PROBLEMS OF ECONOMY

Wages tomorrow, always tomorrow

S. Litvin, UNIAN

The new 1997 year showed that the government headed by Pavlo Lazarenko, in spite of numerous promises, has not managed to improve substantially the situation with the delay of salaries, pensions, stipends, etc.

This unpleasant fact made Grigoriy Osovoy, deputy head of the trade union federation, accuse the government of 'large-scale violation of human rights' and declare that the management of the country undergoes a profound crisis. To smooth the situation the Vice Prime-Minister Vasil Durdinets declared that he would punish 'everyone in regional administrations who are in charge of payments'. However, this intentions would hardly be realized, since practically all heads of regional administrations should be punished.

In Ukraine there exists so called 'Inter-Agency Commission in Control of the Timely Payment of Wages, Salaries and Other Social Payments'. V. Durdinets chaired the recent conference of the above-named body. He suggested several methods of fighting with pay arrears, which, at the first glance, do not seem to be especially efficient. The Vice Prime-Minister pointed out that a revision will be held and it shall 'thoroughly analyze the situation which will enable the government to take the decision with respect to each concrete region'. The decision was taken for the umpteenth time to reduce the backlogs of the budget by January 1, 1997, and approve the schedule of repayments during the first half of the year.

January, in spite of many holidays and days off, was rich in strikes and protests due to pay arrears that occurred in Donetsk, Lugansk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov, Zhitomir regions. The greatest backlog of the local budget is characteristic for Volyn region: 60 grivnas per capita. For comparison, the similar figure for Kiev is 3 grivnas. The stable tendency of pay arrears is observed almost in half of regions in Ukraine.

On the other hand, ministries and local budgets do not pay their contribution to the pension fund. In particular, the enterprises governed by the Ministry of Coal Mining did not pay 31.8% of the total sum of 943 million grivnas, the Ministry of Agriculture did not pay 31.6% and so on. The income part of the state budget did not get 4.2 billion grivnas (28.4%) for 1996. Local budgets did not transfer to the state budget 421 million grivnas. In particular, the Crimea did not pay 137 million, the city of Kiev - 54 million, Lugansk region - 58 million, Donetsk region - 26 million and Lviv region - 20 million grivnas.

Briefly speaking, the government has not managed to balance the income and expenditure parts of the budget. It is doubtful that this problem will be solved in the future. The reduction of taxes this year will result not only in diminishing the pressure on the producer, but also in the reduction of income. Thus, it is incomprehensible in which way the government and the parliament hope to normalize the expenditures. Nobody can predict how realizable will be the budget-97. Moreover, it is not clear when this budget will be adopted. And nobody knows which difficulties will bubble up in the near future. For instance, the deficit of finances of the pension fund equals one billion grivnas, and the number of pensioners in the new year increased by one million.

The Parliament, supporting the initiative of its budget commission, will, perhaps, refuse to consider this year the draft of the law on profits of physical persons, since, according to the head of this commission, main tax administrator Mikola Azarov, this tax is insignificant. However, namely from this source the bulk of the pension fund is formed.

Thus, it remains an enigma on which ground is the government optimistic declarations that pay arrears would nor grow in future are based. If to suppose that the Parliament would adopt without changes the package of laws suggested by the government and aimed at reforming the taxation, then the state budget-97 according to Pavlo Lazarenko himself would be realized by 95-97%. From here one can see that it is hopeless to believe in 100% repayment of debts (repayment promised officially five times only this year). In the actual fact it is not clear where the state is going to procure three billion grivnas for the complete repayment, for namely this sum was mentioned by Viktor Pinzenik when he declared the governmental plan.

By today the government suggested the draft of new tax laws, and it is very important. However, this must be accompanied by a similar package of laws on investment. It is not sufficient to remove the tax noose from the neck of the almost dead producers - the new blood of investments must be transfused. By these two means the dead economy can be resurrected, and then workers will get their wages and pensioners - their pension.

Innovations in Kharkov city transport

L. Mashkin, Kharkov

Recently the managers of Kharkov city transport invented a new method of the fight with those who do not pay fares. Now passengers are permitted to enter only through a narrow gap of the front door. The crew tries to check if passengers have tokens or documents for free transportation. From the rest they take cash, mostly having no time to give tickets instead. It is difficult to tell how efficient is this method economically, because the angry crowd rushing through the only gap, carries in those who pay nothing. The process is accompanied by angry cries, insults and banal brawls. In rush hours the people who manage to get in are the fittest or the luckiest. Others, such as women, children, handicapped and old people remain to wait for the next vehicle, where the situation will repeat. Responsible managers of Kharkov transport explained that this innovation was introduced because the transport must survive, and this new order will not be cancelled. Well, passengers loose, drivers win, it looks like a draw.

Ukrainian debts to other countries

From January 1992 to January 1, 1997, in accordance with international and intergovernmental agreements 11 credit lines from abroad were opened in Ukraine (from Germany, Italy, France, Japan, the USA and the European Community) for the total sum of $2.448 billion.

On the Government Day in the Parliament the Deputy Minister of Finances Sergey Makatsariya informed MPs that by January 1, 1997 seven credit lines act in Ukraine for the total sum of $1.874 billion. The Ukrainian payees spent $1.740 billion. The principal debt equals $859.7 million. The bulk of the credit was used for purchasing grain, seeds, herbicides, agricultural machines and fuel for agriculture.

