(english / italiano)
1. L’UCRAINA VERSO IL BALLOTTAGGIO DEL 21 NOVEMBRE: DECISIVI I VOTI DEI
COMUNISTI E DEI SOCIALISTI / JANUKOVIC CONTA SUL VOTO DI COMUNISTI E
SOCIALISTI
2. LA POSIZIONE DELLE FORZE DI SINISTRA RUSSE / IVAN MELNIKOV SUI
RISULTATI ELETTORALI IN UCRAINA
3. "Serbs Offer Nonviolent Revolution Advice":
NED/Soros-Funded Serbian Otpor Ready For Violent
'Velvet' Coups In Ukraine, Belarus + A Letter by Blagovesta Doncheva ...
4. July 17, 2001: Zbigniew Brzezinski's 'Meciar-Milosevic Scenario' And
'Lukashenko Scenario' In Ukraine
5. Advised By Henry Kissinger, Backed Up By Otpor Thugs,
Western-Engineered 'Velvet' Uprising Readied For Ukraine / Ukraine:
Government Reinforces Armed Guards Around
Central Election Commission / Commonwealth Of Independent States
Observers Say Ukrainian Elections Were Legitimate, Free And Open /
Russian Analysts: Yanukovich Won First Round Of Elections,
'Yushchenko's Supporters May Get Out Of
Control' / Yanukovich Appeals To Leftist Parties For Support
In Runoff / Pora Thugs Erect 'Barricade' In Lvov / Op-Ed: US State
Department's Armitage 'Concerned' About Ukraine Vote / US Senate's
Richard Lugar 'Very Concerned' About
Ukraine Vote
*** SOURCE: Rick Rozoff / ANTINATO @... ***
=== 1 ===
L’UCRAINA VERSO IL BALLOTTAGGIO DEL 21 NOVEMBRE
DECISIVI I VOTI DEI COMUNISTI E DEI SOCIALISTI
http://www.strana.ru
1 novembre 2004
Il seguente commento di Nikolay Uljanov è apparso nel sito
filopresidenziale russo “Strana.ru”
(...) Nelle tre settimane che ci separano dal voto presidenziale,
Janukovic e Juschenko dovranno risolvere due problemi fondamentali.
Primo: come attirare dalla propria parte il maggior numero di
sostenitori della sinistra, socialisti e comunisti. Secondo: è evidente
che Juschenko tenterà con tutte le sue forze di abbassare la
percentuale degli elettori, evitando che, in presenza di una forte
mobilitazione dell’elettorato dell’Ucraina occidentale, si verifichi
un’alta affluenza di sostenitori di Moroz (Partito Socialista) e
Simonenko (Partito Comunista), che potrebbero dare il loro voto a
Janukovic. Al contrario, lo staff di Janukovic cercherà di ottenere
un’alta partecipazione al voto.
Sembrerebbe che, risolte le due questioni, Janukovic possa prevalere.
Prima di tutto, egli dispone di carte ancora da giocare, come la
riforma politica, la cui conseguenza sarebbe il relativo rafforzamento
del ruolo del parlamento di fronte al presidente, oppure come
l’attribuzione alla lingua russa dello status di idioma di stato. Se si
dà credito al capo dello staff di Janukovic, il signor Teghipko, il
premier ucraino sarebbe intenzionato a dare una soluzione a entrambe le
questioni nelle tre settimane che ci separano dal voto. Facciamo notare
che l’introduzione della riforma politica rappresenta una delle
richieste principali dei socialisti, mentre la soluzione del problema
dello status della lingua russa verrebbe accolta positivamente
dall’elettorato comunista. Inoltre, entrambe le iniziative potrebbero
mobilitare l’elettorato dell’Ucraina orientale e centrale e garantire
così un’alta affluenza al voto per il secondo turno.
In secondo luogo, sulla decisione del Partito Comunista di Ucraina su
chi appoggiare per il secondo turno, potrebbe influire l’attiva
posizione del Partito comunista russo. Proprio questa mattina, il
leader del PCFR Ghennadij Zjuganov ha dichiarato in un’intervista ad
“Interfax”: “Non ho dubbi sulla vittoria di Janukovic al secondo
turno”. A parere di Zjuganov, gli elettori che hanno votato per
Aleksandr Moroz, Piotr Simonenko e Natalja Vitrenko (Partito
Progressista Socialista), voteranno sicuramente per Janukovic al
secondo turno. E il primo vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare del
PCFR Serghey Reshulskij ha dichiarato in un’intervista a “Strana.ru”
che i comunisti hanno relazioni molto strette con Piotr Simonenko e che
cercheranno di convincerlo ad appoggiare Viktor Janukovic al secondo
turno.
JANUKOVIC CONTA SUL VOTO DI COMUNISTI E SOCIALISTI
In vista del ballottaggio del 21 novembre, il candidato filo-russo
spera nel sostegno delle sinistre ucraine, mentre “incassa” quello
delle sinistre russe
http://www.strana.ru
1 novembre 2004
Dopo aver vinto con uno scarto minimo il primo turno delle elezioni in
Ucraina, il candidato del governo Viktor Janukovic spera di portare
dalla sua parte, al secondo turno, i voti dei socialisti e dei
comunisti. Lo ha dichiarato ai giornalisti nel corso del suo incontro
dopo il primo turno elettorale.
“Voglio assicurare i sostenitori di Aleksandr Moroz (Partito
Socialista) e di Piotr Simonenko (Partito Comunista) che essi non hanno
affatto perso, sebbene i loro candidati non siano arrivati al secondo
turno. Molti punti del loro programma sono contenuti nel mio, in primo
luogo, quelli relativi al miglioramento del livello di vita dei nostri
cittadini”. Janukovic ha espresso l’intenzione di muoversi in questa
direzione insieme con l’elettorato di Moroz e Simonenko
(...)
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 2 ===
LA POSIZIONE DELLE FORZE DI SINISTRA RUSSE
Serghey Reshulskij, vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare del PCFR
I risultati provvisori hanno messo in evidenza che, al primo turno, lo
scarto tra i due principali candidati è minimo. I risultati del secondo
turno dipenderanno da come si collocheranno le forze in campo. Al
momento non è ancora noto a chi daranno i loro voti Aleksandr Moroz e
Piotr Simonenko. Il Partito Comunista della Federazione Russa appoggia
la candidatura di Janukovic e per questo siamo molto interessati a come
si posizionerà Simonenko. Abbiamo relazioni molto strette con il leader
dei comunisti ucraini. In ogni caso, non potremo che rispettare la
volontà dello stesso Simonenko. Ma se egli decidesse di appoggiare
Janukovic, gli offriremo qualsiasi sostegno. Lo consulteremo al più
presto, chiedendogli di fornirci la sua analisi della situazione in
Ucraina.
Serghey Baburin, vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare di “Rodina”
(...) La situazione al secondo turno si presenta complessa, ma alla
fine la preferenza dovrebbe andare a Janukovic. La polarizzazione tra
Oriente e Occidente è tale, che gli elettori si orienteranno per una
scelta di amicizia nei confronti della Russia. Perciò,
indipendentemente da come voteranno Moroz e Simonenko, una parte
significativa dei loro elettori voterà per l’attuale primo ministro.
Un’altra parte potrebbe disertare le urne. Non è escluso che, al
secondo turno, aumenti la percentuale dei voti “contro tutti”, e che si
registri una più bassa affluenza. Il gruppo parlamentare di “Rodina”
appoggia coloro che intendono rafforzare le relazioni con la Russia.
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
IVAN MELNIKOV SUI RISULTATI ELETTORALI IN UCRAINA
Un commento del vicepresidente del Partito Comunista della Federazione
Russa
http://www.kprf.ru
1 novembre 2004
La situazione in Ucraina dopo il primo turno elettorale è molto
complicata. Ma non me la sentirei di affermare categoricamente che la
società è divisa esattamente a metà. Se si ricorda quanto era basso il
rating di Viktor Janukovic ancora all’inizio dell’anno, l’eccellente
risultato ottenuto ora testimonia della crescita della consapevolezza
tra l’opinione pubblica. La fiducia manifestata nei confronti di
Janukovic è il segno che un numero sempre crescente di cittadini
comprende che, nella fase attuale, in cui fondi occidentali stanno
finanziando in modo enorme un progetto di divisione del paese,
l’Ucraina ha più che mai bisogno di stabilità politica. All’Ucraina è
necessaria l’indipendenza delle autorità da forze esterne e lo sviluppo
di processi di integrazione reciprocamente vantaggiosi con la Russia,
la Bielorussia e gli altri vicini. Mi sento di affermare che da ciò
deriva la crescita di fiducia verso il primo ministro.
Lo spettro del “grande fratello”, della cui presenza i sostenitori
delle forze nazionaliste cercano di convincere i cittadini, è solo un
mito. Sebbene il fratello sia grande, ha così tanti problemi interni,
che non è certo in grado di esercitare qualsivoglia pressione
sull’Ucraina e di imporle le proprie condizioni. Ecco perché è
possibile risolvere i problemi comuni in modo solidale e reciprocamente
vantaggioso. Penso che, se Viktor Janukovic riuscisse a far penetrare
più incisivamente questa convinzione tra i cittadini dell’Ucraina, la
sua affermazione sarebbe ancora più vistosa.
