As you probably know, I'm now in Kiev. Today we had with Sasha an interresting meeting with Valerij Ivasjuk. You must remember him, he is ex-member of Ukrainian parliament, actual first deputy chairman of The President's National anti-AIDS Committee of Ukraine and he was several times in Rome, last time - in May on conference on drugs.

Apart of enrolement to the party for 1995 made by him (for $20) and another person from that committee, Renard Vasilinets, Deputy Head of International Relations and Legal Issues Department, some interresting prospectives were finally clarified.

This committee is a governmental institution - the only of such kind in CIS - whose decisions in the sphere of AIDS care are obligatory for the Ukrainian government. Apart of it, he personally has good working relations with Ukrainian president Mr. Kuchma.

Now they are especially working for unification of national legislations on Aids (starting at least from CIS countries) and for giving to the WHO the special mandate, making the WHO's decisions obligatory for national authorities. In the framework of this, the Commitee's working group elaborates a draft convention on Aids, which will be presented on January 24-26 on the International Conference on AIDS in Kiev and proposed to the CIS countries, Baltic countries and neighboring states of Eastern Europe. Of course, they connect very close the AIDS problem with problem of drugs.

More generally, their idea is to make Ukraine a sort of international locomotive on the way towards both the international legislation on Aids and more resonable policy on drugs. Probably, as Valerij supposes, it will be possible to use Ukraine as initiator of the process to modify the UN conventions on drugs. But for this, they would like to implement actively the anti-prohibitionist ideas into the mentality of Ukrainian governmental officials.

For this - and this is already something more concrete - they plan to organize in Kiev (approximately on February 10-16) a sort of workshop or conference on drugs with a preliminary title "Conference on problems of drug using and struggle against narcomafia" and as much strong as possible anti-prohibitionist sense. This conference, as I told already, should be made first of all for governmental officials from different spheres (justice, healthcare, police, etc.) but could be also for the public.

The concrete proposal now is for Radical Party and LIA to become co-sponsors of this conference and to enter the preparatory committee. In this case the National anti-AIDS Committee (i.e. the Ukrainian government) will provide: a) hall; b) simultanic translation; c) invitation, covering travel expences and accomodation of Ukrainian participants. LIA/RP are supposed to provide: a) invitation, covering travel expences and accomodation of foreign participants - 2-4 persons from LIA or RP or CORA to enforce the anti-prohibitionist character of the conference (Trebach? Fillipo? who else?). They suppose this action as Ukrainian one, but I think it could be extremely useful to invite also some Russian, Baltic, Kyrgyz, etc. officials, however we must in this case cover the respective expences.

The level of this action promisses to be the most high, which we never had in ex-USSR area. The respective press cover is warrantied. And - what is important - although Valerij still says often "your party", he promissed to do his best for the widest RP promotion. But - and it is also important - we should provide also high level of "our" participants.

I think we must use this possibility. Finally, it is matter of not a big sum. Therefore I ask you to tell, what do you think about this project.

Another "technical" moments. Untill Ivasjuk and/or Vasilinets aren't users of Agora (I hope, they become in cupple of days), you may contact them directely by fax 007 044 2443811, also using the fax service of Agora, it is very simply and convenient. If writing to them, I would be very glad if simultaniously you send a copy of fax message also to n.khramov here.

For our LIA friends in Brussels: could you send the LIAFAX to the National anti-AIDS Committee to this fax number 007 044 2443811? Thanks.