of Greece." Eleftherios Meletlidis, a hotelier in the area of Mount Athos, told the BBC that the number of tourists in the region had increased tenfold since 2002. "The Russian market is huge. The Russians practice Orthodoxy, they love Greece. The proximity to Mount Athos is the key, as the Russians are very religious, at a much greater extent than the Greeks."
According to Russia-Greece Chamber of Commerce, tourists from Russia - 1.7 million people last year - leave a lot of money in the country - about $ 2 billion. About 7 percent of Russians come with a wish to buy real estate. For example, last year there were 31,000 such transactions registered. "The Russians have a strong interest in acquiring land, businesses and real estate," said Grigoris Tassios, the chairman of the Association of Halkidiki Hotels in the north of the country.
According to him, Russian entrepreneurs have acquired eight hotels in four years. "But the Russians are tough negotiators. They know that the market is depressed and therefore request a 30 percent discount on everything that catches their interest," he added.
It should be noted that the Greek real estate market is not in the first priority of the Russians - it takes only the 15th position. The second Greek-Russian forum on real estate, which was held in Athens on October23-24, unveiled the following numbers. Russians prefer to buy property in Italy (35 percent), Bulgaria (15 percent), the U.S. (12 percent), Czech Republic (9 percent), Spain (8 percent), Turkey (3 percent), Greek portal Imerisia.gr. wrote.
The President of the federation of Russian brokerage firms, Anna Lupashko, reported that in Greece, Russian customers look for real estate ranging from 100 to 200 thousand euros for personal recreation. She described an average Russian investor. This is a businessman aged 30-45, married, with children, concluding his or her deal for the first time. He or she wants to spend around 150,000 dollars (56 percent). As many as 13.6 percent buy homes within 500,000 dollars in the countries such as the UK, Italy and France). They buy mostly new apartments (55 percent), and are not interested in real estate property under construction.
The Russians also look for a mild climate (71 percent), friendly attitude of people (44 percent) and investment opportunities (40 percent). All of this they can find in Greece. In addition to tourism and real estate, the Russian business is ready to invest in the infrastructure and industry of the country. To implement the recommendations of the IMF, ECB and EU, the Greek government widely privatizes state property in order to replenish its liquidity. A Russian investor has bought a controlling stake in the state-controlled Dodoni dairies and a port complex in Thessaloniki. Gazprom is interested in buying DEPA gas company; Russian Railways monopoly is interested in unprofitable Greek railways.
Despite Greece's membership in the EU and NATO, the country's friendship with Russia has many years of fine traditions. Count Ioannis Kapodistrias, a Greek diplomat and foreign minister of the Tsarist Russia, was elected in 1827 the first President of Greece (after the country became independence from the Ottoman Empire).
During the Greek National Liberation Revolution in 1821 - 1829 years, the "Russian party" that was representing the Peloponnesian Greeks was primarily responsible for the armed struggle against the Turks on land. Russia's influence has not been lost in the areas where Russia was fighting against the Ottoman Empire. This influence grows through investments from both private and state Russian businesses and can be much bigger if the Greek government has the political will for it.
Russia steals NATO's defense initiative in Asia
Russia agreed to provide military and technical support to Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the form of direct assistance. The Kyrgyz army is particularly in need of such support. The army is still equipped with howitzers left from the Great Patriotic War. Analysts have different opinions about this decision of Moscow.
According to some media reports, Russia is prepared to spend $1.1 billion to upgrade the Kyrgyz army and another $200 million for the needs of the armed forces of Tajikistan. In addition, Moscow will provide Tajikistan with $200 million in the form of discounts for the supply of petroleum products. Some online publications stated that Russia is helping Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, in particular, (now it is the weakest army in the region) in response to the attempts of the U.S. to gain a foothold in Uzbekistan.
One can agree or disagree with this opinion, but there is no doubt that Russia is consistently and systematically strengthening military cooperation with Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Incidentally, the subject of military-technical cooperation will be a key one during a visit of the President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev to Moscow on November 14-15.
As noted above, the armed forces of Kyrgyzstan are among the weakest in the region. At the time of formation of the Kyrgyz army in 1992 it had 20,000 people. Recently, the army was reduced to 15 thousand people. 70-75 percent of the army personnel are contractors. In 2006, the term of draft military service in Kyrgyzstan was reduced from 18 to 12 months. The country has one university that prepares junior officers for the country and the National Military Lyceum that trains middle commanders. The Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyzstan also has Special Forces -"Scorpion" and "Ilbirs" units.
The Kyrgyz army still largely uses Soviet equipment and cannot afford new weapons. It noticeably lags behind the armies of its neighbors. President Atambayev recently acknowledged that only 25th Special Forces brigade "Scorpion" trained by NATO met the modern requirements. Kyrgyz gunners, for example, still use 122 and 152-mm Howitzer M-30 and D-1, model 1938 and 1943.
It is important that Russian is not providing a loan but direct military support. According to some sources, the Russian Ministry of Defense, by March 2013, will agree with Bishkek on the range of products to be covered by the program. The first batch of Russian weapons is to be sent to Kyrgyzstan in the summer of next year. Bishkek desperately needs all kinds of new small arms, and also hopes to get from Russia new infantry fighting vehicles and combat reconnaissance patrol cars, helicopters, and fixed field hospitals.
Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country, and for operations in mountainous terrain the Kyrgyz Defense Ministry needs lightweight motorcycle, lightweight portable mortars, and satellite equipment. Apparently, the army of Kyrgyzstan is hoping to get all this equipment from Russia.
The program of military support to Tajikistan is more modest. So far, Russia is ready to give it only $200 million. According to the data from different sources, the money will be primarily allocated for modernization of air defense of the Republic and repair of military equipment. Tajikistan has a draft army. The service term is two years, or one year for college graduates. This is the reason why Tajikistan is not in need of manpower.
According to some experts, helping Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, Russia expects to strengthen the potential of the Collective Security Treaty. In 2014, the U.S. plans to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan, and Bishkek and Dushanbe already expressed interest in the U.S. weaponry. This could increase the U.S. influence in the region, and Russia is trying to prevent it.
Ukrainian Singer Suing Over 'Call Me Maybe' - Carly Rae Stole My Song!
