Yushchenko's will to live

2005-01-31 10:06

Washington - Newly-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko has suggested that a foreign power could have played a role in an attempt to poison him during last year's presidential campaign.

"Dioxin like this is produced in four or five military labs in Russia, America, and a few other countries," Yushchenko said late on Sunday in an interview with CBS's 60 Minutes programme.

"Our security services have informed me how this material got into Ukraine, but that evidence is now with our general prosecutor, who eventually must answer this question," he pointed out.

Yushchenko fell severely ill in early September as he campaigned for the Ukrainian presidency against then prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, a favourite of the Ukrainian ruling elite and neighbouring Russia.

He was treated in hospital for liver damage and unexplained boils on his face, but a diagnosis eluded doctors for three months.

Finally, doctors in Vienna concluded in December that Yushchenko had been poisoned by dioxin, a chemical agent that can cause cancer and inflict other long-term damage to a person's health.

The Ukrainian government has reopened an investigation into the case, but the circumstances of the plot remain unclear.

"I have no doubts this was by my opponents in the government, that's who would benefit the most from my death," Yushchenko said.

However, he declined to name the country that could have supplied dioxin to his opponents.

He insisted mass demonstrations in Kiev in support of his candidacy during his successful attempt to challenge the state election commission that had proclaimed Yanukovich president had given him a boost of energy.

"When I heard that millions were praying for me, it went straight to my heart," he said. "But I also felt an obligation to live. To die is not very original, but to live and carry on ? that's special."

- AFP