[Ohio UZO News] Ukraine: NYT; FT; WSJ; HC; State Dep't

[Deychak, Orest]

The New York Times 

www.nytimes.org

 

Ukraine's President Forms A Coalition in Parliament 

By CLIFFORD J. LEVY 

12 March 2010

NYTF

Late Edition - Final

8

MOSCOW -- The new Ukrainian president, Viktor F. Yanukovich, put together a coalition in Parliament on Thursday, allowing him to consolidate control over the government and avoid new elections that could have created renewed political instability.

Mr. Yanukovich, who was narrowly elected last month, won the support of several members of other political parties, gaining 235 of 450 seats. After weeks of speculation that he might face a lengthy battle in Parliament, he formed the coalition relatively quickly. His success suggested that, at least for now, some politicians are coalescing around his leadership, though Parliament remains volatile.

Mr. Yanukovich installed a close adviser, Mykola Azarov, as prime minister, seeking to prevent the kind of infighting that caused problems for his predecessor, Viktor A. Yushchenko.

Mr. Yanukovich hailed the new coalition, saying that it would help the country ''return to the path of development and progress.''

Mr. Azarov filled senior cabinet spots with experienced figures, including Kostyantyn Gryshchenko as foreign minister. Mr. Gryshchenko, currently ambassador to Russia, had served earlier as foreign minister, and was ambassador to the United States. He is well respected in the West.

Sergey Tigipko, who came in third in the presidential election and is considered a rising political star, was appointed a deputy prime minister.

The new coalition and appointments may help calm concerns in the West that the contested presidential election would touch off more turmoil in Ukraine. The country has been hard hit by the financial crisis, and must resume talks with the International Monetary Fund, which has suspended a $16.4 billion bailout package.

On the sidelines on Thursday was Mr. Yanukovich's opponent in the presidential election, Yulia V. Tymoshenko, who was ousted as prime minister last week. Mr. Yushchenko appointed Ms. Tymoshenko, but she feuded with him, though they led the movement that took power after the Orange Revolution of 2004.

Ms. Tymoshenko, who lost the election by 3.5 percentage points, refused to attend Mr. Yanukovich's inauguration, saying that his victory was tainted by fraud. She had tried to challenge it in court but withdrew her case after it seemed that she would lose. European election monitors said the Feb. 7 election was generally honest and fair.

Mr. Yanukovich's political party, the Party of Regions, has the largest bloc of votes in Parliament, but not enough to form a coalition. In order to ease the process, it pushed through a law allowing individual lawmakers to break away from their parliamentary factions.

Prime Minister Azarov does not seem to have political ambitions of his own, having served in senior financial positions in the government. He was born in Russia and is believed to speak poor Ukrainian, preferring Russian.


Financial Times


www.ft.com


Yanukovich consolidates power


By Roman Olearchyk in Kiev 

Published: March 12 2010 02:00 

Viktor Yanukovich, who took over as Ukraine's president last month, strengthened his grip on power yesterday by forming a loyal governing coalition in parliament and appointing Mykola Azarov, a close ally, as prime minister.

Eager to stabilise the shaky political scene and recession-ravaged economy, Mr Yanukovich formed the coalition through a controversial move that opposition leaders, including Yulia Tymoshenko, the former premier, condemned as a "constitutional coup".

After his Regions party failed to form a coalition with other parties in the normal way, he signed a law on Wednesday allowing a coalition to be formed by recruiting individual MPs, as opposed to party factions, as usually required by Ukraine's constitution.

The Regions party mustered a coalition backed by 235 lawmakers in the 450- seat legislature. The coalition was joined by the Communist party, the bloc of speaker Volodymyr Lytvyn, and defectors from the camps of Ms Tymoshenko and Viktor Yushchenko, the former president.

Opposition groups vowed to challenge the move in the constitutional court. But their chances of bringing down the coalition are unclear because power has shifted strongly towards Mr Yanukovich.

Investors have been pleased to see a government formed swiftly, avoiding a stand-off and snap parliamentary elections. The Kiev stock market has rallied nearly 30 per cent since Mr Yanukovich became president, although it was down slightly yesterday.

"Politically, there are some questions about the method used to establish this coalition, but I think that the market and European observers are willing to turn a blind eye for the sake of stability," said Peter Vanhecke, chief executive of Renaissance Capital in Ukraine, Belarus and central and eastern Europe.

"Sentiment for Ukraine was extremely negative in 2009," he added. "Any sign of stability turns the market positive for investors, as they rediscover Ukraine's upside potential. The assumption is that with a new president and loyal government, there will be more stability in Ukraine, and in relations with its big neighbours, Russia and Europe."

The strong pro-western foreign policy push of Kiev's previous president riled Russia. Mr Yanukovich hopes to steer a more balanced path.

