========================================================= ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR An International Newsletter, The Latest, Up-To-Date In-Depth Ukrainian News, Analysis and Commentary Ukrainian History, Culture, Arts, Business, Religion, Sports, Government, and Politics, in Ukraine and Around the World ORANGE REVOLUTION PRO-DEMOCRATIC COALITION FALLS APART, CRUMBLES, DISINTEGRATES, COLLAPSES, UNRAVELS Yushchenko & Our Ukraine have been humiliated and out-maneuvered but they still hold the deciding votes on the composition of the new government. The decision on whether or not to dissolve parliament is entirely up to Yushchenko the constitution allows him to do so if no government is formed by July 24, and no coalition would be able to meet that deadline without his support. [article 25 below] Pro-Russian Parties Form Governing Coalition In A Stunning Move Coalition nominated Regions leader, Viktor Yanukovych, for prime minister Read stories from Reuters, London's Independent, The Washington Post, Agence France-Presse, Financial Times, RIA Novosti, Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Associated Press, The New York Times Ukrayinska Pravda Online, Ukrainian News Agency, ICTV television BBC Monitoring Service, Dragon Capital Research Team, Concorde Capital ACTION UKRAINE REPORT - AUR - NUMBER 727 Mr. E. Morgan Williams, Publisher and Editor PUBLISHED IN WASHINGTON, D.C., SATURDAY, JULY 8, 2006 -------- INDEX OF ARTICLES -------- Clicking on the title of any article takes you directly to the article. Return to the Index by clicking on Return to Index at the end of each article 1. UKRAINE'S ORANGE COALITION FALLS APART Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 2. UKRAINE'S GOVERNMENT DISINTEGRATES ON DAY ONE By Andrew Osborn in Moscow, Independent Online London, United Kingdom, Saturday, 08 July 2006 3. DEFEATED CANDIDATE YANUKOVYCH REEMERGES IN UKRAINE Ousted Pro-Moscow Figure Set to Become Prime Minister as Orange Revolution Coalition Crumbles By Peter Finn in Moscow, Washington Post Foreign Service The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Saturday, July 8, 2006; Page A11 4. PRO-RUSSIAN PARTIES FORM NEW GOVERNING COALITION IN UKRAINE IN A STUNNING MOVE Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, July 8, 2006 5. ATTEMPTS TO CREATE UKRAINE COALITION COLLAPSE By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev, Financial Times London, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7 2006 6. UKRAINE'S SOCIALISTS SAY PRES YUSHCHENKO'S NOMINATION OF POROSHENKO FOR SPEAKER RUINED THE ORANGE COALITION RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 7, 2006 7. UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CHAOS CONTINUES OVER SPEAKER'S SPAT By Lisa McAdams in Moscow, Voice of America (VOA) Washington, D.C., Friday, 07 July 2006 8. UKRAINE: HAS SOCIALIST LEADER MOROZ DEALT FATAL BLOW TO ORANGE COALITION? FEATURE ARTICLE: By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL, Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, July 7, 2006 9. UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO BRANDS PARLIAMENT ILLEGITIMATE RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 7, 2006 10. UKRAINE PRO-RUSSIAN OPPOSITION JOINS FORCES, NAMES VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH AS CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER Natasha Lisova, Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Jul 08, 2006 11. UKRAINE'S COALITION UNRAVELS IN A NEW SETBACK By Steven Lee Myers in Moscow, The New York Times New York, New York, Saturday, July 8, 2006 12. THE DEATH OF A COALITION ON A 'MOROSE' EVENING Ukrayinska Pravda Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 13. OLEKSANDR MOROZ: FROM COMMUNIST TRACTOR DRIVER TO YANUKOVYCH'S COMPANION New Ukrainian speaker "unrivalled" master of political intrigue By Vita Andreychenko, Ukrayinska Pravda website, in Ukrainian Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, 7 Jul 06 BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7, 2006 14. TYMOSHENKO DECLARES COLLAPSE OF BYT, OUR UKRAINE BLOC AND SOCIALIST PARTY COALITION Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 15. UKRAINIAN EX-PM TYMOSHENKO RULES OUT COALITION WITH PARTY OF REGIONS ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1835 gmt 7 Jul 06 BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7, 2006 16. YUSHCHENKO AWAITING ANSWER FROM BYT, SPU, OUR UKRAINE AS TO WHETHER THEIR COALITION STILL EXISTS Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 17. SOCIALIST PARTY'S POLITICAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 18. PARTY OF REGIONS, SOCIALIST PARTY, COMMUNIST PARTY AGREE TO FORM COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENT Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 20. ACTING INTERIOR AFFAIRS MINISTER YURII LUTSENKO BELIEVES POSSIBLE SOCIALIST PARTY VOTE FOR PARTY OF REGIONS' CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER WOULD BE BETRAYAL Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 21. OUR UKRAINE SAYS ITS GOING INTO OPPOSITION IS POSSIBLE Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 22. SOCIALIST PARTY FACTION ELECTS TSUSHKO AS LEADER IN PLACE OF OLEKSANDR MOROZ WHO WAS ELECTED SPEAKER Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 23. HARMASH RESIGNS AS SECRETARY OF SOCIALIST PARTY'S POLITICAL COUNCIL. SHE BELIEVES THAT FORMATION OF A PARLIAMENTARY COALITION WITH PARTY OF REGIONS IS A ROAD TOWARD SELF-DESTRUCTION OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 24. MAJORITY COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENT FORMED BY REGIONS PARTY, SOCIALIST PARTY AND COMMUNIST PARTY Coalition nominated Regions leader, Viktor Yanukovych, for prime minister Dragon Research Team, Dragon Capital, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jul 7, 2006 25. CONFUSION REIGNS AFTER MOROZ ELECTION Yushchenko & Our Ukraine have been humiliated and out-maneuvered Concorde Capital, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 ======================================================== 1. UKRAINE'S ORANGE COALITION FALLS APART Reuters, Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's Western-leaning Orange coalition fell apart acrimoniously Friday after the small Socialist Party broke ranks to get its leader elected as parliament speaker, and the pro-Russian opposition said it hoped to form a government. The ex-Soviet nation has been in political crisis without a new government for more than three months since parliamentary elections in which the pro-Russian Party of Regions won the most seats but fell short of a majority. After weeks of tense bargaining, the three parties involved in the 2004 Orange Revolution agreed last month to form a coalition under a deal that would give President Viktor Yushchenko's party the speaker's post and hand back to his estranged ally Yulia Tymoshenko her prime minister's job. But lawmakers on Thursday unexpectedly elected Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz as speaker, provoking accusations of betrayal from Yushchenko's and Tymoshenko's parties. They largely boycotted the vote, which was carried with support from the Communists and the Party of Regions. The Party of Regions immediately reached out to the Socialists, saying it was launching talks on the creation of a coalition. "The doors are open for everyone," the Party of Regions' leader Viktor Yanukovych said Friday in parliament. The Socialists said they were ready to join a broad coalition that also included Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party. "Now Ukraine needs a broad coalition including the Party of Regions and Our Ukraine," said Socialist Party member Stanislav Nikolayenko, acting science and education minister. Later, a top lawmaker from the Party of Regions, Taras Chornovil, said that his party proposed Yanukovych for the prime minister's job and would start coalition talks with the Socialists and Communists on Friday. The president's party declared the Orange coalition over, blaming the Socialists for joining up with the Communists and Party of Regions. "Yesterday the coalition ceased to exist. A new majority appeared," said Roman Bezsmertny, one of the leaders of Our Ukraine. Yanukovych was Yushchenko's Kremlin-backed opponent in the 2004 presidential election that sparked the mass protests dubbed the Orange Revolution. Yanukovych won the election, but it was declared invalid and Yushchenko was elected in a court-ordered rerun. The majority coalition formed in June reunited the central parties in the Orange Revolution, who had fallen out with each other after Yushchenko took office amid deep personal rivalry between the president and Tymoshenko. Yushchenko, whose party finished a humiliating third in the March elections, agreed that Tymoshenko would be nominated to return to the premiership -- from which he had fired her last September. But in return his party insisted on getting the powerful speaker's job. The latest political crisis erupted Thursday only hours after the Party of Regions ended a 10-day parliament blockade that paralyzed the legislature's work and prevented the formation of the new government. The party had complained that the coalition was trying to shut it out of key committee positions and objected to a coalition proposal to elect the premier and speaker in a single vote. The political standoff has highlighted divisions in the country between the mainly Russian-speaking east and south and the Ukrainian-speaking west, and the country's strategic dilemma between close ties with Russia and integration with the West. Tymoshenko, a charismatic politician who is hugely popular in western Ukraine, slammed her pro-Russian opponents for their attempt to get into government. "Criminals are coming back," she said. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 2. UKRAINE'S GOVERNMENT DISINTEGRATES ON DAY ONE By Andrew Osborn in Moscow, Independent Online London, United Kingdom, Saturday, 08 July 2006 Ukraine was beginning to look like a banana republic yesterday after a pro-Western "orange" coalition government that has been three months in the making disintegrated before it could even do one day's work. The unexpected twist leaves Ukraine without effective political leadership more than three months after holding parliamentary elections, leaves many of its political protagonists with egg on their faces, and may open the door to a pro-Russian coalition government that is determined to reverse the results of the country's orange revolution. The turmoil could also trigger the disbanding of the current parliament and the holding of fresh elections, which would leave the country in political limbo for a further three months. Under the constitution the country has just 13 days before it must form a new government or hold new elections. The crisis comes at a time when Ukraine may be threatened with a new gas row with Russia and as the country's economy is faltering as foreign investors stand by incredulously. When Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian President, swept to power in 2004 in the orange revolution, those who voted for him were filled with optimism. That has given way to cynicism and dismay, and there is a feeling among many orange voters that the country is rudderless. The orange coalition - made up of the Our Ukraine party of Mr Yushchenko, the Fatherland party of the fiery left-winger Julia Tymoshenko, and the Socialist party - imploded as it was poised to crown Ms Tymoshenko as Prime Minister. It was a moment preceded by months of backroom negotiations, threats, drama, and tit-for-tat accusations, and it had been widely thought that the orange coalition was a done deal. However the tedious yet crucial process of forming a government was plunged into crisis at the last minute by what looks to the outside world like a detail - who will be the Rada's (parliament's) speaker. In Ukraine the speaker's job is crucial, though, and the coalition fell apart after the small Socialist party managed to get its own leader - Aleksander Moroz - elected as speaker, in breach of the coalition agreement, which had earmarked the job for a member of Mr Yushchenko's party. Members of his party and Ms Tymoshenko's party were last night calling Mr Moroz "a traitor". As a political vacuum opened up the pro-Russian politician, Viktor Yanukovych, the main loser of the orange revolution but the winner of March's parliamentary elections, stepped into the breach. He appeared to be close to forming a coalition government with the Ukrainian Communist party and the Socialist party last night. -30- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article1166513.ece -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 3. DEFEATED CANDIDATE YANUKOVYCH REEMERGES IN