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Puck
The Texan
Joined: 05 Jan 2004
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 Sun Nov 28, 2004 1:34 pm Ukrainian President Demands Protestors End Blockade |
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Ukraine rivals search for solution
Parliament rejects presidential election results
KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma on Sunday demanded an end to massive public protests sparked by the country's disputed presidential election.
In a televised statement Sunday, Kuchma said opposition candidate Viktor Yushchenko was not showing "good will" because he refused to lift a blockade by his supporters of government offices.
Kuchma's comments came as representatives of liberal Yushchenko and the declared winner, Moscow-backed Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, were in talks to decide the next step after allegations of vote-rigging.
Kuchma accused Yushchenko of not doing enough to end the standoff. Yanukovych and Yushchenko agreed Friday to set up a multilateral group in an effort to resolve the standoff.
On Saturday, Ukraine's parliament rejected the results of the country's presidential election and called for a new vote, non-binding moves that indicate rising uneasiness with the standoff between Yanukovych and Yushchenko.
Lawmakers also voted to dissolve the country's Central Election Commission. Observers say the actions, though largely symbolic, could usher in new voting.
Ukraine's Central Election Commission declared Yanukovych the winner on Wednesday, but protests from Yushchenko and his supporters -- and international election observers -- began before the final results were announced.
CNN's Jill Dougherty said parliament would have to pass legislation to allow a new election. In addition, it would need approval from the Supreme Court and Kuchma.
Parliament members said they want to study the election law next month, and urged political talks to continue.
They've also asked that Yushchenko protesters, who are holding peaceful demonstrations for a seventh day in Independence Square, stop trying to block access to government buildings.
Some protesters have set up tent cities nearby in the freezing weather.
Yanukovych's supporters have made their positions known as well, with thousands marching in the eastern city of Donetsk and elsewhere.
Yushchenko is considered pro-Western. Yanukovych has the support of Russia.
In annulling the election, parliament said the results did not reflect the will of Ukrainian voters and should be thrown out. It also called for new elections.
Parliament members want a new election commission set up.
On Friday, Yushchenko told supporters in Independence Square that negotiations had begun and that they include the possibility of holding a new round of elections because of accusations that last Sunday's runoff balloting was rigged.
Javier Solana, European Union foreign policy minister, one of several negotiators, met with all sides in the crisis.
Another election "is a possibility that has been on the table, yes," Solana told CNN. But the results and timetable of the multilateral group's work, he said, cannot be predicted.
Both sides, however, have agreed to avoid violence, Solana said.
Kuchma held a news conference after meeting with Solana, Yushchenko and Yanukovych. Also attending were Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus.
Solana said the candidates gave each other a chilly reception.
Kuchma said he was hopeful that the country "would find with dignity a peaceful solution of this political crisis."
Solana earlier met separately with Yushchenko, who says he has proof the election was rigged.
"We are concerned about the process ... [we] don't think the process has been properly done," Solana said of the election before the meetings began. "This is a very important country for Europe ... but the quality of democracy has to be better."
Afterward, Solana told CNN, the multilateral group's work toward a solution will be conducted in "a climate of transparency and participation."
At a news conference, he called it "an important first step. A lot of work has to be done still."
Protesters have been holding round-the-clock protests in Independence Square, and around the presidential administration building and other government buildings.
Yushchenko told supporters on Friday that Kuchma and European leaders agreed that the election cannot be regarded as valid because of voting fraud.
Earlier in the day, officials from Yushchenko's campaign released to reporters audiotapes that they claimed proved there was fraud in the balloting.
The officials said the tapes came from law enforcement officials, and they say that on them, an official with Yanukovych's party can be heard saying that they need to get into the computers because the vote counts are down and they have to increase them.
CNN cannot verify the authenticity of the recordings.
About 300 police recruits gathered around the presidential administration building Friday, saying they had skipped classes to show that Ukraine's police are with the people.
Yushchenko said he would not go so far as to try to foment a revolution to push himself into office. He said Ukraine's army and security forces have also pledged that they would not resort to violence.
Ukrainian legal experts told CNN that Yushchenko could not appeal the results of the election, but could appeal the actions of the election commission, by saying, for example, that the commission acted too quickly in declaring a winner without investigating allegations of fraud and abuse.
Washington lauds talks
Saturday, the White House and the State Department welcomed talks to defuse the crisis.
White House spokesman Jim Morrell said, "We are hopeful that the developments of the past two days can pave the way for a democratic process which reflects the will of the Ukrainian people. We continue to call on all parties to work to achieve a fair and just outcome without the use of force."
State Department spokesman Darla Jordan said, "We welcome the outcome of the November 26 European-mediated roundtable discussions between the two Ukrainian presidential candidates, in which both sides agreed to begin formal negotiations toward resolving the current crisis."
U.S. and British officials had earlier called for an investigation into the election. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had said Washington did not accept the results, alleging "credible reports of fraud and abuse."
CNN's Jill Dougherty, Max Tkachenko and Ryan Chilcote contributed to this report.
Copyright 2004 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/11/28/ukraine/index.html
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