S. Makatsariya pointed out that the bulk of the credits was directed to the agricultural complex. In particular, since 1992 for the needs of agriculture contracts were concluded for the total sum of $1.135 billion; from this sum $975 million were used, $569 million were repaid ($559 million at the expense of the budget). The principal debt equals $339 million. The speaker remarked that one of the most acute problems of the state budget is the repayment of tied credits to juridical persons guaranteed by the government. The total sum of the unpaid debts here equals about $860 million. By January 1, 1997 Ukraine has got about $3.5 million financial aid from international financial organizations.

Real GNP-96 in Ukraine equals 79 billion grivnas

It is 10% less than in 1995. Valentin Koronevskiy, Minister of Finances, said at the briefing that the income of the total budget for 1996 received 30.1 billion grivnas of taxes and other compulsory payments (87.6% of the planned values). The income of the state budget-96 equaled 19.6 billion grivnas (82.1%). Due to tax arrears the budget did not get 3.5 million grivnas. In spite of the fact that organizations and enterprises were given postponement of taxes, their financial state has not improved. The income part of local budgets was fulfilled on the average by 98.8% but the debt of the local budgets before the state one by January 1, 1997 equaled 484 million grivnas.

As a result of revisions of commercial banks 37.5 thousand violations of the operating laws was uncovered which resulted in 81 million grivnas directed to the state budget but never received by it; 28 million grivnas were sent to local budgets instead of the state one. The guilty banks were fined by the total sum of 37 million grivnas.

A letter to a human right protecting Association

We, undersigned, are teachers of school No.8 in Enakievo, Donetsk region, disgusted by the attitude of the cabinet of Ministers and local authorities to education, children and teachers.

Each year funds for education are reduced, which resulted in pay arrears, in deterioration of education and ruination of schools.

Local authorities make teachers take unpaid leaves or agree to work for 75% of their salaries. The promise of the Cabinet of Ministers to raise teachers' salaries by three times has long been forgotten. The last salary was paid for October, 1996.

This policy results in ruination of the entire system of people's education, undermines the intellectual potential of the Ukrainian people, leads to degeneration of the nation and threatens the independence of Ukraine.

We turn to you with the hope that you will assist in the protection of our constitutional rights.

Undersigned by 70 teachers.

Will Ukraine survive till 2000?

The policy both of the President and of the Parliament do not guarantee the economic security of Ukraine. This opinion was worded during the round-table meeting 'Actual problems of economic security of Ukraine' by the Head of the Council of Experts (CE) of economic and political studies O. Rozumkov.

Doctor of economics, leader of the expert group at CE O. Plotnikov said that the President's speech in the Parliament on 21 March confirmed 'an extremely low level of economic security, which must be guaranteed by the top politicians'.

According to O. Rozumkov, a 'progressive degradation of economics' is going on, and the GNP in 1996 equaled only 38.4% of the level in 1990. The average deterioration of the GNP in January 1997 exceeded 10%. O. Rozumkov said that now it is possible to separate 'three strategies of dependence' of Ukraine: international and financial aid, fuel and energy crisis, and the general drift of the economy to the shadow. The external debt of Ukraine by the beginning of 1997 equaled about 9.6 billion dollars (most money was borrowed in 1992-1994). By the estimates of CE specialists, in 1997 Ukraine must come near the 'unsafe zone', when the level of the external debt equales about 80% of the GNP (but in 1996 this indicator was 30.4%). The experts of the World Bank forecast that by 2000 the external debt of Ukraine will equal 15 billion dollars; the estimates of the Ministry of Finances of Ukraine are gloomier: 20 - 22 billion dollars. As to fuel and energy crisis, said O. Rozumkov, Ukraine annually consume about 300 million metric tonnes of the conditional fuel, and about 90% of energy carriers are imported from Russia. Every year the country consumes 92 billion cubic meters of natural gas, and only 18 million cubic meters are produced in Ukraine. Besides, the country imports about 100% of nuclear fuel.

The shadow circulation of cash equals about 40% (in other countries the figure is 20-25%). According to the data of the USS, about 55% of activity of private firms lies in the sphere of the shadow economy. The specialists of CE estimate the shadow economy output as 60% of the GNP of Ukraine.

The specialists of CE expressed the opinion that if the economic degradation of Ukraine is not stopped, then in two-three years the country will be 'crossed out of the list of the countries that have independent national economy.

ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGISLATIVE PROBLEMS

Doublethink

I. Sukhorukova and M. Shutaleva, Kharkov

Nowadays citizens of Ukraine receive a new passport, that of a citizen of an independent country. The new document corresponds to international standards. In particular, it does not show the citizen's nationality since, in accordance with international norms, this is private information which can be communicated if the citizen wants to. The 'propiska' (resident's permit) must be cancelled by the end of 1997. The Ukrainian law on passports corresponds not only to the world standards, but also to the Ukrainian Constitution, Article 32 of which prohibits state bodies to demand private information from citizens if it does not threaten the security of other citizens or the state. It seems that our country which declared the priority of the international right over national laws, fulfilled one of its obligations and rejected forever recording nationality. The notorious 'fifth graph' showing nationality was introduced by Stalin's personal order, perhaps for the final triumph of the proletarian internationalism. Since that time in the sphere of national policy, as well as in many other spheres of the Soviet state there appeared a double standard. The proletarian internationalism was boiling in the country, splashing in Moscow by picturesque spartakiads and consecutive decades of culture of brotherly republics. Simultaneously goods trains carried to Siberia and Kazakhstan Crimean Tartars, Chechens, Greeks and other minor peoples as a whole. So-called 'bourgeois nationalists' of larger peoples from Latvians, Lithuanians and Ukrainians followed the same way. The racism of the most international regime in the world is not a contradiction; it is a normal way of behavior of a totalitarian empire, where all the declarations must be understood in the opposite sense, as it was convincingly depicted by Orwell in his '1984'. Orwell was the first who introduced the term 'doublethink', typical for totalitarian countries where people think and speak something opposite to what occurs in the actual fact.

