N
NY.Transfer.News@blythe.org
Guest
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
Ukraine: Orange Peel Revolution
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Yahoo - Apr 2, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/ap_on_re_eu/ukraine_politics_1
Ukraine president calls early elections
By NATASHA LISOVA
KIEV, Ukraine - President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved Ukraine's parliament
and called early elections Monday, but parliament refused to acknowledge the
order and vowed to continue meeting as the country slipped further into
political turmoil.
The deadlock follows months of maneuvering by Yushchenko and his rival,
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and signals the possible return of
competing protests, tent camps and political rallies to the streets of Kiev
- -- two years after mass protests helped propel Yushchenko to power.
After holding more than seven hours of talks with top lawmakers, Yushchenko
accused Yanukovych's parliamentary majority of seeking to expand its power
base in violation of the Constitution by recruiting members from
pro-presidential factions.
"My actions are dictated by the strict necessity to save the state's
sovereignty and territorial integrity," Yushchenko said in a live televised
address. "It is not only my right, it is my obligation."
As Yushchenko spoke, parliament met in extraordinary session, where it voted
to block money for the new election, which he set for May 27. Parliament
Speaker Oleksandr Moroz said Yushchenko had no legal basis to make such a
decision and lawmakers adopted a statement calling it baseless.
Yanukovych's Cabinet convened later in a special session, where he appealed
to Yushchenko to cancel the dissolution and go back to the negotiation
table. "In this case, the state will live calmly, in a civilized way and
develop ... all other actions will cause the situation in the country to
significantly deteriorate," a tired-looking Yanukovych said. He suggested
that his coalition was ready for major compromises.
Earlier, Yanukovych's party members said they were likely to pursue an
appeal to the Constitutional Court, which played a key role in the bitter
2004 presidential race between Yushchenko and Yanukovych.
Yushchenko insisted that "The political situation in the state is under
control and stable."
"I am calling on the Ukrainian people to make a fair, conscious and
responsible choice which will end this stage of political conflict and will
open a new stage for Ukraine," he said.
The stakes are high for the nation of 47 million, which had counted the last
parliamentary elections as its freest and fairest yet but later saw
politicians resort to back-stabbing maneuvers during coalition talks.
Anna Skarpenka, a 45-year-old teacher, said she supported the president's
decision, arguing that Yanukovych's party had given him no choice. They
"backed the president into a corner and in this situation he could only act
radically," she said.
Yanukovych's backers had set up a tent camp near parliament to pressure the
president and several hundred supporters milled around, laying out sleeping
bags and setting up cooking facilities.
It was unclear how much parliament's makeup would change if new elections
were held. Polls suggest that Yanukovych's party and Tymoshenko's bloc would
run almost head-to-head, with Yushchenko's party a distant third.
The standoff between Yushchenko and Yanukovych arose after 11 lawmakers
allied with the president defected to Yanukovych's coalition last month, in
violation of the Constitution, which says the coalition can be expanded only
by the addition of entire factions, not individual lawmakers.
Yanukovych became premier last August after his party won the most votes in
parliamentary elections, capitalizing on divisions within Yushchenko's team
and widespread disappointment in the slow pace of reforms. Yushchenko
reluctantly agreed to accept Yanukovych as premier but has since accused
Yanukovych of attempting to sideline the president.
Yushchenko came to power after hundreds of thousands flooded Kiev's
Independence Square in 2004 to protest Yanukovych's fraud-marred election
victory. The Supreme Court called new elections, which Yushchenko won.
Copyright
Hash: SHA1
Ukraine: Orange Peel Revolution
Via NY Transfer News Collective All the News that Doesn't Fit
AP via Yahoo - Apr 2, 2007
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/ap_on_re_eu/ukraine_politics_1
Ukraine president calls early elections
By NATASHA LISOVA
KIEV, Ukraine - President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved Ukraine's parliament
and called early elections Monday, but parliament refused to acknowledge the
order and vowed to continue meeting as the country slipped further into
political turmoil.
The deadlock follows months of maneuvering by Yushchenko and his rival,
Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, and signals the possible return of
competing protests, tent camps and political rallies to the streets of Kiev
- -- two years after mass protests helped propel Yushchenko to power.
After holding more than seven hours of talks with top lawmakers, Yushchenko
accused Yanukovych's parliamentary majority of seeking to expand its power
base in violation of the Constitution by recruiting members from
pro-presidential factions.
"My actions are dictated by the strict necessity to save the state's
sovereignty and territorial integrity," Yushchenko said in a live televised
address. "It is not only my right, it is my obligation."
As Yushchenko spoke, parliament met in extraordinary session, where it voted
to block money for the new election, which he set for May 27. Parliament
Speaker Oleksandr Moroz said Yushchenko had no legal basis to make such a
decision and lawmakers adopted a statement calling it baseless.
Yanukovych's Cabinet convened later in a special session, where he appealed
to Yushchenko to cancel the dissolution and go back to the negotiation
table. "In this case, the state will live calmly, in a civilized way and
develop ... all other actions will cause the situation in the country to
significantly deteriorate," a tired-looking Yanukovych said. He suggested
that his coalition was ready for major compromises.
Earlier, Yanukovych's party members said they were likely to pursue an
appeal to the Constitutional Court, which played a key role in the bitter
2004 presidential race between Yushchenko and Yanukovych.
Yushchenko insisted that "The political situation in the state is under
control and stable."
"I am calling on the Ukrainian people to make a fair, conscious and
responsible choice which will end this stage of political conflict and will
open a new stage for Ukraine," he said.
The stakes are high for the nation of 47 million, which had counted the last
parliamentary elections as its freest and fairest yet but later saw
politicians resort to back-stabbing maneuvers during coalition talks.
Anna Skarpenka, a 45-year-old teacher, said she supported the president's
decision, arguing that Yanukovych's party had given him no choice. They
"backed the president into a corner and in this situation he could only act
radically," she said.
Yanukovych's backers had set up a tent camp near parliament to pressure the
president and several hundred supporters milled around, laying out sleeping
bags and setting up cooking facilities.
It was unclear how much parliament's makeup would change if new elections
were held. Polls suggest that Yanukovych's party and Tymoshenko's bloc would
run almost head-to-head, with Yushchenko's party a distant third.
The standoff between Yushchenko and Yanukovych arose after 11 lawmakers
allied with the president defected to Yanukovych's coalition last month, in
violation of the Constitution, which says the coalition can be expanded only
by the addition of entire factions, not individual lawmakers.
Yanukovych became premier last August after his party won the most votes in
parliamentary elections, capitalizing on divisions within Yushchenko's team
and widespread disappointment in the slow pace of reforms. Yushchenko
reluctantly agreed to accept Yanukovych as premier but has since accused
Yanukovych of attempting to sideline the president.
Yushchenko came to power after hundreds of thousands flooded Kiev's
Independence Square in 2004 to protest Yanukovych's fraud-marred election
victory. The Supreme Court called new elections, which Yushchenko won.
Copyright