LOS ANGELES, USA -- Ukraine is not weak ... Ukraine will sue -- at least that's what one hot Ukrainian singer is doing, claiming Carly Rae Jepsen shamelessly stole her slutty Christmas song ... and turned it into "Call Me Maybe."
The singer -- who goes by Aza -- is filing the lawsut in L.A., claiming "Call Me Maybe" is a carbon copy of her song "Hunky Santa" ... which producers simply tweaked before adding Carly Rae Jepsen's voice.
According to the lawsuit -- to be filed today by Aza's lawyer Barry Rothman -- she's suing for unspecified damages ... but based on how insanely popular "Call Me Maybe" is, a ton of money's on the line.
Aza tells us, "I'm shocked and surprised that these people wanted to sample my lyrics on their song. They didn't ask me for permission, they just took it. That's why I filed this lawsuit."
"When I first heard it on the radio, I was driving and almost got into an accident. I couldn't believe what I was hearing."
As for how similar the songs really are -- you be the judge.
Scooter Braun -- Justin Bieber's manager -- is also named in the suit.
Carly's rep tells TMZ, "This is completely false and [Carly's] lawyers will deal with this. Everyone knows [Carly] is a songwriter. She is not spending a lot of time listening to Ukrainian radio."
Ukraine is game to you?!?!
YouJail: My Mother's Video Hell In Orwellian Prison, By Deposed Ukraine PM's Daughter Yevhenia Tymoshenko
KHARKIV, Ukraine -- The grainy video footage reveals a woman frail yet unbowed.
In a series of intimate scenes we see her in her dressing gown; moving with the aid of a walking frame; performing her daily exercises.
We cannot see her face but the flaxen hair is instantly recognisable, certainly to the millions of Ukrainians who watched this footage first on YouTube and then on their television screens.
For this is their former Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, in her cell in the Central Clinical Hospital No 5 in Kharkiv, known locally as the Ukrainian Siberia.
At least six cameras record every minute of the opposition leader's day.
Already a gross invasion of privacy, last month video captured by the cameras was uploaded on to the internet in a bid to humiliate her in the run-up to the country's parliamentary elections.
Though in prison, she still forms the main opposition to the President, Victor Yanukoych.
Last week, Tymoshenko's daughter Yevhenia, 32, travelled to Britain to meet with human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson to put together an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.
She also came to plead for David Cameron's help, admitting that she wakes each morning terrified that this will be the day she learns her mother has died.
Yevhenia is her mother's daughter, with the same blonde locks, penetrating brown eyes and determination.
'My mother is under 24-hour surveillance. It is like a mental torture. They're trying to break her morale, to get her to give in and say, “I'm out of politics.” '
Tymoshenko, the heroine of Ukraine's Orange Revolution, was sentenced to seven years in prison in October 2011 for supposedly abusing her powers as Prime Minister when she forced through a 2009 gas deal with Russia.
The charges are widely acknowledged to be politically motivated, a way of removing her from public life.
But 51-year-old Yulia refused to go quietly.
Still head of her Fatherland party, she denounces the president as a crook and a dictator.
In jail, she has been refused treatment for a serious spinal condition, and was attacked by prison guards in May, provoking worldwide condemnation.
It is for this reason that Yevhenia believes the authorities are trying to crush her mother.
'She's isolated from family, colleagues, friends: she's not given access to the phone. It's illegal to deny her phone calls but they do. All the time, in the cell, she has video cameras. She has done since her arrest, but the number of devices has increased exponentially.'
Yevhenia says her mother has been denied every last vestige of privacy.
'We organised for her to have physio for her back. It meant she had to undress. The camera was over the bed. She asked if they would cover it during the treatment. They refused so she refused to have the treatment.'
Yulia was first held in jail in Kiev, before being transferred to Kharkiv.
Yevhenia says of the cameras in her mother's cell: 'Whenever she finds a spot where they can't see what she's doing, maybe where she can crouch down so she can't be seen, they put another one there.'
Yulia's family and supporters learnt there were six cameras keeping watch on her at all times.
'We appealed to the court and the penitentiary said, “Yes we know about these six cameras but the other three we don't know who put them there.” '
The authorities deny putting the footage in the public domain, yet it has been used by her opponents to suggest that Yulia's medical condition is not as bad as she has suggested.
Yevhenia is incensed by such doubts.
'This is outrageous. They're trying to say, “Look, here she is doing exercises, there is nothing drastic.”
I tell you what is drastic.
One guard showed her a hidden camera, above her shower.
So they always see her, even in the shower, the toilet, everywhere.'
After the footage went on YouTube, all the TV channels in Ukraine, which are owned by oligarchs linked to the president, began broadcasting it.
In another clip, Yulia bangs on a door.
Yevhenia says the release of the video proved to be a mistake by her mother's enemies.
She explains: 'She has the right to meet with her party colleagues every month. Before the elections it was very important but, when they arrived, the guards wouldn't let them in. So in protest she started banging. The people loved it, they said we see her spirit, she still has her strength and power to fight.'
Yanukoych won the election amid allegations of flagrant vote-rigging.
Yulia is determined to oppose the results, which were described by international observers as a 'backward step for democracy'.
Many countries have spoken out against Yanukovych's regime, but Britain has been markedly silent.
Yevhenia says: 'We're really trying to understand the position of the UK Government. Since her arrest my mother's political team have met so many people, so many prime ministers, presidents, from Spain, Greece, Italy, Germany, Sweden. They have all been so helpful.'
Maybe through this interview I could appeal to Prime Minister Cameron to meet Yanukovych or his foreign minister to talk about this.
'It would be a signal to the Ukrainian government that we cannot accept this violation of human rights, these election violations of everything democracy should stand for.
'We would really appreciate it if the Prime Minister would give this case attention and make his opinion public. That would really help us in our fight.'
The day after the October 29 election, Yulia announced she was going on hunger strike and has only had water since.
Yevhenia says: 'I went to see her and asked her to stop but she's determined. No one can talk her into giving up. 'For her it's the only thing she can do, to protest. She cannot talk, she cannot appeal, her voice is blocked.
She said, “You understand if I don't do it, people who voted for me, the democratic opposition, will be disillusioned. By me doing this I am showing them I will fight to the end for their rights.”
Sacrificing her freedom was one of the costs – really high costs – she paid for this.'