Ukraine, as one of the countries that suffered most in the former USSR should fear the doublethink as a plague.

Let us return to the passport of a citizen of Ukraine. It is made according to European standards, and when the propiska is cancelled it will fully obey Article 32 of the Constitution. All seems well but this passport stopped to be an adequate document. Every owner of the new passport must now display in the registrar's office also his birth certificate where the graph 'nationality' remained intact, listing the nationality of your parents. Without the birth certificate your marriage or the birth of a baby, or the death of your relative will not be registered. Besides, in contrast to Article 25 of Labor Law the graph 'nationality' is retained in questionnaires when one enters a job, or an educational establishment, or registers the exchange of apartments and so on. It seems that the information on nationality is not required only in the laundry and, maybe, for the motor ambulance.

Why had we to introduce such an impotent document? Perhaps to gratify the Council of Europe. And as to universal violation of Article 32 of the Constitution, of the law on passports and of the international rights, who cares? The Council of Europe will never learn about this.

The law 'On psychiatric aid' must be adopted asap

The Collegium of the Main Directorate on Health Protection and physicians of Kiev turned to the speaker of Parliament Oleksandr Moroz and MPs with the request to accelerate the analysis and adoption of the law 'On psychiatric aid'.

At the conference of the Collegium it was pointed out that by the beginning of 1997 at the dispensary registration in the city of Kiev there were 63.7 thousand of patients, i.e. 241 patient for 10, 000 population; among them there are 15.5 thousand children.

Among adult patients there are 56.1% of acute cases, among the children the respective proportion is 42.5%.

A special problem is the growth of suicides. In 1996 2.025 suicidal attempts were registered by psychiatric bodies, among them 344 resulted in the death. For 1995 the corresponding figures were 1.725 and 423.

Illegal migration

By unofficial data the number of illegal immigrants in Ukraine is about two million people. The majority of them came from South- Eastern Asia, Africa and Middle East. They regard Ukraine as a convenient road to the Western Europe.

The illegal migration is a kind of organized crime, and it presents a real danger to the national security. This kind of crime has become a transnational and very profitable business. A future migrant finds in his own country a secret point of the international network. He pays for the service and gets a ticket, and entrance visa to Ukraine, the information about the route, etc. In our country they are met and divided into groups. Some get Volyn, some get Lviv and some get Transcarpathian direction. The vans for secret transporting people are equipped in special shops, sometimes at factories. As a rule, the special load is accompanied to and across the frontier by another car. At the first glance the van and the car are quite unconnected. Having successfully crossed the frontier, they report by fax. Only in this case the work of the transporting personnel is paid, and paid squarely.

In civilized countries, when an illegal migrant is caught, he is sent away to his mother-country at the expense of the embassy of this country. We just detain illegal migrants and think what to do further. By our laws, an illegal migrant is not a criminal, so after some time he is released in peace. They normally make another, and still another attempt to infiltrate to the West. Our state sustains sizeable material and moral losses.

Only in 1996 6.5 thousand illegal migrants were detained in Ukraine.

'Nezavisimost', No.12-13, January 1997

***

In the beginning of 1997 a refugee status was given to 1161 migrants, 482 of which are children under 16. These data were given at the regional seminar on non-organized migration.

Now the problems of regulating migration processes in Ukraine are being solved by several ministries and agencies, which makes the coordination of actions very complicated. Perhaps, a United Migration Service will be organized. Information was distributed that due to the strengthening of control over illegal migration the number of illegal detained migrants has decreased by 30% in 1996 compared to 1995.

***

'Nowadays Ukraine cannot defeat illegal migration without international help', - General Pavlo Shisholin, the first deputy of the State Committee of defending the state frontier of Ukraine, declared at the press-conference devoted to the results of the regional seminar on illegal migration. He said that 'our state became a shield that protects the West from the flow of migrants, that is why 'the European Community must support financially Ukraine in its struggle against the transnational crime for the security of European peoples'. According to P. Shisholin, the international gangs that deal in illegal migration, hold the third place after stealing cars and dealing in narcotic drugs. He pointed out that to enable efficient measures against illegal migration Ukraine must create a set of laws on migration. P. Shisholin informed that now two new laws are being created: 'On migration' and 'On the procedure of granting the political asylum in Ukraine', a new version of the law 'On foreigners' is being developed too.

The participants of the press-conference were told that in 1995 migrants from 132 countries were detained, in 1996 - from 144 countries. Mostly the migrants come from Iran, Afganistan and China; 70% of migrants come to Ukraine by air, 30% - by rail and by road.

SOCIAL UNREST

On March 18, 1997 the leftish organizations appealed the people to take part in protest actions against the deterioration of living standard, unemployment and pay arrears.

Protest actions were carried in the civilized manner

According to the data of the Ministry of Internal affairs about 85 thousand people took part in the all-Ukrainian protest actions. Meetings and demonstrations occurred in 165 towns and settlements of Ukraine. These data were given by Yuri Kravchenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs. He pointed out that 'order was preserved during these actions', by the efforts of more than 50 thousand of militiamen.

On the day of the protest actions 12 grave crimes were committed, but all of them were unrelated to the protests.

