UKRAINE: EXTRAORDINARY RADA SESSION TAKES AIM AT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KYIV 002206

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/10/2016
TAGS: PGOV PINR PREL UP
SUBJECT: UKRAINE: EXTRAORDINARY RADA SESSION TAKES AIM AT
OU'S CAMPAIGN

REF: KYIV 1837

KYIV 00002206 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: Ambassador for reasons 1.4 (b,d).


1. (U) Summary: The Rada's majority coalition held an
extraordinary parliamentary session on September 4, at
Speaker Moroz's behest. With 269 MP's registered as present,
they voted to amend two clauses of the constitution in order
to eliminate parliamentary and presidential immunity, thereby
preempting Our Ukraine-People's Self Defense and President
Yushchenko on their own key campaign issue. The Rada,
ignoring the fact that it is inquorate, also discussed the
2008 budget and increases in public pensions and government
salaries. Most Cabinet Ministers attended the session, led
by First Deputy Prime Minister Azarov, giving the session a
further stamp of approval from Regions, although PM
Yanukovych was out of KYIV. Regions also gathered
approximately 4,000 supporters to demonstrate outside the
Rada to increase publicity for the session. Regions oligarch
Rinat Akhmetov told the Ambassador that he had opposed his
faction's participation, but Regions's consultants told PM
Yanukovych that not to attend would open the party to attacks
from the left that it was betraying the current coalition and
could cost them electoral support. President Yushchenko went
on national television on September 3 to denounce the Rada
session as illegitimate and as political maneuvering to try
to derail the upcoming elections. Neither BYuT nor Our
Ukraine (OU) attended the session, with the exception of a
few defectors. As an easy out, the Rada voted to spend the
rest of the month attending to non-plenary business, allowing
them to argue that they are still an active parliament.


2. (C) Comment. That all players across the spectrum --
with the possible exception of the Socialists and Communists
-- agree that the Rada session cannot adopt any binding law
underscores that today's events were merely political
theater. By voting, even symbolically, to eliminate deputy's
immunity, the coalition has made it harder for OU-PSD to
argue to the public that Regions opposes canceling MP
benefits. Moreover, Yushchenko's numerous public statements
about the illegitimacy of today's Rada session suggest that
he was concerned that the "null and void" Rada session was
damaging to him politically. End summary and comment.

Rada Opens and Votes, To Little Practical Effect
-------------- ---


3. (SBU) Moroz opened the September 4 Rada session with
another vitriolic attack on the President, accusing
Yushchenko of distorting the Constitution and saying he would
be accountable for his "crimes". Moroz called for the
Constitutional Court to examine Yushchenko's decree
disbanding the Rada and calling for new elections. The
Speaker described Yushchenko's claims that the Rada session
is illegitimate as political "adventure" and noted that under
the Constitution, the Rada's authority remains valid until a
new Rada is seated. All told, 269 members of the Rada were
registered as in attendance, although television cameras
showed far fewer. Coalition members from Regions, the
Communist Party, and the Socialist Party all were in
attendance, as were a small number of defectors from BYuT and
OU. They cast 259 votes to amend the constitution to abolish
parliamentary and presidential immunity. They also voted to
spend the rest of the month in non-plenary mode -- in
faction, committee, and constituent work. Roughly 4,000
Regions supporters demonstrated outside of the Rada in order
to support the extraordinary session.


4. (SBU) Just before the Rada session began, Regions MP
Volodymyr Makeyenko told the press that his party will
participate in the early elections, indicating that Regions
is not buying into the Moroz line that the upcoming elections
are illegitimate. The President and leaders of the
opposition, along with various other minority parties, all
described the Rada extraordinary session as little more than
political show. Only the Socialists and Communists appeared
to give any credence to the session.


5. (C) Embassy Comment. The significance of the voting is
mostly symbolic. Our understanding of the Ukrainian
political system is that an inquorate Rada cannot pass laws.
The Rada legally exists in the sense that its deputies retain
their status until the next Rada is seated, meaning hearings
and non-plenary business can continue, but without a quorum
of 300, it cannot pass legislation or have a real session.
Moreover, amending the constitution is a lengthy process
involving multiple Rada votes in sperate sessions and a
review by the Constitutional Court. End comment.

Akhmetov: We Had to Go to Protect Our Flank

KYIV 00002206 002.2 OF 002


--------------


6. (C) Regions financier Rinat Akhmetov told Ambassador on
September 4, that Regions's political consultants had warned
Yanukovych that if Regions did not attend the extraordinary
Rada session, the Communists and Socialists would gain
valuable ammunition to claim that Regions was not loyal to
the current government coalition. This could result in the
loss of two to three percent of the vote -- a percentage that
could be critical to determining the composition of the next
governing coalition. Akhmetov had told the PM that he
opposed returning to the Rada -- it was a waste of time --
but Yanukovych had decided it was not worth losing votes by
boycotting. Regions knows that nothing binding or serious
could take place, but it was simple campaign logic to embrace
the annulment of immunity for parliamentary deputies since
the measure is widely supported by the electorate.

Yushchenko/OU Losing the Wind in their Sails?
--------------


7. (C) OU has made annulling parliamentary immunity the
major plank in its campaign, and hoped to use it to
distinguish itself from the other parties. Regions,
Socialist, and Communist support for the annulment will
effectively blur the issue to the electorate and could
neutralize OU's major theme. In his latest statement on the
Rada session, Yushchenko accused his rivals of turning the
Rada into a circus and a laughing stock. He appealed for
calm orderly elections after which he said the Rada will
decide on parliamentary immunity, raising pensions and
salaries, and a budget. Yushchenko also singled out
Yanukovych by name, telling him that decisions taken in the
Rada session will have no legal effect. Yanukovych responded
by saying Yushchenko is entitled to his "subjective opinion".
The PM also denied trying to disrupt the elections by
participating in the Rada session and argued, at least
publicly, that the Rada session is indeed legitimate.

Moroz Grasping at Straws
--------------


8. (C) As noted reftel, the Rada session also appeared to
be one more play by Moroz to remain relevant since
pre-election polling and the general feeling, even among
Socialist stalwarts, is that the Socialists are heading for a
dreadful election showing. In addition to the question of
immunity, Moroz is pushing other hot button bread and butter
issues dealing with pensions and salaries in an effort to
help his own stalling campaign. All indications are that the
Socialists will not make it past the three-percent threshold
bar into the next Rada.


9. (U) Visit Embassy KYIV's classified website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/kiev.
Taylor