UKRAINE Ousted Pro-Moscow Figure Set to Become Prime Minister as Orange Revolution Coalition Crumbles By Peter Finn in Moscow, Washington Post Foreign Service The Washington Post, Washington, D.C., Saturday, July 8, 2006; Page A11 MOSCOW, July 7 -- Ukraine's new coalition government of pro-Western democratic parties was predicted to be fragile. It proved so weak that it collapsed on Friday before it even got started. And out of the rubble emerged the man who was cast as the villain in Ukraine's democratic triumph known as the Orange Revolution. In a remarkable turnaround, Viktor Yanukovich, the losing, pro-Moscow candidate in the disputed presidential elections that led to massive street protests in 2004, appears set to become prime minister. This week was supposed to bring the formal reconstruction of the unstable alliance that led the Orange Revolution, so-named for the color worn by the protesters. Instead, the bloc dissolved into familiar back-stabbing after its smallest member, the Socialists, broke ranks to get its own man elected to a parliamentary post. The Socialists then signed onto what they called a new "anti-crisis" coalition with the Communists and Yanukovich's Party of Regions. The agreement was signed Friday evening in front of journalists in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital. The recent political turmoil and indecision in Ukraine have frustrated the European Union and the United States. They had hoped to see the country well along in restructuring necessary to open it to Western institutions and greater foreign investment. The White House had considered sending President Bush to Ukraine to hail it as a new outpost of openness and free enterprise, but it put off the idea because of continuing uncertainty after the election. Instead he went to Hungary last month. With Yanukovich as prime minister, Bush can write off a trip. The pro-Moscow politician opposes or questions many of the goals of President Viktor Yushchenko, notably membership in the NATO alliance and the European Union. Yanukovich is interested in what is called the "single economic space," a concept promoted by the Kremlin to bind Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus together. Because of constitutional changes that came into force after Yushchenko assumed the presidency, the post of prime minister is more powerful than it has been. The holder of the office is no longer appointed by the president, but is independently elected by parliament. The president retains the right to propose candidates for three key ministries, including foreign affairs, but his ability to constrain the prime minister is much reduced. The Orange coalition fell apart for the first time last September. Yushchenko dismissed his prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, the charismatic crowd-pleaser who galvanized the popular revolt that swept Yushchenko into office. He said corruption was rampant under her stewardship; she accused some of the president's key advisers of corruption. Elections followed in March. Yanukovich's Party of Regions emerged as the largest single party, but no one party won an overall majority. The three that had led the Orange Revolution -- Yushchenko's Our Ukraine, Tymoshenko's bloc and the Socialists, led by Oleksander Moroz -- together had enough seats to form a government, but weeks passed with no agreement on how to overcome the bad feelings between them and form a government. In June, the three parties finally agreed to a new coalition. Tymoshenko would be prime minister, and Petro Poroshenko, a controversial tycoon and member of Yushchenko's party, would be speaker of parliament. The two are fierce rivals. But on Thursday, Moroz, the Socialist leader, appeared to have had sudden second thoughts about the deal. "I've got evidence to show, which I am not going to do now, that the election of such charismatic people" as Poroshenko and Tymoshenko to the country's highest offices will inevitably create an explosive mixture," he said. "It would spell the end of the coalition in the course of several months with all the consequences to follow." The Socialists then nominated Moroz as speaker. Yanukovich's Party of Regions, joined by the Communists, saw an opening and backed him. He was elected Thursday evening. His former partners were left to fume. "We consider that the coalition never took place," Tymoshenko said. "Thus, the coalition did not unravel; it never existed in the first place." "Moroz is a professional betrayer and a greedy, cynical and a mercenary man," David Zhvania, a member of Our Ukraine, told reporters. Moroz quickly adjourned parliament until Tuesday, when a new coalition led by Yanukovich might be put to a vote. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/07/AR2006070700626.html?nav=rss_email/components ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 4. PRO-RUSSIAN PARTIES FORM NEW GOVERNING COALITION IN UKRAINE IN A STUNNING MOVE Agence France-Presse, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, July 8, 2006 KIEV : Ukraine's pro-Russian parties formed a new governing coalition in a stunning move that promises to slow the pro-Western course taken by the ex-Soviet nation after the "orange revolution." In front of reporters in parliament, the Regions Party and the Communists signed a coalition agreement with the Socialists, who in a surprise move had defected from the pro-Western "orange" camp the previous day. The coalition said it was open to other parties. "We're not closing the doors," said Viktor Yanukovych, the leader of Regions. "They are open for other parties or groups of deputies." The trio, which controls 240 seats in the 450-member Upper Rada legislature, said it would nominate as its prime minister Yanukovych, who lost the bitterly-contested "orange revolution" election contest to President Viktor Yushchenko in late 2004. The coalition said it would forward Yanukovych's nomination to the president later on Friday, after which Yushchenko will have 15 days to submit it to parliament for confirmation, and would move quickly to form a new cabinet. It was not clear whether Yushchenko's Our Ukraine party would join the new union to form a so-called "wide coalition" that would unite both pro-Western and pro-Russian forces. Analysts say a wide coalition would slow Kiev's aim to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but would not affect the drive toward membership of the European Union (EU) and would provide stability to push through economic reforms. In a televised interview, Yushchenko said that he did not see Our Ukraine in the role of the opposition, saying its absence from power would "lead to a serious revision of policies." In earlier remarks to reporters, Yushchenko said a wide coalition would be the best option, but admitted that a new majority could exclude his party. "It's not out of the question that we could have a situation where the courses of the president and the parliamentary majority differ," a gloomy Yushchenko told reporters. "I would really like to avoid such a scenario," he said. The third member of the "orange" coalition, Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc, has ruled out joining a coalition that includes Regions, warning that it would lead to a return of the widespread corruption that marked the regime swept aside by the "orange revolution." "A wide coalition is a wide grave for democracy and Ukraine's sovereignty," she said in a late-night political talk show. "We will either be in opposition or, if the constitution allows... we'll support the holding of new elections," she said. Yushchenko warned that if a new government is not formed by the end of July he could dissolve government and call new elections. The "orange" coalition was sent into a tailspin late Thursday ballot that in a surprise move saw its smallest faction, the Socialists, join with pro-Russian parties to elect its leader Olexander Moroz as speaker. Moroz said he decided to switch sides because the "orange" team's choices for top government posts were political rivals and that the union was bound to be short-lived. Critics said Moroz made the move in order to grab the speakership. The March 26 parliamentary election did not hand any one party enough seats in the legislature to form a government alone. At present, Regions has 186 seats, Tymoshenko's bloc 129 seats, Our Ukraine 81 seats, the Socialists 33 seats and the Communists 21 seats. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== Send in names and e-mail addresses for the AUR distribution list. ======================================================== 5. ATTEMPTS TO CREATE UKRAINE COALITION COLLAPSE By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev, Financial Times London, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7 2006 Ukraine's political future hung in the balance on Friday after plans to create a governing coalition composed of the victors in the country's 2004 Orange Revolution collapsed amid a tense parliamentary power struggle. The developments came just two weeks after the pro-western Orange allies signed a coalition agreement, but before they could establish a government. They were a severe blow to Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's president who was propelled into office in December 2004 by massive protests against electoral fraud, and Yulia Tymoshenko, who had hoped to return as prime minister in the new Orange coalition. They also left Ukraine's medium-term path of development - integration into the west and membership of Nato, or a swing back towards Moscow - in question. Some analysts warned the unexpected shift in parliamentary allegiances could lead to the formation of an anti-European and populist government that would recoil from the structural reforms that had been expected under the Orange coalition. Ukraine has been without a new government since parliamentary elections in late March failed to give any one party a majority, prompting a cycle of backbiting coalition negotiations. Two weeks ago, a glimmer of hope appeared as three parties that backed Mr Yushchenko reached a coalition agreement. However, on Thursday, the smallest of three parties in the coalition, the Socialists, defied the coalition agreement and teamed up with pro-Russian forces in parliament to elect their leader as speaker. As well as testing the authority of Mr Yushchenko, the developments could challenge his ability to muster broad political support for a path of swift western integration. They could also thwart Ms Tymoshenko's chances of returning as prime minister. Political reforms that took effect this year have shifted key powers from the presidency to parliament, ceding a parliamentary majority the right to form a government. The new political rules allow Mr Yushchenko to disband parliament should it fail to form a government 60 days after Ukraine's new parliament opened for its session. Mr Yushchenko yesterday warned that he could disband parliament if a government was not formed by July 27. However, analysts question whether Mr Yushchenko would make such a sharp move as public support for the Our Ukraine party loyal to him has been fading after it secured only 14 per cent support in the March election. The president said the coalition building process was "approaching the boundaries" of constitutional norms after the Socialists on Thursday unexpectedly went back on a coalition agreement to appoint Petro Poroshenko, a leading Our Ukraine member, as speaker. Oleksandr Moroz, leader of the Socialists, defended himself saying that the return of Mr Poroshenko and Ms Tymoshenko to top posts would have risked the long-term stability of a coalition. