UKRAINE: EXTRAORDINARY RADA SESSION UNLIKELY

C O N F I D E N T I A L KIEV 002246 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/08/2016 TAGS: PGOV PINR SOCI MARR UP SUBJECT: UKRAINE: EXTRAORDINARY RADA SESSION UNLIKELY REF: A. KIEV 2208 ¶B. KIEV 2190 Classified By: Charge d'Affaires, a.i., for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) The Rada's five-member Provisional Presidium on June 8 voted down a motion by 176 opposition MPs to hold a special Rada session that would likely have focused on the situation in Crimea (reftels). The three "Orange" presidium members, who voted "no," dismissed the opposition's appeal as "unconstitutional." Party of Regions MP Volodymyr Makeyenko argued to us that there would be no special session prior to the Rada's next scheduled meeting on June 14. He noted that, according to the Rada's Rules of Procedure, only the Rada Speaker can convoke an extraordinary session and the official Rada newspaper, Holos Ukrainy, must announce such a meeting three business days in advance; the Rada has no Speaker yet, the June 8 edition of Holos Ukrainy had no such announcement, and June 12 is an official Ukrainian holiday, Makeyenko explained. End summary. Special Session Voted Down Today... -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In the wake of the short but controversial June 7 Rada session (Ref A),176 MPs from the Communist Party and the Party of Regions signed a petition calling on the Rada's five-member Provisional Presidium to convene a special session to discuss the situation in Crimea (Ref B). The Rada's press service reported on the afternoon of June 8 that the presidium had voted down the appeal, with the three Orange members (Socialist Party's Bokyi, Our Ukraine's Katerynchuk and Bloc Tymoshenko's Turchynov) voting "no" and the two Blue members (Regions' Bohatyrova and Communist Party's Martynyuk) voting "for." The three Orange members of the presidium noted that they turned down the proposal because it allegedly violated the Ukrainian Constitution. ...And Likely Won't Happen before June 14 -------------- ¶3. (SBU) Party of Regions MP Volodymyr Makeyenko, one of the more moderate and thoughtful voices in the Blue camp, unequivocally asserted to us on June 8 that there "will not be" an extraordinary Rada session before June 14 -- the Rada's next regularly-scheduled meeting. Citing Article 12 of the Rada Rules of Procedure, Makeyenko argued that: -- A special session can only be convoked by the Rada Speaker, and a Speaker hasn't been elected yet; -- The official Rada newspaper, Holos Ukrainy, must publish an announcement about an extraordinary session three business days before the event takes place; and, -- Monday June 12 is a Ukrainian holiday (Holy Trinity Day). ¶4. (C) Note: A check of the Rules of Procedure show that Makeyenko is right: even if Holos Ukrainy published an announcement on June 9, the earliest that a special session could be held would be June 14. This contradicts what Presidential chief of staff Oleh Rybachuk told Charge on June 7 (ref A),when he claimed an extraordinary session could be called following an announcement about the formation of a governing coalition, which he said could happen on June 8. As of close of business Kiev time on June 8, the press was reporting that the Orange forces were still negotiating over key government positions. Gwaltney