Fans in Ukraine embody the spirit of Euro 2012 - The Ukrainian ...

2THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, JUNE 24, 2012No. 26ANALYSISIs there a third force in Belarus?by David MarplesEurasia Daily MonitorBelarusian Minister of Internal AffairsIhar Shunievich announced recently that onJuly 3, national Independence Day, some2,600 prisoners are to be released (RIANovosti, Jun 12). The statement raised thehopes of some that the remaining politicalprisoners in Belarus might be on the list ofthose to be set free, but there is little indicationof any mellowing of the AlyaksandrLukashenka regime. The event indicatesthat little has changed – a policy of moderationfollowed by repressions has been inplace for some time.But it also raises questions about thenature of the regime. Various labels havebeen applied to the structure in place since1996, when after further amendments tothe Constitution, the late Russian PrimeMinister Viktor Chernomyrdin negotiated acompromise between the president and theParliament that essentially left the formerwith almost complete powers. Since thattime, the regime has appeared relativelystable, but there is little consensus amonganalysts whether it constitutes a dictatorshipand whether it is monolithic. Mostimportant in this regard is the question ofwhether there are any alternative sources ofpower in Belarus.A most obvious possible source of alternativepower to President Lukashenka isthe opposition, which is currently debatingwhether to boycott or take part in the 2012parliamentary elections.On June 11, on the first anniversary ofthe death of noted analyst Vitali Silitski, thenewspaper Belorusy i Rynok republishedone of his articles, originally written adecade ago in the journal AdkrytaeHramadstva. Silitski was a supporter of parliamentaryelections, even when conductedunder conditions of duress and difficulty, aswill undoubtedly be the case later in 2012.He wrote that “dictators” – he had no problemusing that word – hold electionsbecause they overestimate their support,Correctionand periodically “dictators” need evidenceof their legitimacy in the eyes of their ownpeople and the international community. Heargued that even a fruitless outcome for anopposition in such circumstances could initiatethe process of liberalization (Belarusy iRynok, June 11-17). Still, for the opposition,the ritual can often seem futile because theelections are carefully stage-managed, evenduring the formation of the initial electioncommissions.Another Belarusian analyst, SiarheiBohdan, sees potential forces for changeoutside the opposition. He maintains thatthe current structure is far from monolithicand cites former presidential candidateAndrey Sannikau, who stated in 2010 thatbelow the ministerial level there are a numberof very competent and well-qualifiedpeople who often seem at odds with officialpolicies. Even at the ministerial level, someof the appointees are independent-minded,such as Minister of Culture Pavel Latushka,who speaks fluent Belarusian in public.Another leader, who is something of anenigma, is Prime Minister MikhailMyasnikovich, a former president of theNational Academy of Sciences, but also theman who ran the campaign of Mr.Lukashenka’s main opponent in 1994, thenPrime Minister Vyacheslau Kebich. Mr.Bohdan notes that Mr. Myasnikovich isexceptionally independent and far frombeing a mere acolyte of the president(Belarus Digest, May 17).It has been evident for some time, on theother hand, that the most powerful figureimmediately below the president, is his sonViktar, age 36, whose official positionsounds innocuous – assistant to the presidenton national security issues. ViktarLukashenka’s influence may have beenbehind what has been described as a“purge” of the Internal Affairs Ministry overthe past year and its apparent subordinationto the KGB, an agency also reputedlyunder the control of the youngerLukashenka. On May 11, the president dismissedthe internal affairs minister, Gen.Anatol Kuleshau, who had reportedly beenseriously ill at the start of the year (udf.by,Jan 17). Mr. Kuleshau’s replacement, IharShunievich, worked in the ministry untilfive years ago, but since then has been anemployee of the KGB. The conclusion of areport by Kamil Klysinski of the PolishbasedCenter for Eastern Studies is that theevident consolidation of the forces of ViktarLukashenka is a setback for those who favoreconomic reforms and improved relationswith the West (OSW Center for EasternStudies, May 16).Perhaps of equal importance is that, after18 months of internal turmoil and confrontationswith the opposition and othergroups, the president wishes to have aroundhim people he trusts fervently. Whetherthere are any real threats to his power isdebatable – despite the alleged storming ofthe Parliament building by crowds of demonstratorsafter the 2010 elections, the subsequentmass arrests, a “terrorist attack”last year and the extreme powers allocatedto the KGB to round up opponents of theregime, real and imagined (Moscow Times,October 20), 2011. Neither of PresidentLukashenka’s sons has demonstrated anyinclination for the presidency. In fact his secondson, Dmitry, who is 32, has a menialposition as head of the presidential sportsclub, and his most frequently publicizedimage is in an ice hockey uniform. It is thepresident’s third and youngest son, Mikalay(born in 2004), who is the most favored andaccompanies his father