RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the Staff of RFE/RL Newsline

UKRAINE

'STREET TELEVISION' STARTS AT DUSK. "Fakty" reported on 6 August that Ukraine has recently seen the advent of a new form of information technology--street television. Below is how the newspaper describes the new phenomenon:

"On a busy street, in a courtyard, or simply on a city square, [technicians] unfold a screen measuring two by three meters and install a television camera to project its 'picture' onto the screen. There are also loudspeakers nearby, allowing [people] (including those in neighboring buildings) to listen to what is said by participants in an open discussion. A man with the microphone essentially speaks to everybody standing nearby and, at the same time, can see himself on the screen. Naturally, there is also a moderator on an improvised rostrum. He asks questions and often speaks on his own behalf. However, all this does not resemble an ordinary interview or a well-directed show. On street television everything takes place in real time, the moderator provides impromptu answers to all questions and makes comments on participants' statements. As a rule, such meetings continue for three to four hours; they begin at dusk in order to make the footage visible on the screen. ...Sundry topics are discussed: Why is there no gasoline? What will our peacekeepers do in Kosova? Does Ukraine need health care reform? Will Kuchma be re-elected?"

"Fakty" described the phenomenon of street television as a "people's Internet," noting that movable rostrums with cameras and screens have been seen on the streets of Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and in Crimea. People pursuing the street television initiative told "Fakty" that they are going to become a "full-fledged business structure on the political and information market." Currently, they are taking advantage of the presidential election campaign for the purpose of self-publicity as well as to promote "direct democracy." They have not disclosed the source of their funding. "Fakty" suggested that the street television has a "pro-presidential orientation," but it did not elaborate on the issue.

"Recently you [President Leonid Kuchma] have repeatedly underscored in your addresses that Ukraine has finally embarked on the path of stabilization. And that there has been a growth trend in [Ukraine's] GDP. In particular, you stated this proudly on 13 July, at an [annual] meeting of Ukrainian officers. However, one day later, at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers, you had to agree with Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tyhypko, who announced exactly on 13 July that Ukraine is on the verge of economic collapse. So, in your opinion, has the country seen a trend toward stabilization or economic collapse? Or, perhaps, toward both phenomena simultaneously?" -- Parliamentary deputy Anatoliy Matviyenko, head of the All-Ukrainian Association "Open Politics," in the 4 August "Den."

"When one group of poor people joins another group of poor people, they do not become richer together." -- Leonid Kuchma on the Belarusian-Russian Union in the 4 August "Argumenty i fakty."

RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report is prepared by Jan Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by "RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed every Tuesday.

UKRAINIAN HRYVNYA LEAVES EXCHANGE CORRIDOR. Ukraine's National Bank on 9 August lowered the official hryvnya exchange rate from 4.5 to 4.68 per $1, AP reported. This move puts the hryvnya outside the previously established exchange limits of 3.4 to 4.6 to $1, which were to have remained valid until the end of the year. JM

MORE CONTENDERS JOIN UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL RACE. Following a Supreme Court ruling (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 9 August 1999), the Central Electoral Commission on 9 August registered Vasyl Onopenko, leader of the Social Democratic Party, as the 10th candidate in the upcoming presidential elections. The same day, the Supreme Court ordered the commission to register Mykola Haber, leader of the Patriotic Party, as another presidential hopeful. The commission had formerly rejected Haber's registration bid by declaring invalid some 452,000 signatures out of the 1.17 million he had submitted. Meanwhile, Onopenko has called for the dismissal of Central Electoral Commission head Mykhaylo Ryabets, whom he accuses of giving in to "external pressures" during the presidential election campaign. JM

RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

A Survey of Developments in Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine by the Staff of "RFE/RL Newsline"

UKRAINE

'Street Television' Starts At Dusk. "Fakty" reported on 6 August that Ukraine has recently seen the advent of a new form of information technology--street television. Below is how the newspaper describes the new phenomenon:

"On a busy street, in a courtyard, or simply on a city square, [technicians] unfold a screen measuring two by three meters and install a television camera to project its 'picture' onto the screen. There are also loudspeakers nearby, allowing [people] (including those in neighboring buildings) to listen to what is said by participants in an open discussion. A man with the microphone essentially speaks to everybody standing nearby and, at the same time, can see himself on the screen. Naturally, there is also a moderator on an improvised rostrum. He asks questions and often speaks on his own behalf. However, all this does not resemble an ordinary interview or a well-directed show. On street television everything takes place in real time, the moderator provides impromptu answers to all questions and makes comments on participants' statements. As a rule, such meetings continue for three to four hours; they begin at dusk in order to make the footage visible on the screen. ...Sundry topics are discussed: Why is there no gasoline? What will our peacekeepers do in Kosova? Does Ukraine need health care reform? Will Kuchma be re-elected?"

"Fakty" described the phenomenon of street television as a "people's Internet," noting that movable rostrums with cameras and screens have been seen on the streets of Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipropetrovsk, and in Crimea. People pursuing the street television initiative told "Fakty" that they are going to become a "full-fledged business structure on the political and information market." Currently, they are taking advantage of the presidential election campaign for the purpose of self-publicity as well as to promote "direct democracy." They have not disclosed the source of their funding. "Fakty" suggested that the street television has a "pro-presidential orientation," but it did not elaborate on the issue.

"Recently you [President Leonid Kuchma] have repeatedly underscored in your addresses that Ukraine has finally embarked on the path of stabilization. And that there has been a growth trend in [Ukraine's] GDP. In particular, you stated this proudly on 13 July, at an [annual] meeting of Ukrainian officers. However, one day later, at a session of the Cabinet of Ministers, you had to agree with Deputy Prime Minister Serhiy Tyhypko, who announced exactly on 13 July that Ukraine is on the verge of economic collapse. So, in your opinion, has the country seen a trend toward stabilization or economic collapse? Or, perhaps, toward both phenomena simultaneously?" -- Parliamentary deputy Anatoliy Matviyenko, head of the All-Ukrainian Association "Open Politics," in the 4 August "Den."

"When one group of poor people joins another group of poor people, they do not become richer together." -- Leonid Kuchma on the Belarusian-Russian Union in the 4 August "Argumenty i fakty."

"RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report" is prepared by Jan Maksymiuk on the basis of a variety of sources including reporting by "RFE/RL Newsline" and RFE/RL's broadcast services. It is distributed every Tuesday.