Ukrainian president calls for suspension of large-scale privatization
President Viktor Yushchenko said at a news conference in Kyiv on August 20 that plans to privatize major enterprises should be suspended until after early parliamentary elections scheduled for September 30, Ukrainian media reported. "I feel extremely suspicious of institutions of powers that are trying to initiate any privatization process today. I am convinced that the current State Property Fund is incapable of unbiased, objective privatization based on competition and law," Yushchenko said. In particular, Yushchenko objected to the proposed sale of a 99.5 percent stake in the Odesa Portside Plant, a major manufacturer of chemicals. The chairwoman of the State Property Fund, Valentyna Semenyuk, rejected Yushchenko's criticism, saying that "all statements by the president about suspending the privatization of the Odesa Portside Plant are linked to the fact that oligarchs...in his entourage are dissatisfied with the transparent and rigorous conditions of the auction as well as with the extensive social commitments demanded of investors." // Copyright (c) 2005. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. RFE/RL
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