The Russian government has announced a 1,000 square mile protected reserve to safeguard habitat for rare Amur leopards and Amur tigers.
The national park, dubbed Land of the Leopard, is in Russia's Far East.
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) says it combines existing wildlife refuges and previously unprotected land along the Chinese border.
But one expert said it was "too little, way too late" to save the Critically Endangered leopard.
Conservation groups have commended Russia for the move.
WCS Russia's program director Dale Miquelle said he was "optimistic" that it would "provide a critical refuge for some of the most endangered big cats on the planet".
An estimated 30 Amur leopards occupy a narrow sliver of forest between the Sea of Japan to the east and Jilin Province, China, to the west.
In a wider area of forest habitat, about 500 Amur tigers are thought to remain in the wild.
Joerns Fickel, from the Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany, who has studied both the Amur leopard and Amur tiger said it was a "significant step in the right direction" but pointed out that safeguarding such a large area from poachers would be difficult.
"Regarding the tigers, he explained that prey density and cover were the "two main components to secure [their] survival".
"[It is not clear whether] this has been considered and if the park size provides space for at least a moderate population growth.
"For the leopards - where we don't even know how many of the last ones are still reproducing - but the situation is very gloomy."
The WCS pointed out that tigers regularly moved across the border into China, and the reserves' proximity to that border represented "a critical source population for recovery of tigers in North-East China".
WWF agreed that this "connection across the border" was crucial.
The conservation organisation's head of species, Diane Walkington, said: "Hopefully, by providing leopards with protected space to live, hunt and breed they will start to make a similar recovery to the Amur tiger, which is still endangered but has made a spectacular comeback since the 1930s when as few as 20 were left."
Peter Zahler, WCS deputy director for Asia said in a statement: "The creation of this park greatly increases the amount of land protecting critical populations of two of the world's big cats, and it will go a long way to securing their future.
"We look forward to continuing to provide whatever support is requested to help conserve tigers and leopards in the region."
Dr Fickel was less optimistic.
"It's better than nothing, and maybe for the tiger, it is not totally too late,"
"[But] for the leopards, hope dies last."
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Society. Show all posts
Sunday, 15 April 2012
Authorities mull exit tax for leaving Russia
Travelers might soon be obliged to pay to leave Russia as officials are considering a new exit tax for international passengers.
The levy is needed to boost domestic flight demand which would be freed of the value added tax, according to the proposal submitted by the Transport Ministry.
Ticket prices for international routes might rise by up to 1,000 rubles, but experts are dubious as to whether flying within the country’s borders will become cheaper.
Zero VAT on domestic flights could leave the budget without annual 32 billion rubles, but transport officials want travelers to plug that hole.
Exit taxes for international flights have been proposed “from national airports for all commercial flights regardless of the carriers’ national identity.
The document has been submitted to the Finance Ministry, which has yet to announce its decision.
The levy is needed to boost domestic flight demand which would be freed of the value added tax, according to the proposal submitted by the Transport Ministry.
Ticket prices for international routes might rise by up to 1,000 rubles, but experts are dubious as to whether flying within the country’s borders will become cheaper.
Zero VAT on domestic flights could leave the budget without annual 32 billion rubles, but transport officials want travelers to plug that hole.
Exit taxes for international flights have been proposed “from national airports for all commercial flights regardless of the carriers’ national identity.
The document has been submitted to the Finance Ministry, which has yet to announce its decision.
Permanent Seliger youth base planned for monastery grounds
Pro-Kremlin youth might soon start "camping" at Lake Seliger all year round, as the specially protected grounds of a local monastery are expected to be handed over to the Federal Youth Agency.
A letter to the governor of the Tver region, where the agency has been holding its annual summer forum since 2000, has been endorsed by Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy Minister Vitaly Mutko.
"The camp is developing, they want to tidy it up and stop living in tents,"
Hordes of young people have been descending on Lake Seliger's vicinity since 2000. And their numbers grew dramatically after gatherings of Kremlin-supporters from the Nashi and Idushchiye Vmeste movements were transformed into the All-Russian Educational Forum in 2009.
But camp-like gathering are soon to become history, as permanent facilities might be erected on an 18.76 hectare site, which was previously owned by the Nilov-Stolbensky Monastery, sources at the regional administration and the Sports Ministry told Izvestia.
Construction, which is expected to start in 2013 if not earlier, would cost just 125 million rubles. No information about the development project has been revealed so far but the funding seems to be rather modest, given that 200 million roubles have been allocated from the state budget for this year's forum.
The news about the looming construction has caused a stir in the region. "Local residents have become worried about the situation. That's why we've asked officials to give us with a clear answer about the monastery's lands," A Just Russia Duma Deputy Alexei Chepa,said. Chepa is drawing up a request to official bodies to check the legal grounds of the project.
The representatives of the monastery, however, don't seem to have a shared opinion on the matter. "We know nothing about it. Officially we haven't given the lands away," Father Pyotr, the monastery's spokesman told.
The head of the monastery, Father Arkady, told Izvestia that the territory could be passed to another owner.
"I have no concerns about it. I've always supported [the Seliger forum]. We've agreed to transfer the lands," he said.
Chepa was suspicious about the monks' position. "They are far from the political background of the story, in the first place. And secondly, it's likely that they have been pressured by the local authorities,"
A letter to the governor of the Tver region, where the agency has been holding its annual summer forum since 2000, has been endorsed by Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy Minister Vitaly Mutko.
"The camp is developing, they want to tidy it up and stop living in tents,"
Hordes of young people have been descending on Lake Seliger's vicinity since 2000. And their numbers grew dramatically after gatherings of Kremlin-supporters from the Nashi and Idushchiye Vmeste movements were transformed into the All-Russian Educational Forum in 2009.
But camp-like gathering are soon to become history, as permanent facilities might be erected on an 18.76 hectare site, which was previously owned by the Nilov-Stolbensky Monastery, sources at the regional administration and the Sports Ministry told Izvestia.
Construction, which is expected to start in 2013 if not earlier, would cost just 125 million rubles. No information about the development project has been revealed so far but the funding seems to be rather modest, given that 200 million roubles have been allocated from the state budget for this year's forum.
The news about the looming construction has caused a stir in the region. "Local residents have become worried about the situation. That's why we've asked officials to give us with a clear answer about the monastery's lands," A Just Russia Duma Deputy Alexei Chepa,said. Chepa is drawing up a request to official bodies to check the legal grounds of the project.
The representatives of the monastery, however, don't seem to have a shared opinion on the matter. "We know nothing about it. Officially we haven't given the lands away," Father Pyotr, the monastery's spokesman told.
The head of the monastery, Father Arkady, told Izvestia that the territory could be passed to another owner.
"I have no concerns about it. I've always supported [the Seliger forum]. We've agreed to transfer the lands," he said.
Chepa was suspicious about the monks' position. "They are far from the political background of the story, in the first place. And secondly, it's likely that they have been pressured by the local authorities,"
Avtovaz to stop making Lada Riva AKA the Semyorka
Russia’s biggest car-maker plans to stop making the classic Lada Riva, after demand fell by 76 percent compared to last year.
“It’s all going according to plan,” Avtovaz communications director Igor Burenkov was quoted as saying. “Demand for the classics fell significantly. It is time to say goodbye.”
The car-maker did not say when the last Lada 2107 will roll off the conveyor belt, but added that newer models Lada Kalina, Lada Priora and Lada Granta had become more popular.
The Izhavto plant in Udmurtia will be reorganized to make the newer models instead of the Riva. Work on taking it off the production line will begin next week.
Lada Riva was exported into Western European markets, and became a target of numerous jokes for its poor quality.
“It’s all going according to plan,” Avtovaz communications director Igor Burenkov was quoted as saying. “Demand for the classics fell significantly. It is time to say goodbye.”
The car-maker did not say when the last Lada 2107 will roll off the conveyor belt, but added that newer models Lada Kalina, Lada Priora and Lada Granta had become more popular.
The Izhavto plant in Udmurtia will be reorganized to make the newer models instead of the Riva. Work on taking it off the production line will begin next week.
Lada Riva was exported into Western European markets, and became a target of numerous jokes for its poor quality.
Siberian village devastated by wildfire inferno
Twenty out of 35 houses were consumed by flames in the Russian village of Bayan-Bulak on Thursday night.
The steppe fire roared into the village, located 200 km from Chita, at 9 pm local time on Thursday due to strong winds. The fire took more than 12 hours to extinguish.
All 60 residents were evacuated to the neighboring village Tsokto-Khangil, where they were placed in a school and a cultural center. One woman broke her leg during the evacuation.
An investigation was opened on the accidental destruction of property.
Zabaikalsky region authorities promised to start reconstruction in May.
“It is necessary to sort out the issue of housing construction with everyone personally and start building no later than May. It is also necessary to tally the damage and process all the documents. We plan to open a charity account, organize a collection of clothes and money. We will build the houses. We will not leave anyone in strife,” said the spokesperson for Zabaikalsky Governor Ravil Geniatulin.
He promised Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that people would be able to move into their new houses by the start of heating season in autumn.
The governor visited the devastated village on Friday and held a special meeting with the local council.
Those whose houses burned down will be allocated money for immediate needs and provided with assistance in restoring their documents.
There is a storm warning in the region, and the steppe fire could strike other villages. More than 100 people and 26 fire-fighting units are battling the flames. Thousands of hectares of forest are on fire in Siberia in 34 locations.
Russian forest authorities will also send 200 fire-fighting paratroopers from the Moscow region, Karelia and Krasnoyarsk region.
The region is in the state of emergency because of dry weather with high winds and numerous fires. Grass burning is thought to be the cause of many fires. The authorities banned it, but locals still use it to remove old grass on hayfields and pastures.
Russia is plagued by wildfires every year. In 2010, burning peat bogs near Moscow covered the city in thick smoke, forcing many residents to flee the city.
The steppe fire roared into the village, located 200 km from Chita, at 9 pm local time on Thursday due to strong winds. The fire took more than 12 hours to extinguish.
All 60 residents were evacuated to the neighboring village Tsokto-Khangil, where they were placed in a school and a cultural center. One woman broke her leg during the evacuation.
An investigation was opened on the accidental destruction of property.
Zabaikalsky region authorities promised to start reconstruction in May.
“It is necessary to sort out the issue of housing construction with everyone personally and start building no later than May. It is also necessary to tally the damage and process all the documents. We plan to open a charity account, organize a collection of clothes and money. We will build the houses. We will not leave anyone in strife,” said the spokesperson for Zabaikalsky Governor Ravil Geniatulin.
He promised Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that people would be able to move into their new houses by the start of heating season in autumn.