Naturalmente, non posso che esprimere rammarico per il risultato
ottenuto dal Partito Comunista di Ucraina di Piotr Simonenko. Dal punto
di vista della nostra ideologia, dei nostri obiettivi, della nostra
lotta comune per la giustizia sociale, questo non rappresenta certo il
risultato su cui contavano i comunisti. Ma penso che tale risultato
abbia una sua spiegazione. Innanzitutto, gli elettori che questa volta
non hanno attribuito il loro voto al candidato comunista, hanno
ragionato in modo pragmatico. Essi hanno compreso che solo il
provvisorio sostegno a Janukovic in questa fase, è in grado di offrire
maggiori possibilità di vittoria a un candidato comunista in futuro. E
sono convinto che non un solo voto, tra quelli persi da Simonenko, sia
andato a Juschenko.
Per quanto riguarda gli elettori che hanno votato per Aleksandr Moroz
(Partito Socialista), alcuni ritengono che, nel caso Moroz appoggi
Juschenko per il secondo turno, anch’essi possano fare la stessa cosa.
Ma l’elettorato di Moroz è un elettorato particolare che potrebbe non
recarsi al voto, proprio per non dover scegliere tra Janukovic e
Juschenko. E una sua parte, in quanto portatrice di valori di sinistra,
potrebbe comportarsi come si sono comportati al primo turno molti degli
elettori comunisti.
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 3 ===
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-exporting-
revolution,0,7763712.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
Associated Press Writer - October 31, 2004
Serbs Offer Nonviolent Revolution Advice
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
-The group, which once erected a giant cardboard
telescope in Belgrade to let people watch a falling
star dubbed "Slobotea," and offered people a chance to
punch a Milosevic effigy for a penny, says it has
"well-trained" followers in Ukraine and Belarus.
-"Our goal is nonviolent action," said Sinisa Sikman,
one of the group's activists who was involved in
training protest leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and
Belarus.
-Earlier this month, Ukrainian border authorities
denied entry to Aleksandar Maric, a member of Otpor
and an adviser with the U.S.-based democracy watchdog
Freedom House. A Ukrainian student group called Pora
was following the strategies of Otpor.
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - They led an uprising
that toppled Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, and last year
they played a major role in ousting another
[sic]autocrat in Georgia.
A group of youthful Serbs is offering advice on how to
carry out peaceful revolutions, and their latest
clients are people trying to shake off oppression
[sic] in Ukraine and Belarus.
"We knew there would be work for us after Milosevic,"
said Danijela Nenadic, a program coordinator of the
Belgrade-based Center for Nonviolent Resistance.
The non-governmental group emerged from Otpor, the
pro-democracy [sic] movement that helped sweep
Milosevic from power by organizing massive and
colorful protests that drew crowds who never
previously had the courage to oppose the former
Yugoslav president.
Otpor, which means "resistance" in Serbian, knows the
price of struggling for its beliefs.
More than any other group, Otpor activists took the
brunt of the Milosevic regime's repression in the
pro-democracy movement that led to his ouster in the
popular revolt in October 2000.
About 9,600 Otpor activists were arrested by police
during the massive uprising. Many of them were beaten.
Otpor's symbol - a clenched fist on a white or black
flag - appeared on buildings, signs and shop windows
everywhere in Serbia. Though it had thousands of
members, Otpor's strength was in its reach: The
loose-knit organization had chapters even in the
tiniest villages around the country.
Otpor gained attention with colorful publicity stunts
intended to make ordinary people reconsider longtime
political beliefs. It inspired optimism in a nation
almost without hope for its future.
The group, which once erected a giant cardboard
telescope in Belgrade to let people watch a falling
star dubbed "Slobotea," and offered people a chance to
punch a Milosevic effigy for a penny, says it has
"well-trained" followers in Ukraine and Belarus.
"Our goal is nonviolent action," said Sinisa Sikman,
one of the group's activists who was involved in
training protest leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and
Belarus.
"They saw what we did in Serbia and they contacted us
for professional training," Sikman said. "Otpor's
clenched fist became a known international brand. That
was a phenomenon ... they are interested because of
our huge experience."
In 2000, Otpor received MTV's prestigious Free Your
Mind Award.
Last year, Otpor's clenched fist was flying high on
white flags again -- this time in Georgia, when
protesters stormed the former Soviet republic's
parliament in an action that led to the toppling of
former autocratic President Eduard Shevardnadze.
The election campaign in Ukraine ahead of this
weekend's vote has been tense, with massive popular
protests amid numerous complaints from the opposition
about outgoing president Leonid Kuchma's interference
and occasional violence.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian border authorities
denied entry to Aleksandar Maric, a member of Otpor
and an adviser with the U.S.-based democracy watchdog
Freedom House. A Ukrainian student group called Pora
was following the strategies of Otpor.
In Belarus, police have detained several activists,
including an opposition party leader, as opposition
groups stage continuing protests against a recent
referendum that will allow authoritarian [sic]
President Alexander Lukashenko to extend his hold on
power. The international community contends the
referendum was rigged and has accused Belarus of
widespread electoral fraud.
"We were teaching them how to organize those protests,
to increase public interest and draw crowds and
motivate them to endure," Sikman said. "We have an
advantage over other such organizations in the West
because we lived under a dictatorial regime and they
did not."
In a small busy office in downtown Belgrade, the group
of about 10 activists holds daily staff meetings,
logging on to the Internet as its telephones and fax
machines steadily ring.
"We have several calls for our help, not only from
Europe," Nenadic said, refusing to reveal the exact
countries.
"What good would it bring if we tell the autocrats
what's up and coming?"
---
ABOUT OTPOR / KMARA / PORA:
You surely know what the Serb OTPOR did in Georgia last year?
What the Serb OTPOR did in Adjaria through - and with the mirror
Georgian organization Kmara (= OTPOR!) created by the same Serb OTPOR
in Georgia around the Georgian Elections in 2003?
You know maybe that the Serb OTPOR is in UKRAINE (!!!) - for almost a
year already! - working for the Western candidate together with the
Georgian KMARA and the Ukrainian PORA (created meanwhile in Ukraine)!
The OTPOR-KMARA-PORA are in the streets in some of the Ukraine cities
and towns since the Elections on Sunday, 31 October 2004, the idea
being to attempt a coup before the second tour of Elections on 21 of
December 2004!
One couldnít help remembering the Yugoslavian Elections in September
2000!
One couldn't help remembering the Georgian Elections in the Autumn of
2003!
I have not heard that anybody in Yugoslavia has tried to do something
about the Serb OTPOR of CIA from Langley, Virginia, US.
The CIA thugs might be more than the Serb ones in the so-called OTPOR
but all the world knows that it is the Serb OTPOR that is killing our
hopes in Georgia and Ukraine! (They also tried to do the same in
Belarus!)
OTPOR - the CIA SERB team for coups all over the world! (...)
Start writing about OTPOR! Get down the masks of the Serb highly paid
mercenaries in it! Prove that it is CIA organized and NED financed!
Publish the names of the Serb OTPOR thugs and point down the names of
the CIA thugs - instructors - working with them. There are Serb
patriots all over the world - some of them have access to
documentation, and specific Internet sites!
Roll up your sleeves and start unmasking and denouncing OTPOR - you
have no time to lose!
Denouncing the Serb OTPOR is much more important NOW than denouncing
their PR lies re Srebrenica, Saraevo, Dubrovnik, Racak!
It is high time that all the Serbs and their friends all over the world
should understand what a BLACK spot (very mildly said!) is throwing on
them the Serb OTPOR of CIA!
PLEASE, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!
Blagovesta Doncheva (Sofia)
=== 4 ===
http://www.mail-archive.com/stopnato@.../msg01268.html
From: Rick Rozoff
Subject: Brzezinski's "Milosevic Plan" For Ukraine,
Belarus [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 15:40:29 -0700
http://www.russianobserver.com/foreign/cis/2001/07/17/995374314.html
The Russian Observer - July 17, 2001
New stage in Brzezinsky Plan for Ukraine
Architects of the Brzezinsky plan are preparing two
scenarios of further developments: "Meciar-Milosevic
scenario" and "Lukashenko scenario"
Bogdan Khmelnitsky
The Brzezinsky Plan that was concocted in the inner
sanctums of the American Congress and in the
Washington think tanks in the plush offices of
American citizens that emigrated from Poland and
Ukraine had as its goal in 1999-2000 to implement "the
Milosevic scenario:"
1) President Kuchma's conversations were secretly
recorded;
2) a little known journalist, Georgy Gongadze, was
chosen as a potential victim (he was either squirreled
away and hidden by the American or Polish secret
services, or he was liquidated by Ukrainian fascists
to get him out of the way) allegedly on President
Kuchma's orders - the Ukrainian president used words
unfit for printing in reference to Gongadze);
3) Major Melnichenko, a security officer, who was
persuaded to become a turncoat, took the job of
recording the president's conversations (100 hours of
tape recordings made beneath a sofa);
4) with the help of the media controlled by the
"Brzezinsky coalition, President Kuchma was accused of
organizing the assassination of journalist Gongadze;
5) public demonstrations were organized to demand the
beginning of an impeachment procedure against
President Kuchma.