But Yevhenia has paid too. Her father, Oleksandr Tymoshenko, had to leave Ukraine before he was arrested and was granted asylum in the Czech Republic.
Educated at Rugby and the LSE, Yevhenia ran two restaurants in Ukraine but has rented them out so she can devote herself to the campaign.
She never takes a break and can reel off articles of the Human Rights Act the way others might talk about books or films.
She travels the world, lobbying for her mother, but insists she will never go into politics.
She's already lost too much to it.
'I try not to think deeply about this,' she says, her composure crumbling for a second.
'Because if I start then I will lose my hope, my power to go on. Our only dream is to have her back, for us to be left alone as a family. I want her to go back to being a mum, but she's always been, for as long as I can remember, fighting and choosing not easy roads.'
Each day Yevhenia dreads it might be the day her mother dies.
She says: 'Every morning I wake up with a feeling of horror. Until I – or somebody – goes to see her, that horror doesn't go away. '
At 12 o'clock, that's the earliest time we can see her. Until then, each morning, it's critical. She doesn't have any contact with us.
If something was to happen to her, nobody would notify us, they would probably try to cover their tracks.
'That is why I'm appealing to David Cameron for help.
'Britain has stood for justice for centuries. We always aspire to their standards, especially on human rights. We need their help to release not only my mother but all political prisoners in Ukraine. Because their lives are in danger.'
Ukraine's Ultranationalists Show Surprising Strength At Polls
KIEV, Ukraine -- The last time Oleg Tyagnibok was a member of Ukraine's Parliament, his colleagues kicked him out over a fiery speech in which he described how Ukrainians, during World War II, bravely fought Muscovites, Germans, Jews "and other scum," and then used slurs to refer to the "Jewish-Russian mafia, which rules in Ukraine."
Eight years later, Mr. Tyagnibok is preparing to return to Parliament, not as a lone member of a broader coalition, as he was when he was ejected, but as the leader of Svoboda, the ultranationalist, right-wing party that will control 38 of 450 seats, or about 8.5 percent of the national legislature.
Svoboda's surprising show of strength in the Oct. 29 election -- polls had predicted that the party would fail to meet the 5 percent threshold to enter Parliament -- has stirred alarm, including warnings from Israel about the rise of anti-Semitism and xenophobia in Ukraine, a former Soviet republic and a place with a firsthand knowledge of ethnic violence and genocide.
But in an interview in the downtown office building that Svoboda shares with an insurance company and a dental clinic named Smile, Mr. Tyagnibok said that fear of his party was misplaced and the accusations of racism and extremism unfounded.
"Svoboda is not an anti-Semitic party," he said, seated behind a desk, a sport jacket stretched by his barrel-sized chest, his huge hands folded in front of him, speaking slowly and firmly in Ukrainian.
"Svoboda is not a xenophobic party. Svoboda is not an anti-Russian party. Svoboda is not an anti-European party. Svoboda is simply and only a pro-Ukrainian party. And that's it."
Of course, that was not it. Mr. Tyagnibok was just beginning to demonstrate the smooth charm that has helped Svoboda, which means "Freedom," build support beyond its traditional stronghold in the Ukrainian-speaking west.
Tall, with beefy good looks, Mr. Tyagnibok, 44, who is a urological surgeon by training, has used his party's pro-Ukrainian message to tap into frustration over the country's stalled economy and growing disillusionment with the government of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
From Mr. Tyagnibok's frequent appearances on television talk shows, emphasizing national sovereignty and warning of encroachment by neighboring Russia, most viewers might never discern that some of his party's members are unabashed neo-Nazis, while others shun the label but nonetheless espouse virulent hatred of Jews, gays and especially Russians.
Researchers who specialize in extremism say it is a talent shared by other leaders of far-right parties and has helped bring them into the mainstream in many European countries, including Hungary, Poland and Romania.
"This is a common phenomenon within these parties, that they have a front-stage image and a backstage agenda," said Andreas Umland, an expert at the National University in Kiev.
"The internal discourse, from what we can only suspect, is much more radical and xenophobic than what we see."
He added, "This is all much more radical."
In the interview at his office, Mr. Tyagnibok said Svoboda's message was only positive.
"We do call ourselves nationalists," he said.
"Our view is love. Love of our land. Love of the people who live on this land. This is love to your wife and your home and your family. So, it's love to your mother. Can this feeling be bad?"
"Our nationalism does not imply hatred to anybody," he continued.
"We formed a political party to protect the rights of Ukrainians, but not to the detriment of representatives of other nation."
He added, "So, if you ask about philosophy to be explained in two words: We are not against anyone. We are for ourselves."
For a long time, they were for themselves and mostly by themselves.
In the previous parliamentary election, in 2007, Svoboda received less than three-quarters of 1 percent of the vote, and that was an improvement.
Until 2004, Svoboda was called the Social-Nationalist Party, which critics said was just a word flip of its true ambitions.
Born in Lviv, sometimes called the capital of the western, Europe-oriented Ukraine, Mr. Tyagnibok said he was raised to hate Communists, in part because his paternal grandfather was a victim of oppression under Stalin.
He got his start in politics as a student organizer in the late 1980s, attended medical school and has been a member of the nationalist party from its inception in the early 1990s.
He served six years in Parliament, from 1998 until he was ejected in 2004.
In 2001, with Ukrainian voters growing increasingly frustrated with the status quo, Svoboda made major gains in local and regional elections.
Some voters who supported Svodboda said they believed that the party could present the strongest challenge to President Yanukovich.
Many said they did not view the party as extreme.
"Those people who supported Svoboda in these elections, they don't support racism, anti-Semitism, neo-Nazism," said Vyacheslav Likhachev, who monitors extremism for the Euro-Asian Jewish Congress.
"They support Svoboda because every vote for Svoboda was a vote against the ruling government."
Still, Mr. Likhachev said, Svoboda's rise was not a positive development for Ukraine.
"It is bad for society," he said.
In the days before the vote, Mr. Tyagnibok signed an agreement to work with other opposition parties, including the Fatherland party of the jailed former prime minister, Yulia V. Tymoshenko.
Ms. Tymoshenko, who was barred from the ballot this year, recently began a hunger strike to protest what she said was fraud in the elections.