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 6. UKRAINE'S SOCIALISTS SAY PRES YUSHCHENKO'S NOMINATION OF POROSHENKO FOR SPEAKER RUINED THE ORANGE COALITION RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 7, 2006 KIEV - Ukraine's Socialist Party blames President Viktor Yushchenko for a virtual collapse of a coalition majority formed in the country's parliament in June, a party member said Friday. Ivan Boky said, "The president ruined the coalition by nominating Petro Poroshenko for the post of [Supreme Rada] speaker." The coalition of Western-leaning forces broke up when the Party of Regions, holding 186 seats in the Rada, and the Socialist and Communist parties with 33 and 21 seats respectively joined forces late Thursday to elect Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz as speaker. The three parties are currently holding talks on the formation of a new parliamentary coalition. Boky said anarchy followed the collapse of the "orange" coalition that "ruined the economy and created political instability." "Therefore, we had to assume responsibility and search for a way out of this situation," he added. The Socialists were accused of breaching an agreement with its "orange" allies, pro-presidential Our Ukraine grouping and the bloc led by Yulia Tymoshenko, who was Ukraine's prime minister for eight months last year and is aspiring to the post again. The "orange" coalition, made up of the three parties that propelled Viktor Yushchenko to the presidency in the "orange revolution" of 2004, earlier planned Poroshenko, an Our Ukraine candidate, as Rada speaker. Tymoshenko said earlier Friday that the "orange" coalition had ceased to exist and urged President Viktor Yushchenko to either approve a new coalition or dissolve the Rada. The Rada, meanwhile, is to form the government by July 22. After this deadline the president is entitled to dissolve legislature and call new elections. -30- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINK: http://en.rian.ru/world/20060707/51054156.html ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [return to index ] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 7. UKRAINE'S POLITICAL CHAOS CONTINUES OVER SPEAKER'S SPAT By Lisa McAdams in Moscow, Voice of America (VOA) Washington, D.C., Friday, 07 July 2006 Ukraine's Orange coalition partners are at odds again, after the Socialist party scored a surprise win of the powerful speaker's spot in parliament. Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc and President Viktor Yushchenko's Our Ukraine bloc accuse the socialists of breaking ranks and say they will hold discussions on the future of the pro-Western Orange coalition. It was a surprise win for Socialist party leader Oleksandr Moroz, who had earlier agreed to support a deal in which a member of the Our Ukraine party would be speaker and the Socialists would take the first deputy prime minister's post. Moroz will now replace outgoing speaker Vladimir Lytvyn. He told reporters it remains to be seen how Ukraine's next coalition government will be formed. Moroz notes that more compromise may be coming, saying everyone must remember that parliament basically had to be divided in half just to get this far along in the voting of a new government. He refers to a hard-fought deal mid-week, in which the Orange coalition partners agreed to hand control of over half of parliament's committees to the opposition Region's party of Viktor Yanukovych, whose supporters had been blocking all legislative work for ten days. Moroz ultimately won the speaker's spot largely because of the support from the Region's party, whose leader, Yanukovych, was quick to try and reach out to form a coalition with Moroz. Yanukovych says Region's main goal now is to unite Ukraine and create a broad coalition to help Ukraine overcome a political crisis and economic uncertainty. Moroz has so far declined to rule out teaming up with Yanukovych, a stance that seems to have caught supporters of Ukraine's pro-Western Orange coalition off-guard. The Orange coalition, named after the political revolution that swept President Yushchenko to power, supports his course of orienting Ukraine toward the West, including membership in NATO. Region's and its allies, the Communists, favor keeping traditional close ties with Russia. Ukraine's government has been in a virtual state of deadlock since March when elections for parliament failed to deliver any one party enough votes to form the next government. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINK: http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-07-07-voa13.cfm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== NOTE: Send in a letter-to-the-editor today. Let us hear from you. ======================================================== 8. UKRAINE: HAS SOCIALIST LEADER MOROZ DEALT FATAL BLOW TO ORANGE COALITION? FEATURE ARTICLE: By Jan Maksymiuk, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty RFE/RL, Prague, Czech Republic, Friday, July 7, 2006 The Verkhovna Rada on July 6 resumed its work after 10 days of a blockade organized by lawmakers from the Party of Regions. In an unexpected move the Ukrainian parliament elected Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz as its speaker. Moroz was elected by lawmakers from the Party of Regions and the Communist Party, while his anticipated coalition allies -- the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine -- shunned the vote. Does the choice of the speaker spell an end to the Orange coalition deal reached in June, after three months of uneasy talks? An impasse in the Ukrainian parliament took place on June 27, when lawmakers from the Party of Regions led by former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych blocked the rostrum in and entrance to the Verkhovna Rada hall, thus preventing lawmakers of the coalition from opening a session. Several days earlier, on June 22, the three allies in the 2004 Orange Revolution -- the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc (129 seats), Our Ukraine (81 seats), and the Socialist Party (33 seats) -- signed a coalition deal, following three months of negotiations. Regarding the distribution of top government posts, Yuliya Tymoshenko was to assume the post of prime minister, while Petro Poroshenko from Our Ukraine was to become parliament speaker. The Socialist Party was entitled under the deal to the post of first deputy prime minister. Some of the would-be coalition partners were visibly unhappy about the June deal to recreate the Orange government that collapsed in September 2005, after then-Prime Minister Tymoshenko accused then-National Defense and Security Council Secretary Poroshenko of corrupt practices and encroaching upon her executive prerogatives. Tymoshenko and Poroshenko, the fiercest enemies in the 2005 feud, were again to assume top government posts, and many saw in this a seed for an inevitable future conflict. Socialist Party leader Moroz, who aspired to become parliament speaker after the March 26 parliamentary elections, was also apparently unhappy with the fact that this post was offered to Poroshenko. And there was the Party of Regions, which unsuccessfully tried to strike a coalition deal with Our Ukraine in mid-June. After it became clear that the former Orange allies might recreate their governing alliance, the Party of Regions launched a blockade of the parliamentary hall. he blockade was in protest against what the Yanukovych-led party saw as an unlawful scheme to appoint the prime minister and parliament speaker in a single, open vote, and against the coalition's failure to offer the opposition sufficient positions on legislative committees. BLOCKADE LIFTED But the Party of Regions agreed to lift its parliamentary blockade on July 6, after reportedly reaching an agreement with the Orange Revolution allies. According to this agreement, the election of parliamentary leadership had to be conducted in a secret ballot, and the opposition -- that is, the Party of Regions and the Communist Party -- were offered leadership positions on 50 percent of parliamentary committees. New parliament speaker Oleksandr Moroz (Ukrinform) When everybody thought that the Verkhovna Rada would proceed with approving Poroshenko as speaker, Moroz was suddenly proposed as a candidate for this post. Poroshenko withdrew his candidacy, calling Moroz's move a betrayal of the coalition deal reached on June 22. Moroz was approved as parliament speaker with 238 votes exclusively from his party, the Party of Regions, and the Communist Party. "There is a new coalition, let them work, while we will be in opposition," Our Ukraine leader Roman Bezsmertnyy commented on what happened in the Verkhovna Rada on July 6. Yuliya Tymoshenko did not comment directly on the election of Moroz, adding only that she does not understand what is going on. WEST-EAST DIVIDE Meanwhile, Moroz explained his election as parliament speaker by his intention to heal the west-east division in Ukrainian society deepened by the 2004 Orange Revolution and the 2006 parliamentary elections. "We must reduce this tension, which has been artificially created, we must end the split we now see in Ukraine. I'm sure we can overcome this problem. I'm even more sure that we can bring together those who see themselves as the victors and those who see themselves as the vanquished," Moroz said. How Moroz is going to achieve this goal is not immediately clear. The Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc, with its political-support base in western Ukraine, has repeatedly and firmly declared that it will not enter any governing coalition with the Party of Regions, which is entrenched in eastern and southern Ukraine. Most likely, Moroz is expecting that a new "grand" coalition would include Our Ukraine along with the Party of Regions and the Socialist Party. Only such an alliance could give some credibility to Moroz's claim about healing Ukraine's west-east rift. Could Our Ukraine enter a ruling coalition with its fiercest political opponent, the Party of Regions? Such an option was suggested by Our Ukraine itself in mid-June, when the pro-presidential bloc turned to Yanukovych's party to discuss the formation of a new government. There is reportedly a significant group of politicians in Our Ukraine, including caretaker Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov, who prefer running a government with the Party of Regions rather than the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc. NEW COALITION? What other options are available for Ukraine? A ruling coalition could be created by the Party of Regions, the Socialist Party, and the Communist Party. The three parties jointly control 240 votes in the 450-seat legislature. But such a coalition would hardly contribute anything substantial to healing the Ukrainian political split. If Ukrainian lawmakers fail to approve a new prime minister and cabinet by July 25, President Viktor Yushchenko will have the right to disband the Verkhovna Rada and call for new elections. But last week, Yushchenko ruled out such a possibility. "There will be no repeat elections. It is a too expensive pleasure for the country and an inadequate price for the ambitions of some politicians," he said in a radio address on July 1. The Verkhovna Rada on July 7 postponed its session until next week, apparently not knowing how to resolve its coalition-building conundrum. It seems that the Ukrainian political elite is now waiting for a word from President Yushchenko. It was he who reportedly advised Our Ukraine in June against forging a coalition with the Party of Regions. Perhaps this time, in order to avoid repeat elections, he will urge Our Ukraine to take this step. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: Jan Maksymiuk is a regional analyst with RFE/RL Online, which he joined in 1998. He edits "RFE/RL Belarus and Ukraine Report" and writes on political and socioeconomic developments in Belarus and Ukraine. He contributes articles to U.S. and European professional journals as well as essays and literary translations to Belarusian literary periodicals. He was born in Poland and studied at Warsaw University where he received a master's degree in physics. