Walesa heads to Ukraine to help mediate
November 25, 2004 - 9:39PM
Lech Walesa, the founder of Poland's Solidarity movement, flew to Ukraine to help mediate in the crisis over the disputed election, underscoring strong Polish interest in a peaceful resolution for the country's eastern neighbour.
Walesa flew to Kiev early on Wednesday morning, his office said.
Ahead of his departure, Walesa said he hoped his experience in fighting to overthrow a Moscow-backed authoritarian regime in his home country would be of use in the current standoff in Ukraine.
"I hope that Ukraine can avoid the mistakes that Poland made, such as the imposition of martial law," Walesa was quoted as saying by Polish news agency PAP.
"This simply divided the nation, killed people's enthusiasm, forced people to immigrate from Poland."
Walesa launched the Solidarity movement in 1980, rallying workers as part of eastern Europe's first free labour union.
He presided over round-table talks in 1989 that led to the peaceful end of communism in Poland, and was elected president the following year.
© 2004 AP
Want to freak out? Read this:
Quote:Mystery surrounds Yushchenko ailment
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- What ails Viktor Yushchenko?
Yushchenko pictured left in July 2004 and in November, after his illness.
As Ukraine's popular pro-Western opposition leader claimed victory Tuesday in hotly contested presidential elections, the mystery surrounding an appearance-altering illness that twice prompted him to check into a Vienna hospital persisted.
Yushchenko accused the Ukrainian authorities of poisoning him. His detractors suggested he'd eaten some bad sushi.
Adding to the intrigue, the Austrian doctors who treated him have asked foreign experts to help determine if his symptoms may have been caused by toxins found in biological weapons.
Medical experts said they may never know for sure what befell Yushchenko.
But the illness, whatever it was, has dramatically changed his appearance since he first sought treatment at Vienna's private Rudolfinerhaus clinic on September 10.
Known for his ruggedly handsome, almost movie star looks, Yushchenko's complexion is now pockmarked. His face is haggard, swollen and partially paralyzed. One eye often tears up.
Doctors at Rudolfinerhaus declined to comment Tuesday. By the time Yushchenko checked out of the clinic last month after returning for follow-up treatment, physicians said they could neither prove nor rule out that he had been poisoned.
Dr. Nikolai Korpan, who oversaw Yushchenko's treatment in Vienna, said the cause of his illness remained "totally open.''
Doctors were unable to confirm suspicions of poisoning because Yushchenko first checked into the clinic four days after the symptoms appeared -- too late for tests to show if poisoning had occurred, Korpan said.
At Rudolfinerhaus, Yushchenko underwent a week of intensive treatment for several illnesses, including acute pancreatitis, a viral skin disease and nerve paralysis on the left side of his face, Korpan said.
Clinic director Michael Zimpfer said doctors were unable to explain some of Yushchenko's symptoms, particularly his strong backaches.
He said they could not rule out stress or a viral infection.
Yushchenko's doctors in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, said they had determined that "chemicals not of a food origin'' had triggered the illness.
Zimpfer and the clinic's chief physician, Dr. Lothar Wicke -- who requested police protection after receiving an anonymous threat while treating Yushchenko -- later asked for outside help from "a specialist in military operations and biological weapons,'' the Austria Press Agency reported.
Yushchenko's medical files since have been sealed and turned over to Austrian prosecutors, local media reported.
Authorities have not said whether they planned to investigate further or merely turn over their findings to Ukraine.
Earlier this month, Volodymyr Syvkovych, the head of a 15-member Ukrainian parliamentary commission that investigated the mysterious illness, said a forensic medical examination found no traces of "any biological weapons'' in Yushchenko's blood, nails, hair or urine.
More pics with the article
here.
How much WMD stocks (chemical weapons and the like) does the Ukraine have?
Anyone remember the "umbrella murder" carried out by the Bulgarian communist government, back when?
That's an extraordinary change, nimh! Spooky!
Thomas wrote:Lash wrote:Fox News says it appears civil war is imminent.
Sounds like Fox. They wish!
Could you possibly explain this? The world is saying it, yet you single out FOX?
Walter--
It is a standard State Department advisory. I imagine they think people should stay in their homes, or get out of Kiev. They would be remiss if they remained silent about it.
