PARTICIPANTS IN REGIONAL BUSINESS FORUM IN VOLYN REGION DEMAND UNIFIED AND STABLE "RULES OF PLAY" FOR ALL BUSINESS STRUCTURES

KYIV, April 4 /UKRINFORM/. Establishment of transparent, unified, and most important, stable "rules of play" for all business structures was the main demand of participants in the Regional Business Forum "Development of Partnership between the Authorities and Business" held in Lutsk. Participating in the Forum were heads of regional and district state administrations, city mayors and heads of the largest enterprises and firms of different types of ownership, UKRINFORM reports.

EVENT: The Gongadze file is not closed until the instigators of his murder have been held to account, Council of Europe rapporteur Sabine Leutheusser Schnarrenberger said on March 19.

SIGNIFICANCE: The three-year trial of three former policemen accused of killing journalist Georgii Gongadze has ended in jail terms of 12-13 years, but inside and outside Ukraine there have been calls for the investigation to move onto those behind the murder. One of the main factors why former supporters are so disillusioned with President Viktor Yushchenko --who now has approval ratings of just 10% --rests on his poor handling of the investigation of a murder that he promised as a matter of honour to resolve.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko never fails to disappoints

Of course, most successful revolutionaries are later regarded as disappointments, even failures, in one way or another. That's the nature of revolutionary euphoria once it deflates. Yet even in such company, Yushchenko stands out.

America, despairing of Yushchenko's endless dithering and willingness to compromise Ukraine's independence from Russia, abandoned its support for him over a year ago. Recently, the European Union foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, in a brutal session with Yushchenko in Brussels, let him know that the EU, too, had had enough of his temporizing and political machinations.

Peter Dickinson

Three years ago Yulia Tymoshenko burst onto the world scene as the improbably attractive and iconic hero of the Orange Revolution. She has since lost office spectacularly and seen her international profile drop almost from view before returning to power on a wave of popular support. As she approaches the hundred day mark of her new administration, just what does the rest of the world think about Ukraine's remarkable PM?

Ukraine's Uneasy Pluralism

by Paul D'Anieri

Paul D'Anieri is Professor of Political Science and Associate Dean of Humanities at the University of Kansas. His work focuses on politics and foreign policy in the post-Soviet region. His most recent book is Understanding Ukrainian Politics: Power, Politics, and Institutional Design (2007).