Mr. Tyagnibok's ties to Ms. Tymoshenko and former President Viktor Yushchenko date to before Ukraine's Orange Revolution in 2004, which Mr. gnibok and other nationalists supported.
Critics of the alliance say that it will give Svoboda more power than it would have on its own, and grant it further legitimacy as a mainstream faction.
Although his occasional use of ethnic and religious epithets is well documented -- there was the 2004 speech to supporters, and in 2005, his public signing of an open letter to President Yushchenko and others demanding an end to "criminal activities of organized Jewry in Ukraine" -- Mr. Tyagnibok called the allegations of hate speech "a fantasy and a serious exaggeration."
The general prosecutor charged him with inciting ethnic hatred, but the case was dropped after the Orange Revolution.
"In 2004, I was accused of anti-Semitism, but I won in all the court cases," Mr. Tyagnibok said.
Mr. Tyagnibok said nationalist parties were enjoying a renaissance in Europe because of the Continent's financial problems, as well as conflicts with Muslim immigrants in countries like Italy, France and Spain.
"Europe is change," he said.
"Economic failures make people look for reasons."
But he said it was all for the best.
"In our view the ideal is to see Europe as one big flower bed full of different flowers, with Ukraine as one of the most beautiful flowers in it," Mr. Tyagnibok said.
"It has its own scent, its own beauty. It is different from other flowers, but it is in the same flower bed."
He waved away any thought of nationalist strife.
"Just imagine one nationalist talking to another nationalist," he said.
"There should be no problems between them. Everybody respects their interests, and everybody understands we live in one big world."
Ukraine: Vote-Rigging Reports Leave Electorate Cold
KIEV, Ukraine -- With nearly 100 percent of the vote now counted from Ukraine's controversial Oct 28 election, the Party of the Regions and its Communist allies look set to secure another term in power.
While opposition forces are contesting the result, public protests are noticeably muted.
Voting day saw widespread allegations of fraud, but this is not unusual in Ukraine, a country renowned for endemic corruption.
Vote-rigging sparked the 2004 Orange Revolution, and every subsequent election has been marred by claims and counter-claims of falsification.
However, in the recent elections, social media and the innovative use of technology in election monitoring meant falsifications were more visible and clearly substantiated than ever before.
Polling stations in the Odessa region were temporarily closed after voters posted videos on YouTube of pens containing invisible ink.
CCTV cameras providing live online streams of electoral stations captured incidences of ballot-box stuffing.
The depths of widespread disillusionment were exposed on Russian social networking site VKontakte.ru, where large numbers of votes were openly sold for as little as $30.
When civic organization Maidan Alliance had its website hacked, it utilized Twitter to continue to provide constant up-to-date source of information.
In one highly contested district in Kiev, the opposition claimed election officials inflated the vote tally for Viktor Pylypyshyn, a government-aligned candidate.
Pylypyshyn stands to win both a seat in the Verkhovna Rada and a convenient immunity from prosecution.
He currently faces charges of abuse of office costing the taxpayer in excess of $2 million.
As angry crowds gathered outside the electoral commission for the district, fights broke out and riot police used tear gas to quell trouble.
The deputy head of the commission, Anastasia Prymak, blamed initial incorrect figures on a "computer malfunction" and broke down in sobs as she left a vote-counting session.
Against this gloomy backdrop, home-video footage of a man dressed in a giant panda suit casting his vote quickly went viral, providing some much-needed light relief.
Opposition parties Udar and Batkivshchyna have been quick to capitalize on these highly publicized problems of vote fraud.
Vitali Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxer and leader of anti-corruption party Udar, has called for a cancellation of the election results.
Jumping on the bandwagon, Batkivshchyna leader Arseniy Yatseniuk's call on the electorate to "defend their vote" was reminiscent of the Orange Revolution.
However, the number of protesters who showed up to the Nov. 5 rally was not.
In 2004, an estimated 1 million people took to the streets to demonstrate against vote rigging; in 2012, this number was reduced to approximately 1,000.
The reasons for this comparatively dismal show are complex.
One issue may be that the opposition is focusing on the wrong problem.
While voter fraud undoubtedly occurred and deserved condemnation, the final vote count roughly corresponds to the findings of four independent exit polls.
This suggests falsification was not extensive enough to affect the final outcome.
A second and related issue is the international community and opposition's failure to highlight and respond to issues of corruption much earlier in proceedings.
As noted by the independent electoral monitoring body OSCE, "a democratic election is not just about being able to choose which party to vote for, it is about ensuring parties are competing on a level playing field."
In Ukraine, this was decidedly not the case; the election outcome was to an extent determined long before any votes were cast.
In November 2011, the Verkhovna Rada approved constitutional amendments to the electoral system.
The "new" mixed system, a combination of proportional representation and first-past-the-post seats, is almost identical to the one abolished after the 2004 Orange Revolution.
According to political analysts, it heavily favors the incumbent party.
During the election campaigns Yanukovych and his cronies heavily controlled media coverage.
Charismatic opposition politicians Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuriy Lutsenko were incarcerated and unable to register as candidates, following trials condemned by the European Union as unfair and politically motivated.
Indirect vote-buying practices were widespread with gifts bestowed on the electorate ranging from food parcels to free bicycles.
Such voter manipulation tactics, while hard to quantify, were likely more pervasive and far-reaching than voter fraud.
As there was virtually no public resistance to these corrupt practices prior to the elections, it is unsurprising there is little now.
A key issue highlighted by the recent elections is the extent and depth of political apathy in Ukrainian society.
The electorate, increasingly tired of a corrupt political elite, lacks the motivation to resist encroaching authoritarianism for the second time in a decade.
That apathy is undoubtedly what Yanukovych is banking on.
Ukraine Slides Away From Democracy
KIEV, Ukraine -- Eight years ago this month, an inspiring movement took hold in Ukraine.
After the 2004 presidential election, demonstrators filled the streets to protest a vote marred by fraud and corruption in what came to be known as the Orange Revolution.
A runoff election was annulled, a new vote was ordered by the courts, and the second runoff was deemed free and fair.
People power worked.
Given that promising moment, it is distressing to see Ukraine’s political system now backsliding.
The campaign leading up to the Oct. 28 vote for parliament was rigged to benefit President Viktor Yanukovych and his ruling Party of Regions.