Lash wrote:Thomas wrote:Lash wrote:Fox News says it appears civil war is imminent.
Sounds like Fox. They wish!
Could you possibly explain this? The world is saying it, yet you single out FOX?
As I gather it, the world is saying that civil war is a
possibility. Maybe I'm reading too much certainty into the "imminent", but it fit into my viewing experience that Fox has a particular weakness for scenarios that end up loud, spectacular and explosive, and likes to create this drum-roll like atmosphere of anticipation before they even happen. Not that other media outlets
don't like a nice, noisy war to report about, but I think the weakness is more pronounced in American than in European TV stations, and more pronounced at Fox than at any other American outlet. Hence my reaction.
(And apart from all that, I wasn't 100% serious, which I hoped to make clear with that winky face.)
Hope for peaceful resolution? Perhaps:
Quote:BBC:
Ukraine poll plea goes to court
The Ukrainian opposition has taken its case to the Supreme Court as foreign leaders are asked to help resolve the bitter presidential election dispute.
Liberal opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko called for a general strike after election officials declared Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych the winner.
Yanukovych supporters have vowed to ignore the strike call while opposition protests continue in the capital, Kiev.
A deputy minister has resigned in protest at the controversial poll.
"When the European community does not recognise the results of the election, what kind of European integration we can speak of?" said Oleg Hayduk, Deputy Minister for Economics, as he announced his departure.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia, visiting The Hague for a summit with European Union leaders, called for the dispute to be settled in the courts and urged restraint.
"We have no moral right to push a major European country to mass mayhem," he told EU leaders who said they could not recognise an election result which failed to meet international standards.
According to the official election result, Mr Yanukovych won with 49.46% of the vote against Mr Yushchenko's 46.61%.
Legal challenge
Mr Yushchenko's supporters say the authorities oversaw massive fraud in Sunday's election - and independent observers have also reported widespread abuses.
An official at Mr Yushchenko's headquarters confirmed that a complaint had been filed at the Supreme Court over the handling of the poll by the Central Electoral Commission (CEC) ...
More to come, though ... thats for sure.
They've got a short description of that AMS expert meeting about Ukraine & Byelorussia last night online now ... lemme translate ...
Quote:What is happening in the Ukraine and Byelorussia?
Thanks for that. nimh.
Here's yet more of the "More to come" stuff:
Quote:Reuters:
Ukraine Court Blocks Yanukovich Taking Power
Thu Nov 25, 2004 02:07 PM ET
By Ron Popeski
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's highest court on Thursday blocked the inauguration of the Moscow-backed prime minister as president, putting fresh wind in the sails of his liberal opponent who has led street protests to overturn his election.
The Supreme Court rejected official publication of results that showed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich had beaten Viktor Yushchenko in a run-off election on Sunday. The ruling effectively stopped Yanukovich being sworn in as head of state.
The West-leaning Yushchenko, who says he was robbed of victory by electoral fraud, hailed the ruling as a victory.
"This is only the beginning. It is proof that it is society that always wins. It is small compensation for the suffering that we have endured," he told tens of thousands of supporters on Kiev's Independence Square to wild cheering ...
Boy them Russkies ... they sure love chess, don't they?
PORA!, by the way (where the guy in my post above is from) is a democratic movement of youngsters that, like Kmara earlier in Georgia, has taken the example of the famous Otpor!, which played such a crucial role in the last Serbian uprising against Milosevic.
Otpor! youngsters have even been giving trainings, first to Kmara and later to Pora!, on civil disobedience and the like. The BBC reported that "Pora, mainly made up of students, [..] is prepared to take considerable risks. On Sunday, some of them lay underneath buses to stop pro-Yanukovych voters with absentee ballots being transported to polling stations far from their homes."
It also remarked that "on Monday, at least one Georgian flag could be seen being waved in the demonstration that filled Kiev's Independence Square." A democratic Internationale of youngsters who are fed up with their corrupt, authoritarian ex-communist rulers, whaddaya know! Similar movements have been founded in Byelorussia and, I hear, Albania ...
Check the PORA website!
How bad was voter fraud? Pretty damn bad:
Quote: Transitions Online: From Run-Off to Showdown
According to the opposition, opposition members of local election commissions were expelled from their commissions in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts along with 400 commission members in the Kirovohrad oblast. Election observers from the opposition were prevented from observing at polling stations in the regions of Donetsk, Sumy, and Kirovohrad.
