KHARKIV, Ukraine -- A Ukrainian human rights activist and a journalist say they have been subject to police searches of their apartments or offices designed to put pressure on them over their activities.
The incidents concern activist Dmytro Groisman of the central city of Vinnytsya and journalist Petro Matviyenko of Kharkiv, in the east.
Groisman, the coordinator of Vinnytsya Human Rights Group, said he was in Kyiv on a business trip when his flat in Vinnytsya was searched by police on October 15. He said police were investigating him for spreading pornography.
He told RFE/RL on October 18 that the case was connected with his Live Journal blog, which included a link to a video, widely distributed on the Internet earlier this year, showing clips of three Russian opposition activists having sex.
In his blog entry, posted in May, Groisman commented that Russia's FSB security service was spying on the three.
Groisman said police also searched the office of Vinnytsya Human Rights Group and removed documents and financial reports.
He said police had a court order to search his apartment but not the office.
"It was robbery, without a court order," Groisman told RFE/RL.
"Instead of viewing the office of Vinnytsya Human Rights Group, they have started to take out all our equipment, all files. Their purpose was to get to our database of refugees and victims of torture."
Vinnytsya police have not commented on the case. Prosecutor-General's Office spokesman Yuriy Boychenkosaid his office will check whether it acted legally, adding that the answer is likely to be ready within 10 days.
Ukraine's Helsinki Human Rights Union has described the case as a "gross violation" of Ukrainian laws. The group's chairman, Yevheniy Zakharov, informed the accusations of spreading pornography were only a pretext.
In a separate development, Kharkiv police on October 15 searched the apartment of journalist Petro Matviyenko, the deputy of missing editor Vasyl Klymentyev.
Matviyenko, deputy editor of "Novyy Styl" newspaper, said police took away computers, including a lap top belonging to his child.
"All my documentation is there, including my sources, my articles and my drafts, my private correspondence, thus my privacy is being infringed [upon]."
Matviyenko told the police are punishing him for the fact that he is trying to publicize the case of Klymentyev, who went missing in Ukraine in August.
Previously Matviyenko criticized the investigation into Klymentyev's disappearance as a "farce."
Investigator Valery Lehenevsky, who chaired the police group that searched Matviyenko's flat, declined to comment about the case.
Deputy Interior Minister Leonid Zyma promised on October 18 that he would explain the situation within a few days, when the police commission overseeing the Klymentyev investigation will arrive in Kharkiv from Kyiv. Earlier the police promised to check all versions of Klymentyev's disappearance.
Both Groisman and Matviyenko have asked for international assistance to protect their dignity.
Thursday, 21 October 2010
CIS Defense Ministers To Meet In Ukraine
MOSCOW, Russia -- A CIS defense ministers meeting will be held on Wednesday in Crimea, Ukraine, the Russian defense minister's press secretary said.
The meeting will be headed by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Delegations from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine are expected to take part in the meeting.
"According to the agenda of the meeting, it is planned that over 20 issues of cooperation between military departments of the Commonwealth State will be discussed," Irina Kovalchuk said.
The ministers will analyze the results of implementing of a military cooperation concept between CIS countries up to 2010 and results of work of the of CIS Defense Ministers Council working bodies in 2010.
The meeting will be headed by Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov.
Delegations from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine are expected to take part in the meeting.
"According to the agenda of the meeting, it is planned that over 20 issues of cooperation between military departments of the Commonwealth State will be discussed," Irina Kovalchuk said.
The ministers will analyze the results of implementing of a military cooperation concept between CIS countries up to 2010 and results of work of the of CIS Defense Ministers Council working bodies in 2010.
Monday, 18 October 2010
Venezuela's Chavez In Ukraine For Aerospace Talks
KIEV, Ukraine -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in Ukraine on Monday for talks on aerospace cooperation.
Chavez was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and later tour the Antonov aircraft assembly plant in the capital Kiev.
