[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 115 (Wednesday, September 22, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H7408-H7409]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE POISONED

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Ohio (Ms. Kaptur) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, shortly our country will experience an 
extraordinarily important Presidential election, and this evening I 
wish to discuss another important Presidential election that is 
occurring very far from the United States this year as well. That is in 
the nation of Ukraine, one of the nations that was spun out of the 
collapse of the Soviet Union. And make note of the very close 
presidential race ongoing in that country which is struggling its way 
forward.
  Recently in USA Today, there was a story that one of the leading 
candidates, Viktor Yushchenko, became ill and on September 6 was 
hospitalized in Austria. And the doctors there, a panel of nearly a 
dozen doctors, determined indeed that he had been poisoned.
  Prosecutors in Ukraine said in a statement they were investigating 
charges of attempted murder. Attempted murder of a presidential 
candidate in a nation whose independence is only a little over 10 years 
old.
  In an address to deputies in the parliament in that country this 
week, candidate Viktor Yushchenko appeared haggard, his face was red 
and swollen; it was partially paralyzed with one of his eyes constantly 
tearing up. And I wish to read this evening some of what he told his 
fellow deputies in that parliament in a emotional speech.
  He said to take a good look at him to make sure that the same thing 
did not happen to any of them, because the problem he was bearing was 
not one of cuisine, not a problem of food, as some had tried to portray 
his plight. And he advised his colleagues, Do not be so quick to judge. 
I would like to ask every one of the 450 parliament members in the 
chamber, have you ever seen me drunk over the past 10 to 20 years? 
Raise your hands if you have. And no one did.
  And then he pointed at all of the government-controlled media, Inter, 
UT1, and One Plus One, and asked them, Have you ever in your life seen 
me not in control of myself? Because there had been references on that 
television, government controlled, that his illness was caused by food 
poisoning or perhaps alcohol. But he said, What happened to me was not 
a problem of cuisine or a problem of diet, but rather as soon as you 
fall out of favor with the authorities of Ukraine and as soon as you 
start posing a tiny threat, and indeed he is tied in the polls with the 
current president of that country, they will throw you away like a 
piece of paper.
  He said, Friends, we are talking about the Ukrainian political 
kitchen where assassinations are ordered. Remember, he said, former 
National Bank chairman Vadym Petrovych Hetman walking around alive in 
this chamber in 1998. Who killed him? President Kuchma said it was a 
question of honor for him, that the prosecutor-general will give an 
answer and tell us who the killer is. Time has passed, and there is no 
answer.
  In 1991 right-wing leader and presidential candidate Vyacheslav 
Chornovil was in that chamber alive. We pretend we do not know who 
killed him with a Kamaz lorry. But in 2000 as well, campaigning 
journalist Heorhiy Gongadze was sitting in the balcony, as our press 
sits here in this Congress, writing political reports. Well, who cut 
his head off? We do not seem to know, Viktor Yushchenko said.
  Although one prosecutor said once that the killer has already been 
found and that his surname begins with the letter K, but he was not 
brave enough to give us a few more letters.
  Two and a half years ago, opposition parliamentarian Oleh Oleksenko 
was sitting in the chamber. Who poisoned him? Four weeks ago Alik 
Aslanov was sitting among us in that chamber. But with his last 
borrowed seven and a half hryvnyas, the last loan in his life, he 
bought a liter of petrol and burned himself. Who killed him? The 
alcoholic head of the district administration who represents the United 
Democrat Party or the arrogant head of the collective farm? Who killed 
him?
  Do not ask who is next. Every one of us will be next. And if you ask 
how this fate spared me, I will say, wrong dose, wrong time and my 
angels awake. That is what helped me return back to the living.
  Let us draw a couple of lessons here. Lesson number one, I would 
really like us to receive an answer. Who did it and who is the killer? 
But you know very well who the killer is. The government is the killer. 
And never will this prosecutor-general give an answer to who killed 
Gongadze, who killed Hetman, and who tried to kill many others.
  Let us draw a political lesson and appeal to you, my dear people's 
deputies. Show a little heroism today for Ukraine's sake and you will 
see Ukraine democratic and its people free and prosperous. Do not 
forget this lesson or this lesson will get you.
  These very compelling words are placed here, the citadel of freedom, 
by Viktor Yushchenko, presidential candidate in Ukraine, who is 
fighting, not just for his life but for the future of freedom in his 
nation.
  The article referred to is as follows:

                    [From USA Today, Sept. 22, 2004]