The next stages of this plan were supposed to be:
- resignation of Leonid Kuchma;
- transfer of power to acting president, Prime
Minister Yushchenko who is totally controlled by the
"Brzezinsky group;"
- prescheduled presidential elections that would be
won hands down by Viktor Yushchenko, making use of
administrative control over the leading media and
massive financial backing from the "Brzezinsky group;"
- selling out Leonid Kuchma to international justice
in exactly the same manner that the Serbs sold out
ex-president Milosevic;
- Viktor Yushchenko, under American control, was to
start deRussification of Ukraine - squeezing out the
Russian language, introducing a visa regime for
Russia, dumping all contracts in the
military-technical sphere, blockade of Russia's Black
Sea Fleet, Ukrainian secret services and the army were
to be placed under control of American and Polish
officers.
However, this plan was not destined to materialize in
view of the low level of professionalism of those who
were supposed to carry it out. Another reason why the
plan fizzed out was that all the funds that were
directed towards ousting Kuchma were simply pilfered.
But the main reason why the plan did not work out was
that the majority of Ukrainian citizens are afraid of
total rule by "westerners." They are considerably more
afraid of the Polish-brainwashed and
Catholic-brainwashed inhabitants of western Ukraine
with their frenzied nationalism than they are afraid
of Kuchma's oligarchs. The Ukrainian citizens are also
afraid of the chaos in the event of the development of
the planned political crisis.
The "Brzezinsky coalition" suffered a resounding
defeat and was compelled to retreat, licking its
wounds and taking along their wounded: Viktor
Yushchenko and Yulia Timoshenko.
But political life is a fast moving affair,
parliamentary elections are due in March, and so a new
stage of the "Brzezinsky plan" has been drawn up. It
has also originated in the offices of Polish-American
Congressmen and Washington think tank analysts.
The parliamentary ballot is the main objective at the
new stage. The ideologists of the anti-Kuchma campaign
state directly that "the future parliamentary
elections will be the most crucial event since
declaration of Ukrainian independence." The architects
of the Brzezinsky plan are based on standard schemes
and are preparing two scenarios of further
developments: "Meciar-Milosevic scenario" and
"Lukashenko scenario."
"Meciar-Milosevic scenario"
Stage one is reserved for an active election campaign
with anti-presidential slogans. Currently there are
three columns within the "Brzezinsky coalition:" an
ultra-right one led by Viktor Yushchenko, a
centrist-oligarchic one led by Yulia Timoshenko, and a
moderately leftwing one led by Alexander Moroz. It is
assumed that the people are sick and tired of Kuchma
and his oligarchs and do not trust the communists.
This will enable the three columns of the "Brzezinsky
coalition" to gain a majority in the Parliament.
At stage two, the parliamentary majority forms the
Yushchenko-Timoshenko Government.
Stage three sees the start of impeachment proceedings
against President Kuchma.
The parliamentary elections scenario was used in
Slovakia to topple Prime Minister Meciar (Slovakia has
a parliamentary system). Playing the decisive role in
molding public opinion and running the election
campaign were not so much local Slovak structures as a
network of organizations created with international
aid - foundations, research groups, centers and others
- whose declared goal it was "to create conditions for
the holding of free elections," and "to control the
holding of elections." This type of organizations has
been created in Ukraine and will doubtlessly be
actively employed during the election campaign. After
that the developments will unobtrusively take the form
of the "Milosevic scenario," thus coming back to the
option the "Brzezinsky coalition" attempted to
implement in early 2001.
At stage four the impeachment proceedings are dropped
in exchange for the holding of early elections.
At stage five, Yushchenko wins the presidential
elections, with "the Brzezinsky coalition" controlling
the Ukrainian media.
At stage six, Leonid Kuchma is sold to the
international justice in exchange for a promise of
investments, but in fact in exchange for independence.
Further on, Yushchenko is used as a puppet for the
fight against Russia. Ukraine under Yushchenko is cast
in the role of a pawn in a great chess game played
against Russia, a plaything in the hands of
venturesome geopolitical gamblers.
But it is not easy to give effect to this scenario,
because most people in Ukraine are opposed to doubtful
experiments - 85 % of them want good relations with
Russia. For this reason the "Brzezinsky coalition" is
getting ready for using the "Lukashenko scenario" in
case it fails to win the elections - they would
discredit the elections and to declare elected
parliament and president illegitimate. Later they plan
gradually to isolate Kuchma and bring greater pressure
to bear on him. The purpose is to compel him to resign
sooner or later and then sell him out to an
international court the way Milosevic was sold out.
To carry out this scenario, a large group of observers
is being formed to judge whether the elections are
democratic or not, depending on their outcome. To
attain this goal, the committees monitoring the
elections should more or less be controlled from one
center. To that end, a system of financing and
controlling them is being established. The financing
procedure is to be simplified to achieve better
control. This not only makes the whole work simpler
but also creates conditions for embezzlement, which
not only attracts indecent people to monitoring the
elections but also allows one to control them better,
so that they could be accused of corruption at any
appropriate time. In this way a coalition of
avaricious observers of parliamentary elections in
Ukraine is being formed. All this makes the system of
monitoring the elections, which is being created at
present, undemocratic in principle.
The fundamental fact is that the system being created
is directed against democracy - it is to be used for
imposing a choice on the people of Ukraine, which they
would never make on their own free will, since 85% of
the population there gives priority to relations with
Russia. So, an anti-Russian politician cannot come to
power in Ukraine in a democratic way. He can only be
imposed on the Ukrainian people. And this is what the
"Brzezinsky coalition" is trying to do.
At first a method of rendering the elections
illegitimate will be tested in Belarus. Preparations
for this are under way. Groups for this purpose have
already been formed. Lukashenko is naive to think they
are going to train militants against him. Their goal
is more important - to declare his presidency invalid
and to declare him an usurper. The principles on which
the elections in Belarus and then in Ukraine will be
declared invalid have already been formulated. They
have been published on the Washington online site with
the money of the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, it has been
announced that an international mission is to be
created. Its work is to be coordinated by Andrew
Carpenter. The principles are:
1. transparency of elections
2. access of opponents to state media
3. absence of discrimination against political
opponents
4. the significance of the parliament's powers.
On the basis of these principles the legitimacy of
first the Belarus President and then the Ukrainian
parliament will be rejected. Alexander Lukashenko has
long been the target for his efforts to achieve
integration with Russia. But why Kuchma? Perhaps just
because they want so.
The goal of Russia's present policy with regard to
Ukraine is to ensure non-interference in its domestic
affairs, independence of Ukraine, and democracy in
Ukraine.
=== 5 ===
http://www.hindu.com/2004/11/01/stories/2004110100731500.htm
The Hindu - October 31, 2004
Russia-West proxy war in Ukraine poll
By Vladimir Radyuhin
-A powerful team of American political lobbyists,
including Henry Kissinger, descended on Ukraine to
campaign for Mr. Yushchenko, while the U.S. State
Department said that the Ukrainian campaign "has
fallen short of international democratic standards"
and vowed to take `measures' should the vote be rigged
by the state.
-Experts warned of possible violence after the poll if
the Opposition candidate loses. The Government has
deployed more than 6,000 security personnel in Kiev.
MOSCOW - Ukraine voted in presidential elections on
Sunday seen as a proxy battle between Russia and the
West for the second biggest former Soviet state.
The two geopolitical adversaries have backed rival
front-runners in a poll contested by 24 candidates,
with Moscow throwing its weight behind the pro-Russian
Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich, who is the chosen
successor of the outgoing President, Leonid Kuchma,
and Washington supporting the pro-West Opposition
leader, Viktor Yushchenko.
Putin visit
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, paid a
high-profile visit to Ukraine in the race's final days
to answer viewers' questions in an unprecedented
60-minute call-in session broadcast live on all main
Ukrainian TV channels.
Mr. Putin called for closer integration between Russia
and Ukraine and ordered an easing of travel rules for
millions of Ukrainian workers in Russia. The West sees
the Ukrainian vote as a choice between becoming part
of Europe or joining the "Russian neo-empire."
A powerful team of American political lobbyists,
including Henry Kissinger, descended on Ukraine to
campaign for Mr. Yushchenko, while the U.S. State
Department said that the Ukrainian campaign "has
fallen short of international democratic standards"
and vowed to take `measures' should the vote be rigged
by the state.
Close race
Surveys showed that the two main rivals are running
neck and neck and a run-off vote is likely to be held
to decide the winner. The election has split Ukraine
in two, with the pro-Russian industrial south-east
supporting Mr. Yanukovich and the poor agricultural
west backing Mr. Yushchenko.
Experts warned of possible violence after the poll if
the Opposition candidate loses. The Government has
deployed more than 6,000 security personnel in Kiev.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1407741&PageNum=0
Itar-Tass - October 31, 2004
Security tightened around Ukrainian Central Electoral
Commission
KIEV - Security has been tightened around the
Ukrainian Central Electoral Commission building
despite assurances of Commission Chairman Sergei
Kivalov that the presidential election has been quiet
throughout Ukraine.
A metal fence was installed around the building after
the incidents of October 23-24, and another fencing
was placed afterwards. There is military hardware
between the two rows. The number of policemen,
servicemen and secret service agents, standing guard
near the building, has increased by ten times. It
takes more than 30 minutes to get into the building
with accreditation cards.
---
http://en.rian.ru/rian/
index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5035559&startrow=11&date=2004-11-
01&do_alert=0
Russian Information Agency (Novosti) - November 1, 2004
CIS OBSERVERS: UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS WERE LEGITIMATE, FREE AND OPEN
KIEV - "In our opinion, the presidential elections in
Ukraine held past Sunday were legitimate, free and
open," election observers representing CIS members
stated.
