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Ukraine political crisis intensifies; province calls for changes in autonomy By MARA D. BELLABY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS KIEV, Ukraine — The crisis over Ukraine’s disputed presidential election intensified Sunday, as a key eastern province called a referendum on autonomy and the opposition demanded the current president fire his prime minister, the official winner of last week’s vote that has bitterly divided this former Soviet republic. The opposition warned President Leonid Kuchma it would block his movements unless he fired Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and fulfilled other demands within 24 hours. Earlier, Kuchma called on the opposition to end its four-day blockade of government buildings, saying compromise was the only solution to the crisis that has developed into a tense political tug-of-war between the West and Moscow over Ukraine’s future. On Saturday, Ukraine’s parliament declared the election invalid amid international calls for a new vote, and lawmakers also passed a vote of no confidence in the Central Elections Commission, which declared Moscow backed Yanukovych the winner. Both parliamentary votes, however, are symbolic only and have no legal standing. Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko, who claims he was cheated out of victory in the Nov. 21 presidential runoff, urged his supporters Sunday to stay in the streets. Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators have thronged downtown Kiev for a week to support Yushchenko’s claim the election was rigged. The Supreme Court will consider Yushchenko’s appeal today. The court’s ruling could pave the way for a new vote, which the opposition is demanding, or remove the only barrier to Yanukovych’s inauguration. The United States and other Western) nations say the vote was marred by massive fraud. Russian President Vladimir Putin openly backed Yanukovych and congratulated him on his victory. Moscow considers this nation of 48 million people part of its sphere of influence and a buffer between Russia and NATO’s eastern flank. Yushchenko also has called for a new vote Dec. 12 under the watch of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He also has demanded that the 15 members of the election commission be replaced. Yulia Tymoshenko, a top ally of Yushchenko, told a rally of about 100,000 opposition supporters in Kiev’s main square Sunday that Kuchma had until this evening to fire Yanukovych. “We know where he is, and we can prevent him from making a single step if he doesn’t fulfill our demands,” Tymoshenko said. Her other demands included firing the governors of eastern regions warning of autonomy bids and initiating a bill to reshuffle the Central Election Commission. If Kuchma does not fulfill them, he should be prosecuted for “crimes against the people,” Tymoshenko said as protesters shouted “Down with Kuchma!” She said opposition crowds would march to the Supreme Court and the Ukrainian parliament where Yushchenko’s supporters would seek a no-confidence vote today in Yanukovych’s Cabinet. Supporters of Yanukovych struck back from Donetsk, his native region and power base. The regional legislature voted 164-1 to hold a Dec. 5 referendum on autonomy for the province. About 30,000 demonstrators, who gathered outside regional legislature in the city of Donetsk, shouted pro Yanukovych slogans. “We won’t tolerate what’s going on in Ukraine,” Donetsk Gov. Anatoly Bliznyuk told lawmakers. “We have shown that we are a force to consider.” Starting Thursday, Yushchenko supporters encircled the Cabinet and the president’s administration buildings, refusing to let anyone enter or leave. Kuchma, who backed Yanukovych, criticized the blockades Sunday as a “gross violation of law” that “would be unacceptable in any nation.” He made his comments during a meeting of his National Security Council, parts of which were broadcast live on Ukrainian television. “Compromise is the only way to avoid unpredictable consequences,” Kuchma said. Yushchenko responded that the “peaceful pickets will not be lifted, but will continue.” He urged tens of thousands of his supporters in and around Independence Square to maintain their vigil. “You will ask me how long We should stay here, is it worth staying here?” he said. “Even the Georgian revolution lasted for three weeks. ... I am asking you, I am demanding that you stay here until the end.” Many of the Ukrainian demonstrators have been inspired by the November 2003 massive street protests in the former Soviet republic of Georgia that helped lead to the resignation of longtime President Eduard Shevardnadze. Representatives of the Western leaning Yushchenko and Yanukovych were expected to resume negotiations Sunday under the auspices of European Union negotiators, but a Yanukovych aide said in the afternoon that the two sides had not met. Stepan Havrysh said the prime minister’s campaign team was upset by the parliamentary votes but still SERGEI CHUZAKOWTHE ASSOCIATED PRESS Rival presidential candidates’ supporters of Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych argue in Kiev, Sunday. Outgoing President Leonid Kuchma on called compromise the only way out of Ukraine’s political crisis, with the rift between the opposition and the government growing as protesters blockaded government buildings for a fourth day and governors in eastern Ukraine met to discuss autonomy. optimistic the talks might resume today. The crisis has exacerbated the stark divide between the pro-Russian, heavily industrialized eastern half of Ukraine, where Yanukovych draws his support, and the west, Yushchenko’s stronghold including the capital Kiev, which is a traditional center of Ukrainian nationalism. The crisis also has overshadowed political differences between the candidates. Yushchenko, whose wife is U.S.