aaus-list @ ukrainianstudies.org -- [aaus-list] MELNYCHENKO & LEGAL CASE v KUCHMA

[Taras Kuzio <t.kuzio@utoronto.ca>]

Title: Ukrainian opposition MP brings former guard's testimony against top
officials  

 Ukrayina Moloda, 3 September 2002



Ukrainian opposition MP brings former guard's
testimony against top officials

   The head of the parliamentary ad-hoc investigation commission,
Hryhoriy Omelchenko, has brought an official testimony from the former
presidential guard, Mykola Melnychenko, now living in the US, to Ukraine.
Omelchenko revealed two more recordings allegedly made by Melnychenko in
the presidential office. One of them was about surveillance and telephone
tapping of Ukrainian politicians and top state officials. The other
featured the president and the then head of his administration discussing
how to play down the disappearance of journalist Heorhiy Gongadze just
six days after he had gone missing. Speaking in an interview with an
opposition-leaning Ukrainian daily, Omelchenko said that the US Justice
Ministry carried out another examination of Melnychenko's tapes and the
test confirmed their authenticity. The following is an excerpt from the
article by Nataliya Lebid, including the interview with Omelchenko,
published in Ukrainian newspaper Ukrayina Moloda on 3 September,
subheadings inserted editorially:

   The culmination of attention towards [former presidential guard] Maj
Mykola Melnychenko's recordings seems to have been left in the past.
Sensations do not live long. They are overwhelmed by ordinary routine if
they do no turn into a detonator for social explosion. There was no
explosion in Ukraine. But, as research works say, the goal of the work
does not think over how easily we digested the fact that our president,
so to speak, is somewhat different from his European colleagues. The
mission of the Ukrayina Moloda newspaper today is to present to our
readers what people's deputy Hryhoriy Omelchenko, the head of the ad-hoc
parliamentary commission investigating several high-profile cases,
brought with him from abroad. He met Mykola Melnychenko in person.

   Opposition MP brings official evidence from former presidential guard

   Omelchenko returned to Ukraine with an empty case. "When I returned
from the USA I was clean as a baby's tear," he joked. "I did not have
anything on me in case I accidentally found myself in a room without
windows or telephones. I had only copies of the documents, which I could
present those who would be interested in them. I handle the originals,
without boasting, like a professional - they should get into Ukraine safe
and sound. To do this I undertook a certain operation and here are these
documents in front of you." Hryhoriy Omelchenko, who looked tired but
satisfied with his trip and as if on the eve of something significant,
pointed to a pile of documents. "You can only look at it but I won't let
you read, sorry. There are over 600 pages here. New transcripts from
Mykola Melnychenko."
   And here, he continued, materials with which our parliamentary
commission will work. They are Mykola Melnychenko's statements "on crimes
committed by Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma..." [newspaper ellipsis],
which are addressed to Prosecutor-General Svyatoslav Piskun and people's
deputy Hryhoriy Omelchenko. Every statement is certified by a notary,
every one of them signed by Mykola Melnychenko's lawyer, Scott Horton.
Every one of Kuchma's sins is sown through by a red-and-black strip -
which is symbolic - which holds the pages and at the end there is a red
circular seal on the last page. Between the seal and the preamble (where
the person of Mykola Melnychenko is established and where he wrote in his
own handwriting that he is aware of the punishment for providing false
evidence) - there are descriptions of "last suppers" of the presidential
entourage. The latter, which became first by a caprice of fate, decided
in their conversations who would live and who would die.
   Maj Melnychenko will probably write his memoirs some day. Maybe they
will be presented on a crimson cushion at the incomplete museum of
presidential glory on Independence Square. But this will probably happen
far in the future. But you can read something on the pages of Ukrayina
Moloda. Hryhoriy Omelchenko provided statements by the former
presidential guard exclusively to our newspaper.

