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Pastimes : Kosovo -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Neocon who wrote (8458)	5/14/1999 8:34:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

unless you are a racist, and believe it is in the Russian blood...>>> Give me a break, racist? Have you ever heard about Alcoholism? Genetic Disease?

To: Neocon who wrote (8458)	5/14/1999 8:56:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 17770

Kremlin Warns Against Impeachment Friday, 14 May 1999 M O S C O W (AP) ANGRY LAWMAKERS shouted and jeered Friday over whether Boris Yeltsin had brought Russia to ruin, and opponents of the president claimed they had enough votes to impeach him on at least one of five counts. Lawmakers predicted the impeachment measure with the best chance of succeeding in the vote scheduled Saturday was the charge of starting the 1994-96 Chechen war. "Today, the Russian president is practically incapacitated, and today, the Russian president is the main obstacle preventing Russia from straightening its back and arising from its knees," Communist Viktor Ilyukhin told the chamber. "Every day the country is ruled by Boris Yeltsin brings new serious trouble for Russia." Gennady Seleznyov, speaker of the lower chamber of parliament, the State Duma, claimed at least 312 members of the chamber would vote to impeach Yeltsin on the Chechen count; 300 votes are needed for impeachment. Fighting in Chechnya killed thousands of men and failed to clearly accomplish its goal of preventing the breakaway region from seceding. In addition to the Chechnya charge, Yeltsin is accused of destroying the Soviet Union, selling out Russia to the West, illegally dissolving parliament in 1993, and waging genocide against the Russian nation with policies that wrecked the economy and health care system. At 68, the Russian leader has suffered numerous illnesses that have often kept him out of day-to-day politics. However, a significant pocket of support for Yeltsin emerged Friday, with the eccentric nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky leading the charge in the Duma on the second day of impeachment hearings. Gesturing wildly and banging his fist on the podium, the fiery Zhirinovsky electrified the parliament chamber. Among other points, he charged that Russia would be playing into NATO's hands by impeaching Yeltsin, and that the nation needed to be unified against external threats. "They are bombarding Yugoslavia to later bomb Moldova, Ukraine and on to Moscow," Zhirinovsky shouted. "World War III against Russia may start in June!" Another lawmaker, Oleg Morozov of the centrist Russian Regions faction, said it was possible the impeachment bid would fail on all five counts. However, he said most of his group of 25 would vote for impeachment on the Chechen war count. Seleznyov noted that Kremlin officials were busy lobbying lawmakers who were still undecided. The Kremlin also sent an ominous warning to the Duma late Thursday. The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted an unidentified senior Kremlin official as saying impeachment would be tantamount to a declaration of war against the Kremlin, and "the president's decisions may be most unexpected." Yeltsin is fiercely opposed by Communists and their left-wing allies. He has support among some right-wing nationalists and among parties that are considered moderate. However, his support may have eroded after he fired Prime Minister Yevgeny Primakov and his Cabinet on Wednesday, the day before the impeachment hearings began. Primakov had been well liked by most factions in parliament, and his dismissal infuriated many lawmakers. Yeltsin's envoy to parliament, Alexander Kotenkov, went over the charges against the president Friday, concluding that they were motivated by politics, not law. Kotenkov also observed that most of the accusations concerned events that took place before the last presidential election. "The people of Russia, by voting for their president ... in the summer of 1996, have removed any possible accusations against him," he said. Yeltsin refused an invitation to appear at the Duma hearings. Lawmakers heard Friday from five witnesses who spoke mainly on legal aspects of impeachment. But 25 other witnesses, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, failed to show up. Most of the missing witnesses reportedly oppose impeachment, and the Duma cannot compel attendance. A Duma vote for impeachment would be the first step toward removal of the president, and the odds are still in his favor. To remove Yeltsin, impeachment must be approved by two-thirds of the supreme and constitutional courts and the upper chamber of parliament, the Federation Council. The Federation Council, which is made up of regional governors, scheduled an emergency meeting for Monday to discuss the political crisis.