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2006/7/9c06c9a8-d101-410f-97b6-b82dd1537cf8.html ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 9. UKRAINE'S TYMOSHENKO BRANDS PARLIAMENT ILLEGITIMATE RIA Novosti, Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 7, 2006 KIEV - Yulia Tymoshenko, Ukraine's former prime minister, said Friday the "orange" coalition majority in parliament had ceased to exist and declared the Supreme Rada illegitimate. "Until a [new] coalition is formed, all parliamentary activities will be illegitimate," Tymoshenko said. The coalition formed June 22 by Tymoshenko's eponymous bloc, pro-presidential Our Ukraine grouping, and the Socialist Party in effect collapsed, when Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz was elected Supreme Rada speaker late Thursday. He occupied the post in 1994-1998. Tymoshenko's bloc and Our Ukraine members did not participate in the vote, accusing the Socialists of breaching an agreement with the two other Western-leading factions that had a provision to elect a candidate from Our Ukraine bloc as a speaker. The Rada only resumed work Thursday after the opposition Party of Regions ended a nine-day blockade of the rostrum in protest against the allocation of portfolios by the coalition and reached a compromise with it. The Party of Regions, which won the largest share of the March 26 parliamentary vote, said Moroz's election as parliamentary speaker had drastically changed the balance of political forces in the Rada. Now, the Party of Regions (186 deputies), the Communist Party (21 deputies), and the Socialist Party (33 deputies) can form a new coalition majority, although the Socialists have rejected this possibility so far. "Now the president has to decide on a parliamentary coalition and use his right to disband parliament if he thinks it [the coalition] does not exist," Tymoshenko said. The Rada is to form the government by July 22. After this deadline the president is entitled to dissolve legislature and call new elections, though President Viktor Yushchenko has already warned that holding new elections could be too costly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINK: http://en.rian.ru/world/20060707/51029226.html ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index ] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 10. UKRAINE PRO-RUSSIAN OPPOSITION JOINS FORCES, NAMES VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH AS CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER Natasha Lisova, Associated Press, Kiev, Ukraine, Saturday, Jul 08, 2006 KIEV - Ukraine's main pro-Russian opposition force has formed a coalition with two other parties in parliament and proposed its leader as prime minister, a stunning reversal of fortunes that sets the stage for further political conflict in the ex-Soviet republic. Friday's sudden realignment means that Viktor Yanukovych could end up serving as prime minister to President Viktor Yushchenko, the rival who beat him out in the bitter 2004 election that sparked massive protests dubbed the Orange Revolution. The coalition links Yanukovych's Party of Regions with the Socialist and Communist parties. Coalition leaders said they hold 233 seats in the 450-member parliament - a majority and enough to push through their choice of Yanukovych as prime minister. After the signing, Yanukovych said the parties had created a "crisis coalition." "We have a very difficult situation in the state. We need to create order," he said. Yushchenko, looking downcast in a televised interview, warned against a return to the situation before the Orange Revolution, when Yanukovych was prime minister under a president whose decade in power was marred by government corruption and electoral machinations. "The democratic achievements we struggled for and got two years ago are in doubt now," Yushchenko said in a brief televised interview. He called on the all political forces in parliament to find compromise and warned that if they do not, he will consider dissolving the legislature. Yushchenko warned earlier in the day that he could dissolve parliament - a move that would lead to new elections - if a government is not formed within a constitutionally mandated period that ends July 20. Ukraine has been without a new government since March parliamentary elections in which the Party of Regions won the most seats in parliament, but fell short of a majority, prompting Yushchenko to cast around for allies after his party's disappointing third-place showing. Yushchenko's party formed a coalition late last month with the Socialists and the party of his estranged Orange Revolution ally Yulia Tymoshenko - its choice for prime minister - but it unraveled after a group of Socialists refused to support its candidate for parliament speaker Thursday. Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz was elected speaker instead, hours after the Party of Regions ended a 10-day parliament blockade that paralyzed the legislature and prevented the formation of a new Orange coalition government. Yanukovych was Yushchenko's Kremlin-backed opponent in the 2004 presidential election. Yanukovych won the election, but it was declared invalid amid huge street protests centered at a Kiev tent camp and Yushchenko was elected in a court-ordered repeat vote. Parliament has to confirm a new government. If Yanukovych becomes prime minister, the stage would be set for persistent confrontation between pro-Russian coalition forces and Yushchenko's camp, further hampering efforts to reverse a slowdown in economic growth and set policy in a nation that has been independent only 15 years. A government dominated by the Orange Revolution allies, however, would likely have left millions of Ukrainians feeling disenfranchised. The political standoff in the nation of 47 million has highlighted divisions between Yanukovych's strongholds in the mainly Russian-speaking east and south and the Ukrainian-speaking west, and has underlined the dilemma between close ties with Russia and integration with the West. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 11. UKRAINE'S COALITION UNRAVELS IN A NEW SETBACK By Steven Lee Myers in Moscow, The New York Times New York, New York, Saturday, July 8, 2006 MOSCOW, July 7 - President Viktor A. Yushchenko of Ukraine, a Western-leaning reformist who led a wave of popular protests to office, only to stumble badly when tested in parliamentary elections, suffered a new political defeat on Friday when his fragile coalition collapsed in acrimony two weeks after it was formed. His opponents, joined by a former ally of the president, announced a new coalition and pledged to nominate as prime minister the man Mr. Yushchenko ultimately defeated after those protests overturned a rigged presidential election in 2004. Friday's events, three and a half months after his party's humiliating showing in parliamentary voting in March, cast new doubts on Mr. Yushchenko's presidency, undermining his efforts to steer Ukraine on a course more closely entwined with Europe. He faces the possibility of an opposition government and prime minister opposed to his policy of joining the European Union, NATO and the World Trade Organization. "This is certainly going to be a blow to the president's priority objectives," said Roman M. Zvarich, one of Mr. Yushchenko's supporters, who previously served as justice minister. Viktor F. Yanukovich, Mr. Yushchenko's presidential rival and leader of the Party of Regions, seized on the disarray among the pro-presidential parties. Only two weeks ago, the parties negotiated a fragile compromise to create a government that would, largely, support Mr. Yushchenko's policies. Mr. Yanukovich, who has pledged closer economic, political and social ties with Russia, announced what he called an "anti-crisis coalition" uniting the Communists and the Socialist Party, which until this week had allied itself with what became known in 2004 as the Orange Revolution. The crisis only seemed to worsen, though. Mr. Yushchenko, whose indecisiveness showed in weeks of tumultuous negotiations over forming a coalition after March's election, raised the specter of disbanding Parliament even before it effectively convened. By law, he could call new elections if Parliament cannot form a government within 60 days of the dismissal of the old one, a deadline now set for July 25. In a statement, Mr. Yushchenko said he did not want "the country to walk in some wrong direction for five years." "No matter what coalition we speak about," he said in a statement published on his official Web site, "I would ask all the parties not to make hasty decisions." Mr. Yanukovich's party made haste nonetheless, nominating him as prime minister, a position that under constitutional changes approved in 2004 has enhanced powers over economic and domestic policy. The Party of Regions won the largest bloc of seats in the election, 186, but fell short of a majority in the 450-seat parliament. With the Communists and Socialists, the party now claims to have 240 votes, enough to form a majority and elect Mr. Yanukovich prime minister, a post he held under the previous president, Leonid D. Kuchma. Mr. Yushchenko's coalition collapsed after two weeks of jockeying. For several days after the formation of a pro-presidential coalition, Mr. Yanukovich's supporters blocked Parliament from meeting by, literally, blocking the rostrum. They relented Thursday after reaching an agreement to hold an open vote for parliamentary speaker, a potentially influential position among parties allied with Mr. Yushchenko. Mr. Yushchenko's party, Our Ukraine, nominated Petro O. Poroshenko, a chocolate manufacturer and television magnate who served as national security adviser until he resigned last September in the face of accusations of corruption. He was nominated as part of a deal that would have returned Yulia V. Tymoshenko, Mr. Yushchenko's partner-turned-rival, to the position of prime minister. Mr. Poroshenko's candidacy was seen by Our Ukraine as a way of balancing the power of Ms. Tymoshenko, who served as prime minister for eight months last year before the president dismissed her. But facing opposition not only from the Party of Regions but also from some of Mr. Yushchenko's supporters, Mr. Poroshenko withdrew his candidacy on Thursday. The Socialists joined with the opposition to elect their party leader, Oleksandr O. Moroz, who once vowed never to ally himself with Mr. Yanukovich. Mr. Moroz, a pragmatist who previously served as speaker, had strongly supported Mr. Yushchenko in the Orange Revolution. Mr. Moroz's defection provoked outrage. Mr. Zvarich accused him of political opportunism for personal ambitions. "Betrayal comes to mind," he said in a telephone interview. In remarks earlier on Friday, cited by news agencies, Mr. Moroz said it was too early to discuss a coalition. He said all the parties' programs were "practically the same," suggesting he favored a broad coalition. He did not comment publicly on the announcement that his party had joined Mr. Yanukovich's. Several members of the Socialist Party were reported to have broken with Mr. Moroz in protest. His press secretary said he was not available to comment Friday night. Mr. Zvarich said the president's supporters would challenge the formation of an opposition coalition in court, citing violations of parliamentary rules. Mychailo Wynnyckyj, a professor of sociology at the University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy, said Ukraine faced a political division like France's, where a centrist president shared power with a leftist Parliament. But the situation was more volatile, he said. "In France, they call it cohabitation," he said in a telephone interview. And in Ukraine? "Chaos." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/08/world/europe/08ukraine.html?_r=1&oref=slogin ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== If you are receiving more than one copy of the AUR please contact us. ======================================================== 12. THE DEATH OF A COALITION ON A 'MOROSE' EVENING Ukrayinska Pravda Online, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 It seems that the Orange Coalition cease to exist without even a single common vote. On the day when Verhovna Rada was unblocked and the Coalition could easily elect its speaker, a thunderstorm erupted. This time again, because of the Socialists. It had become evident that the political life of the country is unlikely to calm down in the near future: not after Socialist Yosyp Vinsky retired from the position of a first secretary of the political council of the Socialist Party (SPU) because of the will of the majority of the SPU faction to form a coalition with the Party of Regions. His public statement was eloquent: "I, Yosyp Vikentiyovych Vinsky, retire from the position of a first secretary of the political council of SPU in connection to the fact that the head of SPU Moroz has indeed supported a policy of disintegration of the Coalition of Democratic Forces." Furthermore, Vinsky called on a press conference and announced that the Coalition had in fact ceased to be because several from among the Socialists, including Moroz, Boky, Semeniuk, Nikolayenko, Mendus, Baranivsky, and Rudkovsky, are prepared to form a coalition with the Regions. The statement of Vinksy was confirmed at 4 p.m., when Rada started the discussion of a procedure to elect a speaker. 