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UKRAINE REPORT 2003 1. OPEN ADDRESS LETTER OF UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS TO THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE Monday, April 14, 2003, Kyiv, Ukraine 2. JOURNALISTS ASK KUCHMA TO MAKE FOR OBJECTIVE INVESTIGATION OF KOZACHEKO'S CASE Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, April 14, 2003 1. OPEN ADDRESS LETTER OF UKRAINIAN JOURNALISTS TO THE PRESIDENT OF UKRAINE Monday, April 14, 2003, Kyiv, Ukraine Highly Respected Leonid Danylovych! We, journalists, are shocked and frustrated by the arrest of former Vice-Prime-Minister Leonid Kozachenko. Given your objectivity we ask you, Leonid Danylovych, to intervene into the ambiguous situation regarding the "Case of Kozachenko", and to finally separate reality from political speculations. Leonid Kozachenko was a plenipotentiary and thus the one who executed your Orders and governmental resolutions. Our continuous communicating with him, and numerous interviews of that period give us no reasons to consider his work economically wrong, such that is aimed at undermining economical might of Ukraine. Leonid Kozachenko is an outspoken supporter of market economy in agricultural sector, which is a prerequisite to Ukraine's promotion on the external agrarian markets and entry to the EU, WTO and other international organizations. This is exactly the goal that the numerous public organizations created in the agricultural sector on his initiative and with his support actively worked to assist in achieving. After Kozachenko joined the government consecutive implementation of the system of warehouse certificates for grain, futures trade and bringing domestic grain standards in accordance with the European and world standards began. We will not tire you, Leonid Danylovych, with the figures and facts as to the state of grain market over the recent years. Any analytic will prove the absurdity of the PG (prosecutor general's) accusations towards Leonid Kozachenko. Imprisoned ex-government official casts a shadow upon you as well, since investigators are not only counting millions of tons of grain, hryvnyas and dollars, but also groundlessly revise Ukraine's agrarian policy in general, often downplaying real achievements of the recent years, creating the distrust among farmers. The resonance caused by these events made us once again analyze the pace of agrarian reforms, and in particular the way Ukrainian agrarian market functions. The recent events led us to a very disappointing conclusion: Ukraine quietly turns back from the market principles that thanks to the consecutive implementation of your Orders already began to root down in the agroindustrial complex of Ukraine into "yesterday" that has no prospective. The time when any unconventional act either in politics, economics, or in the area of culture was considered a "deviation from the general line", and a person who gained recognition and trust in international business circles was put on the "black list" which led to the sadly-known consequences. Open address letter signed by: Volodymyr Chopenko ('Dzerkalo Tyzhnya' Newspaper), Leonid Samsonenko ('Uriadovy Kurier' Newspaper), Mykhaylyna Skoryk ('Ukrayina Moloda' Newspaper), Larysa Huk ('Ukrayinski Novyny' Information Agency), Viktoriya Alekseyenko ('APK-Inform' Information Agency), Bohdan Malynovsky ('Halytsky Contrakty' Newspaper), Mykhailo Dykalenko ('Biznes' Newspaper), Natalia Symonina ('First National' TV Channel), Roman Rebriy ('Vikna' Television Information Agency), Serhiy Syvolap ('First National' TV Channel), Yuriy Mykhailov ('Propozytsiya' Magazine), Pavlo Korotych ('Propozytsiya' Magazine), Maryna Balaban ('Express-Inform' TV and Radio Company), Olena Bondarenko ('Era' TV and Radio Company), Zoya Krasnodemska ('Uriadovy Kurier' Newspaper) (Letter signed by 16 people) 2. JOURNALISTS ASK KUCHMA TO MAKE FOR OBJECTIVE INVESTIGATION OF KOZACHEKO'S CASE Ukrainian News Kyiv, Ukraine April 14, 2003
A group of journalists specializing in coverage of agricultural market, ask President Leonid Kuchma to make for objective investigation of the case on charges against the vice-Prime Minister Leonid Kozachenko in abuse of office and evasion of taxes. This was disclosed in the open address letter of journalists to Kuchma, given to Ukrainian News. "Proceeding from your objectiveness, Leonid Danylovych, we ask you to intrude into ambiguous situation around the Kozachenko case, separating, finally reality from political speculations," reads the letter. Journalists call Kozachenko supporter of the market reform in the agricultural sector, which is, in their opinion, a prerequisite for Ukraine's promotion in the foreign markets and entering the European Union and the World Trade Organization. "After Kozachenko joined the government, consequent implementation of the system of warehouse certificates for grain, futures trade and bringing domestic grain standards in accordance with the European and world standards began," journalists state. At the same time they note that Kozachenko's arrest may have an impact at the image of Kuchma himself. "A former member of government in prison casts a shadow upon you as well, because investigators not only re-count millions of tons of grain, hryvnias and dollars, but also groundlessly reconsider agricultural policy in general, often underestimating real achievements of the recent years," reads the letter. The letter was signed by: Volodymyr Chopenko (Zerkalo Nedeli), Leonid Samsonenko (Uriadovyi Kurier), Mykhailyna Skoryk (Ukraina Moloda), Larysa Huk (Ukrainian News), Viktoria Aleksienko (APK-Inform), Mykhailo Dykalenko (Business), Natalia Symonina (First National TV) and other journalists. As Ukrainian News earlier reported, on Monday last week the General Prosecutor Office has charged Kozachenko with abuse of office, evasion of taxes, facilitating export of grain at understated prices and deliberately failing to organize purchase of grain at "mortgage prices," as well as in receiving bribe while he was serving as an executive director of the Ukrahrobiznes. In particular, the General Prosecutor Office accuses Kozachenko of squeezing 106 shares worth UAH 1.5 million from representatives of the companies Novartis and AstraZeneka. Kozachenko's lawyer Ihor Usenko believes that the bribery accusations against his client are baseless. The Prosecutor-General's Office accuses Kozachenko of accepting large amounts of bribes in the August-October period of 2000, in addition to the charges of abuse of office and tax evasion that the Prosecutor-General's Office earlier filed against him. The Prosecutor-General's Office has charged Kozachenko with abuse of office and evasion of taxes. The General Prosecutor Office also accuses Kozachenko of facilitating export of grain at understated prices and deliberately failing to organize purchase of grain at "mortgage prices." Kozachenko served as Ukraine's deputy prime minister in charge of agricultural policy from June 2001 to November 2002. Ukrainian News, Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, April 14, 2003 http://www.ukranews.com/cgi-bin/openarticle.pl?lang=eng&id=329924 For personal and academic use only. |
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