RFE/RL - 03.11.2003

 

 

 

 

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty

UKRAINIANS RALLY AGAINST KUCHMA AS OPPOSITION LEADERS CALL FOR CONSOLIDATION AMONG PRESIDENTIAL FOES

Tens of thousands of people took part in an anti-presidential rally at the monument to Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko in Kyiv on 9 March, Ukrainian and international news agencies reported. The gathering adopted a resolution calling for early presidential elections and reform of the country's political system. The resolution also called on authorities to release all political prisoners; abolish censorship, and provide the opposition with regular airtime on public television; bring the level of wages, pensions, and scholarships "in line with the norms of the constitution," and ban increases in prices for public utilities. Police estimated that the rally in Kyiv gathered 10,000-15,000 demonstrators, while opposition sources put the figure at 50,000-150,000.

Our Ukraine leader Viktor Yushchenko told the crowd that the opposition must field a single presidential candidate in 2004, UNIAN reported. "Otherwise, it will be a failure. A failure for everybody," he added. Yuliya Tymoshenko agreed with Yushchenko, stressing that proposing a single candidate is the opposition's only chance to win the presidential election. She warned that President Leonid Kuchma is seeking to remain in power for five more years through nebulous amendments to the constitution. Communist Party leader Petro Symonenko called on the Ukrainian people to unite in their struggle against the authorities, but kept silent on the issue of presidential candidates. According to police, similar albeit less numerous protests were staged the same day in 103 Ukrainian cities, including an 8,000-strong rally in Lviv. - JM