The governor visited the devastated village on Friday and held a special meeting with the local council.
Those whose houses burned down will be allocated money for immediate needs and provided with assistance in restoring their documents.
There is a storm warning in the region, and the steppe fire could strike other villages. More than 100 people and 26 fire-fighting units are battling the flames. Thousands of hectares of forest are on fire in Siberia in 34 locations.
Russian forest authorities will also send 200 fire-fighting paratroopers from the Moscow region, Karelia and Krasnoyarsk region.
The region is in the state of emergency because of dry weather with high winds and numerous fires. Grass burning is thought to be the cause of many fires. The authorities banned it, but locals still use it to remove old grass on hayfields and pastures.
Russia is plagued by wildfires every year. In 2010, burning peat bogs near Moscow covered the city in thick smoke, forcing many residents to flee the city.
Ukraine Oligarch Pulls Development Plan After Protests
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov, has been forced to scrap plans to build a glitzy business centre at a historic tourist site in Kiev after a public outcry in which he was accused of "spitting on the soul" of the capital.
Protests by several hundred people brought a rare dose of bad publicity for the 45-year-old steel and coal tycoon who normally shuns the public limelight but is one of the most influential political players in the ex-Soviet republic.
Several hundred protesters, alerted by the social networking site Facebook, turned out to rally on Wednesday night against plans by the billionaire's System Capital Management (SCM) company to build a multi-storey business centre on "Andriyivsky Descent", a picturesque cobbled street and one of Ukraine's best-known tourist spots.
But the protests came too late to stop bulldozers from destroying at least one 19th century building and wrecking another built 40 years ago in mock 19th century style, cultural officials said.
Chanting "(Put) Akhmetov down a mine shaft !" and "Get Akhmetov out of town", several protesters dumped building material near SCM headquarters to signify their disgust.
"They have come here and brutally turned things into a pig-sty," said Olexander Serhiyenko, a member of a Kiev civic organization.
"They have spat on the soul of Kiev with their 'Andriyivsky Plaza'", he said.
"The ESTA company (a subsidiary of SCM), having examined the opinions of Kiev people, decided back in March to cancel the construction of the business centre," said Akhmetov in a statement issued by his press service.
"Unfortunately, after this decision, there were two bad errors. Firstly, the actions of the company were not coordinated. Secondly, they were not explained to the public," Akhmetov said.
Akhmetov, whose net worth Forbes puts at $16 billion, added:
"I promise that SCM will return the original look to the destroyed facades. We will also help the town restore Andriyivsky Descent."
Akhmetov, whose power base is in the eastern city of Donetsk, made his fortune in steel and coal in the 1990s after a turbulent period in post-Soviet history marked by gangland-style shootings and bombings.
A big soccer enthusiast, he is the owner of Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine's most successful football clubs, and also has interests in construction, banking, media and property.
According to British media, he bought a penthouse at One Hyde Park in London a year ago for a price of about $220 million.
KING-MAKER
As a financial backer of President Viktor Yanukovich's election campaign in 2009 he is seen as a 'king-maker' in politics, but he is notoriously publicity-shy and rarely meets journalists.
In his power base of Donetsk he is revered as a benefactor and his critics say the protests in Kiev have clearly shaken him.
"They called the Berkut (Ukrainian special forces) to their headquarters as soon as they heard about the protest. They were afraid of a peaceful protest. But without this protest they would have just gone ahead with their plans," said Anna Putova, an archivist at Ukraine's national archives.
"I don't believe a word of his promises. I don't believe him and I don't think anyone in Kiev believes him," she said.
Andriyivsky Descent, a half-mile winding drop down from the administrative centre of Kiev to a riverside quarter, is a top tourist spot in season, with chic restaurants, street-side arts and crafts studios and souvenir stalls.
With Ukraine co-hosting the Euro-2012 soccer championships in June, the street would normally be heaving with traders preparing for a busy season ahead.
But eve-of-Euro reconstruction work to install new drainage and upgrade the quarter's infrastructure has reduced the cobbled street to a sea of building sand, bricks, mud and heavy machinery.
Most traders are sitting things out, hoping city authorities will complete the work by the target day of May 27
Protests by several hundred people brought a rare dose of bad publicity for the 45-year-old steel and coal tycoon who normally shuns the public limelight but is one of the most influential political players in the ex-Soviet republic.
Several hundred protesters, alerted by the social networking site Facebook, turned out to rally on Wednesday night against plans by the billionaire's System Capital Management (SCM) company to build a multi-storey business centre on "Andriyivsky Descent", a picturesque cobbled street and one of Ukraine's best-known tourist spots.
But the protests came too late to stop bulldozers from destroying at least one 19th century building and wrecking another built 40 years ago in mock 19th century style, cultural officials said.
Chanting "(Put) Akhmetov down a mine shaft !" and "Get Akhmetov out of town", several protesters dumped building material near SCM headquarters to signify their disgust.
"They have come here and brutally turned things into a pig-sty," said Olexander Serhiyenko, a member of a Kiev civic organization.
"They have spat on the soul of Kiev with their 'Andriyivsky Plaza'", he said.
"The ESTA company (a subsidiary of SCM), having examined the opinions of Kiev people, decided back in March to cancel the construction of the business centre," said Akhmetov in a statement issued by his press service.
"Unfortunately, after this decision, there were two bad errors. Firstly, the actions of the company were not coordinated. Secondly, they were not explained to the public," Akhmetov said.
Akhmetov, whose net worth Forbes puts at $16 billion, added:
"I promise that SCM will return the original look to the destroyed facades. We will also help the town restore Andriyivsky Descent."
Akhmetov, whose power base is in the eastern city of Donetsk, made his fortune in steel and coal in the 1990s after a turbulent period in post-Soviet history marked by gangland-style shootings and bombings.
A big soccer enthusiast, he is the owner of Shakhtar Donetsk, one of Ukraine's most successful football clubs, and also has interests in construction, banking, media and property.
According to British media, he bought a penthouse at One Hyde Park in London a year ago for a price of about $220 million.
KING-MAKER
As a financial backer of President Viktor Yanukovich's election campaign in 2009 he is seen as a 'king-maker' in politics, but he is notoriously publicity-shy and rarely meets journalists.
In his power base of Donetsk he is revered as a benefactor and his critics say the protests in Kiev have clearly shaken him.
"They called the Berkut (Ukrainian special forces) to their headquarters as soon as they heard about the protest. They were afraid of a peaceful protest. But without this protest they would have just gone ahead with their plans," said Anna Putova, an archivist at Ukraine's national archives.
"I don't believe a word of his promises. I don't believe him and I don't think anyone in Kiev believes him," she said.
Andriyivsky Descent, a half-mile winding drop down from the administrative centre of Kiev to a riverside quarter, is a top tourist spot in season, with chic restaurants, street-side arts and crafts studios and souvenir stalls.
With Ukraine co-hosting the Euro-2012 soccer championships in June, the street would normally be heaving with traders preparing for a busy season ahead.
But eve-of-Euro reconstruction work to install new drainage and upgrade the quarter's infrastructure has reduced the cobbled street to a sea of building sand, bricks, mud and heavy machinery.
Most traders are sitting things out, hoping city authorities will complete the work by the target day of May 27
Platini Raps Ukrainian "Swindlers" Over Euro Hotel Prices
LVIV, Ukraine -- "Bandits and swindlers" are undermining Ukraine's Euro 2012 preparations by pushing accommodation prices up to exorbitant levels, UEFA president Michel Platini said on Thursday.
Hotels in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv, the four Ukrainian host cities, have hiked prices in some cases more than 10-fold.
Talking to reporters during a visit to Lviv, Platini said "bandits and swindlers who want to earn a lot of money" could keep fans away from Ukraine.
"You cannot raise prices from 40 euros ($53) to 100 euros ($132) to 500 euros ($657) from one day to the next," added the president of European soccer's ruling body. "That is just not done."
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich this month ordered his government to investigate price hikes and ensure hotel rates are at an "economically reasonable" level during the championship.
"We will be preparing to the last night and will welcome (guests and participants) the way it should be done," Yanukovich said in a statement on Thursday.
The cheapest Lviv hotel listed on UEFA's championship website as available for the Germany-Portugal match on June 9 charges 195 euros ($256) per night. For the Ukraine-Sweden match on June 11 in Kiev, offers start at 104 euros ($137).
A tent camp set up 35-km away from Kiev plans to charge 30 euros ($40) per night.
Ukraine, tournament co-hosts along with Poland, has invested billions of dollars in Euro preparations and hopes to gain a return in the form of increased tourist traffic.
Hotels in Kiev, Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv, the four Ukrainian host cities, have hiked prices in some cases more than 10-fold.
Talking to reporters during a visit to Lviv, Platini said "bandits and swindlers who want to earn a lot of money" could keep fans away from Ukraine.
"You cannot raise prices from 40 euros ($53) to 100 euros ($132) to 500 euros ($657) from one day to the next," added the president of European soccer's ruling body. "That is just not done."
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich this month ordered his government to investigate price hikes and ensure hotel rates are at an "economically reasonable" level during the championship.
"We will be preparing to the last night and will welcome (guests and participants) the way it should be done," Yanukovich said in a statement on Thursday.
The cheapest Lviv hotel listed on UEFA's championship website as available for the Germany-Portugal match on June 9 charges 195 euros ($256) per night. For the Ukraine-Sweden match on June 11 in Kiev, offers start at 104 euros ($137).
A tent camp set up 35-km away from Kiev plans to charge 30 euros ($40) per night.
Ukraine, tournament co-hosts along with Poland, has invested billions of dollars in Euro preparations and hopes to gain a return in the form of increased tourist traffic.
U.S. Calls On Ukraine To Release Tymoshenko Ally
KIEV, Ukraine -- The United States said on Friday the jailing by Ukraine of an ally of former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko was a miscarriage of justice and called for the release of Valery Ivashchenko on health grounds.
A Ukrainian court this week found Ivashchenko, who served as acting defence minister in opposition leader Tymoshenko's cabinet in 2009 and 2010, guilty of abusing his powers in privatising a Black Sea ship repair facility.
"With respect to the conviction of former Acting Defense Minister Ivashchenko, we are deeply disappointed in this latest example of selective justice in Ukraine and call for his release, particularly given the state of his health after 18 months in pre-trial detention," the U.S. embassy in Ukraine said in a statement.
Tymoshenko, the fiercest opponent of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, has described her conviction for abuse of office, for which she has been sentenced to seven years in prison, as part of the government's campaign to destroy the opposition.
The United States and the European Union saw it as an example of selective justice and have urged her release.