'Regional' MP Peklushenko proposed that the Rada would work on Thursday until deciding upon the issue of electing a speaker. BYuT and Our Ukraine factions actively protested, noting inconsistencies of this move with the Parliament's standing order. However, the acting speaker Socialist Ivan Boky put that proposal for a vote. Two hundred and thirty three MPs voted in favor of the action; a majority. Yet, the majority was absolutely not of the orange color. The move was upheld by votes of the Party of Regions, SPU (28), and the Communist Party of Ukraine (CPU.) Right after that, the MPs did not support a proposal of BYuT regarding establishing a procedure for a packet voting for a speaker and his or her deputies. For that were 204 MPs, of Our Ukraine, BYuT, and one Socialist. (No doubt, the later was Yosyp Vinsky.) Then, the nomination procedure started. Turchynov of BYuT politely announced that his faction stays with the Coalition accord and gives the right to nominate a speaker to Our Ukraine. The later, represented by Vyacheslav Koval, in their turn, offered to nominate (Communist) Petro Symonenko to this position. The Regionals, as they promised in the afternoon, proposed for a speaker the Russian speaking, ineloquent Mykola Azarov. The Communists remained silent. When it was SPU's turn, Ivan Boky proposed Oleksander Moroz for a speaker. The proposal was received with a genuine surprise on the right side of the Rada hall, where Our Ukraine MPs were seated. Volodymyr Yavorivsky of BYuT, in frustration, proposed Ivan Boky himself for a speaker, hinting about a betrayal of the Coalition accord. Boky did not get the hint and declined the offer. Instead, he offered the candidates to present themselves. The first one was Petro Poroshenko. He looked the way he looked last during the days of the Orange Revolution. He reminded that, on June 22, 2006, the Coalition was created with 239 MPs signing the Coalition accord. "As of 4.46 p.m., no signature from the accord was called off. The accord envisages concrete political, but not private or commercial, liabilities of each deputy: to vote, to obey the standing order, to bear a political liability for obeying the liabilities taken," Poroshenko emphasized. He stressed that it was then that this accord was undergoing the first test. "Representatives of the Coalition factions state that, currently, the procedure for voting and for debating candidacies is conducted with violations of the standing order. I would like to add that it is being conducted in violation of the Coalition accord as well," Poroshenko emphasized and he reminded that two candidacies were proposed from the Coalition. "I am not going to pronounce the text of my statement. I am sure that I will have an opportunity to do so later. I call from this tribune upon you, Mr. Moroz: follow my example and take off your candidacy," Poroshenko said. "Let us give Mykola Yanovych Azarov a chance to take such test and see how many votes he gets. After this, let us have a vote in the format of the Coalition," Poroshenko said. MPs from Our Ukraine applauded his statement. The face of Moroz was calm. The third party, represented by Yuliya Tymoshenko, was seated with her eyes down. It seemed that her mind is searching for the most favorable combination of actions; but it fails to find one. In order to hear a reply of Moroz to Poroshenko's statement, it was necessary to wait for 20 minutes, while Mykola Yanovych Azarov, under a heavy guard of party fellows and through whistling of the radical ones from BYuT and Our Ukraine factions, stated his plans about the country in a pure non-official, Russian language. Then, a chance for Moroz came. He spoke calmly and looked assured, as a person with moral strength on his side, and not as a person because of whom the Coalition was falling apart. He reminded that electing a head of Verhovna Rada is a "matter of the Parliament, and electing a Premier is a matter of the Coalition." "Therefore, let us not mix the two," he said. I have proofs --, and I am not going to use them here --, that the presence on the upper positions in Ukraine such charismatic figures as Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko and Yuliya Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko would eventually lead to creating an explosive mix; and this could mean a disintegration of the Coalition, with all forthcoming consequences," noted Moroz. Additionally, Moroz hinted that Tymoshenko's and Poroshenko's antagonism would eventually lead to forming a different format of a coalition; the text of which is reportedly lying in the shelf of SPU's leader, Moroz. After Moroz, Yosyp Vinsky spoke and accused Moroz of betrayal: "You betrayed the party, millions of voters who voted for you. How are you going to look in their eyes? Aren't you ashamed that the Party of Regions is applauding you?" he asked. Moroz replied: "I can report to people. My conscience is clean before voters; I am confident at what I am betting on. I know that you will vote for me, so that your vote does not go to the Regions. Moreover, he expressed a doubt about chances for himself to be elected a speaker. He noted: "My faction will vote for me; and this means that they won't vote anyone else." Moroz elaborated that the candidacy of Azarov would not be upheld. "Mykola Yanovych Azarov would not pass for just the reason of him not being well with understanding Ukrainian," he said. Answering to a note from BYuT's Andriy Shkil, who said that the situation shows that Ukraine is situated in Eurasia rather than in Europe, Moroz said: "Today, we are living not in Asia and not in Europe: it is a shame to name a place where we are living." Furthermore, BYuT's Oleh Bilous took the podium and asked his leader a sacramental question: "Is SPU going to vote for Tymoshenko as a prime minister?" The answer of Moroz was diplomatically blissful: "I guarantee 32 and ½ of voted for her candidacy, if there will be the Coalition. However, there may be another format." The last phrase seemed to be close to the truth. During Moroz' speech, Viktor Yanukovich just talked outside the Parliament's hall about a possibility of forming a coalition with the Party of Regions and SPU. He also expressed assurance that the head of Verhovna Rada will be elected on Thursday. His last phrase may indicate a full agreement between the Party of Regions and the Socialists; and that the elected speaker would be not Mykola Azarov. Otherwise, there would be no sense for Moroz as a politician to make such a move. On the other hand, for the Party of Regions, which recently proposed own candidacy, is in an uneasy position to support anyone else. Then, it is probable that the voting would be fruitless, confirming a tradition of not electing a speaker on the first try. Taras Chornovil expressed on the 5th Channel his assurance in the fruitfulness of the vote. However, he added that there are no existing final agreements. Therefore, the next hour in Verhovna Rada will bring heated debates not seen in the last three months. It is unknown whether they will bring any result. One thing is clear: that because of the action of Moroz, the Regionals managed to make a significant blow at the Orange Coalition and to rejuvenate a coalition debate, with their participation. The Regionals anticipate different formats for the new coalition, ranging from "PR + SPU + CPU + a fraction of BYuT" to "PR + SPU + Our Ukraine." Finally, the chances of Yuliya Tymoshenko becoming prime minister are very distant. Perhaps, that is why she did not utter a word during the whole debate. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Translated by Andriy Ignatov. The English translation of this article was provided by the New Project for Democracy. Find more at http://www.newproject.org ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ LINK: http://www.pravda.com.ua/en/news/2006/7/7/5690.htm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== Send in a letter-to-the-editor today. Let us hear from you. ======================================================== 13. OLEKSANDR MOROZ: FROM COMMUNIST TRACTOR DRIVER TO YANUKOVYCH'S COMPANION New Ukrainian speaker "unrivalled" master of political intrigue By Vita Andreychenko, Ukrayinska Pravda website, in Ukrainian Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, 7 Jul 06 BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7, 2006 Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz's election as parliament speaker with the support of the opposition Party of Regions and Communist Party on 6 July demonstrates that he is "unrivalled" in political intrigue, Vita Andreychenko writes in a profile of his career. She writes that in order to achieve his ambition to become speaker, Moroz was ready to renege on the Socialists' agreement to form an Orange coalition with the pro-presidential Our Ukraine bloc and Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc. The following is the text of the profile titled "Oleksandr Moroz: from Communist tractor driver to [Party of Regions leader Viktor] Yanukovych's companion" by Vita Andreychenko published by Ukrainian Ukrayinska Pravda website on 7 July; subheadings are as published: Late on Thursday [6 July] - the night of Ivan Kupala [pagan festival celebrated in Ukraine] - Oleksandr Moroz became the parliament speaker for the second time. He was supported by 186 votes from the Party of regions, 24 Socialists, 21 Communists and two MPs from Our Ukraine (Oleksandr Volkov and Volodymyr Zaplatynskyy). Moroz has achieved what he longed for - at the cost of the Orange coalition's life. He showed once again that when it comes to political intrigue, he is unrivalled. COMMUNIST TRACTOR DRIVER San Sanych [familiar form of Oleksandr Oleksandrovych (Moroz)] is an extraordinary man by any standard. Even his birthday is unusual - 29 February. The son of a carpenter and a collective farm worker, he graduated from the agricultural academy and began to work with tractors. Then he embarked on a Communist Party career. In 1983, Moroz graduated from the Central Committee's high school and worked for a district branch of the Silhosptekhnika [agricultural machines] state company. From 1983 to 1989, he was the secretary of the Kiev Region trade union council and the first secretary of a Communist Party district committee. In 1989, he was promoted to head the agricultural department of the Communist Party regional committee. Moroz was elected to parliament for the first time in 1990. There are very few old-timers remaining in the new parliament. Apart from Moroz, they are Rayisa Bohatyryova [Party of Regions] and Liliya Hryhorovych [Our Ukraine]. Moroz first joined the Agrarians group and led the Communist majority (the so-called Group 239). When the Communist Party was banned, Moroz set up the Socialist Party which he has led for 14 years. In 1994, Moroz got lucky. He was elected the speaker of the Supreme Council [parliament]. That was when Moroz's confrontation with then President Leonid Kuchma began. Kuchma's main complaint against Moroz was his reluctance to allow land sales, which Kuchma described as "the product of an utopian outlook". In his book "Our own path", Kuchma explained the difference between their outlooks, noting that Moroz "was and still is far from reality and from land". "He has never been in the position of the person where the buck stops. He has never had to make decisions that directly influence the state of affairs, people's fate and relations in society," Kuchma wrote. KUCHMA'S ENEMY Moroz replied that Kuchma's book is not objective: "The book is not objective... [ellipsis as published] and it attempts to justify the abnormal situation in which Ukraine has found itself after the years of Kuchma's rule." In June 1994, Moroz first ran for president. He got 13.04 per cent of votes in the first round (third place among seven contenders). This was to become Moroz's customary place in the next two elections. Moroz was instrumental in adopting the Constitution of Ukraine on 28 June 1996. Since then, the editing of the constitution has become a fixed idea for Moroz. Kuchma recalled in his book that Moroz ordered "a government phone line to be surreptitiously cut off" to prevent pro-government MPs consulting with the presidential administration in "the constitution night" of 1996. However, Moroz's interpretation was quite different. "The most annoying mistake was to agree that in addition to the Supreme Council, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Justice Ministry, the Supreme Court and so on should be involved in drafting the constitution. Among other things, I thought that president Kuchma was sincere." In 1998, Moroz made it into parliament on the list of the Socialist Party-Peasant Party bloc and led the Left Centre faction. But he failed to be elected speaker after a campaign which lasted for almost a month. MAIN OPPOSITION FIGURE In 1998 [as published, the presidential election was in 1999], Moroz again ran for president. To challenge Kuchma, he joined forces with [Peasant Party head] Oleksandr Tkachenko, [former Prime Minister Yevhen Marchuk] and [Cherkasy city mayor] Volodymyr Oliynyk in the so-called Kaniv four [the town where their coalition accord was signed]. In the autumn, the four decided to nominate Marchuk as the single presidential candidate, but Moroz refused to step down. "I am not power-hungry, but I am experienced enough in big politics to say: either you vote for me and remove the current regime or vote for anyone else and keep Kuchma in office," Moroz said in his address to the nation on 14 September 1999. The regime also remembered Moroz and arranged acts of provocation against him, like the attempt on [Progressive Socialist leader Nataliya] Vitrenko's life [grenade attack blamed on Moroz's activists] or accusing his of siding with Pavlo Lazarenko [former prime minister who is standing trial in the USA]. In the end, Moroz got 11.29 per cent (third place again, this time