No violations of legislation were registered in the
process of vote counting, which is fixed in the
statement of the CIS observers, Vladimir Rushailo,
head of the CIS mission of observers, Chairman of the
executive committee and executive secretary of the CIS
said at a press conference in Kiev.
"After polling stations were closed, CIS observers
monitored the vote count, polling site commissions
making up protocols and submitting them to superior
election commissions. There were no violations on the
sites," the statement reads.
The elections revealed a high degree of interest and
activity of citizens, the document says.
Although faults and shortcomings were registered in
the work of some election commissions and during
campaign trail, these could not affect the
implementation of the right to self-determination, the
statement points out.
So far as violations are concerned, CIS observers
pointed to an incident that had taken place in Moscow,
where observers were not admitted to a polling
station. Only after Ukraine's Foreign Ministry
interfered did the mission representatives manage to
watch the site in the afternoon of October 31st.
Over 600 CIS observers monitored the elections in
Ukraine's all 225 constituencies.
---
http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Ukr&pg=0&id=5766853&req=
Interfax - November 1, 2004
Yanukovych won first round of Ukrainian voting -
Russian analysts
Moscow/Kyiv - The results of Ukraine's first round
presidential vote must be regarded as Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych's big success, CIS Institute
Konstantin Zatulin, member of the Russian parliament,
told Interfax on Monday.
"Like quite a few people predicted, the final count
will show that Yanukovych and [the main opposition
candidate] Yushchenko faired nearly equally, which
will be a major success for Yanukovych, who did not
look capable of catching up on Yushchenko just a few
months ago," Zatulin said.
The two front runners Yanukovych and Yushchenko will
have to change their strategies in the inevitable
second round of voting, Gleb Pavlovsky, head of he
Fund of Effective Policy told Interfax.
"Either candidate has exhausted nearly all his
reserves, including the administrative resource, which
calls for changing the strategy," he said.
Yanukovych will find this easier to do because he has
been showing throughout the campaign that he was
prepared to cooperate with the those who have not
decided, Pavlovsky said.
"He has more room to maneuver whereas Yuschenko has
from the outset been making those who was not loyal to
him his bitter enemies," he said.
The tough campaigning in the run up to the second
round of voting may lead to riots, Pavlovsky said.
Yushchenko's loyalists are splitting between radicals
and politicos who tread more cautiously, he said.
"Yushchenko's supporters may get out of control,"
Pavlovsky said.
Yanukovych's success in the first round of voting
suggests that the Russian factor is most important for
Ukraine's residents, Institute of Political Studies
Director Sergei Markov told Interfax.
"This election has shown that voters in Ukraine have
voted and will vote for pro-Russian political figures.
Ignoring this factor was Yushchenko's gravest mistake
which has resulted in his defeat," he said.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1409332&PageNum=2
Itar-Tass - November 1, 2004
Yanukovich to hold talks with leftists on
constitutional reform
KIEV - Ukrainian presidential candidate and Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich intends to hold
consultations with the Communist Party and the
Socialist Party on the implementation of the
constitutional reform, head of Yanukovich’s election
headquarters Sergei Tigipko told journalists on Monday
in reply to a query whether talks with the leftists
are planned before the second round of the
presidential election.
“There is a sense to hold talks with the Communists
and the Socialists. A political reform should be
discussed,” Tigipko emphasised. According to him,
Ukraine needs the political reform and it is not a
project of the election campaign.
Tigipko had doubts that candidates from the Socialists
and the Communists Alexander Moroz and Pyotr Simonenko
who take the third and fourth places respectively so
far will support Yanukovich in the runoff.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1411267&PageNum=0
Itar-Tass - November 1, 2004
Students start building barricades in downtown Lvov
LVOV - An unauthorized rally started in front of the
university in Lvov, Western Ukraine. Its participants
started building barricades.
Masterminds of the action – the youth organizations
Pora (High Time) and Clean Ukraine which declared long
ago their intention to back Yushchenko at any price.
Members of the action put forth the following slogans:
“Resignation of presidential candidate and Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich and institution of a
criminal case against him for rigging up the
elections”.
Around 500 teenagers participate in the action so far.
However, students from other higher educational
establishments are converging on the square.
Participants in and masterminds of the unauthorized
rally stated that their action is unlimited.
Police quietly look at the developments, but
additional law enforcers come to the place of the
rally, reported the regional police department.
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0411/S00015.htm
Financial Times - October 29, 2004
Armitage: Watching Ukraine Elections with Concern
Opinion: US State Department
Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary
In the heat of this US presidential campaign season,
Americans can take some comfort in knowing they are
not alone. Countries around the world are experiencing
an unusually eventful political climate this year. The
significance for the US of these global contests lies
less in the outcome of any single election than in the
fact that a free and fair vote is taking place in so
many countries today.
In Afghanistan, for example, the successful election
earlier this month was clearly a necessary precursor
to rebuilding and stabilising the country. The
opposite is true of Belarus, where elections on
October 17 were sullied by fraud, intimidation and
administrative abuse, an unmistakable signal that an
already troubled country will remain mired in a
repressive political system and will stay outside the
Euro-Atlantic community.
The next bellwether for democracy will be seen on
Sunday in Ukraine, right next door to Belarus, and
there are signs of trouble. As the US has made clear
many times, we have an overriding interest in a
democratic Ukraine.
Ukraine is a country of nearly 50m people with great
potential as a regional leader and an example for the
re-emerging states of the former Soviet Union and the
broader region. Indeed, this is a nation that has
already made valuable contributions to global
security, including sending troops to Iraq.
The US views Ukraine as a friend and an increasingly
valuable economic and strategic partner, and the US
government certainly support Ukraine's sovereignty and
future with the Euro-Atlantic community of free
nations. Indeed, we are committed to working with our
partners and allies to help Ukraine attain its
declared goal of joining institutions such as Nato,
the European Union and the World Trade Organisation.
However, that vision ultimately depends on a Ukraine
that is open and democratic. Membership of those
institutions - and the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, to which Ukraine already
belongs - confers responsibilities and obligations to
abide by democratic and human rights norms and
standards, not least of which is conducting a free and
fair election and accompanying campaign.
Unfortunately, as Ukrainians prepare to go to the
polls to choose their third president since attaining
independence in 1991, the election campaign has
already fallen far short of the standards the
international community expects - and the Ukrainian
people deserve.
But it is not too late. Ukrainian authorities can put
an end to the violations that have plagued the
campaign, such as disruption of opposition rallies,
stifling of independent media and misuse of
administrative resources - all of which have created
an uneven playing field. Past abuses and their
negative impact cannot be ignored, but ending them
immediately would help return Ukraine to international
election standards.
Of course, fair and transparent conduct of elections
and accurate tabulation of the results will also help
determine the democratic credentials of the next
Ukrainian president.
To be sure, the US does not have a vote in this
election; it is up to the Ukrainian people to decide
who should lead them into the future. And when they
do, we will work with whoever they elect - as long as
the victor is chosen through a free and honest
process. Indeed, we stand with the people of Ukraine.
I visited Kiev earlier this year to underscore the
commitment of my government and the American people to
a vibrant, democratic Ukraine. I carried with me a
message from President George W. Bush, and it is a
message that has been echoed by colleagues both inside
and outside the US government: a free and fair
election will deepen Ukraine's relationship with
Europe and its institutions. A bad election, on the
other hand, will force us to re-examine our
relationship, especially with individuals who engage
in election fraud and manipulation.
We look to the current government of Ukraine to ensure
that Ukrainians truly have the opportunity to choose
their next leader. Leonid Kuchma, the president, has a
chance to capture for his country the full promise of
free elections. He can demonstrate to Ukraine's
people, to its neighbours and to the world how to
serve out his term and transfer power with dignity,
through a peaceful, proper electoral process. We hope
the Ukrainian government takes this advice from a
friend who wishes the best for Ukraine and its people.
---
http://www.voanews.com/english/About/lugarukraine10-29-04.cfm
Voice Of America News - October 29, 2004
U.S. Senator Expresses Concern About Ukraine Election
Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Richard Lugar told the Voice of
America that he was “very concerned” about the
upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.
The election “is a very important one, not only for
Ukraine, but for people around the world who hope that
democracy and human rights are going to proceed,” he
told VOA’s Albanian Service in an interview broadcast
today. “We take it very seriously,” he added, noting
that the presence of international monitors during the
likely run-off election will “affirm…the importance of
democracy in Ukraine.”
Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, said he was also
troubled by the latest events in Ukraine’s Eastern
European neighbor, Belarus. “The people of Belarus
deserve better,” he said regarding the recent
controversial presidential referendum. “All…who
observed the Belarus elections are very disappointed
that the trend against democracy continues to go very
strongly.” He called the extension of President
Alexander Lukashenko’s term “another nail in the
coffin…of democracy.”
Lugar also commented on the situation in Kosovo,
saying, “Americans remain deeply interested” in the
province’s future. He expressed some doubt, however,
that a solution will be reached in the coming year.
The Senator thanked Albania for its cooperation with
the Nunn-Lugar Threat Reduction Program and said the
U.S. can encourage increased democratization with the
help of “Albanians who want to see progress.”
1. L’UCRAINA VERSO IL BALLOTTAGGIO DEL 21 NOVEMBRE: DECISIVI I VOTI DEI
COMUNISTI E DEI SOCIALISTI / JANUKOVIC CONTA SUL VOTO DI COMUNISTI E
SOCIALISTI
2. LA POSIZIONE DELLE FORZE DI SINISTRA RUSSE / IVAN MELNIKOV SUI
RISULTATI ELETTORALI IN UCRAINA
3. "Serbs Offer Nonviolent Revolution Advice":
NED/Soros-Funded Serbian Otpor Ready For Violent
'Velvet' Coups In Ukraine, Belarus + A Letter by Blagovesta Doncheva ...