Yuri Kravchenko said that in the column of left-wingers in Kiev militiamen detained five young men who distributed leaflets which appealed the people to follow the example of rebels in Albania. Now these young men are being identified.

The Minister thanked militiamen for the efficient work and leaders of political parties and movements 'for restraint and tolerance to political views of their opponents'.

Crimea

Seven meetings, four manifestations and three pickets were organized in the Crimea. All of them passed without excesses. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the participants of the meetings numbered about 5000 people, those of the manifestations - about 1700, those of the pickets - 1200. In several districts brief strikes were organized, the total number of participants was about 1600 people. Around 200 educators and physicians took part in pickets in Yalta.

Donetsk

In the meeting that was held in Donetsk about 8000 people took part according to the organizers and 2000 according to militia. The corresponding numbers for the manifestation are 2000 and 400.

Kharkov

About 5000 representatives of the left forces participated in the meeting and manifestation. Beside economic slogans sounded political, or rather language slogans, the participants demanded to resume the transmission of the Russian radio station 'Mayak' and Russian TV program 'ORT'. Valentin Antonov, the leader of trade unions, said that the number of jobless reached 200, 000 and every other enterprise is wasteful.

Odessa

About 500 representatives of left parties, mainly elderly and old people, held under the monument of Lenin a one-hour meeting in support of the protest action. The meeting was organized by the Union of Communists of Odessa. The speakers expressed some political demands, in particular, the restoring of the USSR and non-entering the NATO. Besides the speakers worded the usual social and economic demands.

Handicapped miners protest

About 180 handicapped miners who became invalids because of on-the-job accidents and professional diseases in the mine 'Komsomolets' permanently stay in the administrative building of the mine. They demand to pay their pensions which they have not received for 12 months. They decided not to leave the building 'until they get money'.

ON THE BOTH SIDES OF THE BARS

Tax officers take bribes

In 1996 62 officers of tax service were criminally prosecuted for taking bribes. Mikola Azarov, Head of the state tax administration, declared at the conference of the administration that one of the reasons for taking bribes is pay arrears to tax officers. By January 24 the debt to tax officers equaled 36 million grivnas, now it has diminished to 16 million. M. Azarov said that the Ministry of Finances should specially control the timely payment to tax officers. Besides, he said, it is necessary to improve bodily protection of tax inspectors.

Suicides in the penitentiary establishments

The Directorate of Penitentiary Establishments (DPE) remarks a growth of suicides among convicts. The absolute number is kept secret, but some relative figures are made public: 44% of all suicides happen in colonies of stern regime, 36% - in colonies of strengthened regime, 11% - in colonies of common regime and 4% - in colonies-settlements.

Academics from the psychological department of Kiev Institute of Internal Affairs jointly with a department of DPE have prepared recommendations aimed at the profilaxis of suicides among convicts.

Our informant

Bought killings. Who benefits?

G. Suchko, Zaporozhye

Recently Zaporozhye regional court considered the case of a bought killing of the Head of Razdolnenskiy district of the Crimea. During ten days not only killers but the man who ordered the killing were arrested. It is supposed that this gang consisting of 19 people was responsible for 20 killings more.

Yuri Kravchenko, the Minister of Internal Affairs, informed that out of 119 bought killings during 1996 only 20 were disclosed. Until now the killing of the MP, member of the political committee of the Liberal party E. Scherban, an attempt at killing the mayor of Sebastopol Semenov, an explosion under the car of the Prime-Minister Lazarenko have not been disclosed yet.

In 1996 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted the law by which the ordered killing is considered as a murder under aggravating circumstances, for which the punishment is either 8 to 15 year incarceration or the death penalty.

In the ordered killing or, as it is called, pricelist killing, there are two criminals: the killer and the person who ordered the killing. A new profession, that of a killer, appeared in our society. Women also are mastering this profession (two of them are under the criminal investigation).

Pricelist killings make a part of premeditated murders, whose number is permanently growing. The number of the latter was 4.5 thousand in 1995.

Lately, there appeared so-called resonance killings committed in daytime, in public places, with the use of explosives. They are characterized with plenty of innocent victims. The character of victims of pricelist killings has undergone some changes. Earlier victims were killed from jealousy, revenge, etc. Lately, people are killed in connection with their political, entrepreneurial, criminal activity. That is why investigating officers must first of all answer the question: who benefits?

Killings often happened during gang wars. For instance, in 1995 in the clashes between gangs for redistribution of territories 225 people were killed, of which 179 were suspected by law enforcing bodies as leaders and members of criminal gangs.

Some pricelist killings were directed against political opponents and such troublemakers as human right protectors; the latter died when having serious incriminating documents against VIPs. In 1994 1995 15 representatives of governmental and non-governmental political organizations were killed and 19 wounded.

In Ukraine only 20% of pricelist killings are disclosed. It can be explained by the professionalism of the killers and by the fact that often they are protected by people at the top. That is why the country needs a structure similar to the FBI. The organization of such a structure is underway, but it is underway too long. Perhaps some people benefit from the delay.