Ivashchenko has dismissed the charges against him as politically motivated and plans to appeal.
A Ukrainian court this week found Ivashchenko, who served as acting defence minister in opposition leader Tymoshenko's cabinet in 2009 and 2010, guilty of abusing his powers in privatising a Black Sea ship repair facility.
"With respect to the conviction of former Acting Defense Minister Ivashchenko, we are deeply disappointed in this latest example of selective justice in Ukraine and call for his release, particularly given the state of his health after 18 months in pre-trial detention," the U.S. embassy in Ukraine said in a statement.
Tymoshenko, the fiercest opponent of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich, has described her conviction for abuse of office, for which she has been sentenced to seven years in prison, as part of the government's campaign to destroy the opposition.
The United States and the European Union saw it as an example of selective justice and have urged her release.
Ivashchenko has dismissed the charges against him as politically motivated and plans to appeal.
People Power In Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- Even as Ukraine drifts towards ever-more authoritarian government, the people’s ability to challenge the authorities was illustrated recently by protests against the demolition of a historic squarter in Kiev.
The Ukrainian authorities continue to test the limits of patience of their own people. A first example is the destruction of ancient buildings in a historic part of Kiev, Andriyivskyy Descent, while another is the change of rules for the parliamentary elections due for October of this year.
In first case we have Andriyivskyy Descent, a short, ancient street in the centre of Kiev where tourists could buy souvenirs and paintings and feel the spirit of traditional Ukrainian culture.
It is now completely under reconstruction with several old buildings destroyed.
Apologies to the tourists Ukraine is expecting for the Euro 2012 Football cup in June: they will not see it.
In a second case, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has forbidden simultaneous balloting of parliamentary candidates on party lists and in first-past-the-post districts.
It means that the opposition henceforth has even less chances of getting a majority in the new Parliament.
The reactions of two participants in the Ukrainian political process – civil society and the opposition – to the authorities’ actions are demonstrative.
First we have the community of Kiev’s people.
The very day when three ancient buildings at the Andriyivskyi Descent were demolished, protest groups were organised through the internet and people gathered to offices of the builders and organisers of the destruction of that historic part of Kiev.
They brought construction garbage and left it in front of the offices of the self-styled ‘modernisers of the capital’.
The reaction of the authorities was telling.
All TV channels aired speeches of officials who assured that everything would be renewed in a short time frame.
They recognised that the wrecking of historical buildings was a big mistake and said that those guilty would be punished.
The proactive actions of the public frightened the authorities and forced them to start a dialogue and seek compromise.
Or else the bricks could fly through the windows of offices of builders and state and city officials.
Kiev’s civil society has demonstrated its capacity to protect the city and its way of life.
Regarding the second case, when the authorities took away the right of the opposition to double balloting by party lists and majority districts by means of the Constitutional Court, the opposition-minded forces and their leaders became confused and didn’t know what to do.
The opposition has once again shown its own impotence.
A joint strong-willed decision on boycotting parliamentary elections by all opposition forces could become a way out of the situation.
The authorities would be compelled to make concessions in the face of the threat of delegitimisation in the eyes of society and the opposition.
But it seems that the current Ukrainian opposition establishment, unlike civil society, is unfortunately incapable of displaying maturity.
If we look at the future development of Ukraine, considering tendencies predominating now, the following picture emerges:
Viktor Yanukovych’s regime will continue the process of growing authoritarianism of power.
This will be achieved through the conclusion of non-public arrangements on cooperation with a part of the opposition parties and their leaders.
And in case someone won’t be cooperative, the state machinery of pressure in the form of law enforcement bodies, tax and control services will be applied to them.
It will deal a considerable blow to the possibilities of financing any mass oppositional or anti-government activities.
The authorities will definitively monopolise their grip on any big and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.
There won’t be any foreign investment coming, as political risks will be too high.
At the same time there will be a large-scale backslide in the area of freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly and free movement.
This will lead to intimidation of the population and strengthen the manipulation of public opinion.
The authorities will be happy to introduce rigid control over the internet.
The authorities hope that the society will degrade to poverty, social apathy and to the basic level of survival.
But without any doubt, radical anti-authority resistance will also amplify and it will be headed by the present public activists and leaders.
This image of Ukraine in the near future has high chances of becoming reality.
In two to three years Ukraine could turn into a classic sample of an authoritarian state on the model of Belarus or the Central Asian post-Soviet regimes.
But this is provided that external players, first of all, Russia and the EU, won’t influence the situation.
And this is highly improbable.
Russia already now is actively developing variants of deepening cooperation with Ukraine.
A latest example is provided by the plans of the Russian Federation to create a new advisory council which would deal with the promotion of Russian interests in the post-Soviet territories.
The European Union is also trying to “not freeze” relations with Kiev.
The only thing which can transform today’s Ukraine into a democratic country which will care about interests of its citizens, and not about officials and big business, is the Ukrainian people, and more precisely, its most active and most conscious representatives.
Those public activists who are now rescuing historical Kiev from destruction, tomorrow will go out to rescue the whole state, and not only its capital.
They won't be deceived by politicians any more, as it was the case in 2004-2005.
External players who would like Ukraine to be democratic and not authoritarian will bet on them.
As long as the majority of Ukrainians don’t realise that they have influence, changes won’t come about.
But look at what public activists did at the Andriyivskyy Descent – they proved that their anger matters.
Let’s not let our hope die! There is enough will for this
The Ukrainian authorities continue to test the limits of patience of their own people. A first example is the destruction of ancient buildings in a historic part of Kiev, Andriyivskyy Descent, while another is the change of rules for the parliamentary elections due for October of this year.
In first case we have Andriyivskyy Descent, a short, ancient street in the centre of Kiev where tourists could buy souvenirs and paintings and feel the spirit of traditional Ukrainian culture.
It is now completely under reconstruction with several old buildings destroyed.
Apologies to the tourists Ukraine is expecting for the Euro 2012 Football cup in June: they will not see it.
In a second case, the Constitutional Court of Ukraine has forbidden simultaneous balloting of parliamentary candidates on party lists and in first-past-the-post districts.
It means that the opposition henceforth has even less chances of getting a majority in the new Parliament.
The reactions of two participants in the Ukrainian political process – civil society and the opposition – to the authorities’ actions are demonstrative.
First we have the community of Kiev’s people.
The very day when three ancient buildings at the Andriyivskyi Descent were demolished, protest groups were organised through the internet and people gathered to offices of the builders and organisers of the destruction of that historic part of Kiev.
They brought construction garbage and left it in front of the offices of the self-styled ‘modernisers of the capital’.
The reaction of the authorities was telling.
All TV channels aired speeches of officials who assured that everything would be renewed in a short time frame.
They recognised that the wrecking of historical buildings was a big mistake and said that those guilty would be punished.
The proactive actions of the public frightened the authorities and forced them to start a dialogue and seek compromise.
Or else the bricks could fly through the windows of offices of builders and state and city officials.
Kiev’s civil society has demonstrated its capacity to protect the city and its way of life.
Regarding the second case, when the authorities took away the right of the opposition to double balloting by party lists and majority districts by means of the Constitutional Court, the opposition-minded forces and their leaders became confused and didn’t know what to do.
The opposition has once again shown its own impotence.
A joint strong-willed decision on boycotting parliamentary elections by all opposition forces could become a way out of the situation.
The authorities would be compelled to make concessions in the face of the threat of delegitimisation in the eyes of society and the opposition.
But it seems that the current Ukrainian opposition establishment, unlike civil society, is unfortunately incapable of displaying maturity.
If we look at the future development of Ukraine, considering tendencies predominating now, the following picture emerges:
Viktor Yanukovych’s regime will continue the process of growing authoritarianism of power.
This will be achieved through the conclusion of non-public arrangements on cooperation with a part of the opposition parties and their leaders.
And in case someone won’t be cooperative, the state machinery of pressure in the form of law enforcement bodies, tax and control services will be applied to them.
It will deal a considerable blow to the possibilities of financing any mass oppositional or anti-government activities.
The authorities will definitively monopolise their grip on any big and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.
There won’t be any foreign investment coming, as political risks will be too high.
At the same time there will be a large-scale backslide in the area of freedom of speech, freedom of opinion, freedom of assembly and free movement.
This will lead to intimidation of the population and strengthen the manipulation of public opinion.
The authorities will be happy to introduce rigid control over the internet.
The authorities hope that the society will degrade to poverty, social apathy and to the basic level of survival.
But without any doubt, radical anti-authority resistance will also amplify and it will be headed by the present public activists and leaders.
This image of Ukraine in the near future has high chances of becoming reality.
In two to three years Ukraine could turn into a classic sample of an authoritarian state on the model of Belarus or the Central Asian post-Soviet regimes.
But this is provided that external players, first of all, Russia and the EU, won’t influence the situation.
And this is highly improbable.
Russia already now is actively developing variants of deepening cooperation with Ukraine.
A latest example is provided by the plans of the Russian Federation to create a new advisory council which would deal with the promotion of Russian interests in the post-Soviet territories.
The European Union is also trying to “not freeze” relations with Kiev.
The only thing which can transform today’s Ukraine into a democratic country which will care about interests of its citizens, and not about officials and big business, is the Ukrainian people, and more precisely, its most active and most conscious representatives.
Those public activists who are now rescuing historical Kiev from destruction, tomorrow will go out to rescue the whole state, and not only its capital.
They won't be deceived by politicians any more, as it was the case in 2004-2005.
External players who would like Ukraine to be democratic and not authoritarian will bet on them.
As long as the majority of Ukrainians don’t realise that they have influence, changes won’t come about.
But look at what public activists did at the Andriyivskyy Descent – they proved that their anger matters.
Let’s not let our hope die! There is enough will for this
Ukrainian Civil Society - Eleven Wise Men
WARSAW, Poland -- Twenty years ago, the West tried to build civil society in post-Soviet Ukraine.
Now 11 Ukrainian intellectuals have taken the matter into their own hands, through the “1st December” initiative (Pershoho Hrudnya).
Launched in December 2011, its name is a reference to Ukraine's 1991 referendum on independence.
Its members are giants, if faded ones.
One, Ivan Dzyuba, broke Soviet taboos in his essay "Internationalism or Russification?", written in the mid-1960s.
Another, the Geneva-based economist Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, was one of the few people to predict the collapse of the USSR.
A third, Cardinal Lyubomyr Huzar, is a former archbishop of the patriotic Ukrainian Catholic church (although the initiative was endorsed by three Orthodox churches).
Several members are former dissidents who served sentences in Soviet labour camps, an asset in a region where moral currency is often measured in years spent imprisoned by the Communist regime.
