http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/12/30/wukraine30.xml
Ukraine's opposition reinstates blockade By Julius Strauss in Kiev (Filed: 30/12/2004) Ukrainian opposition supporters renewed their blockade of Viktor Yanukovich's office after the prime minister continued to defy calls to concede defeat in last weekend's presidential election. In a move that seems set to prolong the nation's crisis, Mr Yanukovich also refused to give up his post although parliament pased a motion this month dictating that he should step down. Viktor Yanukovich and Viktor Yushchenko supporters The stand-off in Kiev continues between Viktor Yanukovich and supporters of Viktor Yushchenko Preliminary election results give his opponent, Viktor Yushchenko, a lead of more than 2.2 million votes. Opposition supporters had planned a victory party in Independence Square, Kiev, but that, and plans by the protesters in the capital's "tent city" to pack up and go home, are now on hold. Instead, several hundred marched yesterday to the cabinet building where they prevented Mr Yanukovich, an industrial magnate who is backed by Moscow, from chairing a meeting of ministers. It was eventually held elsewhere without him. Mr Yanukovich's officials have filed a dossier of complaints to the central election commission claiming that the opposition carried out thousands of election abuses. Mr Yanukovich's representative on the commission, Nestor Shufrich, said the team had submitted 27 volumes of documents. He said: "If there is any consistency, we have no doubt that the result of the election will be overturned." But there were signs yesterday that the election commission was unlikely to rule in Mr Yanukovich's favour. Its head, Yaroslav Davydovich, said: "These legal challenges are an attempt to draw the commission out of its impartial stand and into politics. That is impossible." Myron Wasylyk, an analyst who is close to the opposition, said the complaints by the Yanukovich team had been expected. "Whatever they file, I believe most of the petitions will be thrown out of court," he said. Preliminary official results give Mr Yushchenko 52 per cent against 44 per cent for Mr Yanukovich. But plans for an early inauguration of Mr Yushchenko have been shelved because of the uncertainty caused by Mr Yanukovich's defiance. Mr Yushchenko has nevertheless begun holding discussions with his allies over plans for their first 100 days in power. They agreed that the main foreign policy aim would be to push for membership of the European Union as early as possible. There has been fervent speculation over who will be prime minister in Mr Yushchenko's cabinet. Yulia Timoshenko, the blonde firebrand who has stood by his side throughout the crisis, has made it known that she expects the post as a reward. But she is unpopular in the pro-Russian south and east and unlikely to garner enough support in parliament. In an apparent attempt to rally support, she was due to fly yesterday to the city of Donetsk, in the industrial heartland of eastern Ukraine, to meet Rinat Ahmetov, the country's richest man. Mr Ahmetov, like the country's other oligarchs, has supported the outgoing president Leonid Kuchma and Mr Yanukovich, but may be seeking an accommodation with the new order. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> $4.98 domain names from Yahoo!. Register anything. http://us.click.yahoo.com/Q7_YsB/neXJAA/yQLSAA/TySplB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
