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Ukraine
Opposition Leader Victim Of Poisoning |
Posted:
12.15.04
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Supporters of Ukrainian political opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko
are digesting news that the once dashing and now disfigured presidential
candidate may have been poisoned by his political foes.
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Doctors at an Austrian clinic where Yushchenko had been getting
tests since he fell mysteriously ill after a dinner with a political
rival in September, found evidence of dioxin poisoning in his
blood stream.
 Dioxins
are highly toxic chemicals that often are byproducts of factories
that use chlorine in cleaning and manufacturing. In humans, dioxins
in large doses can cause cancer and liver damage and have been
linked to reproductive damage and an increased likeliness of diabetes
and heart disease. Yushchenko had 1,000 times the normal amount
of dioxin in his blood.
The tests leave "no doubt" Yushchenko's illness "has
been caused by a case of poisoning by dioxin," Dr. Michael
Zimpfer, the head of the Rudolfinerhaus hospital, told reporters
at a news conference in Vienna on Saturday.
A criminal investigation has been opened into the apparent poisoning.
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Yushchenko's
symptoms |
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Yushchenko, who opposed
Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich in an election last month
to replace the outgoing president, had been campaigning despite
a range of painful symptoms caused by the poison -- most notably,
a swollen, grayish and pockmarked face.
One of many symptoms of dioxin poisoning is Chloracne, a skin
condition that manifests itself in bumps and painful facial blisters.
In photographs, the once handsome father of three looked like
he had aged 20 years. The disfiguring acne, while not harmful
to his health, may persist for decades, experts say.
Yushchenko also reportedly suffers great pain and had a catheter
inserted into his spinal column, through which painkillers were
administered during the presidential campaign.
"It is my growing conviction that what happened to me was
an act of political reprisal against a politician in opposition,"
Yushchenko said according to news reports. "The aim, naturally,
was to kill me."
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Political
reprisal |
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Yushchenko and his supporters
believe that former members of the KGB, the notorious Soviet intelligence
agency infamous for its secret plots to wipe out political enemies,
may be responsible for the attempt on his life.
Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin supported Yushchenko's opponent
during the election and Putin critics claim poisoning, a common
practice during the Soviet era, has returned since the ex-KGB
officer took office.
 "The
list is rather long, and since Putin assumed power in Russia,
poisoning has been one of the preferred political tools used by
the Kremlin," Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian military analyst,
told the Associated Press.
The Kremlin has had no reaction to Yushchenko's illness, the
AP reported.
In 2003, Yuri Shchekochikhin, a liberal lawmaker and journalist
who often criticized government corruption, died from what appeared
to be a severe allergic reaction. Shchekochikhin's colleagues
at the Novaya Gazeta newspaper where he worked assert that he
was poisoned, though no evidence was found, according to the AP.
A second Novaya Gazeta reporter Anna Politkovskaya, also known
for her criticism of the Kremlin, fell seriously ill after drinking
tea on a flight from Moscow to southern Russia during coverage
of a hostage crisis. Politkovskaya survived despite symptoms of
severe food poisoning.
 In
one of the most notorious cases of alleged KGB poisoning, BBC
journalist Georgi Markov, who defected from the former communist
country of Bulgaria, was killed when a Ricin-filled pellet was
injected into his leg by a jab from a rigged umbrella.
Russian authorities have also been criticized for using toxic
gas as a sleep-inducing agent during a 2002 hostage crisis in
which Chechen rebels held more than 600 Russian theatergoers.
A majority of the deaths that resulted from the hostage crisis
were attributed to the gas.
"These substances were mostly developed during Soviet times,"
Felgenhauer told the AP. "And the specialists who designed
these kinds of poisons and ways of applying them were trained
during Soviet times."
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A Yushchenko's
fate |
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Yushchenko was
released from the hospital after treatment and  doctors
expect his damaged liver to return to normal. But, because chemical
toxins like dioxins remain in the body for long periods, the effects
of the poison could show up later.
For now, Yushchenko is campaigning for a second election, scheduled
for Dec. 26. The Ukraine's Supreme Court threw out the results
of the first election in November after accusations the election
was rigged and widespread protests shut down the capital city
of Kiev.
--
Compiled by Kristina Nwazota for NewsHour Extra
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