The initiative's first round-table event, held in Kiev last Thursday, gathered 70 members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia to discuss relations between state and society.
Their banner, "A Free Person in a Free Country", is a reaction to a society they see as basking in consumerist indifference; or, as Yevgen Sverstyuk , a philosopher, put it, “like a varenyk [dumpling] in butter”.
In pushing for a stronger, more responsible society, and one that is closer to Europe, these grandees turn to abstract themes: human dignity and responsible citizenship.
They hope to drum up interest through a series of local round-table meetings.
The initiative aims to include all Ukrainians, regardless of political affiliation.
The response has been quiet but broadly positive.
Taras Voznyak, editor of the cultural journal Ï, said, “I have understood why there are 11 of them. They are apostles”.
Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovich, has expressed an ambiguous interest in the initiative.
The group's members say they hope to connect with younger Ukrainians, despite their average age being well over 70.
But even their most enthusiastic backers wonder what practical steps these philosopher-kings can take to improve life in Ukraine.
Or why it has taken them 20 years to get into gear.
One answer to that may be the chillier atmosphere that has descended in Ukraine since Mr Yanukovich took power in 2010, and the eroding hopes of the generation of Orange revolutionaries that grabbed the world's attention in 2004.
Ukraine's media have begun speculating about parliamentary elections due in October.
If the message of the 1st December group begins to resonate before then, it could become a significant political player.
But some think its influence will be better expressed through a gradual renaissance of civil society, and as an influence for future generations of Ukrainians.
Food for thought, as Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend.
Now 11 Ukrainian intellectuals have taken the matter into their own hands, through the “1st December” initiative (Pershoho Hrudnya).
Launched in December 2011, its name is a reference to Ukraine's 1991 referendum on independence.
Its members are giants, if faded ones.
One, Ivan Dzyuba, broke Soviet taboos in his essay "Internationalism or Russification?", written in the mid-1960s.
Another, the Geneva-based economist Bohdan Hawrylyshyn, was one of the few people to predict the collapse of the USSR.
A third, Cardinal Lyubomyr Huzar, is a former archbishop of the patriotic Ukrainian Catholic church (although the initiative was endorsed by three Orthodox churches).
Several members are former dissidents who served sentences in Soviet labour camps, an asset in a region where moral currency is often measured in years spent imprisoned by the Communist regime.
The initiative's first round-table event, held in Kiev last Thursday, gathered 70 members of the Ukrainian intelligentsia to discuss relations between state and society.
Their banner, "A Free Person in a Free Country", is a reaction to a society they see as basking in consumerist indifference; or, as Yevgen Sverstyuk , a philosopher, put it, “like a varenyk [dumpling] in butter”.
In pushing for a stronger, more responsible society, and one that is closer to Europe, these grandees turn to abstract themes: human dignity and responsible citizenship.
They hope to drum up interest through a series of local round-table meetings.
The initiative aims to include all Ukrainians, regardless of political affiliation.
The response has been quiet but broadly positive.
Taras Voznyak, editor of the cultural journal Ï, said, “I have understood why there are 11 of them. They are apostles”.
Ukraine's president, Viktor Yanukovich, has expressed an ambiguous interest in the initiative.
The group's members say they hope to connect with younger Ukrainians, despite their average age being well over 70.
But even their most enthusiastic backers wonder what practical steps these philosopher-kings can take to improve life in Ukraine.
Or why it has taken them 20 years to get into gear.
One answer to that may be the chillier atmosphere that has descended in Ukraine since Mr Yanukovich took power in 2010, and the eroding hopes of the generation of Orange revolutionaries that grabbed the world's attention in 2004.
Ukraine's media have begun speculating about parliamentary elections due in October.
If the message of the 1st December group begins to resonate before then, it could become a significant political player.
But some think its influence will be better expressed through a gradual renaissance of civil society, and as an influence for future generations of Ukrainians.
Food for thought, as Ukraine’s Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter this weekend.
Ukrainian Former Prime Minister Tymoshenko Faces Murder Accusations
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian prosecutors announced last week that former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko (2005; 2007-2010) and former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko (1996-1997) were suspected of commissioning several murders in the 1990s.
This looks like a last-ditch attempt to influence public opinion – both at home, ahead of the October parliamentary election, and in the West, where opposition leader Tymoshenko is regarded as a political prisoner – that she is a monster who deserves to be in jail.
A court in Kiev last October imprisoned Tymoshenko for seven years for exceeding her authority in preparing the controversial January 2009 contracts with Russia’s Gazprom, while Lazarenko, who is Tymoshenko’s former ally, is serving a prison sentence for money-laundering in the US.
First Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin spoke last fall about Tymoshenko’s possible involvement in the 1998 murder of Yevhen Shcherban, who was an influential people’s deputy and businessman from Donetsk.
Kuzmin admitted then that the prosecutors lacked evidence.
It has since become obvious that public opinion and Western policymakers do not trust Ukrainian prosecutors on Tymoshenko, which has been jeopardizing Ukraine’s European integration.
The EU has made it clear that the association and free trade agreement with Ukraine will not be signed if Kiev does not change its attitude to justice in general and Tymoshenko in particular.
What is more, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych himself admitted in Davos this year that Tymoshenko had been indicted under an outdated Soviet law.
The ruling team has apparently decided that it is now time for more serious charges against Tymoshenko to influence Western opinion.
Kuzmin has told FT that he had evidence that companies, which were linked to Tymoshenko and Lazarenko, transferred money to Shcherban’s killers.
Kuzmin also chided the West for defending Tymoshenko:
“What is your view in the West of political persecution? Does this mean that the leader of the opposition cannot be prosecuted even for murder?”.
Simultaneously, Shcherban’s son Ruslan Shcherban, who is a deputy of the Donetsk regional council from the ruling Party of Regions (PRU), wrote a letter to US Ambassador John Tefft saying that European and US politicians should not defend Tymoshenko who, he claimed, had commissioned his father’s killing.
Ruslan Shcherban alleged that he had heard threats from Tymoshenko and Lazarenko whose businesses, he said, competed with his father’s.
He also accused Washington of blocking Kiev’s attempts to establish the truth.
The gas trader United Energy Systems, which Tymoshenko headed in the mid-1990s, was a bitter rival of Shcherban’s businesses on the energy market when Lazarenko was prime minister.
On April 5, Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka announced that his team had re-launched the investigation into Shcherban’s murder, which was closed a decade ago.
Also, commenting on old embezzlement cases against Tymoshenko, Pshonka claimed that several of them were closed in January 2005 by his predecessor, Svyatoslav Piskun, because then-President Viktor Yushchenko threatened Piskun with dismissal if he did not close the cases.
In the meantime, the person who confessed to killing Shcherban a decade ago, Vadym Bolotskikh, has been reportedly transferred from a distant prison to Kiev for questioning.
Kuzmin, asked during a talk show why Ruslan Shcherban had not come up with his accusations earlier, said that he was afraid for his life.
What’s more, Kuzmin said that his team suspected Tymoshenko and Lazarenko of also commissioning the murders of another Donetsk businessman, Oleksandr Momot, in 1996, and former central bank governor Vadym Hetman in 1998.
Kuzmin also said that the prosecutors were targeting the deputy chairman of Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, Oleksandr Turchynov, who de facto heads Fatherland while Tymoshenko is in prison.
He said Turchynov was suspected of illegally awarding an apartment to his spokesman when Turchynov headed the security service in the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko government in 2005.
Another ally of Tymoshenko, former Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko, was sentenced to four years in jail earlier this year for awarding an apartment to his former driver.
Turchynov has dismissed all the new accusations against his boss and himself as a smear campaign and suggested that the prosecutors’ goal was to shock Europe into stopping its defense of Tymoshenko.
He also alleged that those who commissioned Yevhen Shcherban’s murder must be among the PRU ranks as several influential members of the PRU had built their business empires on the ruins of Shcherban’s business.
Meanwhile, another former minister from Tymoshenko’s government has received a prison term.
On April 5, a court in Kiev sentenced former Environment Minister Georgy Filipchuk to three years in jail for exceeding his authority in preparing a ministry contract with a legal company.
Filipchuk was indicted under the same law under which Tymoshenko was indicted last October and which Yanukovych called “outdated.”
Fatherland has claimed that Filipchuk was punished for opposing the US company Vanco’s attempts to “snatch the Black Sea shelf from the state”.
Tymoshenko’s cabinet canceled Vanco’s license to develop the Prikerchenskaya oil field in the Black Sea in April 2008 claiming that it had been awarded the license illegally.
Vanco planned to develop the field in partnership with Donetsk-based tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, who is a senior member of the PRU.
This looks like a last-ditch attempt to influence public opinion – both at home, ahead of the October parliamentary election, and in the West, where opposition leader Tymoshenko is regarded as a political prisoner – that she is a monster who deserves to be in jail.
A court in Kiev last October imprisoned Tymoshenko for seven years for exceeding her authority in preparing the controversial January 2009 contracts with Russia’s Gazprom, while Lazarenko, who is Tymoshenko’s former ally, is serving a prison sentence for money-laundering in the US.
First Deputy Prosecutor-General Renat Kuzmin spoke last fall about Tymoshenko’s possible involvement in the 1998 murder of Yevhen Shcherban, who was an influential people’s deputy and businessman from Donetsk.
Kuzmin admitted then that the prosecutors lacked evidence.
It has since become obvious that public opinion and Western policymakers do not trust Ukrainian prosecutors on Tymoshenko, which has been jeopardizing Ukraine’s European integration.
The EU has made it clear that the association and free trade agreement with Ukraine will not be signed if Kiev does not change its attitude to justice in general and Tymoshenko in particular.
What is more, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych himself admitted in Davos this year that Tymoshenko had been indicted under an outdated Soviet law.
The ruling team has apparently decided that it is now time for more serious charges against Tymoshenko to influence Western opinion.
Kuzmin has told FT that he had evidence that companies, which were linked to Tymoshenko and Lazarenko, transferred money to Shcherban’s killers.
Kuzmin also chided the West for defending Tymoshenko:
“What is your view in the West of political persecution? Does this mean that the leader of the opposition cannot be prosecuted even for murder?”.
Simultaneously, Shcherban’s son Ruslan Shcherban, who is a deputy of the Donetsk regional council from the ruling Party of Regions (PRU), wrote a letter to US Ambassador John Tefft saying that European and US politicians should not defend Tymoshenko who, he claimed, had commissioned his father’s killing.
Ruslan Shcherban alleged that he had heard threats from Tymoshenko and Lazarenko whose businesses, he said, competed with his father’s.
