Calling his opponents radical politicians armed only with chants and explosives, president appeals to Ukraine's business muscle to flex in his favor
Ukraine’s most powerful business elite, President Leonid Kuchma called on the business community to support him in the face of harsh political opposition to his rule.
“I would like to count on the support of enterprises and the heads of Ukrainian enterprises,” Kuchma told the heads of major factories, companies, and banks attending a congress of the Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs at the Ukraina Palace in Kyiv on Thursday.
Kuchma said that the opposition consists of radical politicians armed only with the chants “Out!” “Disgrace!” sticks, and bottles containing explosive materials. To make his point, Kuchma cited clashes that broke out in Kyiv between demonstrators and riot police during what started out as a peaceful anti-presidential protest on March 9.
Kuchma said that the opposition is making only political demands without proposing alternative economic programs.
“First give us power, then we will think about what to do,” Kuchma said in reference to the opposition.
He also said that the authorities’ battle with the opposition has increased the activities of “shadow clans.”
According to Kuchma, this has escalated the battle for ministerial posts and the enterprises intended for privatization.
Kuchma said that next year’s parliamentary elections are already “politicizing” the country and that this politicization will deepen and have a negative effect on the economy.
The Ukrainian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs president Anatoly Kinakh is presently trying to organize negotiations between the authorities and the opposition.
Kuchma’s opponents have been demanding Kuchma’s resignation since last December in connection with charges of alleged corruption and a political scandal over accusations that Kuchma had a hand in the murder of a journalist.