Ukraine is keen to find buyers for Antonov, a producer of cargo and passenger aircraft.
Chavez was is on a two-week international trip devoted to increasing trade between Venezuela, and European and Middle Eastern nations. The visit to Ukraine is his first.
Over the weekend, Chavez met with Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko that saw the signing of an agreement on oil.
The deal will see Venezuelan crude transported to the landlocked former Soviet republic via a pipeline running across Ukraine from the Black Sea, for the first time giving Belarus an alternative to importing oil from Russia.
Chavez was in Russia last week for talks with the Kremlin on possible arms deliveries to Venezuela, and possible construction of a nuclear power plant in Venezuela by Russian engineers.
The Venezuelan leader is scheduled to travel onwards from Ukraine to Iran, Syria and Portugal.
Chavez was scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, and later tour the Antonov aircraft assembly plant in the capital Kiev.
Ukraine is keen to find buyers for Antonov, a producer of cargo and passenger aircraft.
Chavez was is on a two-week international trip devoted to increasing trade between Venezuela, and European and Middle Eastern nations. The visit to Ukraine is his first.
Over the weekend, Chavez met with Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko that saw the signing of an agreement on oil.
The deal will see Venezuelan crude transported to the landlocked former Soviet republic via a pipeline running across Ukraine from the Black Sea, for the first time giving Belarus an alternative to importing oil from Russia.
Chavez was in Russia last week for talks with the Kremlin on possible arms deliveries to Venezuela, and possible construction of a nuclear power plant in Venezuela by Russian engineers.
The Venezuelan leader is scheduled to travel onwards from Ukraine to Iran, Syria and Portugal.
Video-Blog Diplomacy Could Trap Medvedev
MOSCOW, Russia -- President Dmitry Medvedev has introduced an innovative way to conduct foreign policy — video-blog diplomacy.
On Oct. 3, Medvedev recorded a video message to the Russian and Belarussian people. He made clear that the Kremlin no longer views Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko as Russia’s strategic partner. Medvedev basically called for a regime change in Minsk.
Sending powerful video-blog messages to neighboring states and their leaders has become a drill for Medvedev.
In August 2009, a few months before the presidential election in Ukraine, Medvedev bluntly called for a freeze in relations between Russia and Ukraine until Ukrainian voters replaced their “anti-Russian president,” Viktor Yushchenko. They did, and Russian-Ukrainian relations are back to normal.
This strategy has the advantage of publicly identifying laudable foreign policy objectives. It provides a direct channel of communication with broad audiences in the target states and Russia.
In his video-blog messages, Medvedev is presenting the Kremlin’s foreign policy as grounded more in moral imperatives and less in realpolitik.
He is rallying international and domestic support behind his positions— and thus campaigning for leadership at home and abroad, boosting his self-esteem.
But there is a downside to the video-blog diplomacy. It could turn out to be a high-stakes bet, front-loaded with risks of failure, especially when taping a video blog predates strategy development.
Once you publicly unveil the desirable policy outcomes, you deny yourself the advantage of a strategic surprise. You are locked into a strategy that is basically being developed on the go.
You no longer have the luxury of making a timely U-turn. Your policy options are further constrained by the public appeal to moral values, all but precluding a face-saving deal to avoid failure.
Medvedev’s call for a regime change in Kiev was successful largely because the Ukrainian political winds had already been blowing in Moscow’s favor. Yushchenko had such low ratings that his defeat was all but a given.
This is hardly the case in Belarus, where the “last dictator of Europe” stands a good chance of being re-elected without resorting to electoral fraud. The Kremlin would then be forced to deal with Lukashenko.
Lukashenko will surely challenge Medvedev’s video-blog diplomacy. Let’s hope that Medvedev has a strategy to deal with the aftermath.
On Oct. 3, Medvedev recorded a video message to the Russian and Belarussian people. He made clear that the Kremlin no longer views Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko as Russia’s strategic partner. Medvedev basically called for a regime change in Minsk.
Sending powerful video-blog messages to neighboring states and their leaders has become a drill for Medvedev.
In August 2009, a few months before the presidential election in Ukraine, Medvedev bluntly called for a freeze in relations between Russia and Ukraine until Ukrainian voters replaced their “anti-Russian president,” Viktor Yushchenko. They did, and Russian-Ukrainian relations are back to normal.
This strategy has the advantage of publicly identifying laudable foreign policy objectives. It provides a direct channel of communication with broad audiences in the target states and Russia.
In his video-blog messages, Medvedev is presenting the Kremlin’s foreign policy as grounded more in moral imperatives and less in realpolitik.
He is rallying international and domestic support behind his positions— and thus campaigning for leadership at home and abroad, boosting his self-esteem.
But there is a downside to the video-blog diplomacy. It could turn out to be a high-stakes bet, front-loaded with risks of failure, especially when taping a video blog predates strategy development.
Once you publicly unveil the desirable policy outcomes, you deny yourself the advantage of a strategic surprise. You are locked into a strategy that is basically being developed on the go.
You no longer have the luxury of making a timely U-turn. Your policy options are further constrained by the public appeal to moral values, all but precluding a face-saving deal to avoid failure.
Medvedev’s call for a regime change in Kiev was successful largely because the Ukrainian political winds had already been blowing in Moscow’s favor. Yushchenko had such low ratings that his defeat was all but a given.
This is hardly the case in Belarus, where the “last dictator of Europe” stands a good chance of being re-elected without resorting to electoral fraud. The Kremlin would then be forced to deal with Lukashenko.
Lukashenko will surely challenge Medvedev’s video-blog diplomacy. Let’s hope that Medvedev has a strategy to deal with the aftermath.
Official Role For Russian Splits Ukraine
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's opposition leader vowed Sunday to resist giving the Russian language official status.
Former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko said her BYuT faction "will do everything we can to defend Ukraine against the introduction of Russia as a second state language," .
Under proposed legislation, Ukrainian would remain the only state language, but restrictions would be lifted on the use of other languages spoken in the country, including Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian, granting them official regional status.
Many of the country's top politicians, including Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, cannot speak Ukrainian, and President Viktor Yanukovych is himself a novice speaker.
Russian is still used in much of the republic, especially in the east, the Crimea and the capital Kiev, and there is a strong movement to protect the rights of Russian speakers, the report said.
Former Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko said her BYuT faction "will do everything we can to defend Ukraine against the introduction of Russia as a second state language," .
Under proposed legislation, Ukrainian would remain the only state language, but restrictions would be lifted on the use of other languages spoken in the country, including Russian, Bulgarian, Romanian and Hungarian, granting them official regional status.
Many of the country's top politicians, including Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, cannot speak Ukrainian, and President Viktor Yanukovych is himself a novice speaker.
Russian is still used in much of the republic, especially in the east, the Crimea and the capital Kiev, and there is a strong movement to protect the rights of Russian speakers, the report said.
Ukraine's Stalled Power
KIEV, Ukraine -- This winter many Ukrainians may have to choose between putting food on the table and heating their homes. On top of the worst recession in modern history, the country faces an immediate 50% increase in household gas bills. State-subsidized gas has just come to an abrupt end.
What's particularly infuriating is the fact that Ukraine sits on potential gas reserves that would rival those in many Gulf States. But successive governments have done next to nothing over the past 20 years to verify and exploit these resources.
According to a report issued by BP in June, Ukraine has proven natural gas deposits of 0.98 trillion cubic meters—enough to make the country self-sufficient in gas for the next 20 years.
A further two to 32 trillion cubic meters of shale gas may lie close to the Polish border, and up to 8 trillion cubic meters of coal-bed methane gas may be in the Donbas basin, according to estimates made last year by former President Viktor Yushchenko's energy advisor Bohdan Sokolovsky and the Ukrainian government's National Agency for Energy Resource Management, though these reserves have yet to be commercially proven.
