Ukraine's Yushchenko warns vote is in jeopardy

Opposition leader says his opponent is planning 'provocations'

The Associated Press
Updated: 9:12 a.m. ET Dec. 16, 2004


KIEV, Ukraine - Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko charged Thursday that his opponent was planning provocations that could jeopardize the presidential vote scheduled at the end of December.

Yushchenko did not say what kind of provocations, but said they were being planned in eastern Ukraine, a largely Russian-speaking region where people support his opponent, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

"There is not a 100 percent guarantee that the election will take place," he told reporters at a news conference in the capital Kiev. "I know of provocations being prepared in the eastern regions."

The Western-leaning Yushchenko has been working hard in recent days to expand his base of support from western parts of the country, where Ukrainian nationalism is strong, to the eastern areas.

The two men face a presidential contest Dec. 26. Ukraine's Supreme Court ordered a rerun to be held on that date after ruling that a Nov. 21 presidential runoff election was flawed by fraud.

Yanukovych's campaign manager Taras Chornovyl has said in the past that the prime minister's allies were prepared to go to Kiev after the rerun vote "to protect the people's choice." Although he said that some 300 non-governmental organizations were ready to stage street protests, he said that the campaign doesn't want "conflicts and clashes."

Campaign to secure votes in east
Late Wednesday, Yushchenko announced his intention to visit the eastern industrial cities of Kharkiv and Zaporhizhia starting Friday "to meet representatives of large and small businesses," according to a report posted on his Web site.

He said he intended to "explain our views on budgetary and fiscal policies" ahead of the Dec. 26 vote.

Yushchenko needs the backing of magnates to secure more votes in eastern provinces, the political and financial stronghold of his rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych.

Wealthy businessmen have backed each of the candidates, many hoping to get closer to lucrative government contracts. Yushchenko enjoys the support of some financiers such as Petro Poroshenko, a confectionary tycoon and a key legislator; Yanukovych is reputed to have the backing of coal and steel magnate Rinat Akhmetov.

Demonstrating confidence in his victory, Yushchenko also said that "meeting voters at rallies is not so effective" due to frigid weather.

"The majority (of voters) have already made up their minds," he said at a meeting with Ukrainian media.

Revelations of dioxin poisoning
The campaign has been roiled by revelations that Yushchenko was poisoned by dioxin — an attack his supporters say was meant to assassinate or sideline him.

New tests indicate the level of dioxin in his blood is more than 6,000 times higher than normal and is the second highest ever recorded in human history, said Abraham Brouwer, professor of environmental toxicology at the Free University in Amsterdam, where blood samples taken last weekend in Vienna were sent for analysis.

Brouwer's team has narrowed the search from more than 400 dioxins to about 29 and is confident they will identify the poison by week's end.

Friedrich Forsthuber, a spokesman for the Vienna regional court, said Thursday that Austrian authorities had sent a file to Ukraine containing Yushchenko's medical records and the results of interviews with witnesses from the Rudolfinerhaus hospital, where he was treated. He said the file was sent "about a month ago."

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