   Security Service illegally tapped top officials, politicians

   Melnychenko wrote: "I testify that the former head of the Security
Service of Ukraine, Leonid Derkach, under Leonid Kuchma's instruction
created a permanently operational  system of illegal interference in the
activities of state officials, political parties, public organizations,
mass media, commercial companies and individuals. In particular, the
conversations of the following state officials were tapped: [the
secretary of the National Security and Defence Council,] Yevhen Marchuk,
[the former prime minister and now leader of the Our Ukraine bloc,]
Viktor Yushchenko, [former fuel and energy minister and now the leader of
an opposition bloc] Yuliya Tymoshenko, [Socialist Party leader] Oleksandr
Moroz, [Communist Party leader] Petro Symonenko, [former parliamentary
speaker] Oleksandr Tkachenko, Hryhoriy Omelchenko, [head of Yuliya
Tymoshenko's parliamentary faction] Anatoliy Matviyenko, [leader of the
Yabluko party] Mykhaylo Brodskyy, [leader of the United Social Democratic
Party] Viktor Medvedchuk, [influential businessman, important figure in
the United Social Democratic Party] Hryhoriy Surkis, [former influential
presidential adviser] Oleksandr Volkov and others.
   Even telephones of high-frequency government lines and ATS-100 public
board exchanges of these officials were also tapped. The leadership of
the Security Service provided Leonid Kuchma with information received by
illegally tapping conversations, information on the actions of such
political parties as Sobor, Ukrainian People's Movement, the Socialist
Party, the Communist Party, Yabluko, Fatherland, the Democratic Union,
the United Social Democratic Party, Ukrainian National Assembly-Ukrainian
National Self Defence and others. Kuchma ordered Derkach to tap the
Ukrayinska Pravda Internet newspaper and the editorial board of the
Zerkalo Nedeli weekly, and put journalist Yuliya Mostova under
surveillance. 
   In addition, President Kuchma gave Derkach other illegal orders: to
disseminate untrue and libellous information and publish it in the mass
media to compromise such public figures as Oleksandr Moroz as well as
Serhiy Holovatyy, Oleksandr Yelyashkevych, Hryhoriy Omelchenko, Anatoliy
Yermak, Anatoliy Matviyenko, Viktor Shyshkin, Yuliya Tymoshenko [all from
Yuliya Tymoshenko's bloc], Viktor Yushchenko and others... [newspaper
ellipsis] 
   Derkach received an order from President Kuchma to compromise
Yushchenko's [US-born] wife Kateryna Chumachenko by publishing untrue
information in the Kievskiye Vedomosti newspaper that she was an active
CIA employee. Apart from that, on 16 May 2000 Kuchma ordered the
surveillance of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko."

   Transcript proves complete surveillance

   The following is a section of a conversation between Kuchma and
Derkach on 8 February 2000 (quoted according to Melnychenko's documents):
   (Derkach, in Russian) "This is how we are working during the election
campaign. This is for one day. This is information on what is going on in
what parties and movements, what they are doing. Here is what Anatoliy
Matviyenko was doing. Here are their wishes, all of them... [newspaper
ellipsis] 
   (Kuchma, quietly) Wow! (reading) "But the presidential administration
has gone beyond its legal authority to such an extent that there is no...
[newspaper ellipsis] or legal logic" What the hell is that?
   (Derkach, in Russian, agitated) It is theirs... [newspaper ellipsis]
This is what Matviyenko and others say. This is what they say. It is not
us who wrote this. This is all his campaign, his party and ideas. These
are their statements, theirs. This is what they say at their
headquarters. This is where we have our agents. This is where we hear
them. These are not my views. Nothing of the kind."
   There was a magic nose in one of tales. This nose could sniff what was
being cooked in any kitchen without moving anywhere. We can see a real
example: the Security Service, judging by Melnychenko evidence, made the
tale real. Their ears, fed according to Kuchma's instruction, grew lots
of small antennas that sense information leaking from the smallest holes
in offices and private apartments, get into telephone wires and feel
comfortable in telephone sets, sockets and walls. But, compared to other
things, this spying is not the worst sin.

   President, administration chief play down disappearance of opposition
journalist 

   The following piece is interesting not only because it is in
Melnychenko's written evidence, in which he reiterated once more that
conversations "using brutal language on how to take physical revenge on
Heorhiy Gongadze were often held at the presidential office", but the
plans to remove the ends of a successful operation to remove "the
Georgian". 
   The following is a conversation of voices resembling those of Kuchma
and [the then head of the presidential administration Volodymyr] Lytvyn
(on 22 September 2000). Six days after Heorhiy had disappeared. Lytvyn
reports that he had a meeting [television journalist Ihor] Storozhuk and
[National Television Company director Vadym] Dolhanov regarding the
correct coverage of events, including the weekly news programme Seven
Days). 
   (Lytvyn) ...I will give them such a proposal. They will do it. For
instance: "Yes, the journalist's profession is dangerous"... [newspaper
ellipsis] Although there were no such cases in Ukraine. However, compared
to miners, who die for every million of tonnes of coal mined.
   (Kuchma) Yes. 
   (Lytvyn) This is the sad reality. But the profession of journalist
will not be as risky in our programme... [newspaper ellipsis] We will
give information about how many people disappear every month, every year
in Ukraine and in other developed countries. Disappearances are a
scourge... [newspaper ellipsis] They should say that we should
primarily... [newspaper ellipsis] equip our law-enforcement bodies and
other security bodies so that we do not have any missing people. Why
don't we create a commission to investigate the disappearance of some
worker, peasant, farmer etc.
   (Kuchma) Yes. 
   (Lytvyn) I am not sure if they have the courage to convey such an
idea. Yes, today the profession of journalist is risky but, probably, it
could be a kind of protection of sorts  Because, God forbid, if something
happens with a journalist the public rises to protect him. But what about
tens of thousands missing people about whom nobody cares. They are only
statistics. This is the item, if they carry it out. We'll see how it
turns out". 
   Accompanied by a short "yes" from his boss the then head of the
presidential feeding trough [administration] thinks over how to turn a
crime into a show using statistics, comparative analysis and lies about
how the journalistic profession can be a guarantee of personal security.
   [Passage omitted: Hryhoriy Omelchenko says Kuchma and Derkach planned
the attack on people's deputy Oleksandr Yelyashkevych - reported earlier]