In the Donetsk oblast, international observers from the European Network of Election Monitoring Organizations were also prevented by election officials from entering polling stations.
Election commission members, election observers, and journalists were assaulted and beaten in virtually all of Ukraine's 27 oblasts according to the nonpartisan Committee of Voters. Some were kidnapped and then released. Dozens of polling stations were attacked by unknown assailants who broke windows and furniture and interfered with voting on election day.
In the Cherkasy oblast in central Ukraine, one policeman was beaten and tied up by six masked gunmen who broke into the safe containing election documents, and another policeman was beaten to death at a polling station from which election documents were stolen. At two polling stations in Kiev, the capital, unknown intruders splashed acid over ballot boxes, partially invalidating the votes cast.
[..] a major problem largely unseen in the first round emerged this time: the use of absentee ballots. The election law allows local election commissions to provide voters with absentee ballots prior to election day. [..] the absentee ballots themselves, unlike regular ballots, are simple pieces of paper without any built-in protection.
[..] Ihor Popov, the chairman of the Committee of Voters, estimates that "tens of thousands" of duplicate votes were cast by voters who were issued multiple absentee ballots in areas that back Yanukovych and who were then bused to regions where support for Yanukovych was weaker.
Hundreds of buses with migrant voters were observed moving across the country on election day. In Kiev, activists from the youth movement Pora lay down in front of buses filled with voters holding multiple absentee ballots to prevent them from entering the city.
[..] The security forces have been preparing for clashes for weeks. Official sources have publicized the drafting of thousands of extra police into the capital and special exercises aimed at reasserting control if there is widespread disorder.
[..] It is now anyone's guess whether the government would actually be willing to send the police in to disperse demonstrators.
The calculations will be complicated by recent signs that some officers in the law enforcement agencies are wary of being pulled into a possible conflict with the opposition. On 21 November, a major in a Berkut riot police unit, Hennadiy Abramchuk, appeared on TV to denounce "illegal orders" issued by his superiors to use force against demonstrators.
Abramchuk was fired from the police service the same day.
More about the youth movement for democracy in Ukraine and how it echoes those that fronted the Georgian and Serbian revolutions in this article:
Georgia's Long Shadow, also in Transitions-Online.
In it, the author (still less than hopeful when he was writing it just before the elections) describes how the regime has tried to defuse it by a combination of clamping down on it forcefully and staging artifical copies of its own.
Also interesting to keep up with the latest with:
The Kyiv Post
For example this item. Strikes are affecting several of the normally reliably pro-regime TV stations, and at one station the journalists have already succeeded in turning out their editor, promising the viewers that from now on, they'll report honestly and fairly again:
Quote: Regime's control over TV media crumbling
As the fifth evening of growing civil protests approached on Nov. 25, it became clear that the ruling regime's control over television media was crumbling.
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma's establishment had, according to oppositionist political forces and media experts, used their control over a handful of channels with nationwide coverage to manipulate voters.
[But] on Nov. 25, privately owned television channel 1+1 announced that Vyacheslav Pikhovshek had been removed as editor of the venue's news programs.
Oppositionist political figures have accused Pikhovshek of spreading biased news coverage designed to lower support for Yushchenko while beefing up Kuchma and his allies.
A recent survey of journalists funded by Democratic Initiatives Foundation, a western-funded NGO, singled out Pikhovshek as the "least trusted" journalist in Ukraine.
[..] News programs on 1+1 virtually disappeared earlier this week after journalists and editors and the channel went on strike in protest of alleged pressure from management and certain political forces to produce biased media coverage that favored Kuchma and allies.
In a statement issued late on Nov. 25, the news team announced that they would resume with fair coverage that evening.
"We guarantee that all information distributed by our channel will be complete, in accordance with professional standards of journalism," the statement reads.
At 7:30 pm on Nov. 25, news coverage on TSN resumed, but started with a short statement from the channel's editorial team. The collective said they would resume news reports but promised they would be objective, explaining that previous editorial policy was not so, due to political pressure.
