The political struggle prompted by upcoming elections sharpened when an opposition group led by former Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko lashed out at the government for suspending publication of a newspaper with ties to his party.
A top Hromada party member said Thursday that the print ban slapped on Pravda Ukrainy was part of a plot to discredit the opposition to President Leonid Kuchma in the run-up to March parliamentary elections and a presidential vote next year.
'This is the beginning of the more acute realization of the plan of destruction of the Ukrainian opposition,' said Oleksandr Turchinov, chairman of Hromada's central coordinating committee. 'Over the past six months, one can see how the authorities destroy the political party Hromada.'
On Wednesday, Information Minister Zinovy Kulyk signed a resolution barring a large state-run publishing house from printing Pravda Ukrainy, the Interfax news agency reported.
Kulyk said the Justice Ministry and the General Prosecutor's office had determined that the paper's registration was unlawful. He indicated that its re-registration last summer as the product of an Ukrainian-Antiguan joint venture violated a law restricting foreign participation in joint media ventures. Kulyk denied that the ban was politically motivated. Turchinov and Pravda Ukrainy editor-in-chief Oleksandr Horobets said Kulyk's claim was bogus. Horobets called the print suspension order 'illegal' and said Kulyk exceeded his authority.
Horobets claims the paper was closed because of a list it published Tuesday of 50 government officials and Parliament deputies who it claims obtained apartments illegally in 1994.
'The officials realized with horror that more is coming, and decided to close us down,' said Horobets. He said the paper has additional lists ready to be published. 'We will not stop the struggle,' said Horobets, who vowed to sue Kulyk and continue putting out Pravda Ukrainy. 'We will print the paper if we have to do it by hand.' Western diplomats and media analysts spoke out against the suspension Monday.
A U.S. Embassy official said that he was 'very concerned because of what this may mean for the future of press freedom in Ukraine.'
Tim O'Connor, resident advisor for ProMedia Center, a U.S.-funded organization created to support media in Ukraine, said that the shutdown of the paper brought up images of Belarus and Russia, where similar incidents have occurred.
'When you get strong political elements trying to close down what should be sources of information, it's very dangerous,' he said.
Pravda Ukrainy published a six-page issue Saturday filled with letters from readers and politicians protesting the ban.
Viktor Chaika, editor of Kievskie Vedomosti, the popular daily which owns the printing plant used to print Pravda Ukrainy, said Monday that he had received a letter from the Information Ministry which threatened to close the plant if it continued to print Pravda Ukrainy.
Information Ministry officials could not be reached for comment Monday.
Pravda Ukrainy was supportive of Lazarenko during and after his stint as premier. Horobets is a parliamentary candidate from Hromada.
Kuchma removed Lazarenko last July amid increasing complaints about high levels of official corruption and charges his government lacked dedication to market-oriented reforms.
Hromada members have predicted they will win a large chunk of seats in the legislature in the March elections, and Lazarenko is seen as a likely presidential candidate.
