“It saddens me to hear such a reproach”

At last Friday’s press conference President Yushchenko focused on his new team, curbing corruption, relations with the opposition, the coming elections, and regional policies. The president spoke with representatives of 250 foreign and central Ukrainian and 190 regional media for two hours instead of the planned one and a half. Only half of the assembled journalists managed to address a question to the Ukrainian leader. Some journalists had to wait in line for the microphone for two hours.

There were a few interesting statements, but none were sensational. The press conference was broadcast live by the National Television and Radio Company, with Yushchenko’s spokesperson, Iryna Herashchenko, expressing thanks twice. By all accounts, the company has learned its lesson after “editing” Yushchenko’s interview on four TV channels, with only one-third of the original footage being broadcast. During the press conference the president frequently repeated two phrases: “When we were standing on the Maidan” and “The main thing is team unity.”

ABOUT THE TEAMS

The president believes that he managed to prevent the government crisis from turning into a political one. The formation of a new cabinet also contributed to stabilizing the situation. It was “consolidated and harmonized with the National Security and Defense Council and the president’s staff.” The president emphasized that the main lesson to be drawn from the crisis is that “the team must become united and redouble its efforts.” In his view, the new cabinet has people who “know how to reverse the negative tendencies that have emerged in the past seven months and to carry out the humanitarian and social policies proclaimed earlier this year.” Yushchenko also promised the journalists that they would “witness the professionalism of this team.”

The president accused some of the previous ministers of “spying for enemies within the team,” “getting out of touch with business,” “showing the card (yellow? red?) to all investors, including good ones,” canceling free economic zones, etc.

The president also announced his intentions to talk to the dismissed members of this team, who “spoke out about the circumstances or facts of corruption:” he will be inviting Yuliya Tymoshenko, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Petro Poroshenko to a National Security Council meeting attended by the chairman of the Supreme Court, the prosecutor-general, and the new prime minister. Yushchenko also said he requested Zinchenko to produce evidence of the accusations he had brought, but he has not done this yet.

Asked if he is prepared to come to terms with Tymoshenko, who, despite everything, is extending her hand to him like before, Yushchenko said that he never stopped working with Tymoshenko, Zinchenko, Poroshenko “or anyone else.” (At this particular moment the president was rubbing one hand against the other). “They are my friends, and I treat them as outstanding and competent people, but at the same time I would like them to have the courage to draw some conclusions,” he said. However, implicitly referring to Tymoshenko’s recent trip to Moscow, the Ukrainian leader said that traveling abroad in search of support is not good from the standpoint of national interests.

ON ELECTIONS, THE OPPOSITION, AND CORRUPTION

In general, the president talked a lot, perhaps too much, about corruption. Somebody from the regional media sent Yushchenko the following note: “How should we combat corruption?” He gave a detailed, point-by- point answer to this hallowed question. It turned out to be a “short essay,” to quote Yushchenko, lasting 20 minutes or so. Perhaps if the answer had been shorter, other journalists would have had a chance to ask their own, perhaps no less interesting, questions. Incidentally, one and a half hours after the beginning of the press conference the president’s spokesperson Herashchenko urged all those present to work in “blitz interview mode.” However, Mr. Yushchenko chose not to follow this piece of advice.

Asked if the signing of the memorandum of understanding with the opposition in the person of Viktor Yanukovych means granting an “indulgence” to those who rigged the presidential elections, the president answered that it is the organizers of the falsifications, not rank-and-file perpetrators, who must be brought to justice. About 4,000 criminal cases have been opened into the rigging of the 2004 presidential elections. “The lion’s share of the accused consists of fall guys,” Yushchenko said.

As for the coming parliamentary elections, the president hopes that the government and the media will make a concerted effort to ensure that they are the most democratic event in the history of independent Ukraine.

Answering journalists’ complaints that the revamped election law infringes on their rights, the president said he was ready to declare a moratorium on media inspections during the 2006 election campaign. “But I want to stress that this is just one mechanism. I don’t think this alone will be enough,” he added. He also expressed his readiness to consider any suggestions and proposals from the media.

When the president was asked why he had signed an agreement with Yanukovych, “who did not even congratulate Yushchenko on being elected president,” he replied that when the people were standing on the Maidan, they were dreaming of the unity of eastern and western Ukraine. He admitted that it was a mistake not to invite representatives of the SDPU(O) and Communist Party factions to parliament’s roundtable debate. “We should have invited everyone,” the president said, “even if this would have complicated the talks.”

GONGADZE CASE

The president is certain that the new minister of justice, Serhiy Holovaty, will help achieve considerable progress in resolving the Gongadze murder case. “I appointed Mr. Holovaty as minister of justice because it is difficult to accuse him of any bias in this case and others. I am convinced that, owing to his prestige and skill, Ukraine will make essential progress in this matter in the nearest future,” the president said, reacting somewhat painfully to questions about the Gongadze affair. “It saddens me to hear this reproach from you,” he said to the female journalist who asked him the question. He said that investigators had “received guarantees that no other president had ever furnished,” whereas in January, when Yushchenko became president, “the Gongadze dossier was empty. Do you know this?” In the past seven months investigators and law-enforcement agencies have identified the killers, collected evidence, carried out forensic examinations, and “finally formalized the case a few weeks ago.” “I know that more could have been done. I would say that what was done in the first four months of investigation is the most active phase,” the president said. At the same time, he admitted that the main question — Who instigated the murder? — has not been answered.