He also accused Washington of blocking Kiev’s attempts to establish the truth.
The gas trader United Energy Systems, which Tymoshenko headed in the mid-1990s, was a bitter rival of Shcherban’s businesses on the energy market when Lazarenko was prime minister.
On April 5, Prosecutor-General Viktor Pshonka announced that his team had re-launched the investigation into Shcherban’s murder, which was closed a decade ago.
Also, commenting on old embezzlement cases against Tymoshenko, Pshonka claimed that several of them were closed in January 2005 by his predecessor, Svyatoslav Piskun, because then-President Viktor Yushchenko threatened Piskun with dismissal if he did not close the cases.
In the meantime, the person who confessed to killing Shcherban a decade ago, Vadym Bolotskikh, has been reportedly transferred from a distant prison to Kiev for questioning.
Kuzmin, asked during a talk show why Ruslan Shcherban had not come up with his accusations earlier, said that he was afraid for his life.
What’s more, Kuzmin said that his team suspected Tymoshenko and Lazarenko of also commissioning the murders of another Donetsk businessman, Oleksandr Momot, in 1996, and former central bank governor Vadym Hetman in 1998.
Kuzmin also said that the prosecutors were targeting the deputy chairman of Tymoshenko’s Fatherland party, Oleksandr Turchynov, who de facto heads Fatherland while Tymoshenko is in prison.
He said Turchynov was suspected of illegally awarding an apartment to his spokesman when Turchynov headed the security service in the Yushchenko-Tymoshenko government in 2005.
Another ally of Tymoshenko, former Interior Minister Yury Lutsenko, was sentenced to four years in jail earlier this year for awarding an apartment to his former driver.
Turchynov has dismissed all the new accusations against his boss and himself as a smear campaign and suggested that the prosecutors’ goal was to shock Europe into stopping its defense of Tymoshenko.
He also alleged that those who commissioned Yevhen Shcherban’s murder must be among the PRU ranks as several influential members of the PRU had built their business empires on the ruins of Shcherban’s business.
Meanwhile, another former minister from Tymoshenko’s government has received a prison term.
On April 5, a court in Kiev sentenced former Environment Minister Georgy Filipchuk to three years in jail for exceeding his authority in preparing a ministry contract with a legal company.
Filipchuk was indicted under the same law under which Tymoshenko was indicted last October and which Yanukovych called “outdated.”
Fatherland has claimed that Filipchuk was punished for opposing the US company Vanco’s attempts to “snatch the Black Sea shelf from the state”.
Tymoshenko’s cabinet canceled Vanco’s license to develop the Prikerchenskaya oil field in the Black Sea in April 2008 claiming that it had been awarded the license illegally.
Vanco planned to develop the field in partnership with Donetsk-based tycoon Rinat Akhmetov, who is a senior member of the PRU.
Saturday, 7 April 2012
Outraged By Fatal Assault On Young Woman, Ukrainians Force An Investigation
MOSCOW, Russia -- The crime was shocking enough: an 18-year-old woman gang-raped, half strangled, set on fire and left for dead.
ut what sent hundreds of Ukrainians into the streets and rushing to her hospital to give blood this month was a police decision to free two suspects rumored to be politically connected.
The uproar has shaken the upper echelons of Ukraine’s government.
On Thursday, three weeks after the attack, the young woman died.
Viktor F. Yanukovich, the president, and Nikolai Azarov, the prime minister, were among the first to offer condolences — along with vows that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“I will press law enforcement agencies to investigate and obtain a just punishment,” Mr. Azarov wrote on his blog.
“No compromises. Only with the knowledge that punishment is inevitable will these monsters fear to encroach on people’s lives and rights.”
Whether they will succeed in calming the outrage is unclear.
Doctors said the young woman, Oksana Makar, suffered serious burns to about 55 percent of her body and had severe internal injuries.
One of her arms was amputated.
She was able to give at least one videotaped interview, her blond hair matted and blue eyes straining against what she described as excruciating pain.
For Ukrainians transfixed by her ordeal, she came to embody long-simmering animosities over government impotence and impunity for the privileged in this former Soviet nation.
It was only after the street protests and Mr. Yanukovich’s personal intervention that the police in the small southern town of Nikolayev re-arrested the young men.
On Thursday, they and a third jailed suspect were officially charged with murder.
The men met Ms. Makar at a cafe in Nikolayev on the evening of March 9, according to prosecutors.
After a few drinks, she agreed to go with them back to one of their apartments.
They continued to drink.
At some point, Ms. Makar complained of not feeling well and went to lie down in the bedroom.
“After that they came to their criminal intention: to rape her,” Yuri V. Boychenko, a spokesman for the prosecutor general’s office, said by telephone.
“After they committed this act, they were worried that she would go to the police, and to avoid this — all were in a state of intoxication — took further steps.”
The men, he said, tried to strangle Ms. Makar with a cord, leaving her barely conscious.
Then they wrapped her in a blanket and dragged her to a nearby construction site, where they set her on fire.
She was discovered the next morning, still conscious, by a passing motorist.
It is not clear why the police initially freed two of the suspects.
Investigators maintain that they lacked enough evidence to hold them.
Rumors quickly spread that the parents of the two, both in their 20s, had ties to the local government.
Officials confirmed that one, Maksim Prisyazhnyuk, is the adopted son of a former chairwoman in a regional legislature.
The perception that the men were released because of political connections touched a nerve.
Ukrainian tabloids are filled with the exploits of the so-called mazhory, the children of the wealthy and powerful who can seem impervious to punishment.
Some called on the government to reinstate the death penalty as in Soviet times and execute the men, according to local media reports.
After the public outcry, Mr. Yanukovich directed Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Viktor Pshonka, to open an inquiry.
It found that the police had acted carelessly.
Several officials in the local prosecutor’s office and police departments involved in the case were fired and others were demoted.
Asked in a videotaped interview shortly before her death what she wanted to say to her attackers, Ms. Makar, visibly straining against the pain, said she hoped they would be raped in prison.
ut what sent hundreds of Ukrainians into the streets and rushing to her hospital to give blood this month was a police decision to free two suspects rumored to be politically connected.
The uproar has shaken the upper echelons of Ukraine’s government.
On Thursday, three weeks after the attack, the young woman died.
Viktor F. Yanukovich, the president, and Nikolai Azarov, the prime minister, were among the first to offer condolences — along with vows that the perpetrators would be brought to justice.
“I will press law enforcement agencies to investigate and obtain a just punishment,” Mr. Azarov wrote on his blog.
“No compromises. Only with the knowledge that punishment is inevitable will these monsters fear to encroach on people’s lives and rights.”
Whether they will succeed in calming the outrage is unclear.
Doctors said the young woman, Oksana Makar, suffered serious burns to about 55 percent of her body and had severe internal injuries.
One of her arms was amputated.
She was able to give at least one videotaped interview, her blond hair matted and blue eyes straining against what she described as excruciating pain.
For Ukrainians transfixed by her ordeal, she came to embody long-simmering animosities over government impotence and impunity for the privileged in this former Soviet nation.
It was only after the street protests and Mr. Yanukovich’s personal intervention that the police in the small southern town of Nikolayev re-arrested the young men.
On Thursday, they and a third jailed suspect were officially charged with murder.
The men met Ms. Makar at a cafe in Nikolayev on the evening of March 9, according to prosecutors.
After a few drinks, she agreed to go with them back to one of their apartments.
They continued to drink.
At some point, Ms. Makar complained of not feeling well and went to lie down in the bedroom.
“After that they came to their criminal intention: to rape her,” Yuri V. Boychenko, a spokesman for the prosecutor general’s office, said by telephone.
“After they committed this act, they were worried that she would go to the police, and to avoid this — all were in a state of intoxication — took further steps.”
The men, he said, tried to strangle Ms. Makar with a cord, leaving her barely conscious.
Then they wrapped her in a blanket and dragged her to a nearby construction site, where they set her on fire.
She was discovered the next morning, still conscious, by a passing motorist.
It is not clear why the police initially freed two of the suspects.
Investigators maintain that they lacked enough evidence to hold them.
Rumors quickly spread that the parents of the two, both in their 20s, had ties to the local government.
Officials confirmed that one, Maksim Prisyazhnyuk, is the adopted son of a former chairwoman in a regional legislature.
The perception that the men were released because of political connections touched a nerve.
Ukrainian tabloids are filled with the exploits of the so-called mazhory, the children of the wealthy and powerful who can seem impervious to punishment.
Some called on the government to reinstate the death penalty as in Soviet times and execute the men, according to local media reports.
After the public outcry, Mr. Yanukovich directed Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Viktor Pshonka, to open an inquiry.
It found that the police had acted carelessly.
Several officials in the local prosecutor’s office and police departments involved in the case were fired and others were demoted.
Asked in a videotaped interview shortly before her death what she wanted to say to her attackers, Ms. Makar, visibly straining against the pain, said she hoped they would be raped in prison.
Ukraine Shuts Down Forum For Malware Writers
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian authorities have shut down a long-running forum that was used to trade tips on writing malicious software, a sign the country's law enforcement may be watching hackers more closely.
Administrators for the forum, VX Heavens, wrote that its servers were seized on March 23 for allegedly creating and intending to sell malicious software programs, a violation of Ukraine's criminal code.
The website called the accusation "absurd" but said it couldn't offer services with the pending court case.
VX Heavens might have been easy pickings for Ukraine, which has been noted by computer security experts as being a hotbed of cybercrime.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security vendor Sophos, wrote that VX Heavens operated for many years, hosting virus-writing tutorials and malicious code samples.
But the site is likely just a small player in an expansive cybercriminal underground.
"The folks using the VX Heavens website were probably not in the same league as the financially-motivated organized criminals computer users are often troubled by today, and mirror rather more the hobbyist malware authors of yesteryear," Cluley wrote.
"Nevertheless, it's clear that the Ukrainian authorities didn't like what they saw and have confiscated the website's servers in their hunt for evidence of criminality," he wrote.
Ukraine has stepped up its computer crime and fraud enforcement efforts in recent years.
Last June its security service, the SBU, said it busted a cybercrime ring that stole some US$72 million using Conficker, a fast-spreading worm that appeared in 2008.
Since October 2009, the FBI has stationed a supervisory special agent at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev to assist with cybercrime investigations that target the U.S.
Administrators for the forum, VX Heavens, wrote that its servers were seized on March 23 for allegedly creating and intending to sell malicious software programs, a violation of Ukraine's criminal code.
The website called the accusation "absurd" but said it couldn't offer services with the pending court case.