                Ukraine Candidate Poisoning Investigated

       Kiev, Ukraine.--Ukrainian prosecutors opened a criminal 
     investigation into the alleged poisoning of a leading 
     candidate in a crucial presidential election scheduled for 
     next month, officials said.
       The candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, became sick more than two 
     weeks ago, and his campaign charged that he was poisoned by 
     political opponents. The allegations have roiled the already 
     heated race to replace outgoing President Leonid Kuchma.
       Yushchenko, a leading opposition figure who is running 
     neck-in-neck with the ruling party's candidate, became ill 
     Sept. 6 and was hospitalized in Austria. After he was 
     discharged Saturday, doctors in Vienna said it was possible 
     he had been poisoned but they could not confirm it.
       Prosecutors said in a statement that they were 
     investigating charges of ``attempted murder of a statesman or 
     a public figure.'' They offered few details and did not 
     indicate if authorities had substantiated the poisoning 
     charges or identified suspects.
       Prosecutor General Henadiy Vasiliev later told reporters 
     ``not to make hasty conclusions'' and to wait for the results 
     of the examination. He said authorities hadn't ruled out 
     anything in their investigation and that his office had 
     contacted Austrian authorities.
       Ukrainian lawmakers voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to set up 
     a commission to investigate the incident.
       Neither outgoing Kuchma nor Viktor Yanukovych, Yuchchenko's 
     main opponent and Kuchma's hand-picked choice in the Oct. 31 
     presidential race, have commented publicly on the 
     allegations.
       However, a number of Kuchma's allies have charged that 
     Yushchenko had merely eaten bad sushi.

[[Page H7409]]

       In his address to deputies on Tuesday, Yushchenko accused 
     Kuchma's administration of ``being capable of brewing 
     political assassinations.'' He appeared haggard, with his 
     face red, swollen, partially paralyzed and with one eye 
     constantly tearing up.
       Voters in this ex-Soviet republic of 48 million have become 
     increasingly disenchanted with Kuchma's decade in power. His 
     administration had been marred by a series of scandals, 
     rampant corruption and dozens of suspicious deaths of 
     political opponents and opposition journalists.
       Meanwhile, Ukrainian Defense Minister Yevhen Marchuk 
     stepped down Wednesday, citing in part the June explosion at 
     a major ordnance depot that rained rockets, shells and 
     shrapnel over a wide area, the Interfax news agency reported.
       Speaking on condition of anonymity, a spokesman for the 
     Defense Ministry confirmed Marchuk ``has asked the President 
     to be relieved from duties,'' but he gave no other details.
       Marchuk's resignation came after he had defended himself in 
     parliament against allegations he illegally provided soldiers 
     and helicopters to help fight fires in Turkey.
       Marchuk's resignation was seen as another sign of upheaval 
     in the government ahead of the Oct. 31 vote.
                                  ____


       [From the Ukrainian Radio First Programme, Sept. 21, 2004]

          Viktor Yushchenko Says the Government Is the Killer

       Kiev.--Ukrainian opposition leader and presidential race 
     favourite Viktor Yushchenko has lashed out at the 
     authorities, accusing them of trying to poison him. In an 
     emotional speech delivered in parliament after two weeks of 
     treatment abroad, Yushchenko said he barely survived and 
     compared his alleged poisoning to the killings of several 
     Ukrainian politicians and journalists in recent years.
       He said President Kuchma's order to investigate the 
     poisoning was disingenuous, and hinted that the president 
     himself could have been behind the murder of opposition 
     journalist Heorhiy Gongadze. He brushed aside suggestions 
     that his illness was caused by ordinary food poisoning and 
     urged fellow MPs to stand up to the government so as not to 
     become next in the list of public figures who have died a 
     suspicious death.
       The following is the text of Yushchenko's speech broadcast 
     live by Ukrainian radio on 21 September; subheadings inserted 
     editorially.
       Mr. speaker, fellow people's deputies! I am happy to be in 
     this chamber today. I won't take much time, but let me make 
     some statements that concern each and every one of you. For 
     the past two weeks, a number of Ukrainian politicians and 
     journalists have been debating about what one should eat, or 
     drink, in order to live in this country and not die.
       Because my dignity is concerned in a number of cases, and 
     my morality--I am part of this story--I ask you for a few 
     minutes of your attention. It may not be entirely appropriate 
     to say some of these things, because I will be speaking about 
     myself, but I will say those things to establish the facts.


                           NOT FOOD POISONING

       Look at my face. Note my articulation. [Yushchenko appeared 
     to speak with some difficulty. Part of his face was swollen 
     and immobile during his recent public appearances.] This is 
     one hundredth of the problems that I've had. Take a good 
     look, to make sure that the same thing doesn't happen to you. 
     Because this is not the problem of cuisine, not a problem of 
     food, as some try to portray it.
       Don't be quick to judge! I would like to ask every one of 
     the 450 parliament members in this chamber. Have you ever 
     seen me drunk over the past 10-20 years? Raise your hands if 
     you have!
       I am asking to the journalists of Inter [privately owned 
     pro-government TV channel] and the so-called national channel 
     UT1. And One Plus One [another privately owned pro-government 
     TV channel]. And to other channels. Have you ever in your 
     life seen me not in control of myself? If there were such 
     cases, show them on television today. But there weren't. 
     [Apparently referring to recent reports on the three TV 
     channels speculating that Yushchenko's illness could have 
     been caused by food or alcohol poisoning.]
       And that is why, I would like to say to everyone: I am no 
     gourmet! I don't fancy eastern cuisine or western cuisine. I 
     eat the same borsch, potatoes and pork fat as all of you, the 
     47 million people of Ukraine! And what happened to me was not 
     a problem of cuisine or a problem of diet!