Broke his leg himself

Our bulletin already informed the death of 28-year-old worker Yuri Mozola in the investigating cell of the USS of Lvov region. His body with clear signs of torture was taken in the small hours of the morning on March 31, 1996 to the hospital where doctor Krykina established the death after a 48-hour interrogation. By the doctor's opinion Yu. Mozola died of asfiction caused by the tight strait jacket. Yu. Mozola had a broken leg, broken ribs, numerous bruises. USS officers Pozovikov and Braylian who conducted the interrogation were tried for killing Mozola. Their advocates tried to prove that Mozola could himself break his leg and ribs by beating his body on purpose against the table, stools, cell walls and floor. The court considered it plausible. There was another line of defence. Yu. Mozola was interrogated by two shifts headed by Pozovikov and Zherebetskiy. Nobody can prove in which shift and from whose tortures Mozola died. So the advocates demanded the non-guilty verdict.

At the court session the judge read a resolution of the General Procurator's office to stop the criminal case against Pozovikov, Braylian and other officers since 'actions of some officers are not criminal and in the case of others the criminal activity is not proved'. As a result the court headed by Colonel-Major Eremenko ruled to return the case for the additional investigation.

If the murderers in uniform are acquitted then this trial will become

- a consequent criminal show that for the umpteenth time proves immunity from the law of those whose duty is to enforce the law;

- will strengthen the confidence of law enforcers in their omnipotence;

- will be another proof of helplessness and unprotectedness of simple law-abiding citizens.

A short blanket of financing

A sizeable proportion of the Ukrainian population sees the "checkered sky": 46 thousand convicts with prison terms from one to three years were directed to penitentiary establishments only in 1996. These are diletantis of the criminal world who will do the stretch with experienced and incorrigible criminals. The upkeep of convicts will cost a round sum. In the still unadopted budget-97 776 million gr. are directed for the needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (including the needs of the penitentiary system). It is one third of what was demanded. The MIA plans to purge its ranks by 20, 000 men. The blanket of financing is short: if it is pulled to cover convicts, then militia men remain in the cold. But under such dire circumstances the ranks of convicts are purged as well. More than one thousand imprisoned died last year, usually with the diagnoses "exacerbation on the background of starvation".

By continuing the old procedure "to treat criminals with the duress of the Soviet law", applied to those who committed felonies for the first time, we bring about harm to these petty criminals and to the society as a whole. New laws must be developed and adopted to punish such small fry with fines, including the confiscation of a considerable proportion of their possessions. It is time to unload prisons and the budget.

"Kievskiye Vedomosti, 25 January 1997

Advocates refuse to advocate

R. Romanov, Sebastopol

Recently there have been several cases in Sebastopol when advocates refused to defend people under criminal investigation. It was said by the city Procurator I. Vernidubov. A resident of Sebastopol Ms. G. is accused of premeditated murder. At first she refused to have an advocate during criminal investigation, but later having read the materials of the case, she desired to get legal help. But advocates refused to take part in her defence at the stage of investigation. They explained that the participation of advocates on the stage is optional.

In the opinion of the city Procurator the genuine reason is financial. In the case when the accused cannot pay for his legal defence himself, this expenditure must be paid by the state. But the state pays nothing and advocates refuse to advocate.

Some statistics on officers of penitentiary system

A. Bukalov, Donetsk

In 1996 16 officers perished, in 1995 - 14. Out of this number 14 men lost their life in executing their duties, 7 people died of excessive drinking, four committed suicide.

In 1996 21 officer was condemned to different terms of incarceration for crimes, in 1995 the corresponding figure was 13. The most popular crimes among them are abuse of power - 7, drug pushing - 4, theft and other pity crimes - 9. The remaining criminal cases are still being investigated.

In 1996 2331 people were fired from the penitentiary system. And only 2202 were hired. All in all the shortage of personnel is 3.6%.

How much did they steal?

G. Sushko, Zaporozhye

Different sorts of financial pyramids successfully robbed the Ukrainian population, all in all they stole about $132 million from 4 million trustful citizens.

The leaders in this noble business are the 'Ukrainian House of Seleng' and 'Pripyat-Dovira'.

Ukrainian courts condemned 17 conmen. Ten cases are under investigation.

ARMY PROBLEMS

Reforms are needed

IV All-Ukrainian Congress of soldiers' mothers was recently held in Kiev. The resolution of the Congress contains an appeal to the Parliament to make an amendment to the law 'On universal military duty' postponing the recruiting age from 18 to 19 years and to reduce the duration of the service down to 12 months. Mothers also appeal to cancel the exterritorial principle that prohibits the soldier to serve in the region where he lives. In the opinion of the Congress, young people after their army service must have privileges for entering state higher schools during two years. From the parents whose sons did not serve in the army or from the young men themselves it is proposed to take a special tax which should be spent for the needs of those who do serve in the army. Soldier mothers appeal the Parliament to adopt the law 'On responsibility of physicians and medical commissions for recruiting not-able-bodied young men' and 'On the personal responsibility of officers for torturing younger soldiers in the military units'. Besides, the soldier mothers insist on their rights to freely visit all military units and prisons.

'Vecherniy Kharkov', December 19, 1996

Again dedovshchina

At night, in March 1996 a young soldier Aleksey Lagutin, mobilized from the town of Krasnograd, Kharkov region, and directed to a military unit in Zaporozhye garrison, hanged himself in a shed on the territory of the unit. The reason of the suicide was usual: tortures of the 'greenhorn' by older soldiers. During the criminal investigation and the trial that lasted almost a month and was recently completed numerous cases were disclosed when servicemen Oleshkevich, Klichanovskiy and Serdiuchenko 'violated Articles of War', not only with respect to A. Lagutin. Young soldiers were systematically beaten, were made to clean toilet seats with their tooth brushes, to press up from the floor covered with feces and so on. The court martial of Zaporozhskiy garrison condemned Klichanovskiy and Serdiuchenko to five years, Oleshkevich - to five years and a half of imprisonment in a labor-reforming colony of the strengthened regime.