On Wednesday Mr Azarov pledged to stabilise the economy, swiftly adopt a prudent budget and renew a stalled $16.4bn (€12bn, £11bn) International Monetary Fund programme. "We expect . . . that 2010 will be a year of stabilisation," he said.

Mr Azarov, who was born in Russia and has twice been finance minister, is regarded as a strong manager. But he is loathed by opposition groups who see him as pro-Russian and criticise his inability to speak Ukrainian. He has been accused of persecuting businesses and political challengers while heading Kiev's tax administration under former president Leonid Kuchma, allegations Mr Azarov has denied.

Cabinet positions have been given to businessmen. The deputy prime ministers are billionaire banker Sergei Tigipko, a former presidential candidate, Andriy Kluyev and Borys Kolesnikov, an associate of Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine's richest man.

The Wall Street Journal

www.wsj.com

World News: Ukraine President Secures Coalition 

By Richard Boudreaux 

12 March 2010

J

A7

Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovych, moving quickly to end years of political paralysis, secured a majority coalition in parliament Thursday and won its approval for a close ally to serve as prime minister.

The vote gave the former Soviet republic its first unified leadership since the early months of the 2004 Orange Revolution, when triumphant, Western-oriented politicians began quarreling among themselves. The infighting and legislative deadlock blocked promised transformations and hindered recovery from economic crises.

Mykola Azarov, a former finance minister and tax authority chief, was sworn in to lead a 29-member cabinet supportive of Mr. Yanukovych's plans to balance Ukraine's quest for Western alliances with an improvement of its ties with Russia.

Mr. Azarov's first task will be to restore the confidence of the International Monetary Fund, which last year suspended a $16.4 billion bailout program, citing Ukraine's lack of a balanced budget.

Speaking in parliament before it elected him prime minister, Mr. Azarov said his government would draft a "realistic" budget for 2010 and meet other obligations to the IMF, the country's most important lender.

His remarks cast doubt on Mr. Yanukovych's campaign promise to raise wages and pensions for government workers on the heels of a recession that shrank Ukraine's economy by 15% last year. "The country has been plundered," Mr. Azarov said. "The coffers are empty."

Mr. Azarov, 62 years old, was a campaign strategist in Mr. Yanukovych's Feb. 7 election victory over Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. Like most others in the cabinet, he is a longtime loyalist from Mr. Yanukovych's Party of Regions. He is regarded as an experienced, albeit conservative, economic manager.

A notable outsider in the cabinet is Serhiy Tihipko, a former central bank chief who finished third in the presidential race on a platform of far-reaching economic change. Mr. Yanukovych said that Mr. Tihipko, a deputy prime minister, would play a key role in managing the economy.

His appointment, along with that of Iryna Akimova, a respected economist who is first deputy head of the presidential administration, encouraged investors.

Helsinki Commission

This hearing is open to the public and all are very welcome to attend; no RSVP necessary.   The Capitol Visitors Center is located on  E Capitol St NE & 1st St NE (east side of the Capitol).  Closest metro stops are either Capitol South or Union Station. Copy of media advisory also on our website: www.csce.gov <http://www.csce.gov> .   OD

***MEDIA ADVISORY***

 

WASHINGTON­ — U.S. Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission), and Co-Chairman Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL) announced today that they will hold a hearing:

 

“Ukraine: Moving Beyond Stalemate?”

 

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

 

10:00 a.m.

 

SVC 201/200 (Capitol Visitor Center)

 

President Viktor Yanukovych’s narrow victory over former Prime Minister Yuliya Tymoshenko in February’s run-off election opens a new chapter in Ukraine’s ongoing post-Orange Revolution transition.  Despite the election receiving high marks from international observers and Ukraine being the most free and democratic of the post-Soviet non-Baltic states, the country faces numerous internal challenges:  digging itself out of the economic crisis, reducing its energy dependence on Russia, combating pervasive corruption, strengthening rule of law, and overcoming five years of frequent policy deadlock.   

 

At the first hearing since Yanukovych’s election, the Commission will examine the new challenges and prospects Ukraine faces domestically and internationally and their implications for U.S. policy toward this strategically important country.  

 

Witnesses scheduled to testify:

 

Daniel A. Russell, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova, Department of State

 

Damon Wilson, Vice President and Director of the International Security Program, Atlantic Council

 

Anders Aslund, Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

 

* Other witnesses may be added

 

###

The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission, is an independent agency of the Federal Government charged with monitoring compliance with the Helsinki Accords and advancing comprehensive security through promotion of human rights, democracy, and economic, environmental and military cooperation in 56 countries. The Commission consists of nine members from the U.S. Senate, nine from the House of Representatives, and one member each from the Departments of State, Defense, and Commerce.


 


US Department of State


2009 Human Rights Reports: Ukraine


Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor

2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

March 11, 2010

For entire Ukraine report:  http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2009/eur/136063.htm

 

 

 

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