4. July 17, 2001: Zbigniew Brzezinski's 'Meciar-Milosevic Scenario' And
'Lukashenko Scenario' In Ukraine
5. Advised By Henry Kissinger, Backed Up By Otpor Thugs,
Western-Engineered 'Velvet' Uprising Readied For Ukraine / Ukraine:
Government Reinforces Armed Guards Around
Central Election Commission / Commonwealth Of Independent States
Observers Say Ukrainian Elections Were Legitimate, Free And Open /
Russian Analysts: Yanukovich Won First Round Of Elections,
'Yushchenko's Supporters May Get Out Of
Control' / Yanukovich Appeals To Leftist Parties For Support
In Runoff / Pora Thugs Erect 'Barricade' In Lvov / Op-Ed: US State
Department's Armitage 'Concerned' About Ukraine Vote / US Senate's
Richard Lugar 'Very Concerned' About
Ukraine Vote
*** SOURCE: Rick Rozoff / ANTINATO @... ***
=== 1 ===
L’UCRAINA VERSO IL BALLOTTAGGIO DEL 21 NOVEMBRE
DECISIVI I VOTI DEI COMUNISTI E DEI SOCIALISTI
http://www.strana.ru
1 novembre 2004
Il seguente commento di Nikolay Uljanov è apparso nel sito
filopresidenziale russo “Strana.ru”
(...) Nelle tre settimane che ci separano dal voto presidenziale,
Janukovic e Juschenko dovranno risolvere due problemi fondamentali.
Primo: come attirare dalla propria parte il maggior numero di
sostenitori della sinistra, socialisti e comunisti. Secondo: è evidente
che Juschenko tenterà con tutte le sue forze di abbassare la
percentuale degli elettori, evitando che, in presenza di una forte
mobilitazione dell’elettorato dell’Ucraina occidentale, si verifichi
un’alta affluenza di sostenitori di Moroz (Partito Socialista) e
Simonenko (Partito Comunista), che potrebbero dare il loro voto a
Janukovic. Al contrario, lo staff di Janukovic cercherà di ottenere
un’alta partecipazione al voto.
Sembrerebbe che, risolte le due questioni, Janukovic possa prevalere.
Prima di tutto, egli dispone di carte ancora da giocare, come la
riforma politica, la cui conseguenza sarebbe il relativo rafforzamento
del ruolo del parlamento di fronte al presidente, oppure come
l’attribuzione alla lingua russa dello status di idioma di stato. Se si
dà credito al capo dello staff di Janukovic, il signor Teghipko, il
premier ucraino sarebbe intenzionato a dare una soluzione a entrambe le
questioni nelle tre settimane che ci separano dal voto. Facciamo notare
che l’introduzione della riforma politica rappresenta una delle
richieste principali dei socialisti, mentre la soluzione del problema
dello status della lingua russa verrebbe accolta positivamente
dall’elettorato comunista. Inoltre, entrambe le iniziative potrebbero
mobilitare l’elettorato dell’Ucraina orientale e centrale e garantire
così un’alta affluenza al voto per il secondo turno.
In secondo luogo, sulla decisione del Partito Comunista di Ucraina su
chi appoggiare per il secondo turno, potrebbe influire l’attiva
posizione del Partito comunista russo. Proprio questa mattina, il
leader del PCFR Ghennadij Zjuganov ha dichiarato in un’intervista ad
“Interfax”: “Non ho dubbi sulla vittoria di Janukovic al secondo
turno”. A parere di Zjuganov, gli elettori che hanno votato per
Aleksandr Moroz, Piotr Simonenko e Natalja Vitrenko (Partito
Progressista Socialista), voteranno sicuramente per Janukovic al
secondo turno. E il primo vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare del
PCFR Serghey Reshulskij ha dichiarato in un’intervista a “Strana.ru”
che i comunisti hanno relazioni molto strette con Piotr Simonenko e che
cercheranno di convincerlo ad appoggiare Viktor Janukovic al secondo
turno.
JANUKOVIC CONTA SUL VOTO DI COMUNISTI E SOCIALISTI
In vista del ballottaggio del 21 novembre, il candidato filo-russo
spera nel sostegno delle sinistre ucraine, mentre “incassa” quello
delle sinistre russe
http://www.strana.ru
1 novembre 2004
Dopo aver vinto con uno scarto minimo il primo turno delle elezioni in
Ucraina, il candidato del governo Viktor Janukovic spera di portare
dalla sua parte, al secondo turno, i voti dei socialisti e dei
comunisti. Lo ha dichiarato ai giornalisti nel corso del suo incontro
dopo il primo turno elettorale.
“Voglio assicurare i sostenitori di Aleksandr Moroz (Partito
Socialista) e di Piotr Simonenko (Partito Comunista) che essi non hanno
affatto perso, sebbene i loro candidati non siano arrivati al secondo
turno. Molti punti del loro programma sono contenuti nel mio, in primo
luogo, quelli relativi al miglioramento del livello di vita dei nostri
cittadini”. Janukovic ha espresso l’intenzione di muoversi in questa
direzione insieme con l’elettorato di Moroz e Simonenko
(...)
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 2 ===
LA POSIZIONE DELLE FORZE DI SINISTRA RUSSE
Serghey Reshulskij, vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare del PCFR
I risultati provvisori hanno messo in evidenza che, al primo turno, lo
scarto tra i due principali candidati è minimo. I risultati del secondo
turno dipenderanno da come si collocheranno le forze in campo. Al
momento non è ancora noto a chi daranno i loro voti Aleksandr Moroz e
Piotr Simonenko. Il Partito Comunista della Federazione Russa appoggia
la candidatura di Janukovic e per questo siamo molto interessati a come
si posizionerà Simonenko. Abbiamo relazioni molto strette con il leader
dei comunisti ucraini. In ogni caso, non potremo che rispettare la
volontà dello stesso Simonenko. Ma se egli decidesse di appoggiare
Janukovic, gli offriremo qualsiasi sostegno. Lo consulteremo al più
presto, chiedendogli di fornirci la sua analisi della situazione in
Ucraina.
Serghey Baburin, vicepresidente del gruppo parlamentare di “Rodina”
(...) La situazione al secondo turno si presenta complessa, ma alla
fine la preferenza dovrebbe andare a Janukovic. La polarizzazione tra
Oriente e Occidente è tale, che gli elettori si orienteranno per una
scelta di amicizia nei confronti della Russia. Perciò,
indipendentemente da come voteranno Moroz e Simonenko, una parte
significativa dei loro elettori voterà per l’attuale primo ministro.
Un’altra parte potrebbe disertare le urne. Non è escluso che, al
secondo turno, aumenti la percentuale dei voti “contro tutti”, e che si
registri una più bassa affluenza. Il gruppo parlamentare di “Rodina”
appoggia coloro che intendono rafforzare le relazioni con la Russia.
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
IVAN MELNIKOV SUI RISULTATI ELETTORALI IN UCRAINA
Un commento del vicepresidente del Partito Comunista della Federazione
Russa
http://www.kprf.ru
1 novembre 2004
La situazione in Ucraina dopo il primo turno elettorale è molto
complicata. Ma non me la sentirei di affermare categoricamente che la
società è divisa esattamente a metà. Se si ricorda quanto era basso il
rating di Viktor Janukovic ancora all’inizio dell’anno, l’eccellente
risultato ottenuto ora testimonia della crescita della consapevolezza
tra l’opinione pubblica. La fiducia manifestata nei confronti di
Janukovic è il segno che un numero sempre crescente di cittadini
comprende che, nella fase attuale, in cui fondi occidentali stanno
finanziando in modo enorme un progetto di divisione del paese,
l’Ucraina ha più che mai bisogno di stabilità politica. All’Ucraina è
necessaria l’indipendenza delle autorità da forze esterne e lo sviluppo
di processi di integrazione reciprocamente vantaggiosi con la Russia,
la Bielorussia e gli altri vicini. Mi sento di affermare che da ciò
deriva la crescita di fiducia verso il primo ministro.
Lo spettro del “grande fratello”, della cui presenza i sostenitori
delle forze nazionaliste cercano di convincere i cittadini, è solo un
mito. Sebbene il fratello sia grande, ha così tanti problemi interni,
che non è certo in grado di esercitare qualsivoglia pressione
sull’Ucraina e di imporle le proprie condizioni. Ecco perché è
possibile risolvere i problemi comuni in modo solidale e reciprocamente
vantaggioso. Penso che, se Viktor Janukovic riuscisse a far penetrare
più incisivamente questa convinzione tra i cittadini dell’Ucraina, la
sua affermazione sarebbe ancora più vistosa.
Naturalmente, non posso che esprimere rammarico per il risultato
ottenuto dal Partito Comunista di Ucraina di Piotr Simonenko. Dal punto
di vista della nostra ideologia, dei nostri obiettivi, della nostra
lotta comune per la giustizia sociale, questo non rappresenta certo il
risultato su cui contavano i comunisti. Ma penso che tale risultato
abbia una sua spiegazione. Innanzitutto, gli elettori che questa volta
non hanno attribuito il loro voto al candidato comunista, hanno
ragionato in modo pragmatico. Essi hanno compreso che solo il
provvisorio sostegno a Janukovic in questa fase, è in grado di offrire
maggiori possibilità di vittoria a un candidato comunista in futuro. E
sono convinto che non un solo voto, tra quelli persi da Simonenko, sia
andato a Juschenko.
