février 12, 2005
Ukraine Update -- 11 Feb
- Tymoshenko met with a US congressional delegation today at the "House with Chimeras", my second-favorite building in Kiev. Among the delegates were Sens. John McCain and Hillary Clinton. The group supports the idea of lifting the Jackson-Vanick Amendment, and granting market status to Ukraine. Tymoshenko also spoke with Madeleine Albright by phone and thanked her for her support of democracy during the Revolution.
The House with Chimeras
- Yuschenko will likely travel next month to Washington. He's expected to meet with President Bush, to address Congress, and to push for Ukraine's entry to the WTO.
- The united "Our Ukraine" party may be formed by the end of February. A spokesman said the party's platform would be almost identical to that of Yushchenko's parliamentary bloc which has the same name.
- To make the party system a little more confusing, the People's Agrarian Party is now just the People's Party. They've signed a manifesto supporting national and geographic unity in Ukraine, and calling for the end of the oligarchic system in Ukraine. The manifesto calls for it to be replaced by a true "people's government."
- Lutsenko has fired all the deputy Minsters of Internal Affairs, and is in the process of changing the leadership structure there. There will be one "first deputy" and six deputies.
- In one of those only in Ukraine moments, Yushchenko may ban both hunting and visits to the public steam baths for members of his government and for militia (law enforcement) commanders. These venues are notorious for corrupt dealmaking. He's considering a 10 year ban for such people. Coming from a different culture, this one's a little weird to me. :-)
- The Communist Party leader, Symonenko, has asked Yushchenko to name a Communist as General Prosecutor. He said it would be a test of Yushchenko's rhetoric about "European values." Editors note: Just because the French do it, I'm not sure that putting Communists in charge of things can be considered a "European value."
- Yushchenko flew to a Swiss clinic today to consult about his skin condition. The General Prosecutor went with him to collect evidence for the investigation.
- Keeping busy, Yushchenko spent the 10th down in Donetsk. He introduced the new governor, and spoke to both opponents and supporters. He made the case that the corruption and criminal system keep investment away from Donetsk, and pledged to reform the system.
Posted by Discoshaman at février 12, 2005 01:04 AM | TrackBack