[Mb-civic] Ukraine Opposition Suffers Setback

[Michael Butler]

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    Ukraine Opposition Suffers Setback
    By Anna Melnichuk
    The Associated Press

     Saturday 04 December 2004

     Kiev, Ukraine - Supporters of opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko lost
a round to their foes in parliament Saturday, when pro-government lawmakers
helped block legal changes intended to prevent fraud in the Dec. 26 repeat
of the country's presidential vote.

     Buoyed by a momentous Supreme Court ruling a day earlier that ordered
the new vote, Yushchenko's supporters vowed to force parliament to adopt the
legislation by continuing their marathon protest in Kiev's central square.

     Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma tried to bring European pressure on
the opposition, which he accused of reneging on its promises. Kuchma called
for a new round of European-mediated talks with the opposition on Monday.

     The jockeying for position came as the opposition celebrated its court
victory, confident Yushchenko can beat Prime Minster Viktor Yanukovych if a
fair run-off is held. Yanukovych, Kuchma's ally, confirmed he would compete
in the new vote, and the Central Election Commission formally set a Dec. 26
date for the balloting, as ordered by the court.

     Yushchenko had been hoping for quick approval of a raft of bills that
would amend election laws and reshuffle the election commission, which the
opposition accused of covering up fraud in the initial run-off, held Nov.
21. The opposition says the changes are needed to ensure the new vote is
fair.

     But the package was blocked when a compromise agreement fell apart, and
the parliament adjourned for 10 days without passing the legislation.

     Communists, socialists and pro-government factions in parliament had
promised to back the legislation in exchange for the opposition's support of
a constitutional reform bill that would transfer some of the president's
powers to parliament.

     However, Yushchenko's supporters objected to the proposed changes,
insisting instead that the parliament vote on electoral amendments now and
consider the constitutional reforms after the presidential rerun.

     "Combining electoral changes and constitutional reform is legally
illiterate," said lawmaker Yulia Tymoshenko, a fiery Yushchenko ally. "We
must first create legal conditions for holding elections. No one in the
world passes constitutional changes in a rush."

     Socialist leader Oleksandr Moroz accused Yushchenko of reneging on his
promise. "No one is going to win from reneging on the agreement," Moroz
said.

     Kuchma, who has strongly pushed for the constitutional reform, also
accused the opposition of breaking its promises.

     "The opposition isn't fulfilling practically any of the agreements
reached at a round table that involved European politicians," Kuchma said in
a phone conversation with Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende, whose
country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. "That
exacerbates the situation in the country."

     Wednesday's compromise agreement, which was sponsored by European Union
foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski
and other mediators, called for parliament to vote for the electoral and
constitutional changes all at once.

     Kuchma spoke to Kwasniewski later Saturday, and they tentatively agreed
to have another round of European-sponsored talks Monday.

     Kuchma also spoke Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who
promised to send Russia's parliament speaker to attend the talks. Putin has
staunchly backed Yanukovych and scoffed at the repeat of the run-off.

     Opposition lawmakers, meanwhile, accused their foes of trying to take
"revenge" for Yushchenko's victory in court and warned that hundreds of
thousands of protesters in Kiev could force the parliament to change course.

     "We are going to press our demands ... in the legal field, but the
people will do it in a physical way, and we can't order them not to do
that," pro-Yushchenko lawmaker Andriy Shkil told The Associated Press.

     A spokeswoman for Yanukovych said that the prime minister had decided
to participate in the rematch. Some observers had speculated Yanukovych,
dispirited by the court ruling, might bow out.

     "There's no other way but to participate and win," Yanukovych
spokeswoman Anna Herman told journalists.

     Yushchenko's supporters had maintained a blockade of government
buildings and thousands massed outside the parliament building Saturday,
breaking into regular chants of "Yushchenko!"

     Dmytro Klishevych, 27, waved a Ferrari flag with an orange ribbon
attached to it. "I want the victory to be as fast as a Ferrari," he said.

     Activists vowed to maintain the giant tent camp on Kiev's main avenue
and continue besieging official buildings until Kuchma fires Yanukovych and
electoral changes become law.

     On Kiev's Independence Square, thousands milled about, waving flags and
posing for photographs in front of the sprawling tent camp and the throngs
of people awash in orange.

     Anna Ponova, who has lived in the tent camp for 10 days, said
supporters would await word from Yushchenko about how long to remain
encamped.

     "If he wants us to stay until victory, we'll stay," she said.

  

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