Walesa Attends Kiev Inauguration
Viktor Yushchenko became Ukraine's president Sunday and vowed to steer the nation toward the West, capping a popular revolt and a bitter months-long fight over the destiny of a nation historically entwined with Russia.
"Our place is in the European Union," Yushchenko told crowds in Kiev's central Independence Square after taking the oath of office of a nation that has for centuries been under Russian influence.
"My goal is Ukraine in a united Europe. Our road to the future is the road of a united Europe," he told several hundreds of thousands of people who crammed into the plaza, the epicenter of the "orange revolution" that brought him to power.
Earlier inside parliament, the 50-year-old former central banker Yushchenko read aloud the oath of office with his right hand placed on the constitution and the Bible and hailed the mass popular protests against a fraudulent election that got him to the spot.
The chamber erupted into chants of "Yu-shchen-ko! Yu-shchen-ko!," the battle cry of the "orange" protests.
"The Ukrainian citizens have achieved honest elections," he said in a short speech afterward. "The transfer of power is legitimate. It is a great national victory."
Yushchenko became the third president of an independent Ukraine, taking over after a decade of authoritarian-leaning rule by Leonid Kuchma, who was present in the chamber.
Underscoring the change of course that he intends for the country of 48 million on EU's eastern edge was the array of foreign dignitaries who support the efforts and attended the ceremony.
They included outgoing US Secretary of State Colin Powell, the head of NATO, leaders of several former Soviet satellites and two heroes of anti-Soviet struggles, Poland's Lech Walesa and Czech Republic's Vaclav Havel.
After the formal ceremony in parliament, Yushchenko received the commanders of the armed forces and then headed to Independence Square, known here as the "maidan," from where he directed the "orange" protests that roiled his nation and captured the attention of the world.
"The heart of Ukraine beat on this maidan," Yushchenko told to a deafening roar from the crowd.
The vast plaza was packed with supporters clad in the orange color of his election campaign, some of whom had stood there since early morning despite the cold -- just as they did during the revolt.
"I couldn't be here for the revolution, I was on the election commission back home," said Nina Marushak, a 50-year-old accountant who arrived in Kiev from Odessa with two friends.
"I helped make history in my country and I wanted to see it in person," she said.
In his inauguration speech, Yushchenko reached out to the millions of Ukrainians who supported his pro-Russia opponent Viktor Yanukovich during an election saga the split the country into two deeply polarized camps.
"My victory is a victory for all Ukrainian people," he said. "I am the president of all Ukraine."
The standoff over the transfer of power in Ukraine sparked Cold War-like exchanges between neighboring Russia and the West, with Moscow accusing Washington of trying to install its allies in its traditional sphere of influence.
The United States, which along with Europe backed Yushchenko in his standoff with the authorities following a disputed runoff vote in November, vowed to help him in his reform drive.
"The United States will help him," Powell told reporters. "We would like to give as much assistance as we can."
Sunday's ceremonies marked a personal triumph for Yushchenko, who at the beginning of the election campaign in September nearly died from what doctors later said was deliberate poisoning with dioxin that grotesquely disfigured his face.
Soothing frazzled nerves in a furious and humiliated Russia, Ukraine's largest trading partner and key energy provider, will be among the most urgent tasks facing Yushchenko's administration.
He will begin his presidency with a visit to Moscow on Monday for talks with his Russian counterpart, before setting off on a four-day tour of European countries.