This time, there was no revolution, just relatively small but determined protests, and a brushoff from the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, who declared, “These were the best organized elections in Ukraine in the history of its independence.”
In fact, they were “best organized” in a peculiar post-Soviet fashion now evident in Russia and elsewhere in Eurasia.
The features of this system are slicker than some of the pitched battles for power in the 1990s, but they are onerous nonetheless, designed to give the ruling party an insurmountable advantage through subterfuge and subversion.
In Ukraine, the rigging of the election began long before voting day.
According to a report by international election observers, the campaign lacked a level playing field for all candidates.
Those in power “abused” their state resources for political gain and benefited from “a lack of balanced media coverage.”
Not to mention that former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuri Lutsenko, two prominent opposition political leaders, have been imprisoned following trials that were widely criticized as politically motivated.
While election day was largely peaceful, there have been allegations of fraud in the voting process and tabulation.
The campaign was outwardly competitive, with a wide range of parties and candidates.
But “harassment, intimidation and misuse of administrative resources” were used to prevent many candidates and parties from getting their message to voters.
State-owned newspapers attacked the opposition; public workers such as teachers and nurses were required to attend rallies; events for the opposition were blocked and obstructed; state television “displayed a clear bias in favor of the ruling party.”
Fortunately, there are other media channels and unrestricted Internet access in Ukraine, but their reach is limited.
The United States invested heavily after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the idea that Ukraine, with a population of 45 million, could become a member of NATO and look westward.
Russia has also beckoned from the east and holds enduring historic and economic ties to Ukraine.
Unfortunately, Ukraine seems to be sliding into the Russian mold of a pseudo-democracy, with elections, parties and candidates on the surface, but less and less real competition underneath.
After the 2004 presidential election, demonstrators filled the streets to protest a vote marred by fraud and corruption in what came to be known as the Orange Revolution.
A runoff election was annulled, a new vote was ordered by the courts, and the second runoff was deemed free and fair.
People power worked.
Given that promising moment, it is distressing to see Ukraine’s political system now backsliding.
The campaign leading up to the Oct. 28 vote for parliament was rigged to benefit President Viktor Yanukovych and his ruling Party of Regions.
This time, there was no revolution, just relatively small but determined protests, and a brushoff from the prime minister, Mykola Azarov, who declared, “These were the best organized elections in Ukraine in the history of its independence.”
In fact, they were “best organized” in a peculiar post-Soviet fashion now evident in Russia and elsewhere in Eurasia.
The features of this system are slicker than some of the pitched battles for power in the 1990s, but they are onerous nonetheless, designed to give the ruling party an insurmountable advantage through subterfuge and subversion.
In Ukraine, the rigging of the election began long before voting day.
According to a report by international election observers, the campaign lacked a level playing field for all candidates.
Those in power “abused” their state resources for political gain and benefited from “a lack of balanced media coverage.”
Not to mention that former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko and Yuri Lutsenko, two prominent opposition political leaders, have been imprisoned following trials that were widely criticized as politically motivated.
While election day was largely peaceful, there have been allegations of fraud in the voting process and tabulation.
The campaign was outwardly competitive, with a wide range of parties and candidates.
But “harassment, intimidation and misuse of administrative resources” were used to prevent many candidates and parties from getting their message to voters.
State-owned newspapers attacked the opposition; public workers such as teachers and nurses were required to attend rallies; events for the opposition were blocked and obstructed; state television “displayed a clear bias in favor of the ruling party.”
Fortunately, there are other media channels and unrestricted Internet access in Ukraine, but their reach is limited.
The United States invested heavily after the collapse of the Soviet Union in the idea that Ukraine, with a population of 45 million, could become a member of NATO and look westward.
Russia has also beckoned from the east and holds enduring historic and economic ties to Ukraine.
Unfortunately, Ukraine seems to be sliding into the Russian mold of a pseudo-democracy, with elections, parties and candidates on the surface, but less and less real competition underneath.
Sunday 4 November 2012
Ukraine Devaluation Angst Mounts As Yanukovych Secures Win
KIEV, Ukraine -- Banks in Ukraine’s capital didn’t have enough dollars to convert Oleksandra Ratushnyak’s hryvnia savings this week so she spent the rest to offload a currency investors bet will slide after the ruling party won re-election.
“Nobody trusts the hryvnia,” Ratushnyak, a 29-year-old lawyer, said Oct. 29 in Kiev after buying $1,750 from three banks and being told four more had run out.
“The exchange rate has been manipulated and no one knows how much it’s worth.”
President Viktor Yanukovych’s victory in Oct. 28 parliamentary elections divided investors and citizens in a nation where payments from bank loans to apartment rents are often made in dollars.
While international bonds advanced on optimism devaluation will improve the balance of payments as the economy skids toward recession, citizens may be concerned about the value of their savings.
Dollar purchases by Ukrainians anticipating a weaker currency after the ballot were the highest in a year in September, official data showed, while the local units of UniCredit SpA (UCG) and OTP Bank Nyrt. reported increased demand for the greenback.
The central bank has dipped into its reserves to defend the hryvnia, contributing to an almost $9 billion drop in the stash to $29.2 billion since August 2011.
Ukrainians are again becoming concerned about their currency, four years after the hryvnia lost more than half of its value following the collapse of Lehman Brothers Inc.’s in 2008.
Economic output plummeted 7.8 percent and consumer prices surged 22.3 percent that year.
The contraction continued at a 6.7 percent pace in 2009.
‘Political Achievement’
The currency, which has lost 2.2 percent this year, will retreat to 9.4 per dollar in six months’ time and 10.42 in a year, according to non-deliverable forwards, which in June predicted declines to 9.04 and 10.22.
It was down 0.2 percent at 8.1964 at 12:19 p.m. in Kiev, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
“Hryvnia stability is perceived as a political achievement on the part of the Ukrainian electorate,” Alexander Morozov, a Moscow-based economist at HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), wrote Oct. 22 in a note.
After the election, “Ukrainian authorities’ hands may be untied and they may permit the hryvnia to devalue.”
After expanding 5.2 percent last year, Ukraine’s economy contracted 1.2 percent in the third quarter from previous three months as Europe’s debt crisis damped demand for steel, the country’s main export earner.
Erste Group Bank (EBS) AG and HSBC predict a second-half recession.
