Posted on 12/05/2004 5:54:00 AM PST by Lukasz
UKRAINE’S outgoing president, Leonid Kuchma, is trying to negotiate a deal that would guarantee him and his family immunity from prosecution in return for satisfying opposition demands over the rerunning of elections on December 26. As jubilant supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, the opposition leader, partied on the streets of the capital Kiev last night to celebrate the success of their historic two-week campaign to annul the result of last month’s presidential vote, it emerged that Kuchma is locked in frosty talks to secure his own future.
Presidential sources said Kuchma, 66, a former Communist party boss, is seeking assurances he will not be pursued over allegations of corruption during his 10-year rule and over the gruesome killing of Georgy Gongadze, a high-profile opposition journalist whose headless torso was found in a wood outside Kiev in 2000. He is also said to want to be allowed to keep his state-owned dacha and a £3m yacht the Ukrainian press says belongs to him.
The outgoing leader — who has denied any wrongdoing — is believed to be ready in return to sack Yushchenko’s challenger, Viktor Yanukovych, from his post of prime minister, and dismiss members of the election commission.
Parliament last week passed a vote of no confidence in Yanukovych’s government but Kuchma has so far resisted calls to fire his ally and Yanukovych surprised observers yesterday by announcing he would, after all, stand again in the new poll after the Supreme Court on Friday ordered a rerun.
Yushchenko’s supporters are also yet to be sure of how fair the rerun will be: in a setback for the opposition, parliament adjourned for 10 days last night without approving changes in the electoral law intended to make cheating more difficult.
Yanukovych, favoured by the Kremlin, won the disputed poll only after widespread vote-rigging. It would be much more difficult for him to repeat this if he were out of power, without access to government resources and support from the electoral commission.
Sources close to Kuchma said securing his own future and that of his family and close associates remained a crucial consideration in his handling of the crisis, which has spilt onto the streets of Kiev in a dramatic explosion of “people power”.
“He has many enemies in the opposition, who have called for him to be prosecuted and jailed,” one source said. “He wants guarantees that if he backs down and gives in he will not end up in the dock or, even worse, in a prison cell.”
Kuchma is believed to be particularly anxious over the case of Gongadze, who was killed while investigating allegations of corruption surrounding the president.
One of the president’s bodyguards, who fled to the West after the discovery of the journalist’s dismembered body, revealed he had secretly recorded hundreds of hours of the president’s private conversations. They included an excerpt in which an angry Kuchma is heard ordering that the journalist “be taken care of”.
The scandal — which became know as Kuchmagate — led to attempts by the opposition to impeach the president. The moves failed and Kuchma sacked the prosecutor-general when he sought to investigate claims that the killing was linked to the president’s inner circle.
Four years later, the case is still open and nobody has been charged. Gongadze’s remains lie in a Kiev morgue.
Kuchma’s enemies also want an investigation into allegations that he used his power to help his businessman son-in-law Viktor Pinchuk amass a fortune estimated at more than £1 billion. Critics allege that Pinchuk, 43, who heads a steel pipe-making empire and is also a member of parliament, won state privatisation contracts at a fraction of their market value thanks to his family ties.
In June this year, Kryvorizhstal, the country’s largest state steel plant, was sold to a consortium backed by Pinchuk and Rinat Akhmetov, Ukraine’s richest man — who is close to Yanukovych — for £418m. A rival US-British consortium offered £770m and pledged to invest £617m in the plant.
Isn't Kushma closely affiliated with George Soros?
ping!
what happened to my tagline?
Looks like the forces for reform and democracy are getting close to victory. It's been a long long long journey.
Slava Ykraina!
YUP -we thought Yeltsin was a hero - but he traded immunity for democracy - to Putin and Russia is back to sqare one.
Basically, you have to give these out-going strongmen immunity.
They are much more likely to give up and turn over power to a new (hopefully better) government if you do.
If you don't, then they just do everything they can to hold on to power, if only to protect their own skin. That is how life-long dictators and totalitarian regimes are created.
Thanks for the memories. We are sure glad to have you gone. Have fun under house arrest in your sprawling mansion. Don't come back.
Shevardnadze was and it did not help him. Open Society is open and loose - no bonds of the gratitute or loyalty. Everybody is for himself. Members of International Community were shaking hands with Milosevic and next moment they were keeping him in the dunguen as the most evil man after Hitler.
If you want to learn more about Open Society or International Community read about N.I.C.E. in the excellent C.S. Lewis book - That Hideous Strenght. If you want to learn what is the mindset of OS/IC in relation to establishing the EUrabia read The Flying Inn by Chesterton.
I respect your love for the country of your origin. Just remember that putting the Open Society in power will not make Ukraine freer. Ukraine will be as free as Bosnia, Georgia and Serbia is today. And the future will be worse.
Yeltsin democracy meant free market massacre of Russian Parlament, transfer of the national assets to mafia and international speculators, and clinging to power with single digit support. Putin has 60/70% support, was duly elected and thus HE is the democratic leader.
Thanks - more good advice from a Freeper;)
Very good article. Thank you.
We shall see.
Judging by Russian experiences, there must be a reason why "democratic" Yeltsin who massacred the Russian Duma in the name of privatization/looting had single digit support at the end and why Putin enjoys 60/70% support. The Orange team has some of the biggest oligarchs like Iron Julia.
The looting, and EUrabization of Ukraine might be the end of this country. Then the remnants of Ukrainians will be either applying for Russian visas or coming to US. This might be the actual final split between Lvov and Donietsk :(
The Turks will have plenty of fertile land to settle.
You used only part of my quote.
"YUP -we thought Yeltsin was a hero - but he traded immunity for democracy - to Putin and Russia is back to sqare one."
Yeltsin was perceived to be a hero - I remember the euphoria. Turns out Yeltsin was corrupt.
Turns out Putin is reverting to USSR tactics, appointed Governors vs. elected.
Local executive are being appointed from the center in much of the Europe (including Poland) as so is the party system of votineg (another part of Putin's reform).
For Russia the centralisation of government is necessary same way as it was for France when De Gaulle established the Fifth Republic.
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