Supporters of Ukrainian opposition leader Victor Yushchenko hold posters reading 'Putin, Kuchma-Ukraine is not Russia' during a rally in Moscow.(AFP/Denis Sinyakov)
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.
"Supporters of Ukrainian opposition leader Victor Yushchenko hold posters reading 'Putin, Kuchma-Ukraine is not Russia' during a rally in Moscow.(AFP/Denis Sinyakov)"That is truth! Thank you.
Bump
I m going to enjoy when all those south-eastern regions form a separate country or join Russia. So far I m about 50% certain kharkov, lugansk, donetsk and crimea will definetely begin having infrustructure set up for the eventuall exit. About 20% sure odessa region will do so as well. The biggest thing is weather Dnepropetrovsk does it if Kuchma gives the green light all 9 regions will leave at the minimum. This is no matter who wins the election.
However if Yuschenko wins I m certain about 95% they will all leave.
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you do realize that the interior core of government is made up of Dnepropetrovsk clan basicly all familial or regional relations of Kuchma. All of the major generals interior armed forces etc... etc.. are his relations. He was one of the major players in Dnepropetrovsk before he became president. Approximately 200 people were appointed during his tenure in high positions in all the major level all of them from that region. Scared? He is puzzled of what he should do and that is quiet understandable.
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Here is the link to all the power clans in Ukraine but its all in Russian.
http://www.ukraine.ru/catalog/groups/
Kuchma is a very very centrist president he doesn't want to fracture Ukraine and wants to keep a legacy however he wants to retire in health wealth and not be targeted by the people who will take power. (just like Eltsin did in Russia) Unfortunetely for him the opposition is begining to target him so he is deciding weather to give a nudge to separate and keep it peacefull while he has the power cards in his hand.
Somebody is scared. Better run back to daddy.
you do realize that if Kuchma even winks at separation it will occur instantly. Its not like he is just 1 person. Look at it like he and his family along with all his friends and associates plus familial relations hold command of the military force period. The police chief who joined Yuschenko is small potatoes.
If he runs back to "daddy" like you want him too he will take at least half of Ukraine with him and that ain a joke.
Here's hoping for freedom for all in the Ukraine. may they shake off the shackles of the Kremlin and become truly free.
you do realize the opposition isn't exactly squeeky clean. Timoshenko is responsible for about 6 dissapearances of businesmen whom later turned up dead.
They are all dirty and thats the truth.
My post wasn't meant as an embrace of the opposition- merely a hope for ultimate freedom in the Ukraine. Only time will tell.
ultimate freedom? depends what you mean by that everyones' definition is different. Some want the freedom to express themselves in Russian and be taught in it others may want freedom to be to not allow such a thing to happen.
opposition is a bunch of former ministers who had doo-doo policies that didnt work. They have blood on their hands too however their appeal to the western media is uncanny. Kuchma isn't totally evil he tried to be neutral and accomodating to all sides they however are not and that is why Ukraine is on the brink of a split.
Did you started following Ukrainian politics this morning?
Kuchma is a dictator, he kills everybody who critisizes him, just look at Gongadze - and it's all documentally proven by Melnichenko tapes. BTW - PUTIN is no different, ask teams of NTV, TV6, former head editor of Izvestia, Khordokovsky etc.
Here is some reading for you to bring you up to speed -
"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."
What kind of kapusta headed nonsense is that?
Are you suggesting that Poland is not better off after Solidarnosc?
Are you really Polish? I find that hard to believe. Poland has suffered nearly as much at the hands of despotism as Ukraine with perhaps 30 million Poles and Ukrainians murdered between 1921 and 1947.
There is a dead Ukrainian serf for every piling sunk by the Csar to bulid St Petersburg (on 10' centerlines) and there are another 15 millon Ukes buried by the Communists from Dukla to Siberia.
How can you possibly suggest that the future can get worse?
Reminds me of the joke "Hmmm - smells like poop, tastes like poop - good thing we did'nt step in it"
BMP
Eluminate?
So how is business?
I suggest you tell your employers that they need to get their hands off Ukraine and run away from Kiev as quickly as possible before the Orange revolution spreads to Mockva.
The Tail Will Wag the Dog!
The reason Kuchma looked like a deer in headlights is that Putin told him to take his blood money somewhere else. Putin will be lucky to win the next election for Dog Catcher if he does not run from Ukraine now.
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