Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=12/6/2004

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=BULGARIA/OSCE (LONG ONLY)

NUMBER=2-320970

BYLINE=STEFAN BOS

DATELINE=BUDAPEST

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

HEADLINE: OSCE Prepares for Difficult Election Mission in Ukraine

INTRO: The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is looking into ways to double the number of observers in Ukraine, amid opposition concerns that the repeat of the country's disputed presidential runoff will be tainted by fraud. Stefan Bos reports from Budapest that the announcement was made Monday at the start of a two-day meeting in Bulgaria of foreign ministers from the OSCE's 55 member countries.

TEXT: Delegates to Europe's top security organization were working on peaceful solutions to Ukraine's political crisis. The OSCE was among a number of international monitoring groups to find irregularities in last month's second round of the presidential election between Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko.

The representatives were considering urging Ukraine's parliament to dismiss members of the country's Central Election Commission, and retain only those members who enjoy the confidence of major political groupings

Speaking from Sofia, OSCE spokesman Richard Murphy also confirmed that the organization will likely send one thousand observers to the former Soviet republic to oversee the repeated presidential vote this month, nearly twice the number it sent for the disputed vote in November.

///1st ACT MURPHY///

"This was one of the major issues on the agenda when the ministers met today. The actual details of the election observation mission to Ukraine have still to be worked out. But the OSCE Chairman-In-Office (Bulgarian Foreign Minister) Solomon Passy appealed to the 55 OSCE countries to put lots and lots of observers. And he expressed the hope that we might get as many as one thousand observers for the December 26 election."

///END ACT///

But Ukraine's opposition has warned that as many as two-thousand foreign observers may be necessary to guarantee a free and fair election. Other organizations are also expected to send observers.

Spokesman Murphy said the fact that the ballot is scheduled for the Christmas season, when many people are on holiday in Western Europe, makes it difficult to assemble half that number.

///OPT/// December 26th is the day after Christmas for most of the world's Christians, but is two weeks before Orthodox Christmas, which is observed in Ukraine and many other countries. ///END OPT///

But Mr. Murphy believes that OSCE monitors will have enough expertise to be effective during the upcoming vote, even if their number is not as many as the organization would like.

///2nd ACT MURPHY///

"I don't think it is a question of numbers frankly. I think it is a question of having enough well trained observers in position to get an effective and accurate snapshot of what was really happening in the election. And of course Ukraine is an extremely large country and we had about six hundred observers last time. But I think we are very confident that we saw an accurate cross section of what was going on. And I would point out that the judgment of Ukraine's Supreme Court last week vindicated the verdict of the OSCE observers that there was indeed large-scale fraud.

///END ACT///

Discussions on Ukraine are also expected between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who were due to attend the OSCE gathering on Tuesday.

The delegates are also expected to discuss the organization's response to security threats, including terrorism, organized crime, trafficking of prostitutes and the illegal trade in small arms and drugs.

///REST OPT///

In addition, the OSCE ministerial meeting at Sofia's Palace of Culture will shape strategies for the future of the organization, which has been accused by some of its members of failing to fulfill its commitments.

Russia, for instance, has urged the organization to put less emphasis on human rights and more on its military and economic roles, like securing energy supplies.

The OSCE currently runs more than a dozen field missions, including programs to train police agencies, monitor elections and support democratic institutions. (Signed)

NEB/SB/AWP/RH