Dedovshchina (torturing of younger soldiers by servicemen of senior rank or age - translator's note) - is a matter of routine in the Ukrainian army, but very infrequently the guilty are prosecuted. Ivan Klimov, the military procurator of Zaporozhye garrison, who was the prosecutor in this trial, characterized it as a quite exceptional case. At least during his six-year service in Zaporozhye this is the first such fact. Now the military procurator's office finishes the investigation of the criminal case of private Smerevskiy from a unit of Zaporozhye garrison. He beat younger soldiers, chiselled money from them and also branded them with red-hot iron.

'Pravda Ukrainy', January 24, 1997

A letter from parents

We know how brutal is the atmosphere in the army, and we, parents, will not send there our sons. We do not want them to perish or to become invalids. Here is a fresh example. The son of our acquaintances from the settlement of Darnitsa carriage repairing plant sent a letter to his parents that he was demobbed, got 100 grivnas and hurried home. He appeared later than he promised. Other servicemen took away all his money and beat him so that now he lies in a mental home. He could not get home, and so he was accompanied by an officer. But the latter accompanied him only to Kiev railway station. He did not take him to the parents, perhaps he was unwilling to explain to them why their son became an invalid. The boy was taken to the mental home by militia. They are nine in the ward, and all of them are from the army.

'Kievskiye Vedomosti', January 24, 1997

MEDICAL PROBLEMS

General picture

The general picture of health of the Ukrainian population is rather gloomy: 6 million people suffer from cardiovascular diseases, 1.2 million are mental cases, 770 thousand have cancer, 720 thousand suffer from alcoholism, 600 thousand - from TB, more than 1.5 million are handicapped. All of them and thousands more need serious medical aid which costs money. In the draft of the still unadopted budget-97 the sum intended for medical aid equals 3.3 billion grivnas, although, according to the Ministry of Health, the minimum demand here equals 7 billion grivnas. According to A. Serdiuk, the Minister of Health Protection, the load of one doctor in the USA and Canada is two times greater that in Ukraine; in Germany this coefficient is three and in England is almost four. Basing on these data the number of doctors will be reduced in Ukraine. Last year the number of medical workers was reduced by 192 thousand and the capacity of hospitals - by 60 thousand beds. This year the further reduction is planned (by 50 thousand and 60 thousand, respectively). District medical aid shall be reorganized. At the first stage (1997-1998) the doctors will work in pairs (therapist and pediatrician), in 1999 a GP will exchange the pair and in 2000 there will appear family doctors.

'Vseukrainskiye vedomosti', No.11, January 1997

Special prisons for AIDS-infected

The project to organize a special prison for AIDS-infected near Odessa cannot be adopted since it contradicts the worlds practice. This conclusion was reached by participants of the five-day all-Ukrainian workshop that gathered officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and medical doctors specializing in the prophylaxis of drug addiction and AIDS.

The participants discussed the strategy of AIDS prophylaxis in penitentiary establishments, the problems of preparation of penitentiary officers in charge of prophylaxis and related problems.

More than 2000 AIDS-infected are registered in Donetsk region

Nowadays more than 2000 AIDS-infected are registered in Donetsk region; last year seven people died of AIDS. These data were given by Volodymir Gusak, head of the Commission of the region council in protection of health. On the other hand, Anatoliy Koroliov, a representative of the regional directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, informed that out of 34, 000 convicts that are kept in the region 19, 300 men were examined for AIDS-infection and 263 were found to be infected.

The number of suffering from VD is also growing. Last year 12, 113 people suffering of syphilis were registered in the medical establishments of the city. There is a stable tendency of increasing the number of VD-infected, the rate is greater in centers of districts in Donetsk region.

Chernobyl consequences

Each year one more school for mentally retarded children is opened in Ukraine. More than 15 million of Ukrainian people inhabit the territories where iod insufficiency may provoke the pancreas enlargement. Besides, there is a growing number of pathologies due to miscarriages, infertility and deaf-mutism, and you will understand why the death rate exceeds birthrate.

Ten years after the Chernobyl catastrophe it is still impossible to find individual indicators of the iod saturation, special food with iod admixtures; there is no law that would guarantee the protection from the 'iod genocide'. In many parts of Ukraine even iodine salt is a deficit.

'Kievskiye vedomosti', January 22, 1997

No guarantees for imported drugs

S. Kamynina, Kharkov

We consume food and drink and medicinal drugs, believing as in the old good times, that there are services which control that biscuits are fresh and syringes are sterile. Alas, the current situation is very far from such a happy state. We interviewed A. Grizodub, Deputy Chief of the Pharmacological Committee of the Ministry of Health. We discussed the quality control of imported medicinal drugs.

A. Grizodub (A. G.): The situation is tragical. The quality control of imported drugs is practically non-existent. Out of six thousand drugs only 700 passed the expertise of our committee and have the corresponding documents. Only about a score were tested in clinics, and 70-80% of the commercially available drugs are imported.

S. Kamynina (S. K.): Why do we have such a situation?

A. G.: The last four years the money for the registration of foreign firms is obtained directly by the committee, not by the state as in Russia. To compare, the Ukrainian committee numbers 550 people, while in Russia, where the market is six times larger, the corresponding committee numbers 70 people. Our committee is interested to permit as many preparations as possible, sometimes they are permitted by lists of 100-200 items.