regularly on officialIn the item in “Notes on People” headlined“Romankiw honored by colleaguesin D.C.,” (June 17), the caption publishedwith the photo was incorrect (it was to asimilar photo from the same event). Hereis the correct caption for the photo thatwas published: Dr. Lubomyr Romankiw,wearing his medal as one of this year’sinductees into the U.S. National InventorsHall of Fame, gives in to requests to posefor pictures following a luncheon in hishonor organized by two dozen of hisWashington-area Ukrainian Americanfriends and colleagues on May 3, the dayafter he received his award at theSmithsonian Museum. Dr. Romankiw andhis partner at IBM, David Thompson,were inducted into the Hall of Fame fortheir invention of the thin-film magnetichead, which contributed to the success ofthe computer disk drive industry byincreasing the density of data that couldbe stored on magnetic disks whiledecreasing its size and the cost of storage.In the Ukrainian community, he isalso known as the “nachalnyi plastun”(chief scout) of Plast Ukrainian ScoutingOrganization. Standing with him are(from left): Dr. Lubomyr Onyshkevych,Andriy Harmatiy, Theresa Ben andAndrew Bihun. (The correct caption hasbeen inserted into the online version ofthe June 17 issue.) (Continued on page 6)Tourism up 19% due to Euro 2012KYIV – Compared with the same periodlast year, the number of foreign touristarrivals in Ukraine has increased by 19 percent,Tetiana Slyshyk, the head of the ChiefDirectorate for Euro 2012 in Kyiv, told thepress on June 14. She said that from June 5to 13 Boryspil International Airport welcomedmore than 100,000 people and thenumber of private vehicles in Kyiv hadmore than doubled. She also noted that,according to border authorities, from June5 to 13 about 2 million tourists enteredUkraine. “The lion’s share of these people,60 percent, came to Kyiv,” she said.According to specialists, during Euro 2012Ukraine will be visited by 350,000 to400,000 people daily. More than 200,000 ofthem will be visiting Kyiv every day. “Wethink that by the time of the Euro 2012finals this figure will reach half a millionpeople,” Ms. Slyshyk added. (Ukrinform)Azarov: Euro 2012 debunks mythsKYIV – Prime Minister Mykola Azarovsaid he believes the successful preparationand conduct of Euro 2012 has refuteduntrue rumors about Ukraine. Speaking onJune 20 at a meeting of the Cabinet ofMinisters, he said: “Hundreds of foreignvisitors have already publicly expressedtheir disappointment with the fact thatthey had been misinformed, and theiradmiration for what they have actuallyseen. The direct acquaintance with Ukrainerebuffs myths – guests can see that ourcountry welcomes the championship withenthusiasm. We are prepared properly.Different thoughts in Ukraine areexpressed freely, order and security aremaintained. This is the best way to refutethe untruth with regard to Ukraine – withreal deeds to prove its truth. The truthabout our country will be brought by thefans to their countries. I think it’s a goodlesson for us, and for Western Europe.” Mr.Azarov added that both athletes and fanshave noted the high level and quality of theEuro matches, appreciated the sincerityand openness of the Ukrainian people, andexperienced true Ukrainian hospitality.“We welcome fans, tourists, businessmenand politicians. I wish everyone couldassess the Ukrainian realities based ontheir own observations and not from theslander of the emissaries of our opposition.They did all they could to break the greatvictory of our people, to break the championshipin Ukraine. It didn’t work, becauseUkraine is a developing European state,and integration into the European Union isa conscious choice of the Ukrainian people,”the prime minister emphasized. Hesaid the success of the Euro 2012 is part ofUkraine’s systemic transformation on thepath of European integration. “This experiencein the reform of the state costs asmuch as investment resources,” Mr. Azarovunderscored. (Ukrinform)Yatsenyuk: United opposition nearly formedKYIV – The formation of the unitedopposition is nearing completion, Front forChange leader Arseniy Yatsenyuk told abriefing on June 20 on the occasion of theCivic Position political party’s announcementthat it is joining the united opposition.Mr. Yatsenyuk said that today theopposition, thanks to the accession ofAnatoliy Grytsenko’s Civic Position, hasbecome “stronger than yesterday.” Mr.Yatsenyuk did not answer journalists’questions about rumors of a possibleaccession to the united opposition ofMykola Katerynchuk’s European Party ofUkraine. (Ukrinform)EU envoy denied visit with TymoshenkoKYIV – European Union Ambassador toUkraine José Manuel Pinto Teixeira wasprevented on June 18 from visiting oppositionleader Yulia Tymoshenko in theKharkiv hospital where she is being treated,according to Ms. Tymoshenko’s officialwebsite. “For nearly 10 months I have beenwaiting for permission from the Ukrainianauthorities to visit Yulia Tymoshenko.Every time there is a different reason,”Ambassador Teixeira said while speakingto the press outside the hospital. He left aletter he wrote to the former prime ministerwith representatives of theBatkivshchyna Party in Kharkiv in the hope(Continued on page 12)The Ukrainian Weekly FOUNDED 1933An English-language newspaper published by the Ukrainian National Association Inc.,a non-profit association, at 2200 Route 10, P.O. 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