The Crimea also holds new natural gas fields, and the Black Sea has its own potential for off-shore hydrocarbons.
But instead of trying to exploit these potential domestic energy sources, Kiev has for decades weaned Ukraine's industry on cheap, plentiful gas imported from Russia and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, foreign investors who might be tempted to help Ukraine develop its own domestic energy sources have, time and again, been scared off by a mercurial business environment and fickle governments.
Ukraine can no longer afford this complacency. In the first quarter of this year, Russia's Gazprom again hiked the prices it charges to Ukraine's cash-strapped state gas company, Naftohaz Ukrainy, meaning its tab soared to $305 per thousand cubic meters from $50 per thousand cubic meters in 2005.
According to investment bank Troika Dialog, that's just $2 less than Gazprom's European customers pay, even though Kiev buys gas at the Russian-Ukrainian border and thus doesn't have to pay the Asian, Russian or Ukrainian gas transit fees.
With the price of natural gas set to plummet over the next five years, Gazprom knows it will face stiff competition in Europe, both from natural gas importers and from producers of domestic shale gas.
Russian gas is very expensive to extract and transport, particularly from the newer fields in northern and central Siberia. Plentiful Ukrainian gas less than 800 kilometers from Europe's border, coupled with a ready-built pipeline network to transport it, perhaps explains why Naftohaz is being pursued so ardently by its northern neighbor.
The failure of successive Ukrainian governments to validate, quantify and exploit these reserves is nothing less than a betrayal of national interests. Major energy companies such as Shell, BP, Marathon, Exxon Mobil, and Total, along with various Ukrainian politicians, have tried for years to negotiate deals for serious prospecting.
However, president after president has failed to ratify the bills, and so the plans for geological surveys remain in their drawers. Most recently, Kiev has stalled progress by removing a key clause from Ukraine's rules governing production-sharing agreements in public/private partnerships.
Without the clause, the government can change the basic financial terms of contracts with foreign investors at any point. As Shell's general manager, Patrick Van Daele, recently told the Kyiv Post, if the clause is not replaced, "nobody in his right mind will be willing to come and invest here." The legislation currently awaits President Viktor Yanukovych's signature.
You'd think the European Union would want to prod Kiev in the right direction, given that it could have in Ukraine a potential Gulf state on its own doorstep, and—at last—a major rival to Russian supplies. But, privately, many EU officials appear relieved that Ukraine's leaders seem to have put EU membership on the back-burner.
As Europe slowly turns its back, Russia's influence grows.
So time is running out for the Ukrainian people. The current government is centralizing its power, even as the argument for real Ukrainian democracy has never been greater. Government transparency, accountability, and the rule of law would foster a safe and predictable environment for foreign energy investors.
And in Ukraine's ability to exploit its own resources lies not just financial prosperity, but true independence and security to boot.
What's particularly infuriating is the fact that Ukraine sits on potential gas reserves that would rival those in many Gulf States. But successive governments have done next to nothing over the past 20 years to verify and exploit these resources.
According to a report issued by BP in June, Ukraine has proven natural gas deposits of 0.98 trillion cubic meters—enough to make the country self-sufficient in gas for the next 20 years.
A further two to 32 trillion cubic meters of shale gas may lie close to the Polish border, and up to 8 trillion cubic meters of coal-bed methane gas may be in the Donbas basin, according to estimates made last year by former President Viktor Yushchenko's energy advisor Bohdan Sokolovsky and the Ukrainian government's National Agency for Energy Resource Management, though these reserves have yet to be commercially proven.
The Crimea also holds new natural gas fields, and the Black Sea has its own potential for off-shore hydrocarbons.
But instead of trying to exploit these potential domestic energy sources, Kiev has for decades weaned Ukraine's industry on cheap, plentiful gas imported from Russia and Central Asia.
Meanwhile, foreign investors who might be tempted to help Ukraine develop its own domestic energy sources have, time and again, been scared off by a mercurial business environment and fickle governments.