Current Account
The current-account deficit almost doubled through August to $8.6 billion as Russian natural gas prices rose.
The gap will widen to 9 percent of gross domestic product in 2012, according to Morozov, who said a hryvnia rate of 11 per dollar is needed by end-2013 to narrow the shortfall to 5 percent.
Investors and traders have been betting central bank support for the hryvnia will dwindle, helping stabilize the balance of payments, restore competitiveness and boost exports.
The government may also unfreeze a $15.4 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, halted last year after Ukraine refused to raise household energy tariffs, Ronald Schneider, who helps manage 700 million euros ($910 million) in emerging-market debt for Raiffeisen Kapitalanlage GmbH in Vienna, said Oct. 22 by phone.
The Washington-based lender has urged a more flexible exchange rate for the hryvnia.
Bond Rally
Ukraine’s dollar Eurobond due 2017 climbed today, cutting the yield to 6.72 percent, the lowest level since it was sold in July.
Credit-default swaps, which narrowed for four sessions, dropped 101 basis points last month to 605, reflecting an improved perception of risk.
Citizens stepped up dollar purchases as devaluation speculation intensified in a country where about half of outstanding retail loans are denominated in foreign currencies.
They bought $2.9 billion in September, double February’s amount, central bank data showed.
“Because of increasing demand for foreign currency, a temporary limit of $1,000 per client per day has been set,” the local unit of Budapest-based OTP’s press office said Oct. 30 in an e-mailed statement.
Heightened demand has led to a “difficult but manageable” situation in Ukraine, according to Sergiy Manokha, director of treasury and institutional business at UniCredit’s local unit.
“The main positive thing is that they’re not removing deposits as they were in 2008,” he said Oct. 30 by phone.
Fiscal Costs
The authorities may only opt for a devaluation to 8.3 per dollar by year-end and 9 by end-2013, according to Alexander Valchyshen, head of research at Investment Capital Ukraine, who said the drop would increase repayment costs on foreign bonds, push public debt to 35 percent of GDP from 28 percent and widen the budget deficit by weighing on economic growth.
“The fiscal costs of the devaluation will be sizable,” he said Oct. 30 by phone from Kiev.
“The deterioration in the fiscal position is the main reason the authorities will try to resist market forces.”
Ukraine’s central bank and government have “all resources” to keep the hryvnia stable after the elections, Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said Oct. 10.
Policy makers are also seeking to deter people from buying foreign currencies as a hedge against devaluation risks, central bank Governor Serhiy Arbuzov said last month.
Ukrainians aren’t convinced the hryvnia can hold its ground and neither are investors.
“The elections are behind us and forwards show the market expects some devaluation,” said Steffen Gruschka, portfolio manager at fund SG Alpha, which manages $10 million of Ukrainian equities.
“The question is now how it will happen and when.”
Former Ukraine Leader Awaits Ruling On US Status
LAGUNA NIGUEL, USA -- A former Ukrainian prime minister convicted in the United States of corruption in his homeland has been released from federal prison and turned over to immigration authorities, authorities said Friday.
Pavlo Lazarenko will appear before an immigration judge to determine if he can remain in the country, said Lori Haley, a spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
She declined to say where he is being held. U.S. Bureau of Prison records show that Lazarenko, 59, was released from federal prison Thursday.
He served as Ukraine's prime minister from 1996 to 1997, then fled to the United States and applied for political asylum in 1999.
Prosecutors instead accused Lazarenko of corruption, extortion and a host of other charges alleging he used his position to illegally enrich himself.
They claimed jurisdiction because much of the millions of dollars at issue ended up in the United States.
A jury convicted Lazarenko in 2004, and he was sentenced in 2006 to nine years in prison.
He was allowed to remain under house arrest until he exhausted his appeals in 2008, when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to review the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling upholding eight of the 14 charges.
A judge reduced his sentence in 2009.
New Kremlin Headache: Democracy Is Alive And Well In Ukraine And Georgia
MOSCOW, Russia -- Vladimir Putin is suffering back pains and is cancelling foreign trips and his annual November press conference marathon.
He may also be suffering from a foreign policy migraine: multi-party democracy is alive and well in the most unexpected of places: Russia’s neighboring southern republics — Georgia and Ukraine.
The key to democracy is decision by the voters.
Any American who tells you he or she knows who will win the U.S. presidential vote on Tuesday is either lying or blindly partisan.
Opinion polls indicate a very tight race.
On Oct. 1, foreign reporters flew into Tbilisi, Georgia for the parliamentary elections.
According to common wisdom, and the polls, the election would be won by the party of Mikhail Saakashvili, president of Georgia for the last eight years.
Then, the thinking went, the Georgians would jump up and down about fraud, things would quiet down, and Saakashvili would sail on to become a super-empowered prime minister.
Wrong. Georgian voters thought otherwise.
In an unexpected turn of events, voters migrated heavily to the opposition party of Bizdina Ivanishvili. Ivanisvhili’s supporters won.
Saakashvili conceded defeat.
And last week, Ivanishvili became the new prime minister of Georgia.
Last week, a similar scenario played out in Ukraine.
The government of President Viktor Yanukovych held his midterm presidential elections.
Going into Sunday’s vote, analysts predicted the worst, saying the government had done its best to tilt the vote in its favor.
And the tilt was pronounced.
According to OPORA, an election watchdog group, 41 opposition candidates were physically attacked or harassed by government officials.
The most prominent opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko, was in jail, held largely incommunicado.
In the three months prior to the election, the TVi, the nation’s only independent TV channel, was dropped from cable packages offered to six million Ukrainians.
On the spending side, the government pumped so much money into social spending that the budget deficit tripled during the first nine month of this year.
In addition, the government postponed two unpopular moves: allowing the national currency, the hryvnia, to devalue and household gas prices to rise.
And then there was the sneakiness – confusing voters with clone parties.
At one polling station I visited, there were three Green Parties.
Two of them featured photos of candidates who looked like they’d been recruited from the middle management of the post office – solemn middle aged men in coats and ties.
The third, presumably the real Green party, had women and younger men in edgy haircuts.
Around the nation, OPORA counted 45 cases of “twins” – or clone candidates.
My VOA Ukrainian Service colleague, Oksana Ustujhanina, a savvy political observer, writes me that she intended to vote for an opposition candidate, Teriokhin, Sergii.