-bom, says he wants to push the country to greater integration with Western Europe, and he has suggested he would seek NATO membership. His critics worry he will alienate Ukraine from Russia, its key trade partner and main energy supplier. Yanukovych was expected to pursue closer ties with Moscow. Many Russian speaking Ukrainians in the east fear a Yushchenko presidency would make them second-class citizens. The Donetsk referendum vote came after an urgent meeting attended by Yanukovych and some 3,500 delegates from eastern and southern Ukraine. Participants adopted a resolution vowing that they could take measures including a referendum on seeking autonomy. Autonomy for Donetsk would require changing Ukraine’s constitution to allow for stronger self-rule for its provinces. While such changes could face serious opposition, the vote suggested Ukraine’s rift could widen if the election results are overturned. Iran group canvasses for suicide bombers to attack U.S. in Iraq, Israel By ALI AKBAR DAREINI THE ASSOCIATED PRESS TEHRAN, Iran — The 300 men filling out forms in the offices of an Iranian aid group were offered three choices: Train for suicide attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq, for suicide attacks against Israelis or to assassinate British author Salman Rushdie. It looked at first glance like a gathering on the fringes of a society divided between moderates who want better relations with the world and hard line Muslim militants hostile toward the United States and Israel. But the presence of two key figures — a prominent Iranian lawmaker and a member of the country’s elite Revolutionary Guards — lent the meeting more legitimacy and was a clear indication of at least tacit support from some within Iran’s government. Since that inaugural June meeting in a room decorated with photos of Israeli soldiers’ funerals, the registration forms for volunteer suicide commandos have appeared on Tehran’s streets and university campuses, with no sign Iran’s government is trying to stop the shadowy movement. On Nov. 12, the day Iranians traditionally hold pro-Palestinian protests, a spokesman for the Headquarters for Commemorating Martyrs of the Global Islamic Movement said the movement signed up at least 4,000 new volunteers. Mohammad Ali Samadi, the spokesman, told The Associated Press the group had' no ties to the government. And Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told reporters recently that the group’s campaign to sign up volunteers for suicide attacks had “nothing to do with the ruling Islamic establishment.” “That some people do such a thing is the result of their sentiments. It has nothing to do with the government and the system,” Asefi said. Yet despite the government’s disavowal of the group and some of its programs, there are indications the suicide attack campaign has at least some legitimacy within the government. The first meeting was held in the offices of the Martyrs Foundation, a semiofficial organization that helps the families of those killed in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war or those killed fighting for the government on other fronts. It drew hard-line lawmaker Mahdi Kouchakzadeh and Gen. Hossein Salami of the elite Revolutionary Guards. I “This group spreads valuable ideas,” Kouchakzadeh told AP. “At a time when the U.S. is committing the crimes we see now, deprived nations have no weapon other than martyrdom. It’s evident that Iran’s foreign policy makers have to take the dignified opinions of this group into consideration,” said Kouchakzadeh, who also is a former member of the Revolutionary Guards. Iranian security officials did not return calls seeking comment about whether they had tried to crack down on the group’s training programs or whether they believed any of Samadi’s volunteers had crossed into Iraq or into Israel. _ - I ■ PANEL Continued from page 1 and more than 180,000 do not know they are infected. Today’s panel discussion marks the Philomathic Society’s first public event on campus. The group traces its roots back to USC’s Euphradian and Clariosophic societies of the early 19th century. “Philomathic” is a Greek word meaning “love of learning.” In an e-mail to The Gamecock, a member of the Philomathic Society who identified himself as Maximillian LaBorde, an apparent pseudonym, wrote that organizers met with USC administrators last April to ratify a student organization constitution. LaBorde was a professor and president at USC during the Civil War. “In re-establishing the Philomathic Society, we seek to foster the development of true men and women of learning, scholars who will recognize the merit of all intellectual pursuits,” the member wrote. While the e-mail states that society members hold closed meetings regularly, it makes no mention of other events sponsored or activities undertaken by the group since April. And according to the e-mail, members seek to remain anonymous as they pursue the society’s goals. • “This reticence encourages the Society’s members to pursue pure I-:——n—as—■—’— altruism, disregarding any self promotion in the hope of realizing the greater reward of personal fulfillment,” the member wrote. The member lists attracting “great thinkers” to lectures at USC and renovating the former Clariosophic Hall in Pinckney-Legare College as two of the society’s long-term goals. Comments on this story? 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