Per quanto riguarda gli elettori che hanno votato per Aleksandr Moroz
(Partito Socialista), alcuni ritengono che, nel caso Moroz appoggi
Juschenko per il secondo turno, anch’essi possano fare la stessa cosa.
Ma l’elettorato di Moroz è un elettorato particolare che potrebbe non
recarsi al voto, proprio per non dover scegliere tra Janukovic e
Juschenko. E una sua parte, in quanto portatrice di valori di sinistra,
potrebbe comportarsi come si sono comportati al primo turno molti degli
elettori comunisti.
Traduzione dal russo di Mauro Gemma
=== 3 ===
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-exporting-
revolution,0,7763712.story?coll=sns-ap-world-headlines
Associated Press Writer - October 31, 2004
Serbs Offer Nonviolent Revolution Advice
By DUSAN STOJANOVIC
-The group, which once erected a giant cardboard
telescope in Belgrade to let people watch a falling
star dubbed "Slobotea," and offered people a chance to
punch a Milosevic effigy for a penny, says it has
"well-trained" followers in Ukraine and Belarus.
-"Our goal is nonviolent action," said Sinisa Sikman,
one of the group's activists who was involved in
training protest leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and
Belarus.
-Earlier this month, Ukrainian border authorities
denied entry to Aleksandar Maric, a member of Otpor
and an adviser with the U.S.-based democracy watchdog
Freedom House. A Ukrainian student group called Pora
was following the strategies of Otpor.
BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro - They led an uprising
that toppled Slobodan Milosevic in 2000, and last year
they played a major role in ousting another
[sic]autocrat in Georgia.
A group of youthful Serbs is offering advice on how to
carry out peaceful revolutions, and their latest
clients are people trying to shake off oppression
[sic] in Ukraine and Belarus.
"We knew there would be work for us after Milosevic,"
said Danijela Nenadic, a program coordinator of the
Belgrade-based Center for Nonviolent Resistance.
The non-governmental group emerged from Otpor, the
pro-democracy [sic] movement that helped sweep
Milosevic from power by organizing massive and
colorful protests that drew crowds who never
previously had the courage to oppose the former
Yugoslav president.
Otpor, which means "resistance" in Serbian, knows the
price of struggling for its beliefs.
More than any other group, Otpor activists took the
brunt of the Milosevic regime's repression in the
pro-democracy movement that led to his ouster in the
popular revolt in October 2000.
About 9,600 Otpor activists were arrested by police
during the massive uprising. Many of them were beaten.
Otpor's symbol - a clenched fist on a white or black
flag - appeared on buildings, signs and shop windows
everywhere in Serbia. Though it had thousands of
members, Otpor's strength was in its reach: The
loose-knit organization had chapters even in the
tiniest villages around the country.
Otpor gained attention with colorful publicity stunts
intended to make ordinary people reconsider longtime
political beliefs. It inspired optimism in a nation
almost without hope for its future.
The group, which once erected a giant cardboard
telescope in Belgrade to let people watch a falling
star dubbed "Slobotea," and offered people a chance to
punch a Milosevic effigy for a penny, says it has
"well-trained" followers in Ukraine and Belarus.
"Our goal is nonviolent action," said Sinisa Sikman,
one of the group's activists who was involved in
training protest leaders in Georgia, Ukraine and
Belarus.
"They saw what we did in Serbia and they contacted us
for professional training," Sikman said. "Otpor's
clenched fist became a known international brand. That
was a phenomenon ... they are interested because of
our huge experience."
In 2000, Otpor received MTV's prestigious Free Your
Mind Award.
Last year, Otpor's clenched fist was flying high on
white flags again -- this time in Georgia, when
protesters stormed the former Soviet republic's
parliament in an action that led to the toppling of
former autocratic President Eduard Shevardnadze.
The election campaign in Ukraine ahead of this
weekend's vote has been tense, with massive popular
protests amid numerous complaints from the opposition
about outgoing president Leonid Kuchma's interference
and occasional violence.
Earlier this month, Ukrainian border authorities
denied entry to Aleksandar Maric, a member of Otpor
and an adviser with the U.S.-based democracy watchdog
Freedom House. A Ukrainian student group called Pora
was following the strategies of Otpor.
In Belarus, police have detained several activists,
including an opposition party leader, as opposition
groups stage continuing protests against a recent
referendum that will allow authoritarian [sic]
President Alexander Lukashenko to extend his hold on
power. The international community contends the
referendum was rigged and has accused Belarus of
widespread electoral fraud.
"We were teaching them how to organize those protests,
to increase public interest and draw crowds and
motivate them to endure," Sikman said. "We have an
advantage over other such organizations in the West
because we lived under a dictatorial regime and they
did not."
In a small busy office in downtown Belgrade, the group
of about 10 activists holds daily staff meetings,
logging on to the Internet as its telephones and fax
machines steadily ring.
"We have several calls for our help, not only from
Europe," Nenadic said, refusing to reveal the exact
countries.
"What good would it bring if we tell the autocrats
what's up and coming?"
---
ABOUT OTPOR / KMARA / PORA:
You surely know what the Serb OTPOR did in Georgia last year?
What the Serb OTPOR did in Adjaria through - and with the mirror
Georgian organization Kmara (= OTPOR!) created by the same Serb OTPOR
in Georgia around the Georgian Elections in 2003?
You know maybe that the Serb OTPOR is in UKRAINE (!!!) - for almost a
year already! - working for the Western candidate together with the
Georgian KMARA and the Ukrainian PORA (created meanwhile in Ukraine)!
The OTPOR-KMARA-PORA are in the streets in some of the Ukraine cities
and towns since the Elections on Sunday, 31 October 2004, the idea
being to attempt a coup before the second tour of Elections on 21 of
December 2004!
One couldnít help remembering the Yugoslavian Elections in September
2000!
One couldn't help remembering the Georgian Elections in the Autumn of
2003!
I have not heard that anybody in Yugoslavia has tried to do something
about the Serb OTPOR of CIA from Langley, Virginia, US.
The CIA thugs might be more than the Serb ones in the so-called OTPOR
but all the world knows that it is the Serb OTPOR that is killing our
hopes in Georgia and Ukraine! (They also tried to do the same in
Belarus!)
OTPOR - the CIA SERB team for coups all over the world! (...)
Start writing about OTPOR! Get down the masks of the Serb highly paid
mercenaries in it! Prove that it is CIA organized and NED financed!
Publish the names of the Serb OTPOR thugs and point down the names of
the CIA thugs - instructors - working with them. There are Serb
patriots all over the world - some of them have access to
documentation, and specific Internet sites!
Roll up your sleeves and start unmasking and denouncing OTPOR - you
have no time to lose!
Denouncing the Serb OTPOR is much more important NOW than denouncing
their PR lies re Srebrenica, Saraevo, Dubrovnik, Racak!
It is high time that all the Serbs and their friends all over the world
should understand what a BLACK spot (very mildly said!) is throwing on
them the Serb OTPOR of CIA!
PLEASE, DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT!
Blagovesta Doncheva (Sofia)
=== 4 ===
http://www.mail-archive.com/stopnato@.../msg01268.html
From: Rick Rozoff
Subject: Brzezinski's "Milosevic Plan" For Ukraine,
Belarus [WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK]
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 15:40:29 -0700
http://www.russianobserver.com/foreign/cis/2001/07/17/995374314.html
The Russian Observer - July 17, 2001
New stage in Brzezinsky Plan for Ukraine
Architects of the Brzezinsky plan are preparing two
scenarios of further developments: "Meciar-Milosevic
scenario" and "Lukashenko scenario"
Bogdan Khmelnitsky
The Brzezinsky Plan that was concocted in the inner
sanctums of the American Congress and in the
Washington think tanks in the plush offices of
American citizens that emigrated from Poland and
Ukraine had as its goal in 1999-2000 to implement "the
Milosevic scenario:"
1) President Kuchma's conversations were secretly
recorded;
2) a little known journalist, Georgy Gongadze, was
chosen as a potential victim (he was either squirreled
away and hidden by the American or Polish secret
services, or he was liquidated by Ukrainian fascists
to get him out of the way) allegedly on President
Kuchma's orders - the Ukrainian president used words
unfit for printing in reference to Gongadze);
3) Major Melnichenko, a security officer, who was
persuaded to become a turncoat, took the job of
recording the president's conversations (100 hours of
tape recordings made beneath a sofa);
4) with the help of the media controlled by the
"Brzezinsky coalition, President Kuchma was accused of
organizing the assassination of journalist Gongadze;
5) public demonstrations were organized to demand the
beginning of an impeachment procedure against
President Kuchma.
The next stages of this plan were supposed to be:
- resignation of Leonid Kuchma;
- transfer of power to acting president, Prime
Minister Yushchenko who is totally controlled by the
"Brzezinsky group;"
- prescheduled presidential elections that would be
won hands down by Viktor Yushchenko, making use of
administrative control over the leading media and
massive financial backing from the "Brzezinsky group;"
- selling out Leonid Kuchma to international justice
in exactly the same manner that the Serbs sold out
ex-president Milosevic;
- Viktor Yushchenko, under American control, was to
start deRussification of Ukraine - squeezing out the
Russian language, introducing a visa regime for
Russia, dumping all contracts in the
military-technical sphere, blockade of Russia's Black
Sea Fleet, Ukrainian secret services and the army were
to be placed under control of American and Polish
officers.