                     SAME FATE IN STORE FOR OTHERS

       It's a pity that Oleksandr Oleksandrovych [Moroz] is not in 
     this chamber. I would like to say to him, Oleksandr 
     Oleksandrovych, you can eat port fat and potatoes all you 
     want. But mark my word: as soon as you become a real opponent 
     of this regime, and I stress, a real one, as soon as you 
     stop dancing to Medvedchuk's fiddle [applause], potato 
     diet will not save you! Calm down! It pains me to say 
     this. [Referring to Moroz's reported statement that 
     Yushchenko would have been fine had he stuck to simple 
     food.] [Shouts of ``Shame!'' in the chamber]
       Friends! I'd like to continue. Esteemed [pro-presidential 
     coalition coordinator] Stepan Bohdanovych Havrysh, you are 
     going through a rough political patch. Because something you 
     have given up your reputation for is falling apart, the so-
     called pro-presidential majority is falling apart.
       I would like to say that as soon as you fall out of favour 
     with the authorities, as soon as you start posing a tiny 
     threat, they will throw you away like a piece of paper. And 
     your fish diet won't save you!
       I would like to tell the guys in the presidential 
     administration, who advise that one should drink 100 grams of 
     vodka after every piece of pork fat. Guys, it doesn't matter 
     that you are in that camp. Such are the principles and 
     morality of that camp that they can discard you just like 
     they have discarded [former economics minister and deputy 
     chief of presidential administration Valeriy] Khoroshkovskyy, 
     [President Kuchma's once-close ally Oleksandr] Volkov and 
     dozens of others. And 100 grams with every piece of pork fat 
     won't help.


                             attacks kuchma

       Friends, this is not a problem of cuisine as such. We are 
     talking about Ukrainian political kitchen, where 
     assassinations are ordered! This is what we are talking 
     about. Remember [former National Bank chairman] Vadym 
     Petrovych Hetman walking around alive in this chamber in 
     1998. Who killed him? President Kuchma said it was a question 
     of honour for him, that the prosecutor-general will give an 
     answer and tell us who the killer is. Time has passed, but 
     there is no answer.
       In 1999 [right-wing leader and presidential candidate] 
     Vyacheslav Chornovil was here alive. We pretend we don't know 
     who killed him with a Kamaz lorry. In 2000 [campaigning 
     journalist] Heorhiy Gongadze was sitting on the balcony over 
     there and writing political reports. Who cut his head off? 
     Well we don't seem to know, although one prosecutor said once 
     that the killer has already been found, and that his surname 
     begins with the letter K. He wasn't brave enough to give us a 
     few more letters.
       Two and a half years ago [opposition MP] Oleh Oleksenko was 
     sitting in this chamber. Who poisoned him? Four weeks ago 
     Alik Aslanov was still among us. But with his last borrowed 
     seven and a half hryvnyas, the last loan in his life, he 
     bought a litre of petrol and burned himself. Who killed him? 
     The alcoholic head of the district administration, who 
     represents the United Social Democratic Party? Or the 
     arrogant head of the collective farm? Who killed him?


                      ``government is the killer''

       Don't ask who is next. Every one of us will be the next. 
     And if you ask how this fate spared me, I'll say: wrong dose, 
     wrong time and my angels awake. That is what helped me return 
     back to the living!
       Let us draw a couple of lessons here. Lesson number one. I 
     would really like us to receive an answer, who did it and who 
     is the killer. But you know very well who the killer is. The 
     government is the killer! And never will this prosecutor-
     general give an answer to who killed Gongadze, who killed 
     Hetman, who tried to kill many others.
       So I was very surprised that President Kuchma ordered to 
     launch a criminal investigation of my poisoning. I don't 
     believe this order! I don't believe this prosecutor-general! 
     Why, Mr. Kuchma, are you asking the question if you have no 
     intention of answering it?
       Let us draw a political lessons from here. The lesson is 
     that Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk suggests that someone should 
     kneel before the Ukrainian people. [Kravchuk said dozens of 
     MPs who quit the pro-government coalition earlier this month 
     should kneel before the people of Ukraine.] So who should 
     kneel, Mr. Kravchuk? And for how long should they stand on 
     their knees, so that every one of the 47 million forgave 
     them?
       But I have another proposal. An appeal to you, my dear 
     people's deputies! Show a little heroism today for Ukraine's 
     sake, and you will see Ukraine democratic, with its people 
     free and prosperous! Don't forget this lesson or this lesson 
     will get you. [Applause in the chamber]

                          ____________________