among 13 contenders). Kuchma and [Communist leader Petro] Symonenko made it into the runoff. The winner is known. Moroz was very upset. He even told compatriots that they "followed Kuchma like rams heading for slaughter". Moroz accused Kuchma of rigging the election and became his main opponent. On the morning of 28 November 2000, Moroz came to the parliamentary rostrum and the whole country learnt that Kuchma had been involved in the disappearance of [opposition journalist] Heorhiy Gongadze. A few hours later in a room packed with journalists, Moroz played a tape on which Kuchma's indistinct voice could be heard pronouncing, amidst foul language, the words "Gongadze", "Chechens", "gone crazy" and "all this shit". Next, Moroz's Socialist Party organized the "Ukraine without Kuchma" protests. The first tents on Maydan Nezalezhnosti [Kiev's central square], clashes with the police, protests rallies - all these make Kuchma an outcast in the civilized world. CHAMPION OF POLITICAL REFORM On the wave of political protests, Moroz and his Socialist Party make it in parliament in 2002. He outperformed his opponents from the United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine, who had both power and money. The Socialists, the Yuliya Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine form the opposition. They organized the Arise Ukraine! Campaign and blocked the parliamentary rostrum. However, the trio begin to break up in 2003, when Moroz started to work on political reform together with Viktor Medvedchuk [Kuchma's administration head]. Moroz broke the unity of the opposition in 2004 again, when the issue of the single presidential candidate was discussed. He told a party congress that he was compelled to run "not because of egoistic ambition, hunger for power or pursuit of personal gain" but because he was preoccupied "with the protection of the rights of Ukrainian citizens and wants to see Ukraine strong, democratic and sovereign". Moroz reminded Yushchenko's supporters of all of their old sins: giving more power to Kuchma when he was prime minister [1992-93], supporting his decrees, voting for the constitution in 1996, supporting Kuchma's referendum in 2000 and the parliamentary coup in the same year, failing to join protests against the regime, attempting to forge a coalition with [pro-Kuchma bloc] For a United Ukraine and so on. In addition, Moroz said that the inner circle is Yushchenko's weak point, and if he won the "clans" would come to power. During the presidential campaign, Moroz avoided comments on whether or not he would support Yushchenko in the second round and said that had every reason to hope he would make it into the second round. In the first round, Moroz got his usual third place with 5.81 per cent of the vote. On 6 November, Moroz finally pledged support for Yushchenko, but not for free. Before that happened, the two parties spent half a day drafting an agreement in which Our Ukraine undertook to back political reform, support a ban on agricultural land sales and review the privatization of strategic facilities. BARGAINING ABILITY In spite of having contributed the least to Yushchenko's victory, the Socialist Party got a big share of portfolios in Tymoshenko's cabinet - three ministerial plus the head of the State Property Fund. When the corruption scandal broke out in September [2005], Moroz's Socialist Party took Yushchenko's side, supported the cabinet of Yekhanurov and kept its portfolios - and the Socialist Party kept on reminding Yushchenko of that. The party embarked on the new election campaign with its ranks reinforced with many "red directors" [i.e. top managers of east Ukrainian industrial plants] and industrial managers of lower rank. The Socialists failed to score as much as in 2002 - only 5.6 per cent. Coalition talks began. Moroz took the side of Yuliya Tymoshenko and backed her bid to become the prime minister. He claimed the post of speaker, which stalled the Orange coalition talks. Our Ukraine began to hint at Moroz's clandestine agreements with the Party of Regions. MP Mykola Rudkovskyy was named among the advocates of this union. Finally, the [Orange] coalition was put together. Its formation was announced on 22 June. The distribution of posts was meant to be the following: Tymoshenko for prime minister; [Our Ukraine's] Petro Poroshenko for speaker; and [Socialist MP] Yosyf Vinskyy for deputy prime minister. In breach of the coalition agreement, the Socialists repeatedly spoke against Poroshenko. It seemed Moroz was again acting in the interests of Tymoshenko, who did not want to work together with the "Our Ukrainian" [Poroshenko], but quite a different scenario played out on 6 July. Moroz became the speaker thanks to the support of the Party of Regions. FAITHFUL HUSBAND, POET AND CHESS PLAYER Moroz married his wife Valentyna Andriyivna on 18 July 1965. After the birth of their youngest daughter Ruslana, Moroz's wife lost the ability to walk. So Moroz assumed responsibility for the children. Both daughters trained as teachers, though the younger subsequently decided to become a hairdresser and opened her own salon - Kika-styl. Moroz has five grandchildren. The three youngest take dancing lessons. Their abilities were on display at Moroz's birthday in 2004. Despite his 60 years, Moroz goes in for sports - swimming, tennis and chess. Not only does is Moroz a skilled political tactician, he is also the author of lyrical poetry. As he put it himself, he is not choosy when it comes to food. At least, this is what he said when he recommended that Yushchenko, after his poisoning [during the 2004 presidential election campaign], should stick to "tried and tested foods". "I advise Yushchenko and others to consume tried and tested foods, so they don't have to talk about poisoning two weeks after something which is quite widespread in society [presumably, consumption of poor quality food and drink]," Moroz told journalists in Vinnytsya, adding that he preferred simple foods. "I eat potatoes and pork lard, and they're not a threat to life," Moroz says. It should be added that his culinary advice also includes daily consumption of olives. "Whoever eats seven olives a day will live to be a hundred," Moroz said during one of his campaign speeches in 2004. BALANCED, NON-CONFRONTATIONAL CHARACTER Over the years, Moroz has developed his image as an honest and decent politician, the conscience of parliament - the image of a fearless fighter for truth. It is hard to recall an occasion when Moroz shouted at anyone or even raised his voice. In his dealings with political opponents, he is moderation itself. All the same, you can never tell what he is thinking. He can wait and endure a long time before achieving his goal. "His contemporaries view Moroz as a very complex construction. The Socialist leader has never suffered from an inferiority complex - rather the opposite. For a long time, he was convinced that he was exceptional and had a special mission," Serhiy Rakhmanin wrote in Zerkalo Nedeli [analytical weekly]. "Oleksandr Oleksandrovych combines natural intellect with the barbed wit of a Jesuit; adherence to principle with the ability to go back on a promise given to an enemy; wisdom with categorical judgments; egotism with a sense of universal obligation; centre-left flexibility with Soviet-party conservatism," Rakhmanin continued. "Oleksandr Moroz is the history of Ukraine. The hero of a compressed time period. If he never does anything else in Ukrainian politics, then the constitution night and his presentation of the Melnychenko tapes will suffice to guarantee his special role in the country's history..." But after his election as speaker on 6 July, his historical role may be viewed significantly differently. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 14. TYMOSHENKO DECLARES COLLAPSE OF BYT, OUR UKRAINE BLOC AND SOCIALIST PARTY COALITION Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - Eponymous bloc leader Yulia Tymoshenko has announced the collapse of the coalition of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, Our Ukraine Bloc and Socialist Party. "Taking into account yesterday's [July 6] late events, our political force declares that the coalition in the parliament was not practically set up, because it was not born, was not realized, and it carried out none of its constitutional rights," Tymoshenko said. She said that following 30 days since the parliament started its work, there exists no coalition in the parliament yet. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, late on July 6, the Verkhovna Rada elected leader of the Socialist Party Oleksandr Moroz as parliamentary speaker. His candidature was supported by 238 MPs when 226 votes were needed. On July 22, Tymoshenko announced about the creation of a coalition of the Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko, Our Ukraine Bloc and Socialist Party. The coalition approved the candidature of Tymoshenko to the post of Premier and candidature of Petro Poroshenko (the Our Ukraine Bloc) to the parliament chairman post. On July 6, the Socialist Party refused to back the candidature of Poroshenko to the post of Rada chairman and nominated leader of the Socialist Party Oleksandr Moroz to this position, who was later elected as speaker. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 15. UKRAINIAN EX-PM TYMOSHENKO RULES OUT COALITION WITH PARTY OF REGIONS ICTV television, Kiev, in Ukrainian 1835 gmt 7 Jul 06 BBC Monitoring Service, United Kingdom, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - Yuliya Tymoshenko, the leader of the second largest faction in the Ukrainian parliament, who lost her chance of becoming prime minister with the demise of the Orange coalition today, has condemned the new parliamentary majority as an alliance of leftists and "mobsters", which won't last long. In a brief live appearance on the Ukrainian ICTV television's "Freedom of Speech" talk show on 7 July, Tymoshenko said: "Unfortunately, a different coalition has now been created. But it won't last long - for a number of reasons. First, to unite incompatible things - Communism and doubled-dyed clans - into one team. [changes tack] A coalition of Communists, Socialists and mobsters [Russian: bratki] won't last long because this country will sense the insincerity and the total absence of any strategic thing. I know for sure that our team won't allow Ukraine to be raped so easily." She ruled out her faction's participation in a broad coalition with the Party of Regions. She said her bloc would favour a repeat election or would go into the opposition. "A broad coalition is a broad grave for democracy and broad grave for Ukraine's sovereignty, and therefore, our political force won't enter into any broad coalitions. We will be either in the opposition or, if the law and the constitution allow this, we will undoubtedly favour an early election. True, it is hard. Everyone is tired. I know that when people watch this coalition race, they simply spit at their televisions or switch them off or change channels. They are amazed to see what scum all these politicians are," Tymoshenko said. "I don't want to be in that camp, and therefore, we are either in the opposition - an honest opposition which does not wag its tail from left to right - or indeed we will fight in a new election so that people could understand that a new election means a new election with cleansing, now knowing the true face of politicians." -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 16. YUSHCHENKO AWAITING ANSWER FROM BYT, SPU, OUR UKRAINE AS TO WHETHER THEIR COALITION STILL EXISTS Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - President Viktor Yuschenko is awaiting an answer from the Verkhovna Rada as to whether a parliamentary coalition still exists between the Our Ukraine bloc, the Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc and the Socialist Party. Yuschenko made a statement to this effect while speaking to a news briefing. The President himself believes that the coalition agreement was de facto invalidated by the yesterday's vote on the Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz's election as the Verkhovna Rada Speaker, which automatically means that the coalition has collapsed. "Unfortunately, the yesterday's developments, which more concerned moral and ethical standards, have brought the coalition into collapse," said Yuschenko. Yuschenko quoted Oleksandr Moroz as saying during a meeting with him that the Socialist Party's political council was going to consider the party's withdrawal from the coalition. The President said that he as before advocates a coalition as it was before it collapsed. "I was and still remain among supporters of the coalition of democratic forces which was otherwise known as am 'orange' coalition," Yuschenko said. In his opinion, a coalition like that would have had bright prospects, as the coalition was founded on a thoroughly elaborated coalition agreement. Negotiations on a new coalition, if this is the case, would have an easier going, the President believes. According to Yuschenko, his secretariat is going to take part in the negotiations as a constructive partner. The President said that he well realizes that the ongoing parliamentary crisis will be impossible to end without his personal involvement. The President, during political consultations with Verkhovna Rada faction leaders, is going to recommend them to reach a compromise and understanding. Ukrainian News was told by a source from Yuschenko's secretariat that the President had meetings with leaders of the factions making up the Our Ukraine bloc, as well as with the Party of Regions' leader Viktor Yanukovych, and had a few telephone conversations with the BYT leader, Yulia Tymoshenko. Yuschenko said that his meeting with Yanukovych lasted about 1.5 hours. The Party of Regions had resolved to form a coalition with the Socialists and the Communists. Previously, the Party of Regions announced its plans to form a broader coalition involving the Our Ukraine bloc. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's leader Yulia Tymoshenko announced in the parliament on June 22 that the Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc, the Our Ukraine bloc, and the Socialist Party had formed a parliamentary coalition, and announced the coalition's collapse on July 6. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 17. SOCIALIST PARTY'S POLITICAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL INSTRUCTS PARTY'S VERKHOVNA RADA FACTION TO DRAW UP DOCUMENT FORMALIZING COALITION'S BREAK-UP Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - The Socialist Party's political executive council has instructed the party's Verkhovna Rada faction to draw up a document formalizing the break-up of the parliamentary coalition. The Socialist Party's political executive council has issued a resolution to this effect, the text of which Ukrainian News has obtained. The political executive council has also recommended the party faction and its leader Oleksandr Moroz to take part in the formation of a broader coalition with the participation of various factions. The resolution would not specify which factions the party is going to form a coalition with. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Party of Regions is keen to form a broad parliamentary coalition with the participation of the Our Ukraine bloc. The Party of Regions had resolved to form a coalition with the Socialists and the Communists. The Party of Regions had approved the nomination of its leader Viktor Yanukovych for premiership. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's leader Yulia Tymoshenko announced in the parliament on June 22 that the Yulia Tymoshenko's Bloc, the Our Ukraine bloc, and the Socialist Party had formed a parliamentary coalition. The coalition nominated Yulia Tymoshenko for premiership and Petro Poroshenko of Our Ukraine for the Verkhovna Rada Speaker's post. The Socialist Party faction on July 6 refused to support Poroshenko's nomination as Verkhovna Rada Speaker, nominating instead the party leader Oleksandr Moroz for that post. Later on the day Moroz was elected the Verkhovna Rada Speaker. In the wake of Moroz' election as Rada Speaker, Tymoshenko said in a statement that the coalition had broken up. Prior to the formation of a parliamentary coalition between the Yulia Tymoshenko's bloc, Our Ukraine and the Socialist Party, Our Ukraine was negotiating a coalition with the Party of Regions. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== You are welcome to send us names for the AUR distribution list. ======================================================== 18. PARTY OF REGIONS, SOCIALIST PARTY, COMMUNIST PARTY AGREE TO FORM COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENT Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - The factions of Party Of Regions, Socialist Party and Communist Party have agreed to create a coalition in Verkhovna Rada. Leaders of the coalition member-parties told this to journalists. According to leader of the Party Of Regions, Viktor Yanukovych, on Friday evening a meeting of deputies of the three factions took lace in Verkhovna Rada, on which a decision was taken to form a coalition. 'We named the coalition as anticrisis,' Yanukovych told. According to hum, order needs to be restored in the country and mechanisms of interaction between the parliament and the government are to be formed. The Socialist Party was represented at the meeting by the newly-elected party leader and first secretary of the party's political council - Vasyl Tsushko. According to him, the party's leader Oleksandr Moroz can not be a member of the coalition, for he has been elected the parliamentary speaker. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, the Party of Regions had resolved to form a coalition with the Socialists and the Communists. On July 7, the Socialist Party's political council has given the green light signal to the party's participation in a broader coalition. The Party's political executive council instructed the party's Verkhovna Rada faction to draw up a document formalizing the break-up of the parliamentary coalition. The President Viktor Yuschenko considers dissolving Verkhovna Rada as possible, if deputies fail to form a coalition and the Cabinet of Ministers within terms stipulated by the Constitution. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 19. PARTY OF REGIONS, THE SOCIALISTS, AND THE COMMUNISTS NOMINATE VIKTOR YANUKOVYCH FOR PRIME MINISTER Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - The parliamentary coalition between the Party of Regions [PR], the Socialists [SPU] and the Communists [CPU] has nominated the Party of Regions' leader Viktor Yanukovych for premiership. This was announced at a news conference by the Communist Party leader, Petro Symonenko. According to Symonenko, nominees for premiership had been considered at a meeting of deputies from the three factions on Friday. "The Party of Regions proposed Yanukovych, and we unanimously supported his nomination," Symonenko said. The factions have already directed Yanukovych to commence work to draw up priority objectives for a new government, he said. Yanukovych, for his part, declared himself prepared to form a new cabinet right next week. According to him, the Verkhovna Rada Speaker Oleksandr Moroz is going to sign a letter to President Viktor Yuschenko on Friday recommending that Yanukovych be appointed the Prime Minister. As Ukrainian News reported before, the Verkhovna Rada factions of the Party of Regions, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party on July 7 reached understanding to form a parliamentary coalition. On July 6, Yulia Tymoshenko, the leader of the eponymous BYT bloc, announced that the coalition between her bloc, the Our Ukraine bloc and the Socialist Party had collapsed. Previously, the coalition of BYT, Our Ukraine and the Socialists nominated Yulia Tymoshenko for premiership and Petro Poroshenko of Our Ukraine for the Verkhovna Rada Speaker's post. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 20. ACTING INTERIOR AFFAIRS MINISTER YURII LUTSENKO BELIEVES POSSIBLE SOCIALIST PARTY VOTE FOR PARTY OF REGIONS' CANDIDATE FOR PRIME MINISTER WOULD BE BETRAYAL Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - Acting Interior Affairs Minister Yurii Lutsenko believes that a Socialist Party vote for a representative of the Party of Regions during election of the prime minister would amount to a betrayal. Lutsenko expressed this belief to journalists before the start of a meeting of the political council of the Socialist Party. According to him, it will be normal for the Socialist Party to back a representative of the democratic forces during the election of the prime minister. He added that he would consider a Socialist Party vote for a member of the 'Donetsk clan' as betrayal. 'I will not work in such a government, I will not be a member of such a party,' Lutsenko said. According to him, the Socialist Party's leader Oleksandr Moroz has the moral and professional right to be the speaker of the parliament. According to him, the issue is only the price that will be paid for Moroz's election as the speaker of the parliament. Lutsenko believes that the Socialist Party is presently undergoing 'a test of golden shares' in the parliament. According to him, the question is whether the Socialist Party can remain an independent political force and not a puppet of the 'Donetsk or Dnipropetrovsk clan.' Lutsenko said that, on the other hand, he could not support Yosyp Vinskyi's allegations of betrayal; because it was Vinskyi himself who did everything to ensure that the Socialist Party did not support Viktor Yuschenko during the presidential elections and did not have its own representatives in the Cabinet of Ministers led by Yulia Tymoshenko. According to Lutsenko, Vinskyi did everything possible after the election to ensure that the Socialist Party became an 'affiliate' and puppet of the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc.. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Vinskyi resigned from the post of first secretary of the Socialist Party's political council on July 6. Vinskyi described the intention of some members of the Socialist Party faction to form a coalition with the Party of the Regions as a betrayal of voters. The Party of the Regions said on July 7 that it wanted to form a broad parliamentary coalition with the participation of the Our Ukraine bloc. The Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's leader Yulia Tymoshenko announced in the parliament on June 22 that the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc, the Our Ukraine bloc, and the Socialist Party had formed a parliamentary coalition. Tymoshenko said on July 6 that this coalition had collapsed. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== Please contact us if you no longer wish to receive the AUR ======================================================== 21. OUR UKRAINE SAYS ITS GOING INTO OPPOSITION IS POSSIBLE Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - The People's Union Our Ukraine Party said it may go into opposition. This was disclosed to Ukrainian News by the press service for Our Ukraine. According to the press service, general committee of the People's Union Our Ukraine Party held a meeting on Friday night, at which opinions prevailed that the party should go into opposition. The Our Ukraine's general committee adopted a resolution to hold a meeting of the party's political council on July 10 to review the latest developments in the Rada and take corresponding decisions. On July 7, prior to the meeting of the general committee of the People's Union Our Ukraine Party, a meeting of the Our Ukraine bloc's political council took place with the participation of leaders of the parties making up the bloc. The political council adopted a resolution on the need for the leaders of the Our Ukraine bloc's parties to hold meetings to adopt decisions concerning the situation in parliament. The meetings will take place within the next few days. Tetiana Mokridi, the head of the Our Ukraine's information department, said in a statement that Our Ukraine is not to blame for the collapse of the coalition, and that all the responsibility for that is to be born by other political forces. As Ukrainian News reported before, the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's leader Yulia Tymoshenko announced in the parliament on June 22 that the her bloc, the Our Ukraine bloc, and the Socialist Party had formed a parliamentary coalition, and announced the coalition's collapse on July 6. The Socialist Party faction on July 6 refused to support Poroshenko's nomination as Verkhovna Rada Speaker, nominating instead the party leader Oleksandr Moroz for that post. Later on the day Moroz was elected the Verkhovna Rada Speaker. In the wake of Moroz's election as Rada Speaker, Tymoshenko said in a statement that the coalition had broken up. On July 7, the parliamentary factions of the Party of Regions, the Socialist Party and the Communist Party reached understanding to form a coalition in Verkhovna Rada. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 22. SOCIALIST PARTY FACTION ELECTS TSUSHKO AS LEADER IN PLACE OF OLEKSANDR MOROZ WHO WAS ELECTED SPEAKER Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - The Socialist Party faction has relieved Oleksandr Moroz, who was elected Verkhovna Rada chairman on July 6, of his duties on the post of the faction's chairman and appointed Vasyl Tsushko to replace him. Ukrainian News has learned this from MP Valentyna Semeniuk (the Socialist party). "The faction has elected Vasyl Petrovych Tsushko as its leader," Semeniuk said. She also noted that the faction increased the number of deputy chairmen of the faction and elected Ivan Bokyi and Serhii Matvienkov as deputy chairmen of the faction. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on Thursday, the Rada elected Moroz as parliamentary speaker by 238 votes. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 23. HARMASH RESIGNS AS SECRETARY OF SOCIALIST PARTY'S POLITICAL COUNCIL. SHE BELIEVES THAT FORMATION OF A PARLIAMENTARY COALITION WITH PARTY OF REGIONS IS A ROAD TOWARD SELF-DESTRUCTION OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY Ukrainian News Agency, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - Parliamentary Deputy Halyna Harmash of the Socialist Party faction has resigned from the post of secretary of the party's political council. Harmash announced her resignation in a statement, the text of which Ukrainian News has obtained. "I, Harmash Halyna Fedorivna, am resigning from the post of secretary of the Socialist Party's political council. I am making this statement not on the wave of emotions but quite deliberately after analyzing all the pros and cons in accordance with my moral beliefs and party principles," Harmash said. Harmash attributed her decision to resign to the fact that some members of the Socialist Party held secret consultations on formation of a parliamentary coalition with the Party of Regions, as a result of which the Party of Regions backed the Socialist Party's leader Oleksandr Moroz during election of the speaker of the parliament. "What happened in the parliament on July 6, 2006, cannot be called anything but Moroz's betrayal of his own party, the voters who voted for the Socialist Party, the party's partners in the coalition of democratic forces that ended up not being born..." Harmash said. Harmash also said that the Socialist Party's line was being determined by people within Moroz's circle. According to Harmash, these people are non-party members. "Funny accents, double standards have become fashionable in the party today," Harmash said. She believes that formation of a parliamentary coalition with the Party of Regions is a road toward self-destruction of the Socialist Party. "The Party of Regions, the Communist Party, and the Socialist Party. Is this not an explosive mixture, Oleksandr Oleksandrovych?! It is the road to self-destruction of the party, a road to nowhere. Since it is impossible to buy me with posts and since nobody has ever offered me bribes because they know I will not accept, there is only one way out today, and that is to relieve myself of the post of secretary of the political council," Harmash said. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, Hennadii Zadyrko earlier resigned from the post of secretary of the Socialist Party's political council. Before him, Yosyp Vinskyi resigned from the post of first secretary of the Socialist Party's political council and blamed President Viktor Yuschenko and Moroz for the collapse of the parliamentary coalition. Vinskyi also said that some members of the Socialist Party's parliamentary faction intended to form a parliamentary coalition with the Party of Regions. According to Vinskyi, members of the Socialist Party's faction voted by a majority of 19 to 10 in favor of not supporting the Our Ukraine bloc's candidate for the post of parliament speaker. Moroz said in late June that he believed that election of the Our Ukraine bloc's candidate Petro Poroshenko as the speaker of the parliament would result in a conflict with the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc's leader Yulia Tymoshenko, who was likely to become the prime minister. -30- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 24. MAJORITY COALITION IN THE PARLIAMENT FORMED BY REGIONS PARTY, SOCIALIST PARTY AND COMMUNIST PARTY Coalition nominated Regions leader, Viktor Yanukovych, for prime minister Dragon Research Team, Dragon Capital, Kyiv, Ukraine, Fri, Jul 7, 2006 The Regions Party, Socialist Party and Communist Party have signed an agreement this afternoon establishing a majority coalition in the Verkhovna Rada. The new coalition invited the pro-presidential Our Ukraine party to the alliance, promising government posts in return. A Regions Party official said he expected up to 50 deputies from Tymoshenko Bloc and Our Ukraine to join them. The formation of the new alliance was announced on the following day after the Regions Party teamed up with Socialists to elect Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz as the legislature's speaker, effectively destroying the so called Orange Coalition of Our Ukraine, Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc and Socialists formed two weeks ago. The three parties in the new union together occupy 241 seats in the 450-seat legislature, or 15 above the required majority. The coalition officially nominated the Regions leader, Viktor Yanukovych, for the prime minister and promised to release an action plan in the coming days. Yanukovych already served as PM under the former president, Leonid Kuchma, in 2002-2004. The presence of Communists in the new coalition is obviously not good news. However, we think their influence on future government policies will be minimal as they have so far acted as faithful junior allies of the Regions Party (there is widespread speculation the Regions Party simply bought their votes for yesterday's speaker election). And the Regions Party itself is dominated by big businessmen who have nothing to do with communist ideology. President Viktor Yushchenko has not yet reacted to the news. But speaking hours before, he admitted the Orange Coalition was all but defunct and therefore parliamentary factions "must come up with a different, broader or narrower, format. Simply a different coalition." More importantly, he said there was a threat of parliament's dissolution since the constitutional deadline for parliament to appoint the government was close. According to the Constitution, parliament is required to appoint a new government within 60 days from the previous government's resignation; otherwise, the president will be empowered (but not obligated) to disband the legislature. In this case, the deadline for parliament to appoint a government is July 24. We do not think Yushchenko will go as far as to dissolve parliament as his party's (Our Ukraine) rating is currently very low, and in case of extraordinary elections the Regions Party will stand a good chance of win an outright majority, which would obviously complicate life for president. The president's words also imply he is prepared to accept a coalition with Regions and has resigned to the fact the Orange alliance no longer exists. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ [ return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== 25. CONFUSION REIGNS AFTER MOROZ ELECTION Yushchenko & Our Ukraine have been humiliated and out-maneuvered Concorde Capital, Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, July 7, 2006 KYIV - Last night's election of Socialist leader Olexander Moroz as speaker of parliament with support from the Regions party has split the Orange coalition and set back negotiations on forming a government practically to square one. The three Orange parties are planning separate meetings of their factions today which are expected to result in a formal decision by at least one member to quit the coalition. Moroz and Regions leaders have called on Our Ukraine to join them in a new coalition, but Our Ukraine leaders say they now rule out any coalition with the Socialists. Regions leaders have also said they could alternatively form a coalition with the Socialists and Communists. David Zhvania, an Our Ukraine MP, has said Our Ukraine might consider forming a coalition with Regions which would remove Moroz as speaker. President Yushchenko, who has been conspicuously silent, is expected to appear on television later today. Yulia Tymoshenko has called on him to dissolve parliament and call new elections. HUMILIATED AND OUT-MANEUVERED Comments by Tom Warner: Yushchenko and Our Ukraine have been humiliated and out-maneuvered, but they still hold the deciding votes on the composition of the new government. The decision on whether or not to dissolve parliament is entirely up to Yushchenko the constitution allows him to do so if no government is formed by July 24, and no coalition would be able to meet that deadline without his support. We doubt Yushchenko would accept a Regions-Socialists-Communist government. We see three main scenarios, all about equally likely: a revival of the Orange coalition, a coalition of Regions plus part of Our Ukraine, and new elections. It is now not unlikely that talks on forming a new government could stretch into autumn. -30- ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LINK: http://www.con-cap.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [return to index] [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== If you are receiving more than one copy of the AUR please contact us. Please contact us if you no longer wish to receive the AUR. You are welcome to send us names for the AUR distribution list. 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Law firm UKRAINIAN LEGAL GROUP , Irina Paliashvili, President; Kiev and Washington, general@rulg.com, www.rulg.com. 6. BAHRIANY FOUNDATION, INC., Dr. Anatol Lysyj, Chairman, Minneapolis, Minnesota 7. VOLIA SOFTWARE, Software to Fit Your Business, Source your IT work in Ukraine. Contact: Yuriy Sivitsky, Vice President, Marketing, Kyiv, Ukraine, yuriy.sivitsky@softline.kiev.ua; Volia Software website: http://www.volia-software.com/ or Bill Hunter, CEO Volia Software, Houston, TX 77024; bill.hunter@volia-software.com . 8. ODUM- Association of American Youth of Ukrainian Descent, Minnesota Chapter, Natalia Yarr, Chairperson 9. UKRAINE-U.S. BUSINESS COUNCIL, Washington, D.C., Dr. Susanne Lotarski, President/CEO; E. Morgan Williams, SigmaBleyzer, Chairman, Executive Committee, Board of Directors; John Stephens, Cape Point Capital, Secretary/Treasurer 10. UKRAINIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH OF THE USA, South Brown Brook, New Jersey, http://www.uocofusa.org 11. UKRAINIAN AMERICAN COORDINATING COUNCIL (UACC), Ihor Gawdiak, President, Washington, D.C., New York, New York 12. U.S.-UKRAINE FOUNDATION (USUF), Nadia Komarnyckyj McConnell, President; John Kun, Vice President/COO; Vera Andruskiw, CPP Wash Project Director, Washington, D.C.; Markian Bilynskyj, VP/Director of Field Operations; Marta Kolomayets, CPP Kyiv Project Director, Kyiv, Ukraine. Web: http://www.USUkraine.org 13. WJ GROUP of Ag Companies, Kyiv, Ukraine, David Holpert, Chief Financial Officer, Chicago, IL; http://www.wjgrain.com/en/links/index.html 14. EUGENIA SAKEVYCH DALLAS, Author, "One Woman, Five Lives, Five Countries," 'Her life's journey begins with the 1932-1933 genocidal famine in Ukraine.' Hollywood, CA, www.eugeniadallas.com. 15. ALEX AND HELEN WOSKOB, College Station, Pennsylvania 16. SWIFT FOUNDATION, San Luis Obispo, California 17. TRAVEL TO UKRAINE website, http://www.TravelToUkraine.org , A program of the U.S-Ukraine Foundation, Washington, D.C. ======================================================== TO BE ON OR OFF THE FREE AUR DISTRIBUTION LIST If you would like to read the ACTION UKRAINE REPORT- AUR, around five times a week, please send your name, country of residence, and e-mail contact information to morganw@patriot.net. Information about your occupation and your interest in Ukraine is also appreciated. If you do not wish to read the ACTION UKRAINE REPORT please contact us immediately by e-mail to morganw@patriot.net . If you are receiving more than one copy please let us know so this can be corrected. SPAM BLOCKERS ARE A REAL PROBLEM If you do not receive a copy of the AUR it is probably because of a SPAM BLOCKER maintained by your server or by yourself on your computer. Spam blockers are set in very arbitrary and impersonal ways and block out e-mails because of words found in many news stories. 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Box 2607, Washington, D.C. 20013, Tel: 202 437 4707 Mobile in Kyiv: 8 050 689 2874 mwilliams@SigmaBleyzer.com; www.SigmaBleyzer.com ======================================================== Power Corrupts and Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely. ======================================================== return to index [Action Ukraine Report (AUR) Monitoring Service] ======================================================== |
Saturday, July 08, 2006
AUR#727 Jul 8 Orange Coalition Falls Apart, Crumbles, Disintegrates, Collapses, Unravels; Pro-Russian Parties Form Coalition In A Stunning Move, Yanukovych PM