VX Heavens might have been easy pickings for Ukraine, which has been noted by computer security experts as being a hotbed of cybercrime.
Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for security vendor Sophos, wrote that VX Heavens operated for many years, hosting virus-writing tutorials and malicious code samples.
But the site is likely just a small player in an expansive cybercriminal underground.
"The folks using the VX Heavens website were probably not in the same league as the financially-motivated organized criminals computer users are often troubled by today, and mirror rather more the hobbyist malware authors of yesteryear," Cluley wrote.
"Nevertheless, it's clear that the Ukrainian authorities didn't like what they saw and have confiscated the website's servers in their hunt for evidence of criminality," he wrote.
Ukraine has stepped up its computer crime and fraud enforcement efforts in recent years.
Last June its security service, the SBU, said it busted a cybercrime ring that stole some US$72 million using Conficker, a fast-spreading worm that appeared in 2008.
Since October 2009, the FBI has stationed a supervisory special agent at the U.S. Embassy in Kiev to assist with cybercrime investigations that target the U.S.
Dialogue Of The Deaf: Ukraine And The EU Talk Past Each Other
KIEV, Ukraine -- On March 20, the Ukrainian parliament voted to accept a report by its Temporary Investigative Commission that looked into the January 2009 gas contract signed by Prime Ministers Yulia Tymoshenko and Vladimir Putin.
Parliament voted by 266 deputies to accept the report accusing Tymoshenko of “treason.”
The report claimed that Tymoshenko was blackmailed by Russia into accepting gas prices that were disadvantageous to Ukraine because United Energy Systems, which she ran in the mid-1990s, owed Russia $400 million.
Bizarrely, on the same day the Ukrainian parliament issued a lengthy resolution calling on the EU to “demonstrate political will and ensure the speedy signing of the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU”.
Earlier this month, President Viktor Yanukovych issued detailed instructions “On the working out and affirmation of plans toward the integration of Ukraine to the European Union in 2012”.
During an official meeting in Germany, the head of the Presidential Administration’s department on international relations, Andriy Honcharuk, said that European integration remains Ukraine’s main foreign policy goal.
“Our main aim in 2012 is the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union,” he said.
This affirmed what President Yanukovych told the January Davos World Economic Forum:
“Ukraine sees its future in the European Union. 2011 was a constructive year for Ukraine’s European integration. Membership of the European Union is the basis for the democratic development of Ukraine, improvement of its economy, personal freedoms and well-being of every citizen”.
To prove their case, the Party of Regions has launched and is financing the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU) in Brussels.
The ECMU board includes three Party of Regions deputies and three Western Europeans with links to the Socialist political group in the European Parliament.
In 2010, the Party of Regions signed a cooperation agreement with the Socialist political group and the main lobbyist was Ion Iliescu, a Romanian MEP.
Since summer 2011, cooperation has waned and the Socialist Group refused to send greetings to the Party of Regions March congress.
Today, Viktor Yanukovych’s party has no ties with European or North American political parties and the greetings to its March congress that it did receive were indicative of how bad the Party of Regions’ reputation is.
The only greetings that were sent were from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Communist Party of China, the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Political Council of the ruling Azeri Party “Yeni Azerbaijan,” the United Russia party, and from Gagik Tsarukyan, the oligarchic leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party.
The greetings are a better reflection of the reality facing President Yanukovych and the Party of Regions than its statements, presidential instructions and parliamentary resolutions.
In an interview with the news outlet Den, the Czech Ambassador to Ukraine Ivan Pochukh said that: “it is necessary to tell Ukrainian citizens that the process of the completion of the Association Agreement and Free Trade Zone have been curtailed”.
This re-affirmed what has been repeatedly said – but ignored by Kiev – by EU leaders. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt told the same Davos summit attended by Yanukovych that:
“The question stands as follows: can Ukraine return to the path of European integration, or will Ukraine be stuck on what is its de facto departure from the path of European integration?”.
On March 4, Bildt, William Hague, Karel Schwarzenberg, Radoslaw Sikorski and Guido Westerwelle, the foreign ministers of Sweden, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, signed a joint opinion article in The New York Times that lambasted democratic regression in Ukraine.
They said, “Today, however, we are at an impasse in the association process. While negotiations on the association agreement were successfully concluded in December 2011, the way forward – through signing and ratification of the agreement – has in effect been blocked by Ukraine’s actions”.
The five foreign ministers continued, “The reason for this is simple: Developments in Ukraine in the last two years have caused us to question Kiev’s intentions with respect to the fundamental values that underpin both the agreement and our relations in a broader sense.”
The response from Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Kostyantyn Gryshchenko was published in The New York Times on March 20, not coincidentally the same day as parliament voted on the temporary commission report into the 2009 gas contract that denounced Tymoshenko’s “treason”.
Gryshchenko claimed that: “Ukraine is committed to European values. We are not sliding but striding toward full integration into the European Union.”
His statement blatantly contradicted European and American government opinions of Ukraine’s recent track record, as well as that of international organizations and human rights groups.
With such a dialogue of the deaf, it is highly surprising that some seasoned US and European diplomats and ex-Ambassadors to Ukraine were saying right up until summer 2011 that the Yanukovych administration was listening to Western criticism.
Former US Ambassadors to Ukraine Steven Pifer and William Taylor were willing to believe that: “If President Yanukovych is committed to European integration and EU membership, his administration’s domestic actions make achieving that goal much tougher.
Yanukovych declares, like former President Leonid Kuchma, that he seeks EU membership.
But this declaration means little if the political culture underpinning his administration seeks a monopoly of power at home and builds an authoritarian system.
Until the summer of 2011, Western policymakers mistakenly took at face value Yanukovych’s and Gryshchenko’s pro-European rhetoric, similar to that quoted above, when they should have been highly skeptical.
The reality facing Ukraine is three-fold:
Firstly, the EU will initial the Association Agreement on March 30, a technical step that signals the end of negotiations and which should have taken place at the December 2011 EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev.
The EU has stated, as quoted above, that the next two steps will not take place until Kiev no longer undertakes a selective use of justice against the political opposition.
These next two steps are the signing of the Association Agreement by the European Council (EC) and the EC’s recommendation for ratification to the European parliament and EU member state national parliaments.
Secondly, the EU has stated it will not recognize Ukraine’s October parliamentary elections as having been undertaken in accordance with democratic standards if opposition leaders are in jail and not permitted to participate in them.
In such a situation, visa black lists and sanctions could follow in 2013 – the same year Ukraine is set to hold the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE.
Thirdly, Ukraine’s relations are frozen with the IMF at a time when Ukraine’s financial situation is deteriorating as seen on March 15 when the S&P downgraded Ukraine’s credit outlook to “negative.”
This year Ukraine has to cover or rollover $6 billion in external and $3 billion in domestic debt obligations.
Yanukovych cannot fulfill the EU’s demand and release Tymoshenko as he then would likely be criminally charged and the Party of Regions would lose this year’s elections.
Although Ukraine loses out from its frozen integration into the EU this is of less strategic importance to the Yanukovych administration than its maintaining a monopoly of power coupled with its ability to continue travelling, working and playing in the EU.
Ukraine’s elites have long been integrated into Europe and do not care if they deny this possibility to their Ukrainian citizens.
Parliament voted by 266 deputies to accept the report accusing Tymoshenko of “treason.”
The report claimed that Tymoshenko was blackmailed by Russia into accepting gas prices that were disadvantageous to Ukraine because United Energy Systems, which she ran in the mid-1990s, owed Russia $400 million.
Bizarrely, on the same day the Ukrainian parliament issued a lengthy resolution calling on the EU to “demonstrate political will and ensure the speedy signing of the association agreement between Ukraine and the EU”.
Earlier this month, President Viktor Yanukovych issued detailed instructions “On the working out and affirmation of plans toward the integration of Ukraine to the European Union in 2012”.
During an official meeting in Germany, the head of the Presidential Administration’s department on international relations, Andriy Honcharuk, said that European integration remains Ukraine’s main foreign policy goal.
“Our main aim in 2012 is the signing of the Association Agreement with the European Union,” he said.
This affirmed what President Yanukovych told the January Davos World Economic Forum:
“Ukraine sees its future in the European Union. 2011 was a constructive year for Ukraine’s European integration. Membership of the European Union is the basis for the democratic development of Ukraine, improvement of its economy, personal freedoms and well-being of every citizen”.
To prove their case, the Party of Regions has launched and is financing the European Centre for a Modern Ukraine (ECMU) in Brussels.
The ECMU board includes three Party of Regions deputies and three Western Europeans with links to the Socialist political group in the European Parliament.
In 2010, the Party of Regions signed a cooperation agreement with the Socialist political group and the main lobbyist was Ion Iliescu, a Romanian MEP.
Since summer 2011, cooperation has waned and the Socialist Group refused to send greetings to the Party of Regions March congress.
Today, Viktor Yanukovych’s party has no ties with European or North American political parties and the greetings to its March congress that it did receive were indicative of how bad the Party of Regions’ reputation is.
The only greetings that were sent were from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the Communist Party of China, the Communist Party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, the Political Council of the ruling Azeri Party “Yeni Azerbaijan,” the United Russia party, and from Gagik Tsarukyan, the oligarchic leader of the “Prosperous Armenia” party.
The greetings are a better reflection of the reality facing President Yanukovych and the Party of Regions than its statements, presidential instructions and parliamentary resolutions.
In an interview with the news outlet Den, the Czech Ambassador to Ukraine Ivan Pochukh said that: “it is necessary to tell Ukrainian citizens that the process of the completion of the Association Agreement and Free Trade Zone have been curtailed”.
This re-affirmed what has been repeatedly said – but ignored by Kiev – by EU leaders. Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt told the same Davos summit attended by Yanukovych that:
“The question stands as follows: can Ukraine return to the path of European integration, or will Ukraine be stuck on what is its de facto departure from the path of European integration?”.
On March 4, Bildt, William Hague, Karel Schwarzenberg, Radoslaw Sikorski and Guido Westerwelle, the foreign ministers of Sweden, Britain, the Czech Republic, Poland and Germany, signed a joint opinion article in The New York Times that lambasted democratic regression in Ukraine.
They said, “Today, however, we are at an impasse in the association process. While negotiations on the association agreement were successfully concluded in December 2011, the way forward – through signing and ratification of the agreement – has in effect been blocked by Ukraine’s actions”.
The five foreign ministers continued, “The reason for this is simple: Developments in Ukraine in the last two years have caused us to question Kiev’s intentions with respect to the fundamental values that underpin both the agreement and our relations in a broader sense.”