Until December 1996 there was a phenomenon deserving to be written into the Guinness book of records - temporary registration. It looked as follows: today a firm hands in documents and pays $500 and the day after tomorrow it gets the permission to sell their drugs for one year, although after this year the unsold drugs are not withdrawn.

But the main trouble is the other: quite officially this production is completely exempt from the quality control. This is quite unprecedented in the world. A Ukrainian producer of drugs operates under much sterner conditions. His drugs (conventional drugs produced since long ago) must pass four stages of test and pay 50-200 thousand dollars. Is it not amazing?

S. K.: And what is the destiny of preparations imported for the term of five years?

A. G.: They make about 25% of the entire import and in two cases out of three have no special documents by which it is impossible to check them.

S. K.: But have you checked anything?

A. G.: Oh, yes. One time we analyzed a product of one Indian firm which is, believe me, not worse than others. Out of 20 parties of antibiotics we rejected 19. And this shipment cost 5 million dollars. The Indian producers explained that their standards are much lower that our. I am sure that if to check preparations imported from the third world, the former socialist countries included, it is possible to reject very much. But we have no authority to do it.

S. K.: But there must be firms in which one can trust: 'Sandos', 'Orion', 'Merk sharp don' and others.

A. G.: It is not difficult to fake packing, and there are no documents to confirm that it is genuine staff. Such cases happened.

S. K.: Where is the way out?

A. G.: First of all we must raise from knees our native producers and to learn to advertise what they produce. Their production often is not worse than that of solid Western firms. Several myths must be unmasked. for example on the magic properties of their aspirin which is exactly like ours, or their panadol which is completely similar to our paracetamol in all respects except the price (the former is several times more expensive).

Secondly, the control of the imported drugs must be made in Kharkov. This is our pharmaceutical center: only in the state scientific center of medical drugs there are as many specialists as in Moscow. Where one shall take money? In all countries pharmaceutical firms pay for independent tests and much more than we demand.

P. S. Recently a new independent body, Registration Bureau, has been created in the Ministry of Health. The Minister himself is in charge of this bureau. The bureau returned to the pharmacological committee his initial functions of expert. New documents are being developed for the work with foreign firms. But untested staff is still on sale in our pharmacies, and we buy them.

The state is advancing

I. Sukhorukova, Kharkov

In the end of last year we already discussed the problem which was imposed on doctors and patients by 'specialists' from the Ministry of Health. We shall briefly remind the situation: the Committee of control for circulation of narcotic and psychotropic drugs from god knows what reason in its order No.226 of 16 July related all tranquilizers and most anticonvulsant remedies to narcotics. Now all these preparations such as popular phenazepam, seduxen, sibazon, tranksen, relanium and many others may be dispensed by special pink prescriptions with water signs. We turned to the Ministry of Health and got the following masterpiece of officialese:

'Ministry of Health of Ukraine

January 10, 1997 No. 18.01.03/16

To Zakharov Ye. Yu. co-chairman of Kharkiv Human Right Protection Group editor-in-chief of the bulletin 'Prava ludyny'

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine considered your letter concerning some statements of order No.226 of July 16, 1996.

We inform you that the circulation of narcotic drugs is governed by the Ukrainian law 'On circulation in Ukraine of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, their analogues and precursors' and corresponding normative acts. All drugs and preparations are related to narcotic and psychotropic drugs, their analogues and precursors according to international conventions and correspondingly entered by the Committee of control for circulation of narcotic and psychotropic drugs to the 'List of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, their analogues and precursors that should be specially controlled according to operating laws of Ukraine', which is annually considered and confirmed by this Committee.

All this preparations (including medicinal drugs) that should be specially controlled are input to the corresponding tables of the 'List...' with accounting for their therapeutic value depending on the degree of danger, which they can inflict if taken in excessive quantities, and the measure of responsibility according to the law.

Compiling the 'List...', its official interpretation and explanation makes the exclusive competence of the Committee of control for circulation of narcotic and psychotropic drugs.

At present operates the 'List of narcotic and psychotropic drugs, their analogues and precursors that should be specially controlled according to operating laws of Ukraine' which is approved by the order No.2 of Head of the Committee of February 7, 1996 and registered in the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine by No.104/1129 of March 4, 1996.

All stated above is the juridical basis of the order No.226 of July 16, 1996.

Certainly this order may be somewhat perfected and completed, so we shall gratefully accept you concrete notes and propositions.

Signed by Deputy Minister A. Kartysh'.

Now, after four months of introduction of order No.226, the situation with tranquilizers is difficult for doctors and especially patients. First of all, only few clinics dared to get pink blanks for prescriptions, for it is these blanks, not tranquilizers that lure drug addicts. Secondly, this blank costs 4 grivnas, and beggarly district clinics will hardly be able to afford another attempt this year. It is patients, not drug addicts who suffer without tranquilizers. The worse situation is observed in psychiatry where tranquilizers make an almost standard component of treatment. Psychiatric establishments cannot have pink blanks since they have no safes. After energetic protests Kharkov psychiatric dispensary got the permission to hand out five prescriptions per day, but the daily quota of patients is 20 or more. The costs for sibazon and relanium at the black market soared and now the price of cocaine and sibazon have become equal. However, nobody has ever seen a drug addict who became such by taking tranksen, as well as nobody has seen a drug addict who takes only relanium. The experience of many countries shows that tranquilizers must be made as accessible for patients as possible. According to unofficial sources, the variety of narcotic drugs at the black market has increased and the prices fell down. This is the result of the energetic struggle of the Committee with drug addicts. In fact, this is a struggle with the Ukrainian population, with children, with old people, with the chronically ill.