Ukraine can no longer afford this complacency. In the first quarter of this year, Russia's Gazprom again hiked the prices it charges to Ukraine's cash-strapped state gas company, Naftohaz Ukrainy, meaning its tab soared to $305 per thousand cubic meters from $50 per thousand cubic meters in 2005.
According to investment bank Troika Dialog, that's just $2 less than Gazprom's European customers pay, even though Kiev buys gas at the Russian-Ukrainian border and thus doesn't have to pay the Asian, Russian or Ukrainian gas transit fees.
With the price of natural gas set to plummet over the next five years, Gazprom knows it will face stiff competition in Europe, both from natural gas importers and from producers of domestic shale gas.
Russian gas is very expensive to extract and transport, particularly from the newer fields in northern and central Siberia. Plentiful Ukrainian gas less than 800 kilometers from Europe's border, coupled with a ready-built pipeline network to transport it, perhaps explains why Naftohaz is being pursued so ardently by its northern neighbor.
The failure of successive Ukrainian governments to validate, quantify and exploit these reserves is nothing less than a betrayal of national interests. Major energy companies such as Shell, BP, Marathon, Exxon Mobil, and Total, along with various Ukrainian politicians, have tried for years to negotiate deals for serious prospecting.
However, president after president has failed to ratify the bills, and so the plans for geological surveys remain in their drawers. Most recently, Kiev has stalled progress by removing a key clause from Ukraine's rules governing production-sharing agreements in public/private partnerships.
Without the clause, the government can change the basic financial terms of contracts with foreign investors at any point. As Shell's general manager, Patrick Van Daele, recently told the Kyiv Post, if the clause is not replaced, "nobody in his right mind will be willing to come and invest here." The legislation currently awaits President Viktor Yanukovych's signature.
You'd think the European Union would want to prod Kiev in the right direction, given that it could have in Ukraine a potential Gulf state on its own doorstep, and—at last—a major rival to Russian supplies. But, privately, many EU officials appear relieved that Ukraine's leaders seem to have put EU membership on the back-burner.
As Europe slowly turns its back, Russia's influence grows.
So time is running out for the Ukrainian people. The current government is centralizing its power, even as the argument for real Ukrainian democracy has never been greater. Government transparency, accountability, and the rule of law would foster a safe and predictable environment for foreign energy investors.
And in Ukraine's ability to exploit its own resources lies not just financial prosperity, but true independence and security to boot.
Ukraine's Yanukovych Vows Resolute Fight Against Poverty
KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych urged Ukrainians on Sunday to take joint efforts to stem poverty in the ex-Soviet republic where every fourth person was living beyond the poverty line according to data of the Labor Ministry.
Yanukovych addressed the nation on the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is celebrated on October 17 in the world, the Ukrainian president's press office said.
"The reduction of the poverty level and its eradication depend on resolute efforts by every citizen who is indifferent to the fate of those who are suffering from poverty. That is why, I am addressing representatives of state authority, socially responsible business and deputies of all levels and urging them to do their best to stem this social evil," Yanukovych said.
According to Yanukovych, joint efforts could propel "Ukraine into the group of the most developed and prosperous countries in the world."
According to data of the Ukrainian Labor Ministry, 26.4% of Ukrainians are living beyond the poverty line.
Yanukovych addressed the nation on the occasion of International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, which is celebrated on October 17 in the world, the Ukrainian president's press office said.
"The reduction of the poverty level and its eradication depend on resolute efforts by every citizen who is indifferent to the fate of those who are suffering from poverty. That is why, I am addressing representatives of state authority, socially responsible business and deputies of all levels and urging them to do their best to stem this social evil," Yanukovych said.
According to Yanukovych, joint efforts could propel "Ukraine into the group of the most developed and prosperous countries in the world."
According to data of the Ukrainian Labor Ministry, 26.4% of Ukrainians are living beyond the poverty line.
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