Posted on 08/02/2006 2:32:58 PM PDT by A. Pole
KIEV, Ukraine —
After four months of wrangling, Ukraine's pro-Western president faced a midnight deadline Wednesday to decide whether to accept his chief political rival as the country's next prime minister.
President Viktor Yushchenko can also dissolve parliament and call new elections, but doing so would prolong the political turmoil that has seized this ex-Soviet republic since March's indecisive parliamentary election.
A return to power for Viktor Yanukovych, a former prime minister, would complete a startling comeback. His attempt to win the presidency in the 2004 election was marred by fraud and triggered the mass protests known as the Orange Revolution that brought Yushchenko to power.
Yanukovych's nomination as premier by the pro-Russian parliamentary majority earlier this month was an embarrassing setback for Yushchenko, whose popular support has suffered amid infighting and allegations of corruption and incompetence against his government.
Yushchenko summoned parliamentary faction leaders to his office Wednesday afternoon for a meeting that fulfills a constitutional requirement for talks before parliament can be dissolved.
In televised footage, he sounded pessimistic about a breakthrough, saying the political parties had "failed to find understanding in key priorities of national development." The meeting ended without any announcement.
A third option, which could create even more uncertainty, would be to just reject Yanukovych's nomination to the premiership.
Yushchenko planned to address the nation later Wednesday, his office said.
The president's spokeswoman, Iryna Gerashchenko, earlier said Yushchenko still hoped for a last-minute compromise with Yanukovych's parliamentary coalition. The Ukrainian president hopes a unity accord with his rivals would preserve his pro-Western and reformist policies even with the premiership in the hands of Yanukovych, who favors close ties with Russia.
The agreement would commit the former Soviet republic to work toward joining NATO, the European Union and the World Trade Organization, and would safeguard Ukrainian as the sole national language.
After the March parliamentary vote, the three parties that were key to the Orange Revolution pooled their seats and formed a majority coalition. However, the Socialists defected last month and teamed up with Yanukovych's party and the Communists, and they nominated Yanukovych to be premier.
Earlier Wednesday, Yanukovych called on Yushchenko to accept him as prime minister, suggesting that would help end divisions in Ukraine. He tried to appeal to his foes by praising the Orange Revolution ideals and the protesters who gathered in Kiev's central square in 2004 to call for change.
"We understand that the people who went to Independence Square and other squares, went with a big wish to make life better," Yanukovych said in a speech before thousands of flag-waving supporters outside parliament.
Efforts to forge a unity accord have hit one road block after another. Yanukovych's Party of Regions has accused Yushchenko of trying to force them to disavow their election promises: opposition to NATO membership, calling for closer ties with Russia and promoting Russian as a second state language.
Two main points of "his pro-Western and reformist policies" are the suppression of Russian language used by more than 50% of Ukrainian population and joining NATO which is opposed by the 70% or more.
So not making a foreign language one of the official languages of state is the "supression" of that language? I guess we are supressing all the Mexicans who demand official state recoginition of their foreign language too. Maybe they should learn the language of the country they live in?
Should the Irish be forced to use Gaelic as the only official language of Ireland?
If they want to use Gaelic they should not be forced by a minority to speak the Queen's English.
What if 50% of Irish wanted to use English? What about two languages sharing the official status?
How can you compare the genocidal murders and russification by Russia to ANYTHING else.
http://www.lietuvos.net/istorija/communism/
BTW, Yanukovych has made a compromise proposal. He told Yushchenko that he will accept all other points and that these two: official status of Russian language and membership in NATO should be decided by a national referendum.
Yushchenko promptly rejected this idea!!!
Oh no, here it comes again.
These pictures of cannabalism and live castration courtesy of your Mother Russia really upset your spin machine, didn't it.
http://www.lietuvos.net/istorija/communism/
Heck - the US doesn't currently have an "official" language. In fact, I fully suspect that the first official language of the US will be Spanish....
Ignore spanalot - he's a 1/2 trick pony hate mongerer with zero knowledge of history. He'll deny any Jewish holocaust, especially when it was UNA/UNSO or other Ukrainians, and blame Russia for the totalitarian system in which Ukrainians also prospered.
Gee Spannie, looks like your Boy Yushie has surrendered to the commies, socialists, and Russophiles. Good thing he stuck by Timoshenko - she sure did help "democracy" over there. Another sad example of how fake "democrats" end up souring a nation on democracy because they can't abandon their oligarch buddies. Happened in Russia under Yeltsin and now in Ukraine. Evidently you're the only one who didn't see it coming.
Yuschenko stuck by Timoshenko by firing her?
Yushchenko supports oligarchs because he seized their property stolen in crooked privatization deals and resold it on the open market?
You live in a fantasy world, tovarisch.
No Soup for You!
"He'll deny any Jewish holocaust"
I see this delusion accompanies your other ones wherein you claim on one post to have joined the Army to "fight Commies"; yet another posts advises that you belong to the Veterans of Foreign Wars, but we learn in another post that you were a youngster when your father was in Nam.
None of the above very true at all.
"looks like your Boy Yushie has surrendered to the commies, socialists, and Russophiles"
Yes, I did support Yushchenko's battle against the enemy bloc consisting of the Russians, Commies, and Socialists - that's why I joind FR.
You on the other hand are an unabashed supporter of the leftist scum - what are you doing here?
I see - you joined "FR" because of your support of a foreign leader and foreign government. Interesting.
Spannie - put your money where your mouth is. I offered you the means to put this to bed. But for some strange reason you don't want to do it. Something to hide?
Can you tell us more about UNA/UNSO and how your organization's leader called for Ukrainian troops in Iraq to rebel against and kill American troops? Barring that, could you at least condemn such statements from this organization you have described as "heroic"?
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