05/02/2001 | НеДохтор

Стаття із британської The Gardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4177797,00.html У ВІДСТАВКУ МАВ ПІТИ НЕ ЮЩЕНКО, А КУЧМА Для тих, хто добре читає англійську: ----------------------

THE WRONG MAN RESIGNS Ukraine's struggle is just beginning

Leader Guardian Monday April 30, 2001 Viktor Yushchenko's forced resignation as Ukraine's prime minister has intensified the sense of political crisis that has gripped Kiev since last autumn when President Leonid Kuchma was accused of ordering the murder of an investigative journalist. Mr Yushchenko's tearful departure after losing a parliamentary confidence vote sparked renewed street protests of a kind that in recent months have frequently threatened to spiral out of control. But his overthrow has had a broader impact, affecting confidence in Ukraine's still immature democracy and in the country's ability to tackle its economic problems. The vanquished prime minister's market reforms and pro-western stance had begun to show results, with GDP growing by 6% last year, industrial production up by 12% and steel exports to the US and the EU on the rise. The figures reflected the first yearly growth recorded since Ukraine became independent 10 years ago, a period that saw real GDP plummet by about two-thirds. Now big lenders such as the US and the World Bank-IMF are likely to hold back until the dust settles. That may take a while. Mr Yushchenko alienated powerful business interests - the Ukrainian equivalent of Russia's oligarchs - who feared his reforms would loosen their often corrupt hold on Soviet-era state monopolies. He was badly served by his divided allies and fiercely opposed by old-style communists. In courting the west, he increasingly represented an obstacle to President Vladimir Putin's evident ambition to re-establish Moscow's sway in the most important part of what Russians proprietorially call their "near abroad". And Ukraine is in any case dependent for its energy supplies on Russia, still its biggest trading partner. Mr Yushchenko was further undermined by Mr Kuchma, a weakened and oppressive figure who has good cause to fear his prime minister's grassroots popularity. In truth, it is the president who should have resigned. These underlying tensions and divisions will not be dispelled by this latest upheaval. On the contrary, they may only grow worse, ultimately undermining Ukraine's briefly-held independence (as in the case of Belarus). "I am not abandoning politics. I am going away in order to return," Mr Yushchenko said. He is now expected to try to rally the opposition ahead of elections next year. That offers a glimmer of hope. But it also suggests the crisis will deepen. -------------------