How will Internet web-sites affect the Ukrainian Socialists?

After Yevhen Marchuk, another Ukrainian politician — Socialist Party leader Oleksandr Moroz — has opened his own web-page in the Internet (www.moroz.com.ua).

At the presentation on this occasion, the Socialist leader was mainly asked questions about the coming presidential elections.

Mr. Moroz rejected any possibility of nominating Oleksandr Tkachenko as the Left’s joint candidate for president.

Mr. Moroz was also asked to comment on the following points: what will he do if the Communists nominate a presidential candidate of their own? Why has Leonid Kuchma leveled all his criticism at Pavlo Lazarenko since the parliamentary elections, without in fact uttering a word about Petro Symonenko? Moreover, Mr. Symonenko has been named Politician of the Year (it is an open secret now who patronizes these dished out laurels), although Mr. Kuchma is being portrayed as an alternative to the Left threat.

Mr. Moroz said, “You see, I understand all these things... very well. And since you also understand them, you may understand, pardon my tautology, why I don’t give any details on this matter. I don’t think it is a secret that Mr. Symonenko will be nominated as candidate at his party’s congress. There is not the slightest doubt I will also be named as candidate at our congress. We’ll coordinate our stands.”

The presentation over, Mr. Moroz answered The Day’s questions.

“Is it probable that a left-wing government will come to power in Ukraine before the presidential elections?”

“I think not.”

“On Friday the Prosecutor General’s Office sent additional materials on the Lazarenko case to the US. According to Prosecutor-General Potebenko, there is no danger to Mr. Lazarenko’s and his family’s security in Ukraine. What is your opinion on this?”

“It’s hard for me to judge, but to be in custody is already a threat to human, as well as political, life...”

“But Mr. Lazarenko is now in US custody. Is his life in danger over there?”

“The point is that he has been detained there pending a clarification of circumstances. And over here, he would have been detained on criminal charges. These are entirely different things. The levels of moral (and other) pressure are not comparable.

“In case of a positive solution of the question of his stay and, the more so, asylum in the USA (I have unconfirmed information the matter has been settled in Mr. Lazarenko’s favor), we will have to assess quite differently the roles of all actors in this play. I think the situation has taken a very interesting turn, for it enables Mr. Lazarenko to speak out. I wish he would do so, because all that story with parliamentary consent to Mr. Lazarenko’s arrest was, in my opinion, caused by the desire to prevent him from telling what he can.”

“Practically all opposition politicians, including you, talk about the possible rigging of the coming presidential election results by those in power. What kind of practical steps can be taken to prevent this?”

“First, it is necessary to conclude an agreement between various political forces on the presence of their representatives at each polling station in each constituency, so that they may accompany all voting documents (especially during vote counting) on their way from the polling station to the Central Electoral Commission. Secondly, it is necessary to exact immediate information about the course of voting (as prescribed by law).

“The law On the Election of the President lays down a simple pattern of vote counting: a polling station commission, a constituency commission, and the Central Commission. It leaves out such links as district and oblast, where the administration has always had maximum opportunities for rigging, which was confirmed by the most recent presidential elections.”