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| | From:  poetsays (Original Message) | Sent: 11/24/2004 10:02 PM |
MSNBC.com
Ukraine political crisis deepens
Declared victor seeks talks with opponent; U.S. rejects vote results
MSNBC News Services
Updated: 3:26 p.m. ET Nov. 24, 2004
KIEV, Ukraine - Viktor Yanukovych, declared the winner of Ukraine's presidential election, described himself as the head of state Wednesday and proposed immediate talks with liberal challenger Viktor Yushchenko.
"We must improve our lives and we will do it together " all of our citizens and myself as president of Ukraine," Yanukovych said in a brief appearance on state television.
"Tomorrow, we start talks with Yushchenko's team. We will look for common ground. I am ready to listen to the opposition proposals."
The statement came amid a deepening political crisis, after elections denounced as fraudulent by Western observers. After election officials announced earlier Wednesday that Yanukovych had won the disputed election, Yushchenko called for a nationwide political strike, raising fears of violence in the capital, where Yushchenko's supporters have rallied for three straight days.
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma said Wednesday that Ukraine faced the threat of civil war over its disputed presidential election and urged the world community not to interfere in the dispute.
The United States, the European Union and NATO had all urged Ukraine not to certify the election result until claims of fraud are investigated.
U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday that the United States cannot accept the result, warning “there will be consequences�?in the two countries�?relationship. He made repeated warnings to the Ukrainian authorities not to use force against protesters.
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan made a similar statement Wednesday.
"The government of Canada cannot accept that the announced results by the central elections commission reflect the true, democratic will of the Ukrainian people... Canada rejects the announced final results," she told Parliament to loud applause.
Meanwhile, Lech Walesa, the founder of Poland's Solidarity movement, will travel to Ukraine to act as a mediator in the standoff over the disputed presidential elections there, his son told The Associated Press.
In addition, the Netherlands will send a special envoy, Niek Biegman, to Ukraine as part of its role as holding the rotating European Union presidency.
Tense stand-off
Within minutes of the declaration of Yanukovych’s victory by the Central Election Commission, some opposition supporters began heading from their encampment on Kiev’s central avenue to the presidential administration building. That building was the scene of a tense standoff Tuesday night, when protesters faced a phalanx of shield-wielding riot police.
Outside the election commission, throngs of Yanukovych supporters celebrated by drinking vodka and shouting their candidate’s name. Inside, pro-Yushchenko lawmakers chanted “Shame!  Shame!�?and Yanukovych’s supporters applauded.
Fistfights broke out between some lawmakers after the results were announced.
No Yushchenko supporters were seen around the building. The opposition has expressed fears security forces or Yanukovych supporters might take action to clear the opposition protests once a victory for the prime minister was certified. Yushchenko earlier appealed to security forces not to strike out at the protesters but to “rise to the defense of the people.�?
Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, who backed the prime minister in the race, said “the authorities control the situation in Ukraine and will not allow a force scenario in spite of any pressure, internal or external,�?according to the Interfax news agency.
Kuchma: Refrain from interference
Kuchma said supporters of Yushchenko were trying to “carry out ... a plan of a coup d’etat.�?He called “on all political forces to negotiate immediately,�?and on the international community to “refrain from interference in Ukraine’s affairs.�?
But pro-Yushchenko lawmaker Petro Poroshenko accused the election commission of carrying out a coup d’etat, and he added:
“Now the streets will speak. Now the people will speak.�?
Yanukovych got 49.46 percent of Sunday’s vote, against Yushchenko’s 46.61 percent, the commission said at a meeting announcing the final results. Supporters of the prime minister at the meeting began chanting “Yanukovych!�?and waving his blue and white campaign scarves.
The election commission announcement came after a flurry of statements on the possibility of negotiations to find a compromise, which Kuchma had proposed earlier. Mykola Tomenko, a lawmaker and Yushchenko ally, said the opposition would discuss only one thing.
“We are ready to negotiate only about the peaceful handing over of power to Yushchenko by Kuchma,�?Tomenko told opposition supporters gathered in the capital’s central Independence Square and the adjacent main avenue, despite snow and frigid temperatures.
Western election observers said the vote was seriously flawed and did not meet democratic standards, citing abuses in favor of Yanukovych. Exit polls showed a victory for Yushchenko, a pro-Western reformer.
Yushchenko: Carry on to the end
Yushchenko told his supporters Wednesday that a symbolic oath of office that he took a day earlier “was the first step, but we need to carry on to the end. God forbid anybody doubts that we will win.�?
He said he was not opposed to a repeat vote " if the election commission is made up of different people.
The election has led to an increasingly tense tug-of-war between Western nations and Russia, which considers Ukraine part of its sphere of influence and a buffer against eastward-expanding NATO.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso warned of “consequences�?for the European Union’s political and trade relations with Ukraine if its government there does not allow a “serious, objective review�?of the election. At risk might be around $1.31 billion the bloc has given or committed to Ukraine since 1991 in development and economic aid and possible visa bans on politicians and officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has already congratulated Yanukovych on his victory, and the Kremlin-controlled Russian parliament denounced the Ukrainian opposition for its “illegal actions.�?
Mounting protest
Opposition supporters have taken over blocks of Kiev’s main street, setting up a giant tent camp.
Yanukovych supporters have become increasingly visible in the capital, vowing to prevent the opposition from taking power. They have set up hundreds of tents on a wooded slope less than half mile from the opposition’s even larger tent camp. They shouted their candidate’s name throughout the night, and at one point a car bearing a Yanukovych banner drove past the edge of the opposition gathering.
At one point, several dozen people from each side faced off near the Cabinet building, shouting insults at each other, though there were no reports of violence.
A miner from Kriviy Rih in eastern Ukraine who would only give his first name of Mykola said he came to the capital to prevent the “usurping (of) power.�?
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksandr Kuzmuk, meanwhile, vowed that the military “will always serve only the people’s interests.�?
Cities, journalists in defiance
Yushchenko has accused authorities of rigging Sunday’s vote in favor of Yanukovych and has announced a campaign of civil disobedience.
“Ukraine is on the threshold of a civil conflict,�?Yushchenko told lawmakers at an emergency parliament session Tuesday. “We have two choices: either the answer will be given by the parliament, or the streets will give an answer.�?
In a statement read on state television, Kuchma referred to the demonstrations as “political farce ... (which is) extremely dangerous and may lead to unforeseeable consequences.�?
In sign of defiance to the government, 14 journalists from state television’s main news program announced a strike Wednesday.
Kiev’s city council and the administrations of four other sizable cities " Lviv, Ternopil, Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk " have refused to recognize a Yanukovych victory.
Economic impact
The crisis also threatens to damage economic growth in Ukraine, a potentially wealthy country whose poor management has meant it has long been outstripped by its Western neighbors.
“Not a single responsible economist or politician can pretend there is nothing going on and pretend that everything will be okay if the political situation is deteriorating,�?Ukraine Finance Minister Mykola Azarov told a news conference.
“Despite a certain reserve of economic stability, this reserve and financial stability could be quickly exhausted if events which we are watching continue.�?BR>The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6374820/ |
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Russ, Thanks for sharing this message!!!!!!!
Love, Suzy
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