Ukrainian Premier Praises Adoption of Cabinet Law

Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych has thanked parliament for overcoming the president’s veto on the law on the Cabinet of Ministers, which extends the prime minister’s powers. Yanukovych also defended the recent appointments of Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Radchenko and Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Popkov, describing them as experienced professionals. The following is the text of a live news conference broadcast in progress by Ukrainian television TV 5 Kanal on 12 January:

[Yanukovych] Second, when we look at the proposals that were sent to parliament [by the president after he vetoed the law on the Cabinet of Ministers] – these proposals had been rejected before. In other words, they have been discussed and nothing new has been suggested to parliament. It is parliament’s job to overcome a veto.

Of course, the government is interested in preserving the revision of the law that has been worked on and that was supported by the majority. And it happened like this. During the preparations for approving the law on the Cabinet of Ministers, some changes were made and the law was adopted in parliament.

Now, when the situation in parliament is such that MPs have agreed among themselves that they will overcome the president’s veto, because the government cannot work effectively in these conditions. In our view, this is a healthy reaction by parliament to the situation in this country. We are not going, so to speak, to use our powers to solve any personal issues. We will use our powers to solve many problems that exist in our country. For the first time in 15 years, the government has got a chance to work and have powers envisaged by legislation. This is normal, and I thanked the MPs for this.

[Journalist's question without a microphone, words inaudible.]

[Yanukovych] According to the new constitution, the government has its own powers and must exercise them. Deputy Prime Minister Volodymyr Radchenko will be in charge of defence, security and maintaining law and order, which are within the government’s competence.

[Journalist] Viktor Fedorovych [Yanukovych], please tell us, does Radchenko’s appointment mean that you are going to concentrate the law-enforcement block in your hands, in the hands of your trusted man? Was there any alternative to Radchenko? All regional MPs were saying today that Radchenko was appointed to fill a specific post. This is the first question. Second, Serhiy Popkov has been appointed deputy interior minister. It is known that in 2004 he tried to use force to disperse the Maydan [the heart of the Orange Revolution]. He said this during questionings at the Prosecutor-General’s Office in 2005. Don’t you think that this is a stain on the reputation of your government and you personally?

[Yanukovych] First, everything regarding the powers – I reiterate once more – we do not simply execute powers, we bear responsibility before the Ukrainian people. We have to observe this and we will do this. This is our duty. That is why we will try to execute our duties effectively. Looking at Radchenko’s biography, you can see that he worked as interior minister, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council and so on. So, this is a very experienced person. He has great respect among personnel of all these state institutions. Of course, there are always alternatives and they were discussed. But we selected Radchenko and I made a decision to submit his candidacy to parliament.

As regards Popkov, I did not see the protocols of the Prosecutor- General’s Office. I was not present during questioning. But I know well, judging by my our questioning, how it is done. I didn’t have a week without invitations to questioning on invented, fabricated, falsified cases. With this approach, they can do anything out of anyone. So, I am against these measures being used against anyone. As regards Popkov, relevant work has been done concerning him. He is a professional of a very high level. He has never had any irregularities. During his entire service he worked very effectively. He is highly respected. So, there were almost no negative factors. That is why the decision has been taken.

(c) 2007 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.