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UKRAINIAN OFFICERS ARRIVE IN KUWAIT TO PREPARE FOR NBC UNIT. A group of 15 Ukrainian officers arrived in Kuwait on 22 March to prepare the deployment of a Ukrainian anti-nuclear, -biological, and -chemical (NBC) battalion, ITAR-TASS reported. The officers will identify measures to be taken to ensure the safety of Kuwaitis and to gather information about the sanitary and epidemiological situation in the area, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry told the news agency. The NBC battalion comprising 432 servicemen will be sent to Kuwait this week. The battalion will stay in Kuwait for at least six months in accordance with an agreement between the two countries. It will not participate in combat actions and will only provide humanitarian aid. AM

FORMER UKRAINIAN PREMIER RE-ELECTED AS PARTY LEADER. The third congress of the Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Party of Ukraine on 22 March unanimously re-elected former Ukrainian Premier Anatoliy Kinakh as its leader, Interfax reported. Kinakh was the only candidate for the post. The congress also adopted a resolution that reads that the main goals of the party are its development as a nationwide movement, protection of national economic and political interests, achievement of worthy and equal integration of Ukraine into the global community, creation of favorable terms for industrial and entrepreneurial activity, the protection of the rights of owners and investors, and transparent market competition. AM

...AND WANTS MEDIA FREED FROM 'POLITICAL INFLUENCE.' President Kwasniewski announced on 22 March that he will not accept the annual report of the National Radio and Television Broadcasting Council [KRRiT] (see "RFE/RL Poland, Belarus, and Ukraine Report," 11 March 2003), the daily "Rzeczpospolita" reported. "It is inevitable" that Robert Kwiatkowski will resign from his post as a chairman of Polish public television, according to Kwasniewski. "It is necessary to free the public media from political influence. Everyone should understand that that this is in their interest," the president added. It is generally believed that beginning in 1997, the KRRiT -- and, consequently, Polish public television and radio -- have been dominated by people associated with the Democratic Left Alliance and the Peasant Party. AM