More On Ukraine
The evidence keeps piling up. Now the Ukrainian Supreme Court has just vindicated Yuschenko and his supporters, finding that there was ample evidence of electoral fraud sufficient to invalidate the presidential election. It may be that there might be a new vote taken before Christmas, providing that the electoral machinery can be put into action by then.
Diane Francis, in Saturday's National Post, reported an interview with a Canadian businessman operating an oil exploration business in Crimea, wherein Taras Soltys states that as an election observer he saw election fraud, including people voting who gave non-existent addresses. He can also attest to political corruption severely hampering his business. He claims his business tried to regain drilling and production licenses after some of its oil field licenses were abruptly and inexplicably cancelled without justification, but was turned down, despite having won court cases against trumped up tax charges brought by the local government authorities. Other local insiders, including a son-in-law of outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, were granted licenses in nearby areas. They offered to split the revenues if his company put up the money and equipment for new drilling. He turned them down, convinced he never see any money. He likened Ukraine to a banana republic. Mr. Soltys may be forced by the corrupt policies to abandon his efforts and leave Ukraine.
More and more information is emerging to explain the roots of the divisions within the country.
Interestingly, the heavy industries and mining operations in the eastern Ukraine are not competitive in a global economy. Many of the oligarchs who own them gained their wealth and power at least partially as a result of sweetheart deals with local and central politicians. Although they pay their workers, who often work in dangerous, filthy and freezing conditions, poor wages, the workers consider themselves fortunate to have such jobs and income. This explains, in part, why they support Kuchma and Yanukovich. Apparently when Yuschenko was prime minister in 2000 and 2001 he closed some of the mines in the region as part of a national restructuring policy, depriving miners of incomes for a considerable time. Ukraine's miners are not very different from Canada's farmers and unionized workers whose plants have been closed or threatened with closure because of hard times or economic restructuring. They all want subsidies and handouts.
On the other hand, many people in the eastern Ukraine, believe that their opportunities for economic prosperity would increase if they were able to establish economic relations and ties with Europe, enabling them to participate in the global economy.
Diane Francis, in Saturday's National Post, reported an interview with a Canadian businessman operating an oil exploration business in Crimea, wherein Taras Soltys states that as an election observer he saw election fraud, including people voting who gave non-existent addresses. He can also attest to political corruption severely hampering his business. He claims his business tried to regain drilling and production licenses after some of its oil field licenses were abruptly and inexplicably cancelled without justification, but was turned down, despite having won court cases against trumped up tax charges brought by the local government authorities. Other local insiders, including a son-in-law of outgoing President Leonid Kuchma, were granted licenses in nearby areas. They offered to split the revenues if his company put up the money and equipment for new drilling. He turned them down, convinced he never see any money. He likened Ukraine to a banana republic. Mr. Soltys may be forced by the corrupt policies to abandon his efforts and leave Ukraine.
More and more information is emerging to explain the roots of the divisions within the country.
Interestingly, the heavy industries and mining operations in the eastern Ukraine are not competitive in a global economy. Many of the oligarchs who own them gained their wealth and power at least partially as a result of sweetheart deals with local and central politicians. Although they pay their workers, who often work in dangerous, filthy and freezing conditions, poor wages, the workers consider themselves fortunate to have such jobs and income. This explains, in part, why they support Kuchma and Yanukovich. Apparently when Yuschenko was prime minister in 2000 and 2001 he closed some of the mines in the region as part of a national restructuring policy, depriving miners of incomes for a considerable time. Ukraine's miners are not very different from Canada's farmers and unionized workers whose plants have been closed or threatened with closure because of hard times or economic restructuring. They all want subsidies and handouts.
On the other hand, many people in the eastern Ukraine, believe that their opportunities for economic prosperity would increase if they were able to establish economic relations and ties with Europe, enabling them to participate in the global economy.
posted by politicalcommentariescanada | 9:50 PM
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