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Politics : Politics for Pros- moderated -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LindyBill who wrote (88670)	11/29/2004 7:29:26 PM
From: LindyBill	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 793955

Foreign Notes blog - Economic situation in Ukraine This article Lytvyn: the situation in Ukraine is alarming quotes the Rada Speaker Litvyn on the economic situation in Ukraine. He said that the customs duties and the entry of transport, especially on the Western border of Ukraine, have decreased and export operations are suspended. The situation in Ukraine is alarming, especially in the financial and banking systems, there are mass withdrawals of funds from savings-banks, and the government doesn’t work. The situation can be even worse next year. More here The Cabinet of Ministers cannot fulfill its budget liabilities, reported by the First Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Mykola Azarov, after the end of the meeting of the Council of National Security and Defense of Ukraine, proUA.com reports. “Looses (sic) of income of the state budget put under doubt the ability of the government to fulfill its liabilities,” said Azarov. He noted that incomes of the budget decreased because of the events of the last week, and the situation can be corrected by restoring stability only. “Today we have to state that this week saw a worsening of the economic situation,” said the Minister of Finance. posted by Scott W. Clark @ 6:55 PM 0 comments Out for a walk My wife and I went out for a walk along the river here in our part of Kiev. We had watched something of the Court hearing on TV but left while it was on to go walk. It was nice to get away from it for awhile. But we saw enough to know that Yanukovych’s people want to delay things. The reason of course is that Yuschenko’s power comes from the crowds on the street and the fact that they will mobilize. But these people aren’t getting paid to be there even those whose companies closed to support the revolution. Will these people be able to stay for another week? Another two weeks? I don’t know but it seems to me that a point will be reached where they will have to go back to work to be able to live. I think that is what Yanukovych’s people are delaying for. Just as we walked out the door, we passed three guys on their way somewhere with a radio. That radio was on the station broadcasting the hearing. And there was no one to speak of out there. Usually there are people walking along the river every night though not as many as in the warm months. But tonight it was dead. And the grocery store we went into was dead. No one was there. Maybe they were listening to the hearing. Maybe they were down at Maidan, the square. They weren’t walking along the river with us. That is one thing that might just come from this that would be an extra good thing. These people might get the idea that democracy requires people to be involved. They are involved now and in a big way. It would be nice for that to be an extra present from this revolution. When we were down on the square on Saturday, the Parliament session was taking place. It was being televised and the screens at the square were showing it. To be there watching was like being at a stadium with a large crowd watching a football game. One deputy would say something and a cheer would go up as if someone had scored. Then there would be silence for awhile and another cheer would go up after something else was said. Score! When the final vote was tallied, they cheered loudly. (The Rada had voted censure of the Central Election Commission result.) A very interesting thing. Isn’t that the way democracy should work and isn’t that the kind of involvement that ought to be in democracies? If the lid doesn’t come off here, I think the Rada will be a big winner. There was a sense that people thought it a legitimate thing. They paid attention to it as if it were. Maybe it will have come into its own by the time this is over. posted by Scott W. Clark @ 6:13 PM 1 comments A wealthy camper We got a report yesterday of a very wealthy man who is down at the protests on the square. Apparently this guy has a three floor apartment, something almost unimaginable in a country where most people live in one or two rooms. (Not bedrooms but rooms. This of course excludes the bathroom and kitchen but they are often not that large at all to add much space.) He has a chauffer who drives him around. He eats at the best places, has the best clothes and I am sure he associates in the highest circles of society and government. In short, this man leads an enviable life for just about anyone either here or in the US. But this man, to the surprise of his colleagues, set up a tent down on Kreschatik (the street that bisects the square) and is living there, in the tent city, sleeping on a cot--maybe a luxury cot, if there is such a thing, but a cot nonetheless. And his security personnel are staying there with him. His friends can’t understand what has gotten into him. They think he's gone crazy. And if you think about it, he has. It is highly unlikely that a person here can get wealthy without having some sort of patron in government. Often that means being part of a clan but it can mean simply that you have access to power for some reason. That is the system here. If you have access to the right power center in government, you can become immensely wealthy. And a number have. This man has made his wealth under that system of patronage, the current system. But Yuschenko has pledged to abolish that system under a campaign to get rid of corruption. This man is helping to fight against the very system that has given him his wealth. Call it killing the goose that laid the golden egg or biting the hand that feeds him, the point is that he is not acting in a way that would protect his interests. So why is he doing it? He is doing it because he is Ukrainian and he sees his people out on the street at risk and he has cast his lot with them. For him, being Ukrainian is the most important thing. What is left is not much by comparison. He is out there with his people trying to secure for his people the right to a democratic government. It is as simple as that. foreignnotes.blogspot.com