   Hope that Melnychenko evidence will be taken into account

   [Correspondent] Well, Mr Omelchenko, you have brought a series of
statements by Mykola Melnychenko and Oleksandr Yelyashkevych to the
Prosecutor-General's Office, which show that power in Ukraine is in the
dirtiest hands. But despite all the transcripts of Melnychenko's
recordings, despite the evidence of the former presidential guard, won't
the Prosecutor-General's Office announce all your diligent work a waste
of time and effort? Maybe because the major himself did not come to
Ukrainian investigators and our prosecutors do not believe foreign
experts or for any other reason... [newspaper ellipsis]
   [Omelchenko] If the Prosecutor-General's Office or any of his deputies
say this it will show either that the Prosecutor Generals Office does not
want to investigate high-profile cases thoroughly or that complete
ignoramuses work there, who are far from criminal and procedure
legislation. Mykola Melnychenko is accused of crimes under the Ukrainian
Criminal Code. Being a defendant, he has the right to record his evidence
himself and he does not need any permissions of any official including
the prosecutor-general. In addition, when leaving for the USA I agreed my
actions as head of the investigation commission with Piskun's deputy,
Viktor Shokin. 
   I informed him of my intention to meet Mykola Melnychenko to receive
from him information required by our commission. Shokin was even pleased
by such a prospect and agreed to receive Melnychenko's evidence. "Let him
write whatever he wants. This will only make the work of the
Prosecutor-General's Office easier," Shokin said. Melnychenko wrote his
evidence in my presence. After that we concluded and then certified a
protocol in the appropriate manner, which I have already gave to Shokin
with an accompanying letter. So, regardless of the intention of the
Prosecutor-General's Office it will have to add these documents to the
criminal case against Melnychenko. All evidence I brought from the USA is
properly formulated in accordance with the requirements of the Ukrainian
constitution and valid Ukrainian and US legislation. If these documents
are destroyed or removed from the case even top officials from the
Prosecutor-General's Office will have to answer for this. By the way, I
asked them not to play any games with me. Such tricks won't work out with
me as I am a former investigator.

   Another examination proves authenticity of recordings

   [Correspondent] How much is the USA interested in the documents which
Mykola Melnychenko has?
   [Omelchenko] The US Justice Ministry, unlike ours, can hold its own
investigations. The US Justice Ministry is carrying out an investigation
into some facts of criminal activity by Ukrainian president and his
entourage. Major Melnychenko submitted to the ministry evidence about
selling Kolchuga air defence systems to Iraq. By the way, the US Justice
Ministry ordered its own examination of Melnychenko's recordings of
conversations on the sale of Kolchuga systems between Leonid Kuchma and
[the former director of the Ukrspetseksport arms-trading monopoly who
died in a car accident in March 2002] Valeriy Malyev.
   The conclusions of the examination coincided with the ones made by the
Bek Tek company, which showed that the recording was authentic without
any omissions or editing.

   Ukraine's Kolchuga air defence systems proven as sold to Iraq

   I will add another, almost sensational, detail: under an instruction
from the US Congress and Senate, the US State Department is obliged in
September to explain whether a Kolchuga system has really been installed
on Iraqi territory. Thus, US state bodies and security services have
already proved that there is a Kolchuga system of four installations on
Iraqi territory, which covers this country's air space. How it got there
is another investigation. As US officials told me: of course, Kuchma's
fingerprints are not on these radars, but it is known for sure that that
there is such a system in Iraq because after it appeared US automatic
reconnaissance aircraft were shot down although they had controlled the
Iraqi territory without any problems before. US government bodies will
present a report in September in which this information will be
officially confirmed.


[Description of Source: Kiev Ukrayina Moloda in Ukrainian --
Ukrainian-language daily supporting former Prime Minister Yushchenko]
THIS REPORT MAY CONTAIN COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL.  COPYING AND DISSEMINATION
IS PROHIBITED WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS.
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