But, on filling out the ballot, she marked the space for Teriokhin, Andrii, a pro-government candidate.
His name came first – A before S.
She emails me: “And when I was leaving the station, I saw on the wall a picture of another Teriokhin. Only then did I realize that I had been deceived.”
These kinds of election dirty tricks put a bad taste in people’s mouths.
They prompted Brussels and Washington to give the election poor grades.
On Monday, the State Department called the election “a step backward.”
The European observer mission said: “Democratic progress appears to have reversed in the Ukraine.”
But, as foreign observers packed their bags, Ukrainian poll watchers and vote counters in contested races were, in some cases, wrestling over control of boxes with ballots, in other cases, sleeping with their arms around them.
One week after the election, the dust has largely settled.
Vote counting in several districts has been so disputed that re-balloting may be needed.
But, OPORA, the most respected election watchdog group, declared that the final results for the five big parties only varied from their own parallel vote counts by maximums of 1 percent point.
For all the money spent, President Yanukovych’s Party of Regions won only 30 percent of the vote.
His parliamentary delegation will be 186 — nine seats smaller than going into the election.
His allies, the Communists, increased their delegation to 32.
Huffy about coming in fifth out of five, the Communists now are threatening to not work with the president.
The three opposition parties won a total of 50 percent of votes cast.
Yulia Tymoshenko’s Fatherland Party reversed its slide, adding six new seats for a total of 104.
President Yanukovych’s ham-handed handling of the opposition leader can be thanked for her political resurrection.
Voters wiped out the party of Viktor Yushchenko, the former president who has been seen as soft on his successor.
In its place, there are two new totally new opposition parties, Svoboda, or Freedom, and UDAR, the pro-European party lead by Vitaly Klitschko, the heavyweight boxer.
On one side, President Yanukovych’s party controls 41 percent of parliamentary seats.
On the other side, the opposition will control 40 percent.
President Yanukovych will only fashion a working majority by luring back the communists and a large number of independents.
Gone are his October dreams of a two-thirds majority that would allow him to change the constitution.
To get legislation passed, he will have to create situational majorities.
And, with the next presidential election two years away, the interest of independents in helping an unpopular president will not last long.
And this brings us back to the policy headaches for President Putin.
On the domestic front, Putin has been trying to persuade Russians that they are better off under his personalist rule – “vertical power” dressed up with democratic window dressings.
But, Georgians and Ukrainians, his former Soviet brethren, seem to prefer real, multi-party democracies.
On the foreign policy front, Russia’s President has spent two years alternately cajoling and threatening Yanukovych, trying to lure Ukraine into a Moscow-dominated Customs Union – sort of a Soviet Union lite.
Now, it is clear that a majority of Ukrainian voters do not want that.
The three opposition parties that collectively received half of the vote are all pro-Western and all favor a free trade treaty with the European Union.
In Ukraine, the sour grapes mood is so strong in Yanukovych circles that government supporters demonstrated outside the Russian Embassy on Thursday.
They charged that Ukraine’s opposition candidates were subsidized by Alexander Lebedev, a Russian oligarch opposed to Putin.
In response, Lebedev, an investor in Ukraine, wrote in letter of complaint to President Yanukovych:
“The masterminds behind this show clearly wanted to question the parliamentary elections results.”
Maybe, instead of looking for wild, convoluted conspiracy theories, it might be best to go back to a basic rule of democracy: listen to the voters.
Ukrainian Election Dispute Stirs Up Thugs And Police
KIEV, Ukraine -- Nearly a week after Ukraine's parliamentary election, officials are still scrambling to tally votes in key districts, with the opposition and Canadian vote monitors saying it's an example of efforts to doctor the results.
Western observers — among whose ranks was a 500-member mission from Canada — have denounced Sunday's election as unfair.
The Canadian mission published its extensive concerns Friday, saying there were "serious problems" with the vote count and "terrible conditions" at polls.
The criticisms included: 8 districts still haven't finished counting ballots; election workers there, who are having to work without rest in "crowded, tense" premises, sometimes leave with election materials in hand before having sent in their tallies.
"The process of tabulation in several cases is non-transparent, chaotic, and marred by violations."
Ad-hoc changes in election protocols that don't go through the correct approvals process.
"Serious problems with manipulation of electronic results."
Notably, results on the central election commission's website have been altered in districts even after all polls have reported.
The mission said the issues are "evidence of attempts to purposefully manipulate results."
In last weekend's parliamentary race, President Viktor Yanukovych's party maintained its grip on power.
But the campaign has been considered marred all along because the country's top opposition leader, former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, has been in jail since last year.
Among the irregularities, the opposition claims its candidate in Kiev's precinct No. 223 defeated the pro-government one, but that election officials are trying to inflate the government loyalist's tally and under count opposition votes.
Election officials continued vote-tallying Friday amid shouts by the opposition and police fending off alleged pro-government thugs.
In previous days, fistfights have occurred there and tear gas has been used.
Similar incidents have occurred in other regions, prompting the opposition to threaten street protests.
Initial results from the Ukrainian election have Yanukovych's Party of Regions at 186 seats, his Communist Party allies with 32, Tymoshenko's former faction at 104, various other opposition parties with 84 and independents with 44.
Canada's observer mission wasn't without its own controversies.
It was mired in accusations of political tinkering when two former Liberal cabinet ministers were abruptly dropped from the team and a Conservative MP who had had his election win overturned was added.
Ukraine Opposition Calls Protest Rally Over Election Count
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine opposition parties called a public rally for Monday to protest against what they said was fraud by President Viktor Yanukovich's ruling party in the final stages of the vote-count from the October 28 parliamentary election.
The united opposition, which includes the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, issued its protest call with a handful of seats to the 450-seat parliament still in dispute between candidates favorable to Yanukovich's Party of the Regions or to opposition forces.
Over the weekend, nerves were at breaking point in several of nine disputed districts with election officials who were conducting the vote-count besieged by supporters from both camps, demanding a re-count or threatening court action.
In one district in southern Ukraine, black helmeted riot police used tear gas when tensions boiled over between representatives backing a Regions candidate and those supporting a Batkivshchyna member.
The Regions, seen as representing the interests of big business, still seem set to retain a majority of more than 225 seats in the assembly, assuming support from their traditional communist allies and some independents.