However, this plan was not destined to materialize in
view of the low level of professionalism of those who
were supposed to carry it out. Another reason why the
plan fizzed out was that all the funds that were
directed towards ousting Kuchma were simply pilfered.
But the main reason why the plan did not work out was
that the majority of Ukrainian citizens are afraid of
total rule by "westerners." They are considerably more
afraid of the Polish-brainwashed and
Catholic-brainwashed inhabitants of western Ukraine
with their frenzied nationalism than they are afraid
of Kuchma's oligarchs. The Ukrainian citizens are also
afraid of the chaos in the event of the development of
the planned political crisis.
The "Brzezinsky coalition" suffered a resounding
defeat and was compelled to retreat, licking its
wounds and taking along their wounded: Viktor
Yushchenko and Yulia Timoshenko.
But political life is a fast moving affair,
parliamentary elections are due in March, and so a new
stage of the "Brzezinsky plan" has been drawn up. It
has also originated in the offices of Polish-American
Congressmen and Washington think tank analysts.
The parliamentary ballot is the main objective at the
new stage. The ideologists of the anti-Kuchma campaign
state directly that "the future parliamentary
elections will be the most crucial event since
declaration of Ukrainian independence." The architects
of the Brzezinsky plan are based on standard schemes
and are preparing two scenarios of further
developments: "Meciar-Milosevic scenario" and
"Lukashenko scenario."
"Meciar-Milosevic scenario"
Stage one is reserved for an active election campaign
with anti-presidential slogans. Currently there are
three columns within the "Brzezinsky coalition:" an
ultra-right one led by Viktor Yushchenko, a
centrist-oligarchic one led by Yulia Timoshenko, and a
moderately leftwing one led by Alexander Moroz. It is
assumed that the people are sick and tired of Kuchma
and his oligarchs and do not trust the communists.
This will enable the three columns of the "Brzezinsky
coalition" to gain a majority in the Parliament.
At stage two, the parliamentary majority forms the
Yushchenko-Timoshenko Government.
Stage three sees the start of impeachment proceedings
against President Kuchma.
The parliamentary elections scenario was used in
Slovakia to topple Prime Minister Meciar (Slovakia has
a parliamentary system). Playing the decisive role in
molding public opinion and running the election
campaign were not so much local Slovak structures as a
network of organizations created with international
aid - foundations, research groups, centers and others
- whose declared goal it was "to create conditions for
the holding of free elections," and "to control the
holding of elections." This type of organizations has
been created in Ukraine and will doubtlessly be
actively employed during the election campaign. After
that the developments will unobtrusively take the form
of the "Milosevic scenario," thus coming back to the
option the "Brzezinsky coalition" attempted to
implement in early 2001.
At stage four the impeachment proceedings are dropped
in exchange for the holding of early elections.
At stage five, Yushchenko wins the presidential
elections, with "the Brzezinsky coalition" controlling
the Ukrainian media.
At stage six, Leonid Kuchma is sold to the
international justice in exchange for a promise of
investments, but in fact in exchange for independence.
Further on, Yushchenko is used as a puppet for the
fight against Russia. Ukraine under Yushchenko is cast
in the role of a pawn in a great chess game played
against Russia, a plaything in the hands of
venturesome geopolitical gamblers.
But it is not easy to give effect to this scenario,
because most people in Ukraine are opposed to doubtful
experiments - 85 % of them want good relations with
Russia. For this reason the "Brzezinsky coalition" is
getting ready for using the "Lukashenko scenario" in
case it fails to win the elections - they would
discredit the elections and to declare elected
parliament and president illegitimate. Later they plan
gradually to isolate Kuchma and bring greater pressure
to bear on him. The purpose is to compel him to resign
sooner or later and then sell him out to an
international court the way Milosevic was sold out.
To carry out this scenario, a large group of observers
is being formed to judge whether the elections are
democratic or not, depending on their outcome. To
attain this goal, the committees monitoring the
elections should more or less be controlled from one
center. To that end, a system of financing and
controlling them is being established. The financing
procedure is to be simplified to achieve better
control. This not only makes the whole work simpler
but also creates conditions for embezzlement, which
not only attracts indecent people to monitoring the
elections but also allows one to control them better,
so that they could be accused of corruption at any
appropriate time. In this way a coalition of
avaricious observers of parliamentary elections in
Ukraine is being formed. All this makes the system of
monitoring the elections, which is being created at
present, undemocratic in principle.
The fundamental fact is that the system being created
is directed against democracy - it is to be used for
imposing a choice on the people of Ukraine, which they
would never make on their own free will, since 85% of
the population there gives priority to relations with
Russia. So, an anti-Russian politician cannot come to
power in Ukraine in a democratic way. He can only be
imposed on the Ukrainian people. And this is what the
"Brzezinsky coalition" is trying to do.
At first a method of rendering the elections
illegitimate will be tested in Belarus. Preparations
for this are under way. Groups for this purpose have
already been formed. Lukashenko is naive to think they
are going to train militants against him. Their goal
is more important - to declare his presidency invalid
and to declare him an usurper. The principles on which
the elections in Belarus and then in Ukraine will be
declared invalid have already been formulated. They
have been published on the Washington online site with
the money of the U.S. Congress. Meanwhile, it has been
announced that an international mission is to be
created. Its work is to be coordinated by Andrew
Carpenter. The principles are:
1. transparency of elections
2. access of opponents to state media
3. absence of discrimination against political
opponents
4. the significance of the parliament's powers.
On the basis of these principles the legitimacy of
first the Belarus President and then the Ukrainian
parliament will be rejected. Alexander Lukashenko has
long been the target for his efforts to achieve
integration with Russia. But why Kuchma? Perhaps just
because they want so.
The goal of Russia's present policy with regard to
Ukraine is to ensure non-interference in its domestic
affairs, independence of Ukraine, and democracy in
Ukraine.
=== 5 ===
http://www.hindu.com/2004/11/01/stories/2004110100731500.htm
The Hindu - October 31, 2004
Russia-West proxy war in Ukraine poll
By Vladimir Radyuhin
-A powerful team of American political lobbyists,
including Henry Kissinger, descended on Ukraine to
campaign for Mr. Yushchenko, while the U.S. State
Department said that the Ukrainian campaign "has
fallen short of international democratic standards"
and vowed to take `measures' should the vote be rigged
by the state.
-Experts warned of possible violence after the poll if
the Opposition candidate loses. The Government has
deployed more than 6,000 security personnel in Kiev.
MOSCOW - Ukraine voted in presidential elections on
Sunday seen as a proxy battle between Russia and the
West for the second biggest former Soviet state.
The two geopolitical adversaries have backed rival
front-runners in a poll contested by 24 candidates,
with Moscow throwing its weight behind the pro-Russian
Prime Minister, Viktor Yanukovich, who is the chosen
successor of the outgoing President, Leonid Kuchma,
and Washington supporting the pro-West Opposition
leader, Viktor Yushchenko.
Putin visit
The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, paid a
high-profile visit to Ukraine in the race's final days
to answer viewers' questions in an unprecedented
60-minute call-in session broadcast live on all main
Ukrainian TV channels.
Mr. Putin called for closer integration between Russia
and Ukraine and ordered an easing of travel rules for
millions of Ukrainian workers in Russia. The West sees
the Ukrainian vote as a choice between becoming part
of Europe or joining the "Russian neo-empire."
A powerful team of American political lobbyists,
including Henry Kissinger, descended on Ukraine to
campaign for Mr. Yushchenko, while the U.S. State
Department said that the Ukrainian campaign "has
fallen short of international democratic standards"
and vowed to take `measures' should the vote be rigged
by the state.
Close race
Surveys showed that the two main rivals are running
neck and neck and a run-off vote is likely to be held
to decide the winner. The election has split Ukraine
in two, with the pro-Russian industrial south-east
supporting Mr. Yanukovich and the poor agricultural
west backing Mr. Yushchenko.
Experts warned of possible violence after the poll if
the Opposition candidate loses. The Government has
deployed more than 6,000 security personnel in Kiev.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1407741&PageNum=0
Itar-Tass - October 31, 2004
Security tightened around Ukrainian Central Electoral
Commission
KIEV - Security has been tightened around the
Ukrainian Central Electoral Commission building
despite assurances of Commission Chairman Sergei
Kivalov that the presidential election has been quiet
throughout Ukraine.
A metal fence was installed around the building after
the incidents of October 23-24, and another fencing
was placed afterwards. There is military hardware
between the two rows. The number of policemen,
servicemen and secret service agents, standing guard
near the building, has increased by ten times. It
takes more than 30 minutes to get into the building
with accreditation cards.
---
http://en.rian.ru/rian/
index.cfm?prd_id=160&msg_id=5035559&startrow=11&date=2004-11-
01&do_alert=0
Russian Information Agency (Novosti) - November 1, 2004
CIS OBSERVERS: UKRAINIAN ELECTIONS WERE LEGITIMATE, FREE AND OPEN
KIEV - "In our opinion, the presidential elections in
Ukraine held past Sunday were legitimate, free and
open," election observers representing CIS members
stated.
