During the formal part of his visit President Yushchenko was supposed to deliver a ten-minute speech, but instead talked with representatives of the Lviv community for nearly two hours. “I am proud to be among the people who braved a tremendously difficult road,” the Ukrainian leader said, adding “The elite of the Galician land is present in this meeting hall.” Before the president could enter the session hall, his guards had to hold back a sizeable crowd of Lviv residents, who came out to show their respect and support for the President of Ukraine.
In his speech Viktor Yushchenko said that a major part of the nation’s economy remains in the shadow sector and emphasized the need to bring it into the open and to carry out the administrative reform. He also stressed that “all the top officials must be replaced.” President Yushchenko spoke about a new visa regime for crossing the Ukrainian border to be introduced shortly, discussed Ukraine’s relationship with Russia and the EU, and answered numerous questions. Discussing the status of the OUN and the UPA, arguably the most painful question for the Lviv community, Viktor Yushchenko said: “There is this idea that we are working on now, and negotiations on a historical reconciliation have started between Soviet Army veterans and OUN and UPA representatives. It would be good if by May 9 we achieve success but also reach a final position.”
Introducing the new governor of Lviv oblast, Petro Oliynyk, to the community, the president said briefly: “This is a man who can consolidate the Lviv community, a person who will not resort to stealing.”
Petro Poroshenko, Oleksandr Zinchenko, and Yuriy Lutsenko accompanied the president on his visit to Lviv. Mr. Lutsenko presented the new chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department in Lviv oblast, Bohdan Shkarada, who formerly chaired the Lviv Municipal Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Department in Lviv oblast. He replaces his predecessor Oleh Salo.
President Yushchenko also met with the mass media and faculty and students of Ivan Franko Lviv National University. The president spent over forty minutes addressing Lviv residents near the university and ended his visit on St. George’s Hill, where he met with his Holiness Cardinal Liubomyr Huzar, head of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church.
