----- Original Message ----- From: Rick Rozoff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, April 14, 2000 4:19 PM Subject: [STOPNATO] Nominee for Best Headline Of The Year STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.HOME-PAGE.ORG Friday April 14 10:02 AM ET Albright Throws Weight Behind Ukraine's Kuchma Reuters Photo [Sorry friends, no cheesecake] By Elaine Monaghan KIEV (Reuters) - Secretary of State Madeleine Albright threw her support behind the leadership of Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma Friday, saying his stewardship was giving momentum to stalled reforms in the impoverished former Soviet state. Albright arrived in Ukraine ahead of a key referendum on Sunday on giving Kuchma more power to push reforms through parliament. Her visit also preceded Russian President-elect Vladimir Putin's maiden visit to Kiev. She told reporters aboard her plane that like Colombia, Nigeria and Indonesia, Ukraine was at a ``very important point in its democratic development.�� She has designated the four countries� key democracies this year. ``Ukraine ... has gone through some ups and downs but I believe at this stage, that after this election of President Kuchma, there is momentum for reform,�� she said. The United States backed Ukraine's independence, set in motion by a 1991 referendum that gave 9-1 approval for a breakaway from the Soviet Union. Washington now supports Kiev's quest for inclusion in European institutions. Speak your mindDiscuss this story with other people. [Start a Conversation] (Requires Yahoo! Messenger) Before embarking on talks with Ukrainian leaders, Albright paused to reflect on the country's tragic history, laying a wreath at a memorial to millions of victims of an artificial famine provoked by Soviet dictator Josef Stalin in the 1930s. She also welcomed ratification by Russia's parliament of the START-2 arms reduction pact and everyone would benefit from it. ``This is a big step forward. We look forward to intensifying our discussion on next steps of our arms control dialogue and other issues when Foreign Minister (Igor) Ivanov comes to Washington later this month,�� she said in a statement. ``This vote is indeed an historic step which will help improve security for all of us.�� Ukraine's media interpreted a change in her schedule, which brought forward her departure and put Ukraine ahead of a visit to ex-Soviet Central Asia instead of at the end, as an attempt to beat Putin to the post. Putin is due in Kiev late Monday. U.S. officials put the amendment down to scheduling difficulties and Albright's wish to be back in Washington in time for a visit by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat. Reuters Photo Albright Focuses Attention On Ukraine Referendum One effect of her early arrival was to focus more attention on Sunday's referendum on giving Kuchma more power to push reforms through a parliament with a powerful leftist opposition. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, which monitors democracy and human rights, has called the ballot unconstitutional and threatened to suspend Ukraine unless a law on referendum procedures is adopted first. But Albright pointed out that Ukraine's constitutional court had ruled the referendum could go ahead, while barring two questions proposed by Kuchma. Those would have provided for a referendum to vote confidence in parliament and for the president to dismiss the assembly if that confidence was denied. ``I think the Council of Europe has to see what the effect of it (the court ruling) is,�� Albright said aboard the plane. The vote, she said, had to be conducted in constitutional fashion. Voters now face four questions -- removing parliamentarians' legal immunity, cutting the assembly from 450 seats to 300, creating an upper house and empowering the president to dismiss the legislature if it fails to pass a budget or form a majority. Kuchma won a second term in November amid economic gloom but the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko, a former central banker, is seen by Washington as Ukraine's best hope. Albright said her talks would focus on the country's relations with NATO, market reforms and other issues. ``They (Ukrainians) are examining themselves very closely in terms of how they relate to the IMF and how they restructure various parts of the economy,�� she said. Facing large foreign debt payments this year, Ukraine wants to improve relations with the International Monetary Fund, strained by charges it misused previous loans. The Fund has suspended disbursements under a $2.6 billion program pending an audit of central bank operations and progress on energy sector privatization and other reforms. ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Advertisement: Workstation with Monitor under $800! So, you just heard that you need to add how many new workstations by the end of next week? Check out the bundle below. It includes everything you need to get everyone up and running quickly. http://www.listbot.com/links/cdw5