No violations of legislation were registered in the
process of vote counting, which is fixed in the
statement of the CIS observers, Vladimir Rushailo,
head of the CIS mission of observers, Chairman of the
executive committee and executive secretary of the CIS
said at a press conference in Kiev.
"After polling stations were closed, CIS observers
monitored the vote count, polling site commissions
making up protocols and submitting them to superior
election commissions. There were no violations on the
sites," the statement reads.
The elections revealed a high degree of interest and
activity of citizens, the document says.
Although faults and shortcomings were registered in
the work of some election commissions and during
campaign trail, these could not affect the
implementation of the right to self-determination, the
statement points out.
So far as violations are concerned, CIS observers
pointed to an incident that had taken place in Moscow,
where observers were not admitted to a polling
station. Only after Ukraine's Foreign Ministry
interfered did the mission representatives manage to
watch the site in the afternoon of October 31st.
Over 600 CIS observers monitored the elections in
Ukraine's all 225 constituencies.
---
http://www.interfax.com/com?item=Ukr&pg=0&id=5766853&req=
Interfax - November 1, 2004
Yanukovych won first round of Ukrainian voting -
Russian analysts
Moscow/Kyiv - The results of Ukraine's first round
presidential vote must be regarded as Prime Minister
Viktor Yanukovych's big success, CIS Institute
Konstantin Zatulin, member of the Russian parliament,
told Interfax on Monday.
"Like quite a few people predicted, the final count
will show that Yanukovych and [the main opposition
candidate] Yushchenko faired nearly equally, which
will be a major success for Yanukovych, who did not
look capable of catching up on Yushchenko just a few
months ago," Zatulin said.
The two front runners Yanukovych and Yushchenko will
have to change their strategies in the inevitable
second round of voting, Gleb Pavlovsky, head of he
Fund of Effective Policy told Interfax.
"Either candidate has exhausted nearly all his
reserves, including the administrative resource, which
calls for changing the strategy," he said.
Yanukovych will find this easier to do because he has
been showing throughout the campaign that he was
prepared to cooperate with the those who have not
decided, Pavlovsky said.
"He has more room to maneuver whereas Yuschenko has
from the outset been making those who was not loyal to
him his bitter enemies," he said.
The tough campaigning in the run up to the second
round of voting may lead to riots, Pavlovsky said.
Yushchenko's loyalists are splitting between radicals
and politicos who tread more cautiously, he said.
"Yushchenko's supporters may get out of control,"
Pavlovsky said.
Yanukovych's success in the first round of voting
suggests that the Russian factor is most important for
Ukraine's residents, Institute of Political Studies
Director Sergei Markov told Interfax.
"This election has shown that voters in Ukraine have
voted and will vote for pro-Russian political figures.
Ignoring this factor was Yushchenko's gravest mistake
which has resulted in his defeat," he said.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1409332&PageNum=2
Itar-Tass - November 1, 2004
Yanukovich to hold talks with leftists on
constitutional reform
KIEV - Ukrainian presidential candidate and Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich intends to hold
consultations with the Communist Party and the
Socialist Party on the implementation of the
constitutional reform, head of Yanukovich’s election
headquarters Sergei Tigipko told journalists on Monday
in reply to a query whether talks with the leftists
are planned before the second round of the
presidential election.
“There is a sense to hold talks with the Communists
and the Socialists. A political reform should be
discussed,” Tigipko emphasised. According to him,
Ukraine needs the political reform and it is not a
project of the election campaign.
Tigipko had doubts that candidates from the Socialists
and the Communists Alexander Moroz and Pyotr Simonenko
who take the third and fourth places respectively so
far will support Yanukovich in the runoff.
---
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=1411267&PageNum=0
Itar-Tass - November 1, 2004
Students start building barricades in downtown Lvov
LVOV - An unauthorized rally started in front of the
university in Lvov, Western Ukraine. Its participants
started building barricades.
Masterminds of the action – the youth organizations
Pora (High Time) and Clean Ukraine which declared long
ago their intention to back Yushchenko at any price.
Members of the action put forth the following slogans:
“Resignation of presidential candidate and Prime
Minister Viktor Yanukovich and institution of a
criminal case against him for rigging up the
elections”.
Around 500 teenagers participate in the action so far.
However, students from other higher educational
establishments are converging on the square.
Participants in and masterminds of the unauthorized
rally stated that their action is unlimited.
Police quietly look at the developments, but
additional law enforcers come to the place of the
rally, reported the regional police department.
---
http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0411/S00015.htm
Financial Times - October 29, 2004
Armitage: Watching Ukraine Elections with Concern
Opinion: US State Department
Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary
In the heat of this US presidential campaign season,
Americans can take some comfort in knowing they are
not alone. Countries around the world are experiencing
an unusually eventful political climate this year. The
significance for the US of these global contests lies
less in the outcome of any single election than in the
fact that a free and fair vote is taking place in so
many countries today.
In Afghanistan, for example, the successful election
earlier this month was clearly a necessary precursor
to rebuilding and stabilising the country. The
opposite is true of Belarus, where elections on
October 17 were sullied by fraud, intimidation and
administrative abuse, an unmistakable signal that an
already troubled country will remain mired in a
repressive political system and will stay outside the
Euro-Atlantic community.
The next bellwether for democracy will be seen on
Sunday in Ukraine, right next door to Belarus, and
there are signs of trouble. As the US has made clear
many times, we have an overriding interest in a
democratic Ukraine.
Ukraine is a country of nearly 50m people with great
potential as a regional leader and an example for the
re-emerging states of the former Soviet Union and the
broader region. Indeed, this is a nation that has
already made valuable contributions to global
security, including sending troops to Iraq.
The US views Ukraine as a friend and an increasingly
valuable economic and strategic partner, and the US
government certainly support Ukraine's sovereignty and
future with the Euro-Atlantic community of free
nations. Indeed, we are committed to working with our
partners and allies to help Ukraine attain its
declared goal of joining institutions such as Nato,
the European Union and the World Trade Organisation.
However, that vision ultimately depends on a Ukraine
that is open and democratic. Membership of those
institutions - and the Organisation for Security and
Co-operation in Europe, to which Ukraine already
belongs - confers responsibilities and obligations to
abide by democratic and human rights norms and
standards, not least of which is conducting a free and
fair election and accompanying campaign.
Unfortunately, as Ukrainians prepare to go to the
polls to choose their third president since attaining
independence in 1991, the election campaign has
already fallen far short of the standards the
international community expects - and the Ukrainian
people deserve.
But it is not too late. Ukrainian authorities can put
an end to the violations that have plagued the
campaign, such as disruption of opposition rallies,
stifling of independent media and misuse of
administrative resources - all of which have created
an uneven playing field. Past abuses and their
negative impact cannot be ignored, but ending them
immediately would help return Ukraine to international
election standards.
Of course, fair and transparent conduct of elections
and accurate tabulation of the results will also help
determine the democratic credentials of the next
Ukrainian president.
To be sure, the US does not have a vote in this
election; it is up to the Ukrainian people to decide
who should lead them into the future. And when they
do, we will work with whoever they elect - as long as
the victor is chosen through a free and honest
process. Indeed, we stand with the people of Ukraine.
I visited Kiev earlier this year to underscore the
commitment of my government and the American people to
a vibrant, democratic Ukraine. I carried with me a
message from President George W. Bush, and it is a
message that has been echoed by colleagues both inside
and outside the US government: a free and fair
election will deepen Ukraine's relationship with
Europe and its institutions. A bad election, on the
other hand, will force us to re-examine our
relationship, especially with individuals who engage
in election fraud and manipulation.
We look to the current government of Ukraine to ensure
that Ukrainians truly have the opportunity to choose
their next leader. Leonid Kuchma, the president, has a
chance to capture for his country the full promise of
free elections. He can demonstrate to Ukraine's
people, to its neighbours and to the world how to
serve out his term and transfer power with dignity,
through a peaceful, proper electoral process. We hope
the Ukrainian government takes this advice from a
friend who wishes the best for Ukraine and its people.
---
http://www.voanews.com/english/About/lugarukraine10-29-04.cfm
Voice Of America News - October 29, 2004
U.S. Senator Expresses Concern About Ukraine Election
Press Release
PRESS RELEASE - U.S. Senate Foreign Relations
Committee Chairman Richard Lugar told the Voice of
America that he was “very concerned” about the
upcoming presidential elections in Ukraine.
The election “is a very important one, not only for
Ukraine, but for people around the world who hope that
democracy and human rights are going to proceed,” he
told VOA’s Albanian Service in an interview broadcast
today. “We take it very seriously,” he added, noting
that the presence of international monitors during the
likely run-off election will “affirm…the importance of
democracy in Ukraine.”
Lugar, a Republican from Indiana, said he was also
troubled by the latest events in Ukraine’s Eastern
European neighbor, Belarus. “The people of Belarus
deserve better,” he said regarding the recent
controversial presidential referendum. “All…who
observed the Belarus elections are very disappointed
that the trend against democracy continues to go very
strongly.” He called the extension of President
Alexander Lukashenko’s term “another nail in the
coffin…of democracy.”
Lugar also commented on the situation in Kosovo,
saying, “Americans remain deeply interested” in the
province’s future. He expressed some doubt, however,
that a solution will be reached in the coming year.
The Senator thanked Albania for its cooperation with
the Nunn-Lugar Threat Reduction Program and said the
U.S. can encourage increased democratization with the
help of “Albanians who want to see progress.”