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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Berkut Supports Temporary Mykolayiv Alumina Management

13 July, 1999 - 00:00

By Danylo KLIAKHIN, The Day

At the Mykolayiv Alumina Plant after the workers refused to give up their
manager Vitaly Mieshyn and admit his replacement Mykola Naboka, First Deputy
Minister of Industrial Policy Serhiy Hryshchenko was sent to occupy the
director's chair.

On the evening of July 7 at a meeting of plant workers Industrial Policy
Minister Vasyl Hureyev proclaimed a cooling off period until July 9, when
the court was to decide the dispute, during which time the plant would
be in the hands of the Minister of Industrial Policy, his first deputy,
State Corporate Rights Agency head Oleh Taranov, and oblast Internal Affairs
Administration director Petro Shapiro accompanied by officers from a Berkut
elite law enforcement special unit. The visitors went to the general directors
office but were barred entry by the militia (police). Mr. Mieshyn, who
was in the office, was told that Mr. Hryshchenko had been placed temporarily
in charge and was empowered "to coordinate the work of the enterprise."
The new coordinator immediately issued several orders, firing deputy director
for security Volodymyr Butenko, setting up a new security procedure, and
announcing that plant security would now be in the hands of internal affairs
authorities.

News of what had happened immediately spread through the enterprise,
and a large number of people gathered at the plant. After neither the head
of the trade union, lawyer, nor deputies could get to the director's office
through the police cordon, the crowd started to shout and create a scene.
Mieshyn, who came out after half an hour of negotiations, commented, "The
plant has been taken over. Serhiy Hryshchenko signed orders prepared by
Mykola Naboka."

At spontaneous meetings of the workers following the incident Mr. Hureyev
was compelled to offer further explanation: "Taking into account that the
plant workers do not accept Mykola Naboka, in order for the plant to operate
the shareholders and ministry were forced to send the first deputy minister.
Believe me, Hryshchenko won't do anything stupid."

Meanwhile, it looks like this time in the role of peacekeeper ("In connection
with the fact that the situation threatens a societal outburst, the Cabinet
became concerned and sent me here") Hureyev, who has been in Mykolayiv
almost constantly the past two weeks, has failed, despite the fact that,
unlike Mykola Naboka, Serhiy Hryshchenko has no ties to the Transworld
Group, which is trying to privatize Mykolayiv Alumina, the employees still
want the order ousting their former director reversed. Hryshchenko called
individually his office the deputy directors and representatives of the
plant management for talks. None came.

Yet, Vasyl Hureyev also stands alone: Hryshchenko "will coordinate work"
temporarily until the enterprise's stockholders meeting, the date of which
is soon to be announced.

SEQUEL

Invited to the session hall of the oblast council, shop supervisors
were told a production council would be held. "The first council will be
held in the Oblast State Administration to prevent further stupid things,"
explained Governor Mykola Kruhov.

Industrial Policy Hureyev was represented as the "coordinator" for Serhiy
Hryshchenko, had the same relationship with Mykola Naboka who has already
been issued his identity card as director of the Mykolayiv Alumina Plant.
His first orders were to fire the director for plant security, annul all
orders issued by Vitaly Mieshyn after June 24, transferring the enterprise's
seal to Hryshchenko, etc. By a strange turn of circumstances Mieshyn was
no longer in Mykolayiv, having been called to Kyiv for questioning by the
SBU.

 

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