What is going on may be explained in one way: someone tries to support the black market. It is the place where doctors must unofficially send their patients. At psychiatric dispensary and other establishments, where tranquilizers are normally used, some revisions were organized by the USS and Procurator's office. As the result it was prohibited to give medications to patients for taking at home. Now, if a patient has an epilepsy fit, he must be taken to a dispensary to be given the necessary drug. And what if the fit happens in night? The motor ambulance crew has no sibazon so the patient must be taken into a hospital. And there are no drugs in hospital.

Psychiatric patients are the most socially unprotected population group. They cannot afford the black market. Mother of one schizophrenic said to me: 'I swear that if we lived under the german occupation I would take my son and hand in hand would go with him to the gas chamber. To exterminate psychic patients is much more humane than torture them and their families as it is done in our country'.

I have a question to our Parliamentary commissions, that must fight with crime and corruption, protect health and human rights, how long will you stand this inhumane absurd?!

PRACTICE OF HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION

Arrested for nothing

R. Mukhamedjanov, co-chairman of Dnepropetrovsk regional center for human rights protection, tried to make notes during a trial in Zavodskoy district court. By the ruling of judge Vedibura he was detained and spent five days in the cooler. R. Mukhamedjanov handed a complaint to the regional court and was not arrested. On the contrary, the regional court cancelled the ruling of judge Vedibura with the following motivation: 'Neither the Criminal Code, nor the Procedural Code of Ukraine do not contain any clauses forbidding to make notes during the trial, both by the participants and other citizens'. It took the regional court four months to brood on this decision. Now R. Mukhamedjanov intends to prosecute judge Vedibura for moral damage.

Our informant

Newsmen are killed again

In February 1997 Odessa buried Vladimir Bekhter, a leading journalist, a newsman from Odessa region radio who died at a hospital from the beating by law enforcing officers on Deribasovskaya, the central street of the city. Bekhter was detained, beaten and then thrown to the cooler without any medical aid. He was taken to the hospital a day later, but it was too late. Sergey Komar, the editor-in-chief of Odessa regional radio, informed that the application was handed to the top law enforcing officers of the city with the demand to punish the guilty.

***

Petro Shevchenko from Lugansk was a professional journalist, conscientious and brave newsman. That is why most people did not believe in his suicide. The journalists of the newspaper 'Kievskiye Vedomosti' are convinced that it was a murder to which features of a suicide were artificially added.

General Volodymir Radchenko, Head of the USS, considers it possible too. He said that the investigation is conducted 'On the top level'.

How does Ukraine obey the European convention on human rights and main liberties?

R. Grechanik, a lawyer

The wish of Ukraine to join the Council of Europe was partly caused by the impression that Ukraine is not a part of Europe only in the geographic sense, but it is a part of Europe in spiritual, moral and cultural values. Certain state bodies had and still have the intention to respect human rights and support democracy. the most decisive step in this direction was the adoption of the Constitution of Ukraine.

Having taken the decision to undersign such an international agreement as the European convention on human rights and main liberties, our country had to soberly calculate the capability to fulfill the undertaken duties. On the other hand, the international community must monitor whether the countries actually fulfil their obligations. The international community must take proper measures to make the government of Ukraine to fulfil at least those obligations that do not require significant expenditures. We shall describe some details how the monitoring acts. In the directive of the Parliament Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) No.508 (1995) 'On the fulfillment by the member-states of the Council of Europe of their obligations' it is written 'PACE in order No.488 (1993) indicated its committee with legal questions at human rights that it is necessary 'to closely control how newly joined member-states fulfil their obligations and hear every six months the reports on the fulfillment of the obligations'. A number of other documents of PACE attracts attention to the questions of control.

Which obligations were taken by Ukraine while joining the Council of Europe? We shall list only several of them:

- at the moment of joining the European Council Ukraine undersigns the convention on human rights and it promises to ratify this convention and protocols Nos.1, 2, 4, 7, 11 during one year; until protocol No.11 becomes operable, Ukraine recognizes the right of citizens to turn to the European Commission of human rights; Ukraine also recognizes the priority jurisdiction of the European Court for human rights (Articles 25 and 46 of the convention);

- during one year since the moment of joining to undersign and not later that in three years to ratify protocol No.6 of the European convention, which protocol contains the abolition of death penalty in peaceful time; Ukraine also promises to decree the moratorium on executions of death penalty since the moment of joining the Council of Europe.

What pattern of behavior did the government choose concerning the fulfillment of its obligations? The best description will be the way of having a good mien when a game is bad. By the absolute number of executions in 1996 the Ukraine won the second place after China. PACE in resolution No.1112 (1997) 'Concerning the fulfillment by Ukraine of her obligations to decree the moratorium on the execution of death penalties' writes that 'the information on execution of death penalties in Ukraine is kept in secret even from the families of the executed, who are buried in unmarked graves... Execution of death penalties that occurred in Ukraine in 1996 is an obvious violation of her obligations'. The Assembly warned the government of Ukraine that it would take all necessary measures to make Ukraine fulfil her obligations. If the executions are continued, then the Assembly at its subsequent session will not recognize the Ukrainian Parliamentary delegation.

The duty of NGOs dealing in human rights is to monitor the process of fulfillment of obligations, of gathering precise information and distributing it inside Ukraine and abroad. PACE and Ukrainian NGOs must work hand-in-hand, for theirs is the common goal.

All the materials whose author is not indicated are taken from UNIAN.