Ukraine govt sacked

KIEV – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko yesterday dismissed his government amid allegations of corruption against some of his closest aides.

Yushchenko said the Cabinet and top aides lacked a spirit of co-operation. The break-up of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s fragile coalition of former opposition leaders was an attempt to resolve the greatest crisis to face Yushchenko in his seven months in power.”I knew that there were definite contradictions between those people …I hoped that there would not be enough time for intrigues,” Yushchenko said.”Those were my hopes.”Ukrainian television later began broadcasting Yushchenko’s prepared statement.Yushchenko appointed lawmaker Yuriy Yekhanurov, a former economics minister who now heads a parliamentary committee on industrial issues, as acting prime minister.Yushchenko also accepted the resignation of Petro Poroshenko, the head of the Security and Defence Council, and parliament quickly voted to strip him of his legislative seat.Poroshenko stepped down Thursday after two other high-level officials quit, accusing him of corruption.Yushchenko had spent the past three days huddled in meetings with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko, reportedly trying to find a way out of the crisis.Yushchenko said in televised remarks that he gave Poroshenko and Tymoshenko significant power, but the conflicts between them “became the everyday agenda.””The president must not be a governess who has to settle relations between them,” he said, adding that the trust between his partners “was zero.”Earlier yesterday, Vice Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko became the second top official to step down in a week, accusing Poroshenko and others of corruption.Yushchenko’s chief-of-staff, Oleksandr Zinchenko, resigned on Saturday and also levelled charges of corruption against high-level officials, including Poroshenko.On Wednesday, Yushchenko said personal conflicts between members of the government “cause serious damage not only to the team’s reputation, but also to the government’s image,” according to his office.”Responsibility for this lies with everyone….Enough of this; it’s time to work for the country”.Poroshenko said he was resigning so as not to appear to put pressure on the investigation into Zinchenko’s accusations.Yushchenko had ordered a probe into the allegations, and Ukraine’s Security Service yesterday ordered a special commission to be set up to investigate all corruption allegations against high officials – a sign that the government, which took power on a pledge to end the corruption that tainted former President Leonid Kuchma’s rule, was intent on fulfilling its promise.”Preserving honour and dignity for me remains the chief value, more than any job,” Poroshenko said in a statement posted on his Web site.- Nampa-APThe break-up of Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko’s fragile coalition of former opposition leaders was an attempt to resolve the greatest crisis to face Yushchenko in his seven months in power.”I knew that there were definite contradictions between those people …I hoped that there would not be enough time for intrigues,” Yushchenko said.”Those were my hopes.”Ukrainian television later began broadcasting Yushchenko’s prepared statement.Yushchenko appointed lawmaker Yuriy Yekhanurov, a former economics minister who now heads a parliamentary committee on industrial issues, as acting prime minister.Yushchenko also accepted the resignation of Petro Poroshenko, the head of the Security and Defence Council, and parliament quickly voted to strip him of his legislative seat.Poroshenko stepped down Thursday after two other high-level officials quit, accusing him of corruption.Yushchenko had spent the past three days huddled in meetings with Poroshenko and Tymoshenko, reportedly trying to find a way out of the crisis.Yushchenko said in televised remarks that he gave Poroshenko and Tymoshenko significant power, but the conflicts between them “became the everyday agenda.””The president must not be a governess who has to settle relations between them,” he said, adding that the trust between his partners “was zero.”Earlier yesterday, Vice Prime Minister Mykola Tomenko became the second top official to step down in a week, accusing Poroshenko and others of corruption.Yushchenko’s chief-of-staff, Oleksandr Zinchenko, resigned on Saturday and also levelled charges of corruption against high-level officials, including Poroshenko.On Wednesday, Yushchenko said personal conflicts between members of the government “cause serious damage not only to the team’s reputation, but also to the government’s image,” according to his office.”Responsibility for this lies with everyone….Enough of this; it’s time to work for the country”.Poroshenko said he was resigning so as not to appear to put pressure on the investigation into Zinchenko’s accusations.Yushchenko had ordered a probe into the allegations, and Ukraine’s Security Service yesterday ordered a special commission to be set up to investigate all corruption allegations against high officials – a sign that the government, which took power on a pledge to end the corruption that tainted former President Leonid Kuchma’s rule, was intent on fulfilling its promise.”Preserving honour and dignity for me remains the chief value, more than any job,” Poroshenko said in a statement posted on his Web site.- Nampa-AP