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UKRAINIAN PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITY COUNTS ITSELF. The leadership of the pro-government parliamentary majority has decided to reregister its members, Interfax reported on 4 April. According to Oleksandr Volkov, leader of the Revival of Regions parliamentary group, the reregistered majority will consist of the same parliamentary groups that formed it in January 2000, except for the Fatherland Party caucus. If Volkov's expectation proves true, the majority in the 449-strong legislature will number 282 lawmakers from the Rukh (Udovenko), Greens, Popular Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party (United), ReformsCongress, Rukh (Kostenko), Yabluko, Revival of Regions, Labor Ukraine, Solidarnist, and Ukraine's Regions parliamentary groups. President Leonid Kuchma on 3 April demanded that the parliamentary majority be counted anew, commenting sarcastically that "half the current majority walks the streets with placards 'Down with the president!'" JM

ANTI-KUCHMA LAWMAKER ENLISTS IN PRO-KUCHMA MAJORITY. Volodymyr Filenko, a leader of the antipresidential Forum of National Salvation, has signed up for the pro-government parliamentary majority, Interfax reported on 4 April. Filenko commented that both he and his parliamentary group, Reforms-Congress, remain true to the original agreement on parliamentary majority that was signed in 2000. Asked how he can reconcile his activity in both the pro-government majority and the opposition Forum of National Salvation, Filenko said: "Normally. As we have done so far, we will also do [in the future]." JM

KUCHMA MEETS REPRESENTATIVES OF POLITICAL PARTIES. President Kuchma on 4 April said he was happy about his meeting with representatives of political parties that took place the same day, Interfax reported. Kuchma told journalists that participants in the meeting "did not make conclusions but listened to one another." He added: "And those hard of hearing left." He was apparently commenting on the exit of several opposition politicians after a representative of the Socialist Party was not allowed to address the meeting. Presidential spokesman Oleksandr Martynenko said four opposition politicians were allowed to speak at the gathering, noting that their speeches boiled down to demanding Kuchma's dismissal. Valeriy Pustovoytenko, head of the Popular Democratic Party, said representatives from 76 parties out of the 104 registered in Ukraine attended the meeting. JM

TYMOSHENKO PROMISES TO STAY IN KYIV. The Prosecutor-General's Office has taken a precautionary measure regarding former Deputy Premier Yuliya Tymoshenko by making her sign a pledge that she will not leave Kyiv, Tymoshenko's lawyer Viktor Shvets told Interfax on 4 April. Shvets added that Tymoshenko has left her two passports with the ProsecutorGeneral' s Office. Tymoshenko, who was recently released from jail, is charged by prosecutors with bribery, tax evasion, smuggling, and document forgery. JM

MOLDOVA'S NATO REPRESENTATIVE 'DISAPPEARS' FROM BRUSSELS. Colonel Nicolae Turtureanu, Moldova's representative at the NATO Partnership for Peace Program in Brussels, has left his post voluntarily and "disappeared," Infotag reported on 4 April, citing "well-informed diplomatic sources." Turtureanu, who was appointed to his post by former President Petru Lucinschi, ended his mandate in January but was not replaced due to the political situation in Moldova. He disappeared last week, after leaving documents in his office in order and turning the office key and his car over to Moldovan Embassy officials. Infotag said it was unclear whether he sought political asylum in a Western country or is in Ukraine, where his wife was born. Defense Minister Boris Gamurari refused to comment. MS