Preparing to Take Office, Yushchenko Urges Unity
On the eve of his inauguration, Ukrainian President-elect Viktor Yushchenko urged his countrymen to overcome deep divisions after a bruising election.
The pro-Western Yushchenko will take the oath in parliament today and then address a crowd in Kiev’s Independence Square, where tens of thousands of his supporters rallied for a revote after allegations of fraud in the November balloting surfaced.
Hundreds of thousands are expected to attend today’s events, which Yushchenko wants to turn into a celebration of Ukraine’s coming of age 14 years after freedom from Soviet rule.
Yushchenko made a symbolic gesture Saturday by taking the oath of hetman -- the leaders who ran Ukraine in the 17th and 18th centuries. “A civil movement is a good foundation for Ukrainian unity,” Yushchenko said after kissing and holding aloft a metallic mace outside the 11th century St. Sofia Cathedral.
Meanwhile, officials hastily made final preparations. Efforts were underway to dismantle the tent camp of Yushchenko supporters that had straddled Kiev’s main street since the protests began.
After his inauguration, Yushchenko plans trips to opposite ends of Europe. On Monday, he is to meet in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir V. Putin. After that, Yushchenko plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Switzerland and commemorations of the liberation of Auschwitz in Poland.
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