Solidarity hero joins the men trying to organise a peaceful revolution
By Arnold Krushelnycky in Kiev

Belfast Telegraph
Nov 26, 2004

Yuriy Kostenko’ dark Toyota limousine slid along the sometimes steep,
snow-covered streets of the Ukrainian capital. His driver, Volodya,
relegated to the back seat, grumbled.

Mr Kostenko is in a rush these days and often jumps into the driver’s
seat before Volodya can stop him. Mr Kostenko, 50, is leader of
the People’s Party, and one of the closest political allies of the
pro-democracy opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, the man at the
centre of the political storm gripping Ukraine that has even drawn
in that old political warhorse Lech Walesa.

As Mr Yushchenko leading ally, Mr Kostenko’s days have been manic as
he stokes the mood of thousands of protesters. Their camp is preparing
for power and a possible revolution.

Sometimes, Volodya doesn’t even make the back seat of Mr Kostenko’s
limo. Yesterday, his boss left without him. “I know it annoys him a
bit but, right now, driving myself is the only way I have to relax
for a few minutes,” Mr Kostenko said.

He talked in measured tones, sometimes raising his eyebrows and
grinning as his mobile phone brought yet another call. The drive took
him to his office in parliament where he looked through a pile of
faxes and took note of a long list of messages logged by his secretary.

The office is lined with photographs of mountains and climbers. Mr
Kostenko is an accomplished mountaineer, having tackled the Alps,
the Andes and the Caucasus. He is also a potholer and in 1988 he
volunteered to rescue victims of an earthquake that had hit Armenia. He
remembers fondly some of the British rescue teams he met there.

The fitness that climbing demands probably gives him the reserves of
energy to keep going on the less than four hours’ sleep he has had
each night since Saturday.

The next stop was one of the buildings the opposition uses for its
meetings in the old city near one of Europe’s first universities, the
Kiev Mohyla Academy. Here the atmosphere crackled as young volunteers
worked furiously.

Clad in orange sweaters, dresses, hats, boots, ribbons, scarves ­ some
of the women also had orange nails ­ they rushed around, focused but
quick to smile for Mr Kostenko who greeted them all with affection.

Next, he made for a meeting with the Polish Solidarity leader Mr
Walesa, who was in Kiev to lend support. With Mr Yushcehnko and other
close aides, the small group discussed the unfolding drama which Mr
Walesa said he hoped would lead to Ukrainian democracy. He was sped
to Kiev’s main street where he made a pledge of support in front of
a cheering crowd of 200,000.

Moving on, Mr Kostenko fielded calls from all around Ukraine as local
organisers of the opposition movement looked for news. Government-run
television channels and newspapers were saying little about the
political turmoil. Mr Yanukovych himself has said “nothing unusual
is happening”.

The election commission proclaimed Mr Yanukovych the winner on
Wednesday by a slim margin. Mr Kostenko said: “That was ominous
because it meant that they were ready to use violence. Perhaps it
will come to that, but I am still optimistic we can overturn

the results and get true democracy for Ukraine without bloodshed.”

Mr Kostenko, who studied engineering, was a prominent member of
Ukraine’s independence movement in the 1980s. He became a minister
a decade ago in a government run by the outgoing President, Leonid
Kuchma, who nominated Mr Yanukovych as his successor.

He was responsible for talks to rid Ukraine of the nuclear arsenal it
inherited from the Soviet Union and also for getting help in handling
the effects of the Chernobyl reactor explosion. Eventually he could
no longer bear to work for Mr Kuchma; he was one of the few ministers
who resigned rather than being fir ed.

He drove on and smiled as a phone call confirmed that another local
administration had declared it would only recognise Mr Yushchenko
as president.

“You can see that the people, all ages, all walks of life, are with
us,” he said. “Ukraine has been waiting for this moment for a long
time and they are not going to lose the opportunity for real freedom
and real dignity.”

As he got out of the car at one stop a young man, one of the hundreds
of thousands of opposition supporters occupying the centre of Kiev,
ran towards him. He recognised Mr Kostenko and asked him to sign the
Ukrainian flag draped around his shoulders. Mr Kostenko asked his
name and signed the flag, adding “Glory to Ukraine”.

Next stop was at a former union building on Khreschatyk Street,
surrounded by a growing crowd of opposition supporters. The political
council chaired by Mr Yushchenko was meeting, incorporating the
Committee for National Salvation formed on Wednesday. It was held
behind closed doors.

After several hours Mr Yushchenko emerged to reveal: “Ukraine’s
intelligence agency is coming over to our side and the Supreme Court
has cast doubt on the election results.” Then, flanked by Mr Walesa
and Mr Kostenko, he said: “We’re creating a national guard. We’ve
had hundreds of soldiers and militiamen asking who they should report
to. They want Yushchenko as commander-in-chief.”

Soon, officers of the militia came on stage to declare their allegiance
to Mr Yushchenko. The crowd cheered. Afterwards, Mr Kostenko, who is
married with a son, said he needed a break: “I think I can meet my
wife for 15 minutes.”

–Boundary_(ID_7Ah3mv47NPuYIMeAkviEaQ)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress