Albright: How to Help Ukraine Vote

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How to Help Ukraine Vote

WASHINGTON — Democracy in Ukraine is facing a crucial test as that country prepares for presidential elections in October. An intimidating, sometimes violent campaign has already begun, yet Washington has been strangely and sadly silent about the future of this important American partner.

Just days before I arrived in Kiev last month for a conference on Ukraine's future in Europe, the Ukrainian-language version of Radio Liberty, which is financed by the United States, was forced off its major outlet. Later, a small radio station was closed after it began Radio Liberty broadcasts. And just last week the director of another radio station that was considering broadcasts of the service died in a suspicious car accident.

The rest of the electronic media are virtually all government-influenced, and the future of the only independent television channel is in doubt. Federal tax authorities somehow seem to investigate only businesses that support opposition candidates. Nongovernmental organizations, especially voter education and mobilization groups, face continual pressure.

Meanwhile, supporters of President Leonid Kuchma are trying to push through constitutional amendments that would enhance the power of the legislature — which they will control until at least 2006 — at the expense of the presidency, which they would probably lose in a fair election this October. In this way, even with Mr. Kuchma out of elected office — he has said he will not run again — someone associated with his administration would continue to run the country.

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How to Help Ukraine Vote

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