The response from Ukraine’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Kostyantyn Gryshchenko was published in The New York Times on March 20, not coincidentally the same day as parliament voted on the temporary commission report into the 2009 gas contract that denounced Tymoshenko’s “treason”.
Gryshchenko claimed that: “Ukraine is committed to European values. We are not sliding but striding toward full integration into the European Union.”
His statement blatantly contradicted European and American government opinions of Ukraine’s recent track record, as well as that of international organizations and human rights groups.
With such a dialogue of the deaf, it is highly surprising that some seasoned US and European diplomats and ex-Ambassadors to Ukraine were saying right up until summer 2011 that the Yanukovych administration was listening to Western criticism.
Former US Ambassadors to Ukraine Steven Pifer and William Taylor were willing to believe that: “If President Yanukovych is committed to European integration and EU membership, his administration’s domestic actions make achieving that goal much tougher.
Yanukovych declares, like former President Leonid Kuchma, that he seeks EU membership.
But this declaration means little if the political culture underpinning his administration seeks a monopoly of power at home and builds an authoritarian system.
Until the summer of 2011, Western policymakers mistakenly took at face value Yanukovych’s and Gryshchenko’s pro-European rhetoric, similar to that quoted above, when they should have been highly skeptical.
The reality facing Ukraine is three-fold:
Firstly, the EU will initial the Association Agreement on March 30, a technical step that signals the end of negotiations and which should have taken place at the December 2011 EU-Ukraine summit in Kiev.
The EU has stated, as quoted above, that the next two steps will not take place until Kiev no longer undertakes a selective use of justice against the political opposition.
These next two steps are the signing of the Association Agreement by the European Council (EC) and the EC’s recommendation for ratification to the European parliament and EU member state national parliaments.
Secondly, the EU has stated it will not recognize Ukraine’s October parliamentary elections as having been undertaken in accordance with democratic standards if opposition leaders are in jail and not permitted to participate in them.
In such a situation, visa black lists and sanctions could follow in 2013 – the same year Ukraine is set to hold the rotating chairmanship of the OSCE.
Thirdly, Ukraine’s relations are frozen with the IMF at a time when Ukraine’s financial situation is deteriorating as seen on March 15 when the S&P downgraded Ukraine’s credit outlook to “negative.”
This year Ukraine has to cover or rollover $6 billion in external and $3 billion in domestic debt obligations.
Yanukovych cannot fulfill the EU’s demand and release Tymoshenko as he then would likely be criminally charged and the Party of Regions would lose this year’s elections.
Although Ukraine loses out from its frozen integration into the EU this is of less strategic importance to the Yanukovych administration than its maintaining a monopoly of power coupled with its ability to continue travelling, working and playing in the EU.
Ukraine’s elites have long been integrated into Europe and do not care if they deny this possibility to their Ukrainian citizens.
Freedom House: Ukraine President Yanukovych Eliminates Opposition
KIEV, Ukraine -- The international human rights organization Freedom House says Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych of systematically eliminating any opposition before parliamentary elections scheduled for October 2012.
In 2011, Yanukovych launched a systematic campaign to eliminate any viable opposition to the ruling Party of the Regions ahead of parliamentary elections set for 2012."
"Most importantly, prosecutors brought a series of charges against Tymoshenko, Yanukovych's strongest opponent, in a bid to secure a criminal conviction," stated a Freedom House report, cited by RIA Novosti.
The document reminds readers that in October 2011 Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of authority for signing gas contracts with Russia, a decission the opposition says was politically motivated, although the Ukrainian authorities deny this.
Currently Tymoshenko is serving the sentence in a women's prison of Kharkov.
President of the European People's Party (EPP) Wilfried Martens said on Friday that the EPP demands the immediate implementation of a European Court of Human Rights decision, which called for Yulia Tymoshenko's release.
The report also reads that other political prisoners were placed or remained behind bars in 2011, including nine leaders of protests against the administration's tax policies and 14 or more nationalists involved in the beheading of a Stalin monument.
Freedom House also noted that the attempts to mount street protests against the persecution of Tymoshenko and other former government officials, including former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, were met with a heavy police crackdown.
Lutsenko, an ally of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, was arrested in December 2010.
In late February he was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally employing and giving an apartment and pension to his former driver, as well as of overspending government funds during Police Day celebrations in 2008 and 2009, when he was in office.
In addition international human rights organization Freedom House noted that working conditions for media in Ukraine got worse.
"The constitution guarantees freedoms of speech and expression, and libel is not a criminal offense. Business magnates with varying political interests own and influence many outlets, while local governments often control the local media. Conditions for the media have worsened since Yanukovych's election."
Some 69% of Ukrainians get their news from television and the medium now features fewer alternative points of view, open discussions, and expert opinions, says the report of Freedom House.
In 2011, Yanukovych launched a systematic campaign to eliminate any viable opposition to the ruling Party of the Regions ahead of parliamentary elections set for 2012."
"Most importantly, prosecutors brought a series of charges against Tymoshenko, Yanukovych's strongest opponent, in a bid to secure a criminal conviction," stated a Freedom House report, cited by RIA Novosti.
The document reminds readers that in October 2011 Tymoshenko was sentenced to seven years in prison for abuse of authority for signing gas contracts with Russia, a decission the opposition says was politically motivated, although the Ukrainian authorities deny this.
Currently Tymoshenko is serving the sentence in a women's prison of Kharkov.
President of the European People's Party (EPP) Wilfried Martens said on Friday that the EPP demands the immediate implementation of a European Court of Human Rights decision, which called for Yulia Tymoshenko's release.
The report also reads that other political prisoners were placed or remained behind bars in 2011, including nine leaders of protests against the administration's tax policies and 14 or more nationalists involved in the beheading of a Stalin monument.
Freedom House also noted that the attempts to mount street protests against the persecution of Tymoshenko and other former government officials, including former Interior Minister Yuriy Lutsenko, were met with a heavy police crackdown.
Lutsenko, an ally of jailed opposition leader Yulia Tymoshenko, was arrested in December 2010.
In late February he was sentenced to four years in prison for illegally employing and giving an apartment and pension to his former driver, as well as of overspending government funds during Police Day celebrations in 2008 and 2009, when he was in office.
In addition international human rights organization Freedom House noted that working conditions for media in Ukraine got worse.
"The constitution guarantees freedoms of speech and expression, and libel is not a criminal offense. Business magnates with varying political interests own and influence many outlets, while local governments often control the local media. Conditions for the media have worsened since Yanukovych's election."
Some 69% of Ukrainians get their news from television and the medium now features fewer alternative points of view, open discussions, and expert opinions, says the report of Freedom House.
Ukraine, EU Initiate Association Agreement
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine and the European Union have initiated an association agreement, putting Kiev one step closer to membership in the bloc.
European officials have referred to Friday's proceeding as a technical measure similar to proofreading the lengthy document, which is the product of five years of negotiations.
The accord must now be translated into more than 20 EU languages and approved by all members before it can move forward, a process that is expected to take months.
The association agreement is not expected to be signed until after Ukraine holds parliamentary elections in October 2012.
EU officials have said they will not sign the document until they see improvements in Ukraine's adherence to the EU's "core values," which include an independent judicial system, free and fair elections and constitutional reform.
The two sides are also at odds over Ukraine's jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for abuse of power.
The EU has called for her release, saying the charges against her are politically motivated.
Ms. Tymoshenko is a political rival of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
The former prime minister and opposition leader was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail in October for abusing her authority in a 2009 gas deal with Russia that her opponents say was too beneficial to Russia.
She denies any wrongdoing, and has described her trial as "a political lynching" aimed at allowing President Yanukovych to rid himself of a political rival. He denies the accusation.
European officials have referred to Friday's proceeding as a technical measure similar to proofreading the lengthy document, which is the product of five years of negotiations.
The accord must now be translated into more than 20 EU languages and approved by all members before it can move forward, a process that is expected to take months.
The association agreement is not expected to be signed until after Ukraine holds parliamentary elections in October 2012.
EU officials have said they will not sign the document until they see improvements in Ukraine's adherence to the EU's "core values," which include an independent judicial system, free and fair elections and constitutional reform.
The two sides are also at odds over Ukraine's jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko for abuse of power.
The EU has called for her release, saying the charges against her are politically motivated.
Ms. Tymoshenko is a political rival of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.
The former prime minister and opposition leader was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail in October for abusing her authority in a 2009 gas deal with Russia that her opponents say was too beneficial to Russia.
She denies any wrongdoing, and has described her trial as "a political lynching" aimed at allowing President Yanukovych to rid himself of a political rival. He denies the accusation.
NATO Eyes Deploying AMD In Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- The North-Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is holding talks with Kiev over Ukraine’s possible participation in the alliance's planned missile defense system n Europe.
According to the head of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, Marchin Koziel, the deployment of the system's elements is a priority for the alliance.
He says during the summit in Lisbon, NATO heads agreed on the possibility of involving non-member countries – or “third countries”- in the planned missile shield in Europe.
Thanks to “its ballistics missiles, technologies, know-how, experience or simply the process of European integration,” Ukraine is such a country, he stated speaking at a round table meeting in Kiev, reports the Rosbalt news agency.
The alliance and the leadership of the former Soviet republic are holding informal consultations regarding the issue on both political and technical levels, Koziel said.
After the February meeting between NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko, the latter announced Ukraine would participate in the upcoming alliance summit in Chicago.
NATO, for its part, noted that Kiev was interested in cooperation with the organization on the creation of the missile defense system.
Rasmussen also said that NATO will invite Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to take part in the summit in May.
Ukraine had long been bidding to join the military alliance. However, after Yanukovich replaced his pro-Western predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, the country's policy made a u-turn.
The new leader signed a decree declaring that Ukraine would remain non-aligned to any political-military unions, but would still continue to cooperate with NATO and other blocks based upon common interests.
According to the head of the NATO Liaison Office in Ukraine, Marchin Koziel, the deployment of the system's elements is a priority for the alliance.
He says during the summit in Lisbon, NATO heads agreed on the possibility of involving non-member countries – or “third countries”- in the planned missile shield in Europe.
Thanks to “its ballistics missiles, technologies, know-how, experience or simply the process of European integration,” Ukraine is such a country, he stated speaking at a round table meeting in Kiev, reports the Rosbalt news agency.
The alliance and the leadership of the former Soviet republic are holding informal consultations regarding the issue on both political and technical levels, Koziel said.
After the February meeting between NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kostiantyn Hryschenko, the latter announced Ukraine would participate in the upcoming alliance summit in Chicago.
NATO, for its part, noted that Kiev was interested in cooperation with the organization on the creation of the missile defense system.
Rasmussen also said that NATO will invite Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich to take part in the summit in May.
Ukraine had long been bidding to join the military alliance. However, after Yanukovich replaced his pro-Western predecessor Viktor Yushchenko, the country's policy made a u-turn.
The new leader signed a decree declaring that Ukraine would remain non-aligned to any political-military unions, but would still continue to cooperate with NATO and other blocks based upon common interests.
Ukraine Plans To Offer Ruble Bonds For Debt Payments Without IMF
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine plans to sell bonds denominated in Russian rubles and doesn’t need to restart a $15.6 billion International Monetary Fund loan to make debt payments, said an adviser to President Viktor Yanukovych.
The former Soviet state wants to raise 98 billion hryvnia ($12 billion) this year, two thirds of which will probably be bought domestically, Iryna Akimova, the first deputy chief of Yanukovych’s staff, said in an interview yesterday.
The Finance Ministry has regularly sold bonds denominated dollars and euros in the domestic market after delaying a $1.5 billion Eurobond offering planned for March.
“The government has already made some successful attempts on the domestic market,” Akimova said in Washington.
“Now they’re working on government bonds denominated in rubles to use in the Russian market and there are rather good perspectives.”
Ukraine, whose IMF program was frozen last March after the government refused to raise domestic natural-gas prices to trim the budget deficit, faces 42.27 billion hryvnia ($5.19 billion) in foreign debt payments in 2012.
To bolster state coffers, it is negotiating with Russia to lower the price it pays for the fuel by a third, which would cut losses at state energy company NAK Naftogaz.
A rally in Ukraine’s dollar-denominated bonds due in 2021 cut yields 20 basis points, or 0.20 percentage point today, to 10.02 percent, compared with 10.49 percent on March 30, which was the highest in more than two months.
The cost of insuring Ukrainian government debt against non- payment for five years using credit-default swaps was 839 basis points yesterday, down from a two-month high of 857 on March 30, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.
A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Household gas prices are “a serious, serious issue” and tariffs “should come closer to the market-oriented level,” Akimova said, predicting some increases toward year-end.
“On what scale, we’ll see.”
Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, which has lost support in opinion polls, faces parliamentary elections in October.
Ukraine is seeking to pay about $250 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas, compared with $416 last quarter, and wants to boost transit volumes through its pipelines to Europe after its neighbor began rerouting some supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline and via another link across Belarus.
In return, Russia is seeking a stake in Ukraine’s transit pipelines.
It also wants Yanukovych to sign up to a Customs Union it created with Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Ukraine has said joining the union would harm its chances of signing an Association Agreement, including a free-trade pact, with the European Union.
The policies used by Russia are aimed at applying “political pressure” on Ukraine, according to Akimova, who says the country opposes joining the Customs Union.
“Energy issues are always very politicized.”
The economy needs 27 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012, about half the 52 billion it’s contractually obliged to purchase, according to Akimova.
“The current gas agreement is unfair both in terms of price and volumes,” she said.
Ukraine is seeking to roll over a $2 billion loan from Russian lender VTB Group (VTBR) that matures in June, Akimova said, adding that the nation may seek further financing from other Russian banks.
Economic growth in Ukraine will probably slow to 3 percent this year, below a 3.9 percent government forecast, because of weaker global demand for exports such as steel, said Akimova, who’s in charge of economic programs and represents Yanukovych in the Cabinet.
Gross domestic product rose 5.2 percent in 2011.
The former Soviet state wants to raise 98 billion hryvnia ($12 billion) this year, two thirds of which will probably be bought domestically, Iryna Akimova, the first deputy chief of Yanukovych’s staff, said in an interview yesterday.
The Finance Ministry has regularly sold bonds denominated dollars and euros in the domestic market after delaying a $1.5 billion Eurobond offering planned for March.
“The government has already made some successful attempts on the domestic market,” Akimova said in Washington.
“Now they’re working on government bonds denominated in rubles to use in the Russian market and there are rather good perspectives.”
Ukraine, whose IMF program was frozen last March after the government refused to raise domestic natural-gas prices to trim the budget deficit, faces 42.27 billion hryvnia ($5.19 billion) in foreign debt payments in 2012.
To bolster state coffers, it is negotiating with Russia to lower the price it pays for the fuel by a third, which would cut losses at state energy company NAK Naftogaz.
A rally in Ukraine’s dollar-denominated bonds due in 2021 cut yields 20 basis points, or 0.20 percentage point today, to 10.02 percent, compared with 10.49 percent on March 30, which was the highest in more than two months.
The cost of insuring Ukrainian government debt against non- payment for five years using credit-default swaps was 839 basis points yesterday, down from a two-month high of 857 on March 30, according to data provider CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.
A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.
Household gas prices are “a serious, serious issue” and tariffs “should come closer to the market-oriented level,” Akimova said, predicting some increases toward year-end.
“On what scale, we’ll see.”
Yanukovych’s Party of Regions, which has lost support in opinion polls, faces parliamentary elections in October.
Ukraine is seeking to pay about $250 per thousand cubic meters of Russian gas, compared with $416 last quarter, and wants to boost transit volumes through its pipelines to Europe after its neighbor began rerouting some supplies through the Nord Stream pipeline and via another link across Belarus.
In return, Russia is seeking a stake in Ukraine’s transit pipelines.
It also wants Yanukovych to sign up to a Customs Union it created with Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Ukraine has said joining the union would harm its chances of signing an Association Agreement, including a free-trade pact, with the European Union.
The policies used by Russia are aimed at applying “political pressure” on Ukraine, according to Akimova, who says the country opposes joining the Customs Union.
“Energy issues are always very politicized.”
The economy needs 27 billion cubic meters of gas in 2012, about half the 52 billion it’s contractually obliged to purchase, according to Akimova.
“The current gas agreement is unfair both in terms of price and volumes,” she said.
Ukraine is seeking to roll over a $2 billion loan from Russian lender VTB Group (VTBR) that matures in June, Akimova said, adding that the nation may seek further financing from other Russian banks.
Economic growth in Ukraine will probably slow to 3 percent this year, below a 3.9 percent government forecast, because of weaker global demand for exports such as steel, said Akimova, who’s in charge of economic programs and represents Yanukovych in the Cabinet.
Gross domestic product rose 5.2 percent in 2011.
Tight Security Keeps DSK Speech Civil In Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- Dominique Strauss-Kahn has not had very good luck giving speeches in Europe since his return from New York, but he's finally mastered the security protocols necessary to get through one in Ukraine.
The audience he addressed in Kiev on Wednesday did not protest or hit him with awkward questions, as other European crowds did last month, primarily because the security at his address was strict and the crowd carefully managed.
As Reuters' Olzhas Auyezov reports:
His lecture in Ukraine, organized by local billionaire businessman Viktor Pinchuk's charitable foundation, was carefully arranged in order to avoid embarrassment.
Security was tight to filter out uninvited guests and journalists were not allowed to ask questions, a privilege reserved for local businessmen and politicians as well as students, many of whom were on Pinchuk's fellowships.
That must have been something of a relief to him after last month's address at the Cambridge Union Society, where protests greeted him out front, and a student inside asked him to "explain" the bruises reported by his New York accuser, Nafissatou Diallo.
Strauss-Kahn canceled a second planned speech at the European Parliament later in the month after protests broke out there, too.
A Beijing address Strauss-Kahn gave in December went smoothly enough, but he's had bad luck in Europe until now.
The success of the event must be due to its heavy security and not Ukraine's general acceptance of Strauss-Kahn's persona.
The topless protesters who demonstrated outside his house in October came from a Ukrainian feminist organization called Femen.
The audience he addressed in Kiev on Wednesday did not protest or hit him with awkward questions, as other European crowds did last month, primarily because the security at his address was strict and the crowd carefully managed.
As Reuters' Olzhas Auyezov reports:
His lecture in Ukraine, organized by local billionaire businessman Viktor Pinchuk's charitable foundation, was carefully arranged in order to avoid embarrassment.
Security was tight to filter out uninvited guests and journalists were not allowed to ask questions, a privilege reserved for local businessmen and politicians as well as students, many of whom were on Pinchuk's fellowships.
That must have been something of a relief to him after last month's address at the Cambridge Union Society, where protests greeted him out front, and a student inside asked him to "explain" the bruises reported by his New York accuser, Nafissatou Diallo.
Strauss-Kahn canceled a second planned speech at the European Parliament later in the month after protests broke out there, too.
A Beijing address Strauss-Kahn gave in December went smoothly enough, but he's had bad luck in Europe until now.
The success of the event must be due to its heavy security and not Ukraine's general acceptance of Strauss-Kahn's persona.
The topless protesters who demonstrated outside his house in October came from a Ukrainian feminist organization called Femen.
Ukrainian Diplomats Invite German Doctors To Visit Kharkiv To Settle Problem Of Tymoshenko's Treatment
KIEV, Ukraine -- The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has asked Germany to assist in organizing a visit to Kharkiv by German doctors who were members of the international commission for the examination of former Ukrainian Premier Yulia Tymoshenko to check whether the hospital in which Tymoshenko is to be treated meets their requirements.
"On April 4, 2012 the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine invited German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth to a meeting."
"The Ukrainian side passed the German ambassador a request for assistance in organizing a visit to Ukraine by the German doctors who were members of the international medical commission to examine Tymoshenko, so that they could check whether the medical establishment which was selected by the Ukrainian side meets their recommendations," the press secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Oleksandr Dykusarov, said on Wednesday.
According to him, the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany has also sent an invitation from the Ukrainian side to the management and doctors of the Charite Clinic.
"We hope that German doctors can come to Ukraine as soon as possible."
"The quick settlement of this issue will allow the examination and treatment recommended by doctors for Tymoshenko to start at a special establishment outside the Kachanivska prison colony," the diplomat said.
"On April 4, 2012 the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine invited German Ambassador to Ukraine Hans-Jurgen Heimsoeth to a meeting."
"The Ukrainian side passed the German ambassador a request for assistance in organizing a visit to Ukraine by the German doctors who were members of the international medical commission to examine Tymoshenko, so that they could check whether the medical establishment which was selected by the Ukrainian side meets their recommendations," the press secretary of the Foreign Ministry, Oleksandr Dykusarov, said on Wednesday.
According to him, the Embassy of Ukraine in Germany has also sent an invitation from the Ukrainian side to the management and doctors of the Charite Clinic.
"We hope that German doctors can come to Ukraine as soon as possible."
"The quick settlement of this issue will allow the examination and treatment recommended by doctors for Tymoshenko to start at a special establishment outside the Kachanivska prison colony," the diplomat said.
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