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Ukraine's ex-PM to join the opposition
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-10 10:48
Former Ukraine Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who came to symbolize
Ukraine's Orange Revolution with her fiery speeches and chic style, signaled in
an emotional, televised address Friday that she is moving into the opposition to
President Viktor Yushchenko, her comrade in arms in last year's uprising.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, left,
and Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko at a press conference in Kiev,
Ukraine, in this Wednesday, April 27, 2005 file photo.
[AP] |
The move by Tymoshenko, whom
Yushchenko sacked Thursday, deals the president a huge setback. Her popularity
rivals his, and she could become a formidable opponent in parliamentary
elections just six months away.
"Today we are two different teams," said Tymoshenko. "I think these two teams
will go their own way. ... Viktor Yushchenko and I will go to the elections on
parallel paths."
Yushchenko's firing of Tymoshenko's 7-month-old government, amid allegations
of corruption, deepened a crisis that has diminished the popularity of the man
whose dioxin poisoning and defiant stand against election fraud seized the
world's attention last year.
Tymoshenko controls a 41-person bloc in parliament — smaller than
Yushchenko's 96 but still a major force — and is likely to trigger at least a
few high-profile defections.
"We will run as a separate and very powerful political force," she said in a
live broadcast.
Tymoshenko blamed the circle around Yushchenko for her government's dismissal
and the breakup of their union.
"I am sure it is not the president, it is his team," Tymoshenko said. Still,
she also had harsh words for Yushchenko, accusing him of turning against her in
favor of corrupt allies.
Yushchenko said he had dismissed Tymoshenko's government because it was too
embroiled in internal bickering and was losing sight of their Orange Revolution
promises. He also accepted the resignation of his close friend, chief of the
Security and Defense Council, Petro Poroshenko.
Poroshenko and Tymoshenko had clashed from the onset of Yushchenko's
presidency, and Tymoshenko expressed frustration that she was sidelined, saying
her popularity had apparently threatened the president's inner circle.
Asked if Yushchenko betrayed her, she answered obliquely: "I forgive him."
Calling the recent developments terrible, she said she initially had hope
that she could find a "solution" with Yushchenko.
Tymoshenko, a talented orator, had whipped up the crowds in Kiev's
Independence Square last fall and winter, motivating hundreds of thousands to
carry the Orange Revolution and Yushchenko to election victory. She spoke with
the same earnestness Friday, repeatedly telling Ukrainians that she wanted their
advice.
"She spoke with such honest eyes — but to what extent she was telling the
truth I don't know, although I would like to believe her," said Valentina
Lyubyva, a 51-year-old housewife. "I feel sorry for her."
Tymoshenko said she "failed to find understanding with Yushchenko's
environment, with his team."
She accused the president of making unreasonable demands on her as they held
marathon meetings this week in a bid to resolve the crisis.
Tymoshenko said she tried until the last minute Thursday morning to reach an
agreement with Yushchenko that would preserve their union. But then Poroshenko,
the chief financier of the revolution, entered the room in tears, complaining
that parliament had stripped him of his lawmaker status, Tymoshenko said.
Yushchenko turned back to Tymoshenko and said: "It's over."
"Then the president left, practically breaking down our unity, our
perspective, the future of the country," said Tymoshenko.
Twenty minutes later, Yushchenko announced he was dismissing the government,
she said.
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