Pikhovshek's departure from TSN follows strikes by journalists at state-owned television channel First National Channel, known as UT-1, and at other channels. They include ICTV, owned by Kuchma's son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk, reputably Ukraine's second richest man.
(Oh, in case you'll read that full article and you're a leftist trying to find your way around the country's landscape, you'll read about the Social-Democrats (United), who support the Kuchma / Yakunovich regime. The Socialists, however, are among both the most strident and most important supporters of the Yushchenko-led uprising now. The Communists, finally, are supposed to be reliable (because pro-Russian) regime supporters, but refused to come out in support for Yakunovich this time, hedging their bets instead.)
Thanks, nimh.
Reading and reading.
The article on the media is very interesting. I wish I could get my colleague to chime in here. She was a media buyer when she was in Kiev - has lots of interesting stories about the lying and corruption.
and here's a tiny funny. Her new husband, here from Kiev for less than a year, was charged with bringing orange scarves, something to the support demo last night. He ran around their apartment, found a scarf for her, and in a panic grabbed an orange nylon-flowered lei for himself. He's a sport. Wore the lei over his winter jacket at the demo.
Nimh is now my primary source of Ukrainian news.
Impressive display nimh, and appreciated.
And don't forget to take me
Ukraine Protesters Blockade Official Buildings
Quote:KIEV (Reuters) - Thousands of supporters of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko blockaded official buildings in the Ukrainian capital Friday in a direct challenge to the Moscow-backed government's control of the country.
As foreign envoys arrived in Kiev for urgent talks with Ukraine's leaders to try to resolve the crisis over a contested election, protesters effectively took over Kiev city center.
They barred entry to the main offices of the government, parliament and presidency, sealing off approach roads to traffic by blocking them with buses.
They turned away employees trying to enter the buildings, telling them: "There's a strike on."
Outside the president's offices, crowds sang Ukrainian folk songs, waved banners in Yushchenko's orange campaign colors and rhythmically chanted his name.
But they did not try to cross the lines of special forces around the building.
Socialist leader Oleksander Moroz, a Yushchenko ally who was on the spot, said supporters' action made a mockery of government control.
Asked how long the supporters would keep up their protest, he said: "Victory began yesterday," adding that some members of the police were switching sides to support the demonstrators.
Yushchenko's camp got a boost Thursday after the Supreme Court put off the inauguration of Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich as president.
His election in a run-off vote last Sunday brought tens of thousands out on the streets of Kiev and in western regions. Yushchenko said he was the real winner and was cheated out of the election.
The campaign of civil obedience is part of a strategy by Yushchenko and his allies that involves a national strike, including a blockade of main highways.
Foreign envoys were arriving in Kiev and were to meet the principal figures in the standoff in attempts to defuse the crisis.
Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, a pivotal regional figure with credibility on both sides, flew in from Warsaw and was meeting outgoing President Leonid Kuchma outside Kiev.
European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana also arrived. Jan Kubis, secretary-general of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, was expected.
Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus was also due in Ukraine after being asked by Kuchma to help mediate.
Solana, a spokeswoman said, wants to discuss "a negotiated diplomatic solution" with Yushchenko, Yanukovich and Kuchma, stepping down after a 10-year term marked by scandal.
Poland's Kwasniewski has proposed a three-point plan, which includes verifying election results, potentially annulling those tainted by irregularities and the renunciation of violence by all sides.
Yushchenko has vowed to remain in the square with his supporters until the election result is overturned. He has said he is prepared to take part in another election if it is "honestly" run.
Western countries have bluntly criticized official results proclaiming Yanukovich president. The EU and the United States said the election fell far short of international standards and called for a review of its conduct and outcome.
Relations with the EU, three of whose states now border Ukraine, formed an important campaign issue. Yushchenko sees gradual integration with Europe as a critical post-Soviet principle. Yanukovich says Ukraine can be prosperous only if it develops ties with other ex-Soviet states.
The election has strained relations between the West and Russia, fearful of losing its hold over Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Yanukovich on his win.
Thursday's Supreme Court ruling barred publication of results in the official gazette, effectively stopping Yanukovich becoming head of state for now. It also agreed to hear next Monday Yushchenko's complaint alleging cheating in the poll.
Yanukovich looked harried in a brief appearance on state television Thursday night, but repeated that the election had been fair.
He said Western countries had no right to condone opposition calls for further demonstrations to reverse the result.
"I believe that resolving issues in the street, appeals to resolve matters through pressure or revolution are a deviation from the very democratic norms advocated by countries making declarations at the moment," he said.
The same news now digested on BBC, and its impact:
Quote:
TV stations rebel
On Thursday, state-owned TV station UT1 rebelled against government control by announcing live on air that its news team was joining opposition protests.
Two TV stations have pledged to provide balanced coverage
Hours earlier the private, formerly pro-government channel One Plus One announced it would stop broadcasting "biased news".
Mr Yushchenko started the presidential campaign as Ukraine's most popular politician, and it took an enormous propaganda effort on state-run TV channels to make Mr Yanukovych look like a real contender, say correspondents.
The move may mean pictures making plain the huge size of the opposition demonstrations will now reach the heartlands of Mr Yanukovych's support in the industrial east of the country, reports BBC world media correspondent Sebastian Usher.
On a flippant note ... its a very picturesque uprising, isn't it? With all that warm, flaming orange in stark contrast to the bleak winter landscape ... ;-)
Just a silly and inessential question....
why does Yushchenko look so harsh?
^JB^ wrote:Just a silly and inessential question....
why does Yushchenko look so harsh?
There has been speculation about this since some months, summarised on the page before:
http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=39599&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=40
Kiev's man in Canberra takes stand
By Mark Forbes
Foreign Affairs Correspondent
Canberra
November 26, 2004/the AGE
With Ukraine on the brink of civil war, its ambassador to Australia is initiating an extraordinary international campaign against his own Government, supporting protests against electoral fraud.
Olexandr Mischenko is calling on all of Ukraine's ambassadors to "stand together with Ukrainian people" to force an investigation into the discredited election of President Viktor Yanukovich. He warned his nation risked going "back to communist days".
Rival candidate Viktor Yushchenko yesterday called for a national strike against the "fraudulent" presidential vote. Thousands of protesters continued their fourth day of demonstrations, occupying Kiev's main square.
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, a supporter of the pro-Russian Mr Yanukovich, warned Ukraine could plunge into civil war and urged the West to stay out of the country's affairs.
Mr Yushchenko also warned Ukraine was on the brink of civil conflict after election officials defied international protests and declared the result.
US Secretary of State Colin Powell said the election was illegitimate, with numerous and credible reports of fraud. "If the Ukrainian Government does not act immediately and responsibly there will be consequences for our relationship," he said.
Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said the election result "just belies all credibility, I'm afraid, and we certainly don't accept the results of the election".
Mr Downer said Australia had been told Ukrainian embassies overseas had been ordered to falsify voting returns in favour of Mr Yanukovich.
Mr Mischenko told The Age he had a duty to support democracy and could not remain silent, for the sake of his nation.
"We must have a full investigation of the results of the presidential election, we cannot go back to our communist past. It's why 300,000 people stand in the terrible weather in the street."
Mr Mischenko said Ukrainians must "struggle for a constitutional right to elect and be elected, notwithstanding manipulations, falsifications, pressure and intimidation". He
Was confident his counterparts would support the call and force an investigation. He said he had been inspired by junior diplomats supporting the street protests.
"Due to our authority, we have to do our best for the truth on the results of the elections in Ukraine to be determined through the court," he said.
Mr Mischenko has distributed his open statement to embassies across the world. "I believe in your patriotism and national consciousness," it says. "Today, our future depends on the patriotic stand of each of us, notwithstanding what position or occupation we may be, students, doctors, teachers, journalists, workers, servicemen, and especially diplomats."
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations yesterday called on the world to reject the announcement of President Yanukovich's election win and demanded a tougher Australian stance.
Australian election observer Peter Romaniw, speaking from Kiev's Independence Square, told the federation that Ukrainians were calling on Australia in their time of need.
Early yesterday, Kiev time, thousands of democracy supporters were preparing for a day of militancy despite sub-zero temperatures. Many warmed themselves on braziers after spending the night in tents along the main thoroughfare.
Brigades of women, wearing quilted jackets against the cold, were handing out sandwiches of cheese and salami.
Groups of supporters marched up and down calling out "Yu-shch-enko", their jackets covered in a blaze of orange, his campaign colour.
- with agencies