But Batkivshchyna has made a strong showing and the opposition will be re-energized by the arrival in parliament of the UDAR (Punch) party of world heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko and the far-right nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party.
An overall Regions victory is likely to be seen by Yanukovich as a mandate to continue policies which opponents say favor the big business industrialists who back him.
Equally, the leadership will continue to be cold-shouldered by the United States and the European Union over the imprisonment of Tymoshenko.
The EU has already refused to settle a major free trade pact because of her case.
Calls by the opposition for a protest rally in central Kiev over alleged vote-rigging evoke memories of the "Orange revolution" street protests of 2004-5 which overturned an election of Yanukovich as president, dooming his first bid for power.
"The authorities are carrying out bare-faced fraud in districts where opposition candidates are winning. The wishes of tens of thousands of citizens are being changed into a forged result in favor of pro-ruling party candidates," a united opposition statement said on Sunday.
"The united opposition is appealing to all opposition forces, to all those who are not indifferent to fate of the country, to come to the building of the central electoral commission and defend their vote," it said.
The Regions have denied allegations of vote-rigging.
International monitors, the day after voting, criticized the authorities over aspects of the run-up to the election, mentioning specifically Tymoshenko's imprisonment and biased media coverage.
They said the election marked a "step backwards" for Ukraine under Yanukovich's leadership, though they were largely positive about the way voting had been conducted.
External monitors have since been sharply critical of the way the counting of ballots was manually carried out across the former Soviet republic of 46 million.
The central election commission on Sunday said only three seats in individual constituencies still remained to be decided.
But complaints about the official result in several others, mainly from the opposition, have gone to local courts and are awaiting adjudication.
Referring specifically to the way the count was conducted, an observer team from Canada last Friday reported evidence of deliberate attempts to manipulate results, particularly where competition was at its keenest in places like the capital Kiev.
"We ... note that the process of vote tabulation has been marred by serious violations, which raises doubts about the integrity of the results in several districts," said a statement by the team, which fielded 500 monitors.
In a joint statement in Brussels on Saturday, senior European Union officials expressed increasing concern that final results of the October 28 election had still not been announced.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule urged authorities and parties "to take the necessary steps to finalize the tabulation allowing for the rapid announcement of the final results, which should reflect the genuine will of the Ukrainian voters."
Half of seats in parliament are awarded to candidates who win the most votes in individual constituencies, and half are given out proportionately to party lists.
Yanukovich's Regions have won 30 percent of the vote on party lists, with their traditional allies, the communists, taking 13 per cent.
Together with gains in individual constituencies, this should add up to a comfortable majority.
In the opposition camp, Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna bloc stood at 104 seats, Klitschko's UDAR at 40 and Svoboda at 37.
The united opposition, which includes the Batkivshchyna (Fatherland) party of jailed ex-prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, issued its protest call with a handful of seats to the 450-seat parliament still in dispute between candidates favorable to Yanukovich's Party of the Regions or to opposition forces.
Over the weekend, nerves were at breaking point in several of nine disputed districts with election officials who were conducting the vote-count besieged by supporters from both camps, demanding a re-count or threatening court action.
In one district in southern Ukraine, black helmeted riot police used tear gas when tensions boiled over between representatives backing a Regions candidate and those supporting a Batkivshchyna member.
The Regions, seen as representing the interests of big business, still seem set to retain a majority of more than 225 seats in the assembly, assuming support from their traditional communist allies and some independents.
But Batkivshchyna has made a strong showing and the opposition will be re-energized by the arrival in parliament of the UDAR (Punch) party of world heavyweight boxing champion Vitaly Klitschko and the far-right nationalist Svoboda (Freedom) party.
An overall Regions victory is likely to be seen by Yanukovich as a mandate to continue policies which opponents say favor the big business industrialists who back him.
Equally, the leadership will continue to be cold-shouldered by the United States and the European Union over the imprisonment of Tymoshenko.
The EU has already refused to settle a major free trade pact because of her case.
Calls by the opposition for a protest rally in central Kiev over alleged vote-rigging evoke memories of the "Orange revolution" street protests of 2004-5 which overturned an election of Yanukovich as president, dooming his first bid for power.
"The authorities are carrying out bare-faced fraud in districts where opposition candidates are winning. The wishes of tens of thousands of citizens are being changed into a forged result in favor of pro-ruling party candidates," a united opposition statement said on Sunday.
"The united opposition is appealing to all opposition forces, to all those who are not indifferent to fate of the country, to come to the building of the central electoral commission and defend their vote," it said.
The Regions have denied allegations of vote-rigging.
International monitors, the day after voting, criticized the authorities over aspects of the run-up to the election, mentioning specifically Tymoshenko's imprisonment and biased media coverage.
They said the election marked a "step backwards" for Ukraine under Yanukovich's leadership, though they were largely positive about the way voting had been conducted.
External monitors have since been sharply critical of the way the counting of ballots was manually carried out across the former Soviet republic of 46 million.
The central election commission on Sunday said only three seats in individual constituencies still remained to be decided.
But complaints about the official result in several others, mainly from the opposition, have gone to local courts and are awaiting adjudication.
Referring specifically to the way the count was conducted, an observer team from Canada last Friday reported evidence of deliberate attempts to manipulate results, particularly where competition was at its keenest in places like the capital Kiev.
"We ... note that the process of vote tabulation has been marred by serious violations, which raises doubts about the integrity of the results in several districts," said a statement by the team, which fielded 500 monitors.
In a joint statement in Brussels on Saturday, senior European Union officials expressed increasing concern that final results of the October 28 election had still not been announced.
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and EU Commissioner for Enlargement Stefan Fule urged authorities and parties "to take the necessary steps to finalize the tabulation allowing for the rapid announcement of the final results, which should reflect the genuine will of the Ukrainian voters."
Half of seats in parliament are awarded to candidates who win the most votes in individual constituencies, and half are given out proportionately to party lists.
Yanukovich's Regions have won 30 percent of the vote on party lists, with their traditional allies, the communists, taking 13 per cent.
Together with gains in individual constituencies, this should add up to a comfortable majority.
In the opposition camp, Tymoshenko's Batkivshchyna bloc stood at 104 seats, Klitschko's